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Featured Stories

'Cultural intifada' as Costello, Meg Ryan and others cancel Israel plans

British singer Elton John, who performed in Ramat Gan, Israel on June 17, 2010, said nothing would stop him from coming to perform in Israel. (Flash90 / JTA)

A string of canceled performances in Israel by such artists as Carlos Santana, The Pixies, Elvis Costello and others are a reminder to Israelis that in the eyes of much of the world, their country's politics and culture are inseparable. Read more »

In Colorado primary, two Jewish Democrats square off on special interests

Democrats Andrew Romanoff and Michael Bennet seem to be running identical campaigns with identical biographies, with each boasting a presidential endorsement. But there is a difference -- and it reflects a larger debate in the Jewish community about the role of special interests in politics. Read more »

Rising for Albert and his famous baseball song

"Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is the product of a Jewish-Episcopalian collaboration, but Jewish songwriter Albert Von Tilzer and lyricist Jack Norworth go largely unrecognized by baseball, and Von Tilzer scores barely a nod in the Jewish community. Read more »

Op-Ed: Saluting a stand against Holocaust denial

The people and leaders of Weimar, Germany, are to be commended for not looking the other way when an Iranian delegation refused to visit the Buchenwald concentration camp, writes the chairman of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. Read more »

Editors' Picks

Avi Weiss and the rabba saga (New York) Abigail Pogrebin profiles Rabbi Avi Weiss and explores the controversy over his decision to bestow the title of rabba on one of his female students.

Looking over Elena Kagan (N.Y. Jewish Week) Mark Pearlman asks: Who cares what a Supreme Court nominee looks like?

LeBron's bad lesson (Jerusalem Post) Rabbi Shmuley Boteach says LeBron James has sent the wrong message about the importance of winning.

Making a pill for men (Israel21c) Haim Breitbart of Israel's Bar-Ilan University says that if all goes according to his plan, his research could lead to a new male birth control pill being on the market within the next five years.

Funeral costs (K.C. Jewish Chronicle) A rabbi speaks out in favor of opting for more affordable funerals. Breaking News Sen. Arlen Specter in a Damascus meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad discussed a role as a peace mediator between Syria and Israel. A Polish performance artist burned down a barn to commemorate a Nazi pogrom. Israel's Foreign Ministry reportedly advised the military not to intercept an approaching Libyan aid ship until it enters Gaza territorial waters. Areas of Russia that were not under Nazi rule are faring better economically even today than areas that were occupied, according to a new study. Lawyers have filed a case in Morocco to arrest senior Israeli officials involved in the Gaza war. Israel razed several buildings, including an inhabited Palestinian home, in eastern Jerusalem. A senior Israeli lawmaker was found innocent on charges of fraud and breach of trust, but guilty of perjury after a four-year trial. Some 1.6 million tourists visited Israel in the first half of 2010, setting a record, the country's Tourism Ministry said. Jewish comic book writer Harvey Pekar, who chronicled his life in the autobiographical "American Splendor" series, has died.