Judaism

Gord Downie, singer for Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip, dies at 53

Gord Downie, the singer for the Tragically Hip and one of Canada’s most beloved rock musicians, died Tuesday night, according to an official statement from the band. He was 53. Downie had been previously diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer. The disease was discovered after a 2015 seizure. The band, one of the most

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International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials

La Jolla walkway named for Walter Munk, 100

  By Donald H. Harrison LA JOLLA, California–Famed oceanographer Walter Munk  predicted that a beach walkway named for him Wednesday on the eve of his upcoming 100th birthday won’t survive as long as he has unless nations cooperate to fight climate change by converting fossil fuels into renewable energy. At a ceremony at Kellogg Park

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Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education

Challah bake Oct. 26 will ready Shabbat San Diego

SAN DIEGO (Press Release)–Shabbat San Diego will be celebrating its fourth year of inclusive, uplifting, spiritually inspirational activities beginning October 26 through October 28. While the San Diego Jewish community will participate together, they will be connected to more than two million others globally from 90 countries also celebrating International Unity Shabbat.   Michelle Lyons,

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Jewish Religion, San Diego County

A photographic guide to 180 of NY’s most beautiful historic Orthodox synagogues

NEW YORK — To sit on a polished wooden pew in the upstairs sanctuary of the Eldridge Street Synagogue is to take a seat alongside history. Built in 1887, the synagogue, which is also a museum, is one of 180 Orthodox houses of worship featured in Michael Weinstein’s new book “ Ten Times Chai: 180

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Jewish Religion, USA

Poland to partially compensate Jewish, private-owned looted property

The World Jewish Restitution Organization cautiously welcomed a Polish official’s announcement of plans to pass legislation offering partial compensation for property confiscated from private owners during communism. Polish Deputy Justice Minister Patryk Jaki announced plans for the legislation on Wednesday, marking a break from the government’s previous reliance on individual court rulings to determine restitution

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International, Jewish History

Delayed El Al flight forces passengers to violate Jewish holiday

An El Al flight that took off from Paris landed in Israel minutes before the Shemini Atzeret holiday began, forcing passengers to violate the holiday, Behadrei Haredim reported. Among the passengers was Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. According to the report, the plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport at 18:04, while the sunset in Tel Aviv

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International, Jewish Religion, Middle East

‘Bad Rabbi’ exposes seamy underbelly of early 20th century Jewish life

‘Bad Rabbi’ by Eddy Portnoy (Courtesy Stanford University Press) Thugs. Thieves. Blackmailers. Deadbeats. Murderers. These are the kinds of Jews who populate “Bad Rabbi and Other Strange But True Stories from the Yiddish Press,” a new book published this month by Stanford University Press. Contrary to what Hollywood, popular culture, and family lore would have

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Jewish History, USA

Bennett pushes for more Orthodoxy in public schools

By Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM–If you decide to look up the word that appears often nowadays in the Hebrew press, הדתה (hadata), you’re not likely to find it in standard dictionaries. It’s obviously connected to the word dat (דת), a Persian term which entered the Hebrew language to mean “religion.” The derivative can perhaps be

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Jewish Religion, Middle East

Over a million Jews worldwide gear up for ‘Shabbat Project’

A kosher Shabbat dinner at a backpacker”s lodge in Dalat, Vietnam a 9,000 women-strong challah-baking event in Buenos Aires a glow-in-the-dark challah event in Costa Rica a binational gathering on the Mexican-US border a dinner for 1,000 Israelis in a shipping hanger in Tel Aviv and a Shabbat kept in full on the slopes of

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International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA

Judge subpoenaes Argentine ex-president in AMIA inquiry

A judge has subpoenaed the former Argentinian president and former foreign minister to appear before the commission investigating the 1994 AMIA Jewish center bombing in Buenos Aires and the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was investigating the attack. Federal Judge Claudio Bonadio also barred Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, former foreign minister Héctor Timerman

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International, Jewish History