Antisemitism Monitor | Week of November 21, 2022
An attempted coup in Germany. Holocaust denial in Poland. Conspiracy theories around Jewish figures in the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more in this week’s Antisemitism Monitor Newsletter.
Beshert | Bestie In My Building, Part II
When I wrote my first Beshert piece, it was during happier, more carefree times. I’d just met my bestie after living in the apartment above...
In 2021, the Pandemic Has Spawned Anti-Semitism Around the Globe
As the world came to grips with the seriousness of the pandemic last spring, conspiracies arose linking COVID-19 and anti-Semitism.
Houston’s United Orthodox Synagogues Triumphs with Community-Based Vaccination Effort
On Monday, Gail Stalarow of Houston, TX received a text from an unknown number in a group chat a friend of hers had started.
“Alan Hoffman...
Trump’s Parting Gifts
Despite a failed reelection campaign, Donald Trump and his team registered several notable gains this election season. Trump slightly increased the share of Black and Hispanic Americans voting for him, alongside an impressive turnout from a small but well-organized subgroup: Orthodox Jews. According to polls and estimates, more than 80 percent of Orthodox Jews cast their vote for Trump, making them one of his most approving constituencies in the nation.
As COVID Drags On, Rabbis Work to Adapt High Holiday Services
For the past six weeks, members of Beth Sholom Congregation & Talmud Torah in Potomac, Maryland, have attended services in the parking lot.
What’s in a Date? On the Meaning of Tisha B’Av
This year some Jews will use Tisha B’Av as a day to reflect upon the trauma of the ongoing pandemic. When cities across the world shut down this spring, the reality of social distancing and quarantine, accompanied by images of abandoned roads, empty subways and desolate public spaces, evoked the opening lines of the book of Lamentations, traditionally chanted on Tisha B’Av in many communities.
Palm Springs: Build Your Own Palace in Time
Repetition mixed with monotony is not usually high up on Hollywood’s list of project themes, which is why Hulu’s Palm Springs was such a delightful surprise. The film stars Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) and Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother) as two apathetic California wedding guests who get stuck in a Groundhog Day-like time loop, forcing them to relive the couple’s special day over and over again. For a film that was shot in pre-coronavirus times, Palm Springs is surprisingly relevant.
Nikki Fried Attacks Florida Governor’s COVID-19 Response
Since the pandemic began, DeSantis has aped Trump’s responses–and non-responses–to the crisis. He has refused to take significant state action to stem the now-record rising tide of COVID-19. This has included intransigent resistance to mandating the use of masks, closing the beaches and ordering a stay-at-home lockdown. Echoing Trump, he deferred to local authorities to take such action.
Archiving COVID-19 As it Happens
Crowdsourcing has become a vital tool for many of the Jewish institutions attempting to record and preserve the community’s response to the pandemic.
The Tradition of Respecting the Dead
Through plagues, pandemics and wars, Jewish communities have found ways to adapt their traditional practices to the events of the time. Today, with the spread of COVID-19, many Jewish traditions have had to change.
Death in the Jewish Tradition
Throughout the ages, the Jewish people have developed customs, rituals and observances to guide us and provide comfort when a loved one dies. Moment Senior Editor Francie Weinman Schwartz, coauthor of The Jewish Moral Virtues with Eugene B. Borowitz, has prepared this compendium to help you make decisions in advance and know what to do when the time comes. Due to safety concerns brought about by the current public health crisis, we’ve also included new traditions to consider.