Category World

Playfulness and style

photo - Ralph Lauren in 1978

Ralph Lauren in 1978. (photo by Edgar de Evia) Born 79 years ago, in New York, to Frieda and Frank Lifshitz, immigrants from Belarus, Ralph Lifshitz, better known as Ralph Lauren, has become a universal household name. The youngest of…

Keeping clean then and now

photo - The mikvah at Herodian, which was apparently built during the Second Temple period (530 BCE and 70 CE)

The mikvah at Herodian, which was apparently built during the Second Temple period (530 BCE and 70 CE). (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) The Dark Ages weren’t given their name for nothing. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, sanitation…

Understanding dyslexia

photo - Bennett and Sally Shaywitz co-founded the Yale Centre for Dyslexia and Creativity

Bennett and Sally Shaywitz co-founded the Yale Centre for Dyslexia and Creativity. (photo from the Shaywitzes) One out of five people has dyslexia. Yet, even with this many people affected, not every school tests for it. This can lead to…

Politicon’s Jewish voices

photo - Ben Stein and Ann Coulter at Politicon in Los Angeles on Oct. 20

Ben Stein and Ann Coulter at Politicon in Los Angeles on Oct. 20. (photo by Rich Polk-Getty Images for Politicon) From pundits to Hollywood types, there were many Jewish names on the speaker roster at this year’s Politicon, the fourth…

Bennett makes official visit

photo - Israeli Minister of Jews in the Diaspora and Minister of Education Naftali Bennett addresses a memorial in Pittsburgh on Oct. 28

Israeli Minister of Jews in the Diaspora and Minister of Education Naftali Bennett addresses a memorial in Pittsburgh on Oct. 28. (Alexi Rosenfeld courtesy Ashernet) On Sunday, Oct. 28, Israeli Minister of Jews in the Diaspora and Minister of Education…

We must focus on justice

photo - memorial candles for victims of the Pittsburgh shooting

(photo by Alan Katowitz) Hundreds of Vancouverites came together Sunday night, driven by the need for community after the news that 11 congregants were murdered during services at a Pittsburgh synagogue a day earlier. The attack – the deadliest terror…

China’s increasing Israeli ties

photo - Israel’s IVC Research Centre concludes that, with each passing year, some 16% more companies have at least one Chinese investor

Israel’s IVC Research Centre concludes that, with each passing year, some 16% more companies have at least one Chinese investor. (photo by Dave Gordon) With headlines proclaiming the largest trade war in history, the United States and China began dueling…

A personal perspective

photo - April Ford

April Ford (photo by Antonella Fratino) In the fifth and final articles of a series on sexual harassment and violence, the Jewish Independent speaks with Montreal writer April Ford. As the late Maya Angelou wrote in I Know Why the…

World without prisons?

photo - Prof. Liat Ben-Moshe teaches disability studies at the University of Toledo

Prof. Liat Ben-Moshe teaches disability studies at the University of Toledo. (photo from Liat Ben-Moshe) University of Toledo assistant professor Liat Ben-Moshe moved to the United States in 2002 to do her doctorate in disability studies at Syracuse University, as…

Consul general speaks with JI

photo - Consul General Galit Baram was in Vancouver last month

Consul General Galit Baram was in Vancouver last month. (photo from Consulate of Israel) Galit Baram, consul general of Israel to Toronto and Western Canada, was in Vancouver last month. “The visit was very good,” she told the Independent in…