This is the Forward’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect on Jewish communities around the world.
COVID-19
The Latest
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Fast Forward Rome’s Jewish community: Coronavirus is the worst situation we’ve faced since WWII
(JTA) — Rome’s Jewish community is in a “state of complete uncertainty” amid Italy’s coronavirus crisis, according to its president. “We are a proud and ancient community in the midst of the worst situation we have faced since World War II,” the president of Rome’s Jewish community, Ruth Durgello, said in a press release distributed…
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Fast Forward Thousands of Israelis in the US called home as coronavirus restrictions tighten
NEW YORK (JTA) — Purim celebrations at Oakland Hebrew Day School on Tuesday included a surprise, un-festive addition: farewells to two young Israeli women whose work in the Northern California school was being cut short by the global coronavirus pandemic. The women were assigned to work at the school as part of their national service,…
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Opinion What it’s like finishing college at the beginning of a pandemic
On Monday, March 9, I was a regular college senior at Cornell University, enjoying my last semester. I had finished nearly all of my graduation requirements, and had been enjoying my less academic courses like Swing Dance and Introduction to Wines. I was meeting up with old friends, making new ones, and looking forward to…
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News Online anti-Semitism thrives around coronavirus, even on mainstream platforms
The first Jewish coronavirus case was announced on March 3, but as early as January, Jews have been blamed online for spreading the virus, said Alex Friedfeld, an investigative researcher at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. Jonathan Sarna, a professor of Jewish-American History at Brandeis University, said this latest public health-related conspiracy theory reflects…
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Fast Forward Preparing for the worst-case scenario: Jewish aid groups scramble amid the coronavirus outbreak
NEW YORK (JTA) — The run-up to Passover is the busiest time of the year for Masbia, a nonprofit that operates three kosher soup kitchens in Brooklyn and Queens. The organization has to order all kosher-for-Passover food and scrub one of its locations’ kitchens so it can prepare food without any trace of bread or…
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Israel News Quarantine Diary Day 8: Nearly 100 infected with coronavirus in Israel
Z ack Dinerstein and Lisa Tauber, both 35, moved from Park Slope, Brooklyn, to Tel Aviv a year ago for her job at Fiverr, an online marketplace for freelance services (he is a web developer and former podcast producer). Newlyweds, they recently went for a romantic getaway to Paris — only to find on their…
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Fast Forward Auschwitz Memorial closes to visitors over coronavirus fears
(JTA) — The Auschwitz Memorial and the site of the former Nazi camp are closed to visitors due to concerns over the coronavirus. The memorial announced on Wednesday that it would shut down until March 25. The announcement comes on the heels of the decision by the Polish government to close all museums and cultural…
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News Scenes from ‘ground zero’: inside New Rochelle’s coronavirus containment zone
Patrick Vecchio was delivering kosher Chinese food to Jews quarantined in their homes in New Rochelle Tuesday afternoon when he heard the news: He was smack in the middle of the “containment zone” — a one-mile radius around an Orthodox synagogue in this New York suburb. Schools, places of worship and other large gathering areas…
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Opinion Outrage over Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed on sexual assault of Palestinians is missing the point
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Culture At Eurovision, Israel’s near triumph shows the limits of tolerance
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Opinion I run The Jewish Theological Seminary. Here’s the real story about President Isaac Herzog speaking at our commencement
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Opinion The profound internal contradiction that could spell doom for Hillel
In Case You Missed It
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News Rep. Dan Goldman urges ‘no’ vote on proposed Brooklyn Israel boycott, warning of antisemitism
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Fast Forward Itamar Ben-Gvir draws criticism from Netanyahu for video taunting detained flotilla activists
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Fast Forward What Tuesday’s primaries tell us about Democrats, Republicans and the Israel issue
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Fast Forward AOC and other leading Democrats condemn Texas congressional candidate Maureen Galindo over antisemitic rhetoric