The Art of Yoram Raanan Rises From The Ashes & Other Orthodox Jews in the News

Canada’s First Female Hasidic Politician May Be Bound for Parliament
Mindy Pollak, 29, is negotiating unchartered territory for someone of her background. To her knowledge, no other Hasidic woman outside Israel has ever entered the political arena as she has. Re-elected last November for her second term as a councilor in the Montreal borough of Outremont, Pollak is an astute, highly respected politician. She is now being courted by at least one federal party as a potential candidate in Canada’s next national election.

Moscow Gets First Kosher Sushi Restaurant
The news site Jewish.ru reported on Tuesday of the opening in Moscow by the Kosher Gourmet kosher food supermarket of the new restaurant, Kosher Pirate. Located halfway between the Marina Roscha Synagogue and the nearby Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in northern Moscow, the new restaurant offers more than 100 kinds of sushi rolls, including ones fusing Japanese and Middle Eastern cuisine, like the “shakshuka fusion” or Russian/Japanese foods.

After a Fire Destroyed His Life’s Work, an Artist Renews Quest to Paint Torah
For the past 30 years, Yoram Raanan has been a contemporary biblical expressionist painter. But when a fire destroyed his studio, he rebuilt a new 3,000-square-foot studio atop the ruins of the old one. Although the blaze made an exhibition impossible, it led to him publishing “Art of Revelation: A Visual Encounter with the Jewish Bible,” a glossy 235-page book divided into five sections corresponding to the five books of the Torah.

An All-Female Orthodox Ambulance Corps Gets a Film of its Own
“93Queen,” Orthodox filmmaker Paula Eiselt’s big-screen debut, documents Rachel “Ruchie” Freier’s attempt to create an all-female version of Hatzalah with only strictly observant Orthodox members. The film opens July 25 in theaters in New York City and Aug. 14 in Los Angeles, with a wider release to follow.

Haredi Orthodox Rabbi’s Daughter Gets Top Honors from Belgian College
The daughter of a Haredi Orthodox rabbi from Antwerp was among eight recipients of a special distinction for excellence from one of Belgium’s largest colleges. Rezi Friedman, who graduated this year with a bachelor’s degree in child psychology, received the Karel de Grote University College’s annual Grote Award on Saturday night.

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