This past weekend, several Five Towns and Far Rockaway area shuls played host to several speaking engagements sponsored by Panim el Panim. The Israeli education organization, which effective September 2011, became the official provider of Torah education for the Israel Defense Forces, is proud to have connected tens of thousands of secular Israelis with their Jewish roots. more

Dr. Jack Choueka may live in Lawrence but he really never left Brooklyn and the arrival of the Brooklyn Nets in the newly constructed Barclays Center is cementing his relationship with his home borough. more

As the Yamim Noraim and the call for tshuva, tfillah and tzadaka—repentance, prayer and charity—to change our fate and ourselves for the better, draw near, and the quiet and important philanthropy of Zev Wolfson, z”l, is acknowledged, the Five Towns-Far Rockaway community works increasingly on its charitable giving. more

t should have been one of the most powerful and exciting days of my life; I can still see all the guys, in their dress uniforms, preparing for the final ceremony; instead, it was one of the most depressing. more

In a move to confront the agunah (“chained woman”) crisis in a creative way that also reaffirms the marital commitment of Jewish couples, an Orthodox congregation in Merrick held a post-nuptial/pre-nuptial document signing celebration on Tu B’Av, a day on the Jewish calendar with special significance for marriage and Jewish unity. more

After 69 years, a Cedarhurst psychologist and Holocaust survivor was reunited this week with the son of the family who sheltered him and his family for two years during the Holocaust. The men embraced as Polziec arrived at JFK Airport from Mielec, Poland, then travelled to the Gerstner home on Albermarle Road to light the menorah on the first night of Chanukah. “When we were in hiding we couldn’t celebrate Chanukah,” Gerstner explained at the candle lighting. “This is an opportunity to celebrate together. We celebrate the victory over our enemies.” more

A large map of the New York–Long Island area linking photos of Israeli soldiers and their home communities hung on a wall of the Sephardic Temple in Woodmere. In Israel, these are the Lone Soldiers; in the Five Towns they are a source of pride. More than 500 supporters of the Israel Defense Forces came to the Long Island Chapter of Friends of the IDF at its third annual event on May 28, raising $350,000 for FIDF. more

This summer’s 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, which has come to a close if a cease-fire reached last week holds, has spurred a sharp rise in both anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incidents around the world. At the same time, the boundary between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism has become increasingly blurred, particularly on American college campuses. more

More than 300 young Jewish professionals who are making aliyah to Israel participated in the Impact Israel conference, organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh in cooperation with Israel’s … more