Jewish News, Issues, Questions

Are you wondering?

(feel free to send me your questions for posting)

Would it be helpful to have a history of the word "antisemitism"? 

Are Jews a Race? That's an age-old question, and here are some thoughts.

How do you feel (Jewishly) about human composting? And, thinking about death through a Jewish lens, why do Jews put stones on graves?  

Have you heard the terms Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews but aren't sure what they mean? Here's a clear explanation from MyJewishLearning.  

Interested in knowing when/how Jews immigrated to the US?

What is the history of the Jewish Reform movement? Mostly an American movement, its origins were in 19th-century Germany.

Have you wanted to explore contemporary music through a Jewish lens? BTW, consider taking SJSU's Pop and Rock in the US (MUSC 10)--you'll be surprised how much of American music history is Jewish!

A little personal plug: my father-in-law managed one of the local Zim's diners. Here's the story of the Zimmerman family. 

Feeling some Jewish pride? Read about these Jewish Nobel prize winners. But then you might wish to follow up this reading by learning about Lise Meitner, who was denied the prize because she was Jewish and female; the article also talks about other women wrongly denied the prize. 

Jewish news selections

Local and international baseball hero Willie Mays has died. In life, here's a story about a Jewish family connection of his. 

If you're being asked questions you just can't answer, consider going to this well-resourced, very clear website that links to many other websites for its information. Hotline for Israel/Palestine. You can also contact the Hotline with any questions of your own!

My go-to for understanding what's going on now in Israel is to read the regular NY Times columns of Thomas Friedman.  Here's one, as a December example. 

Or read an Israeli newspaper. Check out the Jerusalem Post, the Times of Israel, Haaretz