Friend — What a decade this year has been. A presidential impeachment trial. Nationwide protests against racial injustice. A global pandemic … and an unprecedented presidential election. Any one of these things would have been, as we say on Passover, enough. All of them together made for a year in news unlike any other, and the Forward was there to cover it for Jewish Americans. Here are some of the ways Jewish faith, traditions, humor, and community intersected with the most pivotal stories of the year: Governor Andrew Cuomo clashed with New York’s Hasidic communities over whether yeshivas should remain closed during the pandemic. We explored the tradeoffs between public safety and religious expression. "President Trump has Jewish grandchildren" was how Vice President Mike Pence dismissed concerns about Trump’s refusal to disavow neo-Nazis during a vice presidential debate. We examined the deeper meaning of a statement like that. Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the first woman and the first Jewish person to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol building. We covered rabbis’ reactions to her legacy. A Republican senator in Georgia ran an ad that made his Jewish opponent’s nose bigger. We broke this story, which was picked up by The New York Times, Politico, The Washington Post, and others. At moments like these, the Forward is there to make sure Jewish perspectives are part of the national conversation. Jewish voices matter and the Forward is your platform. If you support our mission, support our work: |