Joan Afton is an LA-based writer, storyteller and educator.
Joan Afton
By Joan Afton
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Culture She was my Hebrew school bully — and I finally learned what happened to her
It was supposed to be a secular humanist synagogue, but it seemed a lot more like 'Lord of the Flies'
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Culture Whether fleeing Nazis, Cossacks, wildfires or ICE, we all need a ‘go bag’
Across the years and miles, we carry the weight of the difficult choices that have to be made
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Culture How from where we started did we ever reach this Hanukkah?
A tale of friendship, resilience, holidays, family, Katharine Hepburn and the power of an unpronounceable acronym
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Culture In 1989, Harold Pinter and Jerry Schatzberg made the perfect Holocaust movie for 2026
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Exclusive Mahmoud Khalil wants to reassure you
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News Jews paused Indiana’s abortion ban — by turning a religious freedom law against the evangelical right
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Culture 70 years ago, this Jewish choreographer predicted our epidemic of loneliness and isolation
In Case You Missed It
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News Ceasefire and political pressure test U.S.-Israel Iran war pact
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Antisemitism Decoded Why I interviewed Mahmoud Khalil
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Fast Forward In rallies taking on Israel, a defiant Hasan Piker boosts Michigan Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed
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Opinion The Iran war looks like a failure. Now comes the Trump-Netanyahu spin game
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