Skip to Main Content
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

Uncategorized

Onderism

Jewish Light EditorialPublished March 16, 2016

A new religion was formed last week in Missouri. It’s called Onderism, and it’s defined by a belief that businesses should be able to discriminate against same-sex couples in the name of religious freedom.The religion, which we’ve named after Sen....

Gobbling Up Speech

Jewish Light EditorialPublished March 9, 2016

“It is a paradox that every dictator has climbed to power on the ladder of free speech. Immediately on attaining power each dictator has suppressed all free speech except his own.”  — Herbert HooverThe dark shadow of restrictions upon free speech...

In or Out?

Jewish Light EditorialPublished March 2, 2016

“Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.”— John F. Kennedy, news conference, April 21, 1961, after failure of Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba The foreign policy debate in this country often divides between those who advocate for greater...

Unsanctioned Events

Jewish Light EditorialPublished February 24, 2016

For those of us who oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement — which we’ve repeatedly referred to in these pages as the Delegitimize Israel (DLI) movement — one of the particular challenges is how to address the impassioned social...

A Softer Side

Jewish Light EditorialPublished February 17, 2016

The sudden death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia of course leaves a massive void on the highest tribunal in the land. But his passing also reminds us of something sorely lacking in today’s polarized climate — namely, that it’s possible...

Get Real

Jewish Light EditorialPublished February 10, 2016

So often we hear these public debates about the role and size of government. Business interests lobby for fewer regulations, while public interest groups advocate for more protections for people’s health and safety.Often these disagreements come in...

Over the Wall

Jewish Light EditorialPublished February 3, 2016

“Reform Jews are a group of clowns who stab the holy Torah,” (Knesset Finance Committee Chair Moshe) Gafni said, according to Walla news. “There will never, ever be recognition for this group of clowns, not at the wall and not anywhere else.”—...

Yellow Light

Jewish Light EditorialPublished January 27, 2016

Intersectionality, the seemingly newest political trend (hold on, there might be another one in a week, stay tuned!) is in some ways like a one-night hookup: It seems fresh and exciting when there’s only one thing on each person’s mind, but the next...

Near the End

Jewish Light EditorialPublished January 20, 2016

Honor your father and your mother, that you may long endure on the land that the Lord your God is assigning to you.— The Fifth Commandment; Exodus 20:12 If the previous sale of the Cedars to a private owner represented at least a technical knockout,...

Good news for a change

Jewish Light EditorialPublished January 13, 2016

I rolled out this mornin’ the kids had the morning’ news show onBryant Gumbel was talkin’ ’bout the fighting in LebanonSome senator was squawkin’ ’bout the bad economyIt’s gonna get worse you see, we need a change in policy…We sure could...

Justice Undone

Jewish Light EditorialPublished January 6, 2016

Is it OK to ignore the law and take matters into your own hands by committing or threatening acts of violence to right a perceived wrong?Absent certain very narrow exceptions in Western legal history, most notably self-defense, or defense of others (and...

Year of Living Informedly

Jewish Light EditorialPublished December 30, 2015

What we wish for the year 2016 is more than 140 characters.The craving to say things fast and first — enabled by Twitter’s harsh limit on posting lengths — has in this day and age often taken over the need to process complicated things in a thoughtful...

Load More Stories