Moment’s Top 10 Most-Read Stories of 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a historic trip to Washington, DC, yesterday, his first trip outside war-torn Ukraine since the onset of hostilities. He met with President Biden and also addressed members of both houses of Congress in his signature army green attire, this time a sweatshirt emblazoned with Ukraine’s Coat of Arms. “Your money is not charity,” he told lawmakers in a speech on the U.S. House floor. “It is an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way." His sentiment was echoed by Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, interviewed by Robert Siegel last month in acceptance of Moment’s Women in Power Award. Watching President Zelensky speak was also a reminder that for Jews across the world, he is a source of deep pride.  “The Resilience of Ukraine and...

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Natan Sharansky recovering from COVID

Natan Sharansky Recovering From COVID

Natan Sharansky, hero of the Soviet Jewry movement and former head of the Jewish Agency, is recovering from a rough case of COVID-19. Sharansky, 73, who served in several top positions in the Israeli government and Knesset, contracted the virus despite being fully vaccinated in Israel eight months ago. In a brief post on Facebook Friday, Sharansky confirmed that he and his wife Avital are recovering from COVID-19, thanking those who had offered help and expressed concern. “We are happy to report that we are slowly growing stronger and hope to go on improving,” Sharansky wrote. A friend who visited Sharansky on Friday said that he “looks like himself” again. Sharansky, according to an aide, tested positive for COVID-19 upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport on July 22, following a brief two-day visit to Washington, DC. He...

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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 just called and said there are 850 shots at Methodist that need to be given out before noon today,” the text stated. It was 9:57 a.m.  After temperatures began to drop in Houston as freezing rain and sleet took hold of the city on February 15, Houston Methodist Hospital canceled vaccine appointments for that day and the following to keep locals off the now-dangerous, icy roads. But due to a fluctuation in the freezers that held the county's supply of usable vaccines, hundreds of first doses of the Moderna vaccine would go to waste if higher-ups at the hospital didn’t act fast. Similar vaccine gold rushes have occurred across the country.  “I had...

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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.

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