This is the Forward’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect on Jewish communities around the world.
COVID-19
The Latest
-
Culture From Basra to the Chelsea Hotel — My father’s journey
My father, George Chemeche, is 87 years old. I live with him here in the Chelsea Hotel. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, I haven’t really seen him. For his safety, I occupy the bedroom of our apartment and he occupies the living room, TV room and kitchen. I order groceries for my father,…
-
Community The only unnatural way to be is alone
Lo tov heyot ha-adam levado, it is not good for the earthling to be alone (Gen. 2:18). As the product of a traditional Jewish education, I have always heard this verse cited as an aphoristic observation about human nature and the need for companionship. No one wants to be alone their whole life. Life is…
-
Life As shul reopens, can we make it more welcoming to Orthodox women?
The wigs in my wardrobe stand poised, like ballerinas backstage, curled on their mannequin heads. Since New York’s shutdown began in mid-March, I have not needed that armor, and the multiple roles they represent: the straight dark one is “serious journalist;” the wavy long one, “Upper East Side rebbetzin.” In normal times, these varied shades…
-
Community Even Zoombombing can’t take away from the importance of civil rights education
Jewish schools must prioritize Jews of color. By recognizing there is a rainbow of diversity within the Jewish community, schools can be places where students become advocates and allies working closely with Jews of color to ensure they feel welcomed and supported. Yet unfortunately, the reality is that many Jews of color feel marginalized and…
-
Life What do we eat now? And other questions for our advice columnists
From its start in 1906, A Bintel Brief was a pillar of the Forward, helping generations of Jewish immigrants learn how to be American. Now our columnists are helping people navigate the complexities of being Jewish in 2020. Send questions to [email protected]. Three squares? Sweetie, put down that spatula Dear Abbys, I am cooked out….
-
Community Protection in a pandemic: “Nothing bad can happen to you when you are wearing a hamsa”
“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times!” Oddly enough it was a man that coined that phrase, but it is the women bearing children that bid it true. After all, what is more of a contradiction than the careful nurturing of a tiny being inside you for 9 months, with…
-
News Hasidic leaders are on a chain-cutting campaign to liberate playgrounds
Heshy Tischler is on a mission to open Brooklyn playgrounds closed due to the coronavirus, and the people are on his side. That’s why they keep giving him bolt cutters. He says he’s helped reopen six playgrounds in Brooklyn since last Thursday — the most recent in Crown Heights on Tuesday evening. Three of those…
-
Community ‘We are scouts into a world of racism and police abuse’
This week in synagogues throughout the world, Jews will read Parashat Sh’lach L’cha, the story of the scouts sent by Moses into the land of Canaan. The scouts, representing each of the 12 tribes, were sent to gather information and return to advise the people on what to expect. After 40 days, they return to…
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion It’s time for the pro-Palestinian movement to make a radical change
- 2
News Should synagogues remove the Israeli flag from bimahs now? How a New York shul made the decision
- 3
Opinion JD Vance just made a critical error in Israel — and time to curb Hamas is running short
- 4
Film & TV What the new season of ‘Nobody Wants This’ gets right — and very wrong — about Judaism
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward The World War II origins of the White House East Wing, now demolished
-
Opinion Can an idyllic dream of Israel ever be reality? She says: ‘Coexistence, My Ass’
-
Fast Forward Advocates decry ‘pogrom on the playground’ after Jewish children targeted in Chicago suburb on Oct. 7
-
Yiddish אַוואַנסירטע ייִדיש־פּראָגראַם אין רומעניע, פֿרײַ פֿון אָפּצאָלFree advanced Yiddish language program in Romania
די טעמע פֿון דער פּראָגראַם, וואָס וועט זײַן אין גאַנצן אויף ייִדיש, איז „ייִדיש אין ראַטן־פֿאַרבאַנד, רומעניע און פּוילן“.
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism