Hanukkah

16 Stories

NYT Takes Heat for Crossword Puzzle With Disturbing Shape
NYT Takes Heat for
Crossword Puzzle's Shape
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 24, 2022 4:00 PM CST

NYT Takes Heat for Crossword Puzzle's Shape

Many people said Sunday's game resembled a swastika, and right before first night of Hanukkah

(Newser) - When Caitlin Lovinger analyzed Sunday's crossword puzzle for the New York Times, the 23rd for the newspaper by data analytics consulting manager Ryan McCarty, she gushed over its puns and jokes, as well as its shape. "I love the geometry in this puzzle—so many stair steps!"...

Biden White House Reveals 'Gifts From the Heart' Theme

Decorations include gingerbread White House recognizing workers who braved the pandemic

(Newser) - “Gifts from the Heart” is the theme of President Joe Biden's first White House Christmas. First lady Jill Biden was scheduled on Monday to unveil decorations matching the theme, said to be inspired by people the couple met as they traveled the country this year, the AP reports....

White House Plans Parties Amid Warnings to Hunker Down

Melania Trump will host 'holiday reception,' with other parties to follow

(Newser) - Health officials have been issuing warnings against traveling and gathering for the holidays in the midst of a coronavirus surge across the US, but 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue doesn't seem fazed by the cautionary advice. Despite the White House's own issues with COVID-19 after an indoor election night party...

Family:Things Look 'Dire' for Victim of Anti-Semitic Attack

Relatives of 71-year-old Josef Neumann say he likely won't recover after Hanukkah stabbing

(Newser) - Just one of five Jewish people stabbed at a Hanukkah celebration in upstate New York is still hospitalized, but his family says his condition is "dire" and it doesn't look like he'll recover. "Doctors are not optimistic about his chances to regain consciousness" says a statement...

Hanukkah Suspect Had Troubling Phone Searches

Grafton Thomas is charged with hate crimes after 5 people were stabbed at rabbi's house

(Newser) - The man accused of stabbing five people inside a rabbi's house during a Hanukkah celebration has been charged with federal hate crimes, reports NBC News . In the criminal complaint against Grafton Thomas, 37, authorities say they found handwritten journals in which Thomas expressed anti-Semitic views and made references to...

Suspect Held in Stabbings of 5 at NY Hanukkah Celebration

Man apparently stormed Hanukkah celebration an hour north of NYC

(Newser) - A suspect is in custody after a man attacked a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi’s home north of New York City late Saturday, stabbing and wounding five people before fleeing in a vehicle, police said. Grafton E. Thomas, 37, of Greenwood Lake, will face five counts of attempted murder,...

School Shouldn't Have Barred Child With Atheist Parents: Judge

Gary Mangel, Mai Yasue didn't want holiday decor in school; school said daughter couldn't come back

(Newser) - It began with a dispute over classroom holiday decorations and ended with a preschool keeping a student's registration "hostage to a demand." That's according to a judge on the BC Human Rights Tribunal in Canada, ruling Tuesday that the Bowen Island Montessori School erred in its...

New Discovery Solves Centuries-Old Jewish Riddle
 New Discovery Solves 
 Centuries-Old Jewish Riddle 
in case you missed it
Nov 8, 2015 6:17 AM CST

New Discovery Solves Centuries-Old Jewish Riddle

What archaeologists found under a parking lot is 'a dream come true'

(Newser) - More than 100 years of searching and 10 years of digging culminated in a find Jewish archaeologists are calling "a dream come true," LiveScience reports. The Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes—the "villain" of Hanukkah—built the Acra 2,000 years ago to exert control over Jerusalem,...

Hallmark Yanks 'Swastika' Gift Wrap

Not ideal for wrapping Hanukkah presents

(Newser) - Hallmark has halted sales of wrapping paper with a swastika-like design and apologized to customers who may have been offended. California woman Cheryl Shapiro was looking at rolls of paper in a Walgreen's Hanukkah display last week when she noticed how lines in the trim formed the symbol. "...

Oy Vey! Mel's Next Film's About Jewish Warrior

He's producing story of Judah Maccabee

(Newser) - Five years after Mel Gibson derailed his career with a DUI arrest and infamous anti-Semitic rant, the actor's attempt at returning to the Hollywood pantheon has taken a rather ironic turn: Gibson will produce a movie about one of the greatest Jewish warriors of all time, Judah Maccabee, reports...

Prepare Your Kids for Disappointing Presents
 Prepare Your Kids 
 for Disappointing 
 Presents 
A HOLIDAY HOW-TO
Dec 13, 2009 10:00 AM CST

Prepare Your Kids for Disappointing Presents

Keep the inner spoiled brat at bay with these tips

(Newser) - With buildup for the holiday season at fever pitch by Halloween, it’s easy to see how kids are set up for disappointment when it comes time to open gifts. From Julie King and Joanna Faber , some tips to keep the inner spoiled brat at bay, not to mention avoid...

History's Most Badass Jews
 History's Most Badass Jews 
HAPPY HANUKKAH
Dec 13, 2009 5:10 AM CST

History's Most Badass Jews

Bugsy Siegel, Kerri Strug and, of course, Jesus make the list

(Newser) - The beginning of Hanukkah gave Sam Greenspan the excuse to give us his list of history’s most-badass Jews. Some highlights:
  • The Maccabees: “Led Jewish fighters into battles against the armies of Seleucia, Syria, and Rome … and won,” leading to the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem
...

Meet Orrin Hatch, Hanukkah Songwriter
 Meet Orrin Hatch, 
 Hanukkah Songwriter 
YES, THAT SENATOR DEPT
Dec 9, 2009 11:02 AM CST

Meet Orrin Hatch, Hanukkah Songwriter

The Utah Mormon is also a writer of love songs

(Newser) - Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch is a prolific author of love songs and Christian spirituals, but it took about 10 years for Jeffrey Goldberg to cajole the “philo-Semite” Mormon into writing a Hanukkah song. Goldberg first floated the idea for “Eight Days of Hanukkah” as an aside in an...

Christian Group Boycotts Gap Over Holiday Ads
 Christian Group 
 Boycotts Gap 
 Over Holiday Ads 
war on christmas
Nov 13, 2009 2:15 PM CST

Christian Group Boycotts Gap Over Holiday Ads

Not enough Christ in Gap's Christmas: AFA

(Newser) - A Christian group has launched a boycott of the Gap over its religion-neutral holiday ads. The American Family Association, already ticked off by last year’s campaign, which wished consumers a “Merry Gap-mas,” hit the roof over this year's “Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanzaa, Go Solstice....

There's No Right Way to Spell This Word

Rabbis agree it doesn't matter

(Newser) - There's definitely an “H,” an “N” and a “K” in there, but beyond that, spellings of the upcoming Jewish holiday differ significantly. Conservative rabbis tell the New York Post not to worry, though, because all English spellings all wrong. The correct one is in Hebrew. English...

Just in Time for Holidays: No Job
Just in Time for
Holidays: No Job
Nov 30, 2008 5:03 AM CST

Just in Time for Holidays: No Job

Families struggle to save traditions on Tiny Tim budgets

(Newser) - Few things ruin the holidays like losing a job. Yet that's what's happening to thousands of Americans just as they were planning to treat friends and families to gifts and holiday gatherings. The turnaround is excruciating as families struggle to save traditions on extremely tight budgets, reports the New York ...

16 Stories