Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its affect on Jewish communities around the world.
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News Ronald David Bayfield, 95, survived Normandy – then died alone in a hospital
(JTA) — In 1944, Ronald David Bayfield dragged himself out of a burning tank and, despite suffering severe burns, carried a wounded comrade on his shoulders back to Allied territory. That act of valor during the invasion of Normandy earned Bayfield the admiration not only of the man he saved, but also of the many…
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News The Humbling
The last time I spent Passover locked in a room I was 9 years old. My uncle refused to let me sit at the Seder table so long as I insisted on wearing a Mets cap instead of a yarmulke. To this day I’m not sure whether he exiled me because he was a stickler…
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News Efry Levy Azizoff, 66, didn’t want to worry his friends as he grew ill with coronavirus
(JTA) — Hours before he was rushed to hospital in Milan because of the coronavirus, Efry Levy Azizoff was chatting on the phone with his friend Amichai Lazarov. Azizoff was already feeling unwell, yet he didn’t even mention it, Lazarov recalled. “I felt that something was off, but you conveyed nothing about your discomfort,” Lazarov…
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Life One rabbi reports: here’s how our e-minyan found its groove
In the beginning of March, before the full impact of COVID-19 began to descend upon our country, and our consciousness, when it was still possible to speak about it seriously-but-also-lightly, I gave a sermon on Shabbat morning entitled “Intimacy without Touch.” In it, I valorized the Jewish instinct, honed over centuries and played out through…
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Opinion Thank you, Sheldon Adelson
If you had told me two weeks ago that Sheldon Adelson would emerge from the coronavirus crisis a hero, I would not have believed you. A casino mogul worth close to $40 billion, Adelson is most famous for funding Republican and right-wing political campaigns and movements; he was the largest single donor in both the…
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News Rabbi Neil Kraft, 69, was beloved by Londoners from all walks of life
(JTA) — Neil Kraft’s smile was one of his most effective tools as a rabbi, people who knew him said. Kraft’s warmth was also the reason that many people from very different faiths and backgrounds were pained by his death at the age of 69 from the coronavirus in London, where he had for 17…
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News Judith Lowin, 76, was a retired nurse and proud Hadassah member
(JTA) — Judith Lowin, 76, a retired nurse from Riverdale, New York, died on Saturday, March 21, 2020, of coronavirus. A longtime resident of Monsey, New York, Lowin was married to Joseph Lowin and had three grown children, Shari, David and Benjamin, and several grandchildren. The funeral took place March 23 and was broadcast live…
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News Steve Steiner, 75, was public relations director for the Orthodox Union
(JTA) — For many New York-area Jewish journalists, Steve Steiner was the name attached to press releases for the Orthodox Union for over a decade. But to his colleagues, he was the kind and friendly man who arrived at the office each day wearing his trademark New York Yankees cap and toting a doorstop of…
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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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Opinion With killing of Hezbollah’s chief, Israel occupies the inarguable moral high ground
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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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