https://www.spiked-online.com/2026/07/22/the-staggering-joylessness-of-anti-zionism/

Lunch and some cheese pasta for dinner. Got some pizza in the oven too.

Hi, I’m needing to order a stone for my uncle’s unveiling. He wanted his footstone to match that of his mother. Could someone tell me what the second line in Hebrew says? I remember enough to sound out that the first line is my grandmother’s name. I’m guessing that the second line is a translation of “beloved wife, mother, and grandmother”, but that’s just a guess. Thank you!

If my guess is correct and anyone knows how to write “beloved son, brother, and uncle”, that would be great too. I really appreciate any help!

You need to know these actresses from the golden age of Yiddish theatre,
by Naomi Kaye Honova, hey alma, 2026-07-17.

From its origins in Eastern Europe in the mid-1800s to today’s stagings in cities such as Chicago, Montreal and Warsaw, the Yiddish theater scene and women’s history have been intimately intertwined.

Looking back to Yiddish theater’s Golden Age, between the 1890s and 1920s, women were very active participants as actors, playwrights, directors and nearly every facet of the theatrical experience. They, like their male counterparts, were members of Yiddish theater companies in Europe, many which continued to operate up through the Holocaust. So too did they help establish troupes in New York City. These groups put on vibrant productions ranging from plays that dealt with contemporary issues and topics from marital discord to politics, to plays that adapted fairytales, myths and legends and even some children’s theater pieces as well.

But sadly, their contributions and fame have often been downplayed or overlooked in favor of their male counterparts. Optimistically, though, many women in the historic Yiddish theater scene are getting more recognition today.

Edit: thank you for the lovely comments!! I didn’t expect for this to end up so introspective. I think this has actually been a useful and helpful exercise in self identity but also deconstructing stereotypes and not basing one’s actions on the opinions of others. As many of you have pointed out there is no specific way a Jewish person looks. And just because a person may meet that stereotype it does not make them any less Jewish. We don’t say someone is not Jewish because they don’t have these stereotypical features so why would the reverse be true?

Furthermore, other peoples perspectives are useful but not the end all. It is important to consider them but in the end of the day make well thought out decisions based on what you want to do and not worry about judgement especially for such trivial matters.

Post:

I am sorry for the stupid question. It’s silly, I know. And vain. And there is more to life than looks. And there are way more important things in the world.

I need to get a rhinoplasty for medical reasons, but I was asked if I actually want to change the shape of my nose. And I am torn.

I know it is the nose of my ancestors but no one else has a hooked nose in my family and I have always felt like the ugly duckling. I also got teased by family in a “loving” way. Who are apparently all now adamantly against me getting it changed. It has always been a point of insecurity for me but I always just accepted it was the reality and tried to not think about it. But now need to get one anyway so it’s tempting to change it.

I never had a problem with my nose looking “Jewish” though. It was more that I have an asymmetry and just found it not to fit my face.

However, I had a nasty experience at uni where I was speaking my mother tongue trying to make friends with some Eastern Europeans and one of the boys looked me up and down and called me a slur (жид) and told me I wasn’t one of them.

Edit to explain thought process: Suddenly the nose I didn’t like just because, was labelled “Jewish” and made me question why I don’t like my nose to begin with and if there was an element of self-hating.

I feel like changing it would make me happier, but I also feel like I am betraying my ancestors and covering their features.

I don’t know many Jews where I live so I haven’t really heard people speak about it. However, watched a lot of American media and I was always slightly shocked how there was a TV trope of JAPs getting a nose job for their 18th birthday. Is it actually this normalised?

Idk what do yall think

We are hosting a Bat Mitzvah for 60 people at our home. Wondering what we should do about challah at the Kiddush. These are the options I know of:

* Presliced. Not pretty, doesn't taste as good, but sanitary.

* Pre-torn. Not pretty but sanitary.

* Full challahs to be torn apart by guests. Some guests may find this too unsanitary.

* Pull-apart challahs - more sanitary, but hard to find.

* Individual mini-challahs. These are available, 3" diameter, but very expensive and would require large baskets on the table, maybe taking up too much room.

What do most people do? Any thoughts?

In Germany, a 20 year old Syrian engaged a 65 year old non-Jewish German man wearing an Israel pin in a discussion about the middle east, then brutally attacked him.

The victim is in the ICU with a fractured vertebra and other serious injuries.

The police are treating the attack as attempted murder, at least. So, that's good. I guess.

This is the product of the normalization and promotion and the popularity of Jewhate and the demonization of Israel.

I hope horrific attack gets the media attention it deserves and the attacker faces serious consequences involving both jailtime and deportation. But I am not holding my breath.

Hello! I'm looking for a siddurs with both english and hebrew text that follows sephardic nusach. Tunisian if possible (איש מצליח), but otherwise North Africa.

For example, I've got the Pahah Eliyahou in hebrew and in french.

Are there any english versions of Tefillat Hahodesh?

More antisemitism in Sweden and healthcare systems.

Hopefully Dr. Wirschubsky sues.

Another Jewish Swedish doctor won a big victory last year in a lawsuit for antisemitic discrimination and for being fired after reporting the abuse.

Hospitals and medical clinics tolerating or looking away from this kind of behaviour must face meaningful, painful consequences - it is the only way that will encourage their behaviour to change.

Scarlett Johansson plays a fierce Jewish mother in the upcoming ‘Paper Tiger’,
by Lior Zaltzman, Kveller, 2026-06-30.

James Gray’s 2022 Armageddon Times was based on the director’s Jewish childhood in 1980s Queens, New York. It’s the story of his early teenage friendship with a Black classmate and his relationship with his Jewish grandfather (played by Anthony Hopkins), who escaped antisemitic persecution in the former USSR.

The film featured Anne Hathaway as Jewish mom Esther Graff, a stand-in for Gray’s own mother. Esther was a complex Jewish mother figure. Hathaway, who isn’t Jewish, took inspiration for the role from her late Jewish mother-in-law, Jacqueline Banks.

For Gray’s newest film, Paper Tiger, which takes place just a few years later, he had hoped Hathaway would reprise a similar role: a fictional stand-in for his Jewish mom, but this time in a completely different story. This character has a different name, though the plot is also based on his actual history. But Hathaway was busy filming Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey.

“So I said, OK, shit — that means neither of them are going to be available,” Gray recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone. “So then I thought, well, who do I want to work with? Who is a woman from New York, who is Jewish, who would authentically understand this world? And then I thought to myself, ‘Who’s like the biggest female star in the world right now? It’s a Jewish woman from New York!'”

That woman was Scarlett Johansson.

The Hora hubbub,
by Jeanne Malle, Air mail, 2026-07-18.

It’s midnight. Somewhere between their fifth and sixth gin-and-tonic, two young men whisper into a DJ’s ear as the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” roars around them. Grinning like teenagers about to pull off a prank, they scurry to the long tables where, hours before, a bride and groom enjoyed their first moments as spouses. As they carry two chairs back toward the dance floor, the recognizable first few notes of the Hebrew folk song “Hava Nagila” begin to pour out of the speakers. While the rhythmic melody accelerates, the jubilant crowd hoists the helpless couple in the chairs, laughing as they grip their seats for dear life.

If you haven’t been graced with an invite this wedding season, ask anyone who has, and there’s a decent chance they’ve seen the hora performed—Jewish wedding or not. “I’m on the post-business-school wedding circuit,” Phil, a New Yorker who is half Jewish, tells me. “I’ve probably been to 20 weddings in the last year or two. From Orthodox Jewish to Catholic weddings, I’ve seen horas performed.” This includes Phil’s own wedding earlier this year, where he and his wife, who is not Jewish, were lifted in chairs by friends and relatives.

First choreographed in the 1920s by the Romanian-Israeli dancer Baruch Agadati, the hora contains two distinct parts. First, the wedding party holds hands and dances in a circle—sometimes read as a representation of the cyclical nature of life and the interconnectedness of community. Then comes the main event: the bride and groom (and, often, parents, siblings, and immediate relatives) are hoisted aloft on chairs, symbolizing the spiritual elevation of the couple as they step into married life.

Clara Caro, a Jewish Venezuelan woman, says that, in Venezuela, the hora is the centerpiece of every Jewish wedding. It typically follows the father-daughter dance, and is what kick-starts the dancing portion of the night. According to Caro, in Venezuela, the hora can go on for more than half an hour. “The more loved you are, the longer the hora,” says Caro, who recently had to warn her Catholic boyfriend to stay back with the older guests at a family wedding as the energetic dancing circle began.

Caro isn’t thrilled that the tradition is being borrowed outside Jewish circles. “I think it’s a little bit like fraud,” she says. “You don’t even know what this is, and you just think it’s cool.” Some online critics share her unease. “I am Jewish and even though the hora isn’t a part of the religion but the culture, I would find it weird/borderline culturally appropriative if you did it,” one Reddit user wrote on the thread r/weddingplanning. “Why people persist in hating us while continually copying us boggles the mind,” wrote another user on the thread r/Jewish.

NB: the reddit thread referenced in the above article is this one: ‘Thoughts on hora chair lift at non-Jewish weddings?’

I was recently offered an incredible opportunity by my CEO to spend a year working onsite at one of our client's offices in Melbourne and Hobart, Tasmania (with the possibility of extending it to up to three years or more!). He knows how much I love to travel and that Australia has long been my dream destination (I’m a huge wildlife nerd).

The only thing giving me pause is the rise in reports of antisemitism since Oct 7. I've read article after article and heard countless stories describing hate crimes and hostility toward Jews, and each one seems worse than the last. So I wanted to ask Jewish Australians directly: is the situation really as bad as it's portrayed, or is it being amplified by the loudest voices? In your experience, do most Australians distinguish between Jews and Zionists, or are those things generally conflated? I understand that many of us feel that Zionism = Judaism, but I'm asking more about how people in everyday Australian society perceive Jewish people rather than discussing the religious or ideological debate itself.

A question I had in particular is where is most of the hostility coming from? i.e kieffa wearing blue haired leftists or certain immigrant communities, or is it also coming from the standard textbook everyday Australian? For example I have a family member living in the UK who told me much of the hate there is coming from a relatively small but very vocal minority, whereas many ordinary English folk were welcoming and simply tired of the constant protests. Another question was the degree of antisemitism in Hobart (or Tasmania In general).

For some personal context, I'm not particularly religious, and after therapy I intentionally stepped away from politics surrounding Zionism because it became a major source of stress and depression for me. While I believe in Israels right to exist, I also recognize the situation is complex and have become much better at understanding why others hold different views and able to somewhat sympathize with them without getting too emotional. I'm not someone who goes around advertising my Jewish identity, but I'd like to live somewhere without worrying about my safety if someone happens to find out or If I choose to share it..Years ago I changed my last name and had my nose fixed, so most people don't immediately assume I'm Jewish, though my features still give me away occasionally to the trained eye.

I currently live in New York City (and hating it!), and over the past couple of years I've found myself hiding or even lying about my background simply because I got exhausted by the constant "litmus tests" and wanted to avoid conflict altogether. Furthermore, I've met Australians while staying in hostels all over the world (including in Israel) and they've consistently been some of the kindest, funniest, most generous people I've ever met (not to mention some of the best drinking buddies you could ask for).

To my CEO's surprise, I didn't immediately accept the offer. He was kind enough to give me a few weeks to think it over, and before making such a big decision, I figured i would find some of the most honest answers here. Thanks!

Would this be disrespectful for a Jewish family to do for their beloved pet?

I know you can very easily file this under “well what did you expect“, and yeah, I get that, but I just simply don’t get how people are this fucking culturally inconsiderate. I work as an usher for a theater company and I openly wear my Star of David as an expression of who I am because I’m not afraid to, and to a ridiculous degree I’m hearing coworkers nonchalantly look me in the eye using the same old tired language of saying “Pro Israel” as a blanket statement as if it’s diometrically opposed to peace, and it’s like motherfucker, did it occur to you that maybe I have family there? Or a more complex opinion than you do due to it ACTUALLY affecting me?Why are you assuming that I share your opinions as if I’m one of the “good ones”? Almost every shift since I started this job I’ve had my coworkers say negative comments about Israel to my face, unprompted, always used as an example of “negative” things going on as a bullet point of conservative things, and it’s just like, are you trying to provoke me? Or are you just stupid? I’m very used to this in liberal and queer spaces already, but I just find it fucking baffling how inconsiderate and disrespectful these people are being, and I already know that the pattern of trying to educate them will just out me as “the Zionist“ and then they’ll treat me a different way. I’m so fucking tired of these stupid litmus tests for these so called liberals who I share most of the same values with, except when it comes to expressing MY identity. I wanted to wear my Magen to say “don’t bother me about this”, and now it just feels like these people are testing me or are just genuinely stupid. I’m at the point where once the shift ends, I go home and I don’t even bother about spending time with these people (we get a free drink after every shift and people hang by afterwards and I already have friends and a life outside of this job). I read, have been to Israel and have Israeli friends, and I don’t antagonize people with this conversation, but the last three years have taught me that it’s a conversation and battle not worth having with this crowd. Other than that, the job is fine but I just cannot take this stupid, bullet-point, Instagram bio slacktivism from these people anymore. All I can do is just let it be and let people be stupid. I’m just so sick of this good Jew bad jew crap.

I don't understand how people still refuse to see that she is problematic, and continue to give this woman a platform.

Hello hello!!! My partner and I are looking to get our ketubah made and I need HELP. Some things to note:

• We really just need the text in the center of the ketubah because our best friend is an artist and she will be painting the decorations around the text
• I'm not Jewish so we wanted text in Hebrew, English, and Hindi

For these reasons, none of the etsy/online ones I've seen work because they come with the text AND decoration and are only in Hebrew and/or English (no Hindi).

Even though we both prefer handwritten, it seems hard to find someone who can write in all three languages lol. My back up plan of action was to maybe make a digital version of the text and get it professionally printed at a local print store on high-quality acid free paper

Questions:

1. Do y'all know a calligrapher that could potentially do the hebrew, english, and hindi text and make our dreams of a handwritten multi-lingual ketubah come true??
2. For the print shop route, would LOVE recommendations for good ones in NYC/Brooklyn! I don't want to do staples etc because the quality really matters to us, given the importance of this document. Please share any and all recs!! As of now, I've only spoken to Brooklyn Editions

Thank you so much

I’ve been a customer for years. Absolutely love their soaps and all the good they do re: environmental activism and sustainable production. Knew they sourced olive oil for their soaps from Palestine and appreciated their generally peace-forward approach to the conflict.

Today they posted the text below on their socials. Tried to give them the benefit of the doubt as I’m such a fan and then they dropped the concept of “Jewish supremacy.”

Curious what y’all think of this? Has anyone seen the documentary they’re referring to?

———————————————————————-

“In June, Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a searing commentary from former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, titled: “Israel is Conducting a Systematic Campaign of Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes Against Humanity in the West Bank.”

Regardless of your opinion of Olmert, his words should serve as a wake-up call — especially for those in the U.S. and Israel where many continue to deny the ongoing systemic and horrendous violence and displacement of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Since 2006, Dr. Bronner's has sourced about 90% of the olive oil in our castile soaps from Palestinian farmers in the West Bank through our fair trade and regenerative organic supplier, Canaan Palestine.

Dr. Nasser Abufarha is the founder of Canaan Palestine, a dear friend and business partner, and the subject of the powerful documentary, “Land of Canaan,” which follows Palestinian farmers in the West Bank and their ancestral relationship with the ancient olive trees they’ve tended for generations.

In support of the film, Dr. Bronner’s created a limited-edition soap label calling for peace in Palestine, available exclusively at select “Land of Canaan” screenings.

At a time when these communities face escalating violence and displacement, we hope more people will bear witness, engage in solidarity, and support those working to protect Palestinian lives and ancestral lands.

We call on all Jewish Americans and Israelis of conscience to acknowledge and confront the Jewish supremacy and lust for Palestinian land within Israel, and to not deny the reality of what lies at the center of Israeli power, politics, and policy.

We can look back to the Freedom Riders for inspiration—Black and white people, a quarter of whom were Jewish, united together against racism—who journeyed through the American South on buses and trains in the 1960s to help our country reckon with segregation and institutionalized white supremacy.”

“You need to go home. This is not your home. This is Lithuania- go home," shouted suspect Gintaras Liutkevičius, arrested on suspicion of inciting national and religious hatred.

The Jewish Community of Lithuania said the three victims were rabbis from Israel. They had traveled to Lithuania as part of a pilgrimage that included visits to Jewish sites in Belarus and the grave of the Vilna Gaon.

Faina Kukliansky, chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Lithuania, said the community had contacted the rabbis and offered them legal assistance. She described the incident as disturbing but unusual.

https://www.ynetnews.com/jewish-world/article/rjjjgezefe

I'm going to start attending a reform synagogue and i don't know what to wear. I am a teenage girl, and it seems the majority of people there are significantly older, so there is some disparity in what we wear. I was just wondering what the general dress code rules are?

Hi! While we have raised our kids in a conservative synagogue and they go to Hebrew school twice a week, and I believe we have modeled joy in our own Jewish lives, I still find my child groaning and moaning about anything we do to enhance her Jewish education outside of Hebrew school. I want to discuss Torah with her, engage in the commentary, and dive into lesser known elements of our tradition, but I get resistance in return. Any tips from parents?
Only kind and non-judgmental answers, please!

For those who choose one, what was it and why? Curious to see y'all's choices :)

We are getting a tuxedo cat in the next week or so (rescue cat) and are looking for appropriate names...

In January, I’m (f33) leaving Israel to travel across Europe and the Far East for about a year (maybe two, if I’ll have enough money and patience).

I’d also like to mention that I also hold a Latvian passport, but I’ve rarely used it (last time I used it when flying through Egypt).

I’ve been vacationing in Europe for over a decade, proudly wearing my Star of David necklace, never shying away from answering “Israel” when asked where I’m from, and generally getting along with the locals.

I don’t know if it’s was luck or maybe things really did drastically change in a few months, but I’ve never experienced any type of antisemitism or any kind of conflict over me being an Israeli. Yes, I’ve seen graffiti and a pro-Palestinian sticker here and there, but I’ve never experienced anything but good hospitality from any country in Europe I’ve been to.

The country I’ve been to the most is Italy. I fell in love with it - its people, its culture - to the point where I think about living there short-term. Anytime I come to Italy, I wear my Star of David necklace, and people either don’t know, don’t care, or are very pleasant.

But now, there are daily news reports about antisemitism in Europe, especially in Italy: groups of Muslim immigrants who “hunt” Jews; antisemites creating “maps” to maps out Jews and Israelis; far-left movements demanding cities in Italy and the Italian government to ban any and all involvement of Israelis in Italy and much more.

European countries have been nothing but friendly and welcoming to me, and it will break my heart to learn that I am no longer welcome in some of them, especially in Italy.

If you live in Europe, especially in Italy - are things really as bad? ChatGPT actually advised me to “keep a low profile” and to hide my Star of David necklace, which I absolutely have no intention of doing.

Thank you for any contribution :)
___________________________________________________

Edit: thank you all for the comments and input! Europe is not the whole world, so I can wear my necklace proudly anywhere else, but while in Europe I’ll be careful and just enjoy my time while keeping a low profile.

Forgive me for asking, I tried searching and could not find an answer. The TLDR is that my girlfriend was raised Orthodox. A few months after dating she announced to me that she was pregnant keeping the child & converting to my religon no matter what I decided.

We had a quick shotgun wedding, started RCIA and moved in with me. This caused problems with my new Father in law. My wife has had multiple big fights with her dad, followed by her going non contact earlier this month.

Today my mother in law, called inviting my wife and new born son to a synagogue service and some special prayer for newborn children and their parents. I was told that I was not allowed to go & it was because of my tattoos. Is this actually a thing?