“Ping-Pong Shabbat: The True Story of Champion Estee Ackerman,” by Ann Diamont Koffsky, illustrated by Abigail Rajunov, published by Little Bee Books This spectacular picture book will inspire students to hold onto their values. Estee Ackerman loves being Jewish, loves the holy day of Shabbat, and loves ping-pong. When she makes it into the final […]
Lloyd Levin gave this speech beside a bridge in Trévé, France, known for its ties to World War II history. During the event on Aug. 4, 2024, he paused repeatedly so a translator could speak his words in French. Lloyd and Sheri Levin attended a total of five related events that day, marking liberation, lives […]
Lloyd and Sheri Levin went on a trip this summer that they say they will never forget, to honor a relative alongside the people of France. Here are six things to know about it: * * * * * * Read more about the Levins’ trip, “Wisconsinites in France honored a solider.”
Students sometimes chat with Liran Gerassi about Judaism at the Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. He gets asked in the seminary cafeteria about Jewish blessings before meals. To this, he has explained that there are separate blessings for food and wine. Gerassi leads The Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at the seminary, which […]
Preschool teacher Anthony Nash, a Milwaukee native, is also a talented artist. He went to college at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee not to study education, but art and design. He switched paths after an internship in college showed his that teaching might be his calling. He interned at Discovery World, where he designed projects for children […]
Last year, right after the Oct. 7 attack, Congregation Sinai Rabbi David Cohen called his friend Fatih Harpci, a religion professor at Carthage College. The pair of local religious leaders were about to teach a course about Judaism and Islam for the second year. The rabbi asked: Was this the right time to gather members […]
When one local high school student was undergoing chemotherapy, she felt powerless and isolated, she said. At times, she was hospitalized for a couple days during treatment, causing her to lose her sense of control. In the “Wish You Knew” podcast by the Friendship Circle of Wisconsin, she said that going through treatment showed her […]
A ketubah made by Milwaukee native Judith Joseph may hang in a house you’ve visited. They’re on walls everywhere. “Someone once said to me, it’s probable that every weekend in this country, somebody’s getting married with one of your ketubahs, and I think that’s probably true,” she said. Joseph’s work spans across mediums, including woodcuts, […]
Jewish Milwaukee native Jeff German was the only journalist in the U.S. killed in 2022, according to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists. This October his murderer — Robert Telles, the Nevada ex-politician whose alleged corruption was exposed by German’s reportage — was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years in prison. Telles, a […]
The Milwaukee area has experienced a staggering 570% increase in reported antisemitic incidents since 2015, according to Milwaukee Jewish Federation. Nationally, the Anti-Defamation League has confirmed 10,000 antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, 2023, and the FBI confirmed that members of the Jewish community are targets of more than 60% of religiously motivated hate crimes in […]