This column is not about the Israeli skepticism of the current Iranian/American romantic interlude that I planned to write about. And despite the next few paragraphs, this column also is not about the Israeli film industry. We are proud of the profound transformation in Israeli cinema. Over the last decade, four Israeli films have been…
When families gather for the holidays there is great anticipation of joyful reunions and the creation of happy memories. Unfortunately, all too often these hopes are disappointed and concerns are raised when families experience noticeable changes in their family members. Did this holiday season raise concerns about physical and cognitive changes in your family members…
Actress and comedian Wendy Westerwelle wakes up every day feeling fabulous – “Medicare-fully Fabulous” in fact, which is the title of her upcoming show. Playing at the Sanctuary Theater this February, it’s about finally having health insurance and discovering that at 65, she’s never looked or felt better. “I wrote the show,” she says. “It’s…
On Friday night, Dec. 12, 1941 – the first Shabbat after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor – Rabbi Henry J. Berkowitz offered words of comfort and inspiration to his congregation. “There is no question that all of us are entering the hardest period of our lives,” he told members of Portland’s Congregation Beth Israel,…
A dream more than two years in the making became a reality for members of Congregation Shir Tikvah on Portland’s Eastside on Friday evening, Sept. 27. The congregation inaugurated a new Shir Tikvah-specific prayer book, or siddur, as part of its annual Simchat Torah celebration and honored congregants who went through a painstaking process leading…
Longtime Havurah Shalom member, legendary matchmaker, irrepressibly funny woman, advocate for the havenots, Torah scholar and youth mentor Emily Simon is receiving a lifetime achievement award for her professional accomplishments – as a criminal defense attorney. Emily will receive the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association’s Ken Morrow Lifetime Achievement Award Dec. 6. Created in 2000…
Dear Helen, Every time my parents come to visit something goes kaflooey. It’s like we are cursed. I have broken out in severe attacks of eczema. My husband had a car accident. Our daughter needed an emergency appendectomy. The water heater died. The cat died. That’s not all but I want you to keep reading….
James Phelps may be director of development at Portland Jewish Academy and the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, but when it comes to taxes, he has problems. He and his partner originally filed both state and federal returns individually. When Oregon passed the Domestic Partnership law, he filed state taxes jointly and federal individually, thereby confounding…
University of Oregon sophomore Erin Horwitz was recently awarded a campus fellowship with the anti-genocide organization Jewish World Watch for the 2013-14 academic year. Founded in 2004, JWW is a nonprofit organization that draws on traditional Judaic values while aiding in the fight against the ongoing crimes against humanity in Sudan and the Congo. JWW…
Vancouver teen Mitchell Kaiser, a senior at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, was only 11 when he became aware of the issue of clean water. Dismayed at the pollution in local rivers and streams, he began volunteering with StreamTeam, an initiative that improves the health of the watershed. In the ninth grade Mitchell…
