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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

News

Police block pro-Palestinian supporters from entering a neighborhood with a large Orthodox Jewish population on April 28, 2025, in Brooklyn. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Heavy police presence blocks anti-Israel protest in Brooklyn from reaching Crown Heights

Joseph Strauss, JTAPublished April 28, 2025

(New York Jewish Week) — An anti-Zionist demonstration targeting Crown Heights that had alarmed local Jews and drawn heightened police activity petered out on Monday night, as dozens of protesters meandered...

Teen leaders, Torah vibes, and a trip to Israel—meet the 2025 Pessin winners

Teen leaders, Torah vibes, and a trip to Israel—meet the 2025 Pessin winners

Published April 28, 2025

They’re student leaders, Shabbat organizers and regulars at youth programs across the St. Louis Jewish community. Now, four high schoolers are adding a major honor to their resumes—the 2025 Stuart...

Rallies and social posts are great, but here’s how you can really stand with Israel right now

Rallies and social posts are great, but here’s how you can really stand with Israel right now

By Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished April 28, 2025

When the St. Louis Jewish community gathers to show support for Israel and call for the release of hostages, those events do more than create a bond among those who attend. They are also noticed—and...

Co-owners Doug Goldenberg and Scott Lefton.

Lefty’s Bagel’s new café officially opening June 16!

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 28, 2025

When Lefty’s Bagels opened in Chesterfield, it quickly became a must-visit for bagel fans across St. Louis. Now, co-owners Doug Goldenberg and Scott Lefton are taking the next step: opening a second...

Erika Schwartz

Born in a ghetto, one day before it was sealed: Her story moved St. Louis to tears

By Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished April 27, 2025

“I was born Erika Hornstein on April 23, 1944, in the Nyíregyháza, Hungary ghetto. Two weeks later, all of the women and children in my family were transported to Auschwitz to be murdered.” – Erika...

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...

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...

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...

The Zionist Congress meeting in April 2023 in Jerusalem. (Oz Schechter/WZO)

US Jewish voting surges in Zionist election, with ballots open through May 4

By Debra RubinPublished April 24, 2025

At a time of heightened antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment, American Jews have been voting in record numbers in an election that will help determine how billions of dollars in Israel-related funding...

Stan Polovets, left, co-founder and chairman of The Genesis Prize Foundation, with Argentine President Javier Milei. (Genesis Prize Foundation)

Chairman of ‘Jewish Nobel’ Stan Polovets hails non-Jewish laureate’s extraordinary support for Israel and Jewish people

Published April 24, 2025

When Argentina’s president Javier Milei was named in mid-January as the recipient of this year’s Genesis Prize, it marked the first time the $1 million annual award, sometimes called the “Jewish...

Visiting Israel on Birthright in the year and a half since Oct. 7, 2023, many trip participants said they felt safer in Israel than they did back home. (Idan Arad)

Birthright participants say visiting Israel in the post-Oct. 7 era is a transformative experience

By Larry Luxner, JTAPublished April 24, 2025

Maddison Spiegel of Westchester County, New York, had tried for years to go on a Birthright trip to Israel but somehow it never happened. The first time she was supposed to go the COVID-19 pandemic...

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...

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