London’s Orthodox Jews Cope with Covid & Other Orthodox Jews in the News

Orthodox and Haredi Hasidic Jews Are Scapegoats in the Coronavirus Crisis. The ‘Othering’ Goes Back Decades.
Orthodox and Hasidic Jews in a New York suburb say the coronavirus has led to increased hatred toward their community. While community leaders have gone above and beyond to spread social distancing messaging, all Jews are being blamed for the non-compliance of some who don’t comply. The public health crisis has heightened tensions that have troubled the diverse county outside New York City for decades.

How a Haredi Community in London is Coping With Coronavirus – Photo Essay
The virus has shone a light on cracks in every community, but it has also unearthed resilience. The close-knit way of life in Stamford Hill meant lockdown presented previously unimaginable challenges and many were at risk. Everybody knows people who have died.

NYC Rabbis Go Remote to Keep Kosher During Pandemic
Rabbis are going virtual to conduct kosher checks of food factories to get around travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders. Kosher certification organizations have long sent clergy to make routine in-person inspections of facilities. They check the ingredients and make sure there is no mixing of meat and dairy products. But that all changed when the pandemic hit.

Professor David Kazhdan is First Israeli to Win Prestigious Shaw Prize
The 2020 Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences is being awarded in equal shares to Professor Alexander Beilinson of the University of Chicago and David Kazhdan, Professor of Mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, “for their huge influence on and profound contributions to representation theory, as well as many other areas of mathematics.” This is the first time that the prestigious award has been won by an Israeli citizen.

Hipsters Are Coughing Up $300 For Bespoke Coronavirus Face Masks
He’s making PPE for VIPs. Brooklyn-based tailor Yosel Tiefenbrun is accustomed to whipping up $8,000 bespoke men’s suits that can require some 80 hours of work to construct. But these days, the Crown Heights-based sewing superstar is switching gears: cranking out bespoke masks that sell for up to $300 apiece.

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