Millions of evangelical Christians believe that a global cataclysm is imminent, and that Israel will be the central venue
 
By MORDECAI SPECKTOR
 
The tagline for the new documentary Waiting for Armageddon is: “50 million Americans believe that the End of the World is just the beginning.”
And, indeed, that is the view expressed by a number of [...]

Bob Alper, a rabbi turned comedian, mines a new vein of shtick performing with Arab and Muslim comics

By MORDECAI SPECKTOR

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A rabbi and a young Muslim guy walk into a synagogue and do some stand-up comedy.
What’s the punch line? Read on.
Bob Alper, a former Reform pulpit [...]

Rabbi Miriam Jerris, of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, will offer two talks Feb. 19 and 21

By ERIN ELLIOTT BRYAN / Community News Editor

Humanists are not atheists.
According to Rabbi Miriam Jerris, rabbi of the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ), Humanists focus on what they believe rather than on things for which they have no [...]

Israeli native Roni Ben-Hur plays a smooth electric guitar in the tradition of Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell. He’s a big favorite of mine (won’t someone bring him to town for a show?), and his most recent album, Fortuna (Motéma Music), a collection of 10 Spanish-tinged tunes, burnishes his reputation. Ben-Hur, who’s from a Sephardic Jewish [...]

I was somewhat surprised to read recently about a new psychological malady, which goes under the rough title of “post-Avatar depression.” Some viewers of James Cameron’s brilliant science fiction/fantasy epic reportedly are experiencing confusion and depression — a few folks are having suicidal thoughts.
A recent CNN.com story on this phenomenon quoted Philippe Baghdassarian, the administrator [...]

An Orthodox rabbi in Israel came under verbal attack after making some laudatory comments about Jesus

By MOSHE GIT

Recently, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, of the Orthodox settlement of Efrat on the West Bank, caused a stir in traditional circles by referring to Jesus as “Rabbi Jesus.”
In a video posted to YouTube, Riskin said he has been [...]

Shirah Ozery, director of the Jewish Agency’s Israel Aliya Center in Chicago, will speak at Bet Shalom and host an open house for prospective olim

By ERIN ELLIOTT BRYAN / Community News Editor

When Shirah Ozery first visited Israel on a high school trip in 1969, she felt an immediate bond with the Jewish state. In [...]