(JNS) – The Israeli Cabinet decided on Sunday, May 24, to limit the Shin Bet security service’s surveillance of cell phones of people infected with the coronavirus and only use it as a last resort. Because of the decreased rate of infection, the Cabinet changed the regulation so that phone tracking would be allowed “in specific and special cases only, […]

BY MARCY OSTER NEW YORK CITY (JTA) – A school in the Chasidic village of Kiryas Joel in New York was ordered to close after it was found operating with hundreds of students in its building. Orange County said in a statement that officials visiting the school “found what appeared to be hundreds of students inside, not wearing personal protective […]

(Israel Hayom via JNS) – Following a series of anti-Semitic incidents across Europe in recent days, World Zionist Organization vice chairman Yaakov Hagoel on Monday, May 4, called for urgent action. “Anti-Semitic events have become commonplace for the Jews around the world. Unfortunately, for worldwide governments, the window of time to build a plan to eradicate anti-Semitism is running out,” […]

ALBANY–The weather was cool, but more than 40 cars filled with enthusiastic congregants came into the parking lot at Beth Emeth at 100 Academy Rd., Albany for a “Drive-by Shabbat” on Saturday, May 9. Several cars were decorated with signs as they drove up to front entrance of the synagogue. Congregants were greeted by Rabbi Scott Spheen, Cantor Jodi Schechtman, […]

ALBANY–Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany will hold a virtual medical conversation about the Covid-19 pandemic on Wednesday, June 3, from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. “Ask the Doctors: Corona Virus Q & A” will involve a discussion between local physicians Dr. Joseph Schwartz and Dr. David Strumpf. Schwartz, a dermatologist with a private practice in Troy, will facilitate a discussion with […]

By LARRY LUXNER When Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg’s husband, Dave Goldberg, died suddenly during a 2015 vacation to Mexico, Sandberg found solace in Jewish tradition. Attitude Of Gratitude “One of the ways you find strength is to remember what is still good in your life,” Sandberg said. During the coronavirus crisis, actress, scientist and author Mayim Bialik has turned to […]

By MARCUS M. GILBAN RAANANA, Israel (JTA) – Like all other mass gatherings now, Israel’s Karmiel dance festival, one of the largest of its kind in the world, was postponed. The annual fest, which takes place at the end of June, draws thousands who take part in one of the country’s oldest passions: Israeli folk dance. Those in the know […]

By JOSEFIN DOLSTEN NEW YORK CITY (JTA) – Renee Godinez had completed nearly all the steps to becoming Jewish before the coronavirus pandemic erupted earlier this spring. She had studied extensively with Rabbi Rick Winer of Temple Beth Israel in Fresno, Calif., and adopted Jewish practices in her life. All that was missing was a ceremony to mark the end […]

By ABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN (Israel21c via JNS) – An immune system run amok may be responsible for some COVID-19 patients faring worse than others, suggests a new international study led by immunology researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science. In the study, published in the journal Cell on May 7 under the title, “Host-viral infection maps reveal signatures of severe COVID-19 patients,” […]

By ORIT ARFA (JNS) – Amy Klein thought she had a hard time with infertility, having gone through 10 doctors, nine rounds of IVF in three countries and four miscarriages. But she thinks it’s nothing compared to what aspiring mothers are going through now with the coronavirus pandemic. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to put fertility treatments on hold,” […]