Ruth Messinger has a new job — not so different from her old one, but with a new title and a new focus. After 18 years heading the American Jewish World Service — she served as its president from 1998 until July 2016 — she has passed the baton to Robert Bank, AJWS’s executive vice-president. But …
Read MoreAs Jews in South Jersey and worldwide do without chametz to celebrate Passover, the plight of modern refugees is on the minds of many Passover, after all, is the ultimate refugee holiday. Every year we retell the ancient story of our flight from oppression, reciting the words “Arami Oved Avi,” sometimes translated as “My father …
Read MoreThey lit candles, praying that those suffering around the world find light in the darkness. Dipping karpas into salt water, they saw the tears of all who suffer injustice. Abdul Jalal Hashimi then watched the congregants of Temple Beth-El in Richmond break the matzah, the bread of affliction, symbolizing the deep brokenness in the world …
Read MoreRabbi Elie spitz of Congregation B’nai Israel in Tustin, was selected by the American Jewish World Service as one of fourteen rabbis and cantors from across the United States as the 2017 class of Global Justice Fellows. This program educates and trains American Jewish leaders to advocate effectively as Jews in support of international polices …
Read MoreNext week, between 150 and 200 people will gather for a Passover seder at Temple Beth-El in Richmond, Va. When the traditional Passover question is posed — “Why is this night different from all other nights?” — there’s a new answer. Guests at the Seder, co-sponsored by the refugee aid agency ReEstablish Richmond, will include …
Read MoreShould New York be the first city in the United States to decriminalize prostitution? The blue-ribbon panel that just issued a forceful argument for closing the jails on Rikers Island within ten years thinks so. Led by the Honorable Jonathan Lippman, the former chief judge of New York, the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal …
Read MoreDuring the breaking of the matzah at the beginning of the seders next week, Jews and non-Jews at the table will be able to read a text about “refugees across the globe [who] experience the consequences of having their lives ruptured.” And in the section of one Haggadah that describes the Exodus from ancient Egypt, the …
Read MoreEvery year at Passover, Jews around the world revisit the foundational story of their ancient ancestors’ journey as refugees to the promised land. With a modern-day refugee crisis sweeping the globe, the holiday has taken on new significance for some of those observing it. Passover, which falls between April 10-18 this year, is a Jewish …
Read MoreWhy is this year different from all other years? On all other years, we celebrate new Haggadot together, Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and progressives. We disagree about many things, and we argue about them at the Seder. But this year, as we watch a minority-elected president attack the press, the courts, immigrants and allies around …
Read MoreAt Passover, Jews around the world gather around their dining room tables to remember their past plight as slaves in Egypt. But the seder can also be a time to learn about the hardships facing others today. For those looking to incorporate social justice themes into their seders — Passover starts this year on the night …
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