At Shavuot, 3 NC synagogues find unity in online Torah study
(RNS) — The six-hour online Torah-fest may be a harbinger of the kinds of creative changes in Jewish communal life resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Four young people of different faiths move into a home together, then a pandemic happens
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — Hadar Cohen, Ala’ Khan, Maya Mansour and Jonathan Simcosky were selected to move into the Abrahamic House, a co-living and co-creating space in the Koreatown neighborhood of LA.
The Mask Project offers jobs to unemployed and masks to Arizona's hardest-hit communities
PHOENIX (RNS) — Founded by Arizona Jews for Justice, The Mask Project aids the state's Latino and Native American communities, which have been hit particularly hard by both the novel coronavirus and the economic fallout.
'GOD TV' spat exposes tensions between Israel, evangelicals
JERUSALEM (AP) — An evangelical broadcaster in Israel now risks being taken off the air over suspicions of trying to convert Jews to Christianity, exposing tensions between Israel and its evangelical Christian supporters.
Doing the math: What's a human life worth?
(RNS) — As the Holocaust begins to recede from memory, an incontrovertible fact shines like a beacon from the deepest darkness of the 20th century as we face this overwhelming pandemic that will define the 21st. Each human life is priceless.
Reform Jewish umbrella group cuts staff by 20% due to COVID-19
(RNS) — The staff reductions by the Union for Reform Judaism, and the movement's overall financial situation, some experts say, are indicative of a broader pattern in American Judaism.
Report: Anti-Semitic incidents in US hit record high in 2019
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — American Jews were targets of more anti-Semitic incidents in 2019 than any other year over the past four decades.
Little Richard: Six examples of how religion played a role in his life
(RNS) — ‘I consider my music sacred,’ the performer of songs like ‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Long Tall Sally’ once told an interviewer.
In Missouri, Jewish leaders and other clergy argue for religious exemption to vote by mail
RNS — ‘The idea that we would do anything to hurt someone else’s life is horrifying to us as Jews, and antithetical to all of the teachings of our faith,’ said Maharat Rori Picker Neiss, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in St. Louis, Missouri.
Another heartbreak for American Jews? The cancellation of summer camps.
(RNS) — More than any other institution, camps provide the glue for future Jewish commitments.
National Day of Prayer, reshaped by pandemic, includes interfaith and online events
(RNS) — In its 69th year, the observance — often predominated by evangelical Christians gathering in public places — will feature interfaith and even international voices on computer screens and cellphones.
An Old World Torah scroll unites a North Carolina synagogue in a time of pandemic
(RNS) — Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the scroll has taken on a starring role on Zoom.
Mayor de Blasio and 'the Jewish community'
(RNS) — The mayor's angry tweet raises the question of whether there actually is a Jewish community.
NYC mayor takes heat after lashing out at Jewish funeral
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his tweets criticizing a large Jewish funeral.
We should all mourn for the ultra-Orthodox
(RNS) — Jew-haters with guns are no longer the greatest threat to Jews. The new enemy is invisible.