With Israel in turmoil, group of US rabbis visits with a mission: to listen and learn

President Isaac Herzog has warned about the possibility of civil war, American Jews have been watching with grave concern. It was precisely at this fraught moment that UJA-Federation of New York decided to bring a group of rabbis from the New Yorkarea to Israel — to listen, learn and talk with key Israeli figures, and to communicate the nuances of what they heard back to their communities in New York.

Profiling "Teen Heroes" for JTA...

Recently, I've had the opportunity to profile some inspiring teens for the "Teen Heroes" column for JTA. 

If you know of a teenager trying to change the world with outstanding acts of tikkun olam (healing the world), please let me know!

Moroccan-Born Essaydi Shatters Gender Stereotypes

Drawing on her own life, Lalla Essaydi blends tradition and modern interpretation in her provocative multimedia artwork now on display at the National Museum of African Art.

With a collection of nearly 30 pieces, the Moroccan-born, New York-based photographer and painter challenges Arab, Muslim and African perceptions of female identity with the exhibition "Lalla Essaydi: Revisions."

New International Affairs Head Wants The World for University of Maryland

In 1976, when Ross Lewin was 16 years old, he left his Los Angeles home for the first time to spend the year in Hannover and Hamburg, Germany, as an exchange student with the program Youth for Understanding. Decades later, he still recalls this experience "to see the world from outside of the U.S." as "incredibly formative." Eventually, it would also help shape both his worldview and career. 

As the newly appointed associate vice president for international affairs at the University of Maryland, Lewin said he hopes to bring new international programs to the College Park campus "and transform the lives of students, the way mine had been."

Thanks to Scholarship, Saudi Students Return to U.S. in Droves

After living in the United States for six years, Hani Aljuaid has developed a taste for American coffee.

"Every morning, I go to Starbucks. It's a habit I picked up" while studying at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said the 25-year-old from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. "But at night, I have to have Arabic coffee." 

 Along with a newfound penchant for caffeine, Aljuaid recently completed a bachelor's degree in computer science and mathematics, one of nearly 68,000 Saudis studying this year at more than 1,200 universities and colleges across the United States as a participant in the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP).

Harriman’s Legacy Endures

More than 150 guests gathered inside one of the elegant reception rooms at the U.S. Department of State, named for America’s first ambassador to France, Benjamin Franklin, to honor another U.S. ambassador to France — the late and equally elegant Pamela Harriman — and to celebrate the Foreign Service fellowship named in her memory.

Heaven and Earth Collide in ‘African Cosmos’

"African Cosmos: Stellar Arts," an eclectic mix of some 100 objects, spanning from antiquity to modern 

day and encompassing the length and breadth of the continent, examines man's timeless relationship with such heavenly phenomena like the earth, sky, sun, moon and stars as well as lightning and rainbows. On display at the National Museum of African Art, "African Cosmos" is the first major exhibit to explore the historical legacy of African cultural astronomy and its intersection with traditional and contemporary African art.