Author: David Rutman

For decades, Tovah Feldshuh has built a career on not playing it safe. The actress has portrayed historical figures including former prime minister Golda Meir, taken on Broadway roles ranging from Jewish heroines to Shakespeare’s Juliet, and appeared in acclaimed television series including “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” Now, at 77, Feldshuh is being introduced to a new […]

Is there a conflict between the existence of the Jewish people and the survival of mankind? The attorney-general of Michigan thinks so. She has chosen her side in this alleged conflict—and it’s not the side of the Jews. Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, recently told a meeting of Michigan Jewish Democrats that they […]

As if the world needed another reason to question Israel’s legitimacy, the Knesset approved a Death Penalty for Terrorists Law on March 30. Pursuant to the law, from now on terrorists, who are no ordinary criminals, will be hanged for the extreme criminality that constitutes acts of terror. Capital punishment will be mandatory. Judges will […]

Everyone has events in their lives that become signposts — moments where one’s destiny or life’s work becomes clear. In the second part of his profile, Rabbi Joel Simonds, the founder of the Jewish Center for Justice and a member of Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s clergy, tells The Journal the moments that have impacted his life.  […]

Nearly 25 Jewish educators—including three from the Los Angeles area representing Valley Beth Shalom synagogue, the Israeli Jewish Community Center (ISJCC) and California State University Long Beach—recently returned from Jewish National Fund-USA and Alexander Muss High School in Israel’s Educators’ Mission to Israel, where participants spent eight immersive days exploring the realities of Israel and […]

We worked on an interesting report dealing with Israeli society. What is the report about? There is an official version and a subversive version. The official version is the report itself, as presented on the website of JPPI: “Trends of Traditionalism Among Nonreligious Youth in Israel.” That is indeed the subject of the research, and […]

There are some people who will just never die. They can’t. It’s unimaginable to consider the world without them. They are such a constant; always at the meeting, showing up to the shiva, shushing the other ladies in the cardroom or ruling the boardroom. They are always there. That is Annette Shapiro. I say “is” […]

Mark Ruffalo is entitled to oppose the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. He is entitled to dislike Larry Ellison, David Ellison, Oracle, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, or any corporate or political policy he chooses. What he is not entitled to is immunity from criticism when his arguments against a massive American media transaction somehow metastasize into yet […]

The city of Montreal is so broke that the mayor quipped recently that the “city’s credit card is maxxed out.” Meanwhile, the crises are proliferating, from a rise in poverty, crime and homelessness to decaying infrastructure, a lack of affordable housing and interminable waits for medical care. So, naturally, on Monday the city council will […]