National News

Stevie Wonder Backs Out Of LA Friends Of IDF Event

11/30/2012

The head of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces expressed his regret that Grammy-winning singer Stevie Wonder has pulled out of performing at a fundraiser for the group.

The "Superstition" recordng legend was scheduled to headline the Friends of the IDF annual gala in Los Angeles on Dec. 6. The event raises millions of dollars to support the Israeli military.

B'nai Mitzvah: A Revolution, Not A Graduation

11/28/2012 | Julie Wiener | Associate Editor

From the Russian to the Chinese to the Sexual to, most recently, an eponymous sci-fi post-apocalyptic TV series, the past century has witnessed its share of revolutions.

Now, with just a bit less tumult (one hopes) comes B’nai Mitzvah Revolution, a Reform Movement pilot initiative to “radically rethink” the Jewish rite of passage and its place in synagogue life and education.

Devorah Krinsky, Wife Of Lubavitcher Rebbe's Secretary, Dies

11/26/2012 | JNS

Devorah Krinsky, wife of Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky—the current public face of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hassidic movement and former secretary to the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson -- passed away Nov. 23 after a brief illness. She was 74.

Born into a prominent founding family of the Chabad movement in the U.S., Krinsky was among the first women to study at Beth Rivkah, the Lubavitch girls’ school, in the 1940s.

Alan H. Gill Named CEO Of Joint Distribution Committee

11/26/2012 | Stewart Ain

Alan H. Gill has been tapped to serve as the next CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, where as the group’s executive director of International Relations he has helped build a global operation to support the JDC’s
humanitarian efforts in more than 70 countries and Israel.

California Student Board Regrets 'Marginalizing Language' On Israel

11/23/2012

The University of California Student Association (UCSA) board of directors on Nov. 20 expressed regret for several aspects of a resolution two months earlier that condemned HR35—a unanimously passed State Assembly resolution urging California schools to squelch nascent anti-Semitism and crack down on anti-Israel demonstrations.

Beyond Kvetch, Kvell: A New Lexicon

11/20/2012 | Helen Chernikoff | Staff Writer

From alte kaker, or old man in Yiddish, to zatar, an Israeli spice, Americans’ Jewish identity has long flavored their English.

Now a professor has harnessed the Internet to collect those heimish (cozy and warm) expressions that have made their way into the vernacular from sources including, but not limited to, Aramaic, Ladino, Yiddish and Hebrew.