Not long ago I told you about book clubs I’d attended that didn’t exactly work out for me because reading the assigned book by the deadline was too much like homework. Homework was never really my strong suit. It probably was just the club part that...

(JTA) — Last week I stood at the Western Wall, on a beautiful sunlit Jerusalem day, and cried. I recognized how very privileged I was to stand in that holy place, but I also felt very alone in that moment. I was in my Jewish homeland, but away both...

(JTA) — For the past 20 years or so I could write confidently that the Jewish community was in a “post-rescue” era. Following the exodus of Soviet Jews, and the airlifts of Ethiopian Jews, Jewish organizations had to adjust to a reality –...

(JTA) — This is not a drill. This is a disaster. In my 28 years of working with Jews in Ukraine, Russia and the surrounding region, I have not seen a humanitarian crisis of this magnitude, and I have never been so scared for the women of Ukraine. The...

(JTA) — The first time I recall hearing someone describe a relationship akin to that between Eastern European Jews and the former Pale of Settlement was when my late African-American uncle spoke of Mississippi. Many immigrant groups in America...

(JTA) — In launching his war on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared his goal was the “denazification” of the country – referring specifically to his allegations that Ukraine is responsible for or planning a “genocide” of Russian-speakers...

This story was originally published on Feb. 26, by the Forward. Sign up here to get the latest stories from the Forward delivered to you each morning. In 1911, my grandpa Jake was born in the small Hungarian village of Torun in the Carpathian Mountains....

(JTA) — I was born in Kyiv. I shy away from calling myself Ukrainian because at the time it was the USSR. And as Jews who eventually fled as refugees, my family didn’t have any ethnonational attachments to the place. Still, it’s where I...

This story was originally published on Feb. 24 by the Forward. Sign up here to get the latest stories from the Forward delivered to you each morning. At our table, we savored the plates of hummus, pita and shakshuka. It brought back wonderful memories...

As a pediatrician, I often was asked whether it is harder to raise children now than in the past. I think most people assume I quickly responded yes. Surely it seems like the times have never been more dangerous and complex: Social media and the pressure...

It's funny how the world changes you and your community. Thirty-six months ago, I would have said media literacy or student press rights were the most significant issue facing scholastic journalism. However, in our new reality, the most critical...

This story was originally published on Feb. 22 by the Forward. Sign up here to get the latest stories from the Forward delivered to you each morning. American Shtetl Years ago, friends of mine visited the Satmar village of Kiryas Joel, established...