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A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

Local news

Dennis Klopfenstein. Klopfenstein is being held on $500,000, cash only, no 10% bond.

Jewish security network stops repeat offender charged with harassment after targeting Jewish institutions across St. Louis County

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 25, 2025

A Chesterfield man with a history of violence and stalking is now facing new charges after reportedly contacting and attempting to access several Jewish institutions in St. Louis County. Coordinated response highlights security coordination success On...

Former St. Louisan and Trump nominee Ed Martin says he regrets praising Nazi sympathizer

Former St. Louisan and Trump nominee Ed Martin says he regrets praising Nazi sympathizer

By Jacob Kornbluh, The ForwardPublished April 24, 2025

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. A Trump-nominated prosecutor facing congressional scrutiny over past praise of a Nazi sympathizer has expressed regret...

Philip Fishman and Peggy Rothman.

After loss, two Jewish seniors find love in St. Louis—and a remarkable coincidence

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished April 24, 2025

Philip Fishman has a thing for coincidences. Sometimes he seeks them out—especially when he’s writing historical fiction novels. Other times, they find him. You decide which this is. When Fishman was 7 years old, his family moved to Olney, Ill....

New year, new Mah Jongg madness: What’s hot (and what’s a trap) on the 2025 card

New year, new Mah Jongg madness: What’s hot (and what’s a trap) on the 2025 card

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 23, 2025

It’s every Mah Jongg player’s favorite time of the year! The NMJL’s 2025 cards are arriving in mailboxes all over the country, and just when we were all getting comfortable and feeling as though we’d finally mastered the 2024 card, it’s time...

Oct 18, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Former Texas Rangers player Ian Kinsler is introduced to throw out the first pitch before game three of the ALCS against the Houston Astros for the 2023 MLB playoffs at Globe Life Field.

Former Mizzou star Ian Kinsler returns as Team Israel manager for 2026 WBC

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 23, 2025

Ian Kinsler didn’t just wear the jersey—he helped make history in it. In 2021, the former Mizzou Tiger and four-time MLB All-Star suited up for Team Israel at the Tokyo Olympics, where the squad became the first Israeli team in any sport to win a...

Tom and Rick Pernikoff. Kevin Bowers, the group’s drummer.

Pernikoff Brothers started with Beatles covers—now they’ve recorded at Abbey Road

By Kathleen Lees, Special to the Jewish LightPublished April 23, 2025

Brothers Tom and Rick Pernikoff have been playing music together since they were children—a fascination that grew from driving in the car with their mother, who cranked up Motown on the radio, to learning different instruments in high school, like bass...

Deborah Ben-Aderet and Arielle Turover Cohen.

From terror to healing: survivor of Oct. 7 attack shares her story in St. Louis

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 23, 2025

A powerful night of resilience, reflection and healing is coming to St. Louis. On April 28, just two days before Israel’s official day of remembrance, the local community will hear directly from Deborah Ben-Aderet, a survivor of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks....

David Palatnik and Dafna Revah.

A Jewish approach to wellness: Local couple behind CBD Kratom acquires WellBeing Brewing

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 22, 2025

For Dafna Revah and David Palatnik, entrepreneurship has always been about more than profit. The Jewish couple—best known for founding CBD Kratom and growing it into a national retail brand—has long used their platform to build community and advocate...

Former UH president, Ron Gieseke, turned his baseball obsession into a book—and a second act

Former UH president, Ron Gieseke, turned his baseball obsession into a book—and a second act

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 22, 2025

Baseball is dying, or so they say. But for Ron Gieseke, longtime fan, former United Hebrew Congregation president and now author, baseball is alive and well. And if you ask him, it’s more than just a game—it’s a conversation. Gieseke is bringing...

Antisemitism in Missouri hits high levels again as debate grows over new state bill

Antisemitism in Missouri hits high levels again as debate grows over new state bill

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 22, 2025

In the span of one week this spring, two St. Louis area schools were defaced with swastikas and white supremacist slogans. The antisemetic and racist graffiti—spray-painted on Affton High School and Rogers Middle School—shocked families and led to...

Darius Milhaud (Milken Archive of Jewish Music) and Vally Weigl (Karl Weigl Foundation)

They fled the Nazis, but their music survived—and now it’s coming to St. Louis

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 21, 2025

On Sunday, May 25, the St. Louis Chamber Chorus will present a powerful and poignant concert titled “War and Peace,” featuring the works of Jewish composers Darius Milhaud and Vally Weigl. The concert will take place at Congregation B’nai Amoona...

Performance artist Tim Youd and Stanley Lawrence Elkin (May 11, 1930-May 31, 1995) an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist.

He types. He reads. He doesn’t sleep. And it’s all for legendary Jewish St. Louis author, Stanley Elkin

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 21, 2025

Most performance art doesn’t come with a built-in clackety-clack soundtrack, but this one does—live, every night through May 1, on Washington University’s KWUR 90.3 FM. That’s because Los Angeles-based performance artist Tim Youd is retyping...

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