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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

Opinion

J. Martin Rochester, Curators’ Teaching Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, is author of 10 books on international and American politics, including his latest: “New Warfare: Rethinking Rules for An Unruly World.”

Tech-enhanced learning earns failing grade

BY MARTY ROCHESTERPublished November 15, 2017

I have to admit I am a Luddite. I tend to be skeptical of all the hyping of emerging technology, whether it is the self-driving car or robots delivering your cocktail at a restaurant. Nowhere has there been more touting of technology than in the field...

Martin Luther Mathews and Hubert “Dickey” Ballentine founded the Mathews-Dickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club.

This Is Us, Too

BY RICHARD H. WEISSPublished November 8, 2017

In the wake of so much civic dysfunction, the work of Martin Luther Mathews and Hubert “Dickey” Ballentine shines a light on how to build comity and community.We are reminded repeatedly — especially in recent weeks —  that we live in a polarized...

Alan Spector is the author of five books and is working on books six and seven. His latest is “Body Not Recovered: A Vietnam War/Protest Movement Novel.” Spector also writes the stljewishlight.com blog “Retirement According to … Alan Spector.”

Your ideal day

By Alan SpectorPublished November 6, 2017

If you were to design your ideal retirement day, what would it be?  There’s value in this exercise, whether you are already retired or still working but thinking about retirement.  Try this.  Create a table with two columns.  In the first column,...

Larry David presents his opening monologue on”Saturday Night Live” including bits on the Holocaust and the high-profile Jews being accused of sexual harassment, Nov. 4, 2017. (Screenshot from YouTube)

Larry David’s Holocaust joke was an offense — against comedy

Andrew Silow-CarrollPublished November 6, 2017

NEW YORK (JTA) — In a famous episode of “Seinfeld,” Jerry is upset that his dentist, a recent convert to Judaism, is already telling Jewish jokes. He complains to the dentist’s former priest.“I wanted to talk to you about Dr. Whatley,” Jerry...

Ben Cohen writes a weekly column for JNS.org on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics.  The senior editor of  The Tower Magazine and TheTower.org, Cohen is the author of “Some of My Best Friends: A Journey Through Twenty-First Century Antisemitism.”

Year zero: Palestinians and the Balfour Declaration

By BEN COHEN, JNS.ORGPublished November 2, 2017

For the Palestinians, the year zero is not 1948, when the state of Israel came into being, but 1917, when Great Britain issued, in the November of that year, the Balfour Declaration—expressing support for the establishment of a “Jewish national home”...

Letter to the editor: Nov. 1, 2017

Published November 1, 2017

Yiddish phrase evokes fond memories Your Yiddish phrase in the Oct. 18 edition of the Jewish Light (Yiddish Word of the Week, Jewish Lite page), “Hak mir nisht keyn tshaynik” that was interpreted as “stop annoying me, don’t bother me,” does...

Eric Mink is a freelance writer and editor and teaches film studies at Webster University.  He is a former columnist for the St.  Louis Post-Dispatch and the Daily News in New York.  Contact him at ericmink1@gmail.com.

White House could use some role models

BY ERIC MINKPublished November 1, 2017

A few days from now, the members of the Kelly family will mark the seventh anniversary of the worst day of their collective lives, the day they became a Gold Star family.It was Nov. 9, 2010, when the Kellys — husband and father John F. Kelly, the current...

Alan Spector is the author of five books and is working on books six and seven. His latest is “Body Not Recovered: A Vietnam War/Protest Movement Novel.” Spector also writes the stljewishlight.com blog “Retirement According to … Alan Spector.”

Jewish Book Festival: A key to retirement fulfillment

By Alan SpectorPublished October 26, 2017

When I was preparing to retire, I asked former colleagues who had previously made the leap, “What has surprised you in retirement?”There were a number of common themes in their responses, and among these was a sentiment echoed by many.  In one way...

Letters to the editor: Oct. 25, 2017

Published October 26, 2017

Modern Orthodoxy isn’t one size fits allI’d like to thank the Jewish Light for printing the article entitled “Five Takeaways from new survey about Modern Orthodox Jews” (Oct. 4). The final takeaway on the educational level of those labeled as...

No Jewish woman or family should face cancer alone

Elana SilberPublished October 25, 2017

TEANECK, N.J. (JTA) — When Ilene Fogelman was first diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer, it was hard for her to decide whether or not to look to the internet for support and information.On the one hand, she wanted reassurance from women who...

Here’s why I believed Elie Wiesel’s accuser

Lior ZaltzmanPublished October 25, 2017

NEW YORK (JTA) — When I read the headline of Jenny Listman’s Medium piece — “When I was nineteen years old, Elie Wiesel grabbed my ass” — I decided not to click on it.It wasn’t because of any judgment I passed on her or the veracity of...

Alan R. Ludmer

Three Key Skills Employees Need Now

Alan R. LudmerPublished October 24, 2017

 The business world is constantly changing and now it’s changing at an accelerated speed. American workers no longer have decades to adapt to new technologies or business advancements. People need to be able to adapt — and adapt quickly — if they...

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