A homeless man was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of detonating an explosive device outside a Southern California Chabad House. Ron Hirsch, 60, also known as Israel Fisher, was indicted in Los Angeles on Tuesday for the April 7 blast at the Santa Monica Chabad House, which forced the evacuation of the Jewish center and synagogue during early morning prayers.
[UPDATED on April 12, 7:10 a.m.]: Authorities are reporting the suspect Ron Hirsch, sought in connection with the explosion near the Santa Monica Chabad last Thursday has been arrested. More information here.
A device believed to be a pipe bomb exploded about [6:45am]. Thursday in the parking lot of a Jewish temple in Santa Monica, authorities said. No details were available regarding injuries or damage.
F. Murray Abraham’s performance as Shylock, praised by New York critics as the greatest in memory, owes much to the fact that the actor is almost invariably taken as Jewish. That pardonable error, he says, is central to his portrayal of the much-vilified Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice,” which opens April 14 on The Broad Stage in Santa Monica.
Politics and religion were intermingled during Friday night Shabbat services in Santa Monica on Jan. 14. In the wake of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., which also left six dead and 13 others wounded, clergy and congregants at the Reform synagogue Beth Shir Shalom addressed the need for gun control. The service also commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. Day and mourned performer and composer Debbie Friedman, who died on Jan. 9 at the age of 59. Yet the Tucson shooting remained the focus of the Santa Monica service, which approximately 200 people attended. Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels spoke fervently, saying, “I can’t tolerate a country that doesn’t take weaponry off the street.”
Jessica Youseffi and Sarah Shahawy, two undergraduate students at the University of Southern California (USC), discussed how the teachings of Judaism and Islam, their respective religions, obligate them to accept people of other faiths and to work toward tikkun olam.
After a three-year battle with alleged religious nonprofit Or Khaim Hashalom, tenants of the historic 28-unit Teriton Apartments in Santa Monica have won the right to remain in or return to their apartments for up to seven years under their former rent-controlled leases, according to a settlement made public Dec. 4.
A Tom Lehrer oldie turned into a video by a fan
The presidential race makes the headlines, but there\’s lots of emotion, energy and money left for the 12 statewide propositions on the California ballot. As in McCain-Obama contest, Jewish voters are sharply split between the Democratic/liberal majority and the Republican/conservative minority.
\”Hy looked at me and said, \’He\’s not Jewish,\’\” recalled his wife, Zucky Altman, 89. \”I said, \’So what? He\’s hungry.\’ From that moment on, we decided we would just feed everybody.\”
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