Susie Davidson, JNS.org What do Israel and Massachusetts have in common? Many recent comparisons have centered on the fact that, when the Boston Marathon bombings occurred, Bostonians got a taste for the kind of attack Israelis endure on a regular basis. To that end, Israeli trauma teams were called upon to lend their expertise in Boston following the marathon bombings. But Israeli environmental entrepreneur Yosef Abramowitz stresses a different area of common ground, explaining that both Israel and …More

The Jewish Chronicle, a nearly 90-year-old newspaper in central Massachusetts, will stop publishing in June. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has had a circulation of about 5,000 for many years. It changed from a weekly to a monthly several years ago. It is delivered free to area synagogues and stores. Mar-Len Publications, owned by Philip T. Davis, publishes the Chronicle. Advertising has dropped significantly and the newspaper has not made any money in the last five years, Davis told the Worcester Telegram. The …More

US-born "Jewish terrorist" receives two life sentences. [Times of Israel] Natan Sharansky is set to propose new egalitarian laws for the Kotel. [Times of Israel] Yeshiva University alumni plan to block an award for Jimmy Carter. [Forward] A Jewish women's group is calling for civil marriages in Israel, and easier divorce laws. [Forward] A wave of anti-Semitic graffiti hits Massachusetts. [Arutz Sheva] Italy recovers a Marc Chagall stolen from a US yacht. [Arutz Sheva] A look at Hitler's Jewish soccer league. …More

Students at a Harvard University dorm were treated to anti-Semitic solicitations last week, as papers inviting undergrads to a faux social club party indicated “Jews need not apply.” Satirical papers made to look like event invites were shoved under the doors of River Houses dormitories, boasting the creation of a new finals club called The Pigeon. Finals clubs are a Harvard tradition of secret, underground social clubs known for exclusivity. The invites gave details on a “Punch Party” in …More

Anti-Semitic graffiti was found written on the back door of a Jewish residence on the campus of Wheaton College. The graffiti was discovered Sunday morning at the Jewish Life House of the private liberal arts school in southeastern Massachusetts. Wheaton President Ronald Crutcher informed the student body of the incident in a campus-wide email, according to the Boston Globe. "I want to be clear: this will not be tolerated,” Crutcher wrote. “Wheaton is committed to appreciating, understanding and …More

Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank announced today that he will not seek reelection. The announcement reversed his earlier decision to run for a 17th term. The decision came shortly after the Massachusetts Legislature redrew congressional district lines. The state’s House members shrunk from 10 to nine because of comparatively slowly population growth show in the 2010 census. Redistricting changed Democratic Frank’s historically liberal district. While he kept liberal Newton, he gained …More

In April 2009, at the age of 35, Ethan Zohn seemed to have it all. A native of Lexington, Massachusetts and graduate of Vassar College, he had played professional soccer in Zimbabwe and the U.S. He had won season three of the reality show Survivor, earning $1 million dollars. He took his fame and money and invested in charity: After seeing African graveyards filled with AIDS victims and losing a good friend to the disease, he had created an organization called Grassroot Soccer, which trains soccer stars to educate …More