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The Forward
When anti-Zionists take over your Hebrew school
The “Dear ancestors” letter that Carolyn Weiss found in her daughter’s Hebrew school folder had all the hallmarks of a fifth grader’s writing assignment: a few spelling mistakes and misplaced capital letters, exclamation points and smiley faces, plus an allegory about a kid whose parents won’t let her get a puppy. “I understand that you...
I’m a recent Jewish grad from a university the ADL deems to be ‘failing’ at campus antisemitism. Their ‘grade’ is misleading
“Ahead of the Pack.” “Better than Most.” “Corrections Needed.” “Deficient Approach.” “Failing.” These are the five evaluative categories that the Anti-Defamation League assigned to 85 American universities measuring campus antisemitism. According to their Campus Antisemitism Report Card and its recent update issued in mid-June, we, the Jewish students of America, attend colleges who cannot pass...
‘Bring Him Home’ from ‘Les Miz’ has new meaning in Israel. Now there’s a Yiddish version.
After October 7th, a musical number from “Les Misérables” rocketed in popularity in Israel. Soloists from the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv recorded “Bring Him Home” in late October as an expression of solidarity with the hostages captured by Hamas. The Chief Cantor of the IDF, Shai Abramson performed it at the March of the...
In Israel, a photographer sees a country whose parts don’t fit perfectly but still form a whole
When I am photographing a scene, I often want to take in more than my camera allows; to expand the field of view to match more closely what my eyes are seeing. The options to do this are limited. I can take a step back, but then everything in the photo will be smaller and...
Biden: Israel has ‘occasionally’ been ‘less than cooperative’
<p>(<a href=”http://www.jta.org”>JTA</a>) — WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Israel had been “less than cooperative” with the United States in its efforts to deliver assistance to Palestinian civilians, adding to pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the terms the Biden administration has brokered to bring about an end to the war.</p> <p>“I...
I’m an octogenarian rabbi. Biden should learn from this Jewish idea about strength
An open letter to the President Joe Biden: Although we’ve never met, we have much in common. We’re both octogenarians. I faced a major life decision some years ago — much like that which you face now — on whether to step back from the life of service I so loved as the rabbi of...
A Jewish couple was barred from adopting a child through a Christian agency. They’re now the face of an anti-Project 2025 campaign.
(JTA) — A Jewish couple barred from adopting a child due to their religion are the face of a prominent new campaign to defend the separation of church and state. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State have made Gabe and Liz Rutan-Ram’s case the centerpiece of their critique of Project 2025, a...
The Jewish moments to expect (and not expect) at the Republican convention
(JTA) — MILWAUKEE — The Republican convention taking place here next week will be the closest ever to Donald Trump’s vision for America. Expect some typically validating — and jarring — moments for the Jewish community. The vestiges of the pre-Trump Republican Party were still apparent at the 2016 convention at which he was first...
Netanyahu’s speech: Some members of Congress will boycott. Who else have they snubbed?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to speak at the Capitol on July 24, but the question of how many people he is actually going to be addressing is still up in the air, as some Democrats debate whether or not to boycott the speech. When Netanyahu addressed Congress in 2015, 58 out of...
In a one-‘clown’ Off Broadway show, an actor takes the stigma out of mental illness
(New York Jewish Week) — When actor Scott Ehrenpreis was growing up, his parents picked one night of Hanukkah to give him and his brothers themed presents: One brother (aptly named Noah) got a Noah’s Ark toy, his other brother got vintage baseball cards and Ehrenpreis got an antique clown figurine. A collection of those...
Alex Soros, son of George Soros, is engaged to Huma Abedin
(JTA) — A new Jewish-Muslim political power couple announced their intentions to tie the knot. Jewish philanthropist Alex Soros, 38, the son of billionaire and prolific political donor George Soros, is now engaged to Huma Abedin, 47, who was one of Hillary Clinton’s top advisers and is known for her former marriage to disgraced Jewish...
U.S. sanctions extremist Israeli group Lehava and several West Bank outposts
(JTA) — The U.S. State Department announced Thursday a new round of sanctions on Israeli individuals and groups over their alleged role in the rising violence and instability in the West Bank. The sanctions target the extremist organization Lehava, several illegal West Bank settlement outposts and their founders, as well as leaders of a group...
Project 2025 would be the end of the American Jewish dream
For American Jews, it’s good news that “Project 2025” is finally being talked about. Because Project 2025 is very bad news for American Jews. Project 2025, coordinated by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, sets out to remedy a historic mistake: the Right was not prepared for Donald Trump’s 2016 victory. Few thought he would win, and...
VIDEO: Moving film about seven young Yiddish scholars is now on YouTube
A remarkable documentary about the passion of seven young people for the Yiddish language, and in particular for Yiddish poetry, was posted on YouTube this week. In the film, The Secrets of Yiddish Poetry, French director Nurith Aviv, who was born in Tel Aviv, gives viewers a chance to hear these students and scholars —...
If members of Congress truly cared about Israel’s well-being, they would boycott Netanyahu’s speech
In traditional Judaism, welcoming a guest — hachnassat orechim — is a very important mitzvah. Not only is it a good deed on the individual level, but it creates a sense of belonging and likeminded community, especially if the guest is a stranger in town. Generally, it would be nice for the United States Congress...
Mordechai Rosenstein, calligrapher whose art illuminates Jewish homes and synagogues, dies at 90
(JTA) — Mordechai Rosenstein, a painter and calligrapher whose brightly colored illuminations of Hebrew texts adorn countless Jewish homes, offices and synagogues, died on July 9 in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. He was 90. His signature pieces featured Hebrew letters that he stretched and manipulated, with bright swaths of colors weaving in and out of the...
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez loses Democratic Socialists endorsement after she speaks out against antisemitism
The Democratic Socialists of America on Wednesday pulled their conditional endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for reelection after she hosted an online panel discussion with two leading Jewish experts on antisemitism. Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, acknowledged in a June livestream with Amy Spitalnick, chief executive of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and...
Accusing Israel of genocide cost me a job — just another example of a university failing Jews
Genocide is the culmination of a process that turns the world upside down — that frames defenseless people as dangerous enemies; violent states as innocent societies threatened by blind hatred and fanaticism; and lies as truth. Genocide — the destruction of a people, and destruction of their world — finally, is falsified and rationalized as...
What American Jews should know about Project 2025 and its connection to Christian Nationalism
Project 2025, a conservative policy agenda years in the making, has vaulted into American political consciousness in recent days. President Joe Biden wants you to think the mysterious project is the heart of his Republican rival’s platform, despite the fact that former President Donald Trump has denounced parts of it as “ridiculous and abysmal” and...
A hurricane named Beryl, an agonizing plight straight out of the Book of Job
For those following events in my hometown of Houston, you will know that Beryl — the Category 1 hurricane that pummeled Houston three days ago — has been compared to other hurricanes we have weathered, notably Ike and Harvey, as well as the derecho that pounded us just a few months ago. But there is...
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