Jerusalem Report

It took two great Zionist thinkers, pioneering farmers, brave soldiers and wads of cash to put the modern State of Israel on the map. But a few pranksters were able to take it off. I’m referring to a recent e-mail from a friend, warning me and about 100 other close friends not to buy Fuji film… Read more...

Sarajevo: Dating from 14th-century Catalonia, the Sarajevo Haggadah made its way via Italy to Bosnia, where it was acquired but kept hidden for safety by the national museum in 1894. It was secreted away from the Nazis by a Muslim professor, and survived the Bosnian war of 1992-95. Now, through the… Read more...

515 Amsterdam between 84th and 85th Streets (kosher) Tel.: (212) 787-6008, http://www.alibabany.com Yemenit Israeli Moshe Harizy came to New York 19 years ago, opened a stationery store, and started an Upper West Side Yemenite-style minyan, where he graciously served three free meals every Shabbat… Read more...

’Buy Israeli’ fairs, for shoppers who won’t make the trip to Jerusalem or Tel Aviv this year, are sweeping America New York — Merchants from Jerusalem’s Ben-Yehuda pedestrian mall had their busiest day in more than a year one Sunday in early May, when 10,000 enthusiastic customers snapped up… Read more...

Entering a New York City taxi cab, more information than one might want awaits the astute fare. With one breath, you can tell if the driver smokes; with one ear, you can tell if he’s a traffic-and- weather junkie, a Christian radio devotee or a jazz maven. The first thing I look for is the name of… Read more...

Muslims account for about a fifth of the kosher food sales in the United States. But while Jewish dietary laws are similar to Islamic halal - there are some obstacles to full-scale cooperation. Sometime in 1997, the Muslim and Jewish chaplains Mt. Holyoke College had to deal with an emergency. The… Read more...

Teacha! Stories from a Yeshiva By Gery Albarelli Glad Day Books 104pp.; $10.95, Strange Bedfellows: An Italian-Catholic teacher finds his way into the hearts of his Satmar Hasid students. I think it was Woody Allen who once turned Shaw’s quote on its head when he observed, “Those who can’t teach… Read more...

The stone-faced members of the U.S. Secret Service and of the Israeli Shin Bet’s VIP protection unit all boasted the wire dangling from one ear, close-cropped haircuts, dark suits and ties. But you could tell them apart, during the Shabbat service at Park East Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper East… Read more...

Putting a mezuzah on the doll’s house is just one of many ways to turn your home into ‘Jewish space’ Maybe you can’t judge a book by its cover, or even by its title, but that didn’t stop fellow riders on several Manhattan buses and subways from offering their comments about Anita Diamant’s new… Read more...