A Black Lives Matter protester raises his fist during a march to honor George Floyd in New York City, May 31, 2020. (John Moore/Getty Images) This story originally appeared on Alma. Take a moment and remember where you were when you first heard about the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. I was in Tel Aviv getting ready to go to the movies after Havdalah. I didn’t end up going —… Read more »
(JTA) – Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston’s Jewish federation, has laid off 25 employees as it plans for a year of decreased donations and increased need for services. The move, which was announced in an email sent to community members earlier this month, follows widespread layoffs at Jewish organizations across the… Read more »
A view of suburbia (Getty Images)
CLEVELAND (JTA) — I turned on my phone and felt an overwhelming sense of frustration, sadness and hopelessness. While I had been enjoying two days without electronics in observance of Shavuot and Shabbat, cities across the country were engulfed in a combination of civic protests and police riots. Weapons… Read more »
(JTA) — President Donald Trump authorized sanctions against the International Criminal Court should it pursue cases against U.S. citizens and cited what he said was its anti-Israel bias. In an executive order issued Thursday, Trump approved economic sanctions and travel restrictions against ICC workers directly involved in investigating American… Read more »
People gather to stage a demonstration to protest against the annexation plan of the Jordan Valley, located in the occupied West Bank and illegal Jewish settlements in West Bank, Tel Aviv, Israel on June 6, 2020. (Nir Keidar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The leading pro-Israel lobby in the United States is telling lawmakers that they are free to criticize Israel’s looming annexation plans — just as long as the criticism stops there. Two sources — a congressional aide and a donor — say the American Israel Public Affairs… Read more »
(JTA) – In the past few months, UJA-Federation of New York has awarded millions of dollars in emergency grants to help organizations survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it’s joining the ranks of organizations having to let go of its own staff members as it anticipates declining donations. And its… Read more »
Shoshana Greenwald and the fashion brand Mimu Maxi are using Instagram to talk about racism in the Orthodox community. (Screenshots from Instagram)
(JTA) – Shevi Samet started her Instagram livestream by letting out a long, deep breath. “How are you?” she asked her co-presenter and fellow Instagrammer Shoshana Greenwald. “So, so nervous,” Greenwald replied. “So nervous, so nervous,” Samet echoed. “I just want to address that briefly: Shoshana and I are… Read more »
(JTA) — More than 800 rabbis and cantors, including the leaders of three major denominations, signed a statement in support of peaceful protest against racism and in memory of George Floyd. The statement invoked Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, an iconic Jewish civil rights activist who marched with the Rev.… Read more »
Shuly Rubin Schwartz was named the eighth chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in its 134-year history. (Ellen Dubin Photography)
(JTA) – Shuly Rubin Schwartz’s appointment as the Jewish Theological Seminary’s eighth chancellor comes just in time for the historian to guide the institution through a period of unprecedented crisis management. The flagship university of Judaism’s Conservative movement recently completed a major renovation project of its Morningside Heights campus… Read more »
Members of the Orthodox Jewish community watch as protesters walk through the Brooklyn borough on June 3, 2020. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) – On Sunday night, Rabbi Richard Altabe marched arm in arm with two black politicians protesting police brutality at a demonstration in Far Rockaway. The next morning, Orthodox Jews in the same New York neighborhood showed up at the local police precinct to drop off pastries for the… Read more »
Rachel Sumekh, right, marches in Los Angeles with David Bocarsly, June 3, 2020. (Courtesy of Sumekh)
(JTA) — It has been a trying week and a half for Beejhy Barhany. Her Israeli-Ethiopian fusion restaurant, Tsion Cafe, had already been struggling to make ends meet after months of closure due to the pandemic. Then the protests over the death of George Floyd swept through the city,… Read more »
(JTA) — Shuly Rubin Schwartz, an expert on Jewish American history and longtime professor, will be the first woman chancellor in the 134-year history of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Schwartz, who served as provost — also the first woman in that position — will be eighth chancellor in the… Read more »
Members of Jewish Community Action attend a rally Sunday in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Courtesy of Carin Mrotz)
(JTA) – Jewish Community Action, the leading Jewish social justice organization in Minneapolis, was supposed to be closed last Friday for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Instead, its staff started organizing individually as protests broke out all over the city in response to the killing of George Floyd in… Read more »
Don Flesch, the owner of Central Camera in Chicago, vowed to rebuild after looters destroyed his store. (Courtesy photo)
(JTA) — Don Flesch managed to grab just one item from his downtown Chicago camera shop as it went up in flames Saturday night: the antique Kodak that was the first camera his grandfather sold after he opened the store in 1899. But Flesch said he harbored no ill… Read more »
Year Course students this spring wear masks while volunteering. (Courtesy of Year Course)
(JTA) — Hadara Bilsky thought she’d spend her first semester of college making friends in her dorm, having discussions with professors and students in class, and attending Shabbat services at Hillel. Now the 18-year-old isn’t sure if any of that will happen. Emory University, her school of choice, has… Read more »
Health care staff at Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital participate in the Days of Gratitude project, holding up signs in Hebrew and Arabic reading "Thank you for taking care of yourself," "Thank you for coming to work" and Thank you for your dedication." (Courtesy of M2)
When Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg’s husband, Dave Goldberg, died suddenly during a 2015 vacation to Mexico, Sandberg found solace in Jewish tradition. “One of the ways you find strength is to remember what is still good in your life,” Sandberg said. During the coronavirus crisis, actress, scientist and author… Read more »
(Image via Hamilton playbill; design by Arielle Kaplan)
This story originally appeared on Kveller. In the ultimate COVID-19 silver lining, the Broadway smash “Hamilton“ will soon be available to stream from the comfort of your quarantine couch. Huzzah! Originally set to hit theaters on in October 2021, it was an incredible coup by Disney+ to snag rights… Read more »
A counselor lines up campers to go outside. (Getty Images)
DENVER (JTA) — In the summer of 1999, we slept head to head in top bunks at Camp Ramah in Canada. We also shared a viral upper respiratory illness that kept us from participating in the much-anticipated yom bli shemesh (a day without sun) while the rest of our… Read more »
The release of Emma Seligman's indie film "Shiva Baby" was delayed because of the coronavirus. (Sharon Attia)
(JTA) — Emma Seligman is trying to stay optimistic. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 25-year-old came extremely close to fulfilling every film student’s fantasy: having her debut indie film played at coveted festivals and becoming an up-and-coming name to know in the industry. Her film “Shiva Baby” involves both… Read more »
People protesting to allow churches to reopen in San Diego, May 1, 2020. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — President Donald Trump wants synagogues and other houses of worship to open their doors — but many Jewish leaders say his pressure won’t affect their timelines. The president went on the offensive Friday, telling governors that he would override them to require houses of worship to be… Read more »
