By Abby J. Leibman LOS ANGELES — For Jews across America, Chanukah offers an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to our highest Jewish ideals. Amid eight days of joyous celebration, shared meals of latkes and sufganiyot, and gift exchanges, the miracle of the Maccabees — a group of Jews lacking resources to survive who prospered against […]
During Chanukah, Shining a Light on Hunger Read More »
California, Opinion, USA
By Eric George Tauber CINCINNATI, Ohio — Several years ago, on the sixth night of Chanukah, Chabad set up a giant Menorah for a celebration at Mission Valley Mall. It was fun. Kids were busily making crafts. Some were dressed as Maccabees and Dreidels and there was Chanukah music coming from the speakers. This is
Why We Need Chanukah Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion
By Natasha Josefowitz, ACSW, Ph.D. LA JOLLA, California — There are many types of prejudice, but they can broadly be placed into two categories: personal and institutional. Personal prejudice is not based on reason, nor on actual experience. It is a feeling rooted in suspicion, fear, and intolerance. It is a negative attitude and adverse
Prejudice: How Discomfort and Fear of the Unfamiliar Lead to Discrimination Read More »
Lifestyles, Natasha Josefowitz, Opinion, USA
By Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D JERUSALEM — Commentators are predicting that Benjamin Netanyahu will succeed in forming a government in Israel, but there’ll be some tension as he passes out ministries to Knesset Members of Likud, and passes up some of his party colleagues. No agreement on how long his government will last. We’ll see how
Hanukkah Brings Unanswered Questions on Israeli Government Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Israel, Opinion
By Doron Krakow Something remarkable happened at the Oshman Family JCC (OFJCC) in Palo Alto, Calif., this past Sunday. Eight hundred people gathered to discuss, debate, and deliberate over the current state of relations between Israel and Jews living in the Diaspora—in particular, the North American Diaspora. Israel—the miraculous fulfillment of the modern Zionist movement
Unity, Not Uniformity Read More »
Doron Krakow, Israel, Opinion, USA
By Dorian de Wind The Moderate Voice AUSTIN, Texas — Since the Jewish calendar is based on lunar months, the eight days of the Jewish festival Hanukkah do not begin on the same (Gregorian calendar) date every year. During the Holocaust, at Hitler’s death camps, the first night of Hanukkah fell on dates ranging from
Eight Days of Auschwitz Read More »
Dorian de Wind, Holocaust, International, Jewish Religion, Opinion
By Ben Cohen (JNS) “BDS appears here as contemporary art’s foil. BDS undermines contemporaneity’s claims of autonomy and emancipatory effects, fixes its meanings in ways that might make artists bristle, and leaves it only with refusal: either refuse to be a perpetrator or refuse the request made by Palestinian civil society. At this juncture, the latter
BDS Versus Modern Art Read More »
International, Israel, Opinion
By Jordan Cope (JNS) The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has arguably become the most controversial to date, raising widespread indignation over myriad issues concerning its host, including Qatar’s decision to ban beer from stadiums and its mistreatment of the press, the LGBTQ+ community and migrant workers, 6,500 of whom have died since Qatar was
Blowing the Whistle on FIFA’s Systemic Antisemitism Read More »
Israel, Middle East, Opinion, Sports & Competitions
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Winter has been reluctant to arrive here in Israel, and as I write this in mid-December we can enjoy the balmy sunshine (and not having to heat our homes), though our fields and gardens yearn for rain. However, the silver lining to the lack of clouds is that
A Kind of Coexistence Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Israel, Lifestyles, Opinion
By Bruce S. Ticker PHILADELPHIA — Top federal officials and Jewish leaders spoke to each other, and together they spoke to the public at large, the public that reads newspapers, watches television news programs and listens to those who run our government. But they did not speak to the people that count. This is the
Outreach or ‘Pod Squads?’ Breaking Down Bias on the Left and the Right Read More »
Bruce Ticker, Israel, Middle East, Opinion, USA
By Alex Gordon HAIFA, Israel — On March 1, 1881, in Russia, members of the People’s Will assassinated Tsar Alexander II. The murder, to which the Jews had nothing to do, triggered the largest wave of Jewish pogroms in the 19th century due to a blood libel against Jews falsely accused of complicity in the
The Triumphant and Tragic Odyssey of the Inventor of Sea Cruises Read More »
Alex Gordon, International, Jewish History, Opinion
By Rabbi Ari Leubitz (JNS) Community. It comes in all forms—and it is something we each rely on for support. Sometimes we are born into our community and inherit it from our parents. Other times, it’s a group or connection we grow and build and develop for ourselves. As Jews, we have an instant community
The Increasing Importance of Community to Battle Antisemitism Read More »
Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
By Sam Ben-Meir “Anarchism is an aspect of socialism (among many others) that those of us wishing socialism, or some comparable form of resistance, to survive will have to think about again, this time without a prearranged sneer.” T. J. Clark, Farewell to an Idea It is 180 years since the birth of Pyotr Kropotkin
Pyotr Kropotkin, 180 Years Later Read More »
International, Opinion, Sam Ben-Meir
By Heidi Gantwerk SAN DIEGO — As I prepared my remarks for last week’s Town Hall on Antisemitism, once again I came back to the need to balance the light with the dark. It is essential that we pay attention to the darkness surrounding us; that we stay strong and resilient and outspoken. But it
Forging Lasting Connections With Israel Read More »
Heidi Gantwerk, Israel, Opinion, San Diego County