Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Ashkenazi Jews, a major Jewish diasporic ethnic group native to Europe.
Ashkenazi Jews
The Latest
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Food How to make your grandma’s brisket — and make it vegan
Micah Siva talks 'Nosh,' her new cookbook on veggie-centric Jewish food
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Food Pumpkin knishes and spicy pumpkin dip: Jews and pumpkins go back long before Thanksgiving
I love pumpkin. I love it in a sweet dessert, I love it in a savory stew, and — I’m not afraid to say it — I love it in my morning latte. But I’ve never imagined my ancestors who lived in a Belarussian shtetl would have felt the same. Jews, it turns out, were…
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Opinion Ashkenazi Jewish women like me have a higher risk of breast cancer. I didn’t know this until my own diagnosis
Breast cancer can strike any woman at any time, yet few young women are fully aware of the potential deadly threat they face. For Ashkenazi Jews like myself, this disease looms as an even larger threat compared to most women. A mutation in the BRCA gene is the most common cause of hereditary breast cancer….
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Culture They couldn’t find any books on Ashkenazi herbs — so they wrote one
Deatra Cohen was studying to become an herbalist when her teacher assigned what seemed like a straightforward task: researching and reporting on the herbal cures and practices of her own culture. But the project was anything but simple. A retired librarian, Cohen was adept at navigating databases and combing through archives. But she could find…
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Culture How macaroons became a must for Passover — even if no one likes them
I grew up with no macaroons. My mother was raised on almond macaroons that her grandmother made, but the experience was hard to replicate by the time I came around. “Every time I saw an almond macaroon, I bought it, but in bakeries you mostly only see coconut,” she told me. “It’s a travesty.” This…
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News New fund offers financial grants to Jews of color in dire need due to pandemic
An organization dedicated to supporting and advocating for Jews of color has opened a COVID-19 emergency relief fund, citing the ways in which racism amplifies the impact of the coronavirus on people of color. A project of the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative, the fund will provide grants of between $250 and $2,500 to…
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Fast Forward US Task Force: Ashkenazi Jewish Women Should Test For Breast Cancer Genes
(JTA) — Ashkenazi Jewish women should be screened for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes linked to breast cancer. That’s the recommendation by a U.S. task force announced in an editorial this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. One in 40 Ashkenazi Jews have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, compared with one in…
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Opinion How Did Ashkenazi Jews End Up With Famous Non-Jewish Last Names?
It’s a fact: Ashkenazi Jews often bear surnames also used by Christians. What, if anything, does that tell us? Surnames used by a population often contain clues about the historical, linguistic and cultural past of the group. Certain names reveal migration patterns, others provide clues about the occupations of the ancestors and some names provide…
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Fast Forward USC cancels commencement speech from Muslim valedictorian after she shared link to anti-Israel website
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Fast Forward 2 House members lead the charge to oust the speaker. Both have been accused of trafficking in antisemitism.
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Opinion The head of the largest Christian Zionist organization is no friend to Israel — he wants an apocalypse there
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Opinion USC: Don’t blame Jews for canceling your valedictorian
In Case You Missed It
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Yiddish אַ נײַע איניציאַטיוו צו פֿאַרשפּרייטן ייִדישע פּסח־לידער געשאַפֿענע אין מעלבורן A new initiative to share Yiddish Passover songs composed in Melbourne
דער קאָמפּאָזיטאָר, ברוך קאַלושינער, האָט אָנגעפֿירט מיט ייִדיש־כאָרן און געלערנט מוזיק אין די ייִדישע שולן
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News Why did this Mormon drive 10 hours to buy whiskey? To help out a Jewish friend for Passover
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News 100+ arrested in day of unrest and mass protest at Columbia U over Gaza and Israel
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Yiddish ווידעאָ: פֿאַר וואָס מײַן בוך וועגן מײַן אייגענעם יציאת־מצרים וועט זײַן אויף ייִדישVideo: Why my book about my own ‘Exodus’ from the Hasidic community will be in Yiddish
שפֿרה־קריינדל לאָווען האָפֿט אַז איר בוך וועט העלפֿן חסידים וואָס האָבן מורא צו מאַכן דעם איבערגאַנג
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