In our Community
The Alliance

New strategic plan will guide Alliance for next 3 years

Wednesday, February 5

How can the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island better serve you and create the right programs and options for our community?

This fall a team of board members, community members and Alliance staff came together to create a strategic plan for the next three years. They created a community survey which more than 350 people responded to. Another 150 people participated in small group discussions. The goal was to gauge how the community’s needs have shifted or solidified in key areas since the last strategic plan

Coming up Wednesday!

Israeli agriculture in the spotlight at Israeli Culture Series program

Wednesday, January 22

Israeli farming is resilient and known throughout the world for innovation in use of resources. On Feb. 12, Nevo Atia, a director of BNOP Agriculture, will present a program “Revolutionizing Agriculture; Israel’s Journey of Innovation and Resilience.” Part of the year-long Israeli Culture Series, the program will take place at 7 p.m. at the Dwares Jewish Community Center in Providence.
Listen Now!

In Conversation with Adam Greenman: The 3-Year Strategic Plan

Wednesday, February 5

In the fall of 2024, the Jewish Alliance embarked on a community-listening campaign and collected data from more than 500 community members throughout the state through a comprehensive survey, small group conversations, and one-on-one interviews. With the help of our volunteers, the data was analyzed and goals and strategies were developed. Listen in as Emma Newbery talks with Adam Greenman about the vision behind the Alliance's 2025 Strategic Plan, including its community-driven goals, and his hopes for the next five years. 

Arts and Entertainment
Theater Review

Suspension of disbelief not required in visually stunning ‘Life of Pi’ at PPAC

Yesterday at 4:01 PM

PROVIDENCE – There is an unspoken contract between the creators of theater and those attending it. 

We in the audience agree that the artificiality of what is taking place on stage – the stylized unfolding of a scripted narrative, the representation of a time and a place that is not necessarily our own and the incarnation of invented others by actors – will be accepted as real. For the length of the production, we allow …

Theater Review

‘Funny Girl’ best enjoyed for what it is, not for what it was

Thursday, February 6

BOSTON – It took nearly 60 years for “Funny Girl” to return to Broadway in revival, an astonishing length of time considering that the popular 1964 production earned eight Tony nominations and lasted 1,348 performances.

The primary reason for the delay was finding the right woman to play Fanny Brice – the legendary Jewish star of vaudeville’s Ziegfeld Follies at the turn-of-the-20th century – once Barbra Streisand was done with her. It was Streisand’s Tony-nominated performance on stage (she lost to Carol Channing in “Hello, Dolly!”) …

Thursday evening!

Crime novel explores the lines between loyalty and obsession

Monday, January 13

Stories have always been my way to make sense of the world, and “We Would Never” left a deep impression on me. In many ways, my connection to this story mirrors how Tova Mirvis’ books have impacted me. Her ability to explore the intricacies of family, identity, and relationships has long resonated with me, making her work a must-read. I’m thrilled to be bringing her to Rhode Island for …

Headlines from Israeli newspapers

Jordan's King Abdullah slammed in Arab world for response to Trump's Gaza plan

Critics condemn King Abdullah II for what he said and also how he conducted himself during his meeting with Donald Trump while discussing a U.S. 'takeover' of Gaza. 'An American president humiliated …

News

Jeshuat Israel, Shearith Israel return to court

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

The Rhode Island Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Dec. 12 about the appeal of Congregation Jeshuat Israel of Newport to overturn Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Maureen B. Keogh’s 2023 decision upholding landlord Congregation Shearith Israel of New York City’s eviction of Jeshuat Israel from Touro Synagogue, the nation’s oldest standing synagogue. Jeshuat Israel claimed that Shearith Israel didn’t follow proper procedures

What’s ahead for the 34 Jewish members of the 119th Congress

Monday, January 13

WASHINGTON – There are 34 Jews in the incoming Congress, with a 35th likely to join in April.

Should that candidate, Florida State Sen. Randy Fine, win his special election in Florida, that would mean no change in numbers overall between the outgoing Congress and the incoming one: The House Jewish delegation will drop from 26 to 25, but the number of Jewish senators will increase from nine to a minyan.

D'var Torah

Parashat Vayechi: Everything in a name

Thursday, January 9

The Torah describes Jacob in his last days, blessing his sons. He leaves behind him a record of life marked by dramatic episodes: he was despised by his brothers when he was young and later elevated …

Editor's column

Grateful to avoid the pressure of resolutions

Are you a resolution maker or do you prefer to just move ahead into the year without a list of goals to work on? Do you have trouble making resolutions that you can accomplish or even making …

Light in the cold darkness

Thoughts and ramblings on voting this year

Can we agree to come together as a strong community?

No hooray in this summer’s last hurrah

The Olympics are in full swing!

Obituaries

Linda Russian, 72

Tuesday, January 21

Marcus Pearlman, 95

Tuesday, January 21

Aaron Lewis, 89

Tuesday, January 21

Sheldon Friedland, 97

Tuesday, January 21

Beatrice Cohen, 96

Tuesday, January 21

Carol Silverbush, 86

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Steven Schiffman, 78

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Beverly Levin, 89

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

IT SEEMS TO ME
In recent years , I’ve come to appreciate more and more The New York Times columnist David Brooks (b. 8/10/61), who came to the newspaper in September 2003, to replace William Safire as the …
Letters to the Editor

More on petition

Tuesday, January 21

In the December 2024, David Middlemiss wrote a letter about a petition written by teachers and authors who participated in the 2024 NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) convention in …

Food

Indulge your sweet tooth with a better-for-you swap

Thursday, January 9

(Family Features) If you’ve ever come home from a crisp, cool day craving a warm, indulgent treat, you’re not alone. Trouble is, sometimes those baked goodies are a bit too much work when …

Community news
International Holocaust Remembrance Day program features 'Monument'

On Jan. 26, the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center will host a screening of "Monument," a documentary about filmmaker Michael Turner’s visit to the Hungarian Holocaust memorial that …

Touring ‘MJ: the Musical’ at PPAC is a smooth criminal

PROVIDENCE – In 2017, The New York Times  published a series of allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein from women who claimed that he sexually harassed them. The viral …

Establish your community legacy with a bequest

The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island (Alliance) and its endowment, the Jewish Federation Foundation of Greater Rhode Island (JFF), greatly benefit from all planned gifts – contributions …