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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

Members of the first solidarity mission of the Jewish Federations of North America in Israel after its May 2021 conflict with Hamas in Gaza visit an Iron Dome anti-rocket installation. (JFNA)

It’s more important than ever to show the Israeli people that American Jews stand with them

Mark WilfPublished June 4, 2021

The world moves so fast that what seemed groundbreaking just a week ago already feels like a distant memory. Last Friday, I arrived back home after leading the first solidarity mission of Jewish leaders from North America to arrive in Israel following...

How a ‘wokestorm’ is misleading a generation about Israel

How a ‘wokestorm’ is misleading a generation about Israel

Published June 3, 2021

This article originally appeared on The New York Jewish Week. Just a few weeks ago, the streets of New York City were filled with thousands of people shouting “intifada” while also claiming “Black Lives Matter.” In that same period, a violent...

Yiddish writers knew from pogroms. Here’s what they can teach us about Tulsa and beyond.

Yiddish writers knew from pogroms. Here’s what they can teach us about Tulsa and beyond.

JTA STAFFPublished June 3, 2021

(JTA) — My grandpa once told me a story about when my great-grandparents were on a steamship emigrating from Ukraine to Cuba in the 1920s, shortly before my grandpa was born. As the story went, my great-grandmother saw a Black man for the first time...

Elisha Wiesel at a rally for Israel and against antisemitism in Lower Manhattan, May 23, 2021. (Shachar Azran/Israeli-American Council)

Elie Wiesel’s son: Jews always speak up for everyone else. Now’s the time to stand up for ourselves.

Elisha WieselPublished June 2, 2021

(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — In the 1960s, the Communist Party cut the Russian Jews off from the Jewish people. They prohibited them from wearing tefillin, or celebrating b’nai mitzvah, or expressing support for the State of Israel. They intimidated...

Conversion students are asking me if it’s safe to become Jewish. This is what I tell them.

Rabbi Ruth AdarPublished June 2, 2021

(JTA) — “Rabbi Adar, is it dangerous to wear my Jewish star?”  In 12 years of teaching “Introduction to the Jewish Experience” through HaMaqom|The Place in the San Francisco Bay Area, no student ever asked me that question in those words....

The Tulsa massacre wasn’t a ‘race riot’ — it was a pogrom

The Tulsa massacre wasn’t a ‘race riot’ — it was a pogrom

JOSHUA SHANES, THE FORWARDPublished June 1, 2021

This story originally appeared on TheFoward.com One hundred years ago, a pogrom destroyed a community. A pogrom is, according to John Klier, who was the subject’s leading authority and author of numerous seminal studies on Russian Jews, “an outbreak...

Rep. Ann Wagner, R- Ballwin, delivered a speech about Israel in 2019 at the U.S. House. Screenshot

Rep. Ann Wagner: Biden administration is ‘shockingly weak’ in support for Israel

Ann WagnerPublished May 27, 2021

The recent rocket attacks fired at Israeli citizens shocked and horrified us all.  Indiscriminate attacks on civilians are the very essence of terrorism, and we are at a critical moment in time where Israel, facing existential threats on...

American Jews need allies against antisemitism

American Jews need allies against antisemitism

Published May 26, 2021

This article originally appeared on Kveller. Obviously these past few weeks have been difficult for so many people, mainly the Palestinians and Israelis who have been enmeshed in conflict and under fire. Thankfully there’s now a cease-fire that everyone...

I love Israeli culture, and am committed to Palestinian solidarity. Where’s the group for me?

I love Israeli culture, and am committed to Palestinian solidarity. Where’s the group for me?

MIRA SUCHAROV, JTAPublished May 26, 2021

(JTA) — I was riding my bike last week when I passed a convoy of honking cars sporting Israeli flags and balloons in various shades of blue and white — and immediately felt a wave of clashing emotions. I felt the pang of recognition I feel...

Seth Rogen’s bar mitzvah disconnection

ERIC MINKPublished May 26, 2021

Chances are pretty good you’ve run across Seth Rogen lately, the actor-producer-writer-comedian and budding director associated in various capacities with “Superbad,” “Knocked Up,” “Pineapple Express,” “Steve Jobs,” “The Interview”...

Settlers like me have an alternative to the two-state solution: Let’s start by learning to live with our Palestinian neighbors.

Settlers like me have an alternative to the two-state solution: Let’s start by learning to live with our Palestinian neighbors.

Published May 25, 2021

(JTA) — The cease-fire agreement announced last week between Israel and Hamas conjures up the wisdom often, if dubiously, attributed to Albert Einstein: “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.” Unfortunately,...

April 20, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Crowds at Hennepin Government Center after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Floyd died on May 25, 2020 while in police custody. A video showing Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck sparked world wide protests against police brutality.. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY

Commentary | One year later, a visit to George Floyd Square

ROBIN WASHINGTON, THE FORWARDPublished May 25, 2021

This commentary originally appeared on The Foward In the time it took to upload a video, Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street one year ago today became the most recognizable, and infamous, street corner on the planet. Now, closed to traffic for two...

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