The key to understanding the confusing global landscape of the 21st century is to recognize that there is nothing normal or logical about it. If you’re confused by current events and concerned with the recent surge of antisemitism and the…
The two-state solution was one of the most talked about issues in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Not everyone is talking about a two-state solution these days, however. As a regular reader of Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick, I…
The magic on the journey down the Salmon River comes from exhilarating rapids safe for the whole family and from the experience of being disconnected from “real life” and the electronics that distract us from the here and now. (photo from…
An illuminated Chumash from the El Escorial Library collection in Madrid. (photo from Courtesy of El Escorial Library) Everyone has heard: “All good things must come to an end.” This saying certainly holds true when talking about Spanish Jewry’s Golden Age. Back…
The Great Synagogue of Florence, one of the most beautiful in Europe, was built in 1882 in the Moorish style. (photo by Shoshana Reich) We got to Florence, that inimitable Italian city of art and beauty, in a roundabout way. First, we…
An artists’s rendering of the new facility now under construction in Bnei Brak. (photo from Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Centre) Chavi (not her real name) awkwardly positions herself on the chair in the group therapy room. The doctors gave her parents no choice,…
According to Jewish law, every seven years, agricultural fields are to lie fallow during the Shmita, or Sabbatical. (photo from commons.wikimedia.org) This Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the year 5755, a year that has a special significance, as a Shmita, or…
The Catholic Church did not initiate diplomatic relations with the state of Israel until 1993 and, according to the Italian writer Giulio Meotti, things haven’t been all rainbows since then either. The creation of a thriving Jewish state creates a…
Near the end of World Without Jews (Yale University Press, 2014), we find this passage from a letter written in June of 1943 by a Wehrmacht officer named Wilm Hosenfeld, a Catholic, a schoolteacher in civilian life who had come…
Jews are the quintessential successful minority group by any economic measure. They are disproportionately represented in the top rankings in business, finance, the arts, scientific research, architecture, medicine and law. Likewise, Mormons and new immigrants to the United States from…
Shirley Graetz’s She Wrote on Clay (Hadley Rille Books, 2013) is so intriguing, so mesmerizing, so unique, so well-written, I could not put it down! Graetz was born in Dusseldorf, Germany. She came to study at the Hebrew University of…
Christianity and Judaism have many customs and symbolism in common. Naturally, as the aphorism states, the child does not stray far from the mother. We both take vows to repair our character. But, in one area, we grossly diverge: the…
It was Aug. 9, 2001. I was in Jerusalem after 19 years absence, to attend a convention and do research on a memoir, Witness to History: Ten Years as a Woman Foreign Correspondent in Israel (still unpublished). I was staying…
Joshua Malina will help launch the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s annual campaign on Sept. 21. (photo from Joshua Malina) The title of his talk is How to Make it in Hollywood and Remain a Mensch. From the one minute…
In Italy, at Ben-Gurion Racing’s pit, from left to right, BGR2014 team leader Dudy Daud, project manager Tamir Plachinsky, main sponsor of the event Giampaolo Dallara, former EU president and former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi and the rest of…
Ilya Kabakov is the subject of Amei Wallach’s lya and Emilia Kabakov: Enter Here. (photo from VIFF) This year’s Vancouver International Film Festival (Sept. 25-Oct. 10) will take viewers on a rollercoaster ride, if the films reviewed by the Independent this week…
Sukkah Hill Spirits’ Howard and Marni Witkin. (photo from sukkahhill.com) There are any number of traditional Jewish holiday foods, but not nearly as many holiday-related beverages. Hands down, wine dominates. But, company has arrived. Two new – and already medal-winning…
Rose Yorsh with Kevin Land, principal of Gladstone Secondary School. (photo by Alix Bishop) Local community member Rose Yorsh has been honored with a scholarship in her name by friends at the University Women’s Club at Hycroft. The scholarship benefits…
Michael Seelig is donating the proceeds of his photography exhibit to the Zack Gallery. (photo by Olga Livshin) Every one of Michael Seelig’s photographs reflects a place, its character, its soul. He doesn’t enhance the images in any way. Photoshop’s…
Prof. Shlomo Hasson of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem speaks with audience member Marvin Weintraub after his presentation on Israel’s geopolitical situation. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay) While Prof. Shlomo Hasson of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem offered some hope that…
At any given time, but especially in recent weeks when Israel’s conflict with Hamas has been front-page news, a perusal of the comments under any story involving Jews almost inevitably devolves into some variation on the theme of Jewish control.…
From left to right, Anousha Alamian, Shawn Macdonald and Anton Lipovetsky in Equivocation. (photo by David Blue) From Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cymbeline, reviewed last month, the Independent moves to Bard on the Beach’s other two offerings this season: The…
SCiO allows users to find out the molecular breakdown of almost anything. (photo courtesy of Consumer Physics) Consumer Physics, a technology startup based in Israel, was founded on the idea of empowering people to learn more about the physical world…
Members of Dr. Barak Dayan’s team, left to right: Serge Rosenblum, Yulia Lovsky, Orel Bechler and Itay Shomroni. (photo from wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il) Weizmann Institute scientists have demonstrated for the first time a photonic router – a quantum device based on a…
“I am Shirley Sotloff. My son, Steven, is in your hands.” So began Shirley Sotloff’s emotional appeal to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the terror group ISIS (or IS, Islamic State), on Aug. 27. The terror group had just released a…
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ORT South Africa Cape chief operating officer Debbie Staniland, right, with Harris Lorie, former education development manager of World ORT and programming co-chair of Limmud UK 2013, and Dr. Lydia Abel, ORT SA Cape director, at Limmud UK in 2013,…
Ezra S. Shanken has been busy since arriving in Vancouver. (photo from Ezra S. Shanken) “I said at our AGM that I want a Federation today that is with you in your brightest and darkest times, not because of what you…
(photo from Jewish Food Bank Report 2013-14) Project Isaiah is the annual High Holy Day food drive that assists those members of the community who are in need. All donations go directly to the Jewish Food Bank to assist individuals…
Over the 11 days of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, which ended Aug. 25, two directors withdrew their films from the program because the festival included an advertisement from Yad b’Yad, a Vancouver-based group that supports the Jewish LGBTQ community.…
