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‘I Have Stopped Wearing My Magen David’: 27 Jews On What It Feels Like To Be Afraid For Their Lives
If you feel your eyes watching the exit during Shabbat services, if you see danger lurking at Jewish celebrations and events, if you’ve felt the metallic cold of a Magen David as you tuck it into your shirt “just in case,” you’re not alone. In a recent survey of American Jews by the American Jewish…
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This Torah Was Dropped Off At A Va. Thrift Store Can You Help Us Find Where It Came From?
A couple hundred bucks can get you a variety of things on Goodwill’s online store: Tory Burch boots; a metal detector; a Burberry duffle; a collection of Furbies. Oh, and a Torah. Until Tuesday, you could bid for a scroll — sacred, if tattered — at ShopGoodwill.com. First listed at $200, bidders quickly pushed the…
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In New York State, Citizens Can Still Vote In Yiddish — But How Many Do?
On Election Day, New York City provides translation services for widely spoken languages, like Spanish and Mandarin. But Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has also been working recently to improve ballot box accessibility more widely — even for speakers of tongues that are less well known, like the mame loshen, or mother tongue, of Ashkenazi…
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After 150 Years, Two Reform Congregations Come Back Together In Baltimore
In 1842, members of one of the first synagogues in Maryland broke away after a rebuke from their rabbi, an Orthodox hardliner who was deeply troubled by secularism among American Jews. He decried their use of Masonic rituals at Jewish funerals — in effect, idol worship. So they formed their own synagogue, Har Sinai Congregation….
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Afghanistan’s Last Jews Were Freed From Prison Because They Were So Annoying
(JTA) — As the old saying sort of goes, two Jews, three opinions. Add one headache for the Taliban. Meet Zabulon Simentov, 66, who is believed to be the last remaining Jew in Afghanistan. Emran Feroz recently profiled Simentov for Foreign Policy and uncovered some incredible stories about the feisty Afghan — including that the…
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Schools: Minorities Love Halloween Because It Includes Us. Stop Cancelling It!
Public schools from San Francisco to Philadelphia are cancelling their Halloween celebrations, citing concerns that because not everyone celebrates the fall festival, some students might feel excluded. “As part of our school and district-wide commitment to equity, we are focused on building community and creating inclusive, welcoming environments for all,” said the Evanston/Skokie, Illinois school…
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Bennet at J Street: My Mother Is Jewish But Didn’t Raise Me That Way
Two sons of Holocaust survivors who both happen to be running for the Democratic presidential nomination took different tacks about their Jewish identities in visits Monday to the J Street convention, perhaps the largest annual gathering of leftist American Jews. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has often been criticized for playing down his Judaism,…
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At J Street Conference, Democratic Candidates Pressed On Cutting Israel Aid
This story has been updated with J Street’s statement. Democratic presidential candidates diverged on Monday over the question of whether to condition United States military aid on Israeli policy toward the Palestinians, which activists at the annual J Street conference here in Washington seem to be trying to make something of a wedge issue in…
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Special Coverage: Pittsburgh, One Year Later
After a day of community service, Torah study and community gathering, Pittsburgh residents say they are closing a chapter in their healing after last year’s deadly synagogue shooting. Sunday was the one-year mark, a date loaded with significance. There was a long roster of activities and ceremonies that, amid tears and unanswered questions, enabled the…
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After Synagogue Shooting, Congregants Daunted By Looming, Lengthy Death Penalty Process
In Terre Haute, Indiana, a man named Marvin Gabrion has been in prison awaiting death for 17 years, seven months and 11 days. He committed his crimes in 1996 and 1997, then was tried, convicted of murder and sentenced in 2002. Gabrion is currently the longest-serving inmate on federal death row, and though he terrorized…
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In Pittsburgh, Archivists Work To Preserve The World’s Response To Mass Violence
Sometimes, when he has a spare moment, Eric Lidji ducks into a storage room, takes a box off a shelf, sits on the floor and reads letters sent to Pittsburgh after last year’s synagogue shooting. “I find it cathartic to go through the stuff, to be honest,” he said. “This is part of the hope…
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