Each week, Forward editors pick highlights from our coverage to savor over Shabbat and Sunday. You can download and print a PDF of those stories by clicking here, or click on any of the headlines below. Have a great weekend!
Just days before early voting kicks off in the June 22 Democratic primaries, a race in eastern Queens is raising concerns among mainstream Jewish leaders who take issue with a candidate’s stance on Israel, and worry about rising anti-Israel sentiment within the progressive movement — a force that could ultimately shape the makeup of the…
WASHINGTON (JTA) — After a decades-long embrace that began when he first served as Israel’s prime minister in the 1990s, Benjamin Netanyahu’s evangelical allies are worried about a future without him. Jews who value the Christian alliance are worried, too, about a possible erosion of support among a critical pro-Israel sector should Netanyahu be forced…
Three decades ago, Israeli real-estate agent Daniel Michael was set up with his wife by a neighbor with a knack for matchmaking. Now, Michael is providing the same service, but for a niche demographic: Jewish singles who have opted not to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Prior to last month, Michael had little experience with matchmaking….
NEW YORK (JTA) — Two weeks after the recent flareup of violence in Israel and Gaza, as fights over Israel and Palestine raged on social media, Julia Jassey wondered aloud whether any of her effort was worth it. Jassey, a student at the University of Chicago, has spent the better part of a year immersed…
This story was originally published by PublicSource, a nonprofit media organization delivering local journalism in the Pittsburgh region at publicsource.org. You can sign up for their newsletters at publicsource.org/newsletters. Centuries ago, Tu B’Av was a Jewish holiday for matchmaking. Today, if celebrated at all, the vibe tends to be more Valentine’s Day-esque: it might involve…
Washington doesn’t know Naftali Bennett, the likely next prime minister of Israel. The 49-year-old former settler leader with strong nationalist views supports the permanent Israeli annexation of the West Bank. He’s managed to cobble together an astoundingly diverse coalition that for the first time in Israeli history includes Arab parties. His parents are originally from…
Forget the check book or credit card. Next time you make a donation to your favorite Jewish charity, consider doing it with Bitcoin. As cryptocurrencies and blockchain become more and more integrated into mainstream commerce, Jewish nonprofits are now accepting donations with digital currency. Cryptocurrencies are not new to philanthropy; large and small nonprofits have…
(JTA) — Eytan Fox’s new film “Sublet” opens with a slow fade-up on travel photographs of Israel: red rocks in the desert, a young woman smiling with the mud of the Dead Sea on her face, two paddleboarders on clear turquoise water. As the image comes into focus, it becomes clear that we’re actually looking…
If the past is prologue, American Jews are about to hit the snooze button on Israel, and they really shouldn’t. This has been a pattern since the Six Day War, 54 years ago this week, when Israel launched a preemptive war against three neighboring Arab countries and managed to defeat them all in just six…
(JTA) — (New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood is known as a center of gentrification and a gathering place for the cool young hipsters of New York City. A short walk from the Lower East Side over the Williamsburg Bridge, it’s also home to one of the most concentrated Hasidic Jewish communities in…
