{"id":18632,"date":"2014-09-24T17:02:58","date_gmt":"2014-09-24T23:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=18632"},"modified":"2014-09-24T17:14:29","modified_gmt":"2014-09-24T23:14:29","slug":"5774-year-in-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/5774-year-in-review\/","title":{"rendered":"5774: Year in review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"color: #222222;\">By JTA and CCJN STAFF<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">NEW YORK (JTA) &#8212; Read about the highs and lows of 5774 &#8212; and everything in between.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16707\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Memorial for students\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_4949.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16707\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16707 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_4949-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Memorial candles atop a table bearing the images of the three slain Israeli students Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Nifrach. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_4949-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_4949-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16707\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16707\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_4949-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Memorial candles atop a table bearing the images of the three slain Israeli students Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Nifrach. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_4949-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_4949-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-16707\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Memorial candles atop a table bearing the images of the three slain Israeli students Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Nifrach. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>September 2013<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The United States and Russia reach a deal to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/09\/16\/news-opinion\/politics\/pro-israel-groups-suspend-lobbying-for-syria-strike-authorization\" target=\"_blank\">rid Syria of its arsenal of chemical weapons<\/a>, promoting Jewish groups to suspend their efforts lobbying for U.S. strikes against Damascus.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/09\/17\/news-opinion\/united-states\/la-kabbalah-centre-founder-rabbi-philip-berg-dies\" target=\"_blank\">Rabbi Philip Berg<\/a>, founder of the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles and teacher of Jewish mysticism for A-list celebrities, dies at age 86.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/09\/24\/news-opinion\/united-states\/william-rapfogel-former-met-council-head-arrested\" target=\"_blank\">William Rapfogel<\/a>, the ousted leader of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty in New York, is arrested on charges of grand larceny and money laundering. Investigators later say the scheme involving Rapfogel netted $9 million in illicit funds, including $3 million for Rapfogel himself.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/23\/news-opinion\/united-states\/ex-met-council-chief-william-rapfogel-pleads-guilty-will-get-at-least-3-years-in-prison-plus-pay-3-million-restitution\" target=\"_blank\">Rapfogel pleads guilty<\/a>\u00a0the following April and is sent to prison in July for three-and-a-half to 10 years.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_9282\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Franco_Katz.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9282\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9282 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Franco_Katz-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Incoming Jewish Federation president Morton Katz, right, congratulates outgoing president Alan Franco. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Franco_Katz-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Franco_Katz-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9282\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9282\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Franco_Katz-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Incoming Jewish Federation president Morton Katz, right, congratulates outgoing president Alan Franco. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Franco_Katz-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Franco_Katz-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-9282\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Incoming Jewish Federation president Morton Katz, right, congratulates outgoing president Alan Franco. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"color: #555454;\">Morton Katz took over the reins of leadership at the <a title=\"Katz succeeds Franco at Federation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/katz-succeeds-franco-at-federation\/\" target=\"_blank\">100th annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orlean<\/a>s, thanking outgoing president Alan Franco for his past two years of service to the Jewish community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">In his\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/09\/24\/news-opinion\/united-states\/obama-u-s-focus-will-be-on-iran-peace-talks\" target=\"_blank\">address to the U.N. General Assembly<\/a>, President Obama says the U.S. focus in the Middle East will be keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace. Meanwhile, in a meeting with U.S. Jewish leaders, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says he is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/09\/24\/news-opinion\/united-states\/abbas-to-u-s-jews-culture-for-peace-better-now-than-in-2000s\" target=\"_blank\">more hopeful now for peace<\/a>\u00a0than he was in the mid-2000s.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/09\/11\/news-opinion\/united-states\/foundation-for-jewish-culture-board-votes-to-close\" target=\"_blank\">Foundation for Jewish Culture<\/a>, a 53-year-old organization dedicated to promoting Jewish culture and the arts, announces it is closing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Larry Ellison, CEO of the technology company Oracle, is ranked as the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/09\/17\/news-opinion\/united-states\/ellison-kochs-and-bloomberg-among-richest-americans\" target=\"_blank\">richest Jew in the United States<\/a>,\u00a0according to the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans, which puts Ellison at No. 3. Other Jews making the top 20 are Michael Bloomberg (10, $31 billion); Sheldon Adelson (11, $28.5 billion); Sergey Brin (14, $24.4 billion); George Soros (19, $20 billion); and Marc Zuckerberg (20, $19 billion).<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Ruth Bader Ginsburg becomes the first U.S. Supreme Court justice to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/09\/01\/news-opinion\/politics\/ginsburg-officiates-at-same-sex-wedding\" target=\"_blank\">preside over a same-sex marriage<\/a>, the wedding ceremony of Michael Kaiser and John Roberts.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>October 2013<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">A landmark\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/01\/news-opinion\/united-states\/pew-survey-u-s-jewish-intermarriage-rate-rises-to-58-percent\" target=\"_blank\">study of U.S. Jews by the Pew Research Center<\/a>\u00a0finds the Jewish intermarriage rate has risen to 58 percent and that among the 22 percent of American Jews who describe themselves as having no religion, two-thirds are not raising their children as Jews. The survey also estimates the U.S. Jewish population at 6.8 million, roughly the same estimate arrived at by\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/09\/30\/news-opinion\/united-states\/new-study-6-8-million-jews-in-u-s\" target=\"_blank\">Brandeis University researchers<\/a>\u00a0analyzing 350 separate population studies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a pan-European intergovernmental organization, overwhelmingly passes a resolution calling\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/07\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/peres-calls-on-council-of-europe-to-reconsider-anti-circumcision-resolution\" target=\"_blank\">male ritual circumcision a \u201cviolation<\/a>\u00a0of the physical integrity of children\u201d and putting it in the same class as female genital mutilation. Israeli President Shimon Peres joins the chorus of voices protesting the decision. In November,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/11\/12\/news-opinion\/world\/council-of-europe-head-reassures-rabbi-on-ritual-circumcision\" target=\"_blank\">the group\u2019s leader assures Jews<\/a>\u00a0that the council does not seek to ban Jewish ritual circumcision.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18634\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Cahn family\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Cahn_family.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18634\" class=\"wp-image-18634 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Cahn_family-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"Cahn_family\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Cahn_family-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Cahn_family-1024x731.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/214;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18634\" class=\"wp-image-18634 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Cahn_family-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"Cahn_family\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Cahn_family-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Cahn_family-1024x731.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-18634\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Cahn family honored by JEF.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Amid hundred of supporters and well wishers, the <a title=\"JEF annual event honors Cahn family\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/jef-annual-event-honors-cahn-family\/\">Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana\u00a0 held its major annual event on Sunday evening, October 6 at the Grand Salon of the Hilton Hotel Riverside. The spotlight was on the Cahns<\/a> &#8211; a family of philanthropists, whose quiet and ongoing support of Jewish community institutions was hallowed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">A day after meeting with President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells the U.N. General Assembly that Israel is ready to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/01\/news-opinion\/united-states\/netanyahus-credible-military-threat-comes-from-netanyahu\" target=\"_blank\">go it alone against Iran<\/a>\u00a0should it come close to obtaining a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/07\/life-religion\/ovadia-yosef-founder-of-shas-and-sephardi-sage-dies-at-93\" target=\"_blank\">Rabbi Ovadia Yosef<\/a>, the Israeli sage who founded the Sephardic Orthodox Shas political party and exercised major influence on Jewish law, dies at age 93.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is named the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/21\/news-opinion\/united-states\/bloomberg-first-to-receive-jewish-nobel-prize\" target=\"_blank\">first recipient of the Genesis Prize<\/a>, a $1 million award for a renowned professional capable of inspiring young Jews. The prize is funded by a consortium of Jewish philanthropists from the former Soviet Union.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Arieh Warshel, a U.S. professor born and educated in Israel, and ex-Weizmann Institute professor Michael Levitt are among the winners of the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/09\/news-opinion\/world\/israeli-professor-shares-2014-nobel-prize-for-chemistry\" target=\"_blank\">2013 Nobel Prize for chemistry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Two Orthodox rabbis from the New York area and two accomplices are arrested for allegedly kidnapping and beating men to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/10\/news-opinion\/united-states\/n-j-rabbis-arrested-for-kidnapping-beating-recalcitrant-husbands\" target=\"_blank\">force them to grant their wives religious Jewish divorces<\/a>, or gets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/13\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/gaza-terror-tunnel-ending-at-kibbutz-kindergarten-uncovered\" target=\"_blank\">Israeli forces discover a \u201cterror tunnel\u201d<\/a>\u00a0running from Gaza to an Israeli kibbutz. The tunnel is full of explosives and ends near an Israeli kindergarten.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Janet Yellen is named\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/15\/news-opinion\/politics\/yellen-ascension-gets-more-attention-for-being-a-first-for-women\" target=\"_blank\">head of the U.S. Federal Reserve<\/a>, becoming the third American Jewish central banker in a row and the first woman to hold the post.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Movement leaders at the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/10\/15\/news-opinion\/united-states\/at-united-synagogue-centennial-tough-talk-about-need-for-change\" target=\"_blank\">centennial conference of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism<\/a>\u00a0in Baltimore agree that significant rejuvenation is needed if Conservative Judaism is to reverse its negative trajectory.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10452\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Sarna_Loewy_Carter.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10452\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10452 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Sarna_Loewy_Carter-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Brandeis professor and author Jonathan Sarna, left, with Rabbi Robert Loewy, center, and Father James Carter at Loyola University event. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Sarna_Loewy_Carter-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Sarna_Loewy_Carter-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10452\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Sarna_Loewy_Carter-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Brandeis professor and author Jonathan Sarna, left, with Rabbi Robert Loewy, center, and Father James Carter at Loyola University event. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Sarna_Loewy_Carter-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Sarna_Loewy_Carter-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-10452\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brandeis professor and author Jonathan Sarna, left, with Rabbi Robert Loewy, center, and Father James Carter at Loyola University event. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Jonathan Sarna, noted historian speaks at <a title=\"Sarna: Jews are doomed! (again)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/sarna-jews-are-doomed-again\/\" target=\"_blank\">the final Centennial Celebration event at Loyola University<\/a> claiming the Jews are doomed! (again)<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>November 2013<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/11\/05\/news-opinion\/united-states\/former-claims-conference-boss-sentenced-to-8-years-in-prison\" target=\"_blank\">Semen Domnitser, the former Claims Conference employee<\/a>\u00a0who was found guilty of leading a $57 million fraud scheme at the Holocaust restitution organization, is sentenced to eight years in prison. The scheme entails falsifying applications to two funds established by the German government to make restitution payments to Holocaust survivors.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">In a survey of 5,847 European Jews, nearly one-third of respondents say they \u201cseriously considered\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/11\/08\/news-opinion\/world\/survey-1-in-3-european-jews-considered-emigrating-due-to-anti-semitism\" target=\"_blank\">emigrating\u201d from Europe because of anti-Semitism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">German authorities begin taking steps to identify the provenance of more than 1,400 words of Holocaust-era art found in the Munich home of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/11\/12\/news-opinion\/world\/first-steps-taken-to-identify-vast-trove-of-holocaust-era-art-found-in-munich-apartment\" target=\"_blank\">Cornelius Gurlitt<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Joseph Paul Franklin is executed for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/11\/20\/news-opinion\/united-states\/white-supremacist-arrested-for-synagogue-killing\" target=\"_blank\">killing a man at a St. Louis-area synagogue<\/a>\u00a0in 1977. Franklin, 63, shot Gerald Gordon outside the Brith Sholom Kneseth Israel synagogue as Gordon left a bar mitzvah. Franklin also is convicted of seven other murders throughout the United States and claims credit for 20 deaths between 1977 and 1980.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Forty families belonging to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/11\/21\/news-opinion\/world\/extremist-haredi-orthodox-cult-flees-quebec-to-go-to-iran\" target=\"_blank\">haredi Orthodox extremist group Lev Tahor<\/a>\u00a0consider fleeing their Quebec homes out of fears that Canadian welfare authorities are poised to seize their children.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The United States and a coalition of world powers reach a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/11\/24\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/understanding-the-deal-with-iran\" target=\"_blank\">six-month agreement with Iran<\/a>\u00a0to curb the country\u2019s nuclear program in exchange for some sanctions relief while negotiations for a final settlement on Iran\u2019s nuclear program are conducted. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pans the deal as a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/11\/24\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/deal-with-iran-a-historic-mistake-netanyahu-says\" target=\"_blank\">\u201chistoric mistake.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0The deal goes into effect on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/12\/news-opinion\/united-states\/iran-signs-on-to-pact-implementing-nuclear-freeze\" target=\"_blank\">Jan. 20<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The community wide Chanukah celebrations seemed a bit early this year, but nevertheless all attendees at the <a title=\"Maccabeats take stage for JCC Chanukah event today\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/maccabeats-take-stage-for-jcc-chanukah-event-on-sun\/\" target=\"_blank\">Maccabeats performance at the Uptown JCC<\/a> thoroughly enjoyed themselves.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The<a title=\"CCJN creates \u2018Zachor New Orleans\u2019 fund\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/ccjn-creates-zachor-new-orleans-fund\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Zachor (&#8220;Remember&#8221;) New Orleans fund, a Jewish Endowment of Louisiana administered fund, was established<\/a> by the Crescent City Jewish News as part of its long-range goals of preserving and archiving the history of the Jewish community of New Orleans.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>December 2013<\/b><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11195\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Chabad at Lakeside a big hit\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1090.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11195\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11195 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1090-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The Chanukah menorah is lit on the seventh night by Aaron Stross in front of Dillard's department store at Lakeside Shopping Center (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1090-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1090-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11195\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11195\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1090-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The Chanukah menorah is lit on the seventh night by Aaron Stross in front of Dillard's department store at Lakeside Shopping Center (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1090-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_1090-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-11195\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Chanukah menorah is lit on the seventh night by Aaron Stross in front of Dillard&#8217;s department store at Lakeside Shopping Center (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Chabad Lubavitch of Louisiana organization held its 2013 annual <a title=\"Chabad at Lakeside a big hit\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/chabad-at-lakeside-a-big-hit\/\" target=\"_blank\">Chanukah event in front of Dillard&#8217;s department store in Lakeside Shopping Center on the seventh night of Chanukah, December 3,<\/a> to great fanfare.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/05\/arts-entertainment\/gal-gadot-will-play-wonder-woman-in-batman-vs-superman\" target=\"_blank\">Gal Gadot<\/a>, an Israeli actress who is a former Miss Israel, is cast as Wonder Woman in the upcoming film \u201cBatman vs. Superman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Swarthmore&#8217;s Hillel chapter becomes the first to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/11\/news-opinion\/united-states\/swarthmore-hillel-sparks-larger-battle-over-campus-groups-israel-guidelines\" target=\"_blank\">join the so-called Open Hillel movement<\/a>, which challenges Hillel International\u2019s guidelines prohibiting partnerships with groups it deems hostile toward Israel. Hillel boards at Vassar and Wesleyan soon follow suit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/13\/news-opinion\/united-states\/reform-slashing-its-hq-to-invest-more-in-youth-programs\" target=\"_blank\">Union for Reform Judaism<\/a>\u00a0announces at its biennial conference in San Diego that it has sold off half its headquarters in New York and is investing $1 million from the proceeds to overhaul the movement\u2019s youth programming.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The membership of the American Studies Association\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/16\/news-opinion\/united-states\/american-studies-association-votes-for-israeli-universities-boycott\" target=\"_blank\">endorses a boycott of Israeli universities<\/a>. The controversial decision comes after months of debate and prompts\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/24\/news-opinion\/united-states\/more-u-s-universities-withdraw-from-asa-over-academic-boycott-of-israel\" target=\"_blank\">several American schools to withdraw<\/a>\u00a0from the association in protest and dozens more to condemn the move.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/17\/news-opinion\/united-states\/ostreicher-released-after-more-than-two-years-in-bolivia\" target=\"_blank\">Jacob Ostreicher<\/a>, a New York businessman held in Bolivia since 2011, returns to the United States, in part thanks to efforts by actor Sean Penn. Ostreicher was managing a rice-growing venture in Bolivia when he was arrested on suspicion of money laundering and accused of doing business with drug dealers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/18\/news-opinion\/united-states\/native-american-academics-join-boycott\" target=\"_blank\">Native American and Indigenous Studies Association<\/a>\u00a0becomes the third U.S. academic body in less than a year to recommend that its members boycott Israeli universities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">After being pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/19\/news-opinion\/world\/putin-says-he-will-pardon-former-russian-oil-tycoon-mikhail-khodorkovsky\" target=\"_blank\">former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky<\/a>\u00a0is released from prison and leaves Russia, where he spent 10 years behind bars.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11540\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Edgar Bronfman dies\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/EdgarBronfman.-e1387699860761-1024x774.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11540\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11540 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/EdgarBronfman.-e1387699860761-1024x774-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"Edgar Bronfman\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/EdgarBronfman.-e1387699860761-1024x774-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/EdgarBronfman.-e1387699860761-1024x774.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/226;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11540\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/EdgarBronfman.-e1387699860761-1024x774-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"Edgar Bronfman\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/EdgarBronfman.-e1387699860761-1024x774-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/EdgarBronfman.-e1387699860761-1024x774.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-11540\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Edgar Bronfman<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/21\/news-opinion\/united-states\/edgar-bronfman-84-leading-philanthropist-and-jewish-communal-leader\" target=\"_blank\">Philanthropist Edgar Bronfman dies<\/a>\u00a0in New York at 84. An heir to the Seagram&#8217;s beverage fortune, Bronfman was a longtime advocate on behalf of Jewish causes, serving as the head of the World Jewish Congress and financing many efforts to strengthen Jewish identity.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Amid a public debate in France over an allegedly anti-Semitic gesture called the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2013\/12\/30\/news-opinion\/world\/nba-star-parker-slammed-for-anti-semitic-quenelle-salute\" target=\"_blank\">quenelle<\/a>, the French media publish a photo of a man performing it outside the Toulouse school where four Jews were murdered. Several French cities later announce they have banned performances by the comedian who popularized the salute,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/07\/news-opinion\/world\/french-cities-ban-dieudonne-performances\" target=\"_blank\">Dieudonne M\u2019bala M\u2019bala<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"USY kicks off IC NOLA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/usy-kicks-off-ic-nola\/\">USY, Conservative Synagogue&#8217;s youth movement, arrives<\/a> in New Orleans.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>January 2014<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Brooklyn\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/06\/news-opinion\/united-states\/did-the-post-cross-the-line-on-menachem-stark\" target=\"_blank\">Hasidic real estate developer Menachem Stark is kidnapped<\/a>, his lifeless body later found in a dumpster. The New York Post provokes outrage among many Jews with a cover calling him a slumlord and a headline asking, \u201cWho<i>didn\u2019t<\/i>\u00a0want him dead?\u201d Months later, a construction worker is arrested for the killing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Chabad Lubavitch of Louisiana organization formally dedicates and names its <a title=\"Uptown Btesh Chabad House formally named\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/uptown-btesh-chabad-house-formally-named\/\" target=\"_blank\">new house of worship as the Btesh Family Chabad House<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11972\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Ariel Sharon laid to rest\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/peressharon.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11972\" class=\"wp-image-11972 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/peressharon-300x196.jpg\" alt=\"Memorial Service And Funeral Held For Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/peressharon-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/peressharon-1024x671.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/196;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11972\" class=\"wp-image-11972 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/peressharon-300x196.jpg\" alt=\"Memorial Service And Funeral Held For Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/peressharon-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/peressharon-1024x671.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-11972\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Shimon Peres speaks at the funeral of former Prime Minister Ariel Shron. (Photo by FLASH 90)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/13\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/israelis-remember-a-leader-of-complexity-and-contradiction\" target=\"_blank\">Ariel Sharon<\/a>, the controversial warrior-turned-statesman who served as Israel\u2019s prime minister from 2001 until 2006, when he was rendered comatose by a stroke, dies at age 85.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/13\/news-opinion\/jta-and-myjewishlearning-announce-intention-to-merge\" target=\"_blank\">JTA and MyJewishLearning<\/a>, which includes the popular parenting website Kveller.com, announce their intention to merge.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Israeli government announces that it plans to invest\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/13\/life-religion\/israel-to-spend-more-than-1-billion-on-diaspora\" target=\"_blank\">more than $1 billion<\/a>\u00a0over the next 20 years to strengthen the Jewish identity of Diaspora Jews, particularly young Jews, but the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/03\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/israel-vows-big-investment-in-world-jewry-project-though-details-remain-fuzzy\" target=\"_blank\">details remain fuzzy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Chief Rabbinate of Israel reaches an\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/17\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/chief-rabbinate-to-accept-rca-status-letters\" target=\"_blank\">agreement with the Rabbinical Council of America<\/a>\u00a0to automatically accept letters from RCA members vouching for the Jewish status of Israeli immigrants. The agreement follows a temporary suspension by the Chief Rabbinate in accepting such letters from at least one well-known RCA member,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/02\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/israeli-rabbinate-heres-why-rabbi-avi-weiss-isnt-kosher-enough\" target=\"_blank\">Rabbi Avi Weiss<\/a>\u00a0of Riverdale, N.Y.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Two modern Orthodox high schools in New York stir controversy with decisions to allow\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/23\/life-religion\/sar-tefillin-policy-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-for-orthodox-women\" target=\"_blank\">girls who wish to lay tefillin<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">UJA-Federation of New York, the largest Jewish federation in North America, names attorney\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/23\/news-opinion\/united-states\/nyc-federation-taps-wall-street-lawyer-for-ceo\" target=\"_blank\">Eric Goldstein<\/a>\u00a0as its new CEO and successor to longtime CEO John Ruskay.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/30\/news-opinion\/united-states\/scarjo-ends-relationship-with-oxfam-over-fundamental-differences-on-bds\" target=\"_blank\">Actress Scarlett Johansson<\/a>\u00a0comes under criticism for serving as a spokeswoman for the Israeli company SodaStream, which has facilities in the West Bank. Johansson, who is Jewish, stands by SodaStream and resigns as a global ambassador for the British-based charity Oxfam, saying she and Oxfam have &#8220;a fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Israel Air Force is accused of attacking a warehouse of advanced Russian-made S-300 missiles in the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/27\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/israel-blamed-for-attack-on-syrian-weapons-warehouse\" target=\"_blank\">Syrian port city of Latakia<\/a>. Israel declines to comment on the attack.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">A federal judge\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/31\/news-opinion\/united-states\/sexual-abuse-lawsuit-against-yeshiva-u-tossed\" target=\"_blank\">tosses out a $380 million sexual abuse lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0filed against Yeshiva University by 34 former students of its high school for boys. The suit alleged that the university ignored warnings of assault by two faculty members between 1969 and 1989. In dismissing the lawsuit, Judge John Koeltl rules that the statute of limitations has expired.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Longtime California congressman\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/01\/30\/news-opinion\/politics\/longtime-congressman-henry-waxman-to-retire\" target=\"_blank\">Henry Waxman announces his retirement<\/a>. Waxman had represented California&#8217;s 33rd District since 1975 and was considered the dean of Jewish lawmakers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Jewish philanthropist and humanitarian\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/02\/03\/news-opinion\/world\/at-agahozo-shalom-youth-village-in-rwanda-anne-heymans-legacy-lives-on\" target=\"_blank\">Anne Heyman<\/a>, founder of the Agahozo-ShalomYouthVillage in Rwanda, dies during a horse-riding competition in Palm Beach, Fla.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Hadassah&#8217;s <a title=\"Hadassah Installation Brunch\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/mc-events\/hadassah-installation-brunch\/\" target=\"_blank\">Greater New Orleans Chapter installs new slate of officers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>February 2014<\/b><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12358\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Cowens accept Solomon Award\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/08Marjorie-Cowen.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12358\" class=\"wp-image-12358 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/08Marjorie-Cowen-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Scott Cowen listens as his wife Marjorie accepts the Hannah G. Solomon Award. (Photo by Karen Lozinski)\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/08Marjorie-Cowen-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/08Marjorie-Cowen-1024x680.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/199;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12358\" class=\"wp-image-12358 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/08Marjorie-Cowen-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Scott Cowen listens as his wife Marjorie accepts the Hannah G. Solomon Award. (Photo by Karen Lozinski)\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/08Marjorie-Cowen-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/08Marjorie-Cowen-1024x680.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-12358\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scott Cowen listens as his wife Marjorie accepts the Hannah G. Solomon Award. (Photo by Karen Lozinski)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) held its annual <a title=\"NCJW Hannah Solomon Award Luncheon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/mc-events\/ncjw-hannah-solomon-award-luncheon-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hannah G. Solomon Award luncheon on Monday, Feb. 3, honoring Scott and Marjorie Cowen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The government of Spain approves a bill to facilitate the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/02\/07\/news-opinion\/world\/spain-oks-bill-for-jewish-return\" target=\"_blank\">naturalization of Sephardic Jews of Spanish descent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Staff at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/02\/10\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/hadassah-strike-widens-over-unpaid-salaries-deficit\" target=\"_blank\">Hadassah Medical Center<\/a>\u00a0in Jerusalem go on strike as the hospital, facing a huge deficit,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/03\/17\/news-opinion\/united-states\/hadassah-crisis-opens-divisions-between-the-hospital-and-womens-organization\" target=\"_blank\">teeters on the edge of bankruptcy<\/a>\u00a0and fails to pay its workers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/02\/10\/news-opinion\/united-states\/abraham-foxman-retiring-from-adl\" target=\"_blank\">Abraham Foxman announces he is stepping down<\/a>\u00a0as national director of the Anti-Defamation League after 27 years in the post. Foxman, a child survivor of the Holocaust one of the highest profile American Jewish leaders, says he will step down in July 2015.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/02\/10\/news-opinion\/united-states\/mark-zuckerberg-and-wife-are-most-generous-u-s-donors\" target=\"_blank\">top the Chronicle of Philanthropy&#8217;s list<\/a>\u00a0of the top 50 U.S. donors to charitable causes in 2013. In December, the couple gave 18 million shares of Facebook stock, valued at more than $970 million, to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Alice Herz-Sommer, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/02\/23\/news-opinion\/alice-herz-sommer-oldest-holocaust-survivor-and-subject-of-celebrated-documentary-dies-at-110\" target=\"_blank\">110-year-old Holocaust survivor<\/a>\u00a0and concert pianist whose life is the subject of a documentary that a week later would win an Oscar, dies.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/02\/24\/news-opinion\/world\/east-ukraine-synagogue-hit-by-firebombs\" target=\"_blank\">Giymat Rosa Synagogue in Zaporizhia<\/a>, in eastern Ukraine, is firebombed, sustaining minor damage. The attack comes amid\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/02\/25\/news-opinion\/world\/ukraine-jews-hunkering-down-amid-turmoil\" target=\"_blank\">growing turmoil in Ukraine<\/a>\u00a0following the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_12656\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_1581.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12656\" class=\"wp-image-12656 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_1581-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Basketball legend Tal Brody, the man who put Israel on the map and gave up an NBA career. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_1581-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_1581-768x1024.jpg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 225px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 225\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12656\" class=\"wp-image-12656 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_1581-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Basketball legend Tal Brody, the man who put Israel on the map and gave up an NBA career. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_1581-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_1581-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-12656\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Basketball legend Tal Brody, the man who put Israel on the map and gave up an NBA career. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"\u2018Mr. Basketball\u2019 puts Israel on the map\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/mr-basketball-puts-israel-on-the-map\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tal Brody, well known Israeli sports figure helps put Israel on the map<\/a> in New Orleans.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>March 2014<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"Limmudfest New Orleans schedule beckons\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/limmudfest-new-orleans-schedule-beckons\/\" target=\"_blank\">Limmudfest New Orleans<\/a> holds successful event at Temple Sinai and Tulane University.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">AIPAC leaders emphasize\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/03\/04\/news-opinion\/politics\/after-bruising-iran-sanctions-battle-aipac-conference-is-all-about-comity\" target=\"_blank\">bipartisanship and mutual respect<\/a>\u00a0at the group&#8217;s annual policy conference in Washington. The conference follows a bruising period in which the pro-Israel lobby had championed a new Iran sanctions bill, only to back down when it becomes clear the bill lacked the necessary support from the White House and congressional Democrats to pass.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">In one of many low-level skirmishes over the course of months, Israeli aircraft strike several targets in the Gaza Strip after\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/03\/14\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/israel-strikes-gaza-targets-after-rocket-attacks\" target=\"_blank\">Palestinians fire rockets into Israel<\/a>, sending Israelis into bomb shelters.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">David Hellman, a New York personal trainer,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/03\/10\/news-opinion\/united-states\/n-y-man-pleads-guilty-to-violently-forcing-husbands-to-give-gets\" target=\"_blank\">pleads guilty to using violent means<\/a>\u00a0to force recalcitrant husbands to give their wives a Jewish writ of divorce, or get. Hellman, who faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000,\u00a0was one of 10 men arrested in October 2013 in an FBI sting operation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"TribeFest kicks off in New Orleans\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/tribefest-kicks-off-in-new-orleans\/\" target=\"_blank\">TribeFest, a biennial convention for young Jewish professionals, &#8220;second lined&#8221; into New Orleans<\/a>. CCJN offered coverage from the floor of the event.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Yeshiva University is at risk of running out of unrestricted cash in the near-term future, warns\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/03\/26\/news-opinion\/united-states\/moodys-at-current-pace-yeshiva-u-will-run-out-of-money-in-2015\" target=\"_blank\">Moody\u2019s Investors Service\u00a0<\/a>, which says deep and growing operating deficits are likely to continue at the university due to \u201cpoor financial oversight and high expenses.\u201d In May, Y.U. will announce that the Montefiore Health System is assuming operational control of Y.U.\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/27\/news-opinion\/united-states\/montefiore-to-take-over-yeshiva-u-s-albert-einstein-college-of-medicine\" target=\"_blank\">Albert Einstein School of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The <a title=\"Adloyadah moves inside for Sunday\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/adloyadah-moves-inside-for-sunday\/\" target=\"_blank\">Community Adloyadah Purim event<\/a> was held inside the Uptown Jewish Center due to inclement weather.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13174\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"JCRS Roots of Broadway\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_32091.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13174\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13174 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_32091-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Music director Harry Mayronne, left, singers Chris Wecklein, Darcy Malone and Amy Alvarez are seen with musicians and narrator Hank Greenwald at the JCRS's Jewish Roots of Broadway&quot; gala. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_32091-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_32091-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13174\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13174\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_32091-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Music director Harry Mayronne, left, singers Chris Wecklein, Darcy Malone and Amy Alvarez are seen with musicians and narrator Hank Greenwald at the JCRS's Jewish Roots of Broadway&quot; gala. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_32091-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/IMG_32091-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-13174\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Music director Harry Mayronne, left, singers Chris Wecklein, Darcy Malone and Amy Alvarez are seen with musicians and narrator Hank Greenwald at the JCRS&#8217;s Jewish Roots of Broadway&#8221; gala. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The <a title=\"JCRS thrills crowd at Boeing Pavilion with Broadway show\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/jcrs-thrills-crowd-at-boeing-pavilion-with-broadway-show\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jewish Children&#8217;s Regional Service (JCRS) held a musical salute to Broadway at the National World War II Museum&#8217;s Boeing Pavilion<\/a>, honoring the Tolmas and Scharff families.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Former Israeli Prime Minister\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/03\/31\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/olmert-found-guilty-of-accepting-bribes-in-holyland-scandal\" target=\"_blank\">Ehud Olmert is found guilty<\/a>\u00a0of accepting bribes in the corruption case involving the Holyland real estate development in Jerusalem. Olmert, who is convicted of receiving about $150,000 in bribes through his brother, Yossi, becomes the first former Israeli prime minister to be convicted of taking a bribe. The crime carries a possible sentence of 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Playwright <a title=\"Tony Kushner talks about \u2018Lincoln\u2019 screenplay at NOMA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/tony-kushner-talks-about-lincoln-screenplay-at-noma\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tony Kushner appears at the New Orleans Museum of Ar<\/a>t to discuss &#8220;Lincoln.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>April 2014<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Casino magnate and conservative backer\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/01\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/does-adelson-buying-another-newspaper-imperil-israeli-media\" target=\"_blank\">Sheldon Adelson buys another Israeli newspaper<\/a>, Makor Rishon, making him the owner of several of Israel&#8217;s major right-wing media outlets and two of the country&#8217;s four major newspapers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Mobilized by the death of Samuel Sommers &#8212; the 8-year-old son of Rabbi Phyllis and Michael Sommers whose struggle with leukemia was documented on a popular blog called\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/03\/life-religion\/rabbis-mass-head-shaving-inspired-by-superman-sam-raises-almost-600k\" target=\"_blank\">Superman Sam<\/a>\u00a0&#8212; 73 rabbis shave their heads to raise $600,000 for pediatric cancer research.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">American-Jewish contractor\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/08\/news-opinion\/united-states\/alan-gross-goes-on-hunger-strike-in-cuba\" target=\"_blank\">Alan Gross goes on a hunger strike<\/a>\u00a0to protest his imprisonment in a Cuban jail and the lack of American assistance. Later in the year, in ailing health and with no prospect of release,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/05\/news-opinion\/united-states\/alan-gross-says-his-goodbyes-to-his-family-during-prison-visit-1\" target=\"_blank\">Gross bids goodbye to his family<\/a>\u00a0during a prison visit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/14\/news-opinion\/united-states\/kansas-city-shootings-highlight-threat-of-lone-wolf-attacks\" target=\"_blank\">White supremacist Frazier Glenn Miller<\/a>, 73, kills a man and his grandson outside the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and then shoots to death a woman at a Jewish assisted-living facility a few blocks away. None of the victims are Jewish, highlighting the diverse constituency served by America\u2019s Jewish institutions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">After weeks of near breakdowns in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Israel suspends all negotiations after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas\u2019\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/24\/news-opinion\/united-states\/israel-formally-suspends-talks-with-palestinians\" target=\"_blank\">Fatah party signs a unity accord with Hamas<\/a>, a designated terrorist organization. President Obama responds by saying it may be time for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/25\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/palestinian-official-reconciliation-hinges-on-hamas-recognizing-israel\" target=\"_blank\">a pause in Middle East peacemaking<\/a>. Kerry later expresses regret for saying that Israel risks becoming an \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/29\/news-opinion\/politics\/kerry-stands-by-record-wishes-for-apartheid-rewind\" target=\"_blank\">apartheid<\/a>\u201d state or a non-Jewish one if the two-state solution is not implemented.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/05\/news-opinion\/united-states\/u-s-negotiators-blame-israel-for-collapse-of-talks\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. negotiators blame Israel<\/a>\u00a0for the talks\u2019 collapse.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Gennady Kernes,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/28\/news-opinion\/world\/ukrainian-jewish-mayor-shot-in-the-back\" target=\"_blank\">the Jewish mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine\u2019s second-largest city, is shot<\/a>\u00a0in a suspected assassination attempt, leaving him in critical condition. The shooting comes amid growing violence between Russian-backed Ukrainian separatists in eastern Ukraine and forces loyal to the new Ukrainian government in Kiev. Kernes is airlifted to Israel for treatment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/30\/news-opinion\/politics\/presidents-conference-rejects-j-street-membership-bid\" target=\"_blank\">rejects J Street&#8217;s bid for membership<\/a>. J Street, the liberal Washington group that lobbies for increased American pressure to bring about a Mideast peace deal, lost its bid for membership in the main communal group on foreign policy issues by a vote of 22-17, with three abstentions. J Street needed the support of two-thirds of the conference&#8217;s 51 members to gain admission.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18636\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Donald Sterling\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/donald-sterling.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18636\" class=\"wp-image-18636 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/donald-sterling-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Memphis Grizzlies v San Antonio Spurs - Game One\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/donald-sterling-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/donald-sterling-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/199;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18636\" class=\"wp-image-18636 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/donald-sterling-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Memphis Grizzlies v San Antonio Spurs - Game One\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/donald-sterling-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/donald-sterling-1024x682.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-18636\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is pictured here with V. Stiviano to his left at a 2013 basketball game. (Ronald Martinez\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/29\/news-opinion\/united-states\/sterling-banned-for-life-from-clippers-nba-for-racist-remarks\" target=\"_blank\">banned from the NBA for life<\/a>\u00a0and fined $2.5 million after being caught on tape making racist comments to his girlfriend.\u00a0He\u00a0is heard\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/28\/news-opinion\/donald-sterling-points-to-israel-v-stiviano-cites-holocaust\" target=\"_blank\">saying<\/a>\u00a0that his views reflect the way the world works, and as evidence he says that black Jews in Israel \u201care just treated like dogs.\u201d His girlfriend is heard countering that as a Jew, Sterling should know better than to advocate discrimination, citing the Holocaust as an example of where racism can lead.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">An arm of the private equity firm Bain Capital\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/04\/09\/news-opinion\/united-states\/manischewitz-company-sold-to-equity-firm\" target=\"_blank\">purchases the Manischewitz Company<\/a>, the iconic producer of kosher packaged goods, for an undisclosed sum. According to The New York Times, the new owners are expected to promote kosher as an indication of quality food rather than just a religious designation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Joe Krown Trio highlights <a title=\"Jazz Fest Shabbat fires on all cylinders\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/jazz-fest-shabbat-fires-on-all-cylinders\/\" target=\"_blank\">Touro Synaogue&#8217;s 23rd Jazz Fest Shabbat<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"Yom Hashoah program: a solemn and dignified affair\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/yom-hashoah-program-a-solemn-and-dignified-affair\/\" target=\"_blank\">Community Yom Hashoah event held<\/a> at the Uptown JCC.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Genealogical research reveals that the late archbishop of New York,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/01\/news-opinion\/united-states\/cardinal-john-oconnor-was-a-jew\" target=\"_blank\">Cardinal John O\u2019Connor, technically was Jewish<\/a>. O\u2019Connor\u2019s mother, Dorothy Gumple O\u2019Connor, was born Jewish but converted to Catholicism before she met and married O\u2019Connor\u2019s father.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"Maple on waffles? No! It\u2019s Waffles on Maple\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/maple-on-waffles-no-its-waffles-on-maple\/\" target=\"_blank\">Waffles on Maple becomes the latest kosher restaurant and the first dairy establishment <\/a>in New Orleans.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>May 2014<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">New York\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/06\/news-opinion\/united-states\/92y-chooses-non-jewish-leader-is-that-a-problem\" target=\"_blank\">92nd Street Y<\/a>, a Jewish center for arts and culture, names its first non-Jewish executive director, Henry Timms. Shortly afterward, Sol Adler, the previous longtime executive director, who was fired after revelations that he had a long-term affair with his assistant,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/12\/news-opinion\/united-states\/sol-adler-fired-head-of-92nd-st-y-hangs-himself\" target=\"_blank\">hangs himself in his Brooklyn home<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">An\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/13\/news-opinion\/world\/survey-more-than-a-quarter-of-the-world-hates-jews\" target=\"_blank\">Anti-Defamation League anti-Semitisim<\/a>\u00a0survey finds \u201cdeeply anti-Semitic views\u201d are held by 26 percent of 53,000 people polled in 102 countries and territories covering approximately 86 percent of the world\u2019s population. Critics say the survey\u2019s 11 questions are not accurate gauges of anti-Semitism.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/18\/arts-entertainment\/maccabi-tev-aviv-upsets-its-way-to-euroleague-basketball-crown\" target=\"_blank\">Maccabi Tel Aviv wins the Euroleague basketball championship<\/a>\u00a0by beating favored Real Madrid, 98-86, in overtime.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14194\" style=\"width: 209px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"The Invevitable City\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Inevitable_City.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14194\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14194 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Inevitable_City-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"Cowen's new book with a forward by Walter Issacson is set for a June 10 release. (Cover: Palgrave Macmillan)\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Inevitable_City-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Inevitable_City-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Inevitable_City.jpg 887w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 199px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 199\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14194\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14194\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Inevitable_City-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"Cowen's new book with a forward by Walter Issacson is set for a June 10 release. (Cover: Palgrave Macmillan)\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Inevitable_City-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Inevitable_City-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Inevitable_City.jpg 887w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-14194\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cowen&#8217;s new book with a forward by Walter Issacson is set for a June 10 release. (Cover: Palgrave Macmillan)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Outgoing <a title=\"Cowen reflects on tenure as Tulane president\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/cowen-reflects-on-tenure-as-tulane-president\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tulane University president Scott Cowen grants exclusive interview to the CCJN<\/a>. Cowen prepares for release of his new book &#8220;The Invevitable City.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Novelist Philip Roth\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/23\/life-religion\/sacred-and-profane-philip-roth-onetime-enfant-terrible-gets-seminary-honor-2\" target=\"_blank\">receives an honorary doctorate<\/a>\u00a0from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Now considered one of the greatest living American writers, Roth had caused outrage early in his career with his sometimes stinging portrayals of Jewish life. In 2012, Roth announced he was retiring.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Jewish community of Sharon, Mass., is shocked as the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/27\/news-opinion\/united-states\/with-shul-scandal-and-school-closing-conservative-jews-reeling-in-sharon-mass\" target=\"_blank\">rabbi of Temple Israel, Barry Starr, resigns amid allegations<\/a>that he used synagogue discretionary funds to pay about $480,000 in hush money to an extortionist to hide a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old male. Starr apologizes to the congregation in an email.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/27\/news-opinion\/world\/golden-dawns-gains-in-eu-election-signal-failure-of-greeces-crackdown\" target=\"_blank\">Far right parties make gains in European Parliament<\/a>\u00a0elections, including Greece\u2019s Golden Dawn.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The European Union says it has\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/23\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/e-u-bans-import-of-poultry-eggs-from-israeli-settlements\" target=\"_blank\">banned the import<\/a>\u00a0of poultry and eggs produced in West Bank settlements.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"Padilla-Goodman becomes fifth community director of ADL\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/padilla-goodman-becomes-fifth-community-director-of-adl\/\" target=\"_blank\">Allison Padilla-Goodman steps up as fifth community director of Anti-Defamation League<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">A gunman kills four people at the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/05\/26\/news-opinion\/world\/belgian-jews-gather-to-mourn-after-museum-attack\" target=\"_blank\">Jewish Museum of Belgium<\/a>\u00a0in Brussels. Several days later, Mehdi Nemmouche, a 29-year-old French national of Algerian origin, is arrested in connection with the attack.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"Pope in Israel\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pope-francis-and-netanyahu-at-airport-web.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15783 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pope-francis-and-netanyahu-at-airport-web-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"Pope Francis Visit To The Holy Land - Day One\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pope-francis-and-netanyahu-at-airport-web-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pope-francis-and-netanyahu-at-airport-web.jpg 850w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/214;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15783\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pope-francis-and-netanyahu-at-airport-web-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"Pope Francis Visit To The Holy Land - Day One\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pope-francis-and-netanyahu-at-airport-web-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/pope-francis-and-netanyahu-at-airport-web.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><a title=\"In Mideast visit, Pope Francis makes symbolic gestures to both sides\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/in-mideast-visit-pope-francis-makes-symbolic-gestures-to-both-sides\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pope Francis travels to Israel<\/a>\u00a0and the West Bank, visiting the Western Wall, Yad Vashem and the West Bank security fence, among other sites.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>June 2014<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"Rabbi Loewy celebrates 30 years at Gates of Prayer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/rabbi-loewy-celebrates-30-years-at-gates-of-prayer\/\" target=\"_blank\">Rabbi Robert Loewy <\/a>celebrates 30 years as spiritual leader of Congregation Gates of Prayer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Former Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin of the Likud party is elected president of Israel, defeating Meir Sheetrit of Hatnua in a 63-53 runoff vote.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/10\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/reuven-rivlin-elected-president-of-israel\" target=\"_blank\">Rivlin formally succeeds Shimon Peres<\/a>\u00a0and becomes Israel\u2019s 10th president in late July.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Rep. Eric Cantor, the majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives and the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/10\/news-opinion\/politics\/eric-cantor-headed-for-primary-defeat\" target=\"_blank\">is upset in the Republican primary<\/a>\u00a0for Virginia&#8217;s 7th Congressional District by a Tea Party challenger. Dave Brat, an economics professor, wins handily after attacking Cantor for drifting from conservative principles. Days later, Cantor\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/11\/news-opinion\/politics\/cantor-resigning-house-leadership-post\" target=\"_blank\">resigns his post<\/a>\u00a0as majority leader.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Weeks after leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to the\u00a0Euroleague title,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/19\/news-opinion\/united-states\/david-blatt-riding-tel-avivs-euro-title-to-nba-dream-job\" target=\"_blank\">David Blatt<\/a>\u00a0becomes the head coach of the NBA&#8217;s Cleveland Cavaliers.\u00a0Blatt had played for an Israeli kibbutz team in 1979 after his sophomore year at Princeton and then\u00a0competed for the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1981 Maccabiah Games. He returned to play nearly a decade professionally in Israel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Three Israeli teenagers, later identified as\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/13\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/three-jewish-youths-missing-in-west-bank\" target=\"_blank\">Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach, are kidnapped<\/a>\u00a0in the West Bank from a hitchhiking post. Israel responds with three weeks of intensive searches, including\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/19\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/israeli-troops-search-100-locations-detain-more-palestinians-in-search-for-teens\" target=\"_blank\">mass arrests in the West Bank of Hamas members<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/18\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/in-search-for-teens-israeli-troops-arrest-51-palestinians-released-in-shalit-deal\" target=\"_blank\">rearrest of dozens of Palestinians<\/a>\u00a0released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner-exchange deal.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16406\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"City of Jerusalem\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/IMG_4478.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16406\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16406 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/IMG_4478-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The old city of Jerusalem is seen from the Tower of David. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/IMG_4478-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/IMG_4478-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/225;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16406\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/IMG_4478-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"The old city of Jerusalem is seen from the Tower of David. (Photo by Alan Smason)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/IMG_4478-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/IMG_4478-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-16406\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The old city of Jerusalem is seen from the Tower of David. (Photo by Alan Smason)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"CCJN reports from first Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/ccjn-reports-from-first-jewish-media-summit-in-jerusalem\/\" target=\"_blank\">CCJN editor Alan Smason travels for the first time to Israel to report from the first ever held Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem sponsored by the State of Israel with over 150 worldwide journalists in attendance<\/a>. Tensions remain high because of the missing three students. The &#8220;#Bring Back Our Boys&#8221; campaign ramps up.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Three weeks on, Israeli authorities\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/30\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/with-discovery-of-israeli-teens-bodies-national-ordeal-ends-in-tragedy\" target=\"_blank\">find the teens\u2019 bodies<\/a>\u00a0and announce that the boys were believed to have been killed the night they were kidnapped. The incident sparks the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/02\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/riots-break-out-in-eastern-jerusalem-following-discovery-of-palestinian-teens-body\" target=\"_blank\">revenge killing by Jews of an Arab teen<\/a>, riots and a surge of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces responds by launching Operation Protective Edge \u2013 Israel\u2019s deadliest foray into Gaza since its 2005 withdrawal \u2013 on July 8.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Israel announces that the suspect in the April 14 killing of Israeli Police Superintendent Baruch Mizrachi is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/23\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/palestinian-released-in-shalit-exchange-one-of-two-charged-for-passover-murder\" target=\"_blank\">Ziad Awad<\/a>, a West Bank Palestinian released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The General Assembly of the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/24\/news-opinion\/united-states\/at-presbyterian-assembly-divestment-advocates-win-is-a-limited-one\" target=\"_blank\">Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) votes 310-303 to divest<\/a>\u00a0from three American companies that do business with Israeli security services in the West Bank. Heath Rada, the moderator of the assembly, says it\u2019s not a \u201creflection for our lack of love for our Jewish sisters and brothers,\u201d but Jewish leaders say it will have a \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/21\/news-opinion\/united-states\/jewish-groups-anticipate-rupture-after-presbyterians-vote-to-divest\" target=\"_blank\">devastating impact<\/a>\u201d on their relations with the church.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">New York Jewish teenager\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/06\/26\/arts-entertainment\/orthodox-school-not-amused-by-students-raunchy-americas-got-talent-routine\" target=\"_blank\">Josh Orlian\u2019s raunchy stand-up routine on \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d<\/a>\u00a0cracks up the judges, but his Orthodox day school isn\u2019t tickled.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>July 2014<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/06\/life-religion\/zalman-schachter-shalomi-brought-old-world-gravitas-to-new-age-judaism\" target=\"_blank\">Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi<\/a>, the father of the Jewish Renewal movement, which sought to introduce more music, dance and meditation into prayer and Jewish life, dies in Boulder, Colo., at age 89.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_16842\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Israeli air attacks\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Gaza_explosion.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16842\" class=\"wp-image-16842 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Gaza_explosion-300x200.jpg\" alt=\".\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Gaza_explosion-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Gaza_explosion.jpg 724w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16842\" class=\"wp-image-16842 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Gaza_explosion-300x200.jpg\" alt=\".\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Gaza_explosion-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Gaza_explosion.jpg 724w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-16842\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke and debris rise from a site in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike, July 9, 2014. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Israel launches\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/15\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-gaza-israel-conflict\" target=\"_blank\">its third major Gaza operation<\/a>\u00a0in six years. Dubbed\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/10\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/will-israels-third-gaza-conflict-in-six-years-end-any-differently\" target=\"_blank\">Operation Defensive Edge<\/a>, the campaign begins with 10 days of intensive airstrikes in Gaza. After several failed cease-fire attempts, a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/18\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/ground-invasion-aims-to-destroy-hamas-infrastructure\" target=\"_blank\">ground invasion<\/a>\u00a0of Gaza follows. Hamas fires thousands of rockets into Israel, striking as far away as Jerusalem,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/11\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/rockets-pop-tel-avivs-bubble-but-not-its-residents-routines\" target=\"_blank\">Tel Aviv<\/a>\u00a0and a Haifa suburb. In four weeks of fighting before a 72-hour cease-fire in early August, some 1,800 Palestinians are reported killed. Israel comes under heavy criticism for attacks that kill children, strike U.N. facilities and damage civil infrastructure. Israel blames Hamas for using civilians as human shields and schools, hospitals and U.N. facilities as weapons depots. The death toll in Israel includes 64 soldiers and three civilians. Several of Israel\u2019s casualties are due to Palestinian infiltrations of Israel through\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/22\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/tunnel-vision-why-hamas-tunnels-are-the-new-front-in-the-war-with-israel\" target=\"_blank\">tunnels<\/a>\u00a0burrowed under the Israel-Gaza border.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/31\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/netanyahu-all-gaza-tunnels-will-be-destroyed-with-or-without-cease-fire-1\" target=\"_blank\">Israel\u2019s prime minister<\/a>\u00a0says destroying the tunnels is one of the war\u2019s main objectives.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">A\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/18\/news-opinion\/world\/in-riot-outside-synagogue-french-jews-were-left-to-protect-themselves\" target=\"_blank\">riot outside a French synagogue<\/a>\u00a0is one of several incidents related to the Gaza war that threaten Jews in Europe. The riot by Palestinian sympathizers outside the Synagogue de la Roquette in central Paris traps some 200 people inside the building. A street brawl ensues between the rioters and dozens of Jewish men who arrived to defend the synagogue.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Most\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/23\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/why-the-tel-aviv-flight-cancelations-are-such-a-blow-to-israel\" target=\"_blank\">foreign airlines suspend flights to Israel\u2019s Ben Gurion Airport<\/a>\u00a0near Tel Aviv after a Hamas-fired missile strikes nearby. The suspensions, prompted by a flight ban issued by the U.S.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/25\/news-opinion\/politics\/obama-faa-decision-was-based-on-purely-safety-considerations\" target=\"_blank\">Federal Aviation Administration<\/a>, last two to three days.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Iran and the major powers, led by the United States, agree to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/07\/22\/news-opinion\/united-states\/iran-talks-extended-but-uranium-enrichment-remains-stumbling-block\" target=\"_blank\">extend negotiations over Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/a>\u00a0for another four months, citing progress in a number of areas. But the potential deal breaker remains: Iran does not want to reduce its number of its centrifuges, and the world powers say they won\u2019t accept Iran maintaining its existing capacity for uranium enrichment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"CCJN now \u2018award-winning\u2019\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/ccjn-now-award-winning\/\">CCJN accepts first prize in Writing -Infographics from the New Orleans Press club in a nationally judged competition for its Jewish New Orleans and Jewish timeline stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><b>August 2014<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">As the fighting in Gaza wanes and Israeli troops begin to pull back, Israel experiences several\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/04\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/tractor-used-in-terrorist-attack-in-jerusalem-killing-one\" target=\"_blank\">terrorist attacks inside the country perpetrated by West Bank Palestinians<\/a>, including a tractor attack in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The 72-hour cease-fire that brought Operation Protective Edge to a halt expires, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/08\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/israel-responds-to-rocket-fire-from-gaza-as-cease-fire-ends\" target=\"_blank\">Gazans resume intensive rocket fire against Israel<\/a>. The Israeli military responds with airstrikes inside Gaza. The sides then agree to another 72-hour cease-fire.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The University of Illinois\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/06\/news-opinion\/united-states\/u-of-illinois-retracts-job-offer-to-prof-following-anti-israel-tweets\" target=\"_blank\">rescinds a job offer to Steven Salaita<\/a>, a professor of American Indian studies, following a series of anti-Israel tweets by\u00a0Salaita, including missives comparing Israel to the Ku Klux Klan. Following a public outcry, university chancellor Phyllis Wise relents and submits\u00a0Salaita&#8217;s candidacy to the university board while making it clear that she does not support his hire. In September, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/12\/news-opinion\/united-states\/university-board-formally-rejects-salaita-appointment\" target=\"_blank\">board votes 8-1 to reject Salaita&#8217;s hire<\/a>. Salaita threatens to sue.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Joseph Raksin,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/11\/news-opinion\/united-states\/funeral-held-in-miami-for-murdered-rabbi\" target=\"_blank\">an Orthodox rabbi from Brooklyn, is shot and killed<\/a>\u00a0on his way to Sabbath services in North Miami Beach. Some activists say the murder was a hate crime, but more than a month on police still\u00a0have no arrests and say the motive for the killing remains unclear.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">The Wall Street Journal reports that the White House took the extraordinary step \u00a0in July of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/14\/news-opinion\/united-states\/report-u-s-military-sent-israel-weapons-without-white-house-approval\" target=\"_blank\">halting the Pentagon&#8217;s delivery of U.S.-made Hellfire missiles to Israel<\/a>\u00a0in the midst of its conflict with Hamas in Gaza. The denial\u00a0came as the Obama administration urged Israeli restraint in its Gaza operation and days before Israel rebuffed a cease-fire proposal from Secretary of State John Kerry. A\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/15\/news-opinion\/united-states\/u-s-officials-no-change-in-procedure-for-arming-israel\" target=\"_blank\">State Department spokeswoman<\/a>\u00a0denies any change in policy, saying,\u00a0\u201cGiven the crisis in Gaza, it is natural that agencies take additional care with deliveries as part of an interagency process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Writer and liberal activist\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/14\/news-opinion\/leonard-fein-liberal-activist-and-scholar-dies\" target=\"_blank\">Leonard Fein dies<\/a>\u00a0at age 80. Fein had\u00a0founded\u00a0Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger and the National Jewish Coalition for Literacy, and co-founded\u00a0Americans for Peace Now\u00a0and\u00a0Moment Magazine. A few weeks later, Fein&#8217;s older brother,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/09\/news-opinion\/united-states\/rashi-fein-a-father-of-medicare-dies\" target=\"_blank\">Rashi Fein<\/a>,\u00a0a Harvard professor known for his contributions to medicine and social policy, dies at age 88.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">In a rare instance of violence from the Gaza conflict\u00a0reverberating in New York, a Jewish couple is accosted by pro-Palestinian assailants\u00a0on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/26\/news-opinion\/united-states\/jewish-couple-attacked-in-nyc-apparently-by-palestinian-supporters\" target=\"_blank\">Manhattan&#8217;s Upper East Side<\/a>. The incident prompts\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/02\/news-opinion\/united-states\/manhattans-ramaz-school-clarifies-advice-on-concealing-kippahs\" target=\"_blank\">Rabbi Haskel Lookstein<\/a>, the head of a prominent modern Orthodox day school in the neighborhood, Ramaz, to consider instructing students not to wear the kippahs in public. He later changes his mind.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Celebrants rededicate Nariman House, the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/25\/news-opinion\/united-states\/mumbai-chabad-house-closed-after-2008-terror-attack-to-reopen\" target=\"_blank\">reconstructed Chabad house in Mumbai<\/a>\u00a0that was closed after Pakistani\u00a0terrorists killed six people there, including\u00a0Chabad emissaries Gabriel and Rivky Holtzberg, as part of a massive attack in November 2008\u00a0that left 166 people dead.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/26\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/cease-fire-marks-end-to-israels-longest-bloodiest-war-in-gaza\" target=\"_blank\">Hamas and Israel agree to a cease-fire<\/a>\u00a0that ends their 50-day war. In all, the war leaves an estimated 2,200 Palestinians dead. Sixty-seven soldiers and six civilians are killed on the Israeli side, including two soldiers who die of their wounds after the cease-fire is completed and a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/08\/24\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/hundreds-attend-funeral-of-boy-4-killed-by-gaza-mortar\" target=\"_blank\">4-year-old boy<\/a>\u00a0killed shortly before the truce. Brokered by\u00a0Egypt, the cease-fire stipulates that Israel and Egypt open all border crossings to allow international humanitarian aid and construction materials to enter Gaza. In Israel, the verdict is mixed over whether\u00a0the Israeli operation achieved its aims.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Israel sets off international condemnation with its announcement that it is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/01\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/u-s-calls-on-israel-to-reverse-land-appropriation\" target=\"_blank\">appropriating nearly\u00a01,000 acres of West Bank<\/a>land near the Gush Etzion bloc. Peace Now says it is\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/02\/news-opinion\/politics\/israels-land-seizure-political-favor-or-west-bank-game-changer\" target=\"_blank\">Israel&#8217;s largest West Bank land grab<\/a>\u00a0since the 1980s.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><strong>September 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Jewish\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/03\/default\/in-his-reporting-steven-sotloff-favored-vox-pop-style\" target=\"_blank\">journalist Steven Sotloff<\/a>, an American-Israeli who had been taken captive while covering the Syrian civil war, is beheaded by ISIS, the outlaw group that has declared an Islamic state in parts of Iraq and Syria. ISIS published video of\u00a0Sotloff&#8217;s\u00a0beheading and that of\u00a0another\u00a0American and a Briton, fueling the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/11\/news-opinion\/the-telegraph\/what-obamas-speech-has-to-do-with-israel-and-the-palestinians\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. decision to expand its airstrikes against ISIS<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/07\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/arab-league-ministers-agree-to-join-international-fight-against-isis\" target=\"_blank\">enlist other countries<\/a>\u00a0in the cause.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18204\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"Joan Rivers\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Rivers_Joan.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18204\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18204 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Rivers_Joan-300x189.jpg\" alt=\"Joan Rivers, who was buried on Sunday in a private service.\" width=\"300\" height=\"189\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Rivers_Joan-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Rivers_Joan.jpg 349w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/189;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18204\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-18204\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Rivers_Joan-300x189.jpg\" alt=\"Joan Rivers, who was buried on Sunday in a private service.\" width=\"300\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Rivers_Joan-300x189.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Rivers_Joan.jpg 349w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-18204\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joan Rivers, who was buried on Sunday in a private service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/04\/arts-entertainment\/joan-rivers-comic-who-broke-barriers-for-women-dies-at-81-1\" target=\"_blank\">Joan Rivers<\/a>, a Jewish comic who\u00a0broke barriers for women in comedy and on television,\u00a0dies at age 81.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Tulane University takes the wraps off <a title=\"Tulane unwraps Yulman Stadium for season opener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/tulane-unwraps-yulman-stadium-for-season-opener\/\" target=\"_blank\">Yulman Stadium<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/05\/news-opinion\/united-states\/protesting-israel-rabbi-brant-rosen-quits-congregation\" target=\"_blank\">Rabbi Brant Rosen decides to quit<\/a>\u00a0his 17-year pulpit job at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill., after his\u00a0outspoken criticism of Israel becomes too divisive for his congregation. Rosen is one of the leaders of the\u00a0rabbinical council of Jewish Voice for Peace, a group listed by the Anti-Defamation League as one of the top 10 anti-Israel organizations in the United States.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">A group of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/12\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/43-israeli-intelligence-reservists-vow-to-stop-spying-on-palestinians\" target=\"_blank\">43 reservists<\/a>\u00a0from the Israel Defense Forces&#8217; famed 8200 intelligence unit causes a stir by publicly vowing to stop collecting information on Palestinians.\u00a0\u201cThe intelligence gathered harms innocents and is used for political persecution and for invading most areas of Palestinians\u2019 lives,\u201d the reservists write in their public letter to Israel&#8217;s prime minister and IDF top brass. \u201cOur conscience no longer permits us to serve this system.\u201d The IDF says it will take disciplinary action against the reservists.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">More than two weeks after over 40\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/11\/news-opinion\/israel-middle-east\/u-n-fiji-peacekeepers-released-on-golan\" target=\"_blank\">United Nations peacekeepers from Fiji are kidnapped<\/a>\u00a0from the Golan Heights by the Al Nusra Front, an al-Qaida-affiliated rebel group in Syria, the peacekeepers are released and cross the Golan border into Israel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\">Four\u00a0Ohio University students are arrested when a fracas erupts during their protest over the Student Senate president\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.jta.org\/2014\/09\/12\/news-opinion\/united-states\/ou-students-protest-blood-bucket-video-are-arrested\" target=\"_blank\">blood bucket challenge<\/a>\u201d of Israel in which Megan Marzec filmed herself\u00a0dousing herself with\u00a0a bucket of fake blood to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. Her video echoes the ALS &#8220;ice\u00a0bucket challenge&#8221;\u00a0campaign designed to raise money for and awareness of ALS.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"Max Nathan honored at JFS gala\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/max-nathan-honored-at-jfs-gala\/\" target=\"_blank\">Max Nathan, Jr.\u00a0 honored at Jewish Family Service gala<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18638\" style=\"width: 230px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a title=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/source-5775\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18638\" class=\"wp-image-18638 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER2-220x300.jpg\" alt=\"CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER\" width=\"220\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER2-220x300.jpg 220w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER2-753x1024.jpg 753w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER2.jpg 816w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 220px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 220\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18638\" class=\"wp-image-18638 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER2-220x300.jpg\" alt=\"CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER\" width=\"220\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER2-220x300.jpg 220w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER2-753x1024.jpg 753w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CCJN_SOURCE5775-COVER2.jpg 816w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-18638\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SOURCE 5775<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"color: #222222;\"><a title=\"SOURCE 5775 download\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/source-5775\/\" target=\"_blank\">CCJN&#8217;s SOURCE 5775 released online prior to High Holidays. General distribution during Days of Awe<\/a>. Features exclusive stories on Jewish influence on jazz and other musical stories. To receive your digital copy click on the link; it will take some time to download.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"5774%3A%20Year%20in%20review\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16707,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18632"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18632"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18643,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18632\/revisions\/18643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}