Jewish

Welcome to the Forward’s insightful posts and articles covering all things Jewish, from culture and traditions to history, faith and contemporary Jewish life.

The Latest

Culture
Redemption of the First Shorn

Forward reader Susan Rogol writes: “I receive many invitations to the ceremony of cutting the hair of a boy who has reached the age of 3, and I do not understand why it is referred to as an ‘upsherenish’ rather than an ‘upsheren.’ I always associate the Yiddish suffix “-nish” with something negative, as in…

By Philologos Feb 3, 2013 | 3 min read
Opinion
A Jewish Summer Camp That Doesn’t Feel Like One

‘Please can we go to this camp?” my older son asked me after a parlor meeting in my town with the director of an overnight camp. “I really want to go!” my younger son said. I wasn’t ready for this. Sure, one could argue that when you go to a parlor meeting about an overnight…

By Jordana Horn Feb 2, 2013 | 4 min read
News
Jewish Big Easy’s Back — In Time for Super Bowl

The Jewish Big Easy is back — and the Super Bowl proves it. New Orleans Jews are eagerly trumpeting Super Bowl XLVII as a means to showcase their rebuilt community, almost seven and a half years after it suffered a devastating drop in population following Hurricane Katrina. “We were impacted by Katrina just like everyone…

By Seth Berkman Feb 1, 2013 | 4 min read
Fast Forward
Venezuela’s Secret Service Is Spying on the Country’s Jewish Community

Venezuela’s secret service SEBIN is spying on the country’s Jewish community, according to purportedly leaked documents recently posted online. Last week Analisis24, a right-leaning Argentinean news website, released 50 documents attributed to the Venezuelan intelligence agency containing private information on prominent Venezuelan Jews, local Jewish organizations and Israeli diplomats in Latin America. The papers include…

By JTA Jan 31, 2013 | 2 min read
Opinion
4 Jewish Things at the Chuck Hagel Hearing

Chuck Hagel will step into the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday morning to face what is expected to be the toughest grilling any Obama nomination has yet to encounter. It will be long, grueling, and could easily draw some sweat from the Vietnam veteran sitting across the room from his former Senate colleagues. But at…

By Nathan Guttman Jan 31, 2013 | 2 min read
Fast Forward
Jewish Groups Back Obama on Immigration Reform

Jewish organizations praised President Obama’s immigration reform proposals, as well as similar measures offered by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. In addressing the problem of the 11 million undocumented people in the United States, Obama at a speech Tuesday in Las Vegas stressed the need to enforce current laws and create a path to…

By JTA Jan 30, 2013 | 2 min read
Fast Forward
Gabby Giffords Makes Emotional Plea to Congress To Curb Gun Violence

Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, grievously wounded in a 2011 mass shooting, made an emotional plea on Wednesday for Congress to take action to curb gun violence in the aftermath of last month’s Connecticut school massacre, urging lawmakers to “be bold, be courageous.” Wearing a red outfit and speaking haltingly, Giffords appeared as the first person…

By Reuters Jan 30, 2013 | 3 min read
Fast Forward
Hasidic Modesty Patrols Enforce Jewish Law in Orthodox Neighborhoods

One of the most striking ironies of the Nechemya Weberman trial, which ended with his conviction on 59 counts of sexual abuse, was the revelation that the unlicensed therapist was a member of the Va’ad Hatznius, or modesty patrol, the self-appointed arbiters of right and wrong in the Satmar community. Until recently, the Va’ad Hatznius…

By Rukhl Schaechter Jan 30, 2013 | 5 min read

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Jewish

The Latest

Redemption of the First Shorn

A Jewish Summer Camp That Doesn’t Feel Like One

Jewish Big Easy’s Back — In Time for Super Bowl

Venezuela’s Secret Service Is Spying on the Country’s Jewish Community

4 Jewish Things at the Chuck Hagel Hearing

Jewish Groups Back Obama on Immigration Reform

Gabby Giffords Makes Emotional Plea to Congress To Curb Gun Violence

Hasidic Modesty Patrols Enforce Jewish Law in Orthodox Neighborhoods

Most Popular

In Case You Missed It

When my children decorate for Hanukkah, I don’t just see pride. I see pluralism in action.

‘The most Australian name’: Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach attack, embodies a nation’s grief

A Wider Bridge, a pro-Israel advocate in LGBTQ spaces, is shutting down

פֿאַר וואָס הערט מען ניט וועגן דעם גלעצנדיקן וווּקס פֿון דער ישׂראל־בערזע? Why aren’t we hearing about the dramatic growth of the Israeli stock market?

Jewish

The Latest

Redemption of the First Shorn

A Jewish Summer Camp That Doesn’t Feel Like One

Jewish Big Easy’s Back — In Time for Super Bowl

Venezuela’s Secret Service Is Spying on the Country’s Jewish Community

4 Jewish Things at the Chuck Hagel Hearing

Jewish Groups Back Obama on Immigration Reform

Gabby Giffords Makes Emotional Plea to Congress To Curb Gun Violence

Hasidic Modesty Patrols Enforce Jewish Law in Orthodox Neighborhoods

Most Popular

Unarmed man who tackled Bondi Beach Hanukkah attacker identified as Ahmed al-Ahmed

First Puka Nacua, now Mookie Betts: Why do sports stars keep getting antisemitic around a Jewish streamer?

After MIT professor’s killing, Jewish influencers spread unverified antisemitism claim

I grew up believing Australia was the best place to be Jewish. This Hanukkah shooting forces a reckoning I do not want.

In Case You Missed It

When my children decorate for Hanukkah, I don’t just see pride. I see pluralism in action.

‘The most Australian name’: Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach attack, embodies a nation’s grief

A Wider Bridge, a pro-Israel advocate in LGBTQ spaces, is shutting down

פֿאַר וואָס הערט מען ניט וועגן דעם גלעצנדיקן וווּקס פֿון דער ישׂראל־בערזע? Why aren’t we hearing about the dramatic growth of the Israeli stock market?

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