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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Rebecca Rosen: Nice Jewish Girl and Psychic to the Stars
For the past few years, I’ve been waiting for my Dad to come by for a nice, long chat. He’s been dead for seven years, but that’s no deterrent. Six years ago I began a memoir about the year I said Kaddish for my Dad. Dad was ill for years, until Parkinson’s Disease literally choked…
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For the First Time, a Woman Is Named JNF’s Head Forest Ranger
The history of modern Israel can arguably be told through its trees. Forested landmarks mark battles, settlements, roads and monuments, each of which has a piece of the narrative that together weaves the story of the Jewish people in the modern era. Trees are also swamped in the history of the Jewish collective, with forested…
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Holding Leaders Accountable for Kotel Violence Against Women
These days, we’re hearing about more ultra-Orthodox men who are turning to increasingly hateful tactics to prevent women from praying as they wish on their side of the Western Wall’s mechitza. Recently, they hurled chairs over the divider, even before the women had a chance to begin their davening. Once the police were called, the…
The Latest
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Israeli Teens Share Their Coming-Out Stories
When I was growing up in Canada, I always looked up to Israeli teenagers. I was fortunate to spend my high school summers in Israel and participate in programs together with Israeli teens, which served to intensify my admiration for them. I thought they were strong, bold and courageous for both getting drafted to the…
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Why Jewish Women Are Wearing Burqas
Fundamentalist Muslim women and fundamentalist Jewish women have a lot in common. Both groups live under the forced rules of ancient, male-controlled religious legal systems that place extreme emphasis on women’s body cover as the supreme symbol of righteousness and community purity. In conversations I have had with Muslim feminists over the years, the similarities…
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Sara Hurwitz, Don’t Accept the Title ‘Maharat’
As one of the first women to receive private Orthodox rabbinic ordination, I was disheartened to hear Maharat Sara Hurwitz give up her title of “Rabba” (the female version of “Rabbi” chosen by the Academy of the Hebrew Language). In a speech she gave recently at the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance conference, she said that…
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Ofra Haza Fans Keep Pop Star’s Memory Alive, a Decade Later
Ofra Haza was the Middle Eastern version of Celine Dion, Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey. Once you heard the opening notes of any song containing the sweet honey of Ofra Haza’s mezzo-soprano voice, it was unmistakable. Even now, a decade after her death from AIDS when any other Israeli singer tries to take on any…
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Germs and Manners at 30,000 Feet
Dear Bintel Brief, On a plane recently in the row in front of me sat a mother and a young child. The child was sick and suffering loudly. She coughed and sneezed on the window, and the mother didn’t bother to wipe the germs. I debated with myself over whether or not to tell the…
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My Son, the Babysitter?
There are moments when I feel bad for boys. Like every time my son tries to get a babysitting job. The scene is almost always the same. A parent — almost always a mother — calls up to ask my oldest daughter to babysit. My daughter, in age-appropriate behavior for a 17-year old, will often…
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‘Queen Bee’ Author Rosalind Wiseman on Bullying’s New Realities
Bullying is back in the headlines, as it is all too often, with the suicide of a teenager who was victimized by her schoolmates. Nine of them were charged last week with felonies. More can be read about it in this Sisterhood post. The Sisterhood spoke with author Rosalind Wiseman, whose 2002 book “Queen Bees…
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Phoebe Prince and the Consequences of Bullying
It’s horrifying that a 15-year-old girl named Phoebe Prince killed herself after being mercilessly bullied by other high school kids in South Hadley, Mass. Horrifying, but sadly not unique. Criminal felony charges have been filed against seven girls and two boys who are alleged to have been her main tormentors, but no adults are being…
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