Mark D. Zimmerman

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — There was controversy at the inauguration of Donald Trump over the decision of Rabbi Marvin Hier to offer an invocation. Some felt that Rabbi Hier, the Founder and Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center/Museum of Tolerance, should not participate, given Trump’s many remarks degrading minorities, Muslims, immigrants, women, and others […]

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has announced that it will be going out of business this year, with a final performance on Long Island on May 21. For many years the circus held special performances for the Orthodox community of New York during Chol Hamoed, the intermediate

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Computer hacking was a major topic of the news in 2016, and will surely continue to be in 2017. Recently, Israeli scientists at Ben-Gurion University announced that their research and experimentation was successful in creating a particular type of hacking that could impact cyber security. What did they accomplish? A. The

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — A fast food chain is offering a special Chanukkah menu item in Israel. What is that item? A. Based on the Chanukkah tradition of eating fried foods such as latkes, McDonald’s is offering the Big Mac-abees, a traditional Big Mac that is dipped in the deep fryer

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York –The past year has seen a rise in anti-Semitic incidents and attitudes across Europe. In Germany, home to the world’s fastest growing Jewish community, the Munich-based European Janusz Korczak Academy recently launched a program to support the Jewish community there, promoting dialogue with non-Jews, and fighting anti-Semitism. What is this

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Cuban leader Fidel Castro died last week at the age of 90. What was Fidel Castro’s first significant connection to Jews and Judaism? A. Until 1973, Israel and Cuba had diplomatic relations, and one of the strongest ties was in the area of agricultural assistance provided by Israel to Cuban farmers.

  By Mark D. Zimmerman NEW YORK — The Broadway play Hamilton is in the news, as the cast addressed Mike Pence the other night when he attended a performance of the show. Alexander Hamilton had a little-known connection to Jews. What was it?   A. Hamilton and his wife Elizabeth Schuyler had eight children, including their daughter Eliza.

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — The FBI is in the headlines regarding its investigation of Hillary Clinton and her e-mails. The FBI has a long history of being involved in investigations that may not make any sense. The FBI file on Albert Einstein was over 1400 pages in length. Why did the FBI conduct an

By Mark D. Zimmerman   MELVILLE, New York — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican, just announced that he is endorsing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for president in the upcoming election. Colin Powell has some knowledge of Yiddish. Where did he learn to speak this language?   A. Powell grew up in the South Bronx,

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York – Bob Dylan recently received the Nobel Prize for Literature, “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” as noted by the Swedish Academy which chooses the winners. In 1975, Dylan appeared at a congregational seder at Hollywood’s Temple Israel. What song did he perform at the

By Mark D. Zimmerman NEW YORK — A committee of the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organization chooses the list of names that will be given to hurricanes and cyclones around the world. One name that was selected by this group turned out to be controversial, and eventually was removed from the list. What was that name?