Danielle Ziri

Zioness founder Amanda Berman at a vigil in New York City for victims of the October 7 Hamas atrocities. (Courtesy)

October 27, 2023, 1:55 pm

On Tree of Life shooting anniversary, liberal US Jews mourn alone over Hamas atrocities

Many Jewish progressives find that unlike the outpouring of support five years ago, allies don’t show up for Israel, regardless of magnitude and brutality of the violence suffered

By Danielle Ziri

Frieda Vizel leading a tour of Williamsburg, New York, April 2022. (Danielle Ziri)

May 23, 2022, 3:18 am

Ex-Hasidic woman gives tours of her former NYC stomping grounds from the outside in

Frieda Vizel takes participants on an intimate journey into the insular Williamsburg enclave. But far from a critique, she offers a detailed and objective look at life there

By Danielle Ziri

T'ruah Rabbi Ariel Stone, holding megaphone, at a social justice rally in this undated photo. (Courtesy of Stone)

February 4, 2022, 4:45 pm

A new kind of chaplain? US Jewish clergy train to support social justice activists

T’ruah partners with the Faith Matters Network on a new course in ‘movement chaplaincy,’ which seeks to provide a spiritual anchor for protesters who face the ‘pain of the world’

By Danielle Ziri

'Roll Call in Concentration Camp' by Boris Lurie, shown at the exhibit 'Nothing To Do But To Try' at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, December 2021. (Courtesy of the Boris Lurie Art Foundation)

December 18, 2021, 5:04 am

No shock value, just shock: Exhibit shows Boris Lurie’s searing post-Holocaust works

Through April 2022, ‘Nothing To Do But Try’ at NYC’s Museum of Jewish Heritage showcases the artist’s overlooked early work, created in the immediate aftermath of the genocide

By Danielle Ziri

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, right, of Tree of Life/Or L'Simcha Congregation hugs Rabbi Cheryl Klein, left, of Dor Hadash Congregation and Rabbi Jonathan Perlman during a community gathering held in the aftermath of a deadly shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, October 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

November 1, 2021, 3:44 am

‘A turning point’: 3 years on, US rabbis reflect on Pittsburgh synagogue attack

On Oct. 27, 2018, a shooter entered Tree of Life, killing 11 in the deadliest antisemitic event in American history. Now clergy open up about that morning and life in its aftermath

By Danielle Ziri

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, center, of the Tree of Life/Or L'Simcha Congregation, is comforted after saying a prayer for the souls of the deceased during the one-year commemoration of the Tree of Life synagogue attack, at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, October 27, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Rebecca Droke)

October 28, 2021, 2:04 am

Tree of Life rabbi: ‘We can’t let evil win, and it won’t go away on its own’

3 years after the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that claimed 11 lives, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers speaks about grieving, life after the tragedy and serving as an example to the world

By Danielle Ziri

The delegation of Israeli mayors and municipal CEOs that visited New York from October 11-18, 2021. (Ohad Kab)

October 24, 2021, 1:09 am

Seeking to mend rifts, Israeli mayors go to NY to experience US Jewish diversity

On an October 11-18 trip to the Big Apple, 30 local leaders, including the mayor of the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, engage in cultural exchange with Diaspora

By Danielle Ziri

Volunteers pick trash off the beach at the first-ever Reverse Tashlich event in 2018. (Courtesy/ Bob Fryer)

September 10, 2021, 8:04 am

Reversing an old tradition, eco-activist Jews cleanse waters of humanity’s sins

As many perform a Rosh Hashanah ritual in which last year’s sins are symbolically cast onto the water, Reverse Tashlich participants make amends by cleaning litter from waterfronts

By Danielle Ziri

8-year-old Dinah Slepovitch has greeted Yiddishland attendees each morning for the last five years, and continues to do so in August 2021. (Danielle Ziri)

August 28, 2021, 4:17 am

A Yiddish retreat in upstate NY unites ‘mamaloshen’ enthusiasts young and old

The Workers Circle’s Trip to Yiddishland is a week-long celebration of language, culture, art, music and dance, with dedicated attendees aged 8 to 92

By Danielle Ziri

From left to right: Dr. Miriam Knoll, ICU nurse Chaya Milikowski, and Dr. Chana Weinstock Neuberger. (Courtesy)

July 22, 2021, 5:04 am

In the US, some Orthodox women in medicine still plagued by discrimination

Despite naysayers in their communities and the medical field, these health workers manage to have kids, follow religious law and save lives doing the work they love

By Danielle Ziri

Activists with Zioness at the Dyke March in Washington, DC, on June 7, 2019. (NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP)

May 31, 2021, 3:24 pm

As antisemitic violence sweeps US, progressive Zionists jostle for space on left

Jewish social justice activists show up for other causes unconditionally – but many find themselves alienated after Israel-Hamas conflict

By Danielle Ziri

Adina Halpern plates a leg of lamb in pomegranate sauce. (Hanoch Melamed Cohen)

December 12, 2018, 7:47 pm

Three friends elevate kosher food with a monthly pop-up like you’ve never seen

Chef Adina Halpern and her Musket Club cofounders Rachel Margolin and Danielle Brody say Jewish dietary laws and haute cuisine are not at odds — and their dinner club proves it

By Danielle Ziri

Israeli singer Shiri Maimon as Roxie in the Broadway production of 'Chicago,' August 2018. (courtesy)

September 22, 2018, 8:37 pm

Shiri Maimon thanks Israeli fans after Broadway debut

‘I love you so much,’ the Israeli singer tells the Israeli crowd in Hebrew after playing Roxie Hart in ‘Chicago’

By Danielle Ziri and ToI Staff

Former US president Bill Clinton looks on as then prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO head Yasser Arafat shake hands during the signing of the Oslo Accords, September 13, 1993. (Courtesy/GPO)

September 13, 2018, 5:21 am

25 years after Oslo, HBO shows behind scenes account, with final Peres interview

Using newly discovered diary material, filmmakers Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan present a human portrayal of the peace-that-wasn’t between the Israelis and Palestinians

By Danielle Ziri

Popular YouTube satirist Randy Rainbow. (courtesy)

September 11, 2018, 2:55 pm

Randy Rainbow’s colorful Broadway parody songs make politics a bit less painful

The internet sensation will take a jab at just about anyone — especially the Trump administration. But with his self-deprecating humor and catchy tunes, who can help but smile?

By Danielle Ziri