Laura Stampler

Future of ORT Schools in Former Soviet Union on Shaky Ground

Published on November 16, 2009

The Jewish life that once was so vibrant in Eastern Europe was long ago ravaged, if not destroyed — first by the Holocaust and then by communist regimes. The latter strictly forbade all religious practice, and even being culturally Jewish was considered socially detrimental and potentially life threatening.

Nachman Chasids Make Holy Days Pilgrimage to Ukraine

Published on September 16, 2009

On the road from Kiev to Odessa, amid rolling fields accented with the occasional clump of livestock or small fires, a guide told a group of Jewish journalists that they had to make a slight detour to a town that every Jew should see: Uman.

Jewish Identity, Community Forged at Eclectic BCI Retreat

Published on September 16, 2009

Hidden in the hills of Simi Valley, 71 Jewish youths from around the world gathered this summer, as such groups do each year, at the Brandeis-Bardin Campus at American Jewish University for a three-week retreat at the Brandeis Collegiate Institute (BCI).

New Jewish Magazine for Kids

Published on September 2, 2009

This month, ZimZoom will be coming to Jewish schools and libraries nationwide. Rising from the ashes of BabagaNewz, a magazine geared toward Jewish children that had a circulation of 1,000 schools and reached 30,000 students before its discontinuation due to funding complications, ZimZoom is “filling the void,” said Michael Folib, publisher of both magazines.

Flu cases down at Hess Kramer

Published on September 2, 2009

Camp Hess Kramer, like other sleep-away camps this summer, sent home children with influenza-like symptoms during its first session. But no children were sent home from the camp after July 15, the start of its second session.

Cedars-Sinai Selects Jewish Chaplain

Published on August 5, 2009

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has named Rabbi Jason Weiner as its Jewish chaplain after a nine-month nationwide search.

Surf Your Way to Bargains

Published on July 29, 2009

The Internet has brought us many wonderful things. Twitter has given oppressed people a political voice on the international stage. Blogs allow emerging artists, writers and pundits to express themselves in the public forum. YouTube brought us the sneezing baby panda. But this all pales in comparison to one thing the Internet has truly revolutionized: discount shopping.

L.A. County Supervisor Antonovich Protests 2010 Wagner ‘Ring Festival L.A.’

Published on July 16, 2009

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich is objecting to Los Angeles Opera's long-planned 2010 "Ring Festival LA" because of its celebration of the composer Richard Wagner.

Murez Siblings Poised to Share Maccabiah Spotlight

Published on July 8, 2009

In 2003, Zachary Murez swam in the Pan-Am Maccabi Games in Santiago, Chile. As he won 10 medals, four of them gold, his sister Andrea, then too young to compete in the games, looked on with growing anticipation, waiting for the day when it would be her turn to participate.

Jews, Muslims Share Sacred Texts

Published on June 24, 2009

On Wednesday night, June 17, a mélange of Angelinos gathered in the downstairs cafeteria of the Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation mosque. Some wore kippot, others kufis, some women wore their hair in long curls and others covered themselves in headscarves, but all united for a shared evening of conversation, dinner and Islamic and Judaic text stud

Families Bid Farewell as Valley Cities JCC Closes

Published on June 24, 2009

A sea of parents flooded a stage filled with 4- and 5-year-old children wearing frilly dresses and striped button-down shirts. Equipped with Nikons and Panasonics, parents used these precious minutes to capture images of the Valley Cities Jewish Community Center (VCJCC) nursery school’s final graduating class.