Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Ashkenazi Jews, a major Jewish diasporic ethnic group native to Europe.
Ashkenazi Jews
The Latest
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Life Why I Screened Myself For Breast Cancer Markers
Unless you’ve been hiding under an avalanche of pink ribbons, you probably know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But amidst all the “pinkwashing” of products and ubiquitous placement of “Save the Tatas” bumper stickers, there’s plenty of backlash. Many feminist bloggers take issue with the idea that we must merely “be aware”…
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News Jewish Life Slowly Dying in Abkhazia
“Yosef Ashkenazi,” a smile creeps across my new acquaintance’s wizened face as he introduces himself and adds “but not Ashkenadze!” That pronunciation would leave Yosef with a typically Georgian surname. But the –adzes and the –shvilis — another telltale Georgian name ending — have all but left Abkhazia. Seventy-year-old Yosef Ashkenazi is, of course, an…
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Breaking News Jews’ ‘Ethnic’ Category Scrapped for Testing
Jews should no longer be categorized by their ethnic origin when being tested for hereditary conditions, says the Health Ministry. The mixing of Jewish communities – mixed heritage – has rendered such categorization pointless, the ministry’s community genetics department says. Because of the proliferation of “mixed marriages” between Jewish communities, as well as technological advances,…
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Recipes Keeping Up With Tradition: A Vegetarian Passover
Passover, though one of my favorite Jewish holidays, is also one of the most challenging for me. As a vegetarian and Ashkenazic Jew, major staples in my diet such as beans, tofu, tempeh, seitan, and brown rice are suddenly banned. I have met some vegetarians/vegans who “go Sephardic” for Pesach so that they have more…
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The Schmooze New York Mag Spotlights Ashkenazi ‘SuperAgers’
This will be news to residents of southern Florida, but it turns out that Ashkenazi Jews, as a group, don’t actually live longer than the rest of the population. Nevertheless, shared genetic traits have made Ashkenazim a compelling subject for scientific study, including in a fascinating project outlined in the newest edition of New York…
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The Schmooze Ashkenazi Stem Cells: Key to Longevity?
We personally think it’s the power of complaining. But to learn why some Ashkenazim live so long, researchers at Cornell University are about to start studying the stem cells of about a dozen older Jews. According to the New York Post — in a story headlined “Bouncing bubbes of New York” — many Ashkenazi Jews…
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The Schmooze Time Mag’s Attack Against ‘Jewish Food’
Criticize any national or ethnic cuisine and you’re spoiling for a fight. So writer Josh Ozersky knows he’s stepping on a land mine when he writes, on the Web site of Time, that “Jewish food is awful.” Having launched his attack, however, the Jewish Ozersky quickly retreats, clarifying that he’s limiting his discussion to “the…
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Opinion Conversion Showdown: Rav Ovadia vs. the Ashkenazim
A nasty fight is heating up between Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the mentor of Shas, and the rabbinic leadership of the Ashkenazi Haredi world. The Ashkenazi rabbis have called for a mass demonstration against Ovadia this coming Wednesday, and tens of thousands are expected to attend. In retaliation, a kashrut crackdown has been ordered by Sephardi…
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