By David Chesanow, JTNews Correspondent In 1944, Raoul Wallenberg became Marianne Balshone’s hero, “and over half a century later,” she says, “he still is.” Balshone was speaking of the 31-year-old Swedish diplomat in Nazi-controlled Budapest who issued protective passes to Hungarian Jews and saved as many as 100,000 —Balshone andContinue Reading

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By Diana Brement, JTNews Correspondent Poetry The Transcript rarely receives poetry to review (poetry presses can rarely afford book promotion), so Circe’s Island (Silverfish Review, $12.96, softcover) by local writer and teacher Judith Skillman is a special treat. Skillman’s lyrical poems weave Jewish imagery with Greek mythology and visions ofContinue Reading

By Diana Brement, JTNews Correspondent History is a means of placing current events in context. Can looking back also help us glimpse the future? During the Golden Age of Spain, one man’s vision created a haven of cultural and religious tolerance and sharing between three religions. Ornament of the World:Continue Reading

By Alex Lawson, Special to JTNews Like many members of the area’s Jewish community, they made their own Seder plates and hagaddot. They prepared their own charoset, boiled eggs and even made their own matzoh. These aren’t your typical family members preparing for Passover, however; they’re the children at twoContinue Reading

By Manny Frishberg, JTNews Correspondent Navah Hesetz was born in Tel Aviv. Her parents had emigrated from Italy in 1947, a year before the founding of Israel, and she grew up in what she called “a very secular Israeli family.” “In my childhood I never had any contact with JewishContinue Reading

By Manny Frishberg, JTNews Correspondent Wearing both an embroidered kipah and his metaphoric Amnesty International hat, Middle East expert Marty Rosenbluth spoke to Jewish audiences around the Seattle area at the end of April. He called for respect for human rights on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. At theContinue Reading

By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent Dr. Ra’anan Gissin says the Israeli government welcomes a new Palestinian government. That was Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s senior advisor and the lead spokesperson’s message when he came to Seattle as a part of Caravan for Democracy on May 1. As Gissin took the podiumContinue Reading

By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews It took some last minute scrambling and a lot of holding of breath, but the Federation’s campaign has closed ahead of last year’s results. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s annual community campaign ended April 30, and the final tally, according to the Federation’s ExecutiveContinue Reading

By Jessica Davis, JTNews Correspondent “Is this Jessica Davis?” asks actor Tony Curtis as he phones from Delaware for his interview. “Yes,” I reply. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you my whole life,” he quips. At 77, Curtis is still the same charming heartthrob many admired in his youngerContinue Reading

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By Jessica Davis, JTNews Correspondent When she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28, Rochelle Shoretz struggled to meet other young Jewish women with cancer. Two years prior to her diagnosis, Shoretz, an attorney and mother of two, had served as a law clerk to United States Supreme CourtContinue Reading

By Laurie Warshal Cohen, other An Interfaith community program for remembrance and reflection for Yom HaShoah (Day of Holocaust Remembrance) will feature Dr. Leon Bass, a former history teacher and principal at Benjamin Franklin High School in Philadelphia, Penn. Bass speaks nationwide about his experiences as an African-American soldier inContinue Reading

By Britten Schear, Special to JTNews The 10 folding tables in the Parish House of the Central Lutheran Church on Capitol Hill were piled high with traditional seder plates, baskets of Easter eggs, and bowls of tahini next to stacks of pita bread. In the steam-filled kitchen, Seattle Pacific UniversityContinue Reading

By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews A resident at the Summit on First Hill independent living community recently had eye surgery. After the operation, she was required to use eye drops several times daily but was unable to administer them on her own. Six months ago that may have posed aContinue Reading

By Manny Frishberg, JTNews Correspondent This is the second in a series on domestic violence in Seattle’s Jewish community. This article focuses on ways survivors of abuse have successfully gotten out of their situations. Deborah DeDonaldo is a survivor of domestic violence. Several years ago she was stuck and mostlyContinue Reading

By Joel Magalnick, JTNews Correspondent Eighty acres on Samish Hill in Bellingham have recently been purchased by Congregation Beth Israel. The congregation, Bellingham’s largest, had been searching for a new home for close to 10 years. The land was purchased in conjunction with the city of Bellingham from the WrightContinue Reading

By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent Reforming Palestinian culture and implementing a successful version of a “road map” to peace may take a while, according to one renowned professor. Offering an unflinching look into what is, by his account, a violent and antiquated Palestinian culture in the West Bank and Gaza,Continue Reading

By Rivy Poupko Kletenik, JTNews Correspondent It is a religion of food, this chewing over of our history at the seder. If religion is a blend of faith, belief and knowing, then food plays a teasingly sporadic starring role, emerging here and there with a responsibility seemingly beyond its humbleContinue Reading