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Holocaust museum celebrates Rebecca Rubin, the Jewish immigrant and American Girl doll
(New York Jewish Week) – Born in 1905, Rebecca Rubin was a Russian-Jewish immigrant who lived on the Lower East Side. Typical of girls her age, she attended public school, lit Shabbat candles with her siblings, watched her father conduct business at his shoe store and loved going to the movies.
And now, this Sunday, the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will host a family-friendly event designed to celebrate her life and that of other young Jewish immigrants. On the event’s agenda are special tours, crafts and a panel discussion about Rebecca’s story, as well as others like her who lived in New York in the early 20th century.
But here’s the thing: Rebecca Rubin is not a real person. She is an 18-inch tall American Girl doll — who, like the others in the brand’s uber-popular series of historical dolls, represents the life of a girl who lived during an important period of American history. The aim of American Girl, which launched in 1986, is to inspire “girls to grow up with courage, confidence and strength of character,” according to its web site, and invites young children to learn about history on their own terms.
That mission, as it happens, dovetails nicely with that of the Battery Park-based museum. “We celebrate Jewish life before, during and after the Holocaust, and immigration is a big theme of what we do,” said Joshua Mack, the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s vice president of marketing. “I had been thinking about our immigration pieces and ways to get people into the museum so that they can discover what we do, especially younger people. What’s amazing about American Girl dolls is how historically relevant they are. It’s a way for so many children to get proper history, so it totally fits into our lane.”
Sunday’s “Rebecca Day” is the museum’s first-ever event dedicated to a doll. The idea originated nearly 10 years ago when Mack took his own child, Willa, to the Tenement Museum — a Lower East Side “living history museum” that tells the story of New York’s immigrants by recreating the conditions they lived in — and they toted along their Rebecca doll.
“It seemed like a great way to celebrate Jewish heritage and get fans and enthusiasts to visit us and learn more about the museum,” Mack said of Rebecca Day, adding that when he pitched his team — who are mostly Gen-Z and millennials — they immediately latched onto it.
As one of 12 historical dolls in the active lineup of historical American Girls, Rebecca was the first American Girl doll with a Jewish story when she came on the scene in 2009. (This spring, American Girl released 1990s twin dolls Isabel and Nicki Hoffman, whose father is Jewish.) “The much-anticipated latest addition to the American Girl series of historical characters, Rebecca goes on sale May 31 along with six books about her life,” JTA’s Sue Fishkoff wrote at the time. “No cheap date, she costs $95 with one book, or $118 if accompanied by the complete set.” (Inflation has been kind to American Girl: The Rebecca set today costs $146.)
Each of the dolls in the series comes with period clothing and accessories to flesh out her life story, as well as a set of books that describes the year in their lives when they turn 10. Rebecca’s line includes props like a menorah, Shabbat candles and a Russian-style shawl, as well as a purple bouclé outfit and satin purple hat.
Sunday’s event is also also designed to get people in the building to view the museum’s new exhibit, “Courage To Act: Rescue in Denmark,” its first-ever exhibit geared towards children, Mack said. The interactive exhibit tells the story of how Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Denmark banded together to save 95% of the Danish Jewish population from the Nazis, including by transporting them on rescue boats to Sweden — an endeavor helmed by 22-year-old Henny Sinding Sundø.
Rebecca Day — which is free, though $10 donations are encouraged — includes kid-friendly guided tours of the museum’s exhibits, as well as a festive lunch of latkes for kids and their dolls at the Lox Cafe, the museum’s restaurant, and Hanukkah crafts like dreidel-decorating.
A highlight of the event is a discussion with Jacqueline Dembar Greene, the author of 11 American Girl novels featuring Rebecca Rubin. She plans to answer questions about Rebecca’s story and about what life was like as an immigrant in 1914. Some of the research she did for the books was conducted at the Museum of Jewish Heritage 15 years ago, Dembar Greene told the New York Jewish Week, adding that other stories were lifted from her own family’s experience as Russian Jewish immigrants in the 1920s.
“I tried to write it as if there were readers who didn’t know much of anything,” Dembar Greene said. “But then, for the kids who were Jewish, I wanted to make sure that they felt that they learned a little extra something and see their own lives reflected in some of the traditions.”
American Girl is not sponsoring Rebecca Day at the museum. But spokesperson Julie Parks said the company is “excited” about the event, particularly the fact that Dembar Greene “will be on hand to share how Rebecca, a first-generation Jewish American growing up in early 20th-century New York City, made her own positive mark on the world.
“American Girl is a brand rooted in story,” Parks said, “and each of our beloved characters, like Rebecca, has helped to create a sense of connection and community among our fans.”
Dembar Greene said one of the biggest challenges in writing the Rebecca books was nailing just how observant the Rubin family might have been — Rebecca’s father opens his shoe store on Shabbat, for example, but her parents wouldn’t let her go to a movie then — while acknowledging that part of the immigrant experience at that time was assimilating to American culture. It’s one of the themes that Rebecca contends with throughout the series.
“I tried to reflect that the most important thing in the families, that was not changeable, was the acceptance of moral traditions,” she said, adding that “tikkun olam, making the world a better place, and the way you treat other people,” are major factors in both Rebecca’s story and Jewish life in general.
“Partly why these books are still popular and still very relevant, even though the story is based so long ago, is that we have new immigrants coming in and contributing to the American story their energy, their drive, their fresh ideas and new ways of looking at things that drive progress,” she added.
“Rebecca Day” will take place at the Museum of Jewish Heritage at 36 Battery Pl. on Sunday, Dec. 3 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Register here.
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The post Holocaust museum celebrates Rebecca Rubin, the Jewish immigrant and American Girl doll appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Majority of French People Oppose Macron’s Push to Recognize a Palestinian State, New Survey Finds
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers the keynote address at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su
Nearly 80 percent of French citizens oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s push to recognize a Palestinian state, according to a new study that underscores widespread public resistance to the controversial diplomatic initiative.
Last week, Macron announced the postponement of a United Nations conference aimed at advancing international recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with no new date set.
The UN summit — originally scheduled for June 16–18 — was delayed after Israel launched a sweeping preemptive strike on Iran, targeting military installations and nuclear facilities in what officials said was an effort to neutralize an imminent nuclear threat.
Last month, Macron said that recognizing “Palestine” was “not only a moral duty but a political necessity.” The comments followed him saying in April that France was making plans to recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference it would co-host with Saudi Arabia. Israeli and French Jewish leaders sharply criticized the announcement, describing the decision as a reward for terrorism and a “boost” for Hamas.
The French people largely seem to agree now is not the right time for such a move. A survey conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) on behalf of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), the main representative body of French Jews, found that 78 percent of respondents opposed a “hasty, immediate, and unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state.”
Sondage Crif x Ifop : “Le regard des Français sur la reconnaissance par la France de l’État palestinien”
Une large majorité de Français (78 %) s’oppose à une reconnaissance immédiate et sans condition de l’État palestinien. Parmi eux, près de la moitié (47 %) estiment qu’une… pic.twitter.com/AX9gP6eMLe
— CRIF (@Le_CRIF) June 17, 2025
France’s initiative comes after Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia officially recognized a Palestinian state last year, claiming that such a move would contribute to fostering a two-state solution and promote lasting peace in the region.
According to IFOP’s recent survey, however, nearly half of French people (47 percent) believe that recognition of a Palestinian state should only be considered after the release of the remaining hostages captured by Hamas during the Palestinian terrorist group’s invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, while 31 percent oppose any short-term recognition regardless of future developments.
The survey also reveals deep concerns about the consequences of such a premature recognition, with 51 percent of respondents fearing a resurgence of antisemitism in France and 50 percent believing it could strengthen Hamas’s position in the Middle East.
France has experienced an ongoing record surge in antisemitic incidents, including violent assaults, following Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
According to local media reports, France’s recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN conference was expected to be contingent on several conditions, including a truce in Gaza, the release of hostages held by Hamas, reforms within the Palestinian Authority (PA) — which is expected to take control from Hamas after the war — economic recovery, and the end of Hamas’s terrorist rule in the war-torn enclave.
The PA has not only been widely accused of corruption and condemned by the international community for its “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for attacks against Israelis, but also lacks public support among Palestinians, with only 40 percent supporting its return to govern the Gaza Strip after the war.
Out of the 27 total European Union member states, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden have also recognized a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Germany, Portugal, and the UK have all stated that the time is not right for recognizing a Palestinian state.
The post Majority of French People Oppose Macron’s Push to Recognize a Palestinian State, New Survey Finds first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jewish Leaders Plan ‘Emergency Mission’ to Washington, DC to Push US Gov’t for Antisemitism Protections
Thousands of participants and spectators are gathering along Fifth Avenue to express support for Israel during the 59th Annual Israel Day Parade in New York City, on June 2, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect
Amid a record wave of antisemitic attacks and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, leaders from nearly 100 Jewish communities and over 30 national organizations across the US will descend on Washington, DC next week for an “emergency mission” aimed at pressing the federal government to bolster protections for Jewish Americans and increase support for Israel.
The meeting will be organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The two-day gathering scheduled for June 25–26 will convene representatives from groups representing approximately 7.5 million American Jews. Participants plan to meet with members of Congress and the Trump administration to demand “strong and aggressive action” to thwart a surge in antisemitic violence and rhetoric, according to a press release.
“We are facing an unprecedented situation in American Jewish history where every Jewish institution and event is a potential target for antisemitic violence,” said Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America. “This is domestic terrorism, plain and simple, and defeating this campaign of terror is the responsibility of government.”
The meeting comes on the heels of a string of attacks on Jewish and pro-Israeli targets in places such as Washington, DC, and Boulder, Colorado, and amid growing fears over Iran’s role in backing groups hostile to Israel. Organizers link the current wave of antisemitism to the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which over 1200 people were killed and 251 hostages were abducted.
In the 20 months since the Oct. 7 massacre, the United States has seen a dramatic surge in antisemitic incidents. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitism in the US surged to break “all previous annual records” last year, with 9,354 antisemitic incidents recorded. These outrages included violent assaults, vandalism of Jewish schools and synagogues, harassment on college campuses, and threats against Jewish community centers.
Some Jewish institutions have reported being forced to hire private security or temporarily close their doors due to safety concerns. At universities nationwide, Jewish students and faculty have described feeling unsafe amid anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protests where some demonstrators have used antisemitic slogans or glorified violence.
“American Jews are not bystanders to global terror and domestic extremism. We are deliberate targets,” said William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents. “The federal government has a mandate to act.”
The delegation plans to advocate for a six-point policy agenda that includes expanding the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1 billion annually, providing financial support for security personnel at Jewish institutions, boosting FBI resources to combat extremism, and strengthening enforcement of hate crime laws. It will also push for more robust federal aid to local law enforcement and new regulations addressing online hate speech and incitement.
In addition to urging legislation, leaders say they intend to thank lawmakers who have consistently supported Jewish communities and the state of Israel, especially in light of the recent barrage of rockets launched at Israeli cities from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.
“The fight for Jewish security is not just domestic — it is global,” Daroff added. “The stakes have never been higher.”
The mission underscores growing concerns among Jewish Americans who say the dual threats of domestic extremism and rising international hostility toward Israel are converging in dangerous ways — and require a coordinated federal response.
The post Jewish Leaders Plan ‘Emergency Mission’ to Washington, DC to Push US Gov’t for Antisemitism Protections first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Columbia University Releases Campus Antisemitism Climate Survey
Pro-Hamas protesters at Columbia University on April 19, 2024. Photo: Melissa Bender via Reuters Connect
Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism has released a “campus climate” survey which found that Jewish students remain exceedingly uncomfortable attending the institution.
According to the survey, 53 percent of Jewish students said they have been subjected to discrimination because of being Jewish, while another 53 percent reported that their friendships are “strained” because of how overwhelmingly anti-Zionist the student culture is. Meanwhile, 29 percent of Jewish students said they have “lost close friends,” and 59 percent, nearly two-thirds, of Jewish students sensed that they would be better off by electing to “conform their political beliefs” to those of their classmates.
Nearly 62 percent of Jewish students reported “a low feeling of acceptance at Columbia on the basis of their religious identity, and 50 percent said that the pro-Hamas encampments which capped off the 2023-2024 academic year had an “impact” on their daily routines.
Jewish students at Columbia were more likely than their peers to report these negative feelings and experiences, followed by Muslim students.
“As a proud alumna who has spent decades championing this institution, I found the results of this survey difficult to read,” acting Columbia University president Claire Shipman said in a statement. “They put the challenges we face in stark relief. The increase in horrific antisemitic violence in the US and across the globe in recent weeks and months serves as a constant, brutal reminder of the dangers of anti-Jewish bigotry, underscores the urgency with which all concerned citizens need to act in addressing it head-on, and the fact that antisemitism can and should be addressed as a unique form of hatred.”
Shipman added that university officials are “aware of the extent of the immense challenges faced by our Jewish students” and have enacted new policies which strengthen the process for reporting bias and prevent unauthorized demonstrations which upend the campus.
“I am confident we can change this painful dynamic. I know this because we share a commitment to protect all members of our community. We owe it to our students — and to each other,” she said.
Columbia University recently settled a lawsuit brought by a Jewish student at the School of Social Work (CSSW) who accused faculty of unrelenting antisemitic bullying and harassment.
According to court documents, Mackenzie “Macky” Forrest was abused by the faculty, one of whom callously denied her accommodations for sabbath observance and then held out the possibility of her attending class virtually during pro-Hamas protests, which according to several reports and first-hand accounts, made the campus unsafe for Jewish students. Her Jewishness and requests for arrangements which would allow her to complete her assignments created what the Lawfare Project described as a “pretext” for targeting Forrest and conspiring to expel her from the program, a plan that involved fabricating stories with the aim of smearing her as insubordinate.
Spurious accusations were allegedly made by one professor, Andre Ivanoff, who was the first to tell Forrest that her sabbath observance was a “problem.” Ivanoff implied that she had failed to meet standards of “behavioral performance” while administrators spread rumors that she had declined to take on key assignments, according to court documents. This snowballed into a threat: Forrest was allegedly told that she could either take an “F” in a field placement course or drop out, the only action that would prevent sullying her transcript with her failing grade.
Forrest left but has now settled the lawsuit she filed to get justice in terms that Columbia University has buried under a confidentiality agreement.
Columbia was one of the most hostile campuses for Jews employed by or enrolled in an institution of higher education. After Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the university produced several indelible examples of campus antisemitism, including a student who proclaimed that Zionist Jews deserve to be murdered and are lucky he is not doing so himself and administrative officials who, outraged at the notion that Jews organized to resist anti-Zionism, participated in a group chat in which each member took turns sharing antisemitic tropes that described Jews as privileged and grafting.
Amid these incidents, the university struggled to contain the anti-Zionist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which in late January committed an act of infrastructural sabotage by flooding the toilets of the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) with concrete. Numerous reports indicate the attack may have been the premeditated result of planning sessions which took place many months ago at an event held by Alpha Delta Phi (ADP) — a literary society, according to the Washington Free Beacon. During the event, the Free Beacon reported, ADP distributed literature dedicated to “aspiring revolutionaries” who wish to commit seditious acts. Additionally, a presentation was given in which complete instructions for the exact kind of attack which struck Columbia were shared with students.
The university is reportedly restructuring itself to comply with conditions for restoring $400 million in federal funding canceled by US Education Secretary Linda McMahon in March to punish the school’s alleged failure to quell “antisemitic violence and harassment.”
In March, the university issued a memo announcing that it acceded to key demands put forth by the Trump administration as prerequisites for releasing the funds — including a review of undergraduate admissions practices that allegedly discriminate against qualified Jewish applicants, the enforcement of an “anti-mask” policy that protesters have violated to avoid being identified by law enforcement, and enhancements to the university’s security protocols that would facilitate the restoration of order when the campus is disturbed by pro-Hamas radicals and other agitators.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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