NEW YORK (JTA) — I am a pediatrician who for 15 years has practiced in a medical office in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We serve the local Hasidic community and see a variety of other patients from Brooklyn, the Lower East Side and Queens. When the coronavirus emerged… Read more »
Opinion
JHM vandalism symptom of rising anti-Semitism
These are troubling times. Anti-Semitic threats and messages are escalating all around us. Three weeks ago, the words “Hail Hitler” (sic) were found scrawled on an exhibit inside our Holocaust History Center. March 5, a man brazenly unfurled a Nazi flag as Senator Bernie Sanders took the stage at… Read more »
Passover in a pandemic: Families on Zoom, solo seders, broken traditions
Rena Munster was looking forward to hosting a Passover seder for the first time. In past years, her parents or another relative hosted the meal. But this year she had invited her parents, siblings and other extended family to her Washington, D.C., home. Her husband, an amateur ceramics artist,… Read more »
Asian Americans are facing violent xenophobia during the coronavirus outbreak. Jews have a responsibility to speak out.
NEW YORK (JTA) — In recent weeks, we’ve seen an unprecedented epidemic of the coronavirus spread across the world. Unfortunately, we’ve also seen a spike in anti-Asian violence and prejudice. In the U.S., racist and xenophobic outbursts, assaults and discriminatory practices against Asian Americans have been reported from coast to… Read more »
The coronavirus could be disastrous for Israeli service workers. Here’s what they told me.
JERUSALEM (JTA) — For the young and healthy, the coronavirus itself is likely to be mostly an inconvenience. But for many workers, the COVID-19 pandemic could literally cost them their livelihoods. Obviously, many of us are deeply concerned about catching the highly contagious respiratory illness or about the growing… Read more »
I’m not a doctor, but I am a rabbi. Here’s my spiritual prescription for the coronavirus.
PHOENIX (JTA) — I am not a medical professional, an epidemiologist or an expert on pandemics. I leave the serious information in those important fields for the professionals who have the appropriate training to help us get through the coronavirus epidemic. Even though I do not possess medical knowledge,… Read more »
When coronavirus comes to my New York Jewish community
This story originally appeared on Kveller. Six months ago, after giving birth to a beautiful son (our third!), we gave up on the delusion of being a cool urban family and moved from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to New Rochelle, in New York’s suburban Westchester County. We… Read more »
Sanders and Trump skip AIPAC conference but take center stage anyway
Joe Biden made an appearance via video and Mike Bloomberg turned up in person. So did Mike Pence. Even the coronavirus got a shoutout. Despite threats of a boycott by Democrats and anxieties about communicable diseases, this year’s annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was… Read more »
Visiting mosque helped me process the deadly shooting in my synagogue
The Quran tells us red and yellow are the most distracting colors, the ones that should not ever be used for a prayer rug,” the imam tells us, looking down at the red and yellow rug beneath our feet in the mosque. He adds, “It was a donation, there… Read more »
I’m a veteran Middle East peace negotiator. Trump’s plan is the most dangerous I’ve ever seen.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Fifteen years ago, I wrote a piece for The Washington Post titled “Israel’s Lawyer.” The conceit was pretty simple, though in some quarters it was seen as highly provocative: For too long, too many senior U.S. officials working on the Arab-Israeli peace process, including myself, had… Read more »
Bernie Sanders skipping AIPAC shouldn’t be a surprise — AIPAC has already capitulated to the right
BERKELEY, Calif. (JTA) — For the casual observer, Sen. Bernie Sanders’ recent pronouncement that he is skipping the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee out of a “concern about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights” might seem like… Read more »
Elizabeth Warren: Trump’s Middle East peace plan is a disaster. I’ve got a plan for that.
(JTA) — This is the fourth op-ed in a series of pieces about anti-Semitism and Jewish issues written by 2020 presidential candidates. This one is by Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has sent five questions about anti-Semitism and Jewish issues to all of… Read more »
This eastern Jerusalem village could become a part of a future Palestine. Its Arab residents are horrified.
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Election rallies for the Arab parties in Israel rarely garner much attention or excitement. But recent policy proposals engineered thousands of miles away may have re-energized a once stagnant and unreliable voting bloc. The peaceful Arab village of Bartaa, home to about 4,500 residents, is located in… Read more »
Bernie Sanders says he is proud to be Jewish — so why is he skipping the biggest celebration of Jewish pride?
NEW YORK (JTA) — On Sunday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced via tweet that he would not be attending the upcoming AIPAC policy conference in Washington, D.C., accusing the pro-Israel lobby of being a platform for “bigotry.” His statement came one week after his campaign released a video about… Read more »
Nissim Black’s ‘Mothaland Bounce’ is the most authentically Jewish song you’ll hear this year
NEW YORK (JTA) — Fans of mainstream Jewish music may find Nissim Black’s latest single “Mothaland Bounce” jarring and alien, but they’re just not listening with an ear to the rhythm of Jewish history. Set against the aural backdrop of an African basso profundo beat, and framed by scenes… Read more »
Arizona House bill proposed adding ‘anti-Semitism’ to list of hate crimes
A House panel agreed to add “anti-Semitism” to what is considered a hate crime amid questions of exactly what that includes — and what that change in state law would mean to those who are accused of those crimes. HB 2683 requires the Department of Public Safety to collect… Read more »
Ongoing human rights struggles inform work of Holocaust History Center
On Feb. 21, 2020, the Jewish History Museum will mark four years since the opening of the Holocaust History Center and the expansion of the museum’s campus. The creation of the Holocaust History Center marked the realization of a decades-old community aspiration that began in the 1960s when local Holocaust… Read more »
AIPAC is coming, but no one knows who’s speaking
WASHINGTON (JTA) — AIPAC is coming, but no one knows who’s speaking. Just about two weeks before the activists come to town for the largest U.S. Israel lobby’s annual conference, AIPAC has no speakers listed on its convention website, though I’ve been told it will be posted in the… Read more »
‘Doctor Who’ loves its Nazi storylines — but where are the Jews?
This story originally appeared on Alma. I’ve been a huge fan of “Doctor Who” for years, so when I saw in the trailer for the new season that the iconic time traveler’s adventures were going to feature a story set in Nazi-occupied Paris, I thought — finally. After 57… Read more »
Mike Bloomberg: Anti-Semitism is a problem on the right and the left. Here’s how I’d combat it from day one.
(JTA) — The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has sent five questions about anti-Semitism and Jewish issues to all of the registered presidential candidates from both parties. You can read Vice President Joe Biden’s responses here and Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s responses here. 1. Anti-Semitic hate crimes are currently on the rise across… Read more »