For 125 years, the Forward has delivered accurate, timely and nuanced news to American Jews. From breaking news to in-depth investigations, our reporting team covers the people, institutions and issues that define the many ways to be Jewish in the…
News
-
Chicago Jewish LGBT Leader: ‘To Be Told I Don’t Belong Feels So Sad’
Stephanie Goldfarb is a social worker at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and also the winner of “America’s Best Cook” on the Food Network and proprietor of Seven Species Supper Club, a bimonthly dinner at her home in Edgewater. As a member of both Chicago’s Jewish and LGBTQ communities, she was upset by the…
-
Hungary’s Viktor Orban Courts Far Right — With Jabs At Jews
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban long proclaimed zero tolerance of anti-Semitism but has more recently risked angering Israel and Jewish people with remarks apparently courting radical right-wing voters ahead of 2018 elections. Orban’s language, embracing notions of “ethnic homogeneity,” appears fashioned to occupy territory on the far right abandoned by the radical nationalist opposition party…
-
This 400-Year-Old Jewish Library Survived The Inquisition — And Hitler
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Livraria Ets Haim is the world’s oldest functioning Jewish library. As such, it is no stranger to the prospect of imminent destruction. Founded in 1616 by Jews who fled Catholic persecution in Spain and Portugal, the three-room library is adjacent to Amsterdam’s majestic Portuguese Synagogue in the Dutch capital’s center. The 30,000-volume collection…
The Latest
-
Was The Chicago Dyke March Controversy A Misunderstanding, Or Something Worse?
There are a few things that everyone can agree on about what transpired at the Chicago Dyke March last Saturday. Somewhere along the two-mile parade route through the Little Village neighborhood, a discussion began between a group of queer Palestinians and three Jewish women carrying rainbow flags with blue Stars of David in the middle…
-
How Benefits Fraud Scam Spread So Widely In Orthodox Town
The numbers in the public benefits fraud scam in the Orthodox enclave of Lakewood, New Jersey, are stunning. Fourteen arrests so far, and counting. More than $2 million in fraudulently obtained government funds. Hundreds of others scrambling to avoid prosecution for similar crimes. Law enforcement sources say that the schemes are both “widespread” and some…
-
Iconic LGBTQ Synagogue Told Marchers To Avoid Israel ‘Messaging’ At Pride Parade
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the iconic Manhattan LGBTQ synagogue, instructed marchers joining it June 25 in the New York Pride Parade to avoid wearing clothing or carrying signs relating to the Jewish state or the Palestinians, the Forward has learned. A CBST rabbi asked in an email for the groups to ensure that their marchers…
-
Hungary’s Resistance Has A Hip Jewish Address — But For How Long?
Budapest authorities moved on Wednesday to shutter the Aurora Cafe, which has served as a gathering spot for Hungarian opposition activists and nongovernmental human rights advocates. Authorities cited illegal drugs, but management said the government’s real aim is to muzzle opposition voices. In America, “the Resistance,” as some call the activist opposition to President Trump,…
-
Chicago Theater Critic Ignites Racial Firestorm With Review Of ‘Godot’ Adaptation
Theater critic Hedy Weiss has done it again. Weiss, who’s been reviewing plays and dance performances for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1984, is an old hand at provoking outrage within the city’s arts community, largely by inserting controversial political opinions —to put it gently — into her reviews. In the past, Weiss has suggested racial…
-
Socialites Hold Séance To Summon Leonard Bernstein’s Spirit — In His Onetime Pad
Larry and Toby Milstein, two rising young Jewish socialites, held a séance in Leonard Bernstein’s former apartment, attempting to summon the spirit of the deceased composer, according to The New York Times. The ghostly communication took place at The Dakota, the Central Park West building perhaps most famous for being the site of John Lennon’s…
-
This Week In Chicago: Gay Pride On The March!
It’s Pride Weekend in America, and Chicago is no exception. Festivities begin Thursday night and continue through Sunday; a list of official Chicago Pride events appears here, though there are many, many more elsewhere. The parade kicks off Sunday at noon from the intersection of Montrose, Broadway and Halsted in Uptown and continues to Diversey…
-
Winning Her Poignant Battle To Become Jewish Storyteller — In Shadow Of Cancer
For several years, Phyllis Binik-Thomas dreamt of becoming a storyteller, or maggid, to take her commitment intergenerational Jewish communication to another level. She wasn’t going to let cancer prevent her from reaching that goal. As beaming family and friends gathered in her Cincinnati living room, Binik-Thomas was ordained as a maggid educator on Tuesday afternoon…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion Zohran Mamdani’s victory proves it: The ‘gotcha’ mode of fighting antisemitism has to go
- 2
News What a Mayor Mamdani would mean for New York Jews
- 3
Fast Forward Mamdani tells Colbert — and a national audience — why NYC Jews shouldn’t fear him as mayor
- 4
Opinion Mamdani’s victory is an opportunity for Jews to relearn the art of disagreement
In Case You Missed It
-
Music Anyone who tells you that you shouldn’t meet your heroes never met Jill Sobule
-
Opinion Can we say Donald Trump’s Middle East nuclear strategy is dangerous — if it isn’t even a strategy?
-
Opinion ‘Israel is seen as violent’ — and Israeli chefs, once global culinary icons, are feeling the heat
-
Culture As Mel Brooks turns 99, his wisdom matters more than ever
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
