A Boy, Busts and Bulls

Surprises everywhere, and yet no real surprise—just wishful thinking, benign neglect, repeat performances, and business as usual. Late Saturday, President Trump called for yet another halt to America’s attacks against Iran. We are being told that he is once again close to getting the ayatollahs and mullahs to agree to a peace resolution that will […]

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Temple Beth Am-Pressman Academy Gala, Bubbela Party at Venice Beach

The Temple Beth Am-Pressman Academy gala was held on June 14 in honor of outgoing Temple President Jacqui Jacobs and the outgoing chair of the Conservative congregation’s Education Cabinet Shani Fisher. Appropriately, the event’s theme was “Leadership with Heart.” Temple Beth Am-Presman Academy Gala Co-Chair Joanna Kasirer, Honoree Jacqui Jacobs, Honoree Shani Fisher and Gala […]

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Chicken With a Lemony Twist

In the late 1960’s, when my grandparents emigrated from Israel to Australia, they lived in Hurstville. Their house was steps away from the Georges River in the quiet, idyllic Southern suburbs of Sydney. The only drawback was the distance. Hurstville was 15 miles away from Bondi and the Eastern suburbs, the center of Jewish life […]

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Hope in Faith, Faith in Hope

At gatherings of university leaders, my fellow college presidents and I would regularly review data on how Americans felt about higher education, and shake our collective heads. Each year the percentage of U.S. adults who said that they had either “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in this country’s colleges and universities […]

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What Will It Take?

What will it take? What needs to happen before Jews finally take full measure of the meteoric rise in antisemitism around the world—and start taking it personally? How close to home must it hit? Since October 7, 2023, when violence and incitement against Jews became casually accepted as a social justice prerogative, far too many, […]

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Rabbi Artson Honored by WLCJ, Mem Global’s Embark Names Executive Director

Rabbi Brad Artson, American Jewish University’s Goldstine Distinguished Scholar, received the Mathilde Schechter Award from the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism (WLCJ) during the organization’s international convention, which was held this month in Alexandria, Va. “I am grateful beyond words to my friends in Women’s League for Conservative Judaism for the honor of receiving their […]

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