| |||||||||
November 19, 2009
Covering the development of Jewish life in Europe in the 20 years since the fall of communism, I have witnessed many landmark moments.
When Italy’s first national Jewish newspaper launches this month, Italy will get what few Jewish communities around the world offer: a Jewish newspaper geared toward non-Jews.
“It is in the Negev that the creativity and pioneer vigor of Israel shall be tested,” David Ben-Gurion said more than 50 years ago.
Israel’s first prime minister expected others to follow after he moved into Israel’s southern desert in 1954, when he was still in office. He would live there for nearly two decades, but few would move to join him.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
Video of Moroccan Jewish sacred singing.
City of Los Angeles has been ordered to conduct a new environmental impact report (EIR) before implementing the Pico-Olympic traffic plan.
Calendar Girl Danielle Berrin finds herself in Paris for Pesach
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.
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.
My Pesach preparation, like that of so many Americans, usually involves walking to my local supermarket and loading a cart full of Manischewitz products...
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.
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."
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.
The effort to reinstate the University of California's study in Israel program entered the state Legislature last week.
Tahiti's community of some 200 Jews is among the farthest flung in the world.
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.
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."
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.
Planning a bar mitzvah in Israel? The Israeli Ministry of Tourism has just posted a Web site to help you get started
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.
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.
Advertisements