Radical lawyer took on cases that made him reviled by some in the Jewish community
By MICHAEL FOX
Late in their revelatory and inspiring documentary, William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, Emily and Sarah Kunstler include a clip of their iconic father delivering a pithy self-assessment.
“I’m not a self-hating Jew,” the tall, outspoken defense attorney asserts with a [...]

By ERIC FINGERHUT
WASHINGTON (JTA) — As the debate over how to combat climate change heats up in Copenhagen, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life is ramping up its efforts to help make the Jewish community a key player in the discussion.
Without a full-time director since early 2006, COEJL has secured a half-million dollars [...]

By LEYNA KROW
SEATTLE (JTNews) — The man who shot up the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle building in July 2006 was found guilty of murder in his second trial.
A jury found Naveed Haq, 34, guilty on all eight counts against him. Haq, of Pasco, Wash., will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Following nearly two [...]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Two letters circulating in the U.S. House of Representatives are seeking humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Initiated by Reps. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the letter asks President Obama to press Israel and Egypt for “immediate relief” from the blockade of Gaza in place since Hamas’ takeover in [...]

Mark Bloom covers a range of style — blues, funk, jazz, rock, salsa and swing — in his new double-CD album, Holidays in Bloom. In the run-up to the Festival of Lights, the Plymouth-based musician includes “Jumpswing Dreydl,” a Hanuka song for hep cats who want to cut a rug.

On the minor holiday theme, [...]

AJW Staff Report

Crude cartoons that depict the prophet Muhammad in derogatory ways, similar to those published in a Danish newspaper in 2005, were posted on utility poles in St. Cloud on Tuesday. The five pages of cartoons also depicted the Koran and a swastika.
The St. Cloud Times described the cartoons as “graphic” and “sexually explicit.”
St. [...]

Hanuka art by Yasha Hoffman, winner of the 2009/5770 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest.
Hoffman’s artwork appears on the cover of the Dec. 11 edition. Continue reading for more about Yasha and art from the runners-up.

A kibbutz in Israel’s southern desert pioneers sustainable environmental practices

By MORDECAI SPECKTOR

Everyone can do something to conserve energy resources, according to Alex Cicelsky, a founder of Kibbutz Lotan in Israel’s Arava Desert.
You can carpool to reduce “miles per gallon per person,” he suggests. You can insulate your house by adding plastic film over [...]

Soul to Soul: A Guide by Judy J. Weinberger will be published in February by Two Harbors Press
By ERIN ELLIOTT BRYAN / Community News Editor
Local artist and writer Judy J. Weinberger began by asking questions, much like an “angry, cynical man” in the book of Ecclesiastes: What is the point to life? Why do we need [...]

The Hanuka story we tell the kids is about the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle-of-the-oil. However, the Maccabee revolt against the Hellenist Syrian regime was essentially a Jewish civil war, which brought to power a ruling clique, the Hasmoneans, which became as brutal and corrupt as the one they overthrew.
During the [...]