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Community Adin Steinsaltz was essential to the revival of the Russian Jewish community
In the wake of his passing on August 7, 2020, I remember Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz in conversation, as the ever youthful rebel, questioning the whole universe, with a biting sense of humour. In the Orthodox world, where clothing defines the person, he made sure to stand out as a unique creature, combining worn jeans with…
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News Russia has a full-time surgeon whose only job is circumcising Jewish men
(JTA) — The religious Jewish world has created some unusual jobs, from shofar makers to etrog pickers to mashgichim – kosher certifiers whose job is literally to watch others cook. But one of the more bizarre surely belongs to Dr. Yeshaya Shafit, who is Russia’s only mohel, or professional circumciser, for adult men. Shafit, a…
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Fast Forward Yefim Haim Goldberg, A Celebrated Russian-Jewish War Veteran, Dies At 106
(JTA) — Yefim Haim Goldberg, a 106-year-old Jewish veteran of World War II who was honored frequently by the governments of Belarus and Russia, has died in Russia. Goldberg served in the Red Army’s 36th Tank Brigade and the troops he commanded — he was in charge of a platoon — continued from the Belarusian…
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Fast Forward Synagogue torched in northern Russia
(JTA) — A synagogue in northern Russia was severely damaged in a fire that the local Jewish community said was caused by arsonists. The fire consumed the entrance hall of the Northern Star Jewish community center and synagogue in Arkhangelsk, the Russian Jewish Congress wrote. No one was hurt in the fire. Anatoly Obermeister, who…
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Fast Forward Putin Pardons Israeli-American backpacker who was sentenced to prison
(JTA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has pardoned Naama Issachar, an Israeli-American backpacker who was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for drug smuggling. The Russian news agency Interfax News reported Wednesday that Putin had issued the pardon. Issachar, 26, had been returning from India to Israel by way of Moscow in April last year…
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Opinion ‘Blood Flows Like Water And People Fall Like Flies,’ The Forverts Remembers The Great War
In April, 1915, as The Great War was raging in Europe, your favorite Yiddish newspaper had 176,125 daily readers, according to the masthead’s circulation figures. The United States had yet to enter the fight, but The Forverts covered it aggressively. And on April 9th, New York-based editors and publishers of foreign language newspapers who differed…
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Fast Forward Can You Guess The Top 10 Countries By Jewish Population?
The Jewish Agency for Israel’s annual world Jewish population figures have been released, and they reveal that Jews continue to be spread throughout the world, although mostly concentrated in major countries. According to research by Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Sergio Della Pergola, the global Jewish population in 2019 is 14.6 million. There are 175…
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Fast Forward Israeli Held In Russian Jail For Months On Marijuana Charge
(JTA) — An Israeli woman has been imprisoned for four months in Russia without being allowed to air her defense after 9 grams of marijuana were found in her luggage. Naama Issachar denies the marijuana was hers. The Jerusalem Post reported that Issachar’s sister said the 25-year-old Israeli army veteran, who was traveling back to Israel…
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News Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s selection as JTS commencement speaker roils graduating class
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Opinion American Jews have a Hasan Piker problem. Solving it is going to hurt
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Opinion How Israel became a country where teenagers murder each other in cold blood
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Sports NBA coach Steve Kerr: ‘Israel sought revenge for Oct. 7 and now 72,000 Palestinians have been killed’
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News Most Jewish voters rate Mamdani poorly, new poll finds
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Fast Forward After a Maryland teacher’s death, her 200-piece Judaica collection finds new life in a Jewish museum
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Fast Forward British Green Party candidate tweeted about killing Zionists from Anne Frank parody account
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Yiddish World New documentary captures the lively history of Yiddish theater in America