Over Memorial Day weekend, unspeakable actions occurred in my adopted hometown of Minneapolis, shocking and horrifying many into a natural desire to speak out against the recurring injustices. While those statements may make people feel better, they often...
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...
By Maharat Rori Picker Neiss
• Published 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,...
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...
By Dr. Alison Spatz Levine
and Heather Maiman, JTA
• Published 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 and Heather Maiman
• Published 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...
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...
