This week\’s Israeli airstrike on an Islamic Jihad training camp near Damascus, which followed the group\’s deadly suicide bombing in Haifa on Saturday, was a sign to the Arab world that Israel will not be constrained by borders when it comes to the war on terrorism.
The attack came hours before the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, when Israel was blindsided by Syria and Egypt.
Why are you single?\” The woman who recently hurled this accusation at me, I suppose, intended it as a compliment: how could someone as ________ as me not have a husband?
\”It used to be in California that we were afraid to speak out in a roomful of Jews, but now we\’re standing up and speaking up,\” said a jubilant Bruce Bialosky, who chairs the Southern California chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition. \”Why, even the rabbis are changing their sermons.\”\n\nBialosky talked on his cell phone above the din at Arnold Schwarzenegger\’s victory party, minutes after Democratic Gov. Gray Davis had conceded his loss in the recall election, and the Republican movie star was chosen as his successor.\n\n\”This is akin to the Reagan revolution and we\’re going to make big inroads into the Democratic hold on Jewish voters,\” proclaimed attorney Sheldon Sloan, one of Schwarzenegger\’s earliest Jewish backers.\n\nThe optimistic outlook of the two Republican stalwarts was not shared by Democrats. Most political analysts did not foresee a basic change in the state\’s political culture.
If you\’re concerned that the money you donate to Los Angeles Jewish charities is eaten up by administrative and fundraising costs, fear not.
Most Jewish charities in Los Angeles have a favorable rating for the amount of dollars spent on their projects compared to dollars spent on costs, according to Charity Navigator, a new philanthropic watchdog. The group assessed some 130 Jewish nonprofits, including seven from Los Angeles, among 2,500 charities across the United States. It then rated the groups based on the Form 990 tax returns that all nonprofit charities, except religious institutions, must provide annually to the IRS.
Claire Zellman made two life-altering decisions in 1999.
Her first was to attend a Shabbat service that a friend recommended. After walking into a synagogue for the first time in more than a decade, she cried when she heard the \”Baruchu.\”
Her second was to transition to living life as a man.
Many Jews understand Shabbat as a series of restrictions. But the purpose of all the Thou-Shalt-Nots is to clear a space for the Thou-Shalts and for what is different and sacred about Shabbat. Laws against work, errands and many hobbies preserve Shabbat as a haven from relentless busyness. Shabbat sets aside time to rest and reflect, to reconnect with God, self, family and friends.
What was that all about?\n\nThose on the left will say the recall election we just survived was a sneaky Republican power grab. Those on the right will say it was a citizen revolt against a sleazy and ineffectual governor.\n\nThose in the middle will say, \”Are we done yet?\”\n\nIt\’s not clear, this early on, who wins and who loses in this process. If Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger succeeds in balancing the state budget while improving California\’s business climate, educational system and environment — just as he promised — then we all win.
In my San Francisco days, I once had a brief romantic affair with a mime. I was living in a house with lots of bedrooms, which were rented out to many different people. One of them was her, Angie, a young woman who each day would leave the house, go down to the park and do her mime thing, collecting dollars in a hat. I would tease her and we would flirt.
On Sept. 26, the Journal published an opinion piece by MK Avraham Burg critical of Israel\’s current government (\”Leaders Stay Silent as Israel Collapses.\”) The following is a reply to Burg. To see Burg\’s letter, go to www.jewishjournal.com.
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