Mark D. Zimmerman

By Mark D. Zimmerman Bob Born, former president of Just Born, the candy company founded by his Russian Jewish immigrant father Sam Born, died last week at the age of 98. The Just Born company makes Peeps, the marshmallow treat which is a popular Easter candy. Under Sam’s stewardship, the company had developed chocolate sprinkles […]

By Mark D. Zimmerman Attempts at censorship continue to be contentious, as those with opposing views try to shut down debate or sharing of controversial or offensive comments and materials, or even ideas which simply are in disagreement with others’ beliefs. For example, a Hamline University professor was recently fired for showing images of Muhammad

By Mark D. Zimmerman Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the classified documents found in Joe Biden’s garage and office. While there are significant differences between this situation and that of Donald Trump and the documents found at Mar a Lago, at the very least this has created

By Mark D. Zimmerman Congressman Kevin McCarthy was finally elected Speaker of the House on the 15th vote, following negotiations with a group of approximately 20 far right-wing Republicans who demanded and received many concessions from McCarthy. Surprisingly, McCarthy was supported by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, herself a right-wing member, who referenced McCarthy’s conservative views

By Mark D. Zimmerman Journalist Barbara Walters died last week at the age of 93. Walters was the granddaughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. She began working in television in the early 1950’s, eventually becoming the Today Show “Today Girl,” presenting weather and light news assignments. She went on to become the first female and the

By Mark D. Zimmerman Chanukah started last night with the lighting of the first candle. Celebrants are playing dreidel, eating latkes and sufganiyot, and singing traditional songs such as Chanukah O Chanukah and Maoz Tsur. But there are many other ways to celebrate the holiday, including attending concerts such as “The 8 Nights of Hanukkah”

By Mark D. Zimmerman Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, began erupting on the island of Hawaii on November 27, sending molten rock and lava down its sides and huge gas emissions into the air. The first Jews to come to Hawaii were probably English and German traders who arrived in the mid-1800’s. Organized Jewish life

By Mark D. Zimmerman Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of the Israeli far right-wing Otzma Yehudit party, is set to become the Minister of Israeli Security in the new government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Ben-Gvir is a very controversial figure. He was a follower of Meir Kahane and an advocate for removing Arabs from the West Bank. Ben-Gvir hung

By Mark D. Zimmerman Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has generated much controversy over his antisemitic remarks (among other things). As far back as 2013 he stated that Jews are more well-connected than Black people, giving them an unfair advantage. He also criticized Jared Kushner for his efforts to improve relations between Israel and

By Mark D. Zimmerman The city of Buffalo, New York was buried under record snowfall this past week, with some areas receiving more than 6 feet of snow. The first Jew known to reside in the Buffalo area was Captain Mordecai Myers, who was stationed at the Williamsville cantonment during the War of 1812. The Jewish population

By Mark D. Zimmerman Donald Trump was honored last week by the ZOA, which bestowed upon him the prestigious Theodor Herzl Medal, an award that has previously been given to Lord Balfour, Winston Churchill, Harry Truman, David Ben Gurion, Golda Meir, and Menachem Begin. ZOA’s announcement of the award, which is only rarely given out, noted Trump’s

Last month in London, The Icarus Theatre Collective canceled a planned production of a show because of criticism from the Jewish community. What was the controversy about? [Mark C. Zimmerman]