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 to 18th-century dime novels featuring characters named “Grabbenstein” and “Swindlebaum” to the figure of the “international banker.” Weber recently spoke to Tablet Magazine about some of the stereotypes that have become associated with Jews and money — and about her skinflint of a father.

WASHINGTON – For the Obama administration, reviving the Gaza Strip is like a multimillion-dollar version of whack-a-mole: Everywhere you slam down cash, Hamas pops up. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has pledged that the money, promised in the wake of the devastating December-January Gaza war, won’t reach the terrorist group controlling the strip.

“We have worked with the Palestinian Authority to install safeguards that will ensure that our funding is only used where, and for whom, it is intended, and does not end up in the wrong hands,” she said at a funders conference earlier this month in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheik.

Not to be outdone by their Conservative colleagues, Orthodox groups on both coasts will soon be vetting the ethical standards of businesses serving the Jewish communities.

In New York, Uri L’Tzedek, a social justice group founded last year by rabbinical students at the liberal Orthodox Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, is set to launch its Tav HaYosher, or ethical seal. The seal will be awarded to kosher restaurants in New York City that treat their workers fairly. “Yosher” is a Hebrew word meaning honesty or straightness.

NEW YORK – A liberal Orthodox rabbinical school’s response to the controversial action of one of its graduates highlights the challenge facing progressives in the Modern Orthodox community.

WASHINGTON – Rosh HaShanah: a time for contemplation? Of course.

A time for Jewish lawmakers to stop and reconsider how to save Wall Street from itself? Makes sense — four Jewish lawmakers changed their votes over the holiday.

A time to heed the Jewish supplications of Newt Gingrich?

Yes, it got that weird last week.

NEW YORK – An animal rights group is calling for a New York state investigation into kapporos, the High Holidays ritual that involves swinging a live chicken over one’s head.