Dwelling together, in their own space
By Emily K., Alhadeff Associate Editor, The Jewish Sound The word on the Jewish street is “attrition.” Made painfully clear by last year’s Pew study, Jews — especially young Jews — are falling away from organized Jewish life. The one denomination that seems to defy the statistic is Orthodoxy; nevertheless,Continue Reading
Yemenite culture minister dedicates award to country’s 90 remaining Jews
(JNS.org) Yemenite Minister of Culture Arwa Othman is giving away Human Rights Watch’s Alison Des Forges Award, which she received in September, to Yemen’s dwindling Jewish community. The award honored Othman for her work promoting women’s rights and fighting extremism. On Nov. 20, she called for “tolerance,” dedicating her award to “brothers and friends from the Jewish community,”Continue Reading
Say Shehechiyanu as you share this year’s crop of Hanukkah and gift books for kids
By Rita Berman Frischer, Special to the Jewish Sound Sometimes it seems like a miracle how many different books on Hanukkah are out there. One of the newest and best is It’s A Miracle: A Hanukkah Storybook by Stephanie Spinner, illustrated by Jill McElmurry (Simon & Shuster/Aladdin; ages 4-8). AContinue Reading
Members of the poetry tribe
By Diana Brement, Jewish Sound Columnist Happy Jewish Book Month to writers and readers everywhere! I decided to reach out to Merna Ann Hecht after the Seattle Times did a lovely profile of her and her poem that won a place in the King County Metro poetry on buses competition.Continue Reading
Shipment of weapons bound for eastern Jerusalem intercepted
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A shipment of knives, swords, fireworks and Tasers bound for eastern Jerusalem was intercepted by Israel Police. Police seized the two containers of weapons last week addressed to residents of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, which has a large population of Christian Arabs. They wereContinue Reading
Children can view ancient Jewish manuscripts with new free app
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israel Antiquities Authority has launched a free app to introduce archaeology to children using games and puzzles. The app Dig Quest: Israel is available through the App Store beginning Thursday. The games were developed in collaboration with Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists and researchers. As they play,Continue Reading
As we mourn, let us stop the divisiveness about Israel
By Keith Dvorchik, Special to the Jewish Sound I read with horror this week about the attack in a synagogue in Israel that left five dead, many injured, and millions of Jews around the world demoralized and shaken. How did we arrive at such a place when the vicious murdersContinue Reading
A dark side to the White City
Boris Kurbanov, Jewish Sound Correspondent It’s a noir world, or so the publishers at Akashic Books would have us think. Ever since the release of 2004’s best-selling “Brooklyn Noir,” the editors at the Brooklyn-based independent publisher have taken to traversing the globe, soliciting seamy and sometimes downright malicious tales fromContinue Reading
Op-Ed: Stop reckless sponsorship of anti-Israelism
By Sara K. Greenberg CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (JTA) — I never imagined that a day would come when some of the world’s leading corporations would fund calls for Israel’s destruction, let alone at one of the world’s most prestigious universities. But that is exactly what happened last week at Harvard. MyContinue Reading
Making Israel’s Jewish status the law: Does it matter?
By Ben Sales, JTA World News TEL AVIV (JTA) — On Sunday, Israel’s Cabinet is set to advance a controversial bill that if passed by the Knesset would enshrine into law Israel’s status as a Jewish state. The nation-state law, as it is being called, has support from much ofContinue Reading
UCLA student government votes to divest from Israel
(JNS.org) The undergraduate student government at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) voted to divest from American companies that do business in Israel. According to the Daily Bruin, the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) voted 8-2-2 for the measure that calls for the University of California to divest from AmericanContinue Reading
Thanksgiving at the Harris home: Norman Rockwell it ain’t
By Ed Harris A Jewish friend of mine once described Thanksgiving as his favorite holiday. He said Thanksgiving is the only celebration of the season that serves to unite people of all faiths, unlike Christmas and Hanukkah, which are drawn from entirely different religious traditions. In making this assessment, however,Continue Reading
A personal account of the terror in Har Nof
By Tziporah Heller Dear friends, Yesterday at about 7 a.m. my daughter Miri called. “Mordechai just came home from shul. He said that Arabs came in and are shooting, and that a man with an axe is hitting everyone. Some of the people threw chairs at them, but it didn’tContinue Reading
Terror victims mourned in Jerusalem — and beyond
By Ben Sales, JTA World News Service TEL AVIV (JTA) — They all lived on the same street. They had all moved there from abroad. They were all rabbis. They all prayed at the same synagogue. And it was at that Jerusalem synagogue that they were all murdered on Tuesday morning. MoshehContinue Reading
Israel to consider relaxing gun laws after Jerusalem synagogue terror attack
(JNS.org) Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonvitch ordered a probe to examine easing restrictions on gun laws following the gruesome terror attack on a Jerusalem synagogue that left four dead and eight injured on Tuesday. According to a spokesperson for Aharonovitch, the minister would examine easing restrictions for security personnelContinue Reading
Is Mahmoud Abbas to blame for Jerusalem synagogue attack?
By Ben Sales, JTA World News Service TEL AVIV (JTA) — After a gruesome attack by two Palestinian cousins left four dead at a Jerusalem synagogue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu singled out one person for blame: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In a statement issued by his office, Abbas denouncedContinue Reading
Five Israelis killed in terror attack on Jerusalem synagogue
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Five Israelis were killed in a terror attack during morning prayers at a Jerusalem synagogue, including one Druze policeman who died hours after being injured in a shootout. Two Palestinian assailants entered the synagogue and rabbinical seminary in the Har Nof neighborhood of western Jerusalem and attacked worshippers onContinue Reading
Op-Ed: Why the RCA’s conversion system is better than the alternative
By Mark Dratch NEW YORK (JTA) – In a recent JTA Op-Ed, Rabbis Marc Angel and Avi Weiss made a number of claims about the Rabbinical Council of America’s conversion system. While some of their arguments have merit, they paint only a partial picture of what we’re doing in theContinue Reading
Debate tabled on bill naming Israel national homeland for Jews
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Knesset committee vote on a law to officially make Israel the nation-state of all Jews was postponed. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, head of the centrist Hatnua party, on Sunday postponed her ministerial committee for legislation’s vote on the bill known as the Nationality Law. “The explosiveContinue Reading
Jewish man stabbed with screwdriver in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Jewish man was stabbed with a screwdriver in central Jerusalem. The victim, 32, was treated on the scene for stab wounds to his upper body before being taken to Shaarey Zedek Medical Center in the city. The assailant reportedly was a Palestinian youth who was seenContinue Reading