For Hanukkah, people celebrated by lighting menorahs in hospital wards, on Zoom and outdoors in places as varied as Dubai, Australia and Casablanca. In Tel Aviv, at the Ichilov Hospital’s COVID-19 isolation ward, medical staffers lit Hanukkah candles. (Gil...
In November, Kamala Harris made history as both the first woman and the first woman of color to be elected vice president, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, made history as the first Jewish “second husband.” Together they presented to the public a picture...
In 2020, more Orthodox rabbis began officiating same-sex weddings, signaling a growing acceptance of LGBTQ Jews, as well as a sea change in Orthodoxy. “Clearly some in the Orthodox community are ready for this,” said Jeremy Borison, who married...
TEL AVIV — Emma Caplan, 23, was seven months into her job teaching English at an elementary school in Rishon Lezion in March when the coronavirus pandemic compelled her to cut short her yearlong Israel experience and fly home to Westport, Connecticut.Three...
As COVID-19 began to spread, those who planned to complete their conversion to Judaism with a ceremonial dunk in the mikvah realized doing so indoors would be impossible. So Alexa Rae Ibarra, a 29-year-old yoga instructor, traveled to Camp Ramah in...
In June, a wave of protests over the death of George Floyd swept across America, and many Jews joined the millions protesting racial injustice. “We understand the urgency of the moment and stand against police brutality and white supremacy, and silence...
TOP ROW FROM LEFT: Rabbi Hershey Novack, Debbie Bram, Maxine Weil, Mark Morgan and Erin Wolfman May. BOTTOM ROW: Alyssa Banford, Anita Kraus, Ashley Stockman, Diana Matthis and Bonnie Solomon.
John R. Green wrote two books during the pandemic to help each of his twins deal with their bedtime fears. In “Dream Grabber,” written for his son AJ, a little boy learns to overcome his fear of going to sleep when his father shares his secret ability...
In December, John R. Green paid a virtual visit to his elementary school alma mater, Old Bonhomme Elementary, to read his children's books “Dream Jumper” and “Dream Grabber” to more than 80 first-graders.
In December, John R. Green paid a virtual visit to his elementary school alma mater, Old Bonhomme Elementary, to read his children's books “Dream Jumper” and “Dream Grabber” to more than 80 first-graders. Christine Williams, 70, who retired from...
(JTA) — For the Jewish community, 2020 has been historic, turbulent and revelatory. The year began with 25,000 people, Jews and non-Jews, marching across the Brooklyn Bridge to take a stand against anti-Semitism, and it seemed this could be a year of...
