From the publisher

Thoughtful opinions and civil discourse have a home here

Newspapers have always been a place where community gathers – a town square of sorts. They are a place where people learn what is happening, hear the opinions of their neighbors, celebrate joys and recount tragedies.
Celebrating Judaism
Climate change
Other voices

What we can still learn from the Lubavitcher Rebbe about climate change

Thursday, October 31, 2019

PENN YAN, N.Y. (JTA) – When the refineries were ablaze recently in Saudi Arabia, you might be forgiven if you forget that in the Amazon and Indonesia, forests were ablaze as …

News

IKEA Israel to stop selling, providing disposable plastic items

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

JERUSALEM (JTA) – IKEA Israel will stop selling disposable plastic items and stop using them in its cafeterias. The stores also will replace plastic straws with paper straws and provide …

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Continuing the Conversation

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

The question of whether or not our climate is changing isn't nearly as controversial as that of guns or politics. There is no dispute that weather patterns are shifting, ocean levels are rising and storms are intensifying. The disagreement is over how fast the change is occurring and how much can be done to alter the inevitable. And is the change real?

As with most important questions, resources exist to help you decide what you believe and what you can or should do. Here at Jewish Rhode Island, we want to hear your opinions and ideas. Clearly, the question is complicated. And opinions are varied.

Please comment on our two writer's opinions by logging into the website and using the comments link. Or, you can comment via Facebook. And you can always send an email to editor@jewishallianceri.org.

Guns in our synagogues
Other voices

After Pittsburgh, some synagogues are more comfortable with guns in the pews

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

JTA – On an average Saturday morning at the Orthodox Ohel Tefillah synagogue on Chicago’s North Side, about 10 percent of the men carry a handgun. That number may …

Boston rabbi suggests congregants bring guns to synagogue for protection

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

BOSTON (JTA) – A rabbi here has asked congregants to consider bringing guns to religious services as a form of protection in response to recent shootings at synagogues across the country. …

I don’t want to see another cop car in my synagogue parking lot

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

CHICAGO (JTA) – When I turned on my phone after spending a recent Shabbat relaxing with my family on vacation, it beeped with a string of messages, each more stressful than the last. …

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Many of us have been thinking about how we should protect ourselves and our synagogues amid signs of increasing risk of deadly violence. Many resources are available that touch all sides of this issue.
The followup

Guns in our synagogues | The Response

Last month, we asked two community members to offer a response to this statement: “To carry or not: Guns in the synagogue.” And we challenged readers to give us their viewpoint. Here is what you told us.