AMSTERDAM — The last time that a stranger directed an anti-Semitic insult at me, I was carrying supplies for my son’s birthday party.It was on a Sunday afternoon on Dam Square. Carrying Star of David party decorations in a see-through bag, I paused...

The U.N. General Assembly narrowly defeated a resolution last Thursday that would have condemned Hamas for its terror campaign against Israel. Three days later, a Palestinian gunman opened fire on a group of Jews waiting at a bus stop near the West Bank...

Our sense of security was shaken in late October on that horrible Shabbat morning when a gunman walked into the Tree of Life Congregation in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and took 11 precious lives.While our sense of security was damaged,...

JF&CS launches pilot program of ‘Conversation Project’The Jewish Light’s Nov. 28 article “Having Dinner, Talking Death”(part of Editor Ellen Futterman’s News & Schmooze column) informs readers about the Conversation Project, a...

What is it that concerns Jewish parents about the programming of religious music in their children’s choral classrooms? I do not want to speculate. But in my position as a high school vocal music director, I have been given the responsibility to select...

NEW YORK — Opposition to vaccination on political and religious grounds has been swaying parents across the country to refuse immunizations for their children. Recently this has resulted in two of the largest measles outbreaks in New York’s history,...

(JTA) — A Facebook friend is looking for nominations for the Great Hanukkah Song. I’m not impressed by the answers.The classics — “Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages),” “Oh Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah,” “Sevivon” and “I Have a Little Dreidl” — have...

Editor’s Note: Chris Koster delivered a speech at the U. City Shul Gala on Nov. 18. This commentary was drawn from that speech.By Chris KosterMany years ago, I grew up in this neighborhood [North and South Road near Delmar Boulevard], and I’d walk...

By Guila Franklin SiegelWASHINGTON, D.C. — On the heels of actress and activist Alyssa Milano’s remarkable statement indicating that she plans to boycott the upcoming 2019 Women’s March because of its leaders’ persistent anti-Semitic behavior,...

Bipartisan support for global health initiativesThe Jewish Light’s Nov. 14 editorial “Election Day: Show me two Missouris” notes that “non-partisan” coalitions, such as the laudable efforts of State Sen. Jill Schupp to reach across the aisle,...

The premise of my blog posts and of my books, Your Retirement Quest(coauthored with Keith Lawrence) and After the Cheering Stops, is that if you have a life plan for retirement, you greatly increase the odds of living the fulfilling retirement you have...