http://www.jta.org/ JTA is an international news service that provides up-to-the-minute reports, analysis pieces and features on events and issues of concern to the Jewish people. en-us Thu, 03 Jul 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/200807030703masorti.html A new ad campaign by Israel's Conservative movement offering Jewish alternatives to Orthodox weddings is striking a chord with Israelis disenchanted with the Orthodox-run Rabbinate -- and irking some Orthodox Jews. Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200807030703masorti.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200807010701foodcrisis.html The U.S. economic crisis is hitting Jewish food pantries hard as they struggle with what many describe as the perfect storm: rising food and transport costs, tough government budget cuts and increasing demand for services. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200807010701foodcrisis.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200807010701zimbabwe.html With Zimbabwe in the throes of an economic and political crisis, the country's tiny Jewish community is holding steady. Most say they don't want to leave. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200807010701zimbabwe.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080701rootless06302008.html For nearly two decades, Ruth Ellen Gruber has been writing on Jewish issues from Europe. Now in the launch of her new JTA column, the veteran correspondent explores the link between Europe's obsession with things Jewish and the Wild West. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080701rootless06302008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080701UCkosherpres6292008.html The new president of the University of California keeps a kosher home, lectures on Maimonides for intellectual stimulation and is an unabashed Israel supporter. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080701UCkosherpres6292008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080630uksalute06302008.html The unprecedented show of pride and self-confidence by British Jews in the nation's first-ever Salute to Israel parades may be a sign of the transformation of a community long considered timid and low key. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080630uksalute06302008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080629cutlerIraq06292008.html Plenty of rabbis lead their congregation's book club, but Jon Cutler of Tiferes B'nai Israel in Pennsylvania may be the only one who does so from a war zone. Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080629cutlerIraq06292008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806260625lebanon.html Josh Martin's experience helping rebuild northern Israel after the 2006 war with Hezbollah inspired him to go to Lebanon to do the same -- and to try to heal some of the war's emotional wounds. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806260625lebanon.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806240624jafiolmert.html Facing significant budget deficits, Jewish Agency officials said they were buoyed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's ideas about Israel taking a more active role in the Diaspora-Israel partnership. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806240624jafiolmert.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806240624israelimias.html The plight of Israelis under rocket fire in Sderot and the cause of Israel's missing soldiers have galvanized American Jewry like few Israel-related issues in recent years. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806240624israelimias.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080623Szarvascamp06222008.html JTA correspondent Michael J. Jordan was gratified to see his two young sons find their Jewishness a comfortable fit at the renowned Camp Szarvas in Hungary. What he didn't expect was that their parents also would feel their first sense of belonging to a Jewish community. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080623Szarvascamp06222008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008062020080620gaymarriage.html As dozens of gay couples celebrated legal weddings at San Francisco City Hall, Jews representing numerous organizations set up a chupah, volunteers passed out plates of marble cake frosted with the phrase "Mazel Tov" and invited couples to partake in rituals. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008062020080620gaymarriage.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008061520080614cohenstudy.html A new report sheds light on the tidal wave of Jewish cultural creativity in the under-40 crowd, and their willingness to show up for Jewish-themed art, music, dance and literary events. Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008061520080614cohenstudy.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806150613gondar.html With mass Ethiopian aliyah slated to end in early July, a pall of uncertainty hangs over the thousands of Ethiopian petitioners who remain in Gondar, hoping they'll be taken to a new life in Israel. Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806150613gondar.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806120611falashend.html With the final planeload of Ethiopian immigrants scheduled to land in Israel early next month, advocates of Falash Mura aliyah are hoping a last-ditch intervention by Israel's prime minister will extend immigration rights to another 8,500 Ethiopians. Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806120611falashend.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806110611usigap.html A film about the relationship American Jews have with Israel is prompting soul searching about the Israel-Diaspora divide. Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/200806110611usigap.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008060620080605koshersupply.html The production slowdown at the Agriprocessors plant in Iowa has finally hit the nation's kosher markets and, by extension, kosher consumers. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008060620080605koshersupply.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080605britsiddur05272008.html Leaders of the Reform movement in Britain are looking to a new prayer book to help bolster the movement as the main alternative to an increasingly Orthodox British Jewry. Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080605britsiddur05272008.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008060420080603burial.html Burial societies are making a comeback in liberal circles, as illustrated by the increased attendance at the annual chevra kadisha conference. Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008060420080603burial.html http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080602conservativelivingwage.html Just days after the Conservative movement became the only Jewish denomination to speak out against alleged worker abuse at the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the United States, the movement's legal authorities voted to recommend that Jewish businesses pay their employees a living wage. Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080602conservativelivingwage.html