Jewneric: A New Platform for the Jewish Voice

A new TV show that debuted earlier this month on the Israeli satellite company YES is the talk of the town across certain sectors of southern Jerusalem. “Srugim” (in English: “knitted kippas”) is an extraordinarily accurate depiction of the religious singles scene in Jerusalem. Set in our own neighborhood (Katamon and the German Colony in particular), the show chronicles the trials and tribulations of trying to find one’s place in the grueling “swamp” that represents ...

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Over the past few months, I have been consolidating my life into my new home. I combined my office and my home into a new apartment. First, I moved the critical items - the clothing that I love, the computers I need, the books that I must have around (although I lack the time to peruse them), etc. As the weeks went on, I transferred like piecework additional parts of my personal history, more books, more ...

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Phew!  Coming up with a title for a column is hard work.  So many I mulled over, brainstormed and massaged and I still landed with the original one. You're probably wondering about other front-runners.  Well, there was "shifting into D4" (too ambiguous) or "Just following orders" (too WWII) and then there was my favorite which demands more explanation and therefore - the next paragraph. I wanted to call this column 'The Story of a Statistic.'  While ...

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You've probably seen him more often in TV, Movies and other visual media than you have on the street where he belongs. He's the guy with the sign that says: "The end is near!", "Kiss tomorrow goodbye!", "Earth is doomed!" and other optimistic cheerful things. Today, I dare to be the crazy guy. Hear me and hear me well. The end is a near. Forget what you thought you knew. Statistics regarding the ...

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My son Amir and I were downtown when the police cars and ambulances started zooming past us, their sirens blaring. We had just finished an ice coffee at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and were waiting at a bus stop to go home. One after another, the police sped down Jaffa Road. There must have been at least 100 vehicles in just a few minutes. The reason was clear: there had been a terror attack. ...

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Jewneric recently had the opportunity to speak with Neil Gillman, Aliyah Shaliach for the Jewish Agency for Israel for DC and its surrounding areas and a prominent Jewish leader. We asked him a series of questions to help us better understand and appreciate their significant contributions to our community. Born in London to a traditional Jewish family, Neil Gillman reached the conclusion that a young Jewish state and a young Jewish person were a perfect shidduch and made Aliyah at 22. Having completed Ulpan he served for a year in the IDF. In 1999 he began working with English speaking Olim in Israel, assisting them through the ongoing absorption process. Since August 2006 he has been based in Rockville and has already helped hundreds of people to make Aliyah. He is joined by his wife Aliza, herself an Olah from Pittsburgh and baby Mordechai, born in the US. They will be returning home to Israel in August 2009. ...

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Every person of every creed, race, color and religion is welcome at the Olympics, correct? Well, Rabbi Levi Brackman writes in his column that the strict Chinese regulations on visas and on imports may prevent restaurateurs from making kosher food available at the Games, which make many feel unwelcome. Quoting Rabbi Moskowitz, of Shatz Kosher Services (SKS) who is in charge of importing kosher food into China, Brackman writes that due to the security restrictions ...

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After year of prayer for the release of captures soldiers, two were returned this morning to Israel, but not alive. May the families of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev find comfort in the definitive knowledge of this situation and be comforted among the mourners of Zion. --Dave 9:41AM IL: The International Red Cross has just shown the coffins of IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, confirming intelligence reports that the two are not among the living. 10:08AM IL: A short time ago, two coffins, presumably containing the remains of IDF reservists Sergeant-Major Ehud Goldwasser and Staff-Sergeant Eldad Regev, were returned to Israel by representatives of the International Red Cross. The first order of business is the identification process of the remains of the soldiers. The coffins are returned two years and four days after the soldiers were taken prisoner by Hizbullah terrorists in a cross-border attack in northern Israel. Once the bodies have been positively identified, Israel will permit the release of Samir Kuntar and four other Lebanese terrorists and the return of the remains of 199 terrorists. ...

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The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights that expressly prohibits the United States Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion" (the Establishment Clause) or that prohibit free exercise of religion (the Free Exercise Clause), laws that infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to peaceably assemble, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. An American Court of Appeals in Chicago, Illinois decided in a split 2-1 decision against the right of Jews to Mezuzot on the doorposts of a condominium apartment if the bylaws of the building prohibit signs and objects of the outside of doors. This provision is mainly for the ban of family vacations photos, political placards, for-sale notices, and Chicago Bears pennants.. The court stated that the hallway rule “is neutral with respect to religion.” The case involves the Shoreline Towers of Chicago and condominium owners Lynne Bloch and her two children, who live in three units. Building managers had removed the mezuzot from their doors while the family was at a funeral for Lynne Bloch's husband in 2004. The family put them back on the doorposts several times until the city passed a law allowing religious displays on doors. The family sued for damages, but the court backed the right of the condominium group to establish its own laws. The Blochs are considering appealing to the Supreme Court, claiming there was an intention to discriminate against observant Jews. ...

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Jewneric recently had the opportunity to speak with Jeremy Epstein, Word of Mouth & Social Media Consultant and a prominent Jewish leader. We asked him a series of questions to help us better understand and appreciate their significant contributions to our community. With a brother who is younger by 19 months, Jeremy’s mom was convinced that “one of them wouldn’t make it to adulthood.” Well, he did, and being the eldest of 5 children, all graduates of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD, is one of his life’s most formative experiences. Jeremy also spent 1 year in Germany studying the Holocaust (at the German taxpayer expense!) and then 2 years in Japan. Since, he’s worked for companies big (Microsoft) and small (2-time entrepreneur) and loves to blog on marketing (www.jer979.com) and whatever strikes his fancy (http://jer979.blogspot.com). ...

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