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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News Adam Yitz Friedman, 75, publicist and Hasidic scion
(JTA) — In another lifetime, Adam “Yitz” Friedman might have been a Hasidic rebbe rather than the Madison Avenue publicist he eventually became. Named for his grandfather, Yitzchok Friedman, the founder of the Boyan Hasidic dynasty, Friedman hailed from a line of Hasidic rebbes that included the leaders of the Ruzhin, Sadigura and Rachmastrivk dynasties….
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Community Coronavirus and the Age of Empires
When coronavirus was just getting started in Israel, with some people in quarantine but most of us living life as usual, I made a wish list. A “Quarantine Wish List.” There were six books I would read, and three shows I would watch. I would run and walk, practice yoga, learn belly dancing and do…
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News A San Francisco’s EMT Life on the Covid-19 Line
Three weeks ago, Aaron Jacobs, an Emergency Medical Technician with the San Francisco Fire Department, was dispatched to the Jewish Home for the Aged in San Francisco’s Mission District. “We got a call from there, it’s a huge facility,” Jacobs said, “and they wanted this patient, a woman, evaluated for Coronavirus. She’d spiked a fever…
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Culture Daily distraction: See some ‘Great Performances’ from PBS
Welcome to your daily distraction, our recommendations for ways to stay engaged and entertained while we socially distance ourselves to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak. You can find our past recommendations here; many of the opportunities we’ve highlighted are ongoing. The more thought I give to this crisis, the more sure I am that it…
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News Evangelical field hospital in Central Park spurs debate over soul of a synagogue
A prominent Reform synagogue in Manhattan found itself on the defensive over the weekend when some congregants protested its decision to highlight the Covid-19 response efforts of an evangelical Christian organization whose politics they abhor. The group, Samaritan’s Purse, has set up a field hospital in Central Park, and Central Synagogue featured the group in…
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Culture My father’s sister died in the 1918 flu pandemic. He didn’t find her grave until 2011.
For millions of Americans, the history of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic has become, unfortunately, newly relevant. But for my family, the 1918 pandemic entered our lives in a very personal way less than a decade ago, in the spring of 2011, when my father, a retired physician, read John Barry’s book “The Great Influenza.”…
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News Martin Fox, 95, past president of JTA and Jewish Federation Of Greater MetroWest NJ
(JTA) — Martin Fox was a news junky who devoured the New York Times, following public affairs with a keen interest until his final days. He was also deeply involved in Jewish communal affairs, serving as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ (then known as the Jewish Community Federation of Metropolitan New…
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Community Passovers of long ago, reflected in this year’s celebration
We all know the story of Passover. Like most stories in the Old and New testaments, the Passover story is replete with lessons that are applicable to everyday life, even thousands of years later. We can debate the historical accuracy of any biblical event, but we usually agree on the metaphorical significance. Often there is…
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News A pioneering Reform synagogue makes way for a booming Iranian Jewish community
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News Hampshire College closure reverberates for alumni who treasured a Yiddishist hub
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Opinion Who’s responsible for deadly antisemitism? Everyone will hate the answer
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Music In Elie Wiesel’s latter years, he and I discussed the effects of the Holocaust. Those conversations are now an opera.
In Case You Missed It
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News U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan calls Israeli government ‘evil’ like Hamas
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Fast Forward Pete Hegseth compares media to the Pharisees, ancient Jewish sect derided by Christians
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Fast Forward Jewish groups urge Trump to prioritize Americans held in Iran during ceasefire talks
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Fast Forward Trump’s antisemitism envoy says US will bar World Cup attendees tied to antisemitism abroad
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