Elaine Safron, December 21, 2023 Beloved wife of the late Stanley B. Safron; dear mother of Bruce Safron (Terry), Hildy Steiner (Dan), Michelle Britton (Richard), and Robert Safron (Claudia); dear grandmother of Courtney Shanitkvich (Zachary), Scott...

Rose Biernbaum (nee Becker), age 96, passed away on December 20, 2023. Beloved wife of the late Ben Biernbaum for 52 years. Loving mother of Gary (Cynthia) Biernbaum and Alyce (Richard) Bell. Cherished grandmother of Colleen (Brian) Mueller, Andrew...

Linda Cherrick, December 20, 2023 Beloved sister of the late Fred Cherrick.  Dear daughter of the late Nathan and Dorothy Cherrick.  Cherished aunt of David (Rica) Cherrick and Robert (Sarah) Cherrick.  Loving great-aunt of Rachael, Rose, George,...

Lester Israel Miller, December 20, 2023 Beloved husband of Judy Zaban Miller; dear father and father-in-law of Bill Miller (Lisa), Barbara Miller, Bobbi Barton (Jeff), Betsy Gleijeses, Beth Sue Miller, Bridget Gregory (Lee) and Brandi Miller; dear...

Beckett Leonard, son of Rachel and Jake Leonard, became a bar mitzvah in November 2023 at Congregation Temple Israel.  Beckett is the grandson of Linda and Ben Seltzer, and Karen and Andy Leonard, all of Kirkwood. He has two siblings, Eliot Leonard,...

John Mertz, son of Allison Paskal and Christopher Mertz of Chesterfield, became a bar mitzvah in November, 2023 at Congregation Shaare Emeth. John is the grandson of Mary and the late John Mertz, and Robert and the late Jackie Paskal.  A seventh-grade...

Earlier in the fall, the extended Brandt family returned from a week in Isla Mujeres, Mexico where they celebrated Willy Brandt’s 95th birthday as well as he and his wife Sylvia’s 69th anniversary. The couple took 18 family members on the trip,...

(JTA) — When a recent survey showed that nearly three-quarters of Palestinians supported Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Israeli officials and commentators cited it to justify their country’s war in Gaza, which aims to depose the terror group. “Palestinians...

(JTA) — Speaking at an Iowa presidential rally on Tuesday, Donald Trump denied lifting a phrase describing immigrants as “poisoning the blood of our country” from Adolf Hitler’s manifesto. “They don’t like it when I said that,” the former...

(JTA) — As a child, Mauricio Avayu wasn’t allowed to pursue art — his father thought he should study something more practical, like math or engineering. Avayu grew up in the conservative Jewish community of Santiago, Chile, the capital city home...

(JTA) — Jewish communal mourning was defined in large part this year by Oct. 7. But other notable losses occurred throughout the year, of people who have left outsized legacies on politics, the arts, sports and everything in between. In chronological...