Kenya jails two Iranians for life for plotting attacks

Published on May 6, 2013

Two Iranian men were sentenced to life in prison by a Kenyan court on Monday for planning to carry out bombings in Nairobi and other cities last year.

East Africans, American clinch six top spots in Jerusalem race

Published on March 1, 2013

East African runners and a U.S. Air Force captain won the six top spots in the annual Jerusalem marathon, which drew over 20,000 participants from 52 nations.

Ethiopian immigrant is top Jewish finisher in this year’s Jerusalem Marathon

Published on March 18, 2012

Ashrat “Assaf” Mamo is such a common sight when he pounds the pavement in Jerusalem that he’s on a first-name basis with city bus drivers who, he said, always “ask me about the marathon and encourage me.”

Scarlett Johansson: Kenyans and Americans all want to work

By Lauren Bottner
Published on November 29, 2011

Marathon’s wrong turn, Dylan’s return, underground hospital

Published on April 4, 2011

Here are some recent stories out of Israel that you may have missed: Race to the (wrong) finish With all the twists and turns in Jerusalem, perhaps it was no surprise that the first three runners to complete the city's first official marathon ended up at the wrong finish line.

Three Kenyans take Jerusalem marathon

Published on March 25, 2011

Three Kenyans won first, second and third place in Jerusalem's first marathon. Raymond Kipkoechh, 34, was first to cross the finish line Friday with a time of 2:26:44. Second place was taken by Mutai Kopkorir, 24 with a time of 2:26:55 and third was Kiman Njorage, 33 at 2:27:19.

My Kenya Adventure: Volcanic ash and existential angst

Published on May 4, 2010

A women’s delegation to a microfinance conference, headed by writer and spiritual leader Marianne Williamson, was what initially brought me to Nairobi, Kenya, on April 5, but it was volcanic ash that kept me in Kenya indefinitely.

Volunteers seek Jewish way to serve in Africa [SLIDESHOW]

Published on August 25, 2009

Here in this humid and leafy village in eastern Uganda 20 minutes from the Kenyan border, 16 American college students sit in a circle. They are protected by the shade of a straw thatch structure adjacent to the complex where they have been living for the past month.

Kenya crisis puts Jews on alert

By Jacob Berkman
Published on January 10, 2008

While the Jews of Kenya seem unscathed by the country's political crisis, Jewish nongovernmental agencies that work there and elsewhere in Africa are bracing for the long-term effects of the sudden outbreak of violence.

Interethnic violence erupted Dec. 27 after the incumbent president, Mwai Kibaki, declared himself the winner of the country's presidential election amid evidence of widespread fraud. Opposition leader Raila Odinga maintains he won the election.

Teen makes a difference for orphans in Kenya slum

By Sharon Schatz Rosenthal
Published on November 8, 2007

After Ryan Silver returned home from a trip to Africa with his family, he began preparing for his bar mitzvah. Without hesitation, he knew that his mitzvah project would involve helping the children in the orphanage he visited in a Nairobi slum. Between the guests' donations and his own, Silver raised more than $2,700. In addition to completing a Jewish rite of passage, Silver was pleased that his celebration helped educate others about the plight of the children in Africa and to ultimately offer financial support.

Terrorism of ‘70s Forced Israeli Move

By Hirsh Goodman
Published on December 15, 2005

The dates and times are all one blur. What remains crystal clear, however, is what it was like to be an Israeli in the early 1970s, when the phenomenon of international terror began: Japanese terrorists landing at Lod Airport and gunning down dozens of pilgrims just arrived from Peru; German terrorists trying to shoot down an El Al airliner taking off from Kenya; the hijacking of Israeli and foreign aircraft en route to Israel; attacks by the Red Brigades on Israelis and on embassies in London and Seoul, and in Athens, Paris and Rome. And, of course, the horrible massacre at the Munich Olympics.

Kenya Attacks Blur Lines of Terrorism

By Matthew E. Berger
Published on December 5, 2002

"It highlights the fact that the myth -- that all terror against Israel is because it occupies Palestinian territories -- is wrong," said Matthew Levitt, a terrorism expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The Reality of Desert Life

By Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben
Published on April 13, 2000

Draped in a deep, earthen-red shukah, adorned with circles of brightly beaded necklaces and head-to-toe with body paint made from ochre and sheep fat, the Masai warrior keeps a silent vigil in the midst of the relentless equatorial heat of East Africa. His life is a mission from his god, Ngai, to protect and care for his herd of cattle and the earth itself.