Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at kestenbaum@forward.com and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.
A Spokane, Wash. rabbi is facing online anti-Semitism after advertising a Holocaust memorial event on Facebook. “It’s not a good feeling to have hundreds of Jew haters verbally attack you,” said Rabbi Yisroel Hahn, who had created a Facebook page to advertise an upcoming speaking event of Holocaust survivor Marthe Cohn. Hahn told local TV…
A Hasidic girls school in Brooklyn is demanding mothers of students appear more “modest” next school year. Some of the things the administration is forbidding? Leggings, denim and “loud” nail polish. In a letter to parents from Crown Heights Girls’ School Bnos Menachem, director Motty Gurary explained the rationale for the changes: to “create a…
After spending year and a half imprisoned by the Nigerian government, the populist leader was finally free and surrounded by his supporters. He wore a long gown with a prayer shawl draped over his shoulders. Raising his hands, he greeted the crowd with one Hebrew word: “Shalom.” Is one of Nigeria’s most famous political activists…
The president of the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Court of Appeals has ordered an official reinvestigation into the death of Toveet Radcliffe, the first African American to die while serving in Israel’s armed forces. The order may be the first of its kind in more than 30 years, Israel’s Channel 2 reported. Radcliffe, 19, died…
Today marks the end of Shavuot and this Sunday is the Christian holiday of Pentecost. It’s not a simple coincidence that the two holidays fall at the same time. They’re historically — and theologically — linked. What do the sacred days have to do with each other? Shavuot falls on the sixth day of the…
On Wednesday afternoon, visitors at the National Museum of African American History and Culture were surprised to stumble on a noose left inside an exhibit on racial segregation. It was not part of the exhibit — but resting on the floor. “The noose has long represented a deplorable act of cowardice and depravity — a…
After tweeting (then deleting) an anti-Semitic meme on Wednesday, Al Jazeera apologized and called the post an error. “This is not AJE image but a reply to an old thread that was mistakenly linked,” Al Jazeera English tweeted. “We apologise for the error.” The image was originally tweeted on Wednesday to promote a story about…
Basketball star Amar’e Stoudemire is diving into the Hebrew scriptures. On the holiday of Shavuot, he posted an image of a Bible, open to the passage of Leviticus pertaining to the holiday. … ? #Yahosaphat A post shared by (əˈ•mär•ray) Amar’e Stoudemire (@amareisreal) on May 31, 2017 at 11:32am PDT Stoudemire tagged his photo #Yahosaphat,…
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