Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect on Jewish communities around the world.
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Culture For centuries, Jews have been battling epidemics like coronavirus
Decades after the Jews were expelled from Spain, a Jewish traveler worked his way through the medieval Jewish cemetery of Toledo, copying epitaphs from the gravestones there. One of them belonged to Joseph ben Meir Abulafia, a newlywed who, along with his wife, was among tens of millions of people — in Europe, as much…
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News N.C. rabbis: The ‘moral pandemic’ of racism is a Jewish problem
“I experience racism in the Jewish community on a regular basis,” said Rabbi Sandra Lawson, one of four North Carolina rabbis behind an urgent call for American Jews to take action against police violence. “As a black queer woman, I don’t see a lot of people who look like me.” Long before Lawson was ordained,…
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News Orthodox reporter challenges De Blasio on NYPD ejecting Hasidic families from playgrounds
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed why city police have kicked dozens of Hasidic families out of Brooklyn parks over the past several weeks, even as protesters taking to the streets over the police killing of George Floyd have been allowed to gather in public, decisions that drew fierce criticism from the Orthodox…
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Community Camp is a safe haven, and right now, we really need one
The first Jewish summer camps were founded at the turn of the 19th century as a youthful escape from squalid urban living. Out in the country, children could grow in little pockets of bliss separated from worldly ill. There was dancing, playing, swimming and very little worry. As time passed, camps of all sorts emerged,…
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Life Is showering even worth it these days? Plus advice on kicking expensive habits
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]. Help! I’ve become a slob Dear Abbys, The other day in the shower…
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Fast Forward New York Is allowing day camps to open. Some Jewish camps are still staying closed.
(JTA) — When Jewish camp directors explained their reasons for canceling camp this summer, state and local prohibitions were typically at the top of the list. We can’t even think about opening camp, they would say, because the government won’t let us. Now that’s changing. States across the country have told day camps, overnight camps…
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Fast Forward For some small kosher food purveyors, the coronavirus era is boom time
(JTA) — Like many small business owners, Ian Yosef Hertzmark’s small flour operation saw a precipitous drop when the coronavirus pandemic hit the Unites States in March. Almost overnight, Hertzmark’s Migrash Farm, which produces certified kosher flour from grain grown in the Chesapeake Bay region, lost virtually his entire wholesale business after local restaurants and…
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Fast Forward After dramatic rise In COVID-19 infections, Israel halts reopening plans
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel is hitting an “emergency brake” on its ongoing reopening of the economy due to a sharp rise in the rate of coronavirus infections in recent days. Some 800 new COVID-19 cases were identified in the past week, as opposed to a total of about 300 infections of the coronavirus confirmed in…
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Fast Forward Trump says Jews would deserve much of the blame if he loses
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Opinion This GOP candidate has always been antisemitic — so why are Republicans only panicking about him now?
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Culture Hitler is trending on TikTok again — and they’re trying to make him seem like a nice guy
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Opinion A daring attack on Hezbollah may reveal Israel’s strengths — and its most terrifying weakness
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Fast Forward Republican senator refuses to condemn Trump’s remark that election loss would be Jews’ fault
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Opinion Israel’s next war front: Why Lebanon is different than Gaza
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Fast Forward Civilian effort to equip Israeli soldiers for war with Hezbollah ratchets up alongside hostilities
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Oct. 7: One Year Later How 10/7 — like 9/11 before it — irrevocably changed the meaning of a pair of numbers
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