| |  | | A Havdalah service with homemade candle, salt shaker spice box, paper cup and grape juice, make all the difference on a Halloween eve. (Edmon Rodman) | | | JTA columnist Edmon Rodman suggests that this Saturday night is the perfect time to accentuate the distinction between Holy Shabbat time and the secular every day. Read more » | | | | Adam "McLovin" Soclof files a video report from Kosherfest, a major kosher food trade expo in New Jersey. Read more » |
| | | | Likely (and former) Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says he's concerned about current U.S. policy towards Israel in a speech to AIPAC. Read more » | | | | The Expert tackles the question of why stocking up with kosher meat takes a toll on your wallet. Read more » | | | | Meet the Teaneck, N.J., resident who made the match between the Anti-Defamation League and Irish tenor Ronan Tynan, after he landed in hot water for making an anti-Jewish comment. Tynan stole the show at Thursday night's ADL dinner with an apology and a dramatic rendition of "God Bless America." Read more » | |
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Editors' Picks | French Jews still say they hardly feel at home and that a low-grade but chronic anxiety gnaws at them because of their Jewish identity. | | In his new book, Tel Aviv University professor Shlomo Sand argues that large numbers of Khazar Jews migrated westward into Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania, where they played a decisive role in the establishment of Eastern European Jewry. | | As part of Tablet's "Jewish Body" week, Jo-Ann Mort writes about her decision to break the tattoo taboo during a trip to Israel last summer. At a related event in Washington, Israeli tattoo artist Ami James discussed his craft. | | A Muslim, a Mormon, a Baptist, a Protestant, a Chinese American, an African American, a Mexican American and the great-granddaughter of a Nazi all convert to Judaism. And tell their stories in Moment magazine.
| Breaking News | The level of anti-Semitism in the United States has tied a historic low point, according to an Anti-Defamation League poll. | | LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Police are saying there is no evidence of a hate crime or connections to terrorism in the shooting Thursday morning of two Orthodox Jews in the parking lot of a Los Angeles area synagogue. The shooting occurred at Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Synagogue in North Hollywood, Calif., when a man, described as dark-skinned and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, approached two congregants in the synagogue’s underground garage around 6:20 a.m. Apparently without exchanging words, the gunman approached one man and attempted to shoot before his gun jammed. When another man approached, the suspect shot both Maor Ben-Nissan, 53, and Allen Lasry in the legs. Both victims were rushed to a hospital, where they underwent surgery and were reported in good condition. Adat Yeshurun is located in an area with a large Orthodox population and numerous kosher stores, the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles reported. Yehuda Oz, 57, was inside the synagogue with about 20 other congregants, when he heard four shots. Then one of the victims ran into the synagogue, bleeding and screaming for help, Oz said. The shooter fled on foot. Police arrested a 17-year old African-American as a possible suspect, but later released him. Detectives are currently studying videos taken by the synagogue’s security cameras. Police initially listed the shooting as a hate crime, but sources told the Los Angeles Times that they are looking into the possiblity that it was related to a business or personal dispute. They said one victims may have been the target and the other shot because he witnessed the attack. Adat Yeshurun has a widely diverse congregation, with some 150 families from Cuba, Argentina, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, Algiers, Tunisia, Libya and Israel. Among the first responders to the crime were a Hatzolah emergency aid team, and experts from Chabad, Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Jewish Federation’s family service, education and rabbinical agencies. John Fishel, president of the L.A. Jewish Federation, said that “Regrettably, these attacks seem to go in cycles and peak near the time of Jewish holidays. There’s a fine line between being alert and prepared, but not giving in to excessive anxiety or panic.” The Jewish Federation and ADL joined police in urging all synagogues and Jewish schools to take extra precautions. Adding to the concern of the Jewish community, a police bomb squad investigated a suspicious-looking shopping bag at the historic Wilshire Boulevard Temple and cordoned off the building. Police gave an all-clear after a three-hour search. Security guards making the rounds early Thursday morning had reported an unattended canvas shopping bag inside the gates, which had not been there the night before. Howard Kaplan, the temple’s executive director, said, “In light of the North Hollywood shooting this morning, we decided to err on the side of caution.” | | The U.N. secretary-general said he is "acutely aware of Israel's security needs" and that Israel should take the Goldstone report's findings on the Gaza war into consideration. | | Iran reportedly turned down a U.S.-led offer to further enrich its uranium as part of a rapprochement. | | The U.S. Senate Banking Committee passed an Iran sanctions bill by a unanimous vote. | | James Traficant, a Former Ohio congressman, says he will travel to Germany to testify on John Demjanjuk's behalf. | | The Lebanese ambassador to the United Nations said Israel is taking hostile action against his country. | | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised a U.S.-led initiative to get Iran to relinquish temporarily its low-grade enriched uranium. | | The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee reportedly subpoenaed law enforcement agencies for intercepted communications between U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and a suspected "Israeli agent." | | |
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