January 19, 2026 | 1 Shevat 5786
Now that the living hostages have been returned, and the ceasefire which ended the war in Gaza seems to be holding, it feels as though an extremely painful chapter in Jewish history is concluding. For the last two years the yellow ribbon, the dog tag, and the photos of the hostages have marked Jewish […]
The tree beckoned; its strong base and swaying appendages carrying invisible signals that claimed me on a sticky summer day when I was eleven. I imagined myself touching the clouds as I climbed higher, following the upper limbs as far as my weight allowed, until I could go no further. Cradled in the womb of branches and sheltered by […]
When Rebecca Dallet wears her Star of David, she’s choosing more than just an accessory. She’s choosing Jewish visibility in a time of rising antisemitism. “I believe that conversation is the chief engine of change,” Dallet said. Dallet, a justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, said she helps interpret Wisconsin law “on a daily basis.” In her youth, she learned about tikkun olam – repairing […]
Keindel Walny wakes up every morning to flags hanging in her bedroom. She’s not just a high school student who loves geography. These flags represent the 25 countries Walny, 17, has competed against with her synchronized figure skating team. Walny, a Wisconsin native, is an 11th grade student at the University School of Milwaukee and the only Jewish girl on her […]
MILWAUKEE – In the wake of the deadly attack on Jews at Bondi Beach in Australia, Rabbi Mendel Shmotkin says there is one response that is absolutely off the table for the Jewish people: hiding. “There isn’t an option of hiding away and sort of keeping a low profile,” said Shmotkin, chief executive officer of Lubavitch of Wisconsin, part of the Chabad […]
Leah Stein was about to start preparing for a first night of Chanukah party when she heard about the shooting at Bondi Beach. “I woke up in the morning and my husband said, ‘don’t look at the news’,” Stein said. “I froze, and I just thought ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no’.” […]
Thursday, Jan. 8 Free film series‘The Last Musician of Auschwitz’ — documentary telling the story of cellist and Auschwitz survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and other musicians who created and performed music in the concentration camps, exploring music as resistance, survival, and witness during the Holocaust; includes post-screening talkback with the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education […]
On Nov. 13, Jewish Museum Milwaukee Docent Paula Lorant speak to students from Indian Trail High School and Academy in Kenosha, as they toured the Violins of Hope exhibit. The exhibit at Jewish Museum Milwaukee is open though Jan. 25. Photo by Rob Golub.
“Kol Yisrael arevim zeh ba-zeh” — all Jews are responsible for one another. Taking care of each other. That is the message that has stayed with me most deeply since returning from the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s (MJF) recent mission to Morocco. When I signed up for this trip, I wasn’t entirely sure why I was […]
Walking through the halls of Bader Hillel High with Mitchell “Papa Coach” Lechter, you’d think he’d been teaching there his whole life. The pride he takes in his classroom, the easy rapport he has with passing students; it all feels deeply rooted. But in reality, he only began his journey at Bader Hillel High five […]
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