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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

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Outside Affton High School.

Affton High School vandalized with hate symbols, but its response was ‘by the book’

By Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished March 7, 2025

It was the kind of message no school community wants to wake up to. Early Friday morning, Affton High School staff arrived to find swastikas and racist graffiti, including the phrase “wite [sic] power,” spray-painted on the front of the school. District...

David Schwimmer at the ADL Heroes Against Hate

David Schwimmer calls on Jewish stars to speak out at ADL summit

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished March 6, 2025

David Schwimmer is no stranger to using his voice. Whether as Ross Geller in “Friends,” the bumbling paleontologist navigating love, or as a vocal advocate for the Jewish community, Schwimmer knows when to speak up. And at the Anti-Defamation League’s...

JPro Stl Recognition Event

Cheers to these champions! JPRO STL celebrates its best and brightest!

Bill Motchan, Special To The Jewish LightPublished March 6, 2025

JPRO STL honored professionals who work in organizations that touch the Jewish community at its 20th annual recognition event on Thursday, March 6. A gathering of more than 350 community members thanked the honorees for their tireless work. Felicia Malter...

$23M project to expand Crown Center housing for seniors in need

$23M project to expand Crown Center housing for seniors in need

Published March 6, 2025

Crown Center for Senior Living is embarking on Phase II of its construction project, which will create additional affordable housing for local seniors within its University City campus. Crown Center offers affordable housing for older adults, aimed...

Mr. Krupp from Captain Underpants.

Rabbis wear underpants, too

By RABBI JARED SKOFF, Congregation B’nai AmoonaPublished March 6, 2025

When I was a kid, my friends and I read a book series called Captain Underpants. In the story, two kids unwittingly transform their school principal into a superhero. By day, Mr. Krupp is a grumpy, intimidating authority figure. By night, he is a superhero...

Unleash Your Pen: B'nai Brith is confronting antisemitism with new essay contest

Unleash Your Pen: B’nai Brith is confronting antisemitism with new essay contest

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished March 6, 2025

B’nai B’rith is inviting current college students to share their personal experiences of antisemitism at their school by entering its 2025 None Shall Be Afraid Essay Contest. Winners will earn scholarships as well as the opportunity...

Grammy award-winning bluegrass musician Billy Strings

Video: Billy Strings surprises audience with a heartfelt performance of “Shalom Aleichem”

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished March 5, 2025

Musician Billy Strings has built a career on breaking rules, bending genres and keeping audiences on their toes. But even his most die-hard fans weren’t expecting what happened at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on March 2, when he and his band launched...

Screen Shot (Truth Social)

Trump posts ‘Shalom Hamas’ and says Gazans will be ‘DEAD’ if they keep holding hostages

Ben Sales, JTAPublished March 5, 2025

President Donald Trump posted a message that began “Shalom Hamas,” and proceeded to threaten the terror group with destruction if it did not release the nearly 60 hostages it still holds. “Shalom,” one of the most well-known Hebrew words, translates...

David Cohen

JCRC appoints new executive director

Published March 5, 2025

The Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis (JCRC) has announced that David Cohen will be its next executive director, following a national search. Cohen, a veteran community relations professional with more than two decades of experience serving...

Adam Boehler, right, speaks during "Mornings With Maria" at Fox Business Network Studios, Oct. 23, 2024 in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

US is holding unprecedented direct talks with Hamas over ending Gaza war

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished March 5, 2025

The White House has confirmed that U.S. officials are holding talks with Hamas representatives in an effort to negotiate an end to the Gaza war. Adam Boehler, the Trump administration’s hostage envoy, who is Jewish, met with Hamas officials in Doha,...

Susan Polgar, the Jewish grandmaster who made history in St. Louis and shattered chess’s glass ceiling

Susan Polgar, the Jewish grandmaster who made history in St. Louis and shattered chess’s glass ceiling

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished March 5, 2025

Susan Polgar returned to St. Louis on Thursday, March 13, and while it’s been years since she called the city home, it was clear that her legacy here is still strong. Speaking at a packed event at the St. Louis County Library,...

The Iftar that brought 200 people of different faiths together

The Iftar that brought 200 people of different faiths together

Bill Motchan, Special To The Jewish LightPublished March 5, 2025

Bill Livingston was ready for the iftar. Livingston, who is Jewish, was a participant in a traditional Ramadan fast-breaking dinner on Tuesday, March 5, at Congregation Shaare Emeth where he is a member. The congregation was the host for an interfaith...

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