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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

Molly Wernick

Summer camp is canceled, but we camp people can still make this summer meaningful for our campers

Molly WernickPublished June 10, 2020

PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — Jewish camp professionals don’t have much time to mourn the loss of the summers we’d planned. We must switch gears, roll up our sleeves and come up with a new 2020 vision. Luckily there are no better-suited dreamers and designers...

Maharat Rori Picker Neiss is executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

No easy answers to systemic racism, but there is much you can do

By Maharat Rori Picker NeissPublished June 5, 2020

It has now been over a week of protests, propelled by the unconscionable death of George Floyd but motivated by the deeply entrenched and systemic racism that permeates our society at every level. Our hearts break at the stories that underlie the suffering,...

The protesters are praying with their feet. Why can’t we pray in our shuls?

Bethany MandelPublished June 5, 2020

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The scene in Bethesda, Maryland, at a protest for Black Lives Matter looked like a religious service. That’s because it was. Throngs of people coming together, chanting and singing, engaged in chanting and responsive readings. It...

Dr. Alison Spatz Levine

Should Jewish camps open this summer? This camp doctor and nurse think it’s a bad idea

By Dr. Alison Spatz Levine and Heather Maiman, JTAPublished June 4, 2020

DENVER — In the summer of 1999, we slept head to head in top bunks at Camp Ramah in Canada. We also shared a viral upper respiratory illness that kept us from participating in the much-anticipated yom bli shemesh (a day without sun) while the rest of...

Letters to the editor: Disappointment in eliminating CJL, adult classes

Letters to the editor: Disappointment in eliminating CJL, adult classes

Published June 4, 2020

I received the email from Jewish Federation — the letter was dense and filled with ‘organization speak,’ a lot of words essentially saying nothing. The bottom line was clear: The Federation will close its educational opportunities offered for decades.I...

Letter to the editor: Global response is needed to fight COVID-19

Letter to the editor: Global response is needed to fight COVID-19

Published June 4, 2020

In the weeks following Marty Rochester’s commentary, “Foreign policy seems foreign to 2020 presidential campaign” (May 7, 2020), the worrying truth behind his observations was revealed even more clearly.The House of Representatives just passed a...

Letter to the editor: Jewish groups should renounce legislation

Letter to the editor: Jewish groups should renounce legislation

Published June 4, 2020

In May, the Missouri legislature passed a bill which, in the words of multiple opposed legislators, forces companies who have a major contract with the State of Missouri to sign a “loyalty oath” to the State of Israel (Senate Bill 739). A representative...

I helped coin the term ‘Jews of color.’ It’s time for a history lesson.

Shahanna McKinney BaldonPublished June 3, 2020

This story originally appeared on Alma.Last week, eJewish Philanthropy, an independent publication serving the professional Jewish community, published an op-ed titled “How Many Jews of Color Are There?” The article argued that current estimates of...

Debra Klevens

Teacher faces challenges, adapts in a time of pandemic

BY DEBRA KLEVENSPublished May 28, 2020

At the end of the school day Thursday, March 12, I called my yearbook representative on my way home from work. I knew that life as I knew it was about to change because of the coronavirus, and I needed to prepare myself, my family and my school family...

Dr. Alison Spatz Levine

Those Jewish camps opening this summer? This camp doctor and nurse think it’s a bad idea

Dr. Alison Spatz Levine and Heather MaimanPublished May 27, 2020

DENVER (JTA) — In the summer of 1999, we slept head to head in top bunks at Camp Ramah in Canada. We also shared a viral upper respiratory illness that kept us from participating in the much-anticipated yom bli shemesh (a day without sun) while the...

Letter: Caring for seniors during the pandemic

Letter: Caring for seniors during the pandemic

Published May 22, 2020

Nikki Goldstein’s commentary, “A call to community” (Jewish Light, April 14) on how to cope and deal with the current coronavirus pandemic made me beam with pride as Nikki, the director of Crown Center for Senior Living, is my cousin. It was spot...

J. Martin Rochester, Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, is the author of 10 books on international and American politics.

Foreign policy seems foreign to 2020 presidential campaign

By Marty RochesterPublished May 7, 2020

Did you notice that even before the coronavirus preoccupied us 24/7, foreign policy seemed virtually absent from any discussion among the 2020 presidential candidates? Although the coronavirus is a reminder of just how interdependent the planet is and...

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