Volume 49, Issue 24

Debate over an Ashland theater company’s proposed staging of “My Name is Rachel Corrie,” has prompted Oregon Stage Works to put the production on hold while Peter Alzado, the theater’s artistic director, gets input from the community.

WASHINGTON (JTA)—A top Democrat and a top Republican are promising intense congressional scrutiny of President Bush’s proposal for a massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf nations.

WASHINGTON (JTA)—From restricting abortion access to lowering the church-state wall, the Bush administration’s right-leaning domestic agenda is often at odds with the Jewish community’s decidedly liberal views.

NITZAN, Israel (JTA)—Stuart and Anita Tucker’s 970-square-foot prefab on an artichoke field in Kibbutz Ein Tzurim looks like home.

With her third annual empowerment walk to battle ovarian cancer in Gladstone Aug. 5, a relatively healthy Sherie Hildreth raised $50,000 for the Cancer Research Institute at Oregon Health and Science University.

“If you look at the legislative agenda and what we achieved, we were quite successful.”

That’s the assessment of Alan Tresidder of the Tresidder Co., the Lake Oswego-based government relations or lobbying firm that represents the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland at the Oregon Legislature.

All the important aspects of Beth Hamon’s life came together in one moment recently when she lit Shabbat candles at a bicycle ride to raise funds to battle Crohn’s disease and colitis.

Thanks to local and national grants, Portland’s Florence Melton Adult Mini-School now has a resource to help bring history alive—especially for visual learners.

The Ronald McDonald House in Portland was the recipient of 132 stuffed animals and $206 in cash that was donated by Ron and Judy Appelbaum and their 80 guests who attended a combination 60th birthday party and anniversary party held July 28, 2007, at the Museum of the Oregon Territory in Oregon City.

In recent months, Jewish Family and Child Service and numerous local Jewish organizations have expanded their efforts to create collaborative programming between each of these organizations and JFCS.

Havurah Shalom invites families to experience Shabbat on the Farm at 10:30 a.m., Aug. 25, at Sauvie Island Organics.

Former Portlander Ben Brewer, 24, left Oregon to attend Emory University in Atlanta before making aliyah.

The son of Miryam and Roger Brewer, he attended Havurah Shalom, where his family still are members. While living in Portland, he went to Camp Solomon Schechter, first as a camper and later as a counselor, for about nine years.

Who knew The Fonz had a hand in inspiring next month’s Portland Area Jewish Educators’ annual conference? He must have, given this year’s theme: It’s Cool to be Jewish.

Rosh Hashana is a time of sweet new beginnings—for people, for congregations and even, as it turns out, for buildings.

ROSH PINA, Israel (JTA)—When Hezbollah rockets started falling on Kiryat Shemona last summer, Dror Museri shut down his locksmith, safe and bike shop and fled with his wife and twin toddler daughters to Tel Aviv.

It’s not just wanting to bring more culture to Vancouver that drives former Portland Jewish Academy teacher Sacha Reich.

The same could be said for PJA Librarian George Lederer, but he doesn’t seem very interested in the first place in how much culture one can find in Vancouver.

With the new school year a homecoming for three teachers returning to Portland Jewish Academy, it seems appropriate that the keynote speaker for the day school’s staff training will be Rabbi Alan Berg, who returned to Portland this summer after an absence of 26 years.

NEW YORK (JTA)—In a groundbreaking move to recognize the experiences of transgender Jews, the Reform movement has published several prayers for sanctifying the sex-change process.

Getting halfway there can be a milestone when you’re “Over Halfway Done,” the name of Eugene’s Temple Beth Israel’s upcoming Aug. 30 picnic to celebrate how far they have come with their new synagogue building.

A Portland native who has embarked on a writing career passed a key milestone in that career with the publication of a short story in one of America’s foremost literary journals.

NEW YORK (JTA)—Depending on whom you ask, Bratz are odd-looking multiethnic dolls with big eyes and skimpy clothes—or they’re, like, the coolest things ever. The dolls—with their “passion for fashion” demonstrated through midriff-baring tops and micro-mini skirts—have been criticized by many parents as being overly-sexualized and therefore bad examples for little girls.

Many of the Rose Schnitzer Manor residents who attended the Aug. 3 performance of “Address Unknown,” adapted for the stage by Frank Dunlop, had read the original 1936 story by Katherine Kressman Taylor, which warned millions of Americans of the impending Holocaust.

In the summer of 1936, a year after the enactment of the Nuremberg Laws, the world turned a blind eye to Nazi Germany’s genocidal intentions as Hitler hosted the Olympics in Berlin. With next summer’s games set to take place in Beijing, Jewish and Israeli athletes have a responsibility to help ensure that the world does not make the same mistake.

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Ehud Barak, the new leader of Israel’s Labor Party, is proving to be something of an enigma.

Pairs of rabbinic students and recently ordained rabbis traveling in Oregon are finding so many Jews, that they aren’t covering as much ground as they expected to this summer.

“If you look at the legislative agenda and what we achieved, we were quite successful.”