More in ‘money’

Hoping to ignite a new wave of immigration, Israel changed its tax laws nearly a year ago, offering potential new arrivals, as well as those who’d left the country but are considering a return, a big break. According to the new rules, newcomers would pay no taxes on any foreign income for 10 years following ...

While Bernard Madoff’s colossal fraud leached vast sums from the country’s wealthiest Jews in the past year, not every one of them is destitute. Quite the opposite, if the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s assessment of Forbes’ list of the 400 richest Americans is to be trusted. According to their annotation—a questionable pursuit on account of the ...

It’s no secret that Jews are often thought to be, well, thrifty, but racial slurs and comedy routines aside, it’s not the kind of thing we discuss much. In her new book, In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue, Lauren Weber takes on the stereotype and its evolution from Shakespeare’s Shylock ...

The controversial Israeli ad thatimplied that non-Israeli Jews, particularly those who intermarry, are somehow “lost,” and which uses ominous train imagery to get its point across, was actually the extremely misguided result of a bold attempt to reinvigorate the Masa organization’s brand in Israel, where its backers hope that the government will pick up even ...

There’s money laundering in New Jersey, there’s money laundering in Los Angeles, and, court documents filed yesterday reveal, there’s another alleged money-laundering scheme that stretches from Chicago to Tel Aviv and defrauded U.S. tax authorities of more than $35 million. The cabal’s ringleader, 62-year-old Marvin Berkowitz, fled the United States for Israel in 2003 and ...

• The majority of Iranian Jews will vote to reelect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad because he’s “the lesser of two evils,” experts say. His opponents, apparently, steal kittens from children and eat them for breakfast. [YNET]
• To celebrate Hebrew Book Week, Haaretz is featuring reported articles by some of Israel’s best writers, including Yoram Kaniuk, David Grossman, ...

Heard the one about the greedy executive?
In the midst of tumultuous economic times, his people struggling with scarcity, uncertainty, and despair, he decides to build himself a new residence. You raise an eyebrow: that particular executive travels constantly, and seems to have little need for a fixed dwelling. But he insists, and construction is ...

First came the bill.
Andy left the envelope, with the warning “Brace Yourself” scrawled next to our address, sandwiched between the meatball hero and the wilting salad in my lunch bag. Inside, a form letter from the temple treasurer outlined the fees associated with our son’s bar mitzvah, which had not yet been scheduled, nor indeed ...