American Judaism
Faith and the COVID-19 vaccine: ‘I’m a member of a community with duties’
By Julie Schonfeld — February 9, 2021
(RNS) — Rabbi Elliot Dorff, a theologian and ethicist specializing in medical ethics, talks about what we owe each other when it comes to being vaccinated.
In death, as in life, Ruth Bader Ginsburg balanced being American and Jewish
By Jonathan D. Sarna — September 26, 2020
(RNS) — If Justice Ginsburg’s family did not follow Jewish tradition by delaying her burial, in other respects they honored that tradition to the hilt.
Healing Black-Jewish and Muslim-Jewish divides
By Ari Gordon and Talib Shareef — September 4, 2020
(RNS) — Black-Jewish Unity Week, a collaboration between the American Jewish Committee and the National Urban League, could also help erase the divides between Jews and African American Muslims.
After 75 years, a question about race haunts Truman’s calculation on Hiroshima
By A. James Rudin — August 5, 2020
(RNS) — Much of the world focused on President Harry Truman's explanation for using the bomb 75 years ago, but the Japanese I met had a different question.
Rabbi Sandra Lawson on how not to treat Jews of color
By Yonat Shimron — June 25, 2020
(RNS) — “When someone looks different, that is not the time to ask a bunch of personal questions. It’s a time to say, ‘Welcome. Thank you so much for coming,’” says Rabbi Sandra Lawson of Elon University.
Reform Jewish umbrella group cuts staff by 20% due to COVID-19
By Kathryn Post — May 14, 2020
(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.
Imagine when COVID-19 is over
By Jeffrey Salkin — March 24, 2020
The day after. A fantasy, and a prayer.
Orthodox Jewish leaders unite against the coronavirus
By Elana Schor — March 24, 2020
NEW YORK (AP) — Orthodox Jewish communities have faced unique challenges in constraining practices built around social engagement, including multiple daily group prayers.
UNC resolves Education Department complaint over anti-Semitism at Gaza conference
By Yonat Shimron — November 26, 2019
(RNS) — The government's claim stemmed from a performace by a Palestinian hip-hop artist on campus earlier this year.
How the US military has embraced growing religious diversity
By Ronit Y. Stahl — November 12, 2019
(The Conversation) — The U.S. military has continually, and often slowly, adapted its relationship with American religion, cognizant of the pragmatic need to support religious diversity but fearful of too much splintering.
Anti-Semitism in the US today is a variation on an old theme
By Pamela S. Nadell — November 6, 2019
(The Conversation) — With anti-Semitism today bombarding American Jews from the right and the left, the moment appears new, but its language is not. It's a very old theme.
Romemu strikes a popular balance of Jewish tradition and interfaith spiritual seeking
By Jonathan Harounoff — October 8, 2019
NEW YORK (RNS) — 'We’re working on becoming a real alternative to what many consider to be a Judaism where spirituality is not sufficiently addressed,' said the synagogue's founder.
Four ways to keep anti-Semitism from becoming the new normal
By Noam E. Marans — October 7, 2019
(RNS) — There is a lot at stake for all of us. Anti-Semitism endangers not only Jews but the societies in which they live.
For synagogues, High Holidays welcome is complicated by security needs
By Holly Lebowitz Rossi — September 24, 2019
BOSTON (RNS) — At a time of year when people who rarely attend show up, or when people show up for the first time, balancing friendliness and safety becomes especially tricky.
Leaving politics, Obama speechwriter finds new meaning in Judaism
By Yonat Shimron — September 17, 2019
(RNS) — The speechwriter-turned-Jewish-spokesperson talks about her unconventional views of God, how Judaism has taught her to be a better person and what she does to prepare for the High Holy Days.
