Mark D. Zimmerman

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Israel’s ranking in the World Baseball Confederation currently stands at #41, just behind Poland and just ahead of Peru. And yet Israel has had great success in the initial rounds of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, going undefeated in their first round matches against the Netherlands, South Korea […]

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — The Republican Jewish Coalition held their annual convention last week at the Venetian Resort Hotel in Las Vegas. Among the speakers was Elliot Lauer, RJC board member and lawyer for Jonathan Pollard. In a d’var Torah which he offered to the attendees, to what did Lauer compare Donald

By Mark D. Zimmerman Is one answer correct? More than one? None? Make your guess and click on the link at the bottom to find the real answer. MELVILLE, New York — Sweden is in the news, with President Trump’s false claim of a terrorist attack there recently. With a Jewish population of fewer than 20,000, there

By Mark D. Zimmerman Is one answer correct? More than one? None? Make your guess and click on the link at the bottom to find the real answer. MELVILLE, New York — Frederick Douglass was an African-American abolitionist and social reformer who was born into slavery in 1818. What Jewish connection did he have in his life? A. Douglass

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.