The Amtrak train that hurtled off the tracks in Philadelphia left a trail of broken bodies and dreams. Among the dead are at least two Jews, both with inspiring stories. Justin Zemser, 20, was a midshipman at the Naval Academy heading back to his home in Queens, New York. Rachel Jacobs was a 39-year-old mom…
Justin Zemser, a 20-year-old Jewish midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland, was one of at least seven passengers killed in a deadly Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia. “He was the most wonderful kid,” Zemser’s mother, Susan Zemser, told reporters, according to the Daily News. Zemser, who grew up in Rockaway Beach, New York, was…
Against the backdrop of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, the National Museum of American Jewish History describes the Jewish immigrant experience: the lure of freedom and economic opportunity, struggles against poverty and prejudice, the balancing act between tradition and assimilation. Here are men and women who took risks, made discoveries, survived hardships and pioneered…
An event at the University of Pennsylvania Hillel co-sponsored by a group that backs boycotting Israel took place recently with no interference despite its challenge to the plain language of Hillel International’s guidelines. The April 26 event featured Avraham Burg, who is a former speaker of the Knesset and served as chairman of the Jewish…
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…
(Reuters) — An ad campaign featuring an image of Adolf Hitler and linking Islam to Nazism could soon appear on Philadelphia-area buses after a court ruling this week that forces the regional transit authority to accept the campaign. The ad’s sponsor, political blogger Pamela Geller, said on Friday she was pleased by a ruling by…
Philadelphia’s Jewish federation has named its top marketing official as the new publisher of the city’s local Jewish newspaper, The Jewish Exponent. Steven Rosenberg, the chief marketing officer for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, is taking over as the publisher’s representative as well as the vice president and general manager of the Exponent, replacing…
An Israeli diplomat will be married in a same-sex marriage ceremony conducted by the mayor of Philadelphia. Elad Strohmyer, Deputy Consul General of Israel in Philadelphia and his partner Oren Ben-Joseph will be married at the Philadelphia City Hall this week, Ynet reported. Mayor Michael Nutter and conservative Rabbi Michael Bills will officiate. Gay marriage…
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