Category
November 3, 2010
Martin Kraar, former CJF and Weizmann Institute head, dies
Martin Kraar, who was instrumental in helping the Council of Jewish Federations merge with the United Jewish Appeal and the United Israel Appeal, has died. Kraar, of Atlanta, died Monday at the age of 69.
Secular demonstration denied in Bnei Brak
University students were denied permission to demonstrate in a city that is overwhelmingly haredi Orthodox. Police in Bnei Brak, a city located east of Tel Aviv, refused permission out of fear of riots, Haaretz reported. The students wanted to protest Tuesday against a bill that would provide stipends for married yeshiva students.
Valleys unite for mitzvah day charity
It’s hard to heal the whole world in a day, but it never hurts to try.
An open letter to Mike Leigh
Like you I am a Jew, a screenwriter and a playwright. Unlike you, the first time I was shot at, I was 16. I mention this because in your letter to my friend Renen Schorr of the Sam Spiegel Film School, reneging on your agreement to appear there, you cite as one of the reasons for the moral outrage you feel, “the endless shooting of innocent people there [Gaza], including juveniles.”
Human nature, Judaism and liberals: response to my critics
If my mail is any indication, I suspect I aroused considerably more anger among Jews by arguing that man is not basically good (and that the belief in man’s innate goodness is neither rational nor Jewish) than I would have had I argued that there is no God.
Jon Stewart, Meet Bambi
The last name I expected to come up at our Shabbat table last week was Jon Stewart. I was hosting a serious, soft-spoken public intellectual from Israel, Bambi Sheleg — who was in town on a speaking tour — and her words to my Shabbat guests were anything but funny and ironic.
L.A.’s Global Day of Jewish Learning canceled
On Sunday, Nov. 7, more than 350 communities around the world will take part in the Global Day of Jewish Learning. Due to low pre-registration numbers, Greater Los Angeles will not be among them.
Valley Chicano writer explores the Holocaust
Virtually every student of fiction is admonished: “Write what you know.” This does not mean that every short story or novel should track the author’s life in exquisite detail, although some successful writers have taken that road. What it means is that fiction can seem more “real” if the writer speaks with authority born of experience.
New Articles
Israeli Singer Eden Golan Advances to Grand Final of Eurovision
Brave-ish wins Literary Titan Gold Book Award
Proud Jews, Despite Everything
ADL, Brandeis Center File Complaints Against Occidental, Pomona College Over Antisemitism
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.