By Laurie Baron SAN DIEGO―Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford announced he will run for reelection. He pledges to top his first term by getting addicted to heroin, changing the name of the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Toronto Hashish Consumers, aka as the THCs, and promoting the city as a great place to eat out. […]
Humoring the Headlines, January 3, 2014 Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
JERUSALEM (Press Release) – World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer on Friday, Jan. 3, congratulated Andrea Gergely on her election as chair of the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS). “WUJS is fortunate to have an outstanding young activist like Andi as its new chairman,” Singer said. “I wish Andi much success in her new
Andrea Gergely heads World Union of Jewish Students Read More »
InternationalNetanyahu: Abbas missed opportunity by not condemning Palestinian terrorism (JNS.org) In a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas missed an opportunity by not condemning the recent wave of Palestinian terrorism against Israel. “Peace means ending incitement;
JNS news briefs: January 3, 2014 Read More »
InternationalBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The general Israeli public is on the whole soft-hearted and empathetic towards those in need. The scenes we see on TV almost nightly of Syrian refugees pouring across the borders into Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, sheltering from the snow or sweltering in the heat inside the flimsy tents
By Arab standards, I’m a refugee and so are my children Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Steve Kramer ALFE MENASHE, Israel — It’s not just the Arabs, Iran, the United Nations and the EU which present Israel with problems. There are internal ones as well. I’m not talking about a lack of democracy or sidelining of minorities or the shrinking middle class. Israel is one of the most vibrant democracies
Why other Israelis think haredim are chutzapadik Read More »
Middle East, Steve KramerBy Rabbi Baruch Lederman SAN DIEGO–Another delay?! Another costly delay. It was getting ridiculous already. Michael Malady entered into a contract to buy a condo in New Jersey as an investment. He wanted to fix it up, spruce it up, and resell it. Time and opportunity were a wasting. He was supposed to close on
Thank HaShem, the other side kept delaying Read More »
Jewish ReligionThe Formation of the Jewish Cannon by Timothy H. Lim, Yale University Press, New Haven; ISBN 978-0-300-16434-3 ©2013, $45.00, p. 287, including appendices and index By Fred Reiss, Ed.D. WINCHESTER, California — How many books are there in the Bible? If you came up with a number, you might be wrong. The correct answer to
Scholar analyzes process by which Bible was canonized Read More »
Fred Reiss, EdD, Jewish Religion
BOCA RATON, FL (Press Release) – Jay Feinberg, founder and CEO of Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation (www.giftoflife.org), received the Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award at the 72nd URJ (Union for Reform Judaism) North American Biennial held in San Diego on December 12, 2013. The award is in memory of Rabbi Maurice
‘Gift of Life’ founder honored by Reform rabbis Read More »
Science, Medicine, & EducationNEW YORK (Press Release)– World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder on Thursday, Jan. 2, commended the 100 US universities that have publicly denounced the American Studies Association (ASA) boycott of Israel. “It is heartening that the leaders of so many great American universities have stepped forward to condemn the ASA’s discriminatory and pernicious assault
over 100 universities rejecting ASA boycott of Israel Read More »
USAJERUSALEM (Press Release) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the latter’s office on Thursday, Jan. 2. Here is a transcript, as provided by the U.S. State Department, of their comments to the media: PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Welcome back to Jerusalem, John. I want to use this
Netanyahu blasts P.A.’s lionizing of terrorists Read More »
Middle EastBy Rabbi Ben Kamin CHIANGMAI, Thailand–This province is “The Rose of the North,” high up, far enough removed from the smog and the crippled, choking, meandering streets and the opaque skyscrapers of Bangkok. Chiangmai is heavy with the history of its moats, walled cities, and emerald wats, criss-crossed by mysterious rivers and elephant paths–the old
Despite its problems, Thai province emits serenity Read More »
Travel and FoodBy Rabbi Dow Marmur JERUSALEM– If you believe that the Messiah has to be Jewish and if you accept patrilineal descent as a valid criterion for Jewish status, John Kerry may be your man. His paternal grandmother was Ida Lowe and her husband Frederick Kohn. Both were born Jewish but converted to Christianity. Kohn became
Kerry visit is provoking unusual optimism Read More »
Middle EastTEL AVIV (Press Release)— Restricting calorie consumption is one of the few proven ways to combat aging. Though the underlying mechanism is unknown, calorie restriction has been shown to prolong lifespan in yeast, worms, flies, monkeys, and, in some studies, humans. Now Keren Yizhak, a doctoral student in Prof. Eytan Ruppin’s laboratory at Tel Aviv
Can the aging gene be turned off? Read More »
Science, Medicine, & EducationPro-Israel campus groups denied presentation at Modern Language Association confab (JNS.org) The pro-Israel campus groups Hillel International and the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) have been denied the right to present a discussion on Israel at the Jan. 9-12 Modern Language Association (MLA) convention in Chicago, JNS.org has learned. MLA’s convention includes a roundtable discussion
JNS news briefs: January 2, 2014 Read More »
International