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JERUSALEM—The State of Israel, which will turn 65 years old on May 14, plans to apply for Medicare, the U.S. national social insurance program, according to Chaim Weizguy, head of Israel’s Health and Welfare Agency.

Weizguy announced that Israel wants to join Medicare in order to qualify for badly needed economic surgery that would then be paid for by the U.S. government.

President Baruch O. Bauma, head of The White House Synagogue (commonly known as The White Shul) in downtown Washington, D.C., announced today that he was in favor of gays and lesbians in his congregation being granted the same rights currently enjoyed by all other members.

“The gays and lesbians have set forth their agenda: We’re here, we’re queer, we want an aliyah,” said Bauma, “and quite frankly, I agree with them.”

BROOKLYN—For the first time in recent history, the borough of Brooklyn, New York, has surpassed Jerusalem, Israel, as “The Holiest Jewish City on Earth,” according to the World Jewish Federation.

Federation officials, who annually rank cities around the world for their degree of Jewish religious observance, explained that in the past year, Brooklyn initiated several practices that make it “indisputably the holiest land on the planet.”

Until fairly recently, kosher-for-Passover alcoholic alternatives to wine were pretty much limited to young-and-fiery Slivovitz (an acquired taste) or rotgut Israeli vodka or gin. These days, thankfully, there are a growing number of quality kosher-for-Passover spirits, including several kosher-for-Passover Cognacs, liqueurs, kirshwasser, and even quality, boutique-made, kosher-for-Passover gin, vodka, and Slivovitz.

Not long ago, the only way to experience a cutting-edge kosher culinary experience was to cook it yourself. But these days there are a growing number of kosher restaurants catering to the demands of the ever-more sophisticated kosher palate. The kosher foodie has never had it better.

Kosher wine in America is a multimillion-dollar business (upwards of $28 million, according to estimates made several years ago), and every year brings changes — new wines, new vintages, new varietals, new regions, and sometimes new producers. Keeping track of what’s hot and what’s not can be confusing. To try and make the topic more digestible, we reached out to a cross-section of kosher wine importers, those responsible for bringing many of the kosher wines to the consumer.

Not long ago, kosher wine sales in America were dominated by wines from California, New York and France, but in the last decade wines from Israel have become dominant in the kosher wine sector. Walk into almost any wine shop with a kosher section, and you will likely see a selection of mostly Israeli wines. Indeed, for many consumers, “Israeli wine” has become synonymous with “kosher wine” — and Joshua Greenstein wants to change that.

‘Israeli wine is an amazing story,” says Adam Montefiore, the wine development director of the Carmel Winery, Israel’s largest wine producer. “Jews came to this land, made the desert bloom, started planting vineyards, making wine, and in doing so began reclaiming their heritage and reviving this ancient wine producing region.”

Kosher wine aficionados are probably familiar with the name Jeff Morgan. He started what has become the most successful kosher winery to open in California in the last decade: Covenant Wines. Covenant produces critically acclaimed, top-shelf wines from Napa Valley, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Russian River Chardonnay, and Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc. 

However, many fans of Covenant Wines may not be aware that Jeff, in collaboration with his wife, Jodie, has written seven cookbooks.