Saturday, May 18th 2024 |
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s population increased to nearly 8.2 million, according to figures released just ahead of Israel Independence Day, or Yom Ha’atzmaut.
The population grew by 2 percent, about 157,000 people, according to the report released Thursday by the Central Bureau of Statistics.
Jews make up 75 percent of the population, or 6.135 million people. Arabs are 20.7 percent, or 1.694 million people.
About 178,000 babies were born in...
By RON KAMPEAS
WASHINGTON (JTA) — J Street wasn’t welcomed under the umbrella, but it hasn’t been left out alone in the rain.
J Street’s failed effort to join the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations showed that many in the Jewish community still regard the dovish Israel policy group as beyond the pale.
In a secret ballot Wednesday, 22 member groups of the Jewish community’s foreign policy...
By Uriel Heilman
(JTA) — Longtime fans of the Chicago Cubs know there are a few mainstays they can expect when they visit Wrigley Field: ivy on the outfield walls, a strict no-wave policy rigorously enforced by fans and, most days, disappointing play by the hometown team.
But there’s one little-known quirk at Wrigley that appears to be fading away as the ballpark, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last week,...
By URIEL HEILMAN
NEW YORK (JTA) — Who knew? It turns out that mohels not only have one of the most peculiar professions in the Jewish world, but they’re funny, eccentric and self-promotional in odd ways, too.
Circumcision activists pro and con can debate the efficacy of circumcision for everything from health benefits to sexual pleasure to religious mores, but I decided to go a different route with a...
NEW YORK (JTA) — The Yeshiva University men’s tennis team won its conference championship to earn the squad’s first berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Maccabees (11-1) will find out their playoff opponent on Monday and play their first match in the tournament on May 8 or 9, the university said in a news release.
Yeshiva earned its way into the NCAAs this week with a 5-1 victory...
(JTA) — Al Feldstein, the editor of Mad magazine for nearly three decades, has died. Feldstein died Tuesday at his home in Montana. He was 88.
He became editor of Mad in 1956 and remained at the satirical publication’s helm until his retirement in 1984.
Feldstein began working as a comic book writer and artist at EC Comics in 1948 and soon became its editor, though his artwork continued to grace...
(JTA) — The British Veterinary Association launched an online petition calling for the end of slaughtering animals without first stunning them, as is done in kosher slaughter.
The government petition launched this week by the association — with the support of RSPCA, a British animal welfare charity — had garnered nearly 8,100 signatures by Thursday afternoon. The association is aiming for 100,000 signatures to convince the House of Commons to...
JTA) — A Brooklyn construction worker was arrested in connection with the murder of real estate developer Menachem Stark.
Kendel Felix, 26, was employed by a contractor who worked for Stark, the New York Daily News reported. Felix, who was arrested Wednesday night after being questioned by police earlier in the day, is described by police sources as a “main player” in the January killing, according to the daily.
A...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Saying the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations needs an overhaul, the Union for Reform Judaism said leaving the umbrella body could be an option.
The Reform group posted a statement Thursday on its website in the aftermath of the Presidents Conference rejecting J Street in its bid for membership.
“As of yesterday, it is clear that the Conference of Presidents, as currently constituted and...
NEW YORK (JTA) — Cardinal John O’Connor, the late archbishop of New York, was technically Jewish, according to new research.
O’Connor’s sister, Mary O’Connor Ward, recently discovered through genealogical research that her mother, Dorothy Gumple O’Connor, was born Jewish but converted to Catholicism before she met and married the O’Connors’ father.
Ward told the newspaper Catholic New York that she does not know whether or not the late cardinal, who...
