David Ian Klein covers breaking news and international Jewish communities for the Forward. You can reach him at Klein@forward.com and on Twitter @davidianklein.
David Ian Klein
By David Ian Klein
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News In Turkey, counterfeit Jewish artifacts are commonplace – and often sloppy
Turkish authorities received a tip recently that a trove of smuggled contraband was passing through the Black Sea city of Samsun in two vehicles. For Turkish police, that’s nothing out of the ordinary. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the country is a transit point for many things, including drugs, refugees, arms and, in…
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News Meet the rabbi bringing Judaism to Saudi Arabia
With his black Hasidic coat, flat brimmed hat and long beard, Rabbi Yaakov Herzog must look like a strange sight on the streets of Riyadh, but that’s exactly where he is hoping to relocate after years of working with Jewish expats living in Saudi Arabia. No native Jewish community remains in the Arabian kingdom, which…
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Fast Forward How learning Yiddish can get you a free bagel next Tuesday
If you weren’t already interested in learning Yiddish, Duolingo may have given you another reason, — free bagels! That’s right, in honor of the launch of a new Yiddish course on the popular language-learning platform, Duolingo is offering to pay for your bagel order at a handful of stores around the country when the course…
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Fast Forward Israel’s Olympic baseball team will be training in New York
Israel’s national baseball team will be training in New York state ahead of the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics this summer, Israel’s Association of Baseball announced. The team is partnering with the New York Boulders, a Frontier League team who play in Rockland County, New York. “The Boulders have graciously welcomed Team Israel to make use of…
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News Ladino is seeing a virtual renaissance thanks to Zoom
When professor Bryan Kirschen was asked to set up an online Ladino course by the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America last spring, he thought he would get a handful of students. Instead, he got hundreds. “It was incredible,” said Kirschen, professor of Spanish and Linguistics and co-director of the Ladino Collaboratory at Binghamton University in…
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News Matzah in Beirut or a Seder in Samarkand? These rabbis are making it happen.
How does one get matzah in Iran, Lebanon or Libya? Just ask the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States (ARIS). Those are just a few of the countries with small Jewish communities in need of Passover supplies that Rabbi Mendy Chitrik is organizing shipments to ahead of the upcoming holiday. “We have been in touch…
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Fast Forward Iraq’s last Jewish doctor dies at 61
Dr. Thafer Eliyahu, one of the last Jews remaining in Iraq died last week. Mustafa Salim, the Washington Post’s Baghdad reporter announced on Twitter. Dr. Thafer Eliyahu, Orthopedic doctor in Wasiti hospital in Baghdad passed away . He is one of the last Iraqi Jews in Baghdad, he was called the doctor of the poor…
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News Do Ashkenazi Jews hold the key to a long life?
A fountain of youth doesn’t exist, but scientists are researching whether a drug known for treating malaria could actually delay the aging process. That was just one of the myriad topics discussed in a Zoominar hosted by the Forward on Wednesday. “It was noticed during the 70 years of use that people on metformin don’t…
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Fast Forward ‘Rabbi rebellion’: 33 Orthodox rabbis endorse Harris
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FIRST PERSON As a rabbi, he helped others mourn. So why wouldn’t his daughter say kaddish for him?
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Fast Forward Trump appears close to victory, promising to reshape the United States and its relationship with Israel
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Fast Forward Craig Goldman of Texas wins race, becoming 3rd Jewish Republican in Congress
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Fast Forward Adam Schiff wins race for U.S. Senate seat previously held by Dianne Feinstein
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