Last year, I shared a piece of my grandfather’s story in an article I wrote for the St. Louis Jewish Light about my visit to Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp. Papa, a World War II veteran, saw the worst of humanity at the young age of 18, and he quietly carried those dark memories w…

The scenes of fanatic rightist mobs desecrating the U.S. Capitol building was a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer appropriately compared Jan. 6, 2021 to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s description of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7,…

When word of Jerry Berger’s death arrived via Facebook through a family friend, I knew exactly what I had to do. I became a tipster and got in touch with my St. Louis media connections. I believe the St. Louis Post-Dispatch got to the story first, with the Jewish Light, KSDK and St. Louis Pu…

Last week, in shock and horror, the world watched the attempted insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. Immediately, on every news station and social media platform, questions were asked, and sides were taken. Were those involved protestors or domestic terrorists? Why was the response so different…

(JTA) — When it became clear that the Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, had just been elected the first Black senator from the state of Georgia, he addressed the nation, quoting Psalm 30:6: “We may lie down weeping in the night, but joy comes in the morning.”

(JTA) — Americans watched in shock on Wednesday as a mob broke into the Capitol, ransacked senatorial offices and exiled a joint meeting of Congress. Many who witnessed this desecration of a U.S. governmental institution found it among the more traumatizing moments in recent American history.

(JTA) — I remember many years ago feeling ambivalent about the prayer for the government recited in synagogues every Shabbat morning. Were we sanctifying the policies of an administration? What of political leaders who would use religious language in pursuit of their particular agendas? I wo…

This story originally appeared on Kveller.

The year 2020 has finally come to an end — and not a moment too soon.  

My father, Marty Staenberg, was a role model and inspiration. He taught me to work hard for what I wanted and never to forget that no matter what I earn, part of it should go to tzedakah, to helping others. It is a lesson that has served me well throughout my life and one I continue to believe in.

In Ancient Greece, the word “idiot” referred to an individual who took no interest in public affairs, in the life of the polis. America has long been populated by idiots, folks who not only are disengaged from politics but are ignorant about it as well. The Center for American Progress noted…