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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Opinion It’s time for the pro-Palestinian movement to make a radical change
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News Should synagogues remove the Israeli flag from bimahs now? How a New York shul made the decision
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Opinion JD Vance just made a critical error in Israel — and time to curb Hamas is running short
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Film & TV What the new season of ‘Nobody Wants This’ gets right — and very wrong — about Judaism
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward As 1000+ rabbis sign anti-Mamdani letter, others decry mounting ‘red lines’ in Jewish communities
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News Mamdani has created ‘great fear,’ and Jewish voters are ‘more motivated than I have ever seen,’ Cuomo says
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Fast Forward The World War II origins of the White House East Wing, now demolished
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Opinion Can an idyllic dream of Israel ever be reality? She says: ‘Coexistence, My Ass’
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