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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News A Yom Kippur interview with NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins: ‘I count on God’
Just prior to Yom Kippur, Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins sat for a Zoom interview with Rabbi Naomi Levy about God and the pandemic. Dr. Collins, a devout Christian, leads the United States’ search for treatments and a vaccine for COVID-19. Rabbi Levy is the founder and spiritual leader of…
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Community For those who cannot fast, Yom Kippur should still be meaningful
Yom Kippur is almost upon us. According to Torah law, the Jewish people are mandated to fast the entire day. This can be difficult enough for most people, but particularly so for those with eating disorders. Fasting itself is not just the issue. For them, Yom Kippur can be a triggering holiday that creates and…
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Fast Forward More restrictive lockdown set for Israel as Coronavirus cases soar
(JTA) — Israelis are facing a much more restrictive general lockdown, including the closure of synagogues, to prevent the record spread of the coronavirus. The stricter measures approved early Thursday would go into effect hours before Yom Kippur, which starts on Sunday evening. The full Knesset was set to vote on the new restrictions later in…
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News More schools discouraging COVID-19 testing in New York, New Jersey despite spike
Some Haredi yeshiva day schools in Brooklyn and the New York and New Jersey suburbs are discouraging COVID-19 testing for both teachers and students to try to avoid school closures despite an uptick in cases in Haredi communities broadly. At Bais Yaakov of Borough Park, for example, administrators called teachers individually and asked them to…
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Community Who decides what authentic Jewish practice looks like?
Thousands of years ago the central practice of Yom Kippur involved two goats. These goats would be taken by the high priest who would draw lots to decide which one would be immediately sacrificed in the Jerusalem temple and which one would be led out into the desert only to be pushed off a cliff…
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Community Does upholding the law require punishment? Rabbinic tradition says no
Can the law unite us, inspire us, and keep us safe? As American institutions become politicized – from the NFL to the CDC – so too the law: the politics around policing, cash bail, and both recent and impending Supreme Court nomination hearings (to name but a few instances) have diminished the law’s ability to…
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Fast Forward Israel hits daily record of nearly 7,000 new Coronavirus cases
(JTA) — As Israel racked up a record nearly 7,000 new coronavirus cases in one day, the government met to consider tightening restrictions, including banning synagogue prayer and public protests. The coronavirus cabinet met Tuesday for several hours but failed to make any decisions about further restrictions to stop the spread of the deadly virus….
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Fast Forward The Jewish Agency will carry your High Holiday prayer to the Western Wall
The Jewish Agency for Israel is gathering prayers from Jews across the globe to place amid the stones of the Western Wall during the High Holiday season. Though COVID-19 has led to travel restrictions and limited access to the holy site, the Agency is helping worshippers keep the centuries-old tradition alive from the safety of…
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Most Popular
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News Who was Horst Wessel, and why are people comparing Charlie Kirk to him?
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Culture Charlie Kirk kept a ‘Jewish Sabbath.’ What did he mean by that?
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Film & TV Robert Redford’s legacy is surprisingly Jewish
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Antisemitism Decoded Israel is being blamed for Charlie Kirk’s death. Here’s what that conspiracy theory says about the far right’s divide
In Case You Missed It
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Culture This Israeli photographer’s work is all about ‘subverting masculinity’
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Opinion The terrifying Nazi precedent for Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension — and the reasons to stay hopeful
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Fast Forward Freed hostage Edan Alexander says he’s returning to the IDF next month
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Yiddish World How a Yiddish acting troupe fooled the Tsarist government
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