News
My Path to Being More Observant: Building a Jewish Life on Love, Not Fear
4+ hour, 3+ min ago (809+ words) Wednesday, February 18th | 1 Adar 5786 I love connecting Jews to Judaism. There's a big part of the Jewish world where people don't know what they're missing out on. If people have only ever been exposed to one stream of Judaism from a…...
The History of the Jews of Brazil — the Oldest Jewish Community in the Americas
6+ hour, 15+ min ago (1109+ words) Wednesday, February 18th | 1 Adar 5786 It's not New York, Cincinnati, or Philadelphia. The oldest and first Jewish community in the Americas was established in Brazil, where Sephardic Jews founded the first synagogue in Recife in 1636. This is the fascinating story of the…...
Andorra Carnival Sparks Outrage After Effigy of Israel Is Put on ‘Trial’ and Burned
1+ day, 23+ min ago (492+ words) Tuesday, February 17th | 1 Adar 5786 A centuries-old carnival ritual in Andorra erupted into international controversy after an effigy of the State of Israel was symbolically put on "trial," shot, and set ablaze during the festivities, with local and government officials present. Part…...
How a Don McLean Concert Gave Me Insight Into the Torah
5+ day, 5+ hour ago (1313+ words) Friday, February 13th | 27 Shevat 5786 Last Saturday night, I went to a Don McLean concert at the Saban Theater. Yes,thatDon McLean, icon of popular culture, poster child of whimsical 1970s music. As the lights dimmed and a palpable buzz of excitement murmured…...
We Are Fighting Hate; But Are We Building Jews?
1+ week, 7+ hour ago (205+ words) Wednesday, February 11th | 24 Shevat 5786 The Super Bowl ad showing a Jewish boy being bullied sparked intense conversation across the Jewish community about how we are investing our resources in the fight against antisemitism, and whether we are approaching the challenge in…...
A Super Bowl Ad Against Antisemitism with No Consequence Misses the Mark
1+ week, 1+ day ago (393+ words) Tuesday, February 10th | 23 Shevat 5786 I greatly respect Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his efforts to warn about the dangers of antisemitism. The Jewish community has largely failed in fighting this disease, for which'there is no cure. Some will also say that…...
Misguided Super Bowl Ad: Antisemitism Isn’t a Sticky Note — It’s an Institutional Failure
1+ week, 2+ day ago (1071+ words) Monday, February 9th | 22 Shevat 5786 It is an odd sign of the times that one of the clearest statements about antisemitism this year came not from a university president or a political leader, but from a$15 million Super Bowl commercial. Robert Kraft's…...
Can We Ignore the Antisemitism in the Palestinian National Movement?
1+ week, 2+ day ago (707+ words) Monday, February 9th | 22 Shevat 5786 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently offered a formulation now familiar across Western democracies: you can support the cause of a Palestinian state without being antisemitic. Millions do that. He does that. And yet " he acknowledged " the…...
How October 7 Changed Jewish Identity Across the World
2+ week, 5+ hour ago (317+ words) Wednesday, February 4th | 17 Shevat 5786 The impact of October 7 and its aftermath on Jews around the world will be felt for at least a generation to come. There is a concern that since the hostages have been returned, and the war in…...
Jewish Survival Depends on the Existence of a Jewish State
2+ week, 2+ day ago (567+ words) Monday, February 2nd | 15 Shevat 5786 "The past is never dead, it is not even past," a quotation from William Faulkner's novel, Requiem for a Nun, is frighteningly apt today in relation to antisemitism. Many of us are wondering if the antisemitism we…...