New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will address one thousand attendees Monday night, for Jspace.com and Dor Chadash’s celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s 65th birthday. The Mayor will be joined by Israel Consul General Ido Aharoni at the newly renovated and recently re-opened Marquee nightclub at 8 pm on April 15, with renowned DJ Nadav Vee taking on headlining duties for the evening. Sponsoring organizations include: Dor Chadash, UJA‐Federation, EL AL Airlines, Yedhiot Aharonot …More

French police “hold a suspect” over an anti-Semitic attack. [BBC] The Phoenix-area Jewish community grieves over a suspected murder-suicide of a local Jewish family. [JTA] A crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Melbourne marred the annual celebration of Israel’s independence. [Jewish Journal] The Jewish Education Project holds its Celebrate Our Future reception at Columbia University. [The Sacramento Bee] Are all Jews White? The Woody Allen Syndrome. [The Huffington Post] What inspired …More

Torontonian journalist Laura Hochman is blogging about her experience on March of the Living for Jspace as part of the Young Adult contingent. By relating her experience in Israel, she hopes to encourage others to participate in this educational and inspirational journey. Read the rest of her blog entries here. We all know the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar. Logistically, I never really thought about what that meant. Whereas with the Christian calendar, holidays start in the morning, our holidays start in …More

The Jewish Theological Seminary community gathered on April 26 to honor Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, and discuss the relationship between the American Jewish community and the Jewish State. Taking a brief respite from the hectic last week of classes, students, faculty, and visitors filled the Woman's League Synagogue for the lunchtime program that featured “Hatkivah” by the H. L. Miller Cantorial School Chorus and a holiday address by JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen. In a speech titled …More

The ceremony to remove Gilad Shalit’s photo from the balcony of the capitol in Rome, where it has been hanging in solidarity with the kidnapped Israeli soldier for two years, was attended by around a thousand supporters and revelers. City Mayor Gianni Alemanno addressed the crowd in Piazza del Campidoglio, inviting Gilad Shalit to journey to Rome for his first trip abroad as a free man. Shalit was awarded honorary citizenship of the Italian capital in a unanimous decision back in July 2009. Alemanno named …More

The Gift of Shabbat in a 24/7 World, which launched this spring, has received wide support from celebrities nation-wide. Paula Abdul, popular pop singer, dancer, choreographer and television personality, who lights Shabbos candles on Friday evening, said, I encourage you to explore [the Mitzvah of Shabbat candles] this spring with JLIs courseI know it will be a source of inspiration and help make your life brighter and the world around you a more peaceful place. Shabbos-observant actor and neuroscientist, Mayim …More