Talia Lavin Twitter Email RSS

is JTA's editorial assistant. She was a Fulbright scholar in Ukraine. Her poetry and nonfiction writing have been published in Tuesday Magazine, the Gamut, The Birch, Tablet, The Starry Night Review and elsewhere. Follow her on Twitter at @chick_in_kiev.

Latest

• Why KISS won’t make up

  April 9, 2014 11:14am

    Peter Criss, former drummer of power-rock band KISS, has been charged with some non-musical discord: anti-Semitism. In a new tell-all memoir, the band’s rhythm guitarist and co-vocalist Paul Stanley, who is Jewish, has revealed new aspects of the relationship between the original KISS lineup of Stanley, Gene Simmons, Criss and former lead guitarist Ace…

• Mila Kunis cameos with Ashton on ‘Two and a Half Men’

  April 8, 2014 12:05pm

  Mila Kunis reunited with fiancé Ashton Kutcher onscreen for an episode of “Two and a Half Men” that airs Thursday. The engaged couple has just announced Kunis’ pregnancy. Now, they’re reprising the onscreen chemistry that famously drew them together in “That ‘70s Show.” Kunis is set to play a woman named Vivian who sweeps into…

• From farm to seder table: Locally grown matzah on the rise

  April 7, 2014 3:14pm

  In a labor-intensive process, bakers are producing a bread of affliction that feels ancient and modern at once.

• Happy (belated) birthday to Zach Braff and Paul Rudd

  April 7, 2014 2:16pm

  Yesterday, April 6, was the birthday of two of our favorite Jewish celebrities – Zach Braff and Paul Rudd. Unbelievably, the seemingly ageless Rudd turned 45. Currently filming “Ant-Man,” the sylphlike star is clearly entering middle age with grace and style. Check out his youthful abandon in this legendary lip-sync-off with Jimmy Fallon: Maybe he…

• In Crimea, a Karaite community carries on, and welcomes Russia

  March 26, 2014 5:49pm

  Crimean Karaites consider the Torah their holy text, yet they do not identify as Jews.

• Meet Esther, the new (Jewish?) ‘Queen of Persia’

  March 14, 2014 11:23am

  Remember Esther, the “Queen of Persia” contestant who scored big points with the audience — and the king — when she touched his scepter (no innuendo intended) during the final date round? Well it turns out the winner of the Bravo reality series might just be a member of the tribe. And you know how…

• Top 10 JTA stories from a century of Purims

  March 13, 2014 5:42pm

  Stories from decades of Purim celebrations — featuring zeppelins, kosher vodka and fowl galore!

• Putin’s Jewish embrace: Is it love or politics?

  March 11, 2014 5:32pm

  Some see President Vladimir Putin as a great friend of Russia’s Jews, while others argue his motives are cynical.

• Wounded Ukrainian protesters airlifted to Israel for medical treatment

  March 7, 2014 12:25pm

  A volunteer effort coordinated from Kiev and Israel has allowed seven individuals wounded in Ukrainian protests to be airlifted to Israel for medical care.

• Blast from the past: Cossacks, hundreds and ‘pogromists’ ride again

  February 27, 2014 6:44pm

  Recent events in Ukraine and Russia have put back in the headlines some terms with ugly resonances for Jews, but their contemporary meanings are often more complex than we realize.