Diana Brement, Jewish Sound Correspondent “We have been back all of three weeks,” said Rabbi Paul Strasko when we spoke last week. The newly appointed rabbi of north Kitsap’s Congregation Kol Shalom, located on Bainbridge Island, and his wife, Sandra Andrews-Strasko, have returned to the Northwest after living in Europe andContinue Reading
Diana Brement, Jewish Sound Correspondent Hometown: Eugene, Ore. Favorite book: “I pretty much inhale books — I can’t name a favorite.” Favorite Jewish historical figure: Rabbi Israel Salanter Hidden talent: Able to identify individual breeds in mixed-breed dogs. “It is a gift.” Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg used one leadership transition to createContinue Reading
Dan Aznoff, Special to the Jewish Sound Despite the fact that she grew up 3,000 miles away from Seattle and speaks with an East Coast accent, Rabbi Ruth Zlotnick believes she will be coming home in August when she takes her place on the bima as the new senior rabbi atContinue Reading
By Tori Gottlieb, Jewish Sound Correspondent How many people have fond memories of their childhood Hebrew school programs, of sitting in their synagogues’ classrooms or social halls after a full day of English and algebra, going over alphabets and pronunciation and vowels, without understanding much of what was going on?Continue Reading
By JTA World News Service Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder on Friday denounced Israel in an expletive-laden tirade during a concert in England. “I swear to f***ing god, there are people out there who are looking for a reason to kill,” Vedder said. “They’re looking for a reason toContinue Reading
By Joel Magalnick, Editor, The Jewish Sound During a lunchtime conference call today with members of Seattle’s Jewish community, Andy David, Israel’s consul general to the Pacific Northwest, laid out the issues of the war that erupted this week between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This is whatContinue Reading
By Joel Magalnick, Editor, The Jewish Sound FY2015_PAC_Grants (1) Sometimes a kid just needs a place to unwind. “It’s an overwhelming, stimulating world,” said Shoshana Bilavsky, head of school at the Seattle Jewish Community School. “The new generation is more and more stimulated, and you see more excitement and sensoryContinue Reading
This year’s Jacob Friedman Holocaust Writing, Art, and Digital Media Contest, sponsored by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center, received 700 entries from students across the state. Here are excerpts and artwork from several of the winners: Digital Media 1st Place: Marina LaBossier, Grade 10, Eastside Catholic High School,Continue Reading
By Emily K. Alhadeff, Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound Once upon a time, there was a village in the middle of a forest. Houses lined a long street, each little plot opening into a field stretching back to the woods’ edge. There was no need for telephones — if youContinue Reading
By Emily K. Alhadeff, Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound Rabbi Kenneth Brander took a part-time, two-year job as rabbi of a 60-family congregation in Boca Raton, Fla. with the idea that he’d have lots of time to write about his experiences living with and assisting Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik during theContinue Reading
By Emily K. Alhadeff, Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound On Thursday night, July 3, a community-wide memorial service was held at Minyan Ohr Chadash for Gilad Shaar, Naftali Fraenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, the three Israeli teens found dead 18 days after allegedly being abducted by two Palestinian men. After the newsContinue Reading
By Joel Magalnick, Editor, The Jewish Sound This morning, they flipped the switch, and the most recent cohort of crowd-sourcing projects launched for six projects that its organizers hope will provide positive engagement for the Seattle area’s Jewish community. J-Kick, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s version of the popularContinue Reading
By JTA World News Service WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that a privately held business may refuse to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives to employees. Jewish groups had closely watched the case that Hobby Lobby, a crafts chain, and Conestoga Wood Specialties, a cabinet maker, hadContinue Reading
By Emily K. Alhadeff, Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound Mike Tobias lives on a boat in Ballard with his wife, their dogs, and two guns. On the back of his car are two bumper stickers: One has an image of a Star of David in American flag print, two rifles,Continue Reading
By Janis Siegel, Jewish Sound Correspondent Jewish preschools in Seattle may feel the impact of a city-wide ballot measure this November that would approve and fund Mayor Ed Murray’s Seattle Preschool Plan — a four-year, $58 million education levy for a voluntary universal preschool curriculum and performance assessment model. PassedContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel, Jewish Sound Correspondent The Associated Students of Western Washington University’s board of directors, in an unprecedented move for a U.S. college or university, proactively and unanimously voted in June to reject all boycott, divestment, and sanctions movements at the school, a policy Israel-advocacy groups have endorsed. AimedContinue Reading
By Boris Kurbanov, Special to the Jewish Sound Members of Seattle’s Jewish community gathered Wednesday, June 18 at the Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island to express solidarity, love, and support for the three Israeli teenagers kidnapped in the West Bank on June 12. Jews around the world haveContinue Reading
By Joel Magalnick, Editor, The Jewish Sound Henry Friedman had a message for the nearly 100 school-aged kids and their parents who sat in the shell of what will soon become the museum that bears his name: “It’s not for Holocaust survivors,” he said. “It’s for you.” The event, anContinue Reading
On Wednesday, the Associated Students of Western Washington University in Bellingham voted unanimously that it would not consider boycott and divestiture campaigns based upon national origin. According to a press release from Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs Northwest, “the 7-0 vote represents the first time ever that a North American university’s studentContinue Reading
By Janis Siegel, Jewish Sound Correspondent Eli Varon, 28, of Seattle appeared briefly in a King County Superior Court on Tuesday, June 10, flanked by his attorney David Marshall, who asked Judge Jim Rogers for more time to gather evidence and negotiate the charges with deputy prosecutor Corinn Bohn. TheContinue Reading
