JJ Editor's Picks
"When Hong Kong’s protests broke out in June, I was 5,000 miles away in Copenhagen. I saw headlines but was ignorant of the scale and complexity of what has become a de facto war against creeping authoritarianism. It was only through a chance..."
"In his new Netflix comedy special “Lobby Baby,” Seth Meyers allows viewers to avoid his political jokes: Those who tune in to the special have the choice, about 40 minutes in, of hitting the “skip politics” button (not unlike the “skip intro..."
"Climate denialism is back. For decades, denialists rejected truths about the environment: the link between carbon emissions and global warming, the human role in rising emissions, and the adequacy of climate modeling. That old form of denialism..."
"At 78 I should probably be sipping wine with friends in a “senior living community” or gazing at the sunset from a cruise ship. Instead I sit in my daughter’s New York apartment, waiting for my 5-year-old grandson to scream “Ninja warrior!” and..."
"The world’s biggest shopping event occurs every year on November 11, and most Americans are only vaguely aware of it. Called Singles Day, shoppers in the US don’t look forward to it the way they anticipate Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day, but..."
"If you spend any time on Twitter, it was all but impossible to avoid being barraged a few weeks back with a seemingly unending thread from one of the biggest companies in the world. The official account for Disney+, the long-touted streaming..."
"While on a speaking tour abroad, a Holocaust survivor told me his heartbreaking story and explained with tears of joy why Israel is a living miracle. The tears turned into ones of sadness when he shared that his only son, born when he was 50..."
"There are many reasons to worry about the size and power of big technology firms. The biggest firms like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google dominate their markets, collect our data, and in many cases sell it to advertisers. They lobby..."
JJ Inside The Print
There’s a crazy disconnect happening right now in the Jewish world. On the one hand, we’re supposed to be in a state of fear, if...
If you view the religious practices of Orthodox Jews as over the top, you might want to skip to another column. Come to think of...
As written by Finley Peter Dunne in 1895, fictional philosopher Mr. Dooley once asserted “politics ain’t beanbag.” This means the lives of politicians on and...
In 2010, a friend recounted to me the story of her recent journey to Europe where she met, for the first time, relatives left behind...
I love Sukkot. It’s one of the highlights of my year because my wife, Kylie Ora Lobell, and I enjoy hosting family and friends in...
It’s Berlin, 1933. Adolf Hitler has just declared martial law, and political activism has become a crime. Karl Frick, a young Gestapo officer, gets promoted...
It’s the first night of my orientation at the University of Pennsylvania. I have just been uprooted from my 18 years of comfortable living in an...
October was a month filled with holiday festivities, meals, friends, gatherings and prayers — everything important in an active Jewish life. But after the month...
For my presentation at the next Jewish genealogy conference scheduled for August 2020 in San Diego, I decided to be optimistically ambitious. Using original sources,...
Recounting his first trip to visit the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Alhaji Alpha Fofana radiates joy and gratitude. A devout Muslim who came to Israel...
Is President Donald Trump good for Israel? In recent months, that question has become more frequent, urgent and difficult to answer. Many Israelis have begun...
When California native Stacy Carmona was 10 years old, her 12-year-old best friend died from cystic fibrosis (CF). CF is a rare, life-threatening genetic disease...
Consider the very first jew — Abraham. Not even his name when the whole thing started. Had a reputation. The kind of kid who would...
One verse, five voices. Edited by Salvador Litvak, Accidental Talmudist “And I will bless those who bless you, [Abram], and the one who curses you I...
Jews have a long history in Italy. In fact, Rome has Europe’s oldest Jewish community. When the Roman Empire conquered Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, it...
In describing Kehillah Chen v’Chesed synagogue in Encino, spiritual leader Rabbi Eric Morgenstern explains, “We don’t affiliate with any of the traditional movements. We are...
What is the difference between Jewish advocacy and advocacy by Jewish advocates? Why is it called “anti-Semitism”? What is a Jewish issue? Is climate change...
Cathy Heller knows what it’s like to build a career from the ground up. She arrived in Los Angeles 16 years ago at the age...
When Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in November 1995, his hope of a lasting peace between the Jewish state and the Palestinians died...
How did Ralph Lifshitz, the son of Jewish immigrants with no fashion training or connections, become Ralph Lauren, a classic American designer with a multibillion-dollar...
the play “Eight Nights” tells a multigenerational family story incorporating multicultural perspectives about the plight of displaced, marginalized and persecuted people, past and present. “It’s...
Retired Ukrainian-born auto-worker John Demjanjuk was quietly living the American Dream in suburban Cleveland until 1986, when Holocaust survivors identified his photograph as the sadistic...
Now in its 33rd year, the Israel Film Festival (IFF) will bring a diverse mix of 30 features, documentaries, short films and TV series to...
To understand how America perceives Israel, you need to pick up a book. But it’s the not the book you’re probably thinking of, as we...
Benjamin David Bagno died on Oct. 8 at 91. Survived by wife Harriett. Mount Sinai Vivian Lucero Ben-Nun died Oct. 9 at 88. Survived by...
Now that November is upon us, I’ve noticed that my neighbors have been putting up fall wreaths on their front doors. Here in Southern California,...
Lech Lecha, God says. Go. Me’artzecha, from your land. Mi’moladetcha, from where you were born. U’mi beit avicha. From your father’s house. This is how...
Anti-genocide organization Jewish World Watch (JWW) held its annual Global Soul gala on Oct. 24 at the Ray Kurtzman Theater at Creative Artists Agency in...
FRI NOV 8 Shabbat and Free Genetic Testing Sinai Temple’s Friday Night Live for young professionals at Atid includes a potential bonus: In addition to...
The Exceptional Ilhan Omar Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is exceptional in so many ways. She wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post condemning the use...
