By Rafael Medoff, JNS.org The news that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) unfairly targeted conservative groups has brought renewed spotlight on a 2010 lawsuit filed by the pro-Israel group Z Street, which alleges it was also singled out by the IRS when applying for tax-exempt status. Click photo to download. Caption: IRS headquarters in Washington, DC. Credit: Internal Revenue Service. The Z Street case, whose first hearing is set for July 2 in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia, has raised …More

On Sunday, residents in Kiryat Malachi staged a protest demanding a planned power plant in their community be stopped. Protestors insist the plant, which has been approved for construction by the Ministerial Committee on Interior Affairs, will pose a serious risk to the environment and the surrounding communities if a missile strikes the site or the plant malfunctions. Home Front Minister and former Environment Protection Minister Gilad Erdan has also joined in on the efforts to stop the plant, which he believes …More

David Karp, the 26-year-old programmer who grew up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and created outrageously successful blogging platform tumblr from a bedroom in his mother’s apartment after he dropped out of high school, is sitting pretty after Yahoo acquired tumblr for a reported $1.1 billion. Who knew that gifs and pictures of wolves were worth that much? It does make sense, though. Tumblr has become the breeding ground for culture since it launched in 2007. As of May 19, the blogging platform …More

Barbra Streisand is set to receive an honorary doctorate of philosophy from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The legendary Jewish songstress will be granted the honor while in Israel to perform at Shimon Peres’s Israeli Presidential Conference. “Barbra Streisand’s transcendent talent is matched by her passionate concern for equality and opportunity for people of every gender and background,” said Hebrew University President Professor Menahem Ben-Sasson. “Equally important, her …More

Among Budapest’s trendy bistros, cafes and bars stands the world’s second largest synagogue. Like the Lower East Side of Manhattan or the East End of London, urban gentrification has had its way with Budapest’s District VII, transforming the once run-down area into a neighborhood of pricey coffees and young artists whose signature works appear to be their hair. Yet despite the neighborhood’s profound changes, one rare constant has remained: the 154-year-old Dohány Street …More

“You have night blindness,” the Israeli army doctor announced unsympathetically at my pre-service medical examination. “You’re dismissed from your IDF mandatory army service by law,” he said and called the next soldier-to-be. I was frightened by the diagnosis. I had worn glasses since I was 3, but I never thought I would lose my vision at 18. It turned out not to be as serious as it sounded: My eyes just didn’t get used to darkness as quickly as they should. It took me time …More

Israel issued a stern warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Tuesday, hours after an IDF vehicle was fired upon in the Golan Heights. Israeli military denied Syrian forces destroyed outright the IDF jeep, as Syria claimed, though an IDF spokesperson did confirm an attempted attack took place. The incident saw an exchange of fire that is rare in the ceasefire zone, though tensions have been rising in the region in recent weeks as spillover from the Syrian civil war threatens to end the tenuous truce between …More

Ingredients: 1 cup heavy cream, chilled 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp powdered sugar zest from 1 lemon Instructions: 1. If possible, chill a medium bowl. Once cold, add cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar and mix on low speed for 1 minute. 2. Increase the speed and mix for 30 seconds. Add zest. Mix for another 30 seconds, or until desired thickness is achieved. Be careful not to overmix the whipped cream, or it will turn grainy. 3. Serve immediately. Can be chilled for up to 8 hrs. Find more …More

Extra classes on Sunday and after school on Wednesday nights--who can forget Hebrew school, the great unifying Jewish-American childhood experience? But whether you loved it or hated it, you have Rebecca Gratz, an 18th-century Jewish philanthropist, to thank. As the Jewish Virtual Library puts it, “Rebecca Gratz, in her time, was one of the most noble women in the world, who can be compared in modern times, for her work, devotion, and dedication to the needy, to a Mother Teresa of the Catholic …More

Georgina Rose, a Jewish doctor of internal medicine, has written a dating self-help guide aimed at career women having trouble engaging in meaningful relationships. One part psychoanalysis workbook, one part practical dating guide, Rose’s self-published book “Are You Ready for the One? A Career Woman’s Guide to Finding Your Man” is currently available on Amazon.com in both paperback and digital form. Jspace caught up with Rose ahead of her book launch on May 23 at the EVR Lounge in New York …More

As emergency crews still sort through the wreckage of yesterday’s devastating Oklahoma tornado, which has killed dozens, the Jewish community is reaching out to offer any support available. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contacted President Barack Obama early this morning, expressing his condolences and prayers. “On behalf of the Government and people of Israel, I offer our heartfelt condolences to you and to the people of the United States on the massive tornado that struck in Oklahoma …More