Short Takes

Federation’s Fundraising Dips A Bit

07/12/2012 | Helen Chernikoff | Staff Writer

UJA-Federation of New York raised slightly less in donations this year than last in a campaign that reflected a trend toward fewer donors in difficult financial times.

Shamir And The Kohanim

07/11/2012 | Michele Chabin/Jerusalem | Special To The Jewish Week

The death of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir over the weekend and the government’s decision to have his body lie in state inside the Knesset building presented a religious problem for the country’s kohanim.

Generally, deceased Israeli leaders lie in state in the Knesset’s courtyard, but the summer heat necessitated that Shamir’s body be placed indoors, officials said.

Shalit: ‘Thank You’

07/11/2012 | Stewart Ain | Staff Writer

Gilad Shalit, the 25-year-old Israeli soldier freed by Hamas terrorists in a prisoner exchange in October, thanked the Jewish community here last week for its support during his more than five years of captivity.

“I want to thank everybody for their efforts — here in the U.S. and all over the world,” he said in Hebrew at a special meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Shamir And The Kohanim

07/03/2012 | Michele Chabin/Jerusalem

Generally, deceased Israeli leaders lie in state in the Knesset’s courtyard, but the summer heat necessitated that Shamir’s body be placed indoors, officials said.

Shalit: ‘Thank You’

07/03/2012 | Stewart Ain | Staff Writer

Star Philly Chef Going Glatt

06/26/2012 | George Medovoy/Philadelphia | Special To The Jewish Week

I have a standing invitation from Chef Michael Solomonov to bake Iraqi-style laffa bread with him at Zahav, where he and his business partner, Steven Cook, offer classic Israeli tastes in a modern setting near the historic cobblestones of Dock Street in downtown Philadelphia.