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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

J. Martin Rochester, Curators’ Teaching Professor of Political Science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, is the author of 10 books on international and American politics, including his latest: “New Warfare: Rethinking Rules for An Unruly World.”

Blocking immigrant caravan is a short-term solution

By Marty RochesterPublished November 23, 2018

In the past month, several thousand Central American immigrants, mostly from Honduras, have been walking across Mexico toward the United States, hoping to gain entry here.  The question is whether we should grant them asylum as refugees fleeing poverty...

Jere I. Hochman

Reaction to anti-Semitism falls far short of enough

By Jere I. HochmanPublished November 23, 2018

Was the reaction to the mass murders of Jews in Pittsburgh serious enough to alert others to growing anti-Semitism in our country?No. The reaction to this event and growing anti-Semitism is far from serious enough to unlearn the hate in many people, to...

Bob Gerchen

Progress, not perfection, in fight against anti-Semitism

By Robert GerchenPublished November 23, 2018

In the aftermath of the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh, debate arose within the Jewish community. Was the non-Jewish response to this attack on a synagogue appropriate? Sufficient?  Too little, too late? Was it just an apologists’ do-over for...

Cathleen Kronemer, NSCA-CPT, Certified Health Coach, is a longtime fitness instructor at the Jewish Community Center. She is also a member of the St. Louis Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

A holiday how-to guide for celebrating without sacrifice

By Cathleen KronemerPublished November 23, 2018

You have finally achieved a healthy, clean meal plan to accompany your fit, active lifestyle.  Now here come the holidays…are you prepared to celebrate mindfully? That treasured “most wonderful time of the year” is upon us. There is a distinct...

Eric Mink

Is Trump an anti-Semite? It might not really matter

BY ERIC MINKPublished November 21, 2018

As the second year of Donald Trump’s presidency draws to a close — and most especially since last month’s heartbreaking murders of 11 Jewish people at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh — I must admit that I don’t know whether my president...

Letters to the editor: Nov. 14, 2018

Letters to the editor: Nov. 14, 2018

Published November 16, 2018

Letting your voice be heardIt’s no surprise that the Jewish community includes people across the political spectrum with different reactions to the midterm elections (“Jewish Democrats and Republicans offer dueling views of election results,” Jewish...

Steven Puro is president of Midwest Jewish Congress and a professor emeritus of political science at St. Louis University.

2018 election shows anger, division

By Steven PuroPublished November 16, 2018

After a divisive and explosive process, President Donald Trump became the fourth president in a row to lose one or more houses of the United States Congress to the opposing party in the midterm elections. At this time, Democrats have gained 35 U.S. House...

Rabbi Yosef David

The horrific, senseless murder of 11 Jews and our response

By Rabbi Yosef DavidPublished November 9, 2018

Like all of you who heard the news, I was shocked by yesterday's horrific tragedy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where innocent community members who wanted to enjoy a peaceful Shabbat and celebrate a Jewish baby's birth were senselessly injured and murdered....

Rabbi Seth D. Gordon serves Traditional Congregation of Creve Coeur.

Rabbi Seth D Gordon: A response to Pittsburgh

By Rabbi Seth D GordonPublished November 9, 2018

As a Jew and as an American, I am saddened and angry that 11 people attending Shabbat services at Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh were murdered.  The loss is incalculable, as is the fear.  The murderer also injured others, including several...

In 1986, another anti-Semitic Pittsburgh shooter murdered my childhood friend

Shalom LipnerPublished November 8, 2018

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The outpouring of grief over last month’s massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue has sparked a degree of counterintuitive hope. Just maybe, the eternal optimists among us believe, this will prove to be the watershed event...

Kayla Steinberg

WU Students plant tree in solidarity with Tree of Life

By Kayla SteinbergPublished November 8, 2018

When gunman Robert Bowers fired on the Tree of Life congregation late last month, he shook the whole tree, from the roots in Pittsburgh to the branches of Jewish communities across the world. At Washington University, Bowers struck close to the root—several...

Andrew Rehfeld

Community unites in the face of hate

By Andrew RehfeldPublished November 8, 2018

Word came from 600 miles away, but it could not have felt closer to home. The horrifying news arrived while many here were still in shul. It sounded surreal and yet all too familiar.A shooter had invaded a place of worship, on Shabbat, shouting, “All...

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