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Kosher to treyf, and back again: all in a day for Fairway’s bakery
It was a baked goods bombshell. On Tuesday morning, kosher-keeping Manhattanites woke up to learn that bakery items at Fairway, a beloved and beleaguered supermarket chain under new ownership after filing for bankruptcy, were no longer kosher — effective immediately. “Oy…. the Rugelach there were the best. So sad,” posted one customer on Facebook. And…
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If you love ketchup, thank this Israeli-American partnership
If you glopped some ketchup on your Memorial Day burgers, you may have a little-known Israeli-American initiative to thank. Chances are the tomatoes in your condiment came from California, and those tomatoes descended from genetic lines developed by a joint Israeli-American agricultural research initiative. This year, that initiative, the Binational Agricultural Research Development Fund, known…
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Ben Mankiewicz wants to preserve film’s legacy– and his family’s
If the name ‘Mankiewicz’ sounds familiar, you might be remembering Frank Mankiewicz, RFK’s presidential campaign press secretary who subsequently served as a President of NPR. Or Herman J. Mankiewicz, who wrote Citizen Kane with Orson Welles. Or Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Oscar-winning director, screenwriter, and producer, or screenwriter Don Mankiewicz. Dive into Wikipedia and you’ll be…
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Aaron Rubashkin, 92, Patriarch Of Troubled Kosher Meat Empire
(JTA) — Aaron Rubashkin knew a thing or two about mistreatment at the hands of governmental authorities. As a child in the Russian town of Nevel, he saw his Jewish school shut down by the Soviet government in 1938. After the Nazis arrived in the summer of 1941, the Rubashkin family fled on foot, landing…
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Here’s how to think about NYC’s new COVID-19 data
New York City’s health department has begun providing data that breaks down the city’s COVID-19 pandemic by a number of different demographic factors, including race and ZIP code. So far, the takeaways are clear— neighborhoods with more black and Hispanic residents, and/or with higher poverty rates, saw higher rates of infection and death. And, broadly…
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Alone in her school lab, a teacher prints face shields
Like schools most everywhere these days, the Milken Community School in west Los Angeles is largely free of people. The coronavirus shut down the private Jewish school’s middle and high school campuses until further notice, leaving classwork to continue online through the end of the academic year this week. There’s at least one exception to…
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Jeffrey Sanderson, 62, Took Pleasure In The Small Things
BOSTON (JTA) – For Jeffrey Sanderson, it was the small things in life that brought the most joy. He couldn’t get enough of old episodes of “I Love Lucy,” and “Leave it to Beaver,” which tickled his sense of humor. An outing to the park, with a stop for french fries at McDonald’s, were adventures…
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A conversation with Rabbi Rick Jacobs about the future of the Reform movement
The umbrella organization that serves the 850 synagogues of the Reform movement, the nation’s largest Jewish denomination is laying off about 20% of its staff, in addition to furloughs. The Union for Reform Judaism made the announcement after it decided amid the coronavirus pandemic to close all of its summer camps, forfeiting its single largest…
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Defying the governor but heeding the President, a Los Angeles synagogue opens its doors
Mere hours after President Donald Trump called on governors to open places of worship, calling the institutions “essential,” one Los Angeles congregation pounced on the opportunity. In defiance of a California state ban on religious gatherings due to the potential spread of coronavirus, it opened for Friday night services. Members of Congregation Etz Chaim, an…
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How to celebrate Shavuot wherever you are: A Forward guide
Atlanta The Atlanta Rabbinical Association (ARA) will host a community-wide virtual Tikkun Leil Shavuot on Thursday, May 28th, beginning at 6 p.m., with multiple tracks and prayer services. Teachers will include: 2018 James Beard winner Michael Twitty, Rabbi Brad Artson of the American Jewish University, Dr. Judith Hauptman of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Professor Paul…
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Zoom will help create ‘one grand community’ this Shavuot
Across North America, community-wide Shavuot study programs have long bridged organizational divides, building Jewish community over Torah study and cheesecake. Today, the global pandemic precludes these in-person gatherings. Instead, organizations are using virtual technology platforms such as Zoom to achieve the same goals. A slew of innovative Shavuot programs are planned that will expand the…
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Fast Forward As images from Gaza spread, US rabbis wrestle with war’s morality from the pulpit
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Fast Forward Donald Trump says US will distribute food in Gaza, where he says there is ‘real starvation’
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Fast Forward Regina Spektor responds to pro-Palestinian protester at concert: ‘You’re just yelling at a Jew’
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