Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect on Jewish communities around the world.
COVID-19
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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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News NYC medical chief apologizes to the Orthodox community for mishandling outreach during the pandemic
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration has learned from past mistakes and is seeking to improve outreach efforts to the Orthodox community in Brooklyn, two senior city officials said in a conference call with Jewish media representatives on Tuesday. The acknowledgment — as the city is looking to rebuild trust in the COVID-19 vaccination drive —…
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Opinion ‘Save a single life, save an entire world:’ Faith leaders must stop fighting COVID restrictions
After a year marked by loss — of loved ones, community, a sense of normalcy — it takes no stretch of the imagination to understand why people of faith across the country yearn to return to houses of worship. I am among them. A Zoom call can never replace the experience of being in the…
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News 90-year-old Jewish woman walked six miles in snow to get vaccine
Earlier this month, when 90-year-old Fran Goldman walked six miles through the snow to get her vaccine, she didn’t think much of it. “I’m not an attention grabber,” Goldman, a member of Seattle’s Temple Beth Am, said in an interview this weekend. “I did not think it was a big deal.” But her story was…
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News After a year of the pandemic, the dual meaning of masks this Purim
Purim has often been dubbed the “Jewish Halloween.” For Jeremy Sarnat, last year’s holiday was particularly scary. Friends in his Atlanta neighborhood were delivering the traditional festive food baskets and he was afraid to open them. It was in the very early days of the pandemic when epidemiologists were still honing in on how the…
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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
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Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
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Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
In Case You Missed It
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Culture In a Haredi Jerusalem neighborhood, doctors’ visits are free, but the wait may cost you
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Fast Forward Chicago mayor donned keffiyeh for Arab Heritage Month event, sparking outcry from Jewish groups
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Fast Forward Latvia again closes case against ‘Butcher of Riga,’ tied to mass murder of Jews
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