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Amsterdam’s Royal Concert Hall cancels annual Hanukkah concert, citing singer’s IDF ties
Last year, Amsterdam’s Royal Concert Hall held its 10th anniversary of a Hanukkah concert series that was rebooted 70 years after it was halted by the Nazis, in what some Dutch Jews saw as a repudiation of antisemitism that had swelled during the war in Gaza.
This year, the concert has been called off — and the prestigious concert hall citing the chosen singer’s ties to the Israeli army.
The Chanukah Concert Foundation, which organizes the event, had booked Shai Abramson to sing. Abramson is a retired lieutenant colonel for the IDF who serves as the army’s chief cantor.
The Royal Concert Hall, or Concertgebouw, said in a statement on Sunday that it had pressed for months for a change to the program and canceled the concert, scheduled for Dec. 14, when one was not made.
“This decision was made because it was not possible to reach an agreement on an alternative to the performance by the IDF Chief Cantor,” the statement said.
It continued, “For The Concertgebouw, it is crucial that the IDF is actively involved in a controversial war and that Abramson is a visible representative of it.”
The Hanukkah concert was rebooted in 2015, 70 years after the Nazis ended the longstanding tradition in the city and murdered three-quarters of the Dutch Jewish population. The relaunch was billed as a chance to connect and celebrate the city’s Jewish residents, a community that has never come close to its pre-Holocaust size.
Now, the Chanukkah Concert Foundation says the Concertgebouw is contributing to the “isolation the Jewish community feels it is being pushed into in the current era,” even as the concert hall said it “always remain a place where the Jewish community is welcome.”
“The Jewish community has been facing exclusion in the cultural sector for over two years,” the Chanukah Concert Foundation said in a statement on Sunday. “It is ironic that the Concertgebouw — where Chanukah celebrations have been held since December 14, 1921, a tradition interrupted only by World War II — is now confronting the Jewish community with exclusion and isolation.”
The Chanukah Concert Foundation said it would pursue legal action against the Concertgebouw, whose characterization of Abramson as an IDF representative it rejected.
“He is an independent artist, invited by the State of Israel to sing at national memorial ceremonies,” the foundation wrote in a statement. “Labeling him as an IDF representative fosters unwarranted negative sentiment toward Israel, the Jewish community in the Netherlands and visitors to the concert, purposely turning this great musical experience into a political event.”
The cantor’s website says his performances around the world are done “with the intention of developing and strengthening ties with Jewish communities around the world, and intensifying connections with Israel and with the IDF.”
The Hanukkah concert’s cancellation is not the first time the war in Gaza has interfered with plans at the Concertgebouw. In November 2023, a planned benefit concert for the Israeli humanitarian nonprofit Zaka was canceled after the Concertgebouw demanded that half of the proceeds go to a Dutch Palestinian aid group that had been accused of anti-Israel bias. The following year, the concert canceled performances by a Jerusalem-based quartet citing “safety” concerns over planned pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Amsterdam has been a hotspot of such demonstrations. Last year, the city was roiled by pro-Palestinian protests, and a soccer game between the local team and Maccabi Tel Aviv sparked antisemitic mob violence against Israeli supporters.
In March, the University of Amsterdam suspended a student exchange with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, accusing the school of failing to distance itself from the war in Gaza.
As for the Hanukkah concert, the concert foundation says it will “assume that the concerts on December 14th will go ahead, including Cantor Abramson,” amid its planned litigation.
The Concertgebouw, meanwhile, has removed the concert from its website, where among the other upcoming performances listed are multiple by the Jerusalem Quartet, the group whose concert was canceled last year over security concerns.
“Making this decision was extremely difficult,” Concertgebouw Director Simon Reinink in a statement about the Hanukkah concert cancellation. “Only in very exceptional cases do we make an exception to our important principle of artistic freedom. To our great regret, such an exception is now occurring. The intended performance by the chief cantor of the IDF is at odds with our mission: connecting people through music.”
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Israel, Jewish Groups Remember Former US Vice President Dick Cheney as ‘Great Friend, Steadfast Supporter’
Former US Vice President Dick Cheney speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, Feb. 24, 2017. Photo: REUTERS/David Becker
Former US Vice President Dick Cheney died on Monday at 84, according to a statement released by his family, prompting condolences from Israel, the Jewish community, and longtime colleagues.
“We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man,” the family’s statement read, naming pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease as the cause of death
Cheney, born Jan. 30, 1941, in Lincoln, Nebraska, served the United States in multiple capacities during a long political career which included roles as White House chief of staff to President Richard Nixon, congressman from Wyoming, secretary of defense for President George H.W. Bush, and vice president for President George W. Bush. Cheney also served as CEO and chairman of the board for oil company Halliburton.
Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on US soil, Cheney emerged as one of the voices in the second Bush administration urging for a robust engagement to defeat the chief perpetrator Osama bin Laden, his al Qaeda terrorist group, and their allies.
Cheney is survived by his wife Lynne, their daughters Mary and Liz, and grandchildren.
Israeli leadership issued statements in response to Cheney’s death.
“I heard with great sorrow of the passing of former US Vice President Dick Cheney, a great friend and steadfast supporter of the State of Israel. My deepest condolences to his family and to the American people,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement.
“The passing of former US Vice President Dick Cheney marks the loss of a great American patriot, a devoted public servant, and a dear friend of Israel,” added Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to Washington. “His leadership and his belief in the strength of the US–Israel alliance will not be forgotten. My thoughts are with his family and the American people.”
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that it “mourns the passing of former US Vice President Dick Cheney – a steadfast friend of Israel and a true champion of the US–Israel alliance. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and to the American people.”
American Jewish and pro-Israel organizations also remembered Cheney.
“Throughout a distinguished if controversial career in public service, Vice President Dick Cheney defended America against terror threats and shaped vital strategic partnerships across the Middle East, critically strengthening the security of Israel, America’s democratic ally,” the American Jewish Committee said in a statement. “AJC expresses our condolences to the Cheney family.”
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) said in its own statement that the group mourns “the passing of Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States and a dedicated public servant who was a friend to the Jewish community and played a significant role in strengthening the strategic partnership between the United States and the State of Israel. Throughout his decades of service, Vice President Cheney maintained enduring relationships with Jewish communal leaders and institutions, engaging in serious dialogue on matters of global security and the protection of Jewish communities worldwide.”
JFNA described how Cheney “demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. He stood firmly for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism and consistently recognized the shared democratic values and strategic interests that bind our two nations. His leadership helped deepen military cooperation and advance policies that enhanced Israel’s security in a volatile region.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also mourned Cheney’s death.
“We send our deepest condolences to the family of former US Vice President Dick Cheney. We were honored to present Mr. Cheney with ADL’s Distinguished Public Service Award in 1993 for his role in reshaping the US military as secretary of defense from 1989-92,” the group said in a statement.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) posted online that the group “mourns the passing of Vice President Cheney who was a strong supporter of the US-Israel partnership. As vice president, secretary of defense, and during his years in Congress, Dick Cheney worked to strengthen the ties between the two democracies. We extend our condolences to his family and those who worked with him over his many years in public service.”
Cheney’s political allies memorialized him in their remarks.
George W. Bush released a statement, calling his former running mate’s death “a loss to the nation and a sorrow to his friends. Laura and I will remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honorable man that he was. History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation – a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held.”
Bush described Cheney as “a calm and steady presence in the White House amid great national challenges. I counted on him for his honest, forthright counsel, and he never failed to give his best. He held to his convictions and prioritized the freedom and security of the American people. For those two terms in office, and throughout his remarkable career, Dick Cheney’s service always reflected credit on the country he loved.”
Condoleezza Rice, the former US secretary of state who now leads the Hoover Institution as the conservative think tank’s director, reflected on Cheney’s national service.
“I admired Vice President Cheney for his integrity and his love of our country. I am grateful that I had the chance to serve with him twice — when he was secretary of defense for President George H.W. Bush at the end of the Cold War — a triumphant time for America and its values,” she said in a statement. “And then when as vice president, he helped to chart a course to protect America after the dark days of 9/11. He was an inspiring presence and mentor who taught me a great deal about public service.”
Rice added that, “most of all, I will remember Dick Cheney as a mentor and a friend. I will remember his toughness but also his sense of humor. He was indefatigable in his determination to defend this country and patriotic to his core.”
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Birthright Israel Foundation Launches $900 Million Campaign, Calls on Jewish World for Help
A man holds a Torah after Simchat Torah, at Hostages Square, in Tel Aviv, Israel on Oct. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay
The Birthright Israel Foundation, which has afforded hundreds of thousands of Jewish youth all expenses paid trips to Israel, announced on Monday night a new “Generations Campaign” to raise $900 million that will fund 200,000 more trips over the next five years.
The organization, which has brought more than 900,000 participants from 70 countries to Israel, announced the new effort to coincide with the commemoration of its 25th anniversary, noting that it aims to raise $650 million from US donors and secure $250 million in “legacy and planned giving commitments to ensure Birthright Israel’s strength and impact for generations to come.”
“Generations” is already being generously supported, Birthright added, with $130 million raised so far and another $80 million pledged as “legacy commitments” that will sustain the program at a time when Jewish students, facing a historic antisemitism crisis across the Western world, crave a connection to Israel more than ever before.
“Birthright Israel’s extraordinary impact is proven. In just 25 years, it has become a rite of passage for Jewish young adults and a launchpad for lifelong engagement in Jewish life,” Bright Israel Foundation president and chief executive officer Elias Saratovsky said in a statement. “It has strengthened Jewish organizations, helped build proud Jewish families, and created resilient, knowledgeable leaders — the kind our community needs at this historic moment.”
He continued, “Imagine a new generation of Jews standing strong and united, advocating for Israel, raising Jewish families, and connected to one global Jewish community. This is not a dream — it is the world Birthright is creating.”
Birthright Israel co-founder and philanthropist Charles Bronfman, added, “Twenty-five years ago, Michal Steinhardt and I had the audacious idea to offer every Jewish young adult in the diaspora a free trip to Israel, a gift from our generation to theirs. My dear friend, Lynn Schusterman, helped turn this idea into a global movement. Birthright Israel has become a household name … This program belongs to the Jewish people. May it continue to go from strength to strength”
The “Generations” campaign arrives at a challenging moment for the Jewish community in which antisemitic hate crimes see year-on-year increases and anti-Zionists are mobilizing to sever the Jewish people’s connection to their ancient homeland.
According to the results of a recent survey commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Jewish Federations of North America, a majority of American Jews now consider antisemitism to be a normal and endemic aspect of life in the US. A striking 57 percent reported believing “that antisemitism is now a normal Jewish experience,” the organizations disclosed, while 55 percent said they have personally witnessed or been subjected to antisemitic hatred, including physical assaults, threats, and harassment, in the past year.
This new reality, precipitated by Hamas’s Oct.7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, has effected a psychological change in American Jews, prompting firearms sales, disaster planning, and “plans to flee the country.”
Antisemitic incidents continue to feed the impression that such thinking is not only logical but necessary.
Last month, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi in Missoula, Montana was charged for allegedly assaulting a Jewish man outside a homeless shelter on the second anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion. Michael Cain, 29, was charged with felony malicious intimidation or harassment relating to civil or human rights, and his bond was set at $50,000. He allegedly accosted the victim after identifying a Star of David tattooed on his arm.
Cain also reportedly told the victim that he is a Nazi, initiating an exchange of remarks which ended with a brutal assault replete with kicks and punches. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Cain later told police that he is part of a “Fourth Reich” fifth-column cell in the US.
More recently, on Friday, police in Ann Arbor, Michigan, launched a search for a man who trespassed the grounds of the Jewish Resource Center, which serves University of Michigan students, and kicked its door while howling antisemitic statements.
“F—k Israel, f—k the Jewish people,” the man — whom multiple reports describe as white, “college-age,” and possibly named “Jake” or “Jay” — screamed before running away. He did not damage the property, and he may have been accompanied by as many as two other people, one of whom him shouted “no!” when he ran up to the building.
Saratovsky called on the Jewish people to safeguard the diaspora’s access to Israel.
“We need every Jewish person to join us in this effort — to stand together, invest together, and ensure that every young Jew feels proud, connected, and ready to lead,” he said. “Birthright benefits the entire Jewish world, and it must be supported by the entire Jewish world. The Jewish future is up to all of us.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Canadian Jewish Groups Demand Toronto Mayor Apologize, Resign for ‘Genocide in Gaza’ Comments
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow speaks to reporters in Toronto, March 8, 2025. Photo: Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via ZUMA Press via Reuters Connect
Several Canadian Jewish organizations are calling for Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow to apologize and even resign for publicly calling Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip a “genocide” during an event on Saturday night.
Chow was speaking at a fundraising gala for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) at the Pearson Convention Center when she said, “The genocide in Gaza impact us all,” as seen in videos from the event that were shared on social media.
“A common bond to shared humanity is tested, and I will speak out when children anywhere are feeling the pain and violence and hunger,” she added to applause from the audience. The mayor also compared the suffering Palestinian children face in Gaza to her mother’s experience of being “a child in a warzone” in China when Japan invaded during World War II.
The Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation said Chow should immediately resign after having “the audacity to compare” Israel’s war against a terrorist organization in Gaza to Japan’s invasion of China, and following her “inexcusable” false claims about a genocide.
“The only Gaza genocide was the massacre perpetrated by Hamas and its allies against Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023. Somehow, we doubt that’s what the mayor was referencing,” said the foundation. It added that the mayor’s genocide claim is not only “false and defamatory” to Israel and its people but also “a calculated insult to the almost 200,000 Jews in the Greater Toronto Area who support Israel, and it exposes the Jewish community to material risk of violence.”
The Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) sent a letter to Chow about her “reckless, divisive, and dangerous” comments, and said in a separate statement on X that “such language distorts fact and law, and it legitimizes the hostility and intimidation that Jewish Torontonians are already facing in record numbers.”
Antisemitic hate crimes have spiked in Canada, especially the Toronto area, over the past two years amid the Gaza war, following Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“By echoing that narrative, Mayor Chow lends support to those spreading malicious libels and undermine public confidence in your commitment to the safety, dignity, and inclusion of all Torontonians,” CIJA added. “The Jewish community expects the mayor to make this right by addressing the harm caused and taking immediate action to restore trust and ensure our safety.”
The Canada-Israel Friendship Association accused Chow of promoting “an antisemitic blood libel” by accusing Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza during its war targeting Hamas terrorists who orchestrated the deadly massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Amir Epstein, executive director of the Canadian Jewish civil rights group the Tafsik Organization, called Chow’s comments “disgraceful, reckless and dangerously irresponsible.” Her “genocide in Gaza” remarks were “a slap in the face to Jews in Toronto, across Canada, and around the world — an unforgivable betrayal and a disgraceful distortion of reality,” the statement continued.
“Effective immediately, Mayor Chow is not welcome at any Tafsik Organization events, commemorations, or meetings. Her conduct has failed Toronto, and we reject her presence and participation in our community spaces,” Epstein noted. “We call for Mayor Olivia Chow to be formally excommunicated and permanently rejected by the Jewish community and all Jewish organizations. Providing her a stage … risks legitimizing antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and undermines community safety and integrity.”
B’nai Brith Canada has written to Toronto’s Integrity Commissioner Paul Muldoon, asking him to open an investigation to see if Chow violated the city’s Code of Conduct, which states that elected officials must “ensure that their work environment is free from discrimination and harassment.”
“Making such inaccurate and misleading statements, while representing all Torontonians, sends a harmful and divisive message,” said B’nai Brith Canada. “Toronto deserves leaders who treat every community with respect and act with impartiality. At a time when the mayor should be working to mend divisions and ease tensions, she has instead chosen to inflame them … When a mayor presents a legally disputed claim as fact, it crosses the line from leadership to bias.”