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Mostly Cloudy Dems and JLo stand with Israel
Israel got a two-fisted public relations boost this week — one from a troubled corner of the political spectrum, the other from the pinnacle of pop culture. On Monday, 41 Democratic …
long island
Adelaide 'Addi' Friedman, a”h, 91
Adelaide “Addi” Friedman, wife of the late Rabbi Morris Friedman, who saw her son, Woodsburgh resident David Friedman, become the United States ambassador to Israel, was niftar on Aug. 4. …
tradition
Connecting Jewish memory dots on Tisha B’Av
In fact Tisha B’Av, a holiday many less-observant Jews are unfamiliar with, is all about memory, the collective memory of the Jewish people. But to tap into the …
'uncamp'
Girls of summer: Finding their Jewish links thru fun and study
On the fields of a private-school campus in northwestern New Jersey, two girls sit on white wooden chairs in the mid-morning sun sharing stories. No one seems in a particular rush to get anywhere, …
media watch
What the Times got right and wrong about BDS
JTA’s editor in chief Andrew Silow-Carroll and opinion editor Laura E. Adkins share their thoughts on a July 27 New York Times article answering “some of the most difficult …
latin america
Ending Venezuela’s mafia state won’t be easy
In an op-ed in the New York Times on June 11, Abraham F. Lowenthal and David Smilde proposed a humanistic vision for the Oslo negotiations between representatives …
kosher kitchen
In the summer, being a vegetarian is a snap
Summer eating is the best eating of the year, as far as I’m concerned. It’s light and quick and relaxed and far less labor-intensive all the way around. The foods of summer are …
opinion
Only answer to hatred of Jews is Jewish pride
This week on Twitter, a Jewish writer in Los Angeles decided to dispense some advice to her followers. Ariel Sobel had become aware that a small group of white supremacists was compiling a list …
agudath israel of america
Pew’s wrong about religious restrictions in Israel
A recently released Pew Research Center report about global restrictions on religion focuses mostly on discrimination against, and the persecution of, various religious …
politics
‘Jews Choose Trump’ creates a ‘safe space’
American Jews, themselves an immigrant community, have historically used domestic issues such as immigration policy as an impetus for overwhelmingly …
opinion
What will history say about Bibi Netanyahu?
The numbers are staggering, no matter how you count them. Whether you say 13 years and 128 days or just call it 4,876 days, on July 20, Benjamin Netanyahu became Israel’s …
opinion
Will Boris Johnson be good for the Jews?
Britain now has its first celebrity prime minister, and the Jewish world is asking: “Will Boris Johnson be good for the Jews?” Johnson has entertained and scandalized Britain for …
who's in the kitchen
Nine Days with dairy dining
Each year, during the Nine Days, I marvel at the number of people waiting on line at the kosher dairy restaurants around town. Many of these people don’t tend to eat out often during the …
opinion
Is it anti-Semitism if you’re not an anti-Semite?
Last month — or 16 years ago in Trump years — the White House disinvited a cartoonist named Ben Garrison to a meeting of right-wing media influencers. It had been pointed out that …
an explainer
Who’s running in Israel’s September elections
Israel’s upcoming elections in September — just five months after the last ones in April — are essentially a do-over. In the April election, the right wing won …
trump
Jews at home in ‘infested’ Baltimore
Jewish leaders in Baltimore are defending Rep. Elijah Cummings, the African-American Democrat who has come under withering attack from President Donald Trump. After spending a week berating the …
politics to go
The true achievement of Apollo 11
Memory foam, the Dust Buster, scratch-resistant glasses, Teflon, and other products developed as a result of the Apollo program were the least significant achievements of the moon landing fifty …
This week in Torah
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Don’t think it can’t happen to you
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Haftarah asks: Just what does G-d want?
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The teacher as hero
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The path to eloquence
How can we ask ‘Eicha?'
Like the Shoah, Tisha B’Av brings us face to face with the problem of evil: “If G-d is truly good, why does He allow evil to exist?” In his essay Sacred and Profane, Kodesh …
Kosher Bookworm
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Torah tribute to a true hero on Tisha B’Av
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Hitler’s Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam
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Sacred Legacy of Yosef Friedenson
With the observance of Tisha B’ Av almost upon us, a new biography was recently published by ArtScroll entitled Faith Amid the Flames, the story of Holocaust survivor Reb Yosef Friedenson, …
Who's in the Kitchen
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Ten days with the granddogs
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Nursery school to graduate degree: NOW I’m old
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Nine Days with dairy dining
Each year, during the Nine Days, I marvel at the number of people waiting on line at the kosher dairy restaurants around town. Many of these people don’t tend to eat out often during the …
Kosher Kitchen
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Corn! A summer harvest from the New World
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Here’s to the lovers of garlic among us
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When it’s sizzling hot, it’s time for cool foods
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In the summer, being a vegetarian is a snap
Summer eating is the best eating of the year, as far as I’m concerned. It’s light and quick and relaxed and far less labor-intensive all the way around. The foods of summer are …
View from Central Park
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Fatal distraction
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A popsicle emergency!
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Nine Days: There are limits to grief
After the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem, the people reacted with extreme grief. The centerpiece of their lives, of their Judaism, had been destroyed. How were they to go on? They …
Viewpoint
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An Iranian lie unfolds in the Spanish media
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AMIA: Insult, injury and Argentina’s election
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British Labour Party: ‘Who, me? A racist?’
The exposé on anti-Semitism in the British Labour Party, broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC’s flagship “Panorama” program, gave viewers an opportunity to see the …
Politics to Go
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Tlaib’s week of hating Israel, Jews
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The true achievement of Apollo 11
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Don’t take early debates seriously
Although I’m a political junkie and follow politics 24/6, I hate early debates, Republican or Democratic. Ten people are great for a minyan, but two nights of ten people arguing gives me a …
torah
Life and death are in the power of speech
What is the Jewish stance on cursing and curse words? Researchers have found that about 0.7 percent of a typical American’s speech is made up of swear words. …
israel
Beyond final encore: What culture brings to Jerusalem
Established in 1961 as a classical music festival in Caesarea, the Israel Festival, now in its 58th year and which runs this year from May 30 to June 15, was “relocated” to Jerusalem in …