This is the Forward’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect on Jewish communities around the world.
COVID-19
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Community The new Chancellor of JTS will take up a mantle of both tradition and innovation
This week, the Jewish Theological Seminary will celebrate its 126th (virtual) commencement exercises – the final of Chancellor Arnold Eisen’s tenure. With Eisen’s retirement date set for June 30, JTS will announce his successor in the weeks ahead, perhaps by way of a plume of white smoke from its newly renovated campus at 3080 Broadway….
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Fast Forward GiveKidsSummer: Brooklyn assemblyman pushes Cuomo to open Jewish sleepaway camps
A New York state assemblyman representing a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Orthodox Jewish population continued to press Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday to encourage local health officials to allow summer camps. Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein of Borough Park noted in a tweet on Sunday that Cuomo had allowed public beaches to be open on Memorial…
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Fast Forward Orthodox mom-and-pop shop owners join movement to let them reopen in New York
Orthodox Jewish business owners have joined in calls for New York to allow small businesses to operate, pushing back against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has repeatedly said he will not risks lives in order to reopen the economy. Orthodox business owners are sharing their personal stories through videos on social media, using the…
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Community A mask is not anti-Trump. It’s pro-life
Yarmulke is such a funny word. Not as funny as phylacteries, which, as 12-year-old I thought had something to do with birth control. The one thing I knew about yarmulkes was I had to wear one in the Conservative synagogue our family attended. The ushers in the sanctuary and the teachers in Hebrew school made…
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News As L.A.-based Coffee Bean drops kosher status, Orthodox customers fight back
A few years ago, Sarah Blitzstein and a few close friends mapped out an unconventional 5K route. Instead of passing through local parks or looping around prominent Los Angeles landmarks, they chose branches of an institution that had been central to their friendship dating back to their youth: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. “It…
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Community Safe-guarding your post-pandemic synagogue requires fundraising — respectfully
Even while the world is experiencing chaos and confusion, it is inspiring to see organizations, particularly community based and religious institutions such as synagogues, engage with and draw in their communities in meaningful ways. The unknown is most definitely challenging, and over the past two months, people have turned to their local communities for support,…
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Community ‘What are you all eating? Hold it up to the camera, let’s see.’ Ramadan adapts to Zoom
This year, Ramadan is like none we have experienced. While fasting involves abstinence from food, drink, and sexual relations from daybreak to sundown, what makes it the most wonderful time of the year is the communal gatherings. The spirit of community comes alive at iftar, when we break our fast together as the sun sets….
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News ‘Wah-Nee Island’: Private, ‘Jew-ish’ camps plan to open. Here’s how.
Many of the most prominent Jewish summer camps in America have announced that they will not be operating this summer, or have privately admitted that opening will be close to impossible. But there is another segment of the Jewish camping world that’s still holding out hope: for-profit camps that attract a heavily Jewish clientele but…
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Opinion I know exactly why leftists aren’t celebrating this ceasefire
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Theater Why is everyone laughing at Anne Frank?
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Film & TV How a complete unknown created one of the most iconic music events of the 1970’s
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Opinion Trump drew Arab leaders into a historic peace agreement. Too bad about the one glaring caveat
In Case You Missed It
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Opinion It’s time for the pro-Palestinian movement to make a radical change
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Fast Forward NY State Young Republicans chapter disbanded amid racist, antisemitic chat scandal
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Fast Forward Palestinian man who allegedly participated in Oct. 7 attack on Israel arrested in Louisiana
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Fast Forward Far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson visits Israel on invite of Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli
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