Category
May 19, 2005
AIPAC Will Focus on Policy at Gathering
AIPAC will be tasked with keeping its members focused on the important issues facing Israel and maintaining support in Congress if the Gaza pullout, planned for this summer, goes awry. The effort to keep attention focused on Iran\’s presumed drive for nuclear weapons is also high on its agenda.
Hezbollah Faces Identity Crisis
On the eve of elections, scheduled to begin May 29, Hezbollah is trying to retain its pose as the ultimate guardian of Lebanese interests vis-á-vis Israel, stoking a flare-up along the border with Israel last week.
Rabbis Call for Day of Fasting for Darfur
Rabbis from all denominations are calling upon Jews in Los Angeles to participate in a day of fasting, prayer and political activism to raise alarm about the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.
L.A.’s ‘Big’ Sunday
Between 35,000 and 40,000 people spent Sunday, May 15 at Woodley Park in Van Nuys for the annual Israel Independence Day festival.
The festival\’s early afternoon main event featuring pro-Israel speeches and politicians lasted exactly one hour; on the last note of \”The Star-Spangled Banner\” skydivers appeared above. \”The coincidence was amazing,\” festival executive director Yoram Gutman said.
In the late afternoon, more than 7,000 people crowded the festival\’s main stage to hear Israeli pop superstar Sarit Hadad. Fire marshals had difficulty clearing fans from the aisles.
Faith, Fans Keep ‘Everwood’ Climbing
But completing its third season this week is one more show featuring Jewish characters, called \”Everwood.\” The slightly under-the-radar one-hour family drama has a strong teen following and has been making it\’s own inroads in developing complex Jewish characters.
Half a Century on Reform’s Frontlines
When the Reform movement published its new \”Mishkan T\’filah\” last November, the prayer book looked comfortably familiar to Reform rabbinic students in Los Angeles. It was clear to them that a homemade siddur they had created for their own use had influenced the first official prayer book published by the Union for Reform Judaism since 1975.
Once again, the L.A. branch of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) had made its mark on the Reform movement. The new, official prayer book, like the homemade siddur, includes traditional prayers in Hebrew, as well as new alternative readings and meditations — changes in keeping with Reform\’s adoption of more traditional practices.
Reform’s Reforms
They would be half right. Simon is in Jerusalem this year to study Torah. But she is doing it under the auspices of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). In four years, after completing her studies at one of the college\’s U.S. campuses, she will graduate as an ordained Reform rabbi.
Pray for the Innocent of Darfur
\”The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.\” Shakespeare\’s comment remains pertinent in our times.
Evil acts enjoy great publicity. Every inch of graffiti on the walls of schools is photographed, and every ethnic or racial outrage resonates in the public media.
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