The change has come to Jewish life in Eastern Europe

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Friday, November 7, 2008

Exploring what makes up the Jewish tapestry

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

We've all played the "Jewish geography" game -- you know, questioning someone we've only just met in order to discover common Jewish connections, friends or even family

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Czech Republic surprises with Jewish treasures

By Jay Firestone

Birthplace of Theodore Herzl, Franz Kafka and Sigmund Freud, this increasingly progressive country is trying to shed the specter of the Nazi and Soviet occupations and embrace its Jewish past and present to bolster tourism, an important part of its national economy.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Propaganda film disguised horrors of Terezin

By Ron Feinberg

It's in the nearby city of Terezin that one of the most unique, if bizarre stories of the period can be found. And it's all captured in the grainy film produced by the Nazis.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Help is here for planning a ceremony in Israel

By Judith Broder Sellner

Thursday, June 5, 2008

A light unto the Nation (inside the historic Touro Synagogue)

By Victor Wishna

The Maccabees' legendary oil may have burned for eight days and nights, but at the Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., the low-wattage bulb in the ner tamid has lasted more than a century, ever since the building was first electrified in the 1880s.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Finding Judaism in the great outdoors

By Sue Fishkoff

Two rabbis are helping Jews find a path to Judaism off the beaten track. Each has written a new guidebook to take along on that hike

Sunday, May 11, 2008

VIDEO: Moroccan Jewish sacred singing

By Vanessa Paloma

Video of Moroccan Jewish sacred singing.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Pico-Olympic traffic plan on hold after judge’s decision

By Amy Klein

City of Los Angeles has been ordered to conduct a new environmental impact report (EIR) before implementing the Pico-Olympic traffic plan.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Jewish life in the City of Lights

By Danielle Berrin

Calendar Girl Danielle Berrin finds herself in Paris for Pesach

Thursday, May 1, 2008

I am now the voice of my parents

By Julie Kohner

There was never a time in my life when I did not know about the Holocaust.In a strange way, I think I just took the idea of this for granted.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Some retirees make aliyah to San Miguel de Allende

By Buzzy Gordon

A growing number of American Jews have chosen to retire to Mexico. Two of the largest expatriate communities, in San Miguel de Allende and Ajijic; have experienced contrasting experiences while attempting to establish spiritual leadership.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

L.A. Jewish girl joins the African Jewish matzah dance

By Nili Salem

My Pesach preparation, like that of so many Americans, usually involves walking to my local supermarket and loading a cart full of Manischewitz products...

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Mom and daughter climb ev’ry mountain

By Dan Goldberg

For Cheryl and Nikki Bart, ain't no mountain high enough. Seven years after their first adventure in Nepal, the Barts are heading back to Katmandu this week in an attempt to become the first mother-daughter team to conquer Everest.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Oaxaca is a dreamy stop down Mexico way

By Roberto Loiederman

If you're heading down Mexico way, all the way down to Oaxaca, you should know about a bed and breakfast there called Casa Machaya. The name is a sly Jewish reference, a wink at potential clients for the B & B: That's right, it's not meant to be the Spanish "ch," as in "change," but a guttural "ch," as in mechaya, Yiddish for "joy."

Thursday, January 31, 2008

‘Emerald Isle’ beckons Jews

By Peter Rothholz

There is a saying that in Ireland there are no strangers, only friends you haven't met yet.

On our visit we experienced a tangible expression of this in Kenmare, where perfect strangers went out of their way to help us get our laundry done and then volunteered to drive us back to our hotel when we couldn't find a taxi.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Briefs: UC ‘study in Israel’ program draws Sacramento attention; Gold officially the man at the Fede

The effort to reinstate the University of California's study in Israel program entered the state Legislature last week.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Tahitian Jews make do on their island paradise

By Ben Frank

Tahiti's community of some 200 Jews is among the farthest flung in the world.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

The Dead Sea Scrolls . . . via La Jolla

By Rob Eshman

Thursday, October 25, 2007

The stress-less Cote d’Azur

By Julie Mautner

But with the summer reopening of Club Med Opio in Provence -- after a $40 million renovation -- it's possible to avoid every one of those hassles. Within an hour of my arrival, I felt totally blessed rather than stressed. Call it the kinder, gentler Cote d'Azur.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Good employment practices a sign for Israeli tourists

By Jeremy Wimpfheimer

Yet, as a result of the efforts of Bema'aglei Tzedek, a Jerusalem-based nonprofit organization, consumers are now on the lookout for a second type of certificate indicating that the restaurant conforms to a completely separate set of kosher guidelines -- good employment practices and accessibility for the disabled. Called the Social Seal or tav chevrati in Hebrew, the certificate is now being prominently displayed in more than 300 Israeli eateries from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and in various other locales. It was introduced by Bema'aglei Tzedek to combat what the organization's director, Asaf Banner, calls "an all too often ignored, yet deeply troubling, aspect of Israeli society."

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Chabad seeks ‘members of the tribe’ in Australian outback

By Dan Goldberg

The idea of hunting for Jews in the Australian outback may sound as ridiculous as combing the streets of Jerusalem for Aborigines. But when two Chabad emissaries set out this summer to find landsmen in the desolate outback, they were not disappointed.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Party planning in the Holy Land is just a mouse click away

By Francesca Lunzer Kritz

Planning a bar mitzvah in Israel? The Israeli Ministry of Tourism has just posted a Web site to help you get started

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Culinary and cultural riches await visitors to the Galilee

By Orit Arfa

A walking tour within non-Jewish towns and villages -- with or without guides -- can be an eye-opening, informative, tasty and heart-warming experience. On a recent tour in the Galilee focusing on different religions in the Western Galilee, I meandered through Muslim, Christian and Druze towns, as well as Baha'i landmarks, only to discover cultural richness, friendliness -- and some surprises.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Roman Holiday

By Rob Eshman

Put aside the wonderful food and wine -- for a moment -- and a European vacation becomes a trip backward in time through century after century of religious fervor.