November 21, 2013

Iranian denies plan to attack Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan

Leave a Comment / Worldwide / Jewish Journal

An Iranian man arrested on suspicion of planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan denies the allegation, an Iranian diplomat said on Thursday.

Hassan Faraji, 31, is the latest in a number of Iranians to be accused of criminal plots in recent years in Azerbaijan, which has tense ties with its larger southern neighbor.

Faraji was detained near the Israeli embassy in the capital Baku on October 31 but his arrest was made public on Wednesday, when state TV showed footage of police raiding an apartment.

“Faraji had a detailed plan of an attack on personnel of the Israeli embassy…He put up a resistance to the police during a detention,” police said in a statement.

A court in Azerbaijan sentenced him to one month pre-trial detention, while Azeri and Israeli media reported that he had connections with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, an allegation an Iranian official denied.

“This information does not correspond to the reality,” the Iranian embassy spokesman, who did not want to be named, told Reuters.

Iranian embassy officials met Faraji in custody.

“He denies all charges and believes that his innocence will be proved during an investigation,” he said.

The case is a part of wider diplomatic tensions between the neighbors, which share a religion but have sharply different political systems.

Some 15 percent of Iranians are ethnic Azeris and there are strong linguistic and family ties straddling the border, adding another strain to ties.

Iran has accused Azerbaijan of assisting Israel in the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Azerbaijan, for its part, has arrested dozens of people last year on suspicion of connections with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, and of plotting attacks, including on the Israeli ambassador to Baku.

Iranian citizen Phaiz Bakhram Hassan was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison for an attempt to attack the Israeli embassy in Baku. He was arrested last year.

Iran closed two check-points on the border with Azerbaijan this month in response to the closure of another border check-point by the Azeri side after a gunman opened fire from the Iranian side of the border on a tractor, officials said.

Additional reporting and writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Angus MacSwan

Iranian denies plan to attack Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan Read More »

Yeshiva boy to barbecue sauce master

Leave a Comment / Food, Is Featured?, Mobile, Mobile-Homepage, News / Jewish Journal

On a Saturday evening in downtown Los Angeles, as the somewhat surreal hush started to descend on Broadway following the weekend daytime hustle, diners gathered around an open kitchen at Umamicatessen, the flagship outpost of the reigning champ of nouveau burger chains.

For a few months this year, the counter at the rear of the retro-modern space housed a program dubbed “The Residency,” a rotation of guest chefs. Or, in current foodie lingo, pop-up dinners. On this night, Sharone Hakman, smiling and full of confidence, was running the show for a multicourse, grilled food-intensive meal dubbed BBQ Elevated. Neither a restaurant chef nor a member of the ranks of the many well-established catering machines in this town, Hakman falls somewhere in the range of food entrepreneur and media personality. He’s been a contestant on Fox’s “MasterChef” amateur cooking competition show and has parlayed this exposure into other TV appearances. Most notably, his barbecue sauces — the line is produced in Southern California — are stocked on the shelves in both niche specialty shops and major grocery stores in almost all 50 states. Hakman’s model-quality good looks and social ease certainly help bolster his brand, too.

Not exactly the course this former financial planner and yeshiva student had in mind, but at this point, the U.S.-born Hakman can’t imagine anything different. “I had my moments when I was wearing tefillin, and I had my moments when I was eating bacon cheeseburgers,” he recalls of straddling the Orthodox and mainstream secular worlds while growing up in L.A.’s Mid-City, where he still lives. Hakman’s grandparents are Holocaust survivors from Poland, and his parents are from Israel, where he spent every summer as a child.

While in the trenches of the financial world, which was “not my passion,” Hakman, 32, would “come home from work stressed out. I’d start cooking in the kitchen, and it started growing on me.” He sensed this particular skill set might be the beginning of something more serious than a hobby. So, in 2009, Hakman took a leave of absence from his job and made arrangements to spend several months in Israel, followed by a stint in Italy apprenticing in restaurant kitchens to develop his culinary skills. The pending arrival of his first child (he and his wife now have a 3 1/2-year-old and a 1-year-old) scrambled some of those plans, but Hakman nevertheless took the time off as an opportunity for a reboot.

After a month in Israel, Hakman officially resigned from his job at the beginning of 2010. He began to mine “an entrepreneurial spirit that I never tapped into” and got to work on business plans related to food, while reflecting on a continual source of inspiration — his grandmother.

“She was that bubbe who never left the kitchen,” he said. As for his favorite family traditions, “Shabbat was always special. There was something about my grandmother making the gefilte fish from scratch, and smelling the matzah ball soup, and feeling that comfort.” Comfort, he believes, is a quality too often missing from restaurant dining experiences in Los Angeles. “So many restaurants are cutting edge, but I never want to come back,” he said. “What’s that X-factor as to why? It all comes down to comfort. It’s what you want to come back to. That was the best lesson my grandmother taught me.”

Now, with TV gigs and a growing barbecue sauce empire to manage, Hakman also operates a catering service on the side, all while thinking about next steps and opportunities. His “MasterChef” performance helped convince him that leaving the safety of his corporate job was the right move, further proving to himself that “I have what it takes” to work professionally in food.

Hakman hasn’t set his sights on creating a restaurant yet, but says, “Pop-ups are a great way for me to have fun with what I want to do at that moment.” At his Umamicatessen diners, his twist on barbecue ranged from subtle touches to assertive textures and bold flavors. The meal progressed from a delicate salad combining watermelon, feta, grilled haloumi cheese, radish and Thai basil, building to a grand finale of a formidable, succulent beef rib that had been smoked for more than eight hours and paired with one of his signature Hak’s BBQ sauces. Dessert was his made-from-scratch riff on s’mores.

When it comes to Thanksgivukkah — the Chanukah/Thanksgiving overlap that has portmanteau fans all abuzz and which won’t occur again until the year 79811, Hakman has big plans for his L.A.-based family. If you’re looking for ways to combine meat from a large bird with fried carb-based casings, try Hakman’s turkey balls, rolled in Japanese-style Panko breadcrumbs and served with purple potatoes, shiitake mushrooms and Kiddush-wine jus. While latkes and mashed potatoes might duke it out for a place on the table or peacefully coexist, Hakman suggests another alternative — his roasted carrot puree recipe.

So what does Hakman most look forward to? “Safta’s sufganiyot,” he says of his grandmother’s jelly doughnuts. “She makes them from scratch and fries them à la minute. They are dangerous.”

Sounds like holiday temptation and reward of the best kind.

PANKO-CRUSTED TURKEY BALLS WITH PURPLE POTATOES, SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS AND KIDDUSH-WINE JUS

This is a great way to use your Thanksgivukkah leftovers for the next seven nights of Chanukah.

1 cup turkey drippings (refrigerate so the fat
separates and hardens, and then remove)
1 cup sweet Kiddush wine
Salt and pepper
1 pound shredded or pulled turkey (dark meat)
1 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup small shiitake mushrooms
4 to 5 purple potatoes, quartered
4 cups grapeseed oil for deep-frying
Rosemary sprigs (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat turkey drippings on low and allow to reduce by half. Do the same for the wine. Once both have reduced, combine the two liquids and allow to reduce by a quarter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roll the pulled turkey meat into 3/4-inch. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for about an hour so they firm up and are easier to work with.

Coat the turkey balls with the flour, then the beaten egg, then the breadcrumbs. Place in refrigerator again until the coating adheres.

Toss mushrooms and potatoes in small amount of oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until tender.

Deep-fry turkey balls in oil heated to 350 F until golden brown. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange turkey balls on a platter with mushrooms and potatoes. Drizzle with the wine jus and garnish with rosemary sprigs.

Makes 4 servings.

CARROT AND CHAMOMILE PURÉE

4 cups sliced carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup broth
2 chamomile teabags

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Toss carrots in olive oil; add salt, pepper and sugar. Roast in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until tender. Don’t allow carrots to brown too much.

Heat broth, add teabags, and simmer for at least an hour.

Transfer carrots and tea-infused broth into a food processor or blender. Process until mixture reaches an airy consistency. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Yeshiva boy to barbecue sauce master Read More »

Hectic, eclectic songs of the season

Leave a Comment / Holidays / Jewish Journal

The closer we get to candle-lighting time, the more we warm to sounds of the season. Of course, there is no rule that every note of every song must be to-the-letter traditional (or even particularly Jewish), as a handful of new and recent releases demonstrate. As you’re preparing to spin the dreidel, give some of these gems a spin:

The first and only English spoken words of “Putumayo Presents: A Jewish Celebration” (Putumayo) are heard nine songs into the 13-track CD, at the conclusion of the Klezmer Conservatory Band’s buoyant rendition of “The Dreydl Song.” The line is shouted, not sung.

“Alonzo, make me a dreidel!”

And that’s it, folks. If you want to follow the lyrics with this globe-spanning compilation, you’d best brush up on your Yiddish, German, French and Spanish. What, you expected heterogeneity from a CD published by Putumayo World Music? More than half of the artists are from the United States, but the songs are decidedly international in flavor.

It shouldn’t matter. These songs are presenting decidedly new spins on some very old favorites (as well as a few that aren’t so old). In addition to the oleo of languages, “A Jewish Celebration” serves up a blend of musical styles, including reggae, bossa nova and African tribal rhythms. Chances are you have never come across a rendition of “Ocho Kandelikas,” suffused with the promises of Chanukah quite like the sultry tango beat that accompanies Alisa Fineman’s version. Or such a unique melding of choral voices from the Abayudaya Congregation of Uganda, united in the chorus of “Hinei Ma Tov.”

The liner notes supply some tasty background, including thematic links behind the lyrics of “Vehistakel” and the Jamaican reggae stylings of Bob Marley favored by Kayama’s Mikael Zerbib. Zerbib contends that had Marley been an Orthodox rabbi, he would have created music in the vein of Kamaya. Reggae and rabbis? Why ever not?

The Idelsohn Society — historians of Jewish culture through recorded sound — had me with the title “It’s a Scream How Levine Does the Rhumba” (Idelsohn Society). The somewhat bawdy 1952 ditty by Ruth Wallis is more than just the title track for this two-CD compilation tracing the overlap of Jewish and Latin music. “It’s a Scream …” sits firmly within the musical tradition of Jews gloriously discovering salsa sounds, learning to shake their maracas and — in many cases — being made to look royally silly while doing so.

The Idelsohn collection has several representative examples of this largely satiric (and quite dated) silliness, from the opening “Moe the Schmo Takes a Rhumba Lesson” by Irving Kaufman to the Barry Sisters’ “Channa from Havana,” wherein a housewife’s trip to Cuba produces comic results, to “My Yiddishe Mambo” by the klezmer comedian Mickey Katz and his orchestra.

Fortunately, the bulk of the “It’s a Scream …” numbers are not satiric. By chronologically tracing the musical crossover between the two cultures from the 1940s through the 1980s, the Idelsohn Society unearthed some real gems and illustrated some fascinating links. Xavier Cugat is represented (“Miami Beach Rhumba”), as is his wife Abbe Lane (the former Abigail Francine Lassman), who sizzles her way through “Pan, Amor y Cha Cha Cha” alongside no less a figure than Tito Puente.

There are no fewer than three distinct and spiced-up versions of “Hava Nagila,” with Celia Cruz’s “Hava Nageela” being especially smoky. When you can put Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, Mongo Santamaria and Damiron in the same collection as Carole King and Larry Harlow and locate the Jewish presence in every number, you’ve got something.

Tradition takes a holiday of sorts on “The Best of Festival of Light” (Six Degrees Records), the digital-only compilation of seasonal airs. Folk rocker Marc Cohn kicks things off spectacularly with a rendition of “Rock of Ages” (“Ma’oz Tzur”) so straightforward yet stirring that it could keep those candles aglow for another eight nights at minimum. Take a seat, Adam Sandler, this one should be the new Chanukah perennial.

From that opening track, things cool off a bit, even though the artists are no less skilled or eclectic. Wally Brill is in full cantorial — indeed, near operatic — splendor with “Kiddush Le-Shabbat.” Klezmatics founder Frank London lends his pixie-ish trumpet to the swinging “Oh Hanukka Groove” (accompanying his Big Band) and, later, soloing with “Song of Praise.”

With elaborate strings, lively percussion and the occasional unusual sound added to the mix — could that have been a didgeridoo on the aforementioned Brill “Kiddush”? — none of the renditions feels the least bit ordinary.

They Might Be Giants gets the collection’s most comic entry, the yenta-ish and borderline snarky “Feast of Lights”: “The only thing we have is fights / But there’s got to be a change tonight. / Please be nice on this feast of lights.” Contrast the Giants with the hugely earnest laundry list of Peter Himmelman and David Broza’s “Lighting up the World,” and you’ve got a gamut-spanning album, indeed.

Then there’s the album “Shruggy Ji” (Sinj Records), by Brooklyn-based bhangra band Red Baraat. Its Web site touts the band’s extensive presence on the road and at targeted events (TED conferences, London 2012 Paralympic Games). Clearly when dhol player and group founder Sunny Jain and the eight members of Red Baraat show up — brass and drums in tow — parties start.

Maybe not so much in your living room, though.

“Shruggy Ji,” the group’s second full-length studio album, offers some seriously frisky and upbeat tunes with drums bolstering horns or vice versa, depending on the track. Fusing a big-band sound with Indian rhythms, Red Baraat belongs in neither camp. Three or four numbers into the 13-song album, however, those beats, exultations and breakdowns start to feel a bit repetitive, particularly in the instrumental tracks. It becomes even a relief to hear actual lyrics, particularly the attitude-laced raps of John Altieri in numbers like “Private Dancers,” “Mast Kalandar” and “F.I.P.” And while I’m not sure what a “Tarantino car chase” is supposed to sound like, sorry Web liner notes …“Burning Instinct” ain’t it

Hectic, eclectic songs of the season Read More »

Favorite childrens’ books old and new

Leave a Comment / Books, Holidays / Jewish Journal

Remember “The Chanukkah Guest” by Eric Kimmel? Those 20-somethings who consider their favorite Chanukah stories from childhood would no doubt recall the tale of the 97-year-old woman who “did not see or hear as well as she used to, but she still made the best potato latkes in the village.” Now it’s been reimagined with a shorter text (by the same author), new illustrations (by a different illustrator), and a new title: “The Hanukkah Bear” (Holiday House). The original version regaled scores of first- and second-graders with the antics of a hungry latke-sniffing bear as he is mistaken for the town rabbi by a misguided old woman who has invited her rabbi for a Chanukah feast. The new incarnation simplifies the text, but remains the same spirited, humorous tale. When the old woman tries to take the bear’s “coat,” he roars, “Grrrrowww!” so she lets him keep it on. When she attempts a game of dreidel, he eats the nuts she offers for game pieces. She admonishes him for not using a fork to eat from the large stack of latkes, but she is pleased to find that he is so enthusiastic about her cooking. Eventually she wipes the jam from his messy “beard,” offers him a knitted scarf as a Chanukah gift, and the satiated bear goes back to his den just as the old woman’s real houseguests arrive at her door. Everyone pitches in to make more plates of latkes, and a happy Chanukah is had by all. The updated illustrations in this new version are whimsical, featuring a more endearing bear and a sweeter-looking old lady. Enthusiasts can argue over which version is better, but no matter — this delightful old favorite is back in the hands of children and will again become a perfect holiday read-aloud.

We find more bears celebrating Chanukah in “Beni’s Family Treasury: Stories for the Jewish Holidays” by Jane Breskin Zalben (Henry Holt and Co.) — another favorite from the ’90s that has been reprinted by the publisher. Thankfully it is available again to a new generation of kids who will delight in the intricately detailed illustrations of a colorful bear family who celebrate five major Jewish holidays — Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim and Passover. Each of the previously published warm and entertaining stories has been collected into this one volume, originally bound together in 1998.

Those same now-grown kids who remember those two holiday books will also fondly recall “The Keeping Quilt” by renowned children’s author Patricia Polacco. A short time ago, Simon and Shuster reissued a 25th anniversary edition of the beloved story of a handsome quilt handed down through generations of the author’s family. The book was cleverly updated to show how even today the quilt continues to move through the celebrations of the author’s family and is now displayed at the Mazza Museum in Ohio. Polacco has drawn upon her family history once again in her new and richly illustrated companion book to “The Keeping Quilt,” titled “The Blessing Cup” (Simon and Shuster). The new book serves as a sort of prequel to “The Keeping Quilt,” this time telling the story of a special teacup lovingly separated from a colorful china set by Polacco’s ancestors fleeing Tsarist Russia. The “blessing cup” was taken with them as they journeyed to America, and eventually it is passed down to her in 1962, when the author received the cup from her mother on her wedding day. The theme of family and tradition shines through this lovely, heartfelt story and would make a wonderful gift to any child.

A couple of new Chanukah stories for the younger set highlight New York City in text and illustration but retain universal themes of sharing and family. In “The Eighth Menorah” by Lauren Wohl, with illustrations by Laura Hughes (Albert Whitman and Co.), young Sam gets a chance to make a secret clay menorah in Hebrew school but begins to think about how many menorahs his family already owns. They have seven: One came from Russia with his great-great-great-grandmother, one was a gift from Nana and Poppy, one was from his other grandparents’ trip to Israel, two others were owned by his parents when they were children, and one was the menorah his parents bought for their first Chanukah together. What is the point of making another? After a conversation with his grandmother (who has recently moved to a new high-rise condo in the city), Sam figures out how to share his perfect Chanukah gift with new friends. The appealing, childlike illustrations evoke a sense of place and genuine family warmth.

From too many menorahs to too many gifts, sometimes we need to just sit back and take stock of all that we have. “Gracie’s Night: A Hanukkah Story” (Cookie and Nudge Books) also takes the reader through the Big Apple during wintertime. Debut author Lynn Taylor Gordon prefaces her unusual Chanukah tale with meaningful words: “When we are brave enough to reach out instead of looking away, miracles can happen.” The jaunty rhyming text relates the story of Gracie and her father, both of little means living in the big city; charmingly depicted in bold colors by illustrator Laura Brown. When young Gracie gets a holiday season job at Macy’s department store, she is delighted to be able to purchase eight gifts for her papa for the upcoming eight nights of Chanukah. She buys “mittens, sweaters, snow boots and socks, and had them gift-wrapped with a bow on each box.” Her joy at her new-found fortune is diminished, however, as she spies a homeless man huddling inside a cardboard box, cold and sad. She anonymously leaves him the gifts, fully knowing that her papa would approve. The final heartwarming spread shows the meager family of two (along with dog, cat and goldfish) celebrating Chanukah with a bright menorah, latkes, dreidels and gelt, along with loving and knowing smiles. The author’s Web site states that the book is based on the true Gordon family tradition of foregoing gifts on one Chanukah night and giving anonymously to someone in need. Check it out for discussion questions and some fun printable activities.

For a Chanukah book that makes a double gift, consider the new “Barefoot Book of Jewish Tales” by Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand (Barefoot Books), which comes with a two-disc narration by well-known Jewish actress Debra Messing. This is a beautifully imagined book. The publisher has previously published “The Barefoot Book of Animal Tales” and “The Barefoot Book of Buddhist Tales,” and this third offering of Jewish tales shows the kind of care and attention they have taken to getting things right. The volume consists of eight well-told tales, along with source notes, and a useful and thorough glossary. The CDs are professionally produced and Messing’s calm storytelling will captivate children. The stories include, “Elijah’s Wisdom,” “The Boy Who Prayed the Alphabet,” “The Prince Who Thought He Was a Rooster,” “The Challah in the Ark,” “Heaven and Hell,” “Clever Rachel” (a Chelm story) and “The Perfect Mistake.” The author begins the volume with a two-page tale titled “The Power of Story” about the Baal Shem Tov and how his followers forgot exactly how he had prayed but did what little they remembered throughout the generations. She writes that “even when we can no longer remember exactly where to go or what to do or what words to say, we can tell the story and that will be enough. This is a book of stories, to be told from one generation to the next. Tell the stories and pass them on. Whatever your child remembers, that will be enough.”

Lisa Silverman is the director of the Sinai Temple Blumenthal Library.

Favorite childrens’ books old and new Read More »

Financial planning for a move to Israel

Leave a Comment / Books / Jonathan Kirsch

What I know about Israel comes from a variety of sources, including the news and commentary in this newspaper, countless books, my own experiences as a traveler to Israel, and the Facebook postings of my friends who live there. But the information and insights in “A Financial Guide to Aliyah and Life in Israel” by Baruch Labinsky (Mosaica Press, $19.99) filled in a great many gaps in my knowledge of the jewish homeland.

Labinsky is a financial planner and investment manager, and his book is intended for readers who are seriously considering — or who have already decided to make — a move to Israel. Much of the financial advice Labinsky offers is similar to what we might hear from a financial advisor in any country of the world. But it also contains information for any reader interested in Israel, even if he or she has no intention of making aliyah. Indeed, what I discovered in the pages of this book was fresh, surprising and illuminating.

The author acknowledges that there are many reasons a Jew in the Diaspora might choose to live in Israel — “religious beliefs, familial or culture ties,” among others — but he confines his book to single pointed query: “Can I afford to make Aliyah?” The practical issue becomes a lens through which to glimpse day-to-day life in Israel, a fascinating exercise even for those who are not yet packing up their possessions. It is also true, however, that Labinsky does not entirely ignore issue of faith: “Take things into your own hands,” he writes, “and with G-d’s help you can make it happen.” The point is made, by the way, in the playful illustrations by Menachem Jerenberg — almost all of the men, women and children are shown wearing a kippah or a head-covering.

Mostly, however, Labinsky accounts for how financial issues can shape one’s experience of Israel. Thus, for example, he discloses that “[a]ll Israeli citizens are entitled to join one of four health funds,” which cover basic medical services and offer supplementary insurance coverage. However, not everything is covered, and if you arrive in Israel with a medical condition that requires medicines or treatments not covered by Israel’s socialized medical system, the lack of coverage may impose costs so high that they “can even undermine an entire Aliyah plan.”

He is also alert to the practical problems of daily life. A new arrival in Israel “can get by with little or no Hebrew” in Jerusalem, Ramat Beit Shemesh and Efrat, he writes, but postponing the study of Hebrew may also make it difficult to “integrate professionally in Israel and attain financial stability.”

There are many other important considerations: Putting a stop-payment on a check, he cautions, “is considered a crime,” and he recommends consulting an attorney before doing so. U.S. Social Security payments received in Israel are not taxed at all in Israel but distributions from an IRA or a 401(k) account are taxable in both places (with a credit in the U.S. for taxes paid in Israel). He urges olim to master one of the most ancient practices of the Levant: “Living in the Middle East requires Westerners to change their ‘fixed-price’ mentality and start negotiating on all purchases,” he advises. “Don’t be embarrassed – that’s the way Israel operates and no one will think any worse of you.”

Some cherished myths are shattered along the way. “A once highly desirable option for olim was to look for a kibbutz to join,” he explains. “In recent years, however, most kibbutzim have been privatized. While kibbutz life still remains an option for some, the overwhelming number of olim aren’t interested in that lifestyle, and the options are far fewer with today’s kibbutzim.”

Other insights will be familiar to anyone who has spent time in Israel as a tourist. “Consumers pay significantly more for goods and services than their counterparts in most other Western countries,” which means that American spending habits can be catastrophic to a family budget. “For example, the average Israeli family spends about NIS 2,200 [about $625] a month on food,” he writes. “The average large Anglo family, when it comes to Israel, spends at least twice to three times that amount.”

Above all, however, the author insists that financial decisions are not purely a matter of dollars and cents. Holding onto one’s home back in the United States, for example, may be a prudent step for a new arrival to take, but Labinsky points out that it may weaken the resolve that is necessary for a successful aliyah: “Sometimes having an easy fallback plan prevents people from giving the Aliyah experience a real try,” he writes. “Psychology can play a tremendous part in whether or not Aliyah is successful.”

Jonathan Kirsch, author and publishing attorney, is the book editor of The Jewish Journal. His latest book is “The Short, Strange Life of Herschel Grynszpan: A Boy Avenger, a Nazi Diplomat, and a Murder in Paris” (W.W. Norton/Liveright), published in 2013 to coincide with the 75^th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Kirsch can be reached at books@jewishjournal.com.

Financial planning for a move to Israel Read More »

How the United States fans the flames of Mideast conflict

Leave a Comment / Opinion / Jewish Journal

As the current round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks flounder and seek to regain momentum, many are wondering what America can do with its prodigious economic resources to encourage peace and reconciliation between the parties.

For this reason, it may astound many that American taxpayers already are deploying significant dollars in Israel not to pay for peace but to fungibly fund terrorism. Each year, U.S. aid and financial programs fungibly fund terrorist salaries paid by the Palestinian Authority. For the past half decade or so, the level has reached hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

The fact that the Palestinian Authority devotes much of its fiscal resources to rewarding terrorists with generous salaries is an astonishing financial dynamic known to most Israeli leaders, Jewish media editors and Western journalists in Israel. But it is still a shock to most in Congress, who are unaware that U.S. money going to the Palestinian Authority is regularly diverted to a program that systematically rewards terrorists with cash benefits.

Equally astonished are the voters whose money is being used in this fashion. These transactions squarely violate American laws prohibiting U.S. funding from directly or indirectly benefiting terrorists. More than that, such monies grandly incentivize murder and terror against innocent civilians.

Here’s how the system works: When a Palestinian is convicted of an act of terror against the Israeli government or innocent civilians, such as a bombing or a murder, the convicted terrorist automatically receives a generous salary from the Palestinian Authority. The salary is specified by the Palestinian Law of the Prisoner and administered by the P.A.’s Ministry of Prisoner Affairs.

A Palestinian watchdog group, the Prisoners Club, ensures the P.A.’s compliance with the law and pushes for payments as a priority expenditure. This means that even during frequent budget shortfalls and financial crisis, the P.A. pays the terrorists’ salaries first and foremost — before its other fiscal obligations.

The Law of the Prisoner narrowly delineates just who is entitled to receive an official salary. In a recent interview, Ministry of Prisoners spokesman Amr Nasser read aloud the definition: “A detainee is each and every person who is in an Occupation prison based on his or her participation in the resistance to Occupation.” This means crimes against Israel or Israelis. Nasser was careful to explain, “It does not include common-law thieves and burglars. They are not included and are not part of the mandate of the Ministry.”

Under a sliding scale carefully articulated in the Law of the Prisoner, the more heinous the act of terrorism, the longer the prison sentence — and, consequently, the higher the salary. Detention for up to three years fetches a salary of nearly $400 per month. Prisoners incarcerated from three to five years are paid about $560 monthly — a compensation level already higher than that for many ordinary West Bank jobs. Even greater acts of terrorism, punished with sentences between 15 and 20 years, earn almost $2,000 per month.

These are the best salaries in the Palestinian territories. The Arabic word ratib, meaning “salary,” is the official term for the compensation. The law ensures the greatest reward for the most egregious acts of terrorism.

In the Palestinian community, the salaries are no secret — they are publicly hailed in public speeches and special TV reports. From time to time, the salaries are augmented with special additional financial perks. For example, in 2009, a $150-per-prisoner bonus was approved to mark the religious holiday of Eid al-Adha. P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas also directed that an extra $190 “be added to the stipends given to Palestinians affiliated with PLO factions in Israeli prisons this month.”

Reporting on the additional emolument, the Palestinian news service Ma’an explained, “Each PLO-affiliated prisoner [already] receives [a special allocation of] $238 per month, plus an extra $71 if they are married, and an extra $12 for each child. The stipend is paid by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) each month.”

About 6 percent of the Palestinian budget is diverted to prisoner salaries. All the money comes from so-called “donor countries” such as the United States, Great Britain and Denmark. Palestinian officials react with defiance to any foreign governmental effort to end the salaries.

Deputy Minister of Prisoners Affairs Ziyad Abu Ein declared: “If the financial assistance and support to the P.A. are stopped, the [payment of] salaries (Rawatib) and allowances (Mukhassasat) to Palestinian prisoners will not be stopped, whatever the cost may be. The prisoners are our joy. We will sacrifice everything for them and continue to provide for their families.”

Ironically, one Jewish media editor asked this question: If the United States is fungibly funding terrorist salaries with payments to the P.A., is not Israel doing the same when it supplies and transfers cash to the P.A.? The uncomfortable answer is yes. The only difference is Israel does so when it has no choice due to international pressures. That doesn’t change the piercing reality that in America we pay for terrorism abroad and Israel pays for it at home.

Understandably, many argue that the United States and its allies are in a no-win situation. Unless the West continues to fund the Palestinian Authority, Israel has no “partner for peace,” and indeed Jerusalem itself has strongly advocated that the P.A. is its sole partner for peace. Indeed, without foreign funding, the P.A. would collapse.

But by continuing to financially reward the scourge of terrorism, the West ensures a stalemate since terrorism is an institution in the P.A. — judging by the popular prisoner salary law, its priority in P.A. spending, and the enthusiastic social mandate of the Palestinian people who support such terrorist acts and the salaries that arise from them.

There is another view that could win. At the moment, Western aid is catering to and bolstering the basest instincts and impulses of the Palestinian people — the burning rage to commit acts of terrorism against Israelis. However, nearly 100,000 Palestinians come into Israeli territory to work side by side with their Jewish colleagues at jobs across the country. They work under equal conditions, equal pay, enjoy equal company outings, and advance their Palestinian families through peaceful coexistence and normal employment.

If the United States and other Western donor countries abruptly halted all funding of the P.A. — like a slammed door — until the prisoner salary program was eliminated, and conditioned all future funding on joint Arab-Israeli economic and development projects, then the world could give peace a chance. As it is now, peace does not pay and terrorism does.

Edwin Black is the award-winning author of the international best-seller “IBM and the Holocaust.” This article is drawn from his just-released book, “Financing the Flames: How Tax-Exempt and Public Money Fuel a Culture of Confrontation and Terrorism in Israel.”

How the United States fans the flames of Mideast conflict Read More »

Eight chefs’ new Chanukah delights, one for each night

Leave a Comment / Food, Mobile, News / Judy Zeidler

This year, Chanukah and Thanksgiving coincide: Chanukah is celebrated for eight days by candle-lighting, gift exchanges and eating foods fried in oil, an ancient custom, commemorating a miraculous event at the Temple in Jerusalem, while the Thanksgiving meal reminds us of our American heritage. Both offer a special time to reflect on our traditions and enjoy a family meal.

Of course, the favorite Chanukah food is latkes, most often made from grated potatoes and served with sour cream, preserves or applesauce.

This year I decided to interview some well-known chefs and restaurateurs for some new and different ideas. The result was more than I bargained for. I never dreamed there could be so many sensational new recipes, and an added bonus was the delicious new sauces these food experts provided to serve with the latkes.

I am featuring eight chefs and their recipes, one for each night of the holiday. Our family is also celebrating Thanksgiving a day early, on the first night of Chanukah, since our family is traveling from Northern California as well as Washington and Oregon to be together for this special celebration.

Michel Richard, who was the chef/owner of Citrus while in Los Angeles, has just opened his new bakery, Pomme Palais, and restaurant, Villard Michel Richard, at the Palace Hotel in New York. Always looking for ways to reduce the use of butter and cream, he developed wafer-thin, super-crisp Oven-Fried Potato Latkes, which have absolutely no resemblance to the old-fashioned, heavier and more caloric ones. They are also a perfect dish to serve with your Thanksgiving turkey meal.

Bruce Marder, the innovative chef of Capo and the Brentwood Restaurant in West L.A., came up with Two-Tone Potato Latkes, made without eggs, which he serves with salmon caviar to celebrate Chanukah and Thanksgiving .

Chef Jonathan Waxman’s restaurant, Barbuto, in New York City’s West Village section, serves Italian-inspired cuisine. Several years ago he shared this Red Pepper and Corn Latkes recipe, served with a creamy corn sauce, which has become a staple for our Chanukah menu.

Michel Ohayon, chef/owner of Koutoubia in West L.A., offers another substantial main course for Chanukah: Moroccan Ground Beef and Potato Latkes, which he suggests should be served with harissa, a spicy-hot chili pepper sauce that can be found in most Middle Eastern markets.

When your guests arrive, offer them a large bowl filled with thin home-fried potato chips that our foodie friend, home cook Luigi (Lou) Liuzzi created. It is one of his many innovative food experiments that we continue to enjoy.

Chef Brett Swartzman is a chef with passion. Originally a native of Chicago, he is creating his second Chanukah celebration at the Brentwood Country Club. They love his Potato Latkes With Granny Smith Applesauce, and this year he is going to surprise them with Sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts).

Chef Robert Bell, owner-chef of Chez Melange and Mama Terano, both in the South Bay, prepared an unusual potato latke recipe on my TV show “Judy’s Kitchen” many years ago. Thinly sliced russet potatoes are arranged in layers in a skillet to resemble the pedals of a flower, then baked in olive oil until crisp. It’s always a tasty dish to serve during the holiday.

Josiah Citrin, chef-owner of Melisse in Santa Monica, serves his family’s traditional potato latkes, using a special French cheese. This is a recipe that his French grandmother, Simone, prepared for Chanukah, and she always served it with fig compote.

With these eight exciting latke recipes, it is a perfect time to plan a festive latke party for your family and friends. Keep the menu simple — after all, the latkes are the real stars, and a hearty soup or salad may be the only addition needed. If your latkes are served for dessert, invite guests to drop in after dinner for latkes, tea and coffee.

Preparation can be made easy by using your food processor or blender, and remember, many batters may be made in advance, then fried at the last moment. In planning your Chanukah party, don’t forget to include the traditional songs, the custom of giving Chanukah gelt (foil-wrapped chocolate coins) to the children and exchanging small gifts.

MICHEL RICHARD’S OVEN-FRIED POTATO LATKES

1 pound (about 4 medium) potatoes, peeled
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream and diced cucumbers

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Cut the potatoes into long, thin strips, about 1/8-inch wide, by hand or using your food processor’s julienne or shredder blade. Place potato strips in a bowl of water to cover. Before cooking, drain potatoes, then dry well in a lettuce spinner or with a clean kitchen towel.

Place a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and heat. Add the potatoes and stir-fry until tender, about five minutes. Turn the potatoes out onto a baking sheet and push the strips together to form a rectangle or triangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Roll using a rolling pin to flatten further.

Oil a large baking sheet. Cut into the flattened potatoes by pressing down on a fluted cookie cutter, creating 2 1/2- to 3-inch rounds. Using a spatula, transfer the latkes to the prepared baking sheet. (This can be done in advance.)

Before baking, season potatoes with salt and pepper. Bake in the preheated oven until crisp and brown on both sides, about 30 minutes, turning the latkes halfway through. Transfer them to a serving platter, using a metal spatula. Serve with sour cream and diced cucumbers.

Makes about 8 servings.

BRUCE MARDER’S TWO-TONE POTATO LATKES

1 large russet potato, peeled
1 large sweet potato, peeled
Salt and pepper
Olive oil for frying
Salmon caviar

Julienne potatoes lengthwise into long matchsticks, either with a knife, food processor with julienne attachment or mandoline. Place in large bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.

In a cast iron skillet or on a griddle, heat olive oil. Shape potato mixture to form pancakes about 2 inches in diameter. Fry on one side until brown, then, using a metal spatula, carefully turn and flatten with the back of the spatula and brown on the other side.

Place latkes on heated plates and serve immediately with salmon caviar.

Makes about 12 latkes.

JONATHAN WAXMAN’S RED PEPPER AND CORN LATKES

Creamy Corn Sauce (recipe follows)
1 red bell pepper
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1/2 cup flour
Olive oil for frying
Salt and pepper
Salmon caviar (optional)

Prepare Creamy Corn Sauce; set aside.

Roast red pepper in a 375 F oven for 40 minutes, turning once. Skin will puff and brown. Peel off the skin, remove the stem, and discard seeds. Puree in blender or food processor.

In a large bowl, combine the red pepper puree, egg yolks, milk and corn kernels; mix well. Blend in the flour. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into red pepper mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In nonstick or heavy skillet, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons oil. For each latke, spoon 2 tablespoons batter into the hot oil and fry on both sides until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all batter has been used, adding more oil to skillet as needed to keep latkes from sticking

Serve with Creamy Corn Sauce and top with salmon caviar, if desired.

Makes about 24 latkes.

CREAMY CORN SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup corn kernels
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup cream
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons minced chives

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet and saute corn kernels until tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute diced red bell pepper until tender, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat vegetable broth and simmer until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Add sauteed corn and bell pepper. Blend in cream and simmer until thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in chives. Serve warm.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

MICHEL OHAYON’S MOROCCAN GROUND BEEF AND POTATO LATKES

2 pounds potatoes
Oil for frying
1 medium onion, diced
Salt and pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon each minced fresh parsley and fresh cilantro
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch mace (optional)
Pinch saffron (optional)
1 egg
Harissa

In a pot, boil potatoes for 45 minutes; peel and mash. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet and saute diced onion until soft. Add to potatoes with salt and pepper to taste. Cool.

In a skillet, brown ground beef, minced onion, parsley, cilantro, nutmeg, mace and saffron, until no juice remains. Cool mixture and transfer to a food processor.

Using the knife blade of a food processor, blend meat mixture with egg.

Using a heaping tablespoon of mashed potato mixture, place in palm of hand and place a teaspoon of ground beef mixture in center. Roll potato mixture around meat mixture. Flatten between the palms of your hands.

Fry in oil in nonstick skillet, or deep-fry until brown and crisp. (These can be prepared in advance and warmed in the oven, or served cold. ) Serve with harissa.

Makes about 10 latkes.

LUIGI’S POTATO CHIPS

4 russet potatoes
3 to 4 cups olive, peanut or canola oil for frying
1 tablespoon salt

Peel the potatoes and slice them very thin using a mandoline or a sharp knife. Places the sliced potatoes in a bowl of cold water. Pour oil into fryer or large pot and heat to 375 F.

Dry the potato slices between two clean kitchen towels and place some into the not oil. Do not overload.

Fry for five minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the chips to a large cookie sheet lined with paper towels and sprinkle salt onto the chips. Continue in batches until all the chips are cooked. Place the chips carefully into serving bowl — do not dump them from cookie sheet, as you do not want pour the excess salt from the sheet into the bowl.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

BRETT SWARTZMAN’S SUFGANIYOT (JELLY DOUGHNUTS)

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water (100 to 110 F)
1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, plus more for rolling
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons unsalted margarine, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups vegetable oil, plus more for bowl
1 cup seedless raspberry jam

In a small bowl, combine yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes.

Place 2 1/2 cups flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the center; add eggs, yeast mixture, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, margarine, nutmeg and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir until a sticky dough forms. On a well-floured work surface, knead until dough is smooth, soft and bounces back when poked with a finger, about 8 minutes (add more flour if necessary). Place in an oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2-inch-round cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut 20 rounds. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise 15 minutes.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat 3 cups oil until a deep-frying thermometer registers 370 F. Using a slotted spoon, carefully slip 4 rounds into oil. Fry until golden, about 40 seconds. Turn doughnuts over; fry until golden on other side, another 40 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. Roll in sugar while warm. Fry all dough, and roll in sugar.

Fill a pastry bag fitted with a No. 4 tip with jam. Using a wooden skewer or toothpick, make a hole in the side of each doughnut. Fit the pastry tip into a hole, pipe about 2 teaspoons jam into doughnut. Repeat with remaining doughnuts.

Makes about 24 doughnuts.

ROBERT BELL’S OVEN-FRIED POTATO LATKES

4 russet potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
8 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Brush a nonstick skillet with a small amount of olive oil and arrange the potato slices in a ring, overlapping until the entire surface is covered. Pour a thin stream of olive oil over the potato slices until completed coated (use most of the 8 tablespoons). Repeat with another layer, brush with remaining olive oil, and fry on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until potatoes are cooked through. Using a metal spatula, transfer potatoes to a cutting board and cut into triangles. Repeat with the remaining potato slices.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

JOSIAH CITRIN’S POTATO AND TOMME REBALAISE CHEESE LATKES

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and grated
1 medium sweet onion, peeled and grated
1/2 pound Tomme Rabelais, grated (Salers or a firm Tomme de Savoie can be substituted)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
Olive oil for frying

Place small batches of grated potatoes in the center of dishtowels, and wring excess liquid from the potatoes. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and repeat the process with the remaining potatoes. Add the onion, cheese, egg, salt and pepper to the potatoes and mix well to combine.

Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a heavy 12-inch skillet (cast iron works best). Add the potato mixture by 1/4-cupfuls to the hot oil. Lightly flatten with a spoon, and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn the latkes over and cook until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat process until all of the potato mixture is used. Serve warm.

Makes about 24 latkes.

Judy Zeidler is a food consultant and author of “Italy Cooks” (Mostarda Press, 2011). Her Web site is JudyZeidler.com.

Eight chefs’ new Chanukah delights, one for each night Read More »

Oy vey: Holocaust Instagrams

Leave a Comment / Culture, Is Featured?, Mobile, News / Jewish Journal

Smiley selfies from Auschwitz and Buchenwald? They’re trending, apparently.

Blogger Hektor Brehl, writing for the German version of Vice magazine, has a piece about the tendency of young travelers to post pics taken at Holocaust memorials in which they show off their new sneakers and crack “uncool” jokes.

Brehl collected an array of examples. His 25 top offenders include a girl in mittens giving a thumbs-up sign (hashtags: #auschwitz #birkenau… #chilly #willy”), a grinning girl posed so a Jewish star appears to grow out of her head (#juden #arbeitmachtfrei #treblinka #zyklonB #feelgood), a smiling girl posing at the Treblinka memorial in Poland (#Look #cool #hot #treblinka #Poland) and a photo of the Berlin Holocaust memorial with the hashtag #instacaust.

Most of Brehl’s top 25 are girls posing cutely. But he also notes another trend in which gay men trolling for dates post selfies taken at the Berlin memorial.

“Instagram seems to work like a Polaroid filter for some people’s brains,” Brehl concludes, “turning off the #commonsense function.”

He wonders which memorial will be first to post a sign that reads, “Please instagram responsibly.”

Oy vey: Holocaust Instagrams Read More »

Jibril Rajoub is a bad sport

Leave a Comment / Mobile, News, Opinion / Jewish Journal

Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestinian Football Association, is also head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee. And he has gone off on a new rant against Israel. Rajoub laced into Israel declaring it to be a fascist and Nazi country. Then he called for a total boycott of all sports interaction between the Palestinians and the Israelis. And a then a boycott of all of Israel.

Rajoub, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, has always been a militant figure on the Palestinian political landscape. Now he is claiming that the Israelis, specifically Prime Minister Netanyahu, are “taking advantage of the negotiations in order to play for time and create facts on the ground, which proves that this is an occupation in the form of fascism and Nazism.”

Taking his own rhetoric up a notch Rajoub called for an immediate “escalation in the popular activity against the occupation.” Them's fighting words literally. The term “popular activity” is an essential code for Palestinians which means violence and attacks against Israelis.

In response, the Israel Football Association released the following statement: “We are disgusted by these wretched statements and reject them. It's unfortunate that Rajoub is using sports for political purposes and is failing to contribute to the creation of a better reality.”

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Association Chairman Avi Luzon and the heads of the IDF are trying constantly to help the Palestinian Authority maintain a life of sports as long as it does not put the security of the State of Israel and its citizens in danger.”

“Accusing Israel of fascism and Nazism and calling for an armed uprising by Rajoub can be seen as incitement, and it's hard to see how this can help improve the situation.”

A conflict of this sort is extremely dangerous and not just because it sets an awful tone for Palestinians. It is dangerous because it frames the issues of this conflict in terms that are wildly out of proportion to the real issues and the true conflict. That is what Jibril Rajoub does and he does it very well.

Rajoub is a live wire. He consistently makes inappropriate, incendiary, very political and wildly exaggerated remarks. For example, during the discussion as to whether or not to hold a moment of silence to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Munich Olympic Massacre he wrote a formal message to President Jacques Rogges, head of the International Olympic Committee saying that as head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, he was in opposition to the motion because “sports are a bridge for love.. . and should not be used for divisiveness and the spread of racism.”

And during an interview with Lebanese TV in May 2013, Rajoub said, “Resistance to Israel remains on [Palestinian] agenda.. . I mean resistance in all of its forms.. . we believe that popular resistance – with all that it entails – is effective and costly to [Israel].”

In response to the United Nations address of US President Obama in 2011, where the President calls for a Palestinians state, Rajoub responded with typical candor. He said “Obama's speech was idiotic. It did not even reflect the US policy or the doctrine they employed in the past. It sounded like a speech of a student leader in a university, rather than the speech of a leader of a superpower.”

No subject, event or policy is out of bounds for Rajoub. On the questions of nuclear weapons and the Palestinians, Rajoub told the Hezbollah affiliated television network Al Majaadeen 'until now we have not had nuclear weapons but in the name of Allah, if we had nuclear weapons, we'd be using them.'

Jibril Rajoub is not new to the scene, he is not a newly minted Palestinian leader. Rajoub was a trusted insider in the Arafat era and continues to hold serious and important positions in the current regime. What he is, is an honest mouthpiece for the Palestinian point of view. Rajoub presents the true and transparent attitude of Palestinian leadership.

I do not like what Jibril Rajoub has to say not about Israel and not about the United States or the Western world. But I do like knowing what is really going on in the minds of Palestinian leadership true and unfiltered. And my experience tells me that we should listen carefully to what Jibril Rajoub has to say so that we may better understand what is really happening in the halls and spoken about behind the closed doors of Palestinian leadership.

Jibril Rajoub is a thug, he is also our proverbial fly on the wall.

Micah D. Halpern is a columnist and a social and political commentator. His latest book is “Thugs: How History's Most Notorious Despots Transformed the World through Terror, Tyranny, and Mass Murder” (Thomas Nelson).

Jibril Rajoub is a bad sport Read More »

GET HOME DELIVERY! CLICK HERE »

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

Jewish Journal

Iranian denies plan to attack Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan

Yeshiva boy to barbecue sauce master

Hectic, eclectic songs of the season

Favorite childrens’ books old and new

Financial planning for a move to Israel

How the United States fans the flames of Mideast conflict

Eight chefs’ new Chanukah delights, one for each night

Oy vey: Holocaust Instagrams

Jibril Rajoub is a bad sport

How to cook a perfect turkey

Jewish Journal