By Anav Silverman JERUSALEM — Pre-state Israel experienced its first opera premiere when the Russian-born conductor and visionary, Mordechai Golinkin directed Verdi’s La Traviata (“The Fallen Woman”) in September 1923. With no opera house existing in Tel Aviv at the time, La Traviata had to be performed in movie theaters. In his quest to pioneer […]
A Polish opera director in the Judean Desert Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Rabbi Ben Kamin ENCINITAS, California — Someone once told me that there is a lot of anonymous suffering in the world. The phrase haunted me as I was apprised recently of the death, in a residential fire, of a 45 year-old woman who was born with Down’s syndrome and who never spoke a word
Why rabbis should avoid ‘liturgical clichés’ Read More »
Jewish ReligionNEW YORK (Press Release)– In response to reports of anti-Semitism in the Pine Bush, N.Y. school district and elsewhere in the town, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has brought its Confronting Anti-Semitism program to Orange County in an effort to empower and equip the local Jewish community with constructive and effective responses to anti-Semitic incidents and
Anti-Semitism in Orange County, N.Y., stirs ADL Read More »
USA
By Sean Savage/JNS.org The U.S.-brokered Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations have yet to yield any tangible results. Serious disagreements remain over key issues such as borders, refugees, security, and the status of Jerusalem. Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a surprise visit to Jordan’s King Abdullah to discuss these issues. While Jordan officially supports a two-state
Does Jordan truly want an independent Palestine? Read More »
Middle EastTEL AVIV (Press Release) — An estimated 25.8 million Americans have diabetes. Another 79 million are thought to have “prediabetes,” meaning they are at risk of developing type-2 diabetes. Now Dr. Nataly Lerner of Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and her colleagues have discovered that a simple blood test reveals an individual’s risk
Diabetes can now be predicted earlier Read More »
Science, Medicine, & EducationNew excavations shed light on Sobibor death camp (JNS.org) A recent excavation has provided a silent testimony to the mass killing of about 250,000 Jews at the Nazis’ Sobibor death camp in Poland, 70 years after the perpetrators tried to cover their tracks by razing the site to its core and planting what was to
JNS news briefs: January 27, 2014 Read More »
InternationalBy Sheryl Rowling SAN DIEGO– Dear Money Maven, I invest in several mutual funds. I was looking at my statements and realized that I have no idea what investments these funds hold. I’m not trying to second guess the managers, but how do I know if they’re investing in companies I wouldn’t want to own?
Avoiding investments in terror states Read More »
Sheryl RowlingBy Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration is angry that Senate proponents of additional sanctions against Iran (to be instituted if the interim accord expires without a final agreement) appear to be more skeptical of Iranian promises than the president and Secretary Kerry are. The administration is angry as well that signers, particularly Democratic
Are Obama, Kerry blaming Jews for Iran failures? Read More »
Middle East, Shoshana BryenBy Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO―President Obama will deliver his annual State of the Union Address on Tuesday. Cathy McMorris Rodgers will give the Republican response to the speech. Mike Lee will follow her with the Tea Party response to the Address. Finally, Rand Paul will follow him with a speech representing his idiosyncratic perspective. If
Humoring the headlines: January 27, 2014 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Deborah Fineblum/JNS.org TEL AVIV (JNS)–Sure, it helps if you love to ogle the latest in hand-made crafts. But even if you don’t know a piece of greenware from earthenware, Tel Aviv’s Nachalat Binyamin Art & Craft Fair is a fun and funky way to spend a lazy Tuesday or Friday afternoon (the two days
Tel Aviv vendors sell their own handicrafts Read More »
Travel and Food
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO–A salute Saturday evening, Jan. 25, to Israel’s Navy and a speech by its former commander Amihai Ayalon, who also is a past director of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, was not, as one might expect, dedicated to probing analysis of the external threats faced by the Jewish State,
650 Friends of IDF have warm, sentimental evening Read More »
Donald H. HarrisonROME (Press Release)—AJC (American Jewish Committee) has called for increased vigilance following grotesque manifestations of anti-Semitism in Rome during the Jewish Sabbath on January 25. A box with a pig’s head was delivered to Rome’s Grand Synagogue on Friday and similar packages were delivered on Saturday to the Israeli Embassy and to the Museum of
AJC Denounces new outrages, remembers old ones Read More »
Jewish History
JERUSALEM (Press Release)–“Despite what people might think, anti-Semitism does not strengthen our ties with Jews overseas” said Minister of Jerusalem & Diaspora affairs, Naftali Bennett, before presenting the annual report on the subject to the Israeli government in Jerusalem on Sunday, Jan. 26. “For every Jew who makes Aliya as a result of anti-Semitism,
Anti-Semitism prompts both assimiliation and aliyah Read More »
Jewish Religion