Tablet Magazine is all over the Orly Taitz story. She is the “queen bee” of the “birther” movement, the legions who declare that Barack Obama does not meet the constitutional requirements to be president because there’s something ostensibly bogus about his birth circumstances.
While some may think that the birthers are on the frivolous fringe, by [...]

Officials in Washington send mixed signals on Israel’s policies regarding Iranian nuclear development and West Bank settlements
By MOSHE GIT
A popular Israeli song questions a woman about what she means when she says “No!” to a man: Does she actually mean “perhaps”? Or “not right now”? Recently, President Barack Obama issued a stern “no” to Israel [...]

“The Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem,” by Francesco Hayez (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

The 12th annual communal observance of Tisha B’Av will take place 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 29 at Mount Zion Temple, 1300 Summit Ave., St. Paul. The event is sponsored by Mount Zion, Beth Jacob Congregation, Temple of Aaron and the St. Paul Board [...]

From the Shoah to folklore to cosmetic surgery, alternative theater festival showcases Jewish themes

By DORIS RUBENSTEIN

Minnesota’s annual contribution to the worldwide Fringe Festival movement always has something to interest, entertain, challenge, offend or titillate every sensibility, and that includes the Jewish sensibility. For readers seeking the avant-garde, plus opportunities to experience something new and [...]

Adath Jeshurun Congregation’s 125th anniversary will continue to be marked in the next several months. The celebration kicked off at the synagogue’s recent Annual Meeting, which combined a dinner program with the release of a book of Adath’s collective history titled 125 Years of Adath Jeshurun Congregation: From Generation to Generation by Etta Fay Orkin [...]

By STEVEN ROSENBAUM

The new issue of Moment magazine revisits the controversy stirred up by the publication of a short article by Rabbi Manis Friedman, an esteemed member of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic sect who lives in St. Paul (6-12-09 AJW).

Rabbi Manis Friedman writes again for Moment magazine. (Photo: Mordecai Specktor)

In the “Ask the Rabbis” column [...]

Haaretz correspondent Barak Ravid reported earlier this month that an “atmosphere of permanent crisis has surrounded” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau since he took office: Netanyahu appears to be suffering from confusion and paranoia. He is convinced that the media are after him, that his aides are leaking information against him and that the [...]

One of the most appealing and quirkily engaging of the young singer-songwriters, Regina Spektor is creating a buzz with her new album, Far (Sire). She recently performed the song “Laughing With” (“No one laughs at God in a hospital, no one laughs at God in a war”) on the Late Show with David Letterman. Far, [...]

Sen. Al Franken, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had the opportunity to question U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. On Wednesday, the third day of Sotomayor’s testimony, Franken asked about Perry Mason.
Under earlier questioning by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sotomayor had said that the Perry Mason TV show had inspired her decision to become [...]

Convicted Ponzi-scheme operator Bernard Madoff arrived at a federal prison in North Carolina to begin serving his 150-year prison term.

Greg Norton, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, told the Wall Street Journal that Madoff arrived about 11:15 a.m. Eastern time on July 14 at Butner Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, N.C. Madoff, 71, was assigned [...]