By Rachel Goldberg , JTA World News Service There’s a lot of noise about health care — wildly false claims, meetings being disrupted, shrill voices shouting down legislators. Amid the din, real ideas and concerns are getting lost. It’s easy and lazy to criticize something. What’s difficult and bold isContinue Reading
By Larry Greenfield , JTA World News Service Government insurance for health care — the public option — is an inappropriate cure that the American body politic is rejecting. Canadians spend 10 percent of their annual GDP on health care, while Americans spend 16 percent. However, Canadians experience long waitingContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Sculptor and glass artist Gabriel Bass, a Mercer Island native now living in Jerusalem, recently completed and installed a ner tamid (eternal light) and menorah commission for the Abayudaya Jewish community in Uganda. The commission came from a California couple who are deeply involved withContinue Reading
By Edith Isaacs Ervin, , Mercer Island Enough with this gay-schmay stuff (“Gay Israelis reeling after shooting attack,” Aug. 7)! If we are intent on replacing ourselves after the World War II slaughter, practicing homosexuality isn’t the way toward that goal. Didn’t your mommies and daddies have “the talk” withContinue Reading
By Robert Center, , Seattle As the chair of the advisory board to the Stroum Jewish Studies Program at the University of Washington, I was pleased to read and agree with Professor Jaffee’s August 7 column regarding the Stroum Lectures (“A learning experience”). The program is proud of its manyContinue Reading
By Chaplain Gary Friedman, , Seattle The last issue of the JTNews carried an ad from a pair of restaurants highlighting their “Kosher Deli Meats (Plus Regular Kosher Style Deli Items).” By “kosher deli meats,” are they referring to their non-recommended brands that anybody keeping kosher for religious reasons wouldn’tContinue Reading
By Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz, West Seattle Torah Learning Center I’m a story junkie. As a child I was always an avid reader and I haven’t lost my love of sinking my teeth into a good book. Unfortunately today, it’s not as easy to find the spare moments to indulge inContinue Reading
By Stephen J. Savitsky , JTA World News Service NEW YORK (JTA) — I was most privileged on July 13 to be invited along with 16 other Jewish leaders to meet with President Obama at the White House. Much has been written about this historic meeting; it’s hard to believeContinue Reading
By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Columnist Dear Rivy, I don’t know when I started noticing this or maybe once I did notice it, I just started to notice it more. What I’m talking about is the habit some people have, when talking, to throw in a “God willing” about anyContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Harry Rutstein’s book, The Marco Polo Odyssey: In the Footsteps of a Merchant Who Changed the World, recently won the independent publisher’s association prize for best travel book. Harry is the only person to travel Polo’s route from Italy to China (others have traveled sectionsContinue Reading
By Edward Alexander, , Seattle A main reason why President Obama nominated Judge Sotomayor for the Supreme Court is that he believed she would be “the first Hispanic appointment to the high court.” In fact, the first Supreme Court justice of Hispanic background was Benjamin Cardozo, appointed by President HooverContinue Reading
By Josh Basson , , Seattle I strongly disagree with Gila Orkin’s one-sided column (“Continue Reading
By Philip R. Scheier, , Shoreline The fact that your lead story in the July 24 issue, headlined, “A prophet for peace or a wedge between peacemakers?” ends with a question mark is not the only question mark on this overlong two-and-a-half-column agonizing on the guest speaker’s true intentions towardContinue Reading
By Dexter Van Zile, Christian Media Analyst CAMERA, Boston, Mass. Contrary to Naim Ateek’s assertion, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, (CAMERA), does not believe that he is “worse than Hamas” (“A prophet for peace or a wedge between peacemakers?“ July 24). Hamas has killed hundreds;Continue Reading
By Rabbi James L. Mirel , Temple B’nai Torah The Book of Jonah (read as the Haftarah on Yom Kippur afternoon) is a constant source of wisdom and insight. Like every great work of literature, it can be read over and over again, always with new discoveries and insights. TheContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Northwest Yeshiva High School graduate Matthew Feldhammer is now doing graduate research in biochemistry at the University of Montreal. Recently he was awarded a first place Prix d’Excellence (Prize of Excellence) in all categories by Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center at the University of Montreal forContinue Reading
By Gila Orkin , JTA World News Service JERUSALEM (JTA) — The gains made by far-right parties across Europe in the recent European parliamentary elections are certainly cause for concern. But Europe is not the only place Jews should be concerned about the far right rising. It’s happening in Israel,Continue Reading
By Jenna Sytman , , Mercer Island Mr. Rothschild’s June 26 letter to the editor is a highly flawed argument that uses a concept most hold in contempt to further his personal disapproval of certain local institutions — crying “discrimination!” and suggesting the Federation address their budget deficit by eliminatingContinue Reading
By Jeremy Alk, , Seattle I think there is an additional reason for Tree of Life being in jeopardy (“Losing its leaves?” July 10): The closing of Leah’s Bakery’s retail business. Stores are a foot-traffic business. People pop in and see what’s new. It’s also seasonal: Jews in the greaterContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Columnist Helene Israel tells me she was so consumed mourning her late husband, Jerry, that she never put an obituary in the paper. But now that she’s had a chance to recover from his death a year ago, she wanted to share an honor he receivedContinue Reading
