Author: David Rutman

Members of the Maman team at the Nice Jewish Runners gathering in Santa Monica. Jasmine Golshan, Ruth Sonbolian, Maman COO Michelle Mirshokri and Maman volunteers Daniel and Eleanor Sonbolian. Photo courtesy of Maman On Aug. 30, Maman, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit with a strong presence in the Persian-Jewish community, held three events for three very different stages of Jewish life: a […]

Before parents start helping high school seniors apply to college this year, they may want to look at a new report from Alums for Campus Fairness (ACF). The organization recently released its 2025-26 Campus Climate Brief, showing the most concerning and most supportive college campuses for Jewish and pro-Israel students. The report, which can be […]

A fatal traffic collision outside Valley Beth Shalom (VBS) in Encino on the morning of Sept. 12, as High Holiday services were underway, claimed the life of synagogue board member Karen Rubinstein and left VBS members Kyle Meyerowitz and her son, Elon Van Pelt, hospitalized. In the days since, the community has stepped up to provide […]

Ido Goldfarb would arrive at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem at 9 a.m. every morning to start his day. The eleventh grader, who attends Shalhevet High School, worked at the hospital this past summer, learning about medicine in a place he loves: Israel. He was participating in NCSY/JSU’s Next Step summer program, which gives […]

The silver anniversary of 9/11 was marked this year by not only the annual recitation of the names of the dead, but the maiden voyage of a steel beam recovered from the Ground Zero wreckage. What had fallen from the sky will now cross the country as a symbol of Islam’s war against the West. […]

Something that comes once a week can never compete with something that comes once a year. Rosh Hashanah is our New Year. That gives it a certain magic, even a sense of urgency. Shabbat comes once a week. We’re used to it. We see it all the time. Tonight, the annual and the weekly will […]

On Tuesday morning, Nov. 12, 2024, I stepped out of the shower in my home, slipped on the finished wooden floor, and fell backward, hitting my head on the side of the bathtub on the way down. The result was a catastrophic injury: I was rendered quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down. Fortunately, I sustained […]