By Ruz Gulko, Special to JTNews Caring, comfort and confidentiality. Shabbat joy and “re-creation.” These were the themes and experiences of the first-ever Shabbaton at Camp Solomon Schechter for those who had converted to Judaism or were in the process of conversion through the Conservative Movement. Fifty people came fromContinue Reading

By Jennifer Morton, Special to JTNews It has been a little more than a year since members of the Chi-Deutron chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi moved into their new house at the University of Washington, and so far things are going well. “I’m very excited. We started with 13 membersContinue Reading

By Charles Redell, Special to JTNews Radical Humanist. Working Class Intellectual. Filmmaker. Carpenter. Abe Osheroff is all of this and more. Born in Brownsville, Brooklyn, in 1915, first arrested at 16, and fighting in the Spanish Civil War at 21, he now lives in Seattle, basking in the glow ofContinue Reading

By Manny Frishberg, JTNews Correspondent Anne Morrison was literally a woman on a mission when she went to the Kingdom of Jordan last November. As one of five student winners of the King Hussein International Peace Through Tourism Award, she went to Amman to attend a four-day Global Summit onContinue Reading

By Bonnie Schiller, Special to JTNews Seattle Chapter Hadassah is proud to honor Lucy Sondland Pruzan at its May 1, 2001, Gala Dinner. Lucy was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, where her family found refuge, having left Germany just prior to the outbreak of World War II. She characterizes her motherContinue Reading

By David Chesanow, JTNews Correspondent Wonder bread, that icon of American sandwich culture, is on the verge of becoming kosher in the Washington-Oregon area. The certification process should be completed by mid-February, according to David Grashin, executive director of Va’ad HaRabanim of Greater Seattle. The Va’ad is supervising the kosheringContinue Reading

By Gigi Yellen-Kohn, JTNews Correspondent Temple De Hirsch Sinai’s former music director, who is now professor of Liturgical Arts at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, returns to address the congregation during Shabbat services on Friday night, March 9, to honor Rabbi Earl Starr on the occasions of his retirement andContinue Reading

By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Editor, JTNews Last week’s earthquake made life at the state capitol a bit more complicated, but legislators and lobbyists say this legislative session was already in trouble long before the quake made the statehouse uninhabitable. “Every week, we get news about how the budget situation isContinue Reading

By , Special to JTNews If you haven’t set aside April 1 on your calendar for the Seattle Jewish Festival at Seattle Center, consider yourself among the minority in the community. What is expected to be the largest-ever Northwest celebration of Jewish artistry, culture, food, music, education and information isContinue Reading

By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Editor, JTNews Jewish institutions closest to the epicenter of last week’s earthquake — synagogues in Tacoma and Olympia — were miraculously spared, but three locations in Seattle suffered significantly. The Seattle Hebrew Academy, Temple De Hirsch Sinai and the studio of prominent Jewish artist Akiva SeganContinue Reading

By , Special to JTNews Working with a local software company, two professors at the University of Washington have designed an interactive CD-ROM for learning Modern Hebrew. “Speak Hebrew!” was produced by SMiles Productions with the assistance of UW professor of Hebrew Naomi Sokoloff, and UW Hebrew instructor Monica Devens.Continue Reading

By , Special to JTNews Moe Dinner’s rags-to-riches story would be hard to believe if it weren’t true. And the drive he harnessed to help create two American industries also powers his passion for Jewish education. Seattle Cheder will show its appreciation for his friendship and commitment at 5:30 p.m.Continue Reading

By Judith Stoloff, Special to JTNews What can you say about a 100th birthday that hasn’t been said before? Lots, when the centenarian is an adventurous world traveler surrounded by 80 friends in the packed Council House dining room. Rabbi Scott Sperling of Temple De Hirsch Sinai, where Zerline AroninContinue Reading

By , Special to JTNews Long-time Seattle Jewish community leaders Albert and Jeanne Maimon will be honored with the Seattle Hebrew Academy’s Community Leadership Award on March 25 at the school’s annual dinner. The event will be in the Spanish Ballroom of the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle.Continue Reading

By Jessica Davis, JTNews Correspondent After returning from 18 months in Israel, Lisa Narodick experienced a great deal of frustration finding a meaningful role for herself in her home state of Vermont, where the Jewish community is small. That caused her to think about starting her own nonprofit agency andContinue Reading

By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent Eight generations ago, her ancestor was a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov. Every subsequent generation in her family included rabbis until all of her male cousins refused to take up the rabbinical mantle. When she realized this, she was only 11 years old, butContinue Reading

By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Editor, JTNews A recent ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco concerning California’s 1999 Holocaust Victim Insurance Relief Act gives both renewed hope and continued concern to advocates and government officials in Washington state, which has a similar law. According to theContinue Reading

By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Editor, JTNews Next fall’s High Holiday services will be radically different in the Pacific Northwest. Four rabbis from the community’s largest synagogues have announced they are stepping down from their bimahs by this summer and one other rabbi has already moved on. Many members of Herzl-NerContinue Reading

By , Special to JTNews Northwest Yeshiva 38, Heritage Christian 22 When the teams came onto the court, everything smelled of a mismatch. The Eagles were older, much bigger and most of them had a year of varsity experience. Hot shooting by Daphne Davis and Channa Adatto gave the 613sContinue Reading