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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

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.”

Retirement According to…Rick Hitt

By Alan SpectorPublished August 24, 2017

In previous blog posts, I’ve had the opportunity to share examples of retirees who have succeeded in “Finding the Magic,” and in doing so have enhanced the satisfaction they derive from retirement.  Following their example involves asking three...

Police officers keep the peace at an April 3, 1976 neo-Nazi rally in the north St. Louis county municipality of Breckenridge Hills. Photo: David Henschel

Remembering a peaceful counterprotest at neo-Nazi rally here in ’76

BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief EmeritusPublished August 24, 2017

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. So goes the familiar statement attributed to George Santayana. The events last week in Charlottesville, Va., were horrific.  Violent neo-Nazis, white supremacists and their hateful allies,...

Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., is President and CEO of Jewish Federation of St. Louis.

Doing something about hate-filled violence

By Andrew RehfeldPublished August 24, 2017

Six months ago in the face of the desecration of Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, we stood together with an array of religious and political leadership, including the Vice President, to “name it, condemn it, and do something about it.”  In the aftermath...

Letters to the editor: Aug. 23, 2017

Published August 24, 2017

White House career calling?    Readers who had any doubt about Prof. J. Martin Rochester’s scholarly views of White House policies and direction should read his current column in the Jewish Light (Aug. 16, 2017). It should qualify him to be appointed...

Two stand-up comedians who stood for something

By Robert A. Cohn and Dale SingerPublished August 24, 2017

Comparing the lives and careers of Jerry Lewis and Dick Gregory, who both died this past weekend, is like taking a short trip from the days of the Borscht Belt comics to the more serious humor that made audiences chuckle but also made them reflect on...

A longtime St. Louis resident, Steve Finkel is an  international business consultant who has extensively lectured and conducted consulting and training assignments on five continents. While there, he generally finds time to visit local synagogues and speak to members. He has no political affiliations.   

Liberal ‘Light’ laughable on Charlottesville

By Steve FinkelPublished August 23, 2017

Oh, my. The Jewish Light’s editorial page with its knee-jerk liberalism is always good for a laugh. But when it veers from inadvertent humor to overt mendacity, it does seem time to respond. Such was the case with a recent screed regarding the Charlottesville...

The eclipse was exhilarating. Life-changing? Not so much.

Ben HarrisPublished August 22, 2017

WHITE PINE, Tenn. (JTA) — The thing that truly pushed us over the top, that led us to undertake an epic 48-hour, 1,500-mile road trip at the height of the farming season, was The New York Times. The paper’s special section on the 2017 solar eclipse...

The Barcelona Jewish community is not doomed

Victor SorennsenPublished August 21, 2017

BARCELONA, Spain (JTA) — In the wake of the horrendous recent terrorist attack in my city, our chief rabbi declared that the Jewish community here is “doomed” and encouraged us to buy property in Israel. With all due respect to the rabbi, he is...

Cathleen Kronemer, NSCA-CPT, Certified Health Coach, is a longtime fitness instructor at the Jewish Community Center. She is also a member of the St. Louis Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Get those happy endorphins at the gym…and in your diet

By Cathleen Kronemer, NSCA-CPT, Certified Health CoachPublished August 17, 2017

We are all familiar with the theory of endorphin release and exercise.  Hard exertion in the gym rewards our brains with “feel-good” hormones.  This is why, although we may leave the gym feeling physically tired, our spirits are buoyed and we seem...

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 book, “New Warfare: Rethinking Rules for An Unruly World.”

President Trump deserves opportunity to govern

By Marty RochesterPublished August 17, 2017

We are roughly at the half-year mark of President Donald Trump’s administration. I am quite sure that if one did a content analysis of mainstream news media reporting on American politics since January, one would find an overwhelming percentage of coverage...

Our president just asked us to be fair to white supremacists

Andrew Silow-CarrollPublished August 16, 2017

(JTA) — There was a moment in his “neo-Nazi, neo-Shmazi” news conference where you might have found yourself thinking, maybe President Trump is right.On the narrow question — who was responsible for the violence in Charlottesville? — a prosecutor...

I am a rabbi, and my place was in Charlottesville

By Rabbi Lizz GoldsteinPublished August 15, 2017

(JTA) — I was in Charlottesville on Saturday. I felt called to go because white supremacy is a hateful ideology that has murdered millions throughout history and continues to kill.I went because my family and ancestors suffered at the hands of anti-Semites...

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