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JANUARY Gov. Tom Wolf Visits Israel
On Jan. 5, Gov. Tom Wolf
became the first sitting governor
of Pennsylvania since Tom Ridge
to visit Israel. Wolf was joined
by his wife, as well as leaders
of the Jewish communities of
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

He spent time visiting national
landmarks like Yad Vashem and
sites of collaboration between
Israelis and Pennsylvanians.

FEBRUARY advice on how to make a new
normal feel meaningful. Many
recommended paying extra atten-
tion to urchatz — washing hands
— during the festive meal.

APRIL Those We’ve Lost to COVID-19
As COVID-19 cases and
deaths rose across the country,
the Exponent started a series
called “Those We’ve Lost” to pay
tribute to victims of a virus that
threatened to overwhelm their
memory. Some of these people
died in Philadelphia, and others
died elsewhere, having counted
friends and family in the region.

DECEMBER 31, 2020
AUGUST Pandemic Pods on the Rise As
Parents, Teachers Face Tough
Choices As
the school
year approached, parents who wanted
to balance their children’s safety
with their ability to socialize
formed learning “pods”: small
groups of students and parents
MAY who split the cost of private
Medical Students Team Up to teachers.

Supply PPE to Philly Hospitals
Medical Students for Masks, a Hebrew Schools Prepare to
grassroots fundraising organiza- Reopen Safely
tion created by medical students
Religious schools planned
(many of whom are Jewish), to welcome students back with
raised $60,999 and bought more hybrid instruction models and
than 20,000 personal protective stringent classroom cleaning
equipment items — including protocols. Classes that met in
N95 masks, face shields, goggles person would be smaller in size
and gowns — for Philadelphia- and students would be discour-
aged from sharing classroom
area hospitals by May 3.

toys and materials.

Pennsylvania Civil Rights
Tour Inspires Debate on Risk
The American Jewish
Committee of Philadelphia/
Southern New Jersey and the
Dialogue Institute hosted a
follow-up to the Philadelphia
civil rights mission to the South,
a pilgrimage to sites where Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. put his
brand of civil disobedience into
practice. Jewish participants
and congregants at Mother
Bethel African Methodist
Episcopal Church in Old City
gathered to discuss history, JUNE
advocacy and solidarity.

Local Jewish Community
Joins George Floyd Protests
MARCH When mass protests rose up
How the New Coronavirus in Philadelphia in response to the
Has Disrupted Life for Jewish killing of George Floyd in police
Philly custody, Jewish Philadelphians
Our first feature story joined the demonstrations and
about the pandemic focused organizations delivered state-
on Jewish schools, nonprofits ments decrying systemic racism.

and senior centers that closed Black Jewish Philadelphians
in response to local cases of spoke about their experiences
the novel coronavirus. We also with racism, particularly during
spoke with members of our encounters with the police.

community who were impacted
by travel quarantines, partic- JULY
ularly synagogue leaders who Jewish Retailers Navigate
had to cancel missions to Israel Revenue Loss, Reopening Issues
and students whose semesters
As Jewish
businesses abroad were cut short.

reopened during the Green
Phase, owners contended with
Philly’s Passover Plans Change new safety regulations and
in the Wake of COVID-19
uncertainty. BYOBs served
Passover was the first major limited numbers of customers
Jewish holiday that had to be at a time, and clothing retailers
observed in a socially distanced let people shop by appointment.

manner during the pandemic.

Families planned scaled-down or A Day in the Life of Summer
virtual seders while rabbis offered Camp During a Pandemic
8 Day camps like Camp Kef
at Kaiserman JCC strove to
provide kids with a semblance
of normalcy this summer with
plenty of sanitizing and social
distancing. Gaga and basket-
ball were out, but swimming
and soccer were in.

Bishop J. Louis Felton and Laura Frank, interim director of the JCRC of
the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, co-facilitated a roundtable on
race and anti-Semitism. 
Photo by ESM Productions
Rabbi Danielle Parmenter and her daughter Annabel create an art project
for the High Holidays.
Photo by Rachel Blum
SEPTEMBER High Holiday Kits Turn
Homes Into Sanctuaries
While some synagogues
opted for in-person High
Holidays services with masks
and social distancing this year,
others chose to help people
celebrate at home by distrib-
uting boxes and kits filled with
food, prayer books, candles,
recipes and more.

Black Clergy of Philadelphia,
Jewish Federation Convene
Discussion of Racism and
Anti-Semitism The Black Clergy of
Philadelphia and Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia
organized a roundtable on racism
and anti-Semitism in response to
an anti-Semitic meme posted to
Facebook on July 23 by Minister
Rodney Muhammad, president of
the Philadelphia NAACP. Leaders
discussed the history of solidarity
among their communities
JEWISH EXPONENT
Volunteer Mike DeMarco drops off PPE at the Penn Presbyterian Medical
Center Emergency Department. 
Photo by Mike DeMarco
and ways to strengthen their mitzvahs and socially distanced
relationships in the future.

baby namings, but celebrations
continued in some form or
OCTOBER another. Families got creative to
Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, celebrate their special days, often
Simchas Continue — With beaming in loved ones on Zoom
Modifications for ceremonies and resched-
It was the year of microwed- uling parties for when it will be
dings, scaled-down
bar safe to gather in person again.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM