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The Forward
More Than a Slice of Pie
“If I commit to equity, won’t that mean I will lose out on opportunities or need to give something up?” This is a common anxiety among people with relative privilege. And internalizing this idea often leads groups to engage in the “Oppression Olympics” — a competition against other minority or marginalized groups for a share...
Our Jewish Three-Part Package
As Jews, our foundational values are justice and equity. Yet the heartbreak of the last few months may prompt the question, “why should we be focused on the dire needs of those in Global South countries when we feel on less than steady ground here?” Yes, we must speak up for ourselves, but this doesn’t...
Equity by Design, Behind-the-Scenes
In June 2022, one month after JPro22 in partnership with Jewish Federations, Gamal Palmer and Stacey Aviva Flint wrote about Jewish Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) at the Jewish nonprofit sector’s flagship conference: “Something dramatic happened in Cleveland last month… As Jewish people of color, we saw reflections of ourselves throughout the conference from the...
George Latimer defeats Jamaal Bowman in bitter NY primary fought over Israel
(New York Jewish Week) — This is a developing story. George Latimer defeated Rep. Jamaal Bowman in the Democratic primary in New York’s 16th Congressional district on Tuesday, a significant setback for progressive critics of Israel in a closely-watched race with national implications. Latimer, a centrist who hewed to a pro-Israel position during the campaign,...
Pennsylvania Jewish Dems accuse GOP Senate nominee of profiting from ‘antisemitic’ online platform
In Pennsylvania’s fiercely contested Senate race, Sen. Bob Casey and Jewish elected officials are charging his GOP challenger with profiting off his investment in Rumble, a video platform that has amplified far-right antisemitism and Holocaust denial. The issue, amid rising antisemitism across the U.S., has become a particularly potent one in the contest between Casey...
Looking for a free, online resource to learn Yiddish?
Whether you’re starting from scratch or have a few years under your belt, there are a slew of videos, games, podcasts and guides online to help you on your Yiddish learning journey, many of which have come into existence only in the past few years. Here’s a round-up of the best ones out there now,...
Father Coughlin’s Detroit-area church will now teach visitors about his antisemitism
(JTA) — During his Depression-era run as one of the country’s most popular radio personalities, Father Charles Coughlin spread antisemitic conspiracy theories, praised fascists and suggested Jews deserved the horrors of Nazi persecution. Now, nine decades later, his church is officially declaring him an antisemite — and educating visitors about his legacy of hate. Following...
Wikipedia’s operator rejects Jewish groups’ call to override editors on ADL trustworthiness
(JTA) — The charitable foundation that owns Wikipedia said it respects the decisions of its volunteer editors after receiving a letter from a broad coalition of Jewish groups calling on the foundation to override a move by editors to declare the Anti-Defamation League an untrustworthy source on Israel and Zionism. More than 40 Jewish groups signed a...
Violence in LA demands an answer: No more protests in front of houses of worship
Does the Los Angeles Police Department watch the news? Does the LA Mayor’s Office follow social media? Does anyone in charge of keeping LA safe know there’s a war in the Middle East? When demonstrators converged on Adas Shalom synagogue in the city’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood last Sunday, it turned into an utterly predictable melee —...
Why we observe Shabbat outside an abortion clinic
We arrive with our signs by 6:15 in the morning, with trucks rumbling down Route 29 behind us, to watch the sunrise as we begin our worship service. Our Shabbat prayers begin before patients, clinic escorts and anti-abortion activists arrive. One Saturday morning a month for the last year, up to 100 of us have...
Israel needs to follow through on drafting the Haredim — for the sake of its economy, not just its military
An old joke says that Israel is a country where one-third of the population goes to the army, one-third works, and one-third pays taxes. The problem is, the joke goes, it’s the same third. After Oct. 7, to many, that joke became less funny. That’s because, in the midst of the longest war in Israel’s...
Leftist group exhibits art on Israeli streets to avoid censorship
TEL AVIV — It’s dark, even for nighttime. A Palestinian boy of about 12 or 13, hands cuffed and eyes blindfolded, is being walked out of his shadowy city through a field of dandelions. “Maybe he threw a rock or shouted at a soldier, or maybe they’re detaining him for no reason at all,” said...
In Jerusalem, a unique hotel offers respite for women who have experienced stillbirth
(JTA) — JERUSALEM — Moriel Yamin was six months pregnant with her first child when Hamas terrorists overran the police station opposite her home in Sderot, killing 35 people. Yamin’s husband, a soldier in reserves, was called up. Like most residents of Sderot, Yamin was evacuated to a safer part of the country. In November,...
At this NYC congregation, food is connecting people to their Judaism
How do you spark and hold the interest of a congregation of Reform Jews who, statistically speaking, are more likely to marry outside the faith than they are to attend religious services? That was the conundrum Rabbi Benjamin Ross was considering when he ran into Liz Alpern — arguably one of the Jewish food world’s...
Eichmann’s judgment — through the eyes of those who burned his body
After Israel hanged Adolf Eichmann, they had a problem: his body. Not wanting to harbor the mass murderer’s remains, the government had an oven factory manufacture a one-time use furnace to cremate him at a high heat, with his ashes then scattered over the Mediterranean Sea. The story of the oven — and the people...
Haredim warn of ‘religious war’ after Israel Supreme Court orders yeshiva draft
BNEI BRAK, Israel — Members of Israel’s Haredi community are warning of a religious war after this country’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the government must start drafting yeshiva students into its military. “If our young men have to stop studying Torah to go fight in the army, this country has nothing,” said Israel Trabelsi, a...
In landmark ruling, Israel’s top court rules that haredi Orthodox Jews must serve in the army
(JTA) — Israel must draft haredi Orthodox Jews into its army, the country’s Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision Tuesday. The ruling could trigger a political earthquake in Israel at a time when it is already embroiled in a war in Gaza and has seen social unrest at home. The requirement to begin drafting...
Jewish parents join lawsuit challenging Louisiana law requiring Ten Commandments in schools
(JTA) — Three Jewish families are among a group of nine Louisiana families with children in public schools who have filed a suit in federal court challenging a new state law that requires the Ten Commandments be displayed in all public school classrooms. The lawsuit — filed on the families’ behalf by Americans United for...
Is Jamaal Bowman pro-Palestinian enough for pro-Palestinians?
It’s rare to see AIPAC and pro-Palestinian activists protesting the same event. And yet, when it comes to one heavily contested Congressional primary — which has pit an avowed opponent of Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the Palestinian people against a vocal supporter of Israel — that was exactly what they did. Or so I observed on...
‘Does anybody question the NAACP?’: The ADL head thinks Wikipedia is biased. Is he right?
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, will freely admit it: He does have an issue with Wikipedia. “Does anybody question the NAACP, that does ongoing research on black America, just because they advocate for Black Americans?” he asked during a phone interview. Greenblatt reached out to me after I wrote last week that Wikipedia’s...
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