Volume 51, Issue 13
New York Post should have known better
A political cartoon by Sean Delonas published in the Feb. 18 New York Post and reproduced on this page has been criticized by some as racist because—they say—it implicitly likened President Obama to a chimpanzee and thereby evoked racist imagery of blacks—and worse, it raised the specter of assassination. read more »
Chabad hosts Purim in the Village
Thirty years ago, Yosef Simpson took a bus down from Seattle where he was studying in yeshivah and organized the first Portland community-wide Purim party at the request of Rabbi Sholom Levitin of Chabad of the Northwest, who said Portland had no community-wide party at that time. read more »
Homemade-cookies-at-Purim-spread-love–and-save-money
NEW YORK (JTA)—During my childhood, I loved Purim more for its cookies than the chance to dress in costume. I have such sweet memories of the hamantaschen, rugelach and almond crescents (once called vanilla kipfurl) served at Purim parties at my synagogue. read more »
Portlander enjoys paradoxes of India
From her tour bus she saw trucks, cars, motorcycles, scooters, oxen and camel-driven carts. Elephants with painted faces lumbered past bicycle rickshaws, motorized rickshaws and sacred cows. read more »
Three grants mean up to $1,800 off for BB campers
Parents facing summer have every incentive to enroll their children in overnight camp. But the economy is providing overriding disincentives; money is tight everywhere. read more »
Teens find core at community events
Jonathan Emanuel believes Portland’s Jewish future rests on the often gangly shoulders of the city’s teens. read more »
Business Network aids orphanage
Even in the midst of the recession, 130 people from the Portland and Vancouver business communities enjoyed a sumptuous kosher banquet and top Hollywood entertainment while they donated generously to a Ukrainian orphanage and needy Vancouver families read more »
Consul explains Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Consul General Elin Suleymanov and Vice Consul Elshan Baloghlanov addressed the Feb. 12 luncheon lecture of the Oregon Area Jewish Committee. read more »
Remodeled homes tour features Heiteen project
Artist Susan Kuznitsky thinks her husband, Steve Heiteen, is the only Jewish home remodeler in the upcoming 2009 Tour of Remodeled Homes set for the weekend of March 14 and 15. read more »
Interfaith group lobbies state legislators
Many community leaders attended Interfaith Advocacy Day at the state Capitol in Salem on Feb. 19. read more »
Neveh Shalom offers new memberships free through June
Congregation Neveh Shalom, which is celebrating its 140th anniversary and its recently remodeled and expanded building, invites anyone considering joining a congregation this year to enjoy a complimentary membership through June 30. read more »
Vancouver seder to celebrate heroines
Women will have the opportunity to celebrate women who have been significant in their lives at the March 22 Women’s Seder in Vancouver, Wash. read more »
Seder to weave tapestry of freedom
Passages to Freedom: Our History is a Tapestry, a seder for women, will begin at 5:30 p.m., March 31, at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. read more »
CSP to honor visionaries at benefit for elderly
Reflecting on the past and envisioning the future will be the focus March 7 when Cedar Sinai Park presents its annual benefit to enhance life and dignity for residents of Robison Jewish Health Center. read more »
NY comic brings positive fun to Maimonides Auction
Comedian Joel Chasnoff will headline the Maimonides Jewish Day School 2009 Auction and Raffle on March 22 in an evening of fun, fund-raising and friendship. read more »
March 29 bus tour to explore discrimination history
The Oregon Jewish Musuem’s “Yes We Can! Unlearning Discrimination in Oregon” will culminate with a bus trip exploring Portland’s history of discrimination. read more »
Margles helped create exhibits on prejudice
Oregon Jewish Museum Director Judy Margles has had a hand in creating all three exhibits that make up the current exhibition at the museum—“Yes We Can! Unlearning Discrimination in Oregon.” read more »
Population survey enters final phase
The final phase of the four-phase demographic study conducted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is in its final weeks and days now. read more »
Congregations bring Camp Darfur to Portland
Purim celebrations of Jews’ escape from genocide will evolve into the chance to assist another ethnic group facing that fate when Camp Darfur comes to town March 11-12. read more »
Ariel Beery due in Eugene, Portland
Ariel Beery, the recipient of the 2008-9 Avi Chai Young Genuis award in Jewish education is coming to Oregon March 6-8. read more »
Multi-generational fun March 5
Six local rabbis of various persuasions will turn March 5 into a night of comedy for people of all ages to celebrate the off-kilter holiday of Purim at the first-ever Rabbis Gone Wild. read more »
Kesser Israel hosts speaker on 'Parenting in a war zone'
PROUD PARENT—During a visit to Congregation Kesser Israel Feb. 24, Ephraim Bluth described his experiences as a parent of eight children who have served in the Israeli Defense Force, six of them as officers in elite units. read more »
Center State taps Posner to direct 'The Chosen'
Portland Center Stage will present a dramatic adaptation of Chaim Potok’s 1967 novel “The Chosen” as part of its 2009-2010 season. read more »
'Lovers' plumbs murky depths of need, obsession
The artfully etched and deeply discomfiting romantic drama “Two Lovers” begins with the disturbed main character slipping fully clothed over the railing of a Brighton Beach pier and far below the surface of the rippling water. read more »
Neveh Shalom hosts sculptor's Holocaust work
It was about 30 years ago that Diana Lubarsky began an art project that today is still a work in progress. read more »
Rabbis reveal spectrum of Jewish prayer
How do you pray and what do you pray for? Do you create your own poetry or follow the prayer book? Do you pray alone or with the community? read more »
Economy impacts campaign
Next month the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland begins the process of deciding who gets how much from the Annual Campaign, but nearly one-third of past donors have yet to make their pledge to the 2009 campaign. read more »
Genocide survivors issue call
Genocide survivors in Portland railed against the world’s inaction in Darfur where government sponsored violence has displaced some 2.5 million people and killed nearly 450,000. read more »
Fear and loathing in Europe: the challenge of Islamophobia
BRADFORD, England (JTA)—Ishtiaq Ahmed, who works as a spokesman for the Bradford Council for Mosques, lives with three generations of his family in a luxurious British home built by his father, a successful Pakistani-born businessman. read more »
Can Bibi lure Livni?
JERUSALEM (JTA)—After winning the mandate to form a new government, Benjamin Netanyahu faces a seemingly intractable political paradox. read more »
Rely on talent agency to make sure the music is just right
Music sets the tone and ambience of your wedding celebration, so it has to right. read more »
Make the event a community affair
What happens when you cross a potluck supper with a wedding reception? If all goes well, a very lucky bride and groom who will have fabulous dishes for their reception and can still afford their dream honeymoon. read more »
Tales from the Chuppah
Warning: Article contains graphic descriptions of wedding snafus. Content may be unsuitable for anxious brides, grooms or mothers-in-law. (But don’t worry, there’s a happy ending.) read more »
