Despite the primacy of Christmas in American culture, the visibility of Hanukkah in pop culture reminds Jews that they have their own holiday in which they can take pride.
Hanukkah is ranked one of Judaism’s minor festivals, but its popularity in the US has a lot to do with America’s Jews trying to fight assimilation into a culture that welcomed them.
Loren Jacobs’s prayer for victims of the Tree of Life congregation offended many Jews. Jacobs is part of a group called Jews for Jesus – a messianic Jewish organization with a complicated history.
A national survey of over 1,300 congregations found that religious leaders struggle to balance security concerns with carrying out a mission to be open to the communities they serve.
The idea of welcoming the stranger is central to Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Today, that engenders a responsibility to shield refugees and other immigrants from violence and oppression.
Thousands of Jewish immigrants and their children changed their names in America – but not at Ellis Island. The reasons are complicated and part of the Jewish struggle with their identity in America.
As Israel approaches the 70th anniversary of its establishment, many older American Jews will be celebrating. Many younger ones will wonder whether the Jewish state is something to celebrate at all.