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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Community Finding inner freedom in quarantine
As Pesach, the time of our freedom, approached, I felt like our liberty was fading away. It feels like forever ago, but it’s been less than a month since most of us were free to go where we pleased and participate in gatherings of any size and kind. Since then, many of our liberties have…
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Community Passover with my COVID-positive grandmother
This year the themes of the Passover seder resonated differently due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For my family, it has been all the more significant because my grandmother (whom we call bubbie) is one of the many people who has the virus. In a way, we’re reliving the experience of our ancestors who were quarantined…
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News Israeli Airline Brings Precious COVID Cargo to Detroit
It was around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 12, when the wheels of an El Al jet touched down at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The plane, void of passengers, flew to Detroit from China on what could be considered a humanitarian aid mission. Inside the Israeli jet were 3.5 million surgical and KN95 protective masks, face…
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Opinion Give your stimulus check to the needy: It’s the Jewish thing to do
When Passover ended, I turned my computer back on and discovered that I had received my stimulus check. I sat there for a minute, just looking at it. It’s not every day $1,200 materializes into your checking account: I had the gleeful, surreal feeling like a genie’s wish had been granted, or that I had…
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Community When every day feels like Shabbat — except for the pork patties
More than a decade ago, my husband and I took our sons to Israel to visit my husband’s first cousin, Ziggy, his wife Siggy, and their four kids. They lived on a moshav an hour south of Tel Aviv that grew grapes and every day while we were there, Ziggy, Siggy and their kids took…
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Life Everyday heroes: They’re caring for kids while schools are closed
The Forward asked readers to tell us about the “everyday heroes” in their lives, people extraordinary things in this extraordinary time. If you know someone acting heroically right now, let us know — we’ll be adding to the collection in the coming days. Name: Sara Lederman and Sruthi Shankar, students at University of Minnesota Medical…
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News For a family that faced a medical crisis before the country’s, a lesson in radical kindness
On the Friday after my daughter, Orli, received a new liver, in a new city, a doctor appeared in the doorway bearing a small sack. He was, it turned out, the husband of one my 8th grade Camp Ramah counselors—and also the head of the medical ICU. In the bag was… Shabbat, a vegetarian soup,…
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News Letter from San Luis Obispo: COVID-19 hits “One of America’s Happiest Cities”
Way back in February, when my beloved younger brother invited my family to celebrate Passover with his wife and two kids, I politely declined. I couldn’t fathom making the 300-mile drive from San Diego after my husband and I returned from visiting our 20-year-old study abroad daughter in Australia the night before. That was then…
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Fast Forward Trump says Jews would deserve much of the blame if he loses
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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 This GOP candidate has always been antisemitic — so why are Republicans only panicking about him now?
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Fast Forward Sitcom star encourages non-Jews like her to hang mezuzahs on their homes
In Case You Missed It
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Forverts in English ‘The rabbi who was late to Kol Nidre’ (folktale)
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Fast Forward Netanyahu, blasting UN as antisemitic, offers vision for peace rooted in Saudi deal
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Fast Forward Biden to host Rosh Hashanah call with Jewish leaders next week
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Yiddish אַ קאָנצערט פֿון שלום סעקונדאַס לידער וווּ כּמעט אַלע האָבן גערעדט רוסיש A concert of Sholem Secunda’s Yiddish songs where almost everyone spoke Russian
אַ סך ייִדן און אַפֿילו ניט־ייִדן פֿון געוועזענעם סאָוועטן־פֿאַרבאַנד האָבן קינדווײַז געהערט סעקונדאַס לידער
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