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Rabbi Laurie Phillips, founder of a Manhattan ‘synagogue without walls,’ dies at 55
(JTA) — Rabbi Laurie Phillips, whose search for a new model of Jewish engagement led her to found the New York-based “synagogue without walls” Beinenu, died Nov. 26 at her childhood home in Southfield, Michigan. She was 55.
The cause was complications from leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancer, according to an obituary prepared by her friends Debbie Mukamal and Rabbi John Franken.
Starting in 2014, Beinenu (which means “between us” in Hebrew) offered Jewish worship and celebrations in intimate spaces. Phillips and her co-director, the musician Daphna Mor, also led High Holidays services at the JCC Harlem, which had begun catering to a growing number of Jews, including Phillips, who were living in the Manhattan neighborhood.
“Ever sure of herself, she preached from her heart, without notes, sometimes sharing some of her rawest life experiences, such as undergoing chemotherapy and the benefits of wearing good red lipstick,” according to the obituary by Mukamal, who was Phillips’ neighbor when she lived in Brooklyn, and Franken, rabbi of Temple Adas Shalom in Havre de Grace, Maryland.
“Her blunt truth-telling could unleash uproarious laughter as well and many thought she should moonlight in stand-up comedy,” they added.
Phillips also initiated, in 2017, the “Be Kind” campaign, distributioning bright red pins with the slogan and urging those who wore it to use it as a conversation-starter with friends and strangers.
Before launching Beinenu, Phillips served as the associate director for the Mandel Center for Jewish Education at the JCC Association of North America, where she co-created Lechu Lachem, an immersive program for Jewish camp directors. She also helped create, with the JCC Manhattan and three nearby synagogues, the Jewish Journeys project, which provides personalized alternatives to synagogue-based supplementary Jewish schooling.
Growing up in her Detroit suburb, Phillips attended Hillel Day School and was active at Temple Adat Shalom of Farmington Hills. She majored in special education at Michigan State University and later earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. She was ordained at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles in 2003 and served as director of education at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles and at Congregation Habonim in Manhattan.
Phillips said her participation in the mid-1990s as a counselor at what is now known as the Ziering Brandeis Collegiate Institute, a West Coast summer retreat program for young adults, inspired her “to merge her passion for Judaism and education,” according to the Beinenu web site.
In spite of her illness, Phillips was officiating at b’nei mitzvah as recently as mid-November, according to Mukamal and Franken.
“I am so lucky to have found a partner with whom I could create my dream version of a Jewish community in NYC, led through the heart, held by music, genuine love, and joy,” Mor said in statement to JTA. “Laurie’s legacy of light, love and kindness keeps shining through all the people whose lives she touched.”
Phillips is survived by her father Dennis, siblings Beth Phillips and Michael Phillips, and her stepson, Adam Cohen. Here marriage to Howard Cohen ended in divorce. Her mother, Judith Caplan Phillips, died in 2007.
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The post Rabbi Laurie Phillips, founder of a Manhattan ‘synagogue without walls,’ dies at 55 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Putin Apologizes Over ‘Tragic Incident’ with Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Photo: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov
i24 News – Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for what he said represented a “tragic incident” in Russian airspace involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed on Wednesday.
Flight J2-8243 crashed in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
“Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and once again expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to the injured,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“It was noted in the conversation that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft, which was traveling according to its schedule, repeatedly tried to land at Grozny airport. At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks,” the Kremlin said.
The post Putin Apologizes Over ‘Tragic Incident’ with Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Official: Houthis More Technologically Advanced than Credited, Must Not Be Underestimated
FILE PHOTO: Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. Photo: Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
i24 News – The Houthis are more technologically advanced than credited and must not be underestimated, an Israeli official told i24NEWS, adding that the jihadist movement operating out of Yemen was “ideologically toxic.”
The Yemeni terrorists have displayed the relentless will to fight in campaigns against the Saudis and others, the official added. “The Houthis’ flag spells out their goals: destroy America, destroy the Jews, destroy Israel. They get most of their support from Iran and they are very extreme. Their ideology is clear: they want to destroy America and Israel, and are trying to take practical steps in that direction.”
In recent weeks the Houthis have escalated their attacks on Israel, firing ballistic missiles and drones at the Jewish state almost nightly and sending millions of Israelis into bomb shelters.
“The Houthis pose a threat to international security and global trade. Therefore, an international coalition should confront and eliminate this threat,” the official underscored.
Israel “has shown that it has the capability and the resolve to fight a multi front war, and it has had incredible accomplishments since it was attacked in October 2023. It has practically decimated Hamas, Hezbollah and Syrian capabilities. It has exposed Iran’s vulnerabilities and now is an opportunity to cooperate with an international coalition to reduce the Houthis.”
The post Israeli Official: Houthis More Technologically Advanced than Credited, Must Not Be Underestimated first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Raises New Demands in Ceasefire Talks, Refusing to Provide Lists of Hostages
A person walks past pictures of hostages kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas from Gaza, projected on a screen, in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 31, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Marko Djurica
i24 News – Negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages are still ongoing, yet Hamas is raising new demands regarding wounded hostages and refuses to provide a list of living hostages; moreover, whoever conducts the negotiations on their behalf does not necessarily control the happening on the ground, i24NEWS learned on Friday.
Israel applies heavy pressure on Hamas to live up to the promises.
While the Israeli negotiations team has returned from Doha, the talks for the hostage deal are still ongoing, not affected by the team’s physical presence. According to sources familiar with the details, Hamas poses serious problems that hinder the ability to close the deal, chief among them – the list of hostages whose release should be prioritized on humanitarian grounds.
Israel, i24NEWS can report, insists on complete lists of live hostages, but these have not yet been received. Also, as i24NEWS learned, Hamas refuses to release wounded hostages as part of the humanitarian list and attempts to demand special compensation for them.
Israeli negotiators are unwilling to accept changes to conditions established earlier and exert heavy pressure on the group from various directions.
Officials in Jerusalem say they hope that Hamas will decide to come together to conclude the deal, because the decision is entirely theirs.
Another serious concern for Israel, i24NEWS learned, is that those who conduct the negotiations on behalf of Hamas do not necessarily control the happening on the ground. This, as the dust has not yet settled on the decision-making and organizational structure of Hamas after the elimination of its leader Yahya Sinwar, making it extremely complicated to manage the talks. Israeli officials want to make sure that whoever represents the terrorist group vis-à-vis the mediators is also able to return the hostages from the hands of Hamas in Gaza.
At the same time, Jerusalem believes that the various conditions that pressure Hamas are still valid and even growing: the achievements against Hezbollah and against Iran, the collapse of Syria, and the weakening of the Shiite axis, the strikes in Yemen, the anti-terror activity in Judea and Samaria, the IDF activity in Jabaliya, in Beit Hanon and Rafah, as well as in the Karni-Netzarim corridor, together with the impending coming into office of the Trump administration, work to press Hamas to a point of great isolation, where it would be desperate for a ceasefire.
The post Hamas Raises New Demands in Ceasefire Talks, Refusing to Provide Lists of Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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