http://www.jta.org/ en-us Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500 (c) JTA. Reproduction of material without written permission is strictly prohibited. http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200805060506imusic.html Whether out of hunger for a connection to Israel or mere interest in the music, increasing numbers of Jews in America -- both Americans and Israelis -- are tuning into Israeli music performances. Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200805060506imusic.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200804240424unmission.html In his new and often hilarious memoir, "Shut Up I'm Talking," Gregory Levey, a former speech writer for Israel's U.N. mission, paints a rich portrait of a diplomatic effort so ferociously inept that no one should ever again wonder why Israel seems incapable of convincing the world of the justice of its cause. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200804240424unmission.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080415constantinessword.html The release of a new documentary that traces the violent history of church-sanctioned anti-Semitism coincided with the pope's visit to a New York synagogue. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080415constantinessword.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008041520080414shatnerexodus.html Less than a month after the death of Charlton Heston, another of Hollywood's great over-actors takes center stage in the retelling of the story of Moses. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008041520080414shatnerexodus.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200804090409klezmer.html An annual klezmer festival in Moscow helps revive interest in Jewish music and culture in Russia and Eastern Europe. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200804090409klezmer.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008040820080408nbagordonjcc.html Indiana University basketball star Eric Gordon went back to the place where it all began -- the local JCC -- to announce that he was leaving school for the NBA. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008040820080408nbagordonjcc.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008040820080408heston.html JTA's man in L.A. reflects on the ironies of Charlton Heston -- a Midwestern WASP who gained fame for playing two super Jews. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008040820080408heston.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008033120080330jewishmusicfestival.html In a landmark collaboration, nine performers came together at an annual festival in San Francisco to produce a new piece of Jewish music. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008033120080330jewishmusicfestival.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008032120080321yaelnaim.html Israeli music sensation Yael Naim talks to JTA about her new album, life in Israel and the decision to lend her voice to selling the MacBook Air. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008032120080321yaelnaim.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008031103102008kushnerprofile.html A day before receiving the Jewish Book Council's Lifetime Achievement Award, Rabbi Harold Kushner talks about his humanistic view of Judaism and his regrets in a life he says is "very blessed." Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008031103102008kushnerprofile.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008031020080310shafran.html The spokesman of Agudath Israel of America argues that a haredi newspaper's policy against publishing images of women should trigger thoughtful reflection, not derision. Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008031020080310shafran.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008030420080303matisyahu.html Matisyahu dished a little Torah and song during a workshop at Jewlicious, but most of what he shared connected music with God. Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008030420080303matisyahu.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008030302292008orthodoxconcert.html A benefit concert at Madison Square Garden was called off two weeks before the show following a ruling by 33 fervently Orthodox rabbis that appeared to condemn all public musical performances. Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008030302292008orthodoxconcert.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008022620080226burgercounterfeiters.html Adolf Burger is now the only Auschwitz inmate turned counterfeiter ever to win an Academy Award -- sort of. Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008022620080226burgercounterfeiters.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008022520080225beaufortoscars.html Disappointed but not downcast, Israeli filmmakers and their supporters vowed to come back strong next year after the country's entry "Beaufort" lost out in the Oscar race for best foreign-language film. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008022520080225beaufortoscars.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021920080219cedar.html Joseph Cedar, the Orthodox director of the Oscar-nominated Israeli film "Beaufort," has resolved a thorny Shabbat dilemma -- just as excitement is building from Los Angeles to Israel about his movie's chances of scoring an Academy Award. Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021920080219cedar.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021920080219Counterfeiters.html Israel's hopes for its first Oscar could be dashed by another Jewish-themed film -- the Austrian-made "Counterfeiters." Set in 1943, the film probes the moral dilemmas facing a special group of Jewish concentration camp inmates. Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021920080219Counterfeiters.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021220080212coenchabon.html A perfect match: The Coen brothers are reportedly set to bring Michael Chabon's "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" to the silver screen. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021220080212coenchabon.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021220080212oxford.html As Israel Apartheid Week proves popular at the University of Oxford, a small group of pro-Israel students hopes a planned Israeli cultural festival will counter Israel's negative, politicized image -- or at least give Oxford's Israelis something about which to be proud. Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021220080212oxford.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021220080211mayarubinobama.html Israeli-born actress Maya Rubin has offered Jewish Obama-ites a new rallying cry: 'Kein anu yecholim.' Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008021220080211mayarubinobama.html