Jewish groups react swiftly to escalation of Gaza rocket attacks on Israel

Published on November 15, 2012

Jewish organizations had an outpouring of reaction on Wednesday to the escalation of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel that had started Saturday—conveying their prayers for the safety of southern Israelis, condemning the Hamas terrorism, and affirming the Jewish state’s right to respond.

Partisan Jewish groups focus on budget in assessing Ryan pick

Published on August 12, 2012

Partisan Jewish groups focused on Paul Ryan's leading role in the budget stand-off in assessing Mitt Romney's pick as running mate.

Forward analysis: Jewish groups get most security grants

Published on September 13, 2011

Most Homeland Security grants have gone to Jewish institutions in the six years since the program was instituted, a Forward analysis has discovered.

Jewish groups say U.N. resolution is inevitable, but its wording isn’t set

Published on September 6, 2011

All but resigned to the inevitability of a Palestinian push for statehood at the United Nations later this month, Jewish groups are hoping that its effects can be blunted through aggressive diplomacy and the threat of action by the U.S. Congress.

Homeland Security to give $15 million to Jewish groups for security

Published on August 23, 2011

The U.S. Homeland Security Dept. will providing about $15 million in grants to Jewish communal organizations and institutions considered vulnerable to attack.

Jewish groups join voices against boycott law

Published on July 14, 2011

More major U.S. Jewish groups spoke out against Israel's anti-boycott law.

Meet with critical Jewish groups, Israelis tell survey

Published on June 22, 2011

A majority of Israelis believe that their government representatives should meet with Diaspora Jewish groups that criticize their policies, a new survey found.

Jewish groups denounce attack on Lerner

Published on May 5, 2010

Agencies in the San Francisco Bay area were among the Jewish groups to condemn the attack on the northern California home of Tikkun editor Rabbi Michael Lerner.

Jewish groups: Boycott Ahmadinejad in NYC

Published on April 30, 2010

Jewish groups are calling on U.N. member representatives to walk out in protest when Iran's president speaks next week at the United Nations.

Jewish groups slam Arizona immigration law

Published on April 26, 2010

An array of Jewish groups expressed their dismay at the passage of Arizona's restrictive new immigration enforcement law.

Jewish Group to Glenn Beck: Haik U

Published on April 7, 2010

If right-wing radio talk-show host Glenn Beck has his way, many American Jews would be abandoning their synagogues. If one Jewish group has its way, Beck will be drowned out by a wave of haikus.

50 Nifty Jewish Groups

By Rachel Pomerance
Published on September 15, 2005

Do the words "innovative" and "Jewish groups" seem like oxymorons? Not to the publishers of "Slingshot," a new guidebook to the "50 most innovative Jewish groups in North America," published by a division of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies.

50 Nifty Jewish Groups

By Rachel Pomerance
Published on September 15, 2005

Do the words "innovative" and "Jewish groups" seem like oxymorons? Not to the publishers of "Slingshot," a new guidebook to the "50 most innovative Jewish groups in North America," published by a division of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies.

Jews Face Awkward Court Fight Position

By James D. Besser
Published on July 7, 2005

The political brawl over the replacement for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who announced her resignation last week, could be the most bitter since Justice Clarence Thomas' 1991 confirmation battle.

And that free-for-all, which liberals and conservatives alike predict could be the "mother of all battles," could leave many Jewish groups in an awkward position.

The tenor of the debate was evident within hours of O'Connor's surprise announcement. Christian conservatives, calling in their chits from last year's presidential election, demanded that President Bush fulfill his promise to nominate judges like his favorites, Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas. Just as sternly, groups associated with women's rights, civil rights and the separation of church and state warned of pitched battles ahead if the president doesn't make a "mainstream" choice.

Advocacy groups immediately hit the airwaves to sway public opinion. The nomination fight will almost certainly be the most expensive ever.

Ten Commandments’ Future Unclear

By Matthew E. Berger
Published on June 30, 2005

The U.S. Supreme Court's split rulings this week on the public display of the Ten Commandments is likely to lead to further confusion on what's permissible and what's not, analysts say.

The high court determined that some monuments cast a religious message and therefore violate the separation of church and state.

But taken together, the rulings on two separate but related cases are likely to be viewed as an endorsement of public displays of the Ten Commandments, as long as they are erected with a secular objective.

That means many of the current displays across the country will be allowed to stay, analysts say, and it's unclear whether more will be constructed.

Another Jewish Landmark Faces Demolition

By Idan Ivri
Published on May 12, 2005

Men slowly arrange scattered clothes into a makeshift tent on the front steps of 126 N. St. Louis St. A few windows in the building's powder-blue facade are broken; an old chimney stains a sliver of the north wall black.

Today, the anonymous building is one among thousands that dot the Los Angeles cityscape, but in the 1930s and 1940s, the Vladeck Center was the secular heart of Jewish Boyle Heights. The building was a base for the Workmen's Circle and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, as well as the founding location of the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC).

The Vladek Center's history was unearthed last year, half a century after most of Los Angeles' Jewish community moved west, when the city began moving forward with plans to demolish the building for an expanded Hollenbeck Police Station. Getting the city to alter course seems a tall order, but the planned demolition has attracted critical attention.

Nation and World Briefs

Published on April 28, 2005

Nation and World Briefs.

7 Days in the Arts

By Keren Engelberg
Published on January 13, 2005

7 Days In The Arts.

Battles Shaping Up in New Congress

By James D. Besser
Published on January 6, 2005

With the holidays and the congressional interregnum, Washington has been a quiet place in recent weeks. But that quiet belies feverish behind-the-scenes planning as political partisans and advocacy groups get set for a particularly contentious legislative session.

Briefs

Published on October 21, 2004

Briefs

Community Briefs

Published on September 16, 2004

Community Briefs

Community Briefs

Published on August 12, 2004

Community Briefs

World Briefs

By JTA Staff
Published on March 11, 2004

World Briefs

‘Til Death Do Us Part

By Rob Eshman
Published on February 12, 2004

Stephen Sass and Steven Hochstadt had been partners for 14 years when they decided to fly from their home in Los Angeles to Canada and officially get married. Though the couple had wed in a Reform Jewish ceremony five years earlier, an Ontario court had just upheld a law legalizing gay marriage, and the two Steves wanted, in Sass' words, "some official recognition," of a relationship that has been more stable and loving and productive than most marriages.

Details Wanted on Immigration Plan

By E.B. Solomont
Published on January 15, 2004

Jewish groups are pleased with President Bush's initiative to give illegal immigrants temporary legal status in the United States, but they are withholding accolades until they see how Congress fills in the details.

Paving the Way for Anti-Israel Studies

By Gaby Wenig
Published on October 16, 2003

The woman in the cover illustration is called "Mother Palestine." Inside, articles by controversial Israeli historians Benny Morris and Avi Shlaim, and Palestinian historian Nur Masalha, tell the tale of a bellicose colonial Israel that displaced innocent Arabs from their homes in 1948, and from then on prevented peace by provoking and murdering Palestinians.

New Chance to Build Israel-Iraq Ties

By Matthew E. Berger
Published on April 24, 2003

As the United States begins rebuilding Iraq, pro-Israel activists are watching closely, seeing an opportunity for the Jewish state to improve ties with another Arab neighbor.

Supporting Israel

By Andrea Adelson
Published on June 6, 2002

In a display of creativity and generosity, several Jewish groups in Orange County in recent weeks set out to demonstrate their unswerving support for Israel.

Calling a suggestion by Israel's minister of tourism to visit hospitals a "wet blanket," Fullerton travel agency owner Pnina Schichor instead lined up an awareness-raising tour of the sort she, herself, would like.

"Injured people don't want gawking strangers," she concludes after returning in May from a planning trip, during which she sensed the isolation of Israeli citizens. "I want them to know we're standing with them," says Shichor, who organized a trip for members of MERIT, Middle Eastern Reporting in Truth, a media-watch group she and her husband, David, co-founded last August.

Senate Shocker

By James D. Besser
Published on May 31, 2001

The stunning change in the U.S. Senate triggered by Sen. James Jeffords' switch from GOP to independent status means a seismic shift in the war over a host of domestic issues, including the church-state skirmishes that have preoccupied Jewish groups.

What a $230 Million Deal Means to You

By Jewish Journal Staff
Published on February 1, 2001

After last-minute negotiating, Austria, the United States and Jewish groups signed an agreement two weeks ago under which Austria agreed to pay $210 million, plus about $20 million in interest, to cover victims' property claims and unpaid insurance polices. The government also will pay an estimated $100 million in social welfare benefits to Austrian Jews.