Feathery palm trees, swaying dancers, and butting rams are untraditional focal points in the contemporary Jewish papercuts of artist Deborah Heyman.
In reinterpreting this nearly lost, venerable Jewish folk art tradition, Heyman, of Irvine, finds inspiration and content for her own creations in the personal upheavals and simple pleasures of a modern life.
Adults aren\’t the only ones planning to ask God for forgiveness during the High Holidays. As the Day of Atonement approaches, youngsters around Los Angeles are already contemplating the mistakes they\’ve made over the past year. Here is what eight young Angelenos plan to repent for during Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, is a time when Jews are required to fast for 24 hours. At the end of this period, family and friends gather for the traditional break-the-fast meal.
This year at the conclusion of services our family and friends will arrive at our home at various times, since they are coming from synagogues that stretch from San Fernando Valley to West Los Angeles.
The transition from fasting to feasting should be a gradual one. Light, simple food is best. These two quick recipes are perfect for the holiday. Just add a few side dishes to complete the menu.
Two years after the USA Patriot Act became law, Jewish groups are still searching for the balance between law enforcement and civil liberties.
The passage of the legislation in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks divided Jewish groups who were ambivalent about the legislation from allies in the civil-rights community that immediately sought to have the law revoked.
The central reason for the Jewish groups\’ hesitancy to defend civil liberties — one of the causes Jews generally champion — is that the act\’s provisions were designed to target groups viewed as hostile to Jews.
It is a troubling paradox: Israel may be protected from new pressure from Washington by the upcoming presidential election, but that protection could foreshadow long-term damage to U.S.-Israel relations.
The reason: more and more, the pro-Israel effort is getting sucked into the quicksand of bitter partisan politics.
In today\’s take-no-enemies political climate, the bipartisanship that has been the goal of pro-Israel activism in Washington — a goal steadfastly pursued, if not often attained — is in dire jeopardy.
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Thirty years after the traumatic Yom Kippur War, Israel\’s military superiority over the Arabs is greater than ever.
That, at least, is the assessment of Tel Aviv University\’s prestigious Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. In its annual report, the think-tank cited the quality of Israel\’s weapons systems and the U.S.-led victory in Iraq as reasons for a major strategic shift in Israel\’s favor.
But the report acknowledged that Israel still faces major threats from terrorism and nonconventional weapons.
Survivors are suing the commission on Nazi-era insurance claims, a commissioner has called for the resignation of its chief and Jewish officials handling the claims acknowledge serious problems.
But they also say there probably isn\’t a better way to dole out the claims.
The anger and frustration some lawmakers and survivors feel toward the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims peaked last week when several survivors filed suit, claiming the organization was delaying payments.
California\’s insurance commissioner, John Garamendi, a member of the commission, later joined the suit and called for the resignation of the commission\’s chairman, former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.
When Rabbi Mitchell Ackerson blew the shofar this past Rosh Hashanah, it reverberated throughout one of Saddam Hussein\’s former palaces. More than 100 Jewish members of the U.S. forces stationed in Iraq attended the High Holiday services at the former Iraqi dictator\’s Baghdad compound.
They seemed shocked and awed, not least by the echo.
Then under a late afternoon sun, the group performed the customary Tashlich ceremony outside the palace, casting pieces of bread representing sins into a private lake once owned by the Iraqi dictator\’s sons, Uday and Qusay.
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