Just a nosh...

Photo by Michael Datikash / New York Jewish Week Protesting Obama’s Mideast position

An estimated 1,000 protesters (some shown below) turned out April 25 in New York for a rally against the Obama administration’s Middle East policies. Participating groups included Americans for a Safe Israel, the Zionist Organization of America and Republican Jewish Coalition. As one speaker declared, the White House policy of pressing Israel, a key ally, while engaging enemies is “self-defeating and suicidal.”

Goldstone attends bar mitzvah

Richard Goldstone attended his grandson’s bar mitzvah without protests. Members of the congregation stood at the road leading to the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Shul in Sandton, South Africa, to make sure that only family and their guests entered. Goldstone, the author of a United Nations report on the 2009 Gaza war that many deemed unfair to Israel, originally had planned to skip the bar mitzvah after the South African Zionist Federation threatened to protest the former South African judge outside the synagogue.The South African Jewish Board of Deputies brokered a deal last month between Goldstone and community organizations angry with him over his report in which the Jewish groups agreed not to protest during the bar mitzvah celebrations and Goldstone agreed to meet with the leadership of South African Jewish communal organizations.

Birthright bringing 21,000 to Israel

JERUSALEM — Participation in Taglit-Birthright Israel trips this summer has doubled from the summer of 2009. Some 21,000 young Jews will take the free 10-day trip to Israel, while thousands remain on waiting lists. Marking its 10th anniversary this summer, more than 250,000 Jews aged 18 to 26 from over 50 countries have traveled to Israel with the Taglit-Birthright program.

Jews better tippers

A new study among 1,192 Americans revealed that on average, Jews give better tips than other people. Conducted April 23-26 by HCD Research using its MediaCurves.com® website, the study of restaurant dining tipping habits found that Jewish people reported leaving an average tip of 20.8% of the total bill when service is good and 11.4% when service is bad. Christians reported leaving an average of 18.3% of the total bill when service is good and 9.0% when service is bad. Respondents who reported having no religious affiliation were the second highest average tippers in restaurants when the service was good (20.1%) or bad (9.9%).

For detailed results go to: www.mediacurves.com.

U.S. Navy pilot cited for heroism

WASHINGTON — A Jewish pilot was awarded one of the U.S. Navy’s highest honors for sacrificing his life to save his three crew mates. Lt. Miroslav “Steve” Zilberman was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism over the Arabian Sea on March 31, when he assumed manual control of an E-2C Hawkeye after it blew an engine. He kept the plane steady and ordered his crew to eject. Zilberman, who was returning from an Afghanistan mission, was declared lost at sea. Zilberman, 31, is survived by his wife and two children along with his parents, emigres from Ukraine who settled in Columbus, OH.