By EMILY BURACK
(JTA) — At age 92, Laureen Nussbaum is one of the few people still alive who personally knew Anne Frank.
Nussbaum’s family lived in the same Amsterdam neighborhood as the Franks, and Anne’s father, Otto, was the best man at her 1947 wedding. After the war, Otto...
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By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
(JTA) — I initially had some sympathy for the creators of an anti-Semitic carnival float in Belgium. Studying their CVs and past creations for the annual carnival of Aalst, I saw that they were a group of some 20 upstanding citizens — a fireman, a technician, an...
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ERIE, PA. (JTA) — There was some debate about putting the old synagogue building up for sale and moving to a new, smaller building, but not much. When a major pipe burst at Temple Anshe Hesed in 2012, the cost of repairing the nearly century-old building convinced the small but...
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By DAVID KAUFMAN
DES MOINES, Iowa (JTA) — A Jewish woman walks into the post office to buy Chanukah stamps for her holiday cards.
The person behind the counter asks, “What denominations?”
The Jewish woman responds, “Oy! Are we so polarized? Some Orthodox, some Conservative and some Reform.”
Yes, we...
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By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — This week, only six months after I became a Dutch citizen, my wife congratulated me for being mentioned in parliament for my reporting on the Netherlands’ relations with Israel.
Flattered, I looked it up, expecting to find praise for my work. I was already...
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By ALISSA THOMAS-NEWBORN
LAS VEGAS (JTA) — We just got into our car and drove. Going to Las Vegas after the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history felt like the right thing to do. As Americans and as Jews, we wanted to be a source of support and love in the...
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By JACOB KAMARAS
(JNS.org) — As a member of Houston’s Jewish community writing about a devastating flood for the third time since May 2015, I’m at a loss for words. Sitting in the comforts of my third-floor apartment, where I’m fortunate enough to view the unprecedented waters of Hurricane Harvey...
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By Lizz Goldstein
(JTA) — I was in Charlottesville on Saturday. I felt called to go because white supremacy is a hateful ideology that has murdered millions throughout history and continues to kill.
I went because my family and ancestors suffered at the hands of anti-Semites throughout history, because I...
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By RON KAMPEAS
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (JTA) — The white supremacists, for all their vaunted purpose, appeared to be disoriented.
Some 500 had gathered at a park here Saturday to protest this southern Virginia city’s plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the park. Pressured by the American...
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By ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL
JERUSALEM (JTA) — I was in Israel for 36 hours before I saw daylight. Which can only mean one of three things:
1. The weather was lousy. 2. I am speaking metaphorically. 3. I am at a conference in the sub-basement of a Jerusalem hotel.
Here’s a...
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