Philadelphia Jewish Exponent

5 days ago | jewishexponent.com | Andrew Guckes

At Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, the community has rallied around each other and Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas. They have also experienced a dynamic that is comforting in times of tribulations for Jews across the world, said Rabbi Benjamin David. “It does feel like since Oct. 7, a number of people who were sort of vaguely on the fence about [converting] came off the fence — they felt compelled to join our people,” he said.

5 days ago | jewishexponent.com | Andrew Guckes

Jewish Philadelphia city council member Rue Landau works hard on behalf of all of her constituents, but her background as a housing lawyer and advocate means that she takes extra care to look out for Philadelphians who need support in terms of finding equitable and affordable places to live. New legislation that she introduced, approved by the council last week, will do just that.

5 days ago | jewishexponent.com | Andrew Guckes

The Wissahickon School District, like others in the region, has been criticized by community members for alleged bias in its teaching of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Where Wissahickon differs, said parent and school board candidate Dan Strauss, is that it took the feedback it received and applied it to the content taught in schools.

5 days ago | jewishexponent.com | Andrew Guckes

At the Chabad of Delaware County, Rabbi Tzvi Altein and his wife, Rikki, saw a problem with the way that Hebrew Sunday schools approached Jewish education. For many kids, going to Hebrew school is a chore. The Alteins decided that a new approach could change that perspective. “People have been complaining about the traditional Hebrew school experience, where kids hate it and they have to be dragged out of bed on Sunday mornings,” said Rikki Altein, who serves as director of the Hebrew School.

6 days ago | jewishexponent.com | Andrew Guckes

Hadassa Levenson Korn is a wife, mother and regional director for the Teach Coalition in Pennsylvania, a national organization that advocates for equitable government funding and resources for Jewish day schools and yeshivas. She is a New Jersey native who taught public high school math for a decade in Florida before deciding that she wanted to work towards securing increased funding for Jewish day schools.