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
All content by Ben Sales

‘It’s totally irresponsible:’ How New York Jews feel watching the unrest in Borough Park

Ben Sales
Published October 16, 2020

Orthodox support for Trump is skyrocketing, survey finds

Ben Sales
Published October 15, 2020

Jewish security officials have a message for election day: Be prepared for violence

Ben Sales
Published October 15, 2020

Mitch McConnell called Chuck Schumer ‘somebody from New York.’ Was it an anti-Semitic dog whistle?

Ben Sales
Published October 13, 2020

‘Jew’ isn’t a derogatory term. So why do so many people avoid saying it?

Ben Sales
Published October 12, 2020
Mark Zuckerberg at the Breakthrough Prize awards ceremony at NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., Nov. 3, 2019. 

Facebook will now ban Holocaust denial, in a major shift

Ben Sales
Published October 12, 2020

Officials fear violence on Election Day. Some worry it could target the Jews.

Ben Sales
Published October 8, 2020
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio addresses questions about the NYPD's coordination with organizers of a large funeral in Brooklyn, April 29, 2020. (Screenshot from YouTube)

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio: Police response to ‘disgusting’ assault of Orthodox journalist ‘will be fixed today’

Ben Sales
Published October 8, 2020

Following Orthodox protests in Brooklyn, de Blasio and Cuomo avoid naming the Jewish community

Ben Sales
Published October 7, 2020
Trump supporters display QAnon posters at a 2018 rally in Florida. Recently, Latinos in the state have been inundated with anti-Semitic messages, many relating to the false QAnon conspiracy theory. 

Facebook says it will now ban all pages supporting QAnon, the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory

Ben Sales
Published October 6, 2020

Homeland Security report calls white supremacists the ‘most persistent and lethal’ threat in the US

Ben Sales
Published October 6, 2020

YouTube removes Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam channel

Ben Sales
Published October 6, 2020

Jewish and into video games? There’s an esports league for that.

Ben Sales
Published October 5, 2020

‘I’m not going to get stuck’: Ahead of the election, growing numbers of US Jews consider leaving

Ben Sales
Published October 1, 2020

Are the Proud Boys anti-Semitic? Your primer on the far-right group

Ben Sales
Published September 29, 2020

A Google search for ‘Jewish baby strollers’ yields anti-Semitic images. An extremist campaign may be to blame.

Ben Sales
Published September 25, 2020

Michael Oren published a book of short stories. He’s more worried about the future of literature than democracy.

Ben Sales
Published September 25, 2020

How Judaism animated Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life

Ben Sales
Published September 21, 2020

One-third of Netanyahu’s voters believe COVID-19 was sent by God

Ben Sales
Published September 17, 2020

Democratic super PAC mailers show Jewish GOP House candidate clutching dollar bills

Ben Sales
Published September 16, 2020

Study: More than one in 10 Americans under 40 thinks Jews caused the Holocaust

Ben Sales
Published September 15, 2020

Florida Latinos are being flooded with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories ahead of the election

Ben Sales
Published September 14, 2020

This map shows the 20 congressional districts with the most Jews

Ben Sales
Published September 10, 2020

A California state senator is facing anti-Semitic and homophobic attacks — as well as death threats

Ben Sales
Published September 9, 2020

George Soros is a leading target of anti-Semitism. These Jews openly criticize him anyway.

Ben Sales
Published September 8, 2020
A New York Times ad published on Aug. 28 and signed by over 600 Jewish groups and synagogues expresses solidarity with Black Lives Matter. (Screen shot) 

Orthodox youth group removes name from Jewish Black Lives Matter statement, citing politics

Ben Sales
Published September 2, 2020

An expert analyst breaks down the ‘militia movement’ and other groups involved in the Kenosha and Portland shootings

Ben Sales
Published August 31, 2020

10-page summary of new Movement for Black Lives platform contains no mention of Israel, 4 years after divisive condemnation

Ben Sales
Published August 28, 2020

Kenosha’s rabbi on graffiti at her synagogue: ‘What’s happened these last few days is not about us’

Ben Sales
Published August 27, 2020

Liberal Jewish groups defend ADL after renewed attack from progressive coalition

Ben Sales
Published August 18, 2020

‘Sad, disappointed, worried’: Madison Cawthorn’s visit to Hitler’s vacation home alarms his NC district’s Jews

Ben Sales
Published August 12, 2020

Facebook announces new policy combating anti-Jewish stereotypes

Ben Sales
Published August 12, 2020
17% of American Jews attended a virtual prayer service last month, compared to half of Christians

17% of American Jews attended a virtual prayer service last month, compared to half of Christians

Ben Sales
Published August 7, 2020
Nylssa Portillo Moreno, a Jewish immigrant detained by ICE, was released following an activist campaign that included national Jewish organizations. (Photo illustration)

Jewish woman released from ICE custody following national advocacy campaign

Ben Sales
Published August 5, 2020
Israelis protest being separated from their significant others outside the residence of the foreign minister by having solo romantic picnics on the eve of Tu B'Av, the Jewish day celebrating love. The signs read, "We also want to embrace our loved ones. Open the skies for them. Families want to be together." (Courtesy of Plia Kettner)

‘Does he remember me?’: For some Israelis, COVID-19 has meant being separated from their families

Ben Sales
Published August 4, 2020

Oregon’s attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, says she won’t stand for authoritarianism in Portland

Ben Sales
Published July 30, 2020

The pandemic’s first High Holiday season has synagogues wondering: Will people pay dues?

Ben Sales
Published July 30, 2020
A screenshot of the webpage advertising a face mask emblazoned with a colorized version of a famous 1943 photo from Poland during the Holocaust.  (Screenshot from www.HolocaustFaceMasks.com)

Who would sell Holocaust-themed face masks? This guy.

Ben Sales
Published July 29, 2020
A group takes a tour of the Tenement Museum, which tells the stories of Jewish and other immigrants to New York, in 2008. (Kiko Niwa)

New York’s Tenement Museum lays off 76 employees amid indefinite closure

Ben Sales
Published July 22, 2020

Camp Modin, Jewish camp that opened this summer, tests 100% negative for COVID-19

Ben Sales
Published July 20, 2020

Jewish day camp in Texas closes following COVID-19 outbreak

Ben Sales
Published July 15, 2020
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, speaks at the group's biennial in Chicago about combating racism, Dec. 12, 2019. (Courtesy of the Union for Reform Judaism)

1,000 Jewish groups received at least $500 million in government loans. Some laid off staff anyway.

Ben Sales
Published July 8, 2020
Jewish camp delays start date after counselor tests positive for coronavirus

Jewish camp delays start date after counselor tests positive for coronavirus

Ben Sales
Published July 3, 2020

How the ADL went from working with Facebook to leading a boycott against it

Ben Sales
Published July 1, 2020

What is Fox Soul TV? And is it broadcasting a speech by Louis Farrakhan?

Ben Sales
Published June 29, 2020

A Jewish camp is opening — on the video game Minecraft

Ben Sales
Published June 29, 2020

Catholic archdiocese defends statue of King Louis IX, the namesake of St. Louis, who persecuted Jews

Ben Sales
Published June 29, 2020

Should St. Louis take down the statue of its anti-Semitic namesake? Activists say yes.

Ben Sales
Published June 26, 2020
The ropes course at Camp Modin, which has seen immense interest from parents since announcing last month that it was opening this summer. (Courtesy of Camp Modin)

For the few Jewish camps that are opening, finding willing families hasn’t been hard

Ben Sales
Published June 24, 2020
Evan Bernstein, shown here speaking to students at Harvard in June 2018, believes American Jews face the most urgent physical threat in generations. (Courtesy of Harvard)

The new head of a synagogue security agency wants to start training Jews in college

Ben Sales
Published June 19, 2020

Protesting hate speech, ADL and NAACP call on companies to stop running Facebook ads in July

Ben Sales
Published June 17, 2020

Calls to defund the police put Jewish institutions in a tough position

Ben Sales
Published June 12, 2020

Responding to a petition, new leader of major Jewish coalition condemns sexual misconduct but stops short of policy barring harassers

Ben Sales
Published June 11, 2020

Meet the Boogaloo Bois, the violent right-wing extremists who (mostly) don’t hate the Jews

Ben Sales
Published June 5, 2020

A black pastor organized an interfaith rally in Chicago to protest systemic racism. He and 5 rabbis share their experiences.

Ben Sales
Published June 3, 2020

There are now 500,000 negative tweets about George Soros every day. Many claim he’s funding George Floyd protests.

Ben Sales
Published June 3, 2020

Amid George Floyd protests, Trump called Antifa a terror organization. Here’s what you need to know about the anti-fascist group.

Ben Sales
Published June 1, 2020

How some Jewish summer camps are going virtual this year

Ben Sales
Published May 28, 2020

A Florida JCC survived the pandemic with no layoffs. Now it’s reopening.

Ben Sales
Published May 22, 2020

How summer camp has become an American Jewish institution

Ben Sales
Published May 22, 2020

A global virtual color war for Jewish millennials could be a model for camp in the COVID-19 era

Ben Sales
Published May 21, 2020

With a woman taking charge of the Conference of Presidents, 250 Jewish leaders press for sexual harassers to be barred

Ben Sales
Published May 20, 2020
Campers playing on the water at Camp Modin. The camp is perhaps the first Jewish camp in the country to announce, in detail, how it plans to open. (Courtesy of Camp Modin) 

A Jewish camp in Maine is actually opening. Here’s how it plans to keep COVID-19 away.

Ben Sales
Published May 18, 2020

Ramah camps anticipate a total budget shortfall of $27 million this year, but don’t expect to fold

Ben Sales
Published May 14, 2020

Conservative Jewish youth group USY cancels summer travel programs due to COVID-19

Ben Sales
Published May 14, 2020

With hope fading and regulations tightening, more Jewish camps set to cancel

Ben Sales
Published May 13, 2020

The biggest Jewish coronavirus relief fund will soon start giving out loans

Ben Sales
Published May 12, 2020

2019 saw the most anti-Semitic incidents in at least 40 years, ADL says

Ben Sales
Published May 12, 2020
Like many camp activities, the 2017 color war at JCC Ranch Camp in Colorado involved crowds of kids. This year, with its summer session canceled, the camp is becoming a family camp with socially distanced activities. (Noah Gallagher) 

From cabins to bungalows: Some Jewish overnight camps may become socially distanced family retreats this summer

Ben Sales
Published May 5, 2020

‘The Big Lebowski’ is a perfect watch for our crazy times. It’s also surprisingly Jewish.

Ben Sales
Published May 1, 2020
5 key takeaways about the Gantz-Netanyahu deal and Israel’s new government

5 key takeaways about the Gantz-Netanyahu deal and Israel’s new government

Ben Sales
Published April 24, 2020

From prayers to puppets: This new group is a one-stop shop for Jewish livestreams

Ben Sales
Published April 24, 2020
Half of Jewish groups that applied got government loans totaling $264 million, survey finds

Half of Jewish groups that applied got government loans totaling $264 million, survey finds

Ben Sales
Published April 22, 2020
More than half of American Jews have seen or experienced anti-Semitism in recent years, ADL finds

More than half of American Jews have seen or experienced anti-Semitism in recent years, ADL finds

Ben Sales
Published April 21, 2020

Jewish nonprofits are struggling. How should donors try to rescue them?

Ben Sales
Published April 20, 2020

Brooklyn Hasidic neighborhoods see spike in at-home deaths during coronavirus crisis

Ben Sales
Published April 17, 2020

Brooklyn’s Orthodox neighborhoods have especially high rates of the coronavirus

Ben Sales
Published April 2, 2020

‘I would have canceled’: 3 weeks after Purim celebrations, coronavirus is hitting Jewish communities hard

Ben Sales
Published April 2, 2020
A bingo game at the Kaiserman JCC outside Philadelphia in 2015. This week, nearly all of its employees were laid off due to the coronavirus. (Screenshot from YouTube

In a possible sign of what’s to come, this JCC has already laid off 176 people because of the coronavirus

Ben Sales
Published March 27, 2020

Israel is going through a constitutional crisis

Ben Sales
Published March 24, 2020

‘Painful and deep’: Jewish nonprofits face dire economic prospects during and after coronavirus

Ben Sales
Published March 23, 2020

Saying Kaddish from balconies and fasting: How Hasidic Jews are responding to the coronavirus

Ben Sales
Published March 19, 2020

100 people test positive for coronavirus in Hasidic Brooklyn neighborhood

Ben Sales
Published March 17, 2020

Passover in a pandemic: Families on Zoom, solo seders and broken traditions

Ben Sales
Published March 17, 2020

No visitors, no group dinners: How Jewish nursing homes are trying to keep seniors safe from the coronavirus

Ben Sales
Published March 13, 2020

Jewish summer camps are already preparing for the coronavirus

Ben Sales
Published March 12, 2020

In the new Daf Yomi cycle, daily Talmud study is reaching new populations

Ben Sales
Published March 9, 2020

Purim is a holiday for partying. This year, coronavirus makes things different.

Ben Sales
Published March 4, 2020
Ruben Golran has had an outpouring of support since word spread about how the Milan teen had to curtail his bar mitzvah celebration because of the coronavirus. (Courtesy of the Golran family) 

A Syrian Muslim donated a tree in Israel for an Italian boy whose bar mitzvah party was canceled due to coronavirus

Ben Sales
Published March 3, 2020
Because of bans on large gatherings, Ruben Golran, an Italian Jewish kid celebrating his bar mitzvah, had to limit the ceremony to close relatives. (Courtesy of the Golran family) 

This Italian Jewish kid was supposed to have a 600-person bar mitzvah party. Then coronavirus hit.

Ben Sales
Published February 27, 2020

2 months after deadly shooting, Jersey City’s kosher supermarket is starting to reopen

Ben Sales
Published February 26, 2020

United by hatred of Jews and immigrants, white supremacists are increasingly working together across borders

Ben Sales
Published February 20, 2020

Teenage Orthodox pingpong phenom may have to skip Olympics because trials are on Shabbat

Ben Sales
Published February 14, 2020
Bill Clinton speaks in a clip from "Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations." (Screenshot from Newsweek) 

New documentary examines anti-Semitism in US and Europe

Ben Sales
Published February 14, 2020

White supremacists distributed more propaganda in 2019 but held fewer events, ADL says

Ben Sales
Published February 12, 2020

An unpopular Palestinian president and a disgraced former Israeli prime minister make the case for peace

Ben Sales
Published February 11, 2020

Meet Lior Schleien, Israel’s Jon Stewart

Ben Sales
Published February 7, 2020

ADL poll: Anti-Semitic violence is on the rise in America — but anti-Semitic attitudes are not

Ben Sales
Published January 29, 2020

William Barr meets with Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn over anti-Semitism and places blame on the left

Ben Sales
Published January 28, 2020

She has 6 employees and less than $2 million. The mission: Stop anti-Semitism in New York City.

Ben Sales
Published January 27, 2020
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