Washington Jewish Week

12/11/2025

Mark Seiler traded comfort for Excel spreadsheets. The former federal employee is among the growing number of people returning to work after retirement. He assumed a new role as chief financial officer at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington in early November. 💸

Mark Seiler traded comfort for Excel spreadsheets. The former federal employee is among the growing number of people returning to work after retirement.

12/11/2025

Natalie West has always looked up to women she deems successful — those who engage in their communities and pursue their passions.

She’s attended Jewish Women International's annual Women to Watch Leadership Conference since her 20s, before she could afford a ticket. “Seeing these people over the years, just being so inspired by what others are doing is so incredible,” West said.

So it was a major shock to West when she was named JWI’s Sondra D. Bender honoree for the 2025 Women to Watch conference.

It was a major shock to Natalie West when she was named Jewish Women International's 2025 Sondra D. Bender honoree.

12/11/2025

Commuters in Times Square were confronted this week with a new digital billboard demanding the release of the final remaining hostage in Gaza, Ran Gvili.

New billboards in Times Square highlight the urgent call for the release of Ran Gvili, the last hostage in Gaza.

12/11/2025

Our mission is not to despair at the presence of darkness but to consciously add light in small and meaningful ways.

Chanukah is more than a holiday; it is a reminder of our ability to illuminate the world with acts of kindness and awareness.

12/11/2025

Legal equality creates a false sense of security for weaker states and a false sense of legitimacy for stronger ones.

Understand the complexities of sovereignty and how perceived equality among nations can mask deeper imbalances of power.

12/11/2025

Israelis entering the United States for the first time will be among the foreigners subject to a proposed U.S. government mandate requiring visa applicants to provide five years of social media history to authorities.

Israelis entering the U.S. will be subject to a proposed U.S. government mandate requiring visa applicants to provide five years of social media history.

12/10/2025

⬆️ So many of us spend our days on autopilot, carried by habit and momentum. We’re doing, running, answering, reacting. We tell ourselves that tomorrow we’ll think about our bigger goals, tomorrow we’ll make that change, tomorrow we’ll be intentional. But “tomorrow” becomes next week … next month … and before we know it, we’ve gone far down a path we never consciously chose.

The biggest lesson of the trip, however, didn’t come from the birthday — it came from an escalator in a shopping mall.

12/10/2025

Bari Weiss, the polarizing new editor-in-chief of CBS News, has named the longtime network personality Tony Dokoupil to anchor the evening news chair.

12/10/2025

Check out this week's issue of Washington Jewish Week!
👉Maryland Senator Calls JCRC CEO a Netanyahu ‘Apologist’
📱Online Antisemitism: What It Looks Like, What to Do
✈️Local Students Travel to Vatican for Interfaith Dialogue Program Through Hebrew University
Read more: https://dmag.washingtonjewishweek.com/December-11-2025/index.html

12/10/2025

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆
Judaism is sustained by both inherited peoplehood and chosen commitment. One may be born into that covenant or enter it — but in every movement, entry requires real responsibility, not merely the thrill of genetic discovery.

➡️ 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲: https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/editorial-when-dna-awakens-identity/

12/10/2025

𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘁’𝘀 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳
This is the real Beinart: not a brave dissenter but an insecure performer whose moral posture shifts with the preferences of the audience he courts.

➡️ 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲: https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/editorial-calling-peter-beinarts-bluff/

12/10/2025

𝗔 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲
America is not asking for rigid doctrines. It is asking for coherence — leadership that pauses, weighs consequences, consults expertise and shifts direction only when circumstance demands it, not when attention drifts.

➡️ 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲: https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/editorial-a-presidency-without-a-through-line/