The Jerusalem Ice City Festival is still bringing in scores of pleased patrons, as adults and children take in the marvels of a frozen city in the middle of the desert. The festival opened in late February and will run through April 30, hosted as part of a partnering between Israel and China. China hosted the world’s first ice sculpture event in 1963, and brought the Ice City Festival to Jerusalem last year to much success. 2013’s festival includes several nods to Chinese culture including a replica …More

An antelope was grazing peacefully on an African plain, with her fawn close by her side. Suddenly, the fawn said with alarm, “Mommy, I see a pair of lions in the distance! The mother calmly replied, “Yes dear, I have been watching them for some time.” Puzzled, the fawn asked, “Aren’t you afraid? Shouldn’t we run away?” Replied the mother: “Let me tell you something very important. Listen carefully for your very life may depend on this: a lion in the distance is …More

Yesterday I joined Jewish food and wine lovers at the 7th Annual Kosher Food & Wine Experience in New York City. There were samplings of everything from wines to champagnes… To vodkas and whiskeys… And even tequila. Like last year, the press and trade portion was catered from Pomegranate, the amazing Kosher Supermarket from Brooklyn. There were all kinds of beautiful hors d’oeuvres, from classics to reimagined dishes. I do have to say that my favorite part was the featured …More

The Lollapalooza music festival scheduled to take place in Tel Aviv was canceled. No reason was given for the cancellation for the August event in Yarkon Park, the Los Angeles Times reported. A festival spokeswoman characterized the cancellation as a postponement. The website for Lollapalooza Israel was closed earlier this month, according to the newspaper. The event had been announced last August. Israeli organizers and promoters reportedly were having trouble recruiting top artists for the festival, and also …More

Russian opera singer Evgeny Nikitin has withdrawn from the Bayreuth Opera Festival because of Nazi tattoos on his chest and arm. Nikitin, 39, withdrew days before he was supposed to sing the lead in Richard Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman," after archival images of him playing drums in a heavy metal band -- chest bared and with shaved head -- were shown recently on German television and seen by the Bayreuth festival directors and conductor. Images of a swastika and other far-right symbols were plainly seen on his …More

Arab citizens may be drafted into service in Israel. [Tablet] What's your opinion on the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial being vandalized? [Israel Hayom] The Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester in Brighton wants to build a better community for the future. [Brighton Pittsford Post] The Jewish Federation of Tulsa begins construction on a 6,5000-square-foot community garden on its campus. [Tulsa World] Dr. Richard Prasquier, president of CRIF, is shocked that France’s soccer team did not visit …More

Writer and psychologist Irvin Yalom publishes a new book that puts him in touch with his Jewish roots. [Israel Hayom] Israeli leaders called for international action to be taken to stop the massacre occurring in Syria. [Israel Hayom] The plans for Kulturfest: The First Chana Mlotek International Festival of Jewish Performing Arts will be announced Tuesday at a gala honoring Neil Sedaka and others at Town Hall in Manhattan. [The New York Times] Sex abuse victims in Brooklyn often do not come forward. [The …More

More than half of Jewish Israelis call illegal African migrants a “cancer.” [Los Angeles Times] An Australian Jewish conference cancels anti-Zionist speakers. [EJP] Tablet reports a decrease in the number of young Jewish women undergoing rhimoplasty. [Tablet] Jewish literacy program PJ Library reaches three million books delivered to children. [Huffington Post] A Jewish theater in Arizona closes after 24 years. [AZ Cenral] Berlin’s Jewish film festival turns 18. [Forward] And Joe Eszterhas …More

The Jerusalem Light Festival has returned once again. For the next week and a half, the Old City will play host to spectacular light and sound exhibits. This is the fourth time that the city of Jerusalem has hosted this event, which last year saw almost 250,000 visitors. Even more are expected this year. Last night a large crowd gathered by the Festival’s entrance, Jaffa Gate, more than half an hour before it opened. Many visitors clamored to take pictures of the big, colorful arbor that had been erected at …More

The LABA Festival is an annual tradition in Manhattan, bringing the work of Jewish artists into the mainstream. The LABA initiative is close to the heart of New York’s 14th Street Y, where the House of Study project fosters a different panel of select fellows each year. At the end of a 12-month period, the fellows present their work to the community, in a colorful, innovative festival of art. This year’s LABA event, taking place over the weekend, centers around the theme “Blueprint,” with …More

A group of disabled Uruguayan Jews made a trek to Israel, fulfilling a life-long dream, [Israel Hayom] while the World Jewish Congress president thanked the Italian prime minister for being a friend to the Jews. [World Jewish Congress] Elsewhere, a Tablet writer explores the trend of violence and racism in Israeli soccer, [Tablet] as the government of Canada donates $400,000 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. [Newswire] Meanwhile, the influence of Hebrew poetry in the early 20th century art scene is a …More

A group of Hungarian Jews launches a suit over alleged racist remarks. [IOL News] A writer talks about the legacy he inherited as a child of a Nazi perpetrator. [Kansas City Star] Elsewhere, San Diego prepares to host a festival celebrating the Jewish-Mexican experience, [U-T San Diego] while thousands are expected to attend a Jewish festival in Chicago. [Sun Times] Meanwhile, a new study says Israel is the best place to launch a start up. [Times of Israel] And the Jewish answer to the social platform TED has …More