Mark D. Zimmerman

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Will Smith remains in the headlines following his smack of comedian Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. Smith announced that he has resigned from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences as he awaits the Academy’s review of his actions and possible disciplinary measures. Smith was the […]

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — The Academy Awards ceremony took place this past weekend. Among the Jewish nominees were actor Andrew Garfield, film editors Myron Kerstein & Andrew Weisblum, documentary filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt, director Stephen Spielberg, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who was nominated for her adapted screenplay, The Lost Daughter. Garfield played Jonathan Larson, the Jewish

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — The United States and other countries have placed sanctions on a number of Russian oligarchs, who are seen as major financial and political supporters of Vladimir Putin. Among the oligarchs is Roman Abramovich, the multi-billionaire owner of the Chelsea Football Club, one of the United Kingdom’s top soccer

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Airbnb users have booked rooms in Ukraine with a value of more than $2 million. This represents more than 60,000 nights of rental of Ukrainian houses, apartments and guest rooms. Yet none of the renters will be staying in those dwellings. In fact,

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has weighed in on many cases over the years which have directly affected the Jewish community, including Greece v. Galloway (which upheld the right of governments to open

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — As we celebrate Presidents’ Day we are reminded of how our country’s presidents, starting with George Washington, have had things to say about the Jews. In 1790, Washington wrote a letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island saying, “May the Children of the Stock of

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Canada has been dealing with a growing truckers’ protest over the last few weeks, which began in response to a vaccine mandate for drivers entering from the United States. The truckers have been disrupting traffic across the country by parking their rigs on major streets and blocking large intersections,

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Jason Brown is a Jewish figure skater who will be representing the United States at the Beijing Olympic Games. He has won numerous events in the past, including 9 medals at Grand Prix international events, the 2015 United States National Championship, and a bronze medal in a team event

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — The East Coast was hit with up to 2-1/2 feet of snow as part of a “bombogenesis” snowstorm. A bombogenesis is a storm that intensifies rapidly, yielding blizzard-like conditions. In simple terms, bombogenesis describes a storm bursting into existence like a bomb! The term evokes the Jewish

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — It was just announced that Jon Stewart will be the recipient of the 2022 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The award program will take place at the Kennedy Center on April 24, and will later be broadcast on television. Stewart joins a distinguished list of past recipients,

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in political trouble, as he once again was caught violating governmental COVID restrictions. Since the pandemic began, there have been numerous incidents where the Prime Minister and his staff were found to have been partying at his official residence. Among the

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Former policeman and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was recently installed as the new mayor of New York City. The inauguration traditionally takes place at noon on New Year’s Day. But because New Year’s Day was on a Saturday, Adams had rescheduled the ceremony to New Year’s

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — The American division of the Israeli company Teva Pharmaceuticals was found liable in a lawsuit alleging responsibility for aspects of the opioid crisis in this country. “Teva Pharmaceuticals USA…misled the American people about the true dangers of opioids,” said New York’s attorney general Letitia James. In 1901 Chaim Salomon,

Speaking in 2013, Joe Biden said of the Jewish people, “You make up 11 percent of the seats in the United States Congress. You make up one-third of all Nobel laureates. So many notions that are embraced by this nation that particularly emanate from over 5,000 years of Jewish history, tradition and culture: independence, individualism, fairness, decency, justice, charity.” He concluded by saying what? [Mark D. Zimmerman]