It surprises even me to see Walter Cronkite’s name and the words “authentic Judaism” in the same title, but you can thank Beliefnet’s Steven Waldman for that. He has a piece up about the newly deceased Cronkite and Sandra Nemser, who it turns out, is Steven’s mom. In the post, we learn that Cronkite was…

A Hamas official on Tuesday accused Israel of exporting to the Gaza Strip chewing gum laced with an aphrodisiac to “corrupt the young,” according to a report in Israeli daily, Ha’aretz. As goofy as this claim is, and it was labeled “absurd” by an army source, it tells us something about the nature of all…

In his first such sit-down with Jewish leaders, President Obama will meet this afternoon with representatives of from 11 different major Jewish organizations. The groups include American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Anti-Defamation League, Hadassah, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Jewish Democratic Council, Orthodox Union, United Jewish Communities, Union for Reform Judaism, United Synagogue…

New York’s City Council voted to add two Muslim holidays to the city’s public school calendar, citing the annual observance of Christian and Jewish holidays. Mayor Bloomberg objects, saying the city isn’t obligated to accommodate all faiths: “If you close the schools for every single holiday, there won’t be any school.” My heart tells me…

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