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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Life Zoom Seders are far from ideal, says this psychologist. But here’s how to make the best of it.
In a dramatic ruling this month, Orthodox rabbis in Israel permitted families separated by Covid-19 to join each other for Seder via streaming video. This overturned two centuries of Orthodox practice, which prohibits use of electrical appliances on Sabbath and Festivals. The rabbis invoked the principle of piquah nefesh – saving life. They feared that…
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Culture Daily distraction: Put on a play at home!
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. There’s no way around it — this is going to be a very tough week, which…
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Fast Forward Monsey’s rate of positive tests for coronavirus is nearly the highest in the country
Monsey, N.Y., a well-known Hasidic hub of 42,000 people in suburban Rockland County, has nearly the highest rate of positive tests for the coronavirus in the country. Though the number could be inflated due to high rates of testing, cultural factors, like large families, could also be making the town a hotspot for Covid-19. New…
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Fast Forward Orthodox groups now say no shared Passover seders should take place
NEW YORK (JTA) — Leading Orthodox Jewish groups have come out firmly against shared Passover meals, two days before the holiday begins and two weeks after the groups left open the possibility of communal seders under narrow circumstances. “Everyone must plan to celebrate Pesach where they are currently,” reads the guidance issued Monday by a…
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Fast Forward Frida Wattenberg, 95, smuggled Jewish orphans out of Nazi-occupied France dies from coronavirus
(JTA) — Frida Wattenberg was too young to get a driver’s license when the Nazis invaded her native France in 1940. But three years later, at the age of 19, she was already risking her life by helping to drive Jewish children out of occupied France into neutral Switzerland. Wattenberg died in Paris on April…
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News Orthodox family ‘fallen through cracks’ in fight to get experimental drug
Michael Goldsmith, 34, is the person everyone always called to shlep something heavy, like a piece of furniture. An IT consultant, he’s always been robustly healthy, but on March 11, he started showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus. He had no underlying conditions, and his family has no idea how he caught it. Yet he’s…
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Culture In the time of coronavirus, the world looks to Anne Frank
On Sunday March 22, as New York State marked nearly 17,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, Anne Frank’s picture appeared on a Manhattan courthouse. BREAKING: Tonight, Never Again Action showed up at New York’s immigration courthouse, to demand that @NYGovCuomo use his emergency powers and influence to ensure the release of ICE detainees from New York’s…
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Opinion The media’s obsession with haredi wrongdoing exposes its bigotry
I wore a mask on Purim. Not a Mordechai or Esther mask, and not the face mask my wife and I wear when food shopping these days. It was the kind of simple dust mask I use when I mow the lawn. I used a felt marker to draw a large smile on the mask,…
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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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Fast Forward Trump says Jews would deserve much of the blame if he loses
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Culture You can buy Sukkot gift boxes that say ‘tuchus’ on Amazon
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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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Looking Forward An Israeli hip-hop artist remembers a day of hope in Gaza
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Sports The Jewish Sport Report: How the Chicago White Sox made a bad year even worse for Jewish fans
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Oct. 7: One Year Later A different closet: Queer Zionists navigate the post-Oct. 7 dating scene
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Looking Forward Why won’t Kamala Harris talk about her brisket?
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