Study links Jewish and Native American genes

By Carly Silver June 20, 2012

Where can you find the Jews? Thanks to the Diaspora, pretty much everywhere – and, according to recent genetic testing, there might be members of the Tribe in places we had never imagined. A new study of Colorado Native Americans has found that many of these individuals have the so-called “Ashkenazi mutation,” described as “deleterious…

Read More...

Hitler, Anne Frank, Gandhi and Elvis…

By David A.M. Wilensky March 19, 2012

The title of this post could be the setup for a joke. Or it could be a ham-fisted intro to a post about Mormon baptism. Actually, it’s both – and neither. Yes, it’s true that Mormons posthumously baptized Hitler, Anne Frank, Gandhi and Elvis. But sometimes reality is a bit of joke. And yes, this…

Read More...

Sharia law and halakhah; HuffPo on your spring break; Jews coming to Japan’s aid [Required Reading]

By John Propper March 9, 2012

Florida law might threaten authority of Orthodox batei din [Forward] It began as a state bill to oppose Islamic sharia law, but it may end in compromising the authority of Orthodox courts. The Application of Foreign Law in Certain Cases bill, which is one of many such bills nation-wide based on model legislation (ironically by…

Read More...