http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/ en bharris@jta.org Copyright 2009 2009-11-20T17:07:00-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/20/1009326/meet-mayor-cohen Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/20/1009326/meet-mayor-cohen#When:17:07:00Z Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen’s office is in a sun-drenched room overlooking the city’s main canal, the Amstel. On table in the center sat four glasses emblazoned with the city’s logo, which also adorns the outside of the building, the ID pass I was issued, and a flag that flies from the building’s roof. The logo: three red "X"’s. Talk about unsubtle.  2009-11-20T17:07:00-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/19/1009313/is-geert-wilders-diving-muslims-and-jews Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/19/1009313/is-geert-wilders-diving-muslims-and-jews#When:01:01:00Z You read all about the problems between Jews and Muslims in Europe, and then you actually see it.  2009-11-20T01:01:00-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/18/1009295/vote-now1 Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/18/1009295/vote-now1#When:23:40:13Z Finalists have been picked for TWJ’s iPod competition. Click this link to choose where I go next. My editors have winnowed the field to 10 finalists (and I know which one I’m pulling for, but I guess I can’t say now, can I?) 2009-11-18T23:40:13-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/18/1009273/amsterdam Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/18/1009273/amsterdam#When:14:21:00Z   2009-11-18T14:21:00-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/18/1009271/diamond-darwinism Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/18/1009271/diamond-darwinism#When:13:47:01Z   Featured 2009-11-18T13:47:01-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/17/1009261/diamonds-are-forever Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/17/1009261/diamonds-are-forever#When:21:22:01Z Actually, they’re not. But they are important, indeed crucial, to understanding the Jewish community of Antwerp.  2009-11-17T21:22:01-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/16/1009202/antwerpen Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/16/1009202/antwerpen#When:10:46:00Z Brussels Central Station is so unremarkable you could miss it. Even inside, I wasn’t sure I had found the right place.  2009-11-16T10:46:00-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/16/1009201/party-like-a-jew Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/16/1009201/party-like-a-jew#When:10:41:00Z   Featured 2009-11-16T10:41:00-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/13/1009161/belgian-waffles Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/13/1009161/belgian-waffles#When:14:37:00Z They are everything you expect them to be, and then some. Maybe I was just hungry and hadn’t eaten anything since the crappy hotel breakfast in Copenhagen before dawn, but from the first bite there was no doubt it was the finest waffle I’ve ever tasted. It was literally the first thing for sale when I stepped form the train at Brussels Central Station. I took a bite and stepped outside, into clear blue skies and mild temperatures, and for a moment ... I don’t know. It was good. 2009-11-13T14:37:00-05:00 http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/13/1009158/prayer-time Ben Harris http://blogs.jta.org/wanderingjew/article/2009/11/13/1009158/prayer-time#When:09:41:00Z On my final morning in Copenhagen, I awoke before the sun—not such a great feat in Denmark in November, mind you—and headed for the Great Synagogue for morning services. 2009-11-13T09:41:00-05:00