Volume 50, Issue 14

JERUSALEM (JTA)—The terrorist attack this month at a Jerusalem yeshiva and the new Israeli national intelligence assessment presented to the Cabinet on March 9 underscore the acute security problems Israel faces this year and beyond.The terrorist shooting spree in the Mercaz Harav yeshiva, which left eight students dead, raised questions about the vulnerability of Jews in western Jerusalem to terrorists emanating from the mostly Arab eastern part of the city.  read more »

“Israel cannot afford another withdrawal unless there is a guarantee that someone on the other side of the border can promise that this land will not be a launching pad for missiles,” Americans for Peace Now founder Mark Rosenblum told Portlanders March 7.  read more »

LOS ANGELES (JTA)—The simplest innovations sometimes lead to the greatest rewards, as Rachel Andres learned this month when she was named the 2008 recipient of the $100,000 Charles Bronfman Prize.  read more »

Power quits Obaman

WASHINGTON (JTA)—A top Obama foreign policy adviser who drew criticism for past statements on Israel quit the campaign over an unrelated controversy.  read more »

Bounty FOR Barak

JERUSALEM (JTA)—A radical Iranian student group placed a $400,000 bounty on Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The Islamic Student Justice Seekers made the announcement March 9, according to the Iranian News agency IRNA.  read more »

Colombia said like Israel

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez compared Colombia to “ Israel” as tensions between the two nations flared. Chavez, the autocrat whose relations with the United States have worsened as he has befriended Iran and Cuba, moved troops to the border with Colombia after Colombian troops raided a Colombian rebel retreat in Ecuador.  read more »

A Nazi flag attached to a balloon flying next to the Freemont Bridge March 7 distracted motorists, prompting Portland Police to remove the flag.  read more »

Studio 54—the out-of-the box, out-of-the-center intergenerational dance party sponsored by the Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Portland Jewish Events—drew more than 100 dancers for a festive party at the Fez Ballroom Feb. 28.  read more »

Whether through inreach and outreach events for the congregation her husband leads or using her skills and background to serve the community, Cantor Ida Rae Cahana quickly has become a visible presence in Portland’s Jewish community.  read more »

A Celebration of Israeli Culture Through Music on April 1 will launch the Israel at 60 celebration sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.  read more »

Oregon Kosher, in collaboration with numerous local Jewish organizations in the Portland area, is launching Kosher Awareness Month in April to promote the ideals of kosher food.  read more »

Daniel Z. Lepow has joined the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland as director of community development.  read more »

Sharon Ungerleider, a prominent Jewish leader in Eugene and member of the Reconstructionist Eugene congregation Beth Israel, hosted a dinner in Portland March 6 for the national president of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation and 10 local Jewish leaders including a number of prominent young leaders.  read more »

The Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Portland Kollel will present a Purim carnival at the MJCC 1-4 p.m., March 23.  read more »

In hosting its 29th annual Purim party in Portland, Chabad of Oregon is “Taking the party to town.”  read more »

At first glance, “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” seems to have no place in the world of Jewish holidays. The classic Stephen Sondheim musical is full of slashing razors, spurting blood and cannibalism.  read more »

Bidders generously raised their bidder cards during the Mitzvah Moment to raise money for the scholarship fund at Maimonides Jewish Day School. Held at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center, the school’s annual auction March 2 drew a record crowd in excess of 200 people and netted an estimated $80,000 for the small day school.  read more »

The Jewish Business Network’s second annual fundraising event, “A Day of Hope,” drew a record crowd to the  Hilton Hotel in Vancouver on Feb. 9 and raised $25,000.  read more »

The Best is Yet to Come drew 310 people to the Benson Hotel March 8 to raise $153,000 for the seniors at Cedar Sinai Park’s Robison Jewish Health Center.  read more »

Competing against 84 students from 14 public and private middle schools in the greater Portland metro area, Portland Jewish Academy eighth-grader Devin Edwards was the top scoring mathlete in the region’s MathCounts competition Feb. 8.  read more »

Yafa Arberboy speaks about the plight of residents in Sderot, Israel, who have faced rocket attacks from Gaza for seven years.  read more »

Chabad Jewish Center of Hillsboro is celebrating a year of a weekly minyan every Shabbat (Friday evening/Saturday morning).  read more »

The Portland Jewish Film Festival opens April 3 for a two-week run in which 14 films representing the work of filmmakers in eight nations will be presented.  read more »

When Alice Meyer talks about the Oregon Jewish Museum’s annual gala art auction, it’s hard not to get caught up in her enthusiasm.  read more »

On April 6, six Portland area choirs will perform in the fourth annual Portland Jewish Choral Festival.  read more »

To the editor:

I am writing about JTA writer Leslie Susser’s latest dispatch from Jerusalem (Jewish Review, March 1, page 1).  read more »

Maj. Gen. Uzi Dayan (Res.) is marking three momentous events this month, 60 years after they took place. They include his own birth, the death in battle of his father and the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.  read more »

Alan Cushway of Southeast Portland walked with trepidation into his first Melton class. He toted his binder, Tanach—and a secret.  read more »