Short Takes

A ‘Daf Yomi’ For Liberal Jews?

08/14/2012 | Stewart Ain | Staff Writer

Taking a page from the Orthodox movement’s successful “Daf Yomi” or page-a-day Talmud study initiative, the chancellor of the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary has triggered a discussion about Jewish learning for the non-Orthodox Jewish community.

Taxing Situation For Survivors

08/14/2012 | Stewart Ain | Staff Writer

For years, without fail, Holocaust survivors in Brooklyn went to their mailboxes and pulled out their monthly, non-taxable reparations checks from the German government.

But last month, they were shocked to see a letter from the German Federal Tax Office providing them with a tax identification number for use in paying taxes on their pensions.

This week, in a quick reversal, German officials are telling survivors who received those letters, “Fuhgedaboutit.”

Raising The Olympic Bar

08/07/2012 | Steve Lipman | Staff Writer

Alexandra “Aly” Raisman, who entered the London Olympics last week in the shadow of gymnastics teammates Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber, stepped into the sunlight this week.

Twice.

A week after her performance in floor exercise sealed a team gold medal, and a few hours after she won an individual bronze medal in the uneven parallel bars on Tuesday, Raisman won gold in her specialty, floor exercise.

State Dept. Report Cites Rising Tide Of Anti-Semitism

07/31/2012 | Ron Kampeas/JTA

The U.S. State Department’s report on religious freedom described a “global increase” in anti-Semitism and said the “rising tide of anti-Semitism” was among the key trends of last year.

The executive summary of the report for 2011, released Monday, also detailed the “impact of political and demographic transitions on religious minorities” and “the effects of conflict on religious freedom.”

Riding ‘Beasts’ To Hollywood Acclaim

07/31/2012 | Gary Rosenblatt | Editor And Publisher

Dan Janvey, a 28-year-old New Yorker and producer of the film sensation of the summer, “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” was part of a team that spent three and a half years making the movie in southern Louisiana for less than $1.5 million, astoundingly low in today’s world of movie making. What’s more, it stars two people with no professional acting experience – a captivating five-year-old girl and, playing her father, a local Louisiana baker who had to be persuaded to take the role.

Ramah’s Blind Spot Fuels Inclusion Debate

07/24/2012 | Adam Dickter | Assistant Managing Editor/Online Editor

The painful story of a blind 15-year-old who was asked to leave Camp Ramah in Canada because he was too hard to accommodate has touched off the latest debate about the inclusion of people with special needs in organized Jewish life.

The Conservative camp movement admits the Ontario camp — one of eight overnight camps in the Ramah network — made mistakes, but says it’s being unfairly maligned in the aftermath.