(FILM REVIEW) The seven-time Oscar-nominated movie “The Fabelmans” is Steven Spielberg’s reflection on his early family life and filmmaking aspirations. It’s also a reflection on his Jewish roots.
Read More(OPINION) It should be evident to all paying attention that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will proceed as planned. Forget the meager protests against China’s cruel and immoral treatment of its own. The bad guys appear to be on the verge of another power-play victory.
Read More(OPINION) When does life begin? The religion guy’s answer: Those four words are regularly posed in the current abortion debate, so let's scan the lines in pregnancy that have been drawn by experts — religious and secular — in the past.
Read MoreAn ancient site on Israel’s Golan Heights is revered by Druze and Christians, who honor the site as the place where Jesus tells St. Peter: “on this rock I will build my church,” but Jews revile the site as a place of pagan worship.
Read MoreIn an interview with Religion Unplugged, baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew — author of the new memoir “One Tough Out” — talked about his complicated faith, protests in his home city of Minneapolis and why he’s not a fan of baseball returning before there’s a coronavirus vaccine.
Read MoreThe new law will increase the sentence given for a misdemeanor if the defendant acted with bias because of the victim’s race, sexual orientation or religion, among other factors. The office of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the governor “commends the General Assembly’s bipartisan work and will sign House Bill 426 [hate crimes bill] pending legal review.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) This week, city officials in Charlotte began removing stones around one of four monuments in the U.S. to the most prominent Jew of the Confederacy. In today’s political climate, it remains to be seen whether protesters will draw attention to Judah Benjamin or whether he will rest in relative obscurity among U.S. historical figures. As of now, the few monuments to his legacy still stand.
Read MoreIn the aftermath of the killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and Ahmaud Arbery near Brunswick, Georgia, segments of Atlanta’s Jewish community decried violence against African Americans and called for greater efforts to counter racism at the individual and institutional levels. The statements they issued struck common themes as well as differences reflecting how each views its mission.
Read MoreAs the pandemic alters summer plans and disrupts long-held traditions, the Jewish community in Georgia adapts camps and activities to the new reality.
Read More(OPINION) After a candlelight Shabbat dinner over Zoom with his wife’s family, Dave Schechter finds hope and encouragement amid the global Coronavirus outbreak.
Read MoreShabbat dinners are canceled, community centers are closed, and leaders in the Jewish community are having to come up with creative ways to foster community in these unprecedented times.
Read More(OPINION) Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks urged religious and political leaders to understand how current trends feed the scapegoating of a people who have endured persecution throughout history.
Read More(REVIEW) Seventy-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the film Holy Silence focuses on the pontificate of Pius XII and whether the pope did enough to help Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II.
Read MoreAmid rising attacks against American Jews, many Modern Orthodox synagogues in New York are grappling with how to ensure security within their houses of worship while remaining compliant with their religious laws.
Read MoreA Torah scroll that survived the destruction of the Jewish community in Ozorkow, Poland was recently refurbished and will be rededicated at Ahavath Achim Synagogue on Jan. 5.
Read MoreResearch shows that on college campuses where Trump’s executive order to protect Jewish students from discrimination should theoretically have the greatest effect, it seems more likely to fall on highly skeptical ears.
Read MoreSome 30,000 Israeli, American, British and French Jews thronged Hebron and the adjoining town of Kiryat Arba on Nov. 22 and 23 to celebrate the Torah reading of Chayei Sarah, which details how Abraham the Patriarch purchased a double cave in which to bury his wife Sarah.
Read MoreThe annual pilgrimage is the 33rd day of Judaism's somber seven-week "counting" between Passover and Pentecost and marks the ceasing of a plague that killed 24,000 disciples of Rabbi Akiva ( c. 50–135 CE), a sage martyred by the Romans during the genocidal persecution of the Emperor Hadrian.
Read MoreNewspaper, magazine and broadcast reports attempting to explain the moves toward nationalist-tinged political populism in a host of European nations, and certainly the United States as well, have become a journalistic staple, which makes sense given the subject’s importance.
Read More