By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Winter has been reluctant to arrive here in Israel, and as I write this in mid-December we can enjoy the balmy sunshine (and not having to heat our homes), though our fields and gardens yearn for rain. However, the silver lining to the lack of clouds is that […]
A Kind of Coexistence Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Lifestyles, Opinion
By Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D. RICHMOND, California — COVID has changed how we mourn. Attending funerals in temples, synagogues, and decamping to the cemetery were often followed by a meal of consolation and sitting shiva. Out of town family labored to attend. Minyan and yahrzeit mark the calendar. COVID made zooming and streaming funerals commonplace
Daily Life, Obituaries and Last Rites in the Age of COVID Read More »
Lifestyles, Oliver Pollak
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Top federal officials and Jewish leaders spoke to each other, and together they spoke to the public at large, the public that reads newspapers, watches television news programs and listens to those who run our government. But they did not speak to the people that count. This is the
Outreach or ‘Pod Squads?’ Breaking Down Bias on the Left and the Right Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA
Published by Reuters By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) – Leaders of the Islamist movement Hamas swore defiance in a choreographed display of force on Wednesday as one of the most hardline right-wing governments in Israel’s history looks set to take office later this month. Speaking before a sea of green flags in Gaza City’s Katiba
Hamas Defiant as Israeli Coalition Takes Shape Read More »
Israel
Published by Reuters By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Legal advisers to Israel’s parliament and outgoing government on Wednesday criticised a bid by a far-right politician to give himself expanded powers as next police minister, warning that his proposed changes clashed with democratic principles. Itamar Ben-Gvir of the Jewish Power party was promised the National
Israeli Jurists Warn Against Ben-Gvir’s Bid for More Powers Over Police Read More »
Israel
By Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — On March 1, 1881, in Russia, members of the People’s Will assassinated Tsar Alexander II. The murder, to which the Jews had nothing to do, triggered the largest wave of Jewish pogroms in the 19th century due to a blood libel against Jews falsely accused of complicity in the
The Triumphant and Tragic Odyssey of the Inventor of Sea Cruises Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Opinion
(JNS) Sefaria, a provider of digital Jewish texts at no cost, on Tuesday launched its offering of the four foundational texts of the Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic movement. The newly available texts include a fully bilingual edition of the Tanya, the cornerstone philosophical text of the Chabad movement; a Hebrew version of Torah Ohr, a 19th-century compilation
Foundational Texts of Chabad Movement Launched in Digital Form Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, USA
By Rabbi Ari Leubitz (JNS) Community. It comes in all forms—and it is something we each rely on for support. Sometimes we are born into our community and inherit it from our parents. Other times, it’s a group or connection we grow and build and develop for ourselves. As Jews, we have an instant community
The Increasing Importance of Community to Battle Antisemitism Read More »
Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Published by AlterNet Antisemitism dominates the news. But the media isn’t focused on rising hate crimes, a study on antisemitism in hiring or a presidential candidate and former president dining with a Holocaust denier. Antisemitism is only dominating the news because Kanye West is saying blatantly antisemitic things over and over again. (Really he’s just
Ye’s Antisemitism: Straight From the White Supremacist Playbook Read More »
USA
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Maggid Books, together with Yeshiva University Press, published “A Guide for the Jewish Undecided: A Philosopher Makes a Case for Orthodox Judaism” by Dr. Samuel Lebens, a rabbi and Orthodox Jew who is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa in Israel. His
Book Offers a Philosopher’s Case for Orthodox Judaism Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
NEW YORK (Press Release) — University of Haifa on Monday conferred honorary doctorates on President Bill Clinton and New York University (NYU) President Emeritus John Sexton at the NYU campus. The University honored Clinton for his commitment to the State of Israel over the years, from promoting coexistence in the Middle East to his close
Published by DPA The right-wing extremist who carried out a deadly 2019 attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany, briefly held two prison employees hostage and was injured as he was overpowered by other staff inside the facility near the city of Magdeburg. Stephan Balliet, 30, took two prison employees hostage in order to force
Two German Prison Staff Taken Hostage by 2019 Synagogue Attacker Read More »
International
Published by Reuters By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Tuesday to govern in the interests of all Israelis, as religious-nationalist parties slated to join his new coalition pressed ahead with contested legislation. One bill submitted for preliminary parliamentary review could potentially grant Defence Ministry powers to far-right politician Bezalel
Netanyahu Promises to Govern for All Israelis Amid Rise of Religious Nationalists Read More »
Israel
By Sam Ben-Meir “Anarchism is an aspect of socialism (among many others) that those of us wishing socialism, or some comparable form of resistance, to survive will have to think about again, this time without a prearranged sneer.” T. J. Clark, Farewell to an Idea It is 180 years since the birth of Pyotr Kropotkin
Pyotr Kropotkin, 180 Years Later Read More »
International, Opinion, Sam Ben-Meir