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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Life There are heroes all around us — meet three of them
We see them on social media and in family group chats. We hear about them when we call our friends or talk with a neighbor across the street. They’re churning out homemade masks on their sewing machines or babysitting the children of emergency responders. They’re delivering groceries to neighbors or risking infection to keep soup…
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Culture Passover in the time of the plague
My daughter just saw her first rainbow. We stood between the sun and the drizzle and I pronounced the words of the blessing: “Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to His covenant, and keeps His promise.” I’d always been puzzled by the language —…
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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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Opinion Recognizing a Palestinian state is a great way to doom Palestinians
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Fast Forward UK will recognize Palestinian state if Israel does not end ‘appalling situation’ in Gaza
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Fast Forward UCLA settles antisemitism lawsuit with $6.13M payout, including donations to Jewish groups
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Fast Forward 35 rabbis arrested in NYC and DC protests for Gaza food aid
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