A Catchy Chanukah Song by Senator Orrin Hatch

The senior senator from Utah, Orrin Hatch, has written a Chanukah song! Senator Hatch has written many other songs, including “Heal Our Land,” which was performed at the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.

First Ever Jerusalem Hanukkah Flash Mob

Hanukkah Hey Ya! by Smooth-E (aka Eric Schwartz) went flash mob on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem on November 20, 2009, organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh. Catch the video:

A Joyous Sound: Hava Nagila, Texas Style

A Canadian friend, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, married to a New Zealander, who now lives in the United States, sent me this video. She describes it as “a hoot, hootenanny style.” The email she forwarded to me with the link included this anonymous comment: WE CAN CELEBRATE EACH OTHER’S CULTURE, EACH OTHER’S ACHIEVEMENT, NO [...]

Madonna’s Second Date in Israel

Madonna will resume her international Sweet & Sticky Tour in London on the 4th of July. The tour will end in Israel. After the September 1, 2009, concert in Tel Aviv quickly sold out, a second performance date was added for September 2, 2009. It has been 16 years since the pop diva last performed [...]

I Am A Jerusalemite

Stanley Goldfoot, the founder and editor of The Times of Israel, was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. At age 18, he packed a bag and moved to Palestine. The British police sent him back to South Africa, where he was drafted into the army. Mr. Goldfoot returned to Tel Aviv. He worked as a journalist [...]

Nazi Looted Art Returned on Holocaust Remembrance Day

Max Stern did not live to see the day. In 1937, the Jewish art dealer was ordered by the Nazis to sell his collection of 228 paintings. He then fled to England and later moved to Canada. One of the paintings from Dr. Stern’s collection was a 1632 Dutch Old Master called “Portrait of a [...]

Arnold Schwarzenegger Returns California’s Nazi Loot

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was on hand on April 10, 2009, when two paintings belonging to the state were returned to the grandchildren of their original owners. Jakob and Rosa Oppenheimer, who owned a gallery in Berlin, fled to France in 1933 to escape Nazi persecution. The Nazis auctioned off 100 paintings from the Oppenheimer’s [...]

Rock the Matzah

Passover or Pesach begins on the 15th day of Jewish month of Nissan in the Diaspora, which this year is the evening of April 8, 2009. It commemorates the Exodus from Egypt and deliverance to freedom after enduring many generations of enslavement. Unleaven bread, or matzah, is eaten for the eight days of the festival. [...]

War Crimes, Entertainers and Anti-Semites

Wouldn’t you know it? Amnesty International is calling for the investigation of Israeli soldiers for possible war crimes in the wake of Israel’s defensive military actions in Gaza. Israel is prepared to defend its troops against any charges, should they be brought. In fact, according to Bloomberg.com: During the offensive, Israel deployed lawyers to advise [...]

I Love George W. Bush

Years ago, I studied with a painting teacher at the Art Students League of New York who was a devotee of Tibetan Buddhism. She painted meditation wheels or mandalas. After the Dalai Lama came to New York, she excitedly told us of her experience meeting him. She described placing her arm over the Dalai Lama’s [...]