Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the robust lives of American Jews. Here there’s a little of everything about the multifaceted world of Jewish life. There are light-hearted Jewish celebrity stories and shocking Jewish celebrity news. Food is also plentiful,…
Life
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Does Tony Blair Sister-in-Law’s Conversion to Islam Highlight a Trend?
It didn’t come as a utter surprise to the British public when Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, decided to convert to Islam. The journalist, activist and all-around political gadfly demonstrated against the war in Iraq, and in 2008, she was on one of the first boats headed to Gaza…
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Teaching My Daughter To Take Risks
Together, my 11-year-old daughter, Naomi, and I took the plunge. Nervous and uncertain of what lay before us, we waded into the water of the Sea of Galilee and began swimming, alongside thousands of Israelis — young and old, all shapes and sizes. The annual tradition of swimming across the Sea of Galilee predates the…
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Voting: A Family Affair
Voting this morning I saw several parents with tots in tow, and it reminded me of the many, many times I took my kids to the polls. I took them strapped on to the front of me in baby carriers; I took them in strollers; I took them by the hand as toddlers; and starting…
The Latest
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Israel’s Dismal Gender Gap Index Ranking — and What It Means
Sisterhood contributor Allison Kaplan Sommer recently wrote about how women working in Israel’s public sector earn less than their male counterparts. But gender inequality is not a problem relegated to the public sector, to be sure. According to data released recently by the World Economic Forum, Israel is ranked in 52nd place out of 134…
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A Too-High Tolerance for Hate Speech Against the Obese?
In recent months, there has been much ado over media smears, slights, and attacks on Jews, African-Americans, gays and other minorities. Journalistic careers have taken a hit in the wake of comments that have caused offense — Helen Thomas, Rick Sanchez, Juan Williams, etc. — and spirited arguments regarding the fine line between free speech…
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‘Mama Grizzlies’: No Empathy for Their Sisters?
Election season is heating up and women, as they so often do, are taking center stage. Our rights are being debated and female candidates from both parties are subjected to extra scrutiny. We’ve had a woman victim of a politically motivated curb-stomping in Kentucky, a candidate who doesn’t believe women are ever discriminated against, and…
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Israel’s Wage Gap
If Israel’s government wants to improve the economic condition of women, it can start by looking at its own payroll. According to the public sector salary report that was just released, the majority of government workers are women — 64% — and yet women’s earnings in the public sector significantly trail those of men. Haaretz…
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Why No Heroines Among the ‘Jewish Community Heroes’?
When one of our favorite blogs, Jacob Berkman’s The Fundermentalist, over at JTA, throws down the gauntlet, we at The Sisterhood are happy to take it up. In his post announcing that the Jewish Federations of North America-run Jewish Community Heroes contest has selected its five finalists, he notes that they are all male. Nominees…
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‘How Much Do Women Cost?’: Taking a Stand Against Trafficking
If some of the mannequins in Dizengoff Center seemed a little strange last week, it may be because they were not made out of plastic but out of real, live human bodies. In an effort to raise awareness about the trafficking of women in Israel, The Coalition Against Trafficking of Women has launched a campaign…
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Kate Bernheimer: Champion of the Fairy Tale
A fierce believer in the power and possibility of fairy tales, Kate Bernheimer has explored the genre’s history in essays and scholarship, edited anthologies of and about fairy tales, founded a literary journal focused on them (Fairy Tale Review) and written fresh tales of her own — as short stories, novels, and children’s books. It’s…
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Murders, Deemed ‘Honor Killings,’ Rock an Israeli City
The Israeli city of Lod is a powder keg of tension after a devastating wave of recent murders, most of which are believed to have been honor killings related to interfamily disputes. The latest two murders were particularly chilling. At the beginning of October, Amal Khalili, a 27-year-old divorced mother of three who reportedly had…
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