1) 293,240 Jews live in Pennsylvania. 2) One of the most prominent early Jewish residents of Pennsylvania was Isaac Miranda, who emigrated From France in 1712 and became Lancaster’s first Jewish resident. A businessman and Indian trader, he had a large collection of Jewish books. 3) Pennsylvania’s oldest synagogue is Congregation Mikveh Israel, founded in…
(JTA) — Here’s a tough question: Where might it break the law to wear a Star of David around your neck? (Hint, the answer is not Nazi Germany.) Give up? The correct response is the Township of East Pennsboro, Pa., where one man has a filed a formal complaint with the school district after his son’s…
Two Penn State students who pleaded guilty to spray-painting anti-Semitic graffiti on a mostly Jewish fraternity house were sentenced to community service and probation. Eric Hyland, 20, was sentenced last week in Centre County Court to 200 hours of community service and two years probation, and ordered to pay $6,000 restitution. Last month, Hayden Grom…
(JTA) — There once was a time when the Jewish community in this Pennsylvania city just west of the Pocono Mountains was thriving. That much is clear from a quick tour. The sanctuary at the local Orthodox synagogue, Ohav Zedek, seats nearly 1,000. Temple Israel, the Conservative shul, has two huge buildings — a hulking…
Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf is a JCC macher, but is not Jewish / Flicker: WolfForPa Campaign (JTA) — In his coverage of last night’s primary elections, Slate political reporter Dave Weigel mentioned an odd fact: Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania’s newly crowned gubernatorial nominee, has given so much to his local Jewish community center in York, Pa., that…
In the aftermath of the attempted coup that rocked Turkey over the weekend, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has pointed a finger of blame at Fethullah Gulen, a onetime ally based in the U.S. Here’s how the Forward profiled the controversial cleric — and explained how his less-confrontational stance toward Israel fed his villification by Turkey’s…
On a recent Friday night, members of Swarthmore College’s Hillel community gathered to celebrate Shabbat and reflect on a tumultuous week. With final exams set to begin in the morning, Hillel members in this Pennsylvania college expected a very low turnout. But to their delight, the room in Bond Hall, which houses Swarthmore’s interfaith religious…
The Jewish teacher who sued to lift Pennsylvania’s gay marriage ban told the Forward that she is pleased that the state’s attorney general has refused to defend the law. “We are both incredibly delighted because it’s such good news for the case,” said Helena Miller, referring to her wife, Dara Raspberry. “We were both very…
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