This is the Forward’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect on Jewish communities around the world.
COVID-19
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News After year of isolation, fully vaccinated grandparents head to in-person Passover seders
Ruth and Jerry Kirschner haven’t seen four of their grandchildren, ages 7 through 12, since January 2020. “This is the age when you want to see them,” Ruth said. “They’re young. They understand we can’t be with them, but they’re always like, ‘How much longer? How much longer?’” Thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine, the Kirschners…
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Community A year into COVID, Zoom funerals are still surreal
I waited outside the main office building of Beth Moses Cemetery in Long Island. It was a bright, cold day. I’d been there many times before. Normally the spot is a swirl of activity, with cars snaking around every driveway, funeral directors talking shop in small clumps and crowds of mourners greeting one another with…
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Culture Meet the Orthodox therapist who says watching ‘Bridgerton’ could improve your sex life
If you visit Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus’s Instagram, which you absolutely should, you will find many informative videos. Videos about the challenges of having sex while breastfeeding. Videos explaining the various causes of pain during intercourse. Videos about the items you should include in your “sex basket.” (Options, among others, include “a vibrator” and “a…
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News Israel will vaccinate Palestinians who work in Israel or West Bank settlements
Israel’s cabinet has approved extending the country’s vaccination campaign to Palestinian laborers working in Israel and in West Bank settlements, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said in a statement Sunday. Some 100,000 Palestinians are estimated to hold a permit allowing them to work inside Israel and the settlements. The inoculation campaign is…
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Opinion We asked 13 rabbis: How should we process 500,000 American COVID deaths?
This post is part of our Rabbi Roundtable series. This week, the United States recorded its 500,000th death from COVID-19. It’s a staggering number, one many of us have struggled to wrap our heads around. For thoughts on how to process the milestone we turned to rabbis across the country for their wisdom, both on…
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News ‘Mentsch of the highest order’: Jewish teen helps register hundreds for vaccine
Last month, Benjamin Kagan, 14, had a simple goal in mind: Help his grandparents in Florida register for a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. “I was like, I need to stay awake,” he said in an interview this week. “We had four computers running, and we got lucky.” A Facebook group, a Google form,…
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News Michael Che’s ham-fisted joke aside, what’s the deal with Israel, Palestinians and the vaccine?
Michael Che’s joke on Saturday Night Live about how Israel had only vaccinated the “Jewish half” of its population landed with a thud on stage, but it unleashed a firestorm of criticism in its wake. Israel’s critics called the joke much needed truth-telling about the nation’s vaccine success story, which has excluded the Palestinians. Defenders…
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Yiddish World WATCH: Learn some fun Yiddish words and proverbs about Purim
Ever wonder what Ashkenazi Jews baked for Purim, aside from homentashen? Learn about it in this special Purim edition of “Yiddish Word of the Day” by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter. You’ll also hear how to pronounce the names of the characters in the megillah, the story of Purim, in Yiddish, as well as a couple…
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Culture Inside the ancient Christian theology driving modern antisemitism
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News Jews paused Indiana’s abortion ban — by turning a religious freedom law against the evangelical right
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Culture In 1989, Harold Pinter and Jerry Schatzberg made the perfect Holocaust movie for 2026
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News Mamdani to attend Passover Seder as he navigates ties with Jewish groups amid rising antisemitism
In Case You Missed It
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Culture Two women race to save Persian Jewish music before it fades
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Opinion Passover liberation and US liberty both summon us to remember and renew
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Culture 70 years ago, this Jewish choreographer predicted our epidemic of loneliness and isolation
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Culture Gene Shalit, a mensch with a personality as big as his mustache, turns 100
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