Works written decades ago, often by female Jewish immigrants, were dismissed as insignificant or unmarketable. But in the past several years, translators devoted to the literature are making it available to a wider readership. Source: New York Times
Posts published in “Jews and Judaism”
New Yorkers and the Sacred Spaces in Their Homes
By Gotham Rex on December 29, 2021
Hundreds of thousands of people in the city have set aside a part of their homes to pray, meditate or give thanks for another day. Source: New York Times
How a World War II Bomber Pilot Became 'the King of Artificial Trees'
By Gotham Rex on December 17, 2021
Si Spiegel, a bomber pilot, can claim a dual legacy: as a war hero and as a father of the artificial tree. Source: New York Times
A Synagogue Feud Spills Into Public View: ‘Only Room for One Rabbi’
By Gotham Rex on December 3, 2021
Rabbi Arthur Schneier abruptly fired Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt from Park East Synagogue, and long-simmering tensions publicly exploded in a way rabbinic rivalries rarely do. Source: New York Times
New York City Sets Vaccine Mandate for Religious and Private School Workers
By Gotham Rex on December 2, 2021
The directive, which affects 56,000 employees, faced immediate opposition from some Jewish and Catholic leaders, who sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio urging him to reconsider. Source: New York Times
Online Furor Over a Student’s Hijab Engulfs a Liberal Town
By Gotham Rex on October 22, 2021
A 7-year-old told her mother that she resisted a New Jersey teacher’s attempt to pull off her Muslim head covering. It spiraled from there. Source: New York Times
Moshe Tendler, Authority on Jewish Medical Ethics, Dies at 95
By Gotham Rex on October 9, 2021
His pronouncements — on sex, death, organ transplants and more — carried weight in no small part because he was both a master of Jewish scripture and a microbiologist. Source: New York Times
New Jersey to Divest From Unilever Over Ben & Jerry’s and Israel
By Gotham Rex on September 16, 2021
After the company said it would no longer sell its ice cream in the occupied territories, New Jersey invoked a law that prohibits public investments in companies that engage in boycotts. Source: New York Times
For a Second Year, Jews Mark the High Holy Days in the Shadow of Covid
By Gotham Rex on September 6, 2021
Many synagogues are holding in-person services, but some are requiring worshipers to show proof of vaccination and to wear masks. Source: New York Times
Jewish Burial Records Among Items Seized by U.S. Authorities
By Gotham Rex on July 22, 2021
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said they plan to return 17 items — once headed for auction — to their communities. Source: New York Times
Where Are the Fans for Israel’s National Baseball Team? In New York.
By Gotham Rex on July 17, 2021
The Tokyo-bound Israeli national baseball team has more supporters in New York than in its home country. Source: New York Times
Sister Margherita Marchione, Defender of Pius XII, Dies at 99
By Gotham Rex on May 29, 2021
She spent decades arguing that the pope had helped the Jews during World War II, despite accusations that he had abdicated his moral responsibility. Source: New York Times
Man Charged in Arson at Brooklyn Synagogue and Yeshiva, Officials Say
By Gotham Rex on May 22, 2021
The man was also connected to assaults on a Jewish man and a Black subway rider and vandalism at a Catholic church, court records show. Source: New York Times
The Push to Vaccinate 20,000 Holocaust Survivors in New York
By Gotham Rex on April 1, 2021
One survivor who got her vaccine, Eva Rose, 96, said the last year has been “lousy,” but added: “I am still here, thank God.” Source: New York Times
Morris Dickstein, Critic and Cultural Historian, Dies at 81
By Gotham Rex on March 26, 2021
He had a passion for reading, and for writing about what he was reading. “Criticism,” he once said, “plays a very important role in keeping people honest.” Source: New York Times