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News The single most important statistic from the Pew Survey is about…food
In the latest comprehensive study of American Jews, there’s a single deep truth that’s hidden in plain sight, like matzah in a matzah ball. And yes, it is about food. The Pew Research Center’s report, “Jewish Americans in 2020,” asked respondents what “Jewish practices and activities” they engage in, and for people worried about the…
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Culture God Bless Irving Berlin!
Editor’s Note; This article was originally published in the Forward on September 20, 2012. To some lovers of classical American song, it may seem paradoxical that the Tin Pan Alley genius who created such goyish holiday classics as “White Christmas” and “Easter Parade” was born Israel Isidore Beilin in Belarus, Russia, the son of a…
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News A facelift at 40 for a beloved mural of Chicago Jewish life
If you had to stand outside through 40 years of Chicago winters, you wouldn’t look so good either. That’s why a beloved piece of Chicago public art, the Chicago Jewish Mural, just underwent a major, much-needed renovation. Four decades ago, artists, friends and activists, Cynthia Weiss and Miriam Socoloff, created a glass mosaic mural that…
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Fast Forward Former Jewish Studies Association presidents alarmed by response to shamed sociologist
Eleven past presidents of a prominent Jewish studies organization published a letter this week expressing concerns about the recent resignation of the group’s immediate past president. Noam Pianko, a historian who chairs the Jewish Studies department at the University of Washington, resigned from his position as president of the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS) on…
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News This Jewish filmmaker with autism has one big question for Jews with disabilities
Benjamin Rosloff, an aspiring Jewish filmmaker living with autism, was filming a bar mitzvah in Port Washington, NY. But the young boy getting bar mitzvahed didn’t say the prayers or read the Torah with his own voice. He also had autism, and relied on an augmentative speech device to communicate. “I couldn’t tell whether the…
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News ‘A lot of work to do’: A Black female rabbi on the anti-racist progress the Jewish community has, and hasn’t, made
Rav Tiferet Berenbaum is a busy woman these days, but she will absolutely and happily find time to slot you in for a phone call while she runs out to get coffee for herself and her fellow rabbis. The pandemic has not slowed her duties: in addition to her usual work as a clergy member…
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News Jewish advocacy group taps new CEO whose previous nonprofit was involved in $57M fraud scheme
Gideon Taylor was selected to succeed JCRC’s longtime executive Rabbi Michael Miller, who is stepping down in June after more than 36 years
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News Why do the Jews of India call Passover ‘The holiday of the covered clay pot with the sour liquid’?
The Bene Israel, India’s largest Jewish community, doesn’t call Passover Passover. The word in their language, Marathi, is “Anashi Dhakaicha San,” which means “The Holiday of the Closing of the Anas.” San is the word for holiday, and anas refers to a sour liquid in a pot. It makes sense that the Marathi word for…
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Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
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Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
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Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
In Case You Missed It
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Culture In a Haredi Jerusalem neighborhood, doctors’ visits are free, but the wait may cost you
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Fast Forward Chicago mayor donned keffiyeh for Arab Heritage Month event, sparking outcry from Jewish groups
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Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
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Fast Forward Latvia again closes case against ‘Butcher of Riga,’ tied to mass murder of Jews
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