- NEWS & COMMENTARY
Opposition continues despite new Boy Scout policy
In 2001, Temple Israel of Hollywood (TIOH) overwhelmingly decided to end its sponsorship of Cub Scout Pack 1300 to protest the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) policy banning openly gay…
Jews should get offended
If there’s one thing the Palestinians are great at, it’s saying no. For years now, many peace-loving Jewish heads have been bruised from banging against the brick wall of Palestinian rejectionism.
NSA and JEW
If you ever needed a sign that Jews feel fully integrated and accepted by society, consider this: Not one major Jewish group made a peep over the revelations of National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance.
- HOLLYWOOD
“Curb” star Jeff Garlin spends two days in jail following parking lot confrontation
Actor Jeff Garlin ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") was released from a Van Nuys jail yesterday, at approximately 7:30 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) website. An incident…
‘Man of Steel’ screenwriter David S. Goyer on Superman and religion
“People are always so quick to point out the Christ allegory in “The Man of Steel” but Superman has always struck me as a combination of Old Testament and New…
Superman is a Jewish Fantasy
This past week my wife surprised me with tickets to the new Superman movie “Man of Steel” for my birthday. So late Saturday night, we sat in a packed movie…
- LIFE & CULTURE
Archie Comics feature film in the works
Archie comics lovers, rejoice!
Israel’s SodaStream inks deal with KitchenAid
The Israeli company SodaStream agreed to develop a home system for making carbonated drinks for KitchenAid appliances.
Barbra Streisand receives Honorary Doctorate from The Hebrew University
Barbra Streisand, after receiving an honorary doctorate from The Hebrew University, stands in front of the plaque of the Institute of Jewish Studies Building, established in 1984 in honor of…
- BLOGS
Summer Peaches Are Here
I always figured peaches were a super sugary fruit as they are so darn good. But it is not so. Peaches: are often less than 100 calories, making them a…
The Power of Language: Cultivating Positive Emotions
Language affects the heart. When we’re surrounded by others who speak negatively, it can really affect our mood and disposition. Are we aware of how much negative language there is…
Attention Forward: We Aren’t That Radical
It has been said that most of us believe newspaper reporting to be generally accurate, until we read an article on a subject with which we are intimately familiar. It…
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8 SUPER FAST Ways to Lose Weight for Summer
Relaxing is Exhausting
On the Road to Ojai, Ruach Nashim 2012
A summer to remember
Jewish summer camps: Director’s cut
At age 8, when Molly Hott stepped off the bus to complete her first summer of overnight camp, she told her parents she was going to “do this forever.”
How chutzpah changed the world
Drama: My Personal Samoa Survivor (Video)
Happy wallet, happy camper
The economy is bad. Money is tight. And yet the news isn’t all negative for youngsters hoping to attend Jewish summer camp this year. “The truth of the matter is, most of the summer camps have increased their financial aid,” said Jay Sanderson, president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. “We’ve increased financial aid. So a lot of the challenges of the economy so far have been mitigated. We invest close to $1 million in summer camps.”
Shorter summer challenges camps
“Early-start” is finally starting. After delaying implementation of a new, earlier school calendar last year, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will begin classes three weeks sooner this fall for the majority of students.
Kmart Layaway… Genious
Summertime picnic
Summer is a perfect time to share a picnic meal with friends. There is something exciting about eating outdoors, even if you are only heading to the local park.
A fast last getaway
Shopping
Summer Rules are not meant to be followed, at least in my house…
Families Look in Own Back Yards for Summer Fun
Each summer, Erica Groten saves money on summer camp for her son, Ethan, by enrolling him in an exclusive program with only one opening: Camp Mom.
Groten takes Ethan, 6, to places like the Natural History Museum and the Los Angeles Zoo, and organizes beach days with other families and their children. She plans to reprise her role as camp director this summer, creating educational trips for her son.
In the summertime
Solar panels, radio station keep Jewish camps current
It was a given that Benjy Rabin, 9, would spend part of his summers at Camp Ramah as soon as he was old enough. His father is a Ramah alum, and so are his older brother and sister.
Summer and the start of school
With slight trepidation, the new year stands before us, calling us to dive in and embrace the fall.
How to choose an Israel summer program
After her USY trip last summer, Daniela Bernstein, 16, of Los Angeles is already thinking about returning. "The trip cultivated my love of Israel and the complete realization of how crucial Israel is to Judaism and the Jewish people," said Bernstein. "I am already planning my next visit."
Loud and clear reasons for a cell phone-free Summer
Cell phones are an inherent part of our culture -- why fight that at camp?
Mark the New Year with late summer harvest menu
Garden fresh food.
I Was Kid Free and Guilt Free! For A Week!
My children were unexpectedly away for a week this summer, and I didn't miss them a bit.
God Was With Us That Night in the Negev
This was by far the most spiritual moment in my life. I gazed up at the stars as I chanted the V'Ahavta prayer with amazing new friends, standing around the same rocks that our people had wandered past thousands of years before. My eyes couldn't help but tear up as we moved on to the Mi Chamocha, the song of freedom. At that moment I felt as though God truly was with us.
More Jewish Parents Picking Secular Path to Camp
"Our images of Jewish camping are formed by people who are heavy Jewish campers, but there are lots of people who are light Jewish campers and campers at non-Jewish camps, and this study accessed their views on Jewish camping," Steven M. Cohen, the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion sociologist who authored the study, told The Jewish Journal. "I think we learned that there are diverse incentives and obstacles to participation in Jewish camping."
The Bittersweet Meaning of Mud
There is one program in particular that embodies all of the emotionalism and meaning of machon summer: Tza'adah. Tza'adah is a five-day, four-night overnight trip that takes campers far from the boundaries of camp and into the nature of Northern California, where we bond with friends, while experiencing the outdoors.
Israelis Bring Situation Close to Home for Campers
Like most camps, Hess Kramer, has a staff of Israelis who work as counselors and educators. This summer, 1,400 Israelis, most of them between the ages of 19 and 22, are staffing 200 Jewish day and sleep-away camps, according the Jewish Agency, which coordinates the stays.
Summer Tours to Israel Rerouted, But Not By Much
"All of us that have kids in Israel are trying to make the best of the situation," said Jules Gutin, international director for USY, the youth arm of the Conservative movement, which has about 50 California teens in Israel this summer. "We want the experience to be worthwhile and positive, as well as safe."
The Perfect Reads for Those Lazy Days of Summer
This season brings engaging reading in a mix of genres: literary fiction, comedy, love stories, detective novels, memoirs, historical fiction and books that break genre boundaries; books by veteran authors and others not-yet well-known.
Class Notes
Fleeing Nazis Breaks His Father’s Spirit
In the beginning of the Nazi era, my father, thanks to his international reputation, was offered various positions abroad, including, oddly enough, at the main hospital in Tehran, but he couldn't conceive of leaving Germany. Like many old-time German Jews, he looked on Hitler as a temporary aberration, which the good sense of the German people would soon reverse.
God Is Gray
Heaven, paradise -- choose a synonym: ecstasy, bliss, rapture. We use such words to describe experiences of perfect, supreme happiness, God on earth. The conditions on Sunday merited all such descriptions, especially that immaculately blue sky. Skies like that burn gloom away.
The Circuit
Circuit
yeLAdim
This section of the page is a way for you as kids to sound off about an issue. This month's Kein v' Lo (yes and no) is about camps. Should Jewish kids go to Jewish camps or other kinds of camps?
Keep Kosher, Cool on Alaska Cruise
Witnessing glaciers calving into crystal blue waters, humpback whales fluking their magnificent tails and clouds weaving cottony billows around the tips of waterfront spruce forests are all in a day's work for the average Alaskan cruise-goer.
The Year Ahead
Kids Page
Kids Page
Josh Fields, 8, of Thousand Oaks, won the "My Amazing Summer" essay contest.
He wins a gift certificate to the store of his choice.
Israel - Tourists Unfazed by Gaza Pullout
For visitors to Israel this summer, the disengagement from the Gaza Strip proved hard to ignore.
"Everybody's orange," said Rebecca Kaminski, from Berlin, with a laugh, referring to the color adopted by the anti-disengagement activists. "I'm on the blue side, I guess."
Sitting on the beach in Netanya, the 22-year-old was working on her already impressive tan with a group of girlfriends, all students at a six-week summer ulpan, or Hebrew-language immersion course, in Kibbutz Mishmar Hasharon.
They have not been deterred from visiting Israel during its exit from the Gaza settlements and parts of the West Bank.
Kids Page
In the middle of summer, when it is the hottest, we are told that we cannot eat or drink for one whole day.
Kids Page
Have you been having fun this summer?
Mensch Seeks Shayna Maideleh
A team of scouts is scouring the Diaspora for the ideal single Jewish man for a new Israeli reality television show. Once selected, the bachelor, who according to producers preferably will be good looking and "financially secure," will come to Israel for the summer, when 15 young Israeli women will compete to capture his heart.
"We all grow up in Jewish houses and we know the dream of Jewish mothers is that their son finds a nice Jewish girl," said Gadi Veinrib, a producer for the show, to be called -- what else? -- "A Nice Jewish Boy."
Hoop Star Scores On and Off Court
After a successful career with the country's top basketball team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Aulcie Perry, 54, opened summer basketball clinics for children 7 to 14 years old in Tel Aviv. And he's about to open another one -- a camp set up to attract teens from all over the world, especially observant Jews.
Dive Into Home Swim Lessons
One of the biggest dangers for children during summer is drowning.
Cure Found for the Summertime Blues
Teva Adventure offers a variety of wilderness programs enabling Jewish travelers to develop outdoor skills while keeping Shabbat and kashrut. While backpacking, hiking, mountain climbing and fishing, participants learn Jewish perspectives on the outdoor world. Programs for 14- to 19-year-olds include Rocky Mountain Teen Adventure and Derech Hateva in Israel.
The Great Camp Learning Curve
I am a big fan of camp. Every summer from 1973 on, I packed my trunk and headed to Malibu. Camp Hess Kramer shaped my teen years and reinforced my Jewish identity. It was my second home from age 12 to 22, and to this day, whenever I catch a whiff of pancakes frying in hot oil on a griddle, I close my eyes and return to camp. My life revolved around those precious summer months. If somebody offered me a job at camp today, I'd roll up my sleeping bag and hop on the bus.
Jewish Big Brothers Gets a New Parent
Lately, the tears have fallen easily from Margy Feldman's eyes. It's not that the new president and CEO of Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters (JBBBS) of Los Angeles is frustrated or depressed. Far from it. Hers are tears of joy, a feeling that comes from knowing that her work makes a profound difference in the lives of young people.
Reach Out and Touch Faith
When Elizabeth Cobrin goes to Israel this winter break with Birthright Israel, she and her friends have devised a plan to find each other when participants in all the different Birthright trips get together.
Happy Campers
For a decade their lives have been lived out solely on our turf. Now we are strangers on theirs.
Happy Campers
We are driving to pick up our son from camp. He's been there three weeks, the longest stretch he's been away from us since his birth. In this age of e-mails and BlackBerrys and cell phones, the rule at Camp Alonim at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in Simi Valley is no e-mails, BlackBerrys or cell phones.
For the Kids
For the Kids
On Shabbat, Stay Cool as a Cucumber
Since they were Orthodox and didn't use appliances on the Sabbath, Oma had an array of simple but wonderful dishes she prepared in advance to be eaten cold. In the Miami heat, her Cucumber Dill Salad was one of my favorites.
Boys Will Be Boys in ‘Harold,’ ‘Garden’
"Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," a stoner grossout comedy about roommates on a burger run, transcends its genre to become a clever spoof on racial stereotyping. (The beleaguered protagonists are Korean American and Indian American.)
Zach Braff's Sundance hit, "Garden State," meanwhile, is a quirky dark comedy about a slacker-actor who is emotionally reborn after returning home for his mother's funeral.
Scholarship Takes No Vacation
Two local synagogues are offering an opportunity for Jewish scholarship this summer, and a third is offering weekly Hebrew classes at all levels.
For the Kids
For the Kids
Sweet Days of Summer at Day Camps
Local synagogues, Jewish centers and other cultural organizations are holding day camps throughout the summer months that expose children to Jewish culture, popular culture and even pre-Columbian culture.
Kids Page
Are you traveling to new places this summer?
Israel Opens Arms to L.A. Vacationers
Travel agent Rina Silverman, of World Express Travel in Tarzana, said that roundtrip tickets to Israel are selling well for late June, when school gets out, with flights for some days already sold out.
Rabbis’ Tact Puts Sex Victims First
Several high-profile cases in recent years -- both locally and nationally -- have helped foster a newfound willingness among rabbis to work with mental health professionals not only to handle crises, but to take proactive measures as well.
Time to Transition From Day to Night
This summer, Jacqueline Berlin, 7, will leave her mom, dad
and younger sister to enter the world of overnight camp for the first time.
Summer Reading
So this summer, whether by chance or intent, the three best novels I read were all from the other side of the Atlantic, all from Mitteleuropa: "Crabwalk" by Gunter Grass, "Embers" by Sandor Marai and "Azarel" by Karoly Pap.
For the Kids
For the Kids
For the Kids
For the Kids
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