Intermountain Jewish News

Leisure

I.J. Singer’s dispatches for the Yiddish Forward are collected in Viaggi in America (Travels in America), which was recently published in a new Italian translation. (Giuntina; Wikimedia Commons)
Culture

I.J. Singer is part of Italy’s Yiddish moment

In 1932, Israel Joshua Singer boarded a ship bound for New York, where he had been invited to report on the US for Yiddish-speaking Jews like himself. “Americans are a difficult people to understand,” the famed novelist wrote in one of his first articles from the US. Nearly a century later, his first encounters with America have appeared together in Italian translation.

JTA
John Galliano and Anna Wintour pictured in 2021; in the background are Galliano-designed gowns on exhibit at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. (Getty Images)
Culture

Met honors Galliano — did the designer do teshuvah?

Before the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it would honor fashion designer John Galliano with a major Costume Institute exhibition next spring, the museum convened at least two unusual meetings: a face-to-face with Galliano and a number of prominent rabbis, and a larger meeting with the recently retired Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, museum officials and several prominent Jewish leaders.

Andrew Silow-Carroll, JTA
French DJ and artistic director Barbara Butch poses during a photo session in Paris on March 5, 2026. (Joel Saget / AFP via Getty Images)
Culture

French-Jewish DJ Barbara Butch stands strong

The popular French Jewish DJ Barbara Butch is striking a defiant tone after pro-Palestinian activists disrupted her concert in Grenoble, France, vowing not to be cowed from performing.

JTA
Zev Moore at the plate for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Leisure

Baseball’s Johnny Appleseed? Professional contract for observant Jew

Israeli-American baseball player Zev Moore signed a professional contract this week with the Trenton Thunder of Major League Baseball’s Draft League. According to Moore’s publicist, he became the second Orthodox Jew to play professional baseball, while also becoming the second player raised in Israel to sign a contract allowing him to compete at that level.

JNS
Lionel Messi, then with FC Barcelona, puts a note in the Western Wall, during a team trip to Israel and the West Bank, Aug. 4, 2013. (Oliver Weiken/AFP via Getty Images)
Leisure

11 for #10 — The GOAT’s encounters with Jews and Israel

Argentine soccer icon Lionel Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, has built one of soccer’s most decorated careers. Throughout his illustrious career, Messi has cultivated a measured public image, rarely commenting on politics or becoming involved in major public controversies.

JTA
Ben and Jerry's Israel has launched a new flavor, Milk and Honey ice cream.
Business

B&J’s . . . Milk and Honey

Ben & Jerry’s independent Israel operation has come up with a flavor that does not leave much to interpretation. Called “Milk and Honey,” the biblical description of the Land of Israel, its ingredients are supplied by Israeli cows and bees and its chocolate fudge pieces come shaped like Stars of David.

JTA
Kosher chef Sruly Meyer knows how to handle the fire on ‘100 Cooks’ on the Food Network. (Food Network via JNS)
Culture

Sruly Meyer handles the fire on ‘100 Cooks’

Watching television in his home in Hollywood, Calif. — a fan of “Chopped!” and “Beat Bobby Flay”— Sruly Meyer dreamed of being on the Food Network. With word that a new show called “100 Cooks” was being cast, producers contacted him, saying they were impressed with his Instagram posts. 100 home chefs in America enter an arena, where they are randomly selected to compete against each other to win $100,000.

JNS
Matt Turner, left, and Andres Cantor (Getty Images/Design by Grace Yagel)
Leisure

At the World Cup — Jewish players, coaches, broadcasters

By Kenny Griffel, International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame World Cup In celebration of the 2026 World Cup, here are Jewish sportspeople involved in this year’s tournament. In the history …

Special to the IJN
The Empire State Building, JPMorgan Chase Building and One Vanderbilt in New York City are illuminated in the colors of the New York Knicks during Game 5 of the NBA Finals, June 13, 2026. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Leisure

6/13 — 613. Jewish Knicks fans count their blessings

For some Jewish fans of the New York Knicks, the most salient number related to the team’s NBA championship win on Saturday was not 94 — the team’s final point tally — or 53 — the number of years since the last title. It was 613 — the date of the victory (6/13) and the number of commandments (mitzvot) in the Torah.

JTA