After their immigration to Southern California more than 30 years ago, the majority of the area’s Iranian Jewish community poured their energies into re-establishing themselves financially. Following their success, some Iranian Jews have turned their attention to promoting philanthropy in the arts, education and Israel in recent years.
Ariel Sharon was a figure of controversy throughout his long career in war, politics and diplomacy, but no one can deny that he looms large in the making of the Jewish state.
German casino has returned a Nazi-looted painting to the heirs of a German-Jewish art gallery owner.
Lunch in the small, red-tiled Paprika Grill in Tarzana, with its short, kosher Mediterranean menu, seems like a simple proposition.
Whether you call it Thanksgiving or Turkey Day, the holiday is a festive time for American Jewish families to enjoy the best of both heritages — hearty American food and an occasion to give thanks for blessings.
Jennifer S. Hanin was raised Catholic and converted to Judaism after marrying a Jewish man.
Let me begin by saying that when I finished reading the engrossing “Jerusalem Maiden” by Talia Carner (Harper Collins, $14.99), two thoughts flashed through my mind. First, that the inevitable ending was quite satisfying!
Aharon Samuel suddenly spied a train coming slowly down the tracks. “I was so nervous,” he said. He was 17, skinny, and had been waiting for this train — for any train — for eight months while confined to a ghetto in the Transylvanian city of Cluj. He hesitated as nine cars passed. Then, at the last minute, he jumped on the last car. “I saved my life,” he said.
Like Benji Steiner, the protagonist in his touching new novel, “Sweet Like Sugar,” Wayne Hoffman was born both gay and Jewish. But unlike Benji Steiner, a 26-year-old graphic designer prone to dating pretty boys and church-going Christians, Hoffman has not, he says, spent countless hours with an elderly Orthodox rabbi who would have a heart attack if he knew what he did in the bedroom.
