Welcome to 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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News COVID-19 is causing Jewish leaders to decline the White House Hanukkah party invite — with regrets
The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on the White House’s annual Hanukkah party. “I’m not going. I’m not traveling. I’m 82 years old,” said Harvard Law Professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz, who has been an unofficial advisor to Trump and attended last year’s party. “I would go, if not for the virus.” Jewish leaders have…
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Fast Forward Trump campaign strategic advisor and unofficial Jewish liaison tests positive for coronavirus
The strategic advisor for President Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign has tested positive coronavirus, he announced in a tweet Wednesday. Boris Epshteyn, who also served as a senior advisor to Trump’s 2016 campaign for president and as the communications director for his presidential inaugural committee, said he is experiencing mild symptoms and is quarantining. I…
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News In Chicago and Boston, Jewish chaplains are on the COVID-19 surge front lines
As he walks the hallways of a large suburban Chicago hospital amidst an increasing number of COVID-19 patients, Rabbi Ariel Marinelli is scared. “My wife and I are on the same page,” said the 37-year-old Orthodox rabbi. “She too gets nervous.” It’s a familiar but dispiriting return to the pandemic front lines for Marinelli, the…
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News The Orthodox case against Cuomo’s COVID-19 rules is getting stronger — because of his own remarks
An organization representing ultra-Orthodox Jews is asking the highest court in the land to block New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s COVID-19 restrictions on worship — and to do it in time for Shabbat on Nov. 20. Agudath Israel of America has been trying to overturn Cuomo’s rules in the courts for more than a month…
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News Praying through the second wave: Expert advice on staying safe
This winter, a lot of observant Jews are going to become the frozen chosen. Here’s how Dr. Moshe Cohn, who lives in the Orthodox hub of Teaneck, N.J., got dressed for weekday prayers on a recent cold day: He wrapped his tefillin, the ritual leather straps, around his arm and head. Then he put on…
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Community During the pandemic, the Lucerne Hotel was a true home
Our support group begins: One person shares how difficult it has been during the pandemic, not being able to see his grandchildren for months. The next person talks about the challenges of repairing their life after a divorce. Another speaks about how difficult finding a new job can be during COVID. We share what gives…
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Culture What I’ll miss if New York shuts down: sharing space with strangers
I learned Joe Biden was our president-elect when honks and shouts erupted outside my Manhattan window. That morning, my partner and I made our way downstairs to investigate, joining dozens of people who had paused their Saturday routines to go outside and make noise. An elderly man was playing bagpipes on the corner. Others were…
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Fast Forward ‘Rise up red zones:’ Businesses hurt by virus shutdown implore Brooklynites to shop local
An initiative by the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition is calling on Brooklyn residents to support local small businesses in largely Jewish neighborhoods that were,until recently, designated “red zones,” under New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s COVID-19 policies. “After struggling through a difficult red zone shut down, shopping local has never been more important to us,” said…
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Fast Forward Why neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the US
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Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
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Opinion Just about every interpretation of Trump’s narrow election victory is wrong
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News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Here’s why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
In Case You Missed It
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Fast Forward Rep. Ritchie Torres, outspoken pro-Israel advocate, is dropping hints that he could run for NY governor
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Fast Forward Ursula Haverbeck, infamous German Holocaust denier known as ‘Nazi grandma,’ dies at 96
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Fast Forward A Jewish museum in Tulsa held a funeral for remains of Holocaust victims it kept for years
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Sports Texas A&M’s Sam Salz cherishes his first taste of DI college football — and the opportunity to inspire fellow Orthodox Jews
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