(JTA) — Rabbi Avrohom Hakohen Cohn survived the Holocaust and went on to fight the Nazis in his native Czechoslovakia. He is credited with saving the lives of 56 families during the genocide.In January, Cohn, known as Romi, delivered the opening prayer...
(JTA) — Rabbi Yehuda Yaakov Refson has been a vital part of the Jewish community in the British city of Leeds for more than four decades, earning a reputation for being “devoted, caring and principled.”On Sunday, Refson died of the coronavirus,...
By Ellen Futterman, Editor
• Published March 22, 2020
Five members of one St. Louis Jewish family are battling the coronavirus. Ryan Weinhaus and his wife, Dr. Brittanie Weinhaus, each tested positive for the virus, along with Ryan’s older brother, Jason, 37. Their mother, Jane Weinhaus, 63, a beloved...
(JTA) — From his home in Italy’s wealthiest city, Rabbi Moshe Lazar can see deserted streets and squares that were bustling with life only two weeks ago.“Public life is standing still,” he said on Monday. “No one goes out unless they absolutely...
(JTA) — Israel recorded its first coronavirus death on a day its number of people infected with the virus reached 705.Two Israeli reporters, Noga Tarnopolsky of the Los Angeles Times and Barak Ravid of Axios, reported late Friday on Twitter that...
NEW YORK (JTA) — When the rabbis of New Jersey’s suburban Bergen County took the bold step of shutting down almost all facets of communal Jewish life last week, they left the doors of one institution open: the women’s mikvah, or ritual bath.That...
(JTA) — When it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic would reach Israel, Elli Rosenberg was one of a small number of medical professionals at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva to answer a call for volunteers to treat the sick.Rosenberg, a clinical...
BY RABBI SHMULY YANKLOWITZ
• Published March 19, 2020
PHOENIX (JTA) — I am not a medical professional, an epidemiologist or an expert on pandemics. I leave the serious information in those important fields for the professionals who have the appropriate training to help us get through the coronavirus epidemic.Even...
All around the world, individuals, groups and institutions have mobilized to respond to the rapidly spreading coronavirus, which has been designated a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. After a fumbling initial U.S. response of finger-pointing...
CHICAGO (JTA) — I am an infectious disease epidemiologist who worked at the World Health Organization on epidemics in over 25 countries around the world. As a physician and member of the Jewish community, I prize the Jewish teaching that places the...
By Ellen Futterman, Editor
• Published March 18, 2020
As Passover approaches, and with all the safety restrictions being put in place to curtail the spread of COVID-19, many Jewish families throughout the St. Louis region may not be able to gather for a seder with family and friends as they have done in...
By Eric Berger, Associate Editor
• Published March 18, 2020
Despite the sharp recent economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic, Miriam Seidenfeld, CEO of Jewish Family Services (JFS), isn’t sure whether more people will need to get food from the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry.But Seidenfeld and the...
