By Eric Nusbaum, Assistant Editor, JTNews Seattleites will tell you things happen a little bit differently in West Seattle — the neighborhood is certainly part of the city’s fabric, but also has an independent vibe. So it’s no surprise that when the Union for Reform Judaism was considering applicants forContinue Reading
By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews China today has a vibrant community of Jewish expatriates, but what has become even larger is the study of Jewish history and culture. “Jews, or especially Jewish civilization or culture — whatever term they used — were the cornerstone of Western civilization, Western religion, soContinue Reading
By Judith D. Schwartz, JTA World News Service BENNINGTON, Vt. (JTA) — In keeping with my son Brendan’s bar mitzvah project on energy efficiency, I was committed to the idea of making the event eco-friendly. With a little research, I found many ways to do this: A local venue withContinue Reading
By Eric Nusbaum, Assistant Editor, JTNews For at least the immediate future, King County will not run a set of proposed bus advertisements critical of Israel. Judge Richard A. Jones on late Friday afternoon ruled against the ACLU of Washington and the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign, which sought an injunctionContinue Reading
By Emily Keeler Alhadeff, JTNews Correspondent Rabbi Sholom Ber Levitin began our Sunday afternoon conversation like any good Chabad rabbi: Had my soul elevated this past Shabbat? As if setting the tone for the interview, he launched into an unofficial drash about Shabbat as the elevation to the world ofContinue Reading
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By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews Last summer, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle held a special fundraising campaign alongside its regular community campaign. At the deepest point in the recession, the agency raised approximately $100,000 to send 236 children whose parents might otherwise have had trouble affording it to overnightContinue Reading
By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews In response to a community campaign that is suffering and the need to create a staffing plan that reflects its new fundraising and allocations model, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle made personnel cuts this month that by June will reduce 25 percent of itsContinue Reading
By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews As a congregational rabbi at Adat Israel in Lower Marion, Penn., Rabbi Steven Wernick about five years ago began to recognize a shift in how his congregants began to view their relationship to their religious affiliation. “There’s been a radical shift in the nature ofContinue Reading
By JTA Staff, JTA World News Service (JTA) — A retiree living in Bellevue accused of committing genocide and other crimes as a Nazi officer during World War II died a month before his denaturalization trial. Peter Egner, 88, died Jan. 26, Reuters reported. Egner, a Yugoslavia native, was accusedContinue Reading
By Ellis Goldberg, Special to JTNews Editor’s note: Ellis Goldberg, a professor of political science at the University of Washington, is currently teaching at the American University in Cairo. Below is an abridged post from a blog he has been writing that documents the past weeks’ protests from up close.Continue Reading
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By Leyna Krow, JTNews Correspondent Although she’s only been at Gonzaga University a few short months, Elizabeth Goldstein has already made her mark on campus as the faculty’s only rabbi. In fact, it is believed that Goldstein is the first rabbi ever to teach at the university. A Gonzaga spokespersonContinue Reading
By Diana Brement, JTNews Correspondent It’s probably no accident that the two chapters on Israel in Rabbi Jonathan Sack’s new book, Future Tense (Schocken, cloth, $26.95) occupy almost the exact center of the work. Sacks is England’s chief rabbi, and a prolific and eloquent writer. Israel is just one componentContinue Reading
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By Diana Brement, JTNews Correspondent Art and Holocaust Burning Forest: The Art of Maria Frank Abrams, by Matthew Kagan (Northwest Museum of Art, cloth, $40). This book gets high marks on all counts. It is the captivating biography of Maria Frank Abrams, Seattle-area artist and Holocaust survivor; it is aContinue Reading
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By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews In film terms, they might be called Ocean’s Seven, but with a few crucial differences from the movie series: Instead of engineering intricate, flawlessly planned heists, this group of volunteers gives dozens of hours a week to ensure that every aspect of handling a deathContinue Reading
By Eric Nusbaum, Assistant Editor, JTNews Already it has been a long ride for Rabbi James Mirel. But the theme of the gala being thrown in his honor by Temple B’nai Torah indicates that Rabbi Mirel, his congregation, and the community at large can always work to make things better.Continue Reading
