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January 17, 2011

A half-century later, rabbis recall marching with Martin Luther King

Rabbi Israel Dresner, 81, says he’s the most arrested rabbi in America. At least that was the case in the 1960s, he says, when Dresner was one of dozens of rabbis who answered the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call for clergy from the North to join the civil rights movement in the Jim Crow South. From the Freedom Rides of 1961 to the famous march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965, when Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel walked in the front row with King, Jews were prominent participants in the battle for civil rights that dominated the first half of the \’60s.

Giffords’ husband urges volunteer service

The husband of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is urging Americans to volunteer in their communities on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. \”Many of you have asked how you can help and how you can honor the memory of those who were wounded or lost their lives. What united the victims of the tragedy on Saturday was service – they volunteered in church or at soup kitchens, worked in government, and tended to their communities. On behalf of Gabby and our family, I ask that you consider honoring their commitment to service by dedicating a few hours on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, this Monday, January 17th, to volunteer in your community,\” Mark Kelly said in a statement distributed by the Giffords for Congress campaign.

Significant Jewish Presence in Globes’ Winners Circle

Jewish talent won some and lost some at the Golden Globe Award ceremonies Sunday evening in Beverly Hills, auguring a mixed outlook for the upcoming Oscar nominations. The best news is that Israeli-born Natalie Portman waltzed off as best actress in the drama category for her impressive turn as a tortured ballerina in “The Black Swan.” “The Social Network,” the gripping, if somewhat skewed, story of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, won for best drama picture, but its star, Jesse Eisenberg, lost out to best actor winner Colin Firth, portraying England’s stuttering George VI in “The King’s Speech.”

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More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.