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Actress Patricia Heaton Becomes 100,000th Signer of Pledge to Support Jewish Causes, Israel’s Future

Patricia Heaton attends Lionsgate’s ‘The Unbreakable Boy’ New York Premiere at the AMC Lincoln Square Theater, New York, NY, February 19, 2025. Photo: Anthony Behar/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Emmy-winning actress Patricia Heaton has become the 100,000th person to join the global initiative Jewish Future Promise (JFP) in which individuals take an oath to safeguard the future of Jewish values, traditions, and the State of Israel.

JFP announced on Tuesday that the former “Everyone Loves Raymond” star, who is not Jewish, has helped the initiative reach a historic milestone of gathering 100,000 “promisers,” and $4.65 billion in commitments.

JFP is a moral commitment, not legally binding in any way, in which individuals promise to share Jewish stories, values, and traditions with family and friends. As part of the global commitment, pledgers also promise that if any charitable contributions are made upon their death, at least 50 percent will be allocated to Jewish causes and/or the State of Israel.

Others who have already made The Promise include Israeli actress and activist Noa Tishby, author and civil rights lawyer Alan Dershowitz, comedian Modi Rosenfeld, and social media influencer and activist Lizzy Savetsky. JFP also inspires young adults to support Jewish causes through the Jewish Youth Promise, which is catered for 13- to 24-year-olds.

“As a Christian, my spiritual heritage exists in the Jewish people. The bond Jews and Christians share is deep and profound,” said Heaton, the former star of ‘The Middle.”

“Along with that, our shared Judeo-Christian values are the foundation for the free and thriving democracies we see in Israel, America, and around the world,” Heaton added. “The Jewish future is everyone’s future!”

In the aftermath of the Hamas-led massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Heaton founded the October 7th Coalition (O7C), which is a network of Christians who stand up against the rise of antisemitism in the US and recognize Israel’s right to exist. “We are here to unite, promote, and encourage meaningful public and private action in the Christian community to strengthen relationships with our Jewish friends and neighbors,” reads a description on the coalition’s website.

Last year, O7C partnered with the nonprofit organization, JewBelong, to launch a nationwide billboard campaign to raise awareness about antisemitism in the US. Heaton has previously said that it should be a “natural” reaction among all humans to reject antisemitism and support the Jewish people.

The funds promised by individuals through JFP will support a variety of Jewish causes, including educational initiatives, community development, social services, and cultural preservation, both in and out of Israel. JFP founder Mike Leven said reaching the milestone of 100,000 people who have taken the pledge is “a profound reflection of our collective commitment to the future of Jewish life.”

“Each of the 100,000 promises made is a promise to sustain our heritage and nurture the values that have defined our community for generations,” Leven added. “Reaching 250,000, 500,000, and even 1 million promises is not just an aspiration; it’s necessary to ensure that Jewish causes continue to thrive and that the State of Israel remains strong. This is more than just a number; it is a living legacy that will continue to sustain and nurture Jewish life and values for years to come.”

The post Actress Patricia Heaton Becomes 100,000th Signer of Pledge to Support Jewish Causes, Israel’s Future first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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‘A Slap in the Face’: Chicago Venue Cancels Plans to Screen Documentary About Antisemitism for Second Time

Israeli-American rapper Kosha Dillz performs his new song “Bring the family home,” his response to Hamas’s attacks, in front of a Jewish bakery in lower Manhattan, US, Oct. 11, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Aleksandra Michalska

A Chicago theater that canceled the screening of a documentary about campus antisemitism and then agreed to reschedule a showing has now made the final decision not to screen the film at its venue after facing harassment, it announced on Tuesday.

The Facets Film Forum, which operates the Facets arts theater in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, claimed in a statement that Israeli-American Jewish filmmaker and rapper Kosha Dillz and the Chicago Jewish Alliance (CJA) – which helped organize the original screening that was canceled — have allegedly engaged in harassment against the venue, making it “impossible” for the Facets to move forward with a showing of “Bring the Family Home.” The documentary covers the rise of antisemitism on US college campuses after the Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. This is the first film directed by Kosha Dillz, whose real name is Rami Even-Esh, and it focuses largely on anti-Israel encampments and sentiments at DePaul University and Northwestern University. Facets is located down the street from DePaul.

A rough cut of “Bring the Family Home” was set to premiere at Facets on May 13, but mere hours before the screening, the venue canceled the event, citing safety and security concerns for its patrons and staff. After facing an abundance of criticism from Kosha Dillz, CJA, and their supporters, Facets agreed to work with the filmmaker to reschedule the screening for later this summer.

“Facets Film Forum respects the First Amendment, its protections of free speech and the right to express views through film,” Facets said in a statement on May 16. “We regret any unintended offense our decision to cancel a privately organized, public film screening caused the filmmaker, those seeking to attend the event, and members of our community who have experienced or witnessed oppression or discrimination in any form.”

However, this week the theater has backtracked on its decision to reschedule the screening, before it even announced a new date for the event.

“Rather than acknowledging the legitimacy of our concerns and decisions, CJA and the filmmaker, and individuals that appear to be their supporters, have engaged in harassing Facets,” the venue claimed. It alleged that supporters of the film were “vilifying” Facets in an email campaign targeting donors, arts groups, and others, and even shared “vicious” posts on social media “attacking Facets.” The posts allegedly included offers for a “bounty to anyone willing to burn down Facets’ building,” which Facets reported to authorities. The venue also claimed that supporters of “Bring the Family Home” recording a conversation with a Facets staff members without consent and then posted it online, sharing personal contact details.

CJA launched an email campaign earlier this month that urged its supporters to reach out to Facets about the cancellation on May 13. CJA claimed the venue called off the event “because of discomfort with Jewish visibility” and called the move “shameful” and “a disgrace.” Facets said on Tuesday that more than 2,500 emails were sent.

“Given these acts, we are ceasing any further discussions with CJA and Mr. Dillz. Facets will not tolerate harassment of its staff from any organization,” the theater said in the statement this week. “Facets will continue to remain committed to our mission and the safety of our staff and guests.”

Facets said that for five decades, it has “provided a safe space for the community to experience a vast variety of film perspectives.” The venue noted that it hosted an event as part of the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema’s 20th Anniversary Celebration in March. Earlier this month, the theater also screened “No Other Land,” the Oscar-winning documentary that heavily criticizes Israel’s demolition of a village in the West Bank. “Bring the Family Home” was originally meant to be mentioned on the marquee outside of Facets along with “No Other Land,” said Kosha Dillz.

In its statement, Facets also listed three Jewish or Israel-themed movies that it has screened in the past, including “Come Closer,” “In Between,” and “Zone of Interest.” None of those films depict pro-Israel sentiments or a condemnation of antisemitism like “Bring the Family Home.”

Kosha Dillz told The Algemeiner on Thursday he cannot believe that he has been canceled twice by the same venue, which has not screened his film even once. “I was quite shocked,” he said. “It’s exhausting to deal with this for the second time. How can they cancel a film twice that hasn’t been shown once. To me, that’s just representative of what the Jewish community has to deal with.”

He also denied taking part in the alleged harassment that Facets claimed it faced, including the email campaign and calls online to burn down the venue.

“The 2,500 emails — those are people that aren’t related to me. I don’t know them. Obviously, they know me,” he noted. “They made it seem as if I was the one who rallied people to email them and take away their funding. That’s obviously not true.”

Even now, after Facets made the final decision not to screen “Bring the Family Home,” Kosha Dillz does not support efforts to attack the venue for the move.

“I don’t think bullying people who have gotten bullied makes sense. I don’t think that’s a win-win situation,” he explained. “I don’t believe in people ganging up on them. I just think they were bullied by other bullies.”

Kosha Dillz had multiple Zoom meetings and sent several emails back and forth with leaders at Facet to reschedule a screening of “Bring the Family Home,” hoping to find a new date for the event. Following the decision by Facets this week to call off all efforts for a screening, Kosha Dillz told The Algemeiner that he is upset but will now focus his time and energy on finding a new venue to screen the documentary.

“It’s called selective Jewishness,” he said of the move by Facets. “They are picking which voices they get to hear and they’re letting other people define it for them. I was the one who offered for them to make it good [after the initial cancellation] and they took me up on it and then, you know … it’s kind of a slap in the face. But the first time, shame on them. The second time, shame on me.”

On Wednesday, CJA released a statement on social media in response to Facets decision this week and also the allegations against the Jewish group.

“We objected, respectfully and publicly, to the theater’s sudden about-face. We sent emails. We asked questions. We defended a Jewish voice that refused to conform to the approved script. For that, they accused us of harassment,” CJA said. “If Facets believes in free speech, it must apply to Jews who are visible, assertive, and yes, Zionist. Anything less is not inclusion. It’s performance. We remain proud partners of ‘Bring the Family Home’ and of every Jewish artist who refuses to stay quiet just to stay included.”

CJA also accused Facets of “cultural exclusion” and “soft censorship,” making “endless excuses” and “shifting standards for what qualifies as ‘appropriate’ Jewish expression.”

CJA said “Bring the Family Home” will be shown in Chicago on June 22, but a venue has yet to be secured.

The post ‘A Slap in the Face’: Chicago Venue Cancels Plans to Screen Documentary About Antisemitism for Second Time first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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‘Part of Our Commitment to the Palestinian People’: Anti-Israel Group Vandalizes Jewish-Owned Business in London

Vandals targeted a Jewish-owned real estate business in London on May 28-29, 2025. Photo: Screenshot

A Jewish-owned real estate business in London was vandalized by a radical anti-Israel group overnight on Wednesday into Thursday in an attack that local Jewish leaders called a “traumatic antisemitic targeting.”

Video shows two masked people dressed in all black smashing the windows of the business — which is located in Stamford Hill, a heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood — and spraying it with red paint. Pictures in the aftermath of the vandalism show shattered glass and red paint all over the office, and other reports say computers and furniture were also wrecked.

“This should be treated as [an] antisemitic incident without any doubt,” Rabbi Herschel Gluck, president of Jewish security service Shomrim’s branch in Stamford Hill, told the Jewish Chronicle. “[The owners] are visibly Jewish; the people who run the business and this business itself have nothing to do with Israel.”

According to the Chronicle, the authorities were “called as soon as the damage was discovered on Thursday morning and the Metropolitan Police were notified shortly afterwards.”

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that the investigation is ongoing and that no arrests have been made so far. “This incident is being treated as racially aggravated criminal damage,” the statement continued.

“We understand the concern this may cause members of the Jewish community,” the police noted. “Officers are working with community leaders and patrols have increased across the local area.”

Palestine Action, the group behind the vandalism, took responsibility for it on social media.

“Palestine Action target[s] the London-based landlords of Kent’s Elbit weapons factory, Instro Precision,” the group posted on X. “Instro Precision continues to export targeting gear to Israel, making both the Israeli weapons maker and its landlord, perpetrators of genocide.”

Along with vandalism of the business itself, “Drop Elbit” was also spray-painted on the pavement outside it, referring to Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense firm that is an industry leader.

A spokesperson for the group said the attack was a “part of our commitment to the Palestinian people” because “we will not allow companies on our doorstep to profit from mass murder.” The real estate group, it claimed, is “the [landlord] of a Kent-based Israeli weapons factory which is exporting targeting gear for the Israeli military.”

However, according to Gluck, the attack “is pure antisemitism” because “the people have no connection to Israel at all. They [the vandals] are accusing this company of having a connection to an Israeli arms manufacturer, which is not true.”

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) responded to the vandalism on X, asking, “Why is Palestine Action still not banned?”

“Palestine Action is a criminal enterprise operating freely in the UK and terrorizing the Jewish community,” it wrote. “It must be banned and its organizers and activists prosecuted.”

This latest vandalism is part of a general spike in antisemitism in the UK.

The UK experienced its second-worst year for antisemitism in 2024, despite recording an 18 percent drop in antisemitic incidents from the previous year’s all-time high, according to a report released in February.

The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, released data showing it recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, a drop of 18 percent from the 4,296 in 2023. These numbers compare to 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022, 2,261 in 2021, and 1,684 in 2020.

Last year’s total “is a reflection of the sustained levels of antisemitism that have been recorded across the UK since the Hamas terror attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023,” CST said of its findings. “CST’s Antisemitic Incidents Report 2023 charted the immediacy and scope of the rise in anti-Jewish hate following that attack, before Israel had set in motion any extensive military response in Gaza.”

The post ‘Part of Our Commitment to the Palestinian People’: Anti-Israel Group Vandalizes Jewish-Owned Business in London first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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France Moves to Honor Alfred Dreyfus With Posthumous Promotion Over a Century After Wrongful Conviction

Alfred Dreyfus. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

France’s National Defense and Armed Forces Committee has unanimously voted to posthumously promote Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general, in a symbolic act of justice more than a century after the Jewish army captain was wrongly convicted of espionage.

On Wednesday, the French Embassy in Israel announced the committee’s approval of Dreyfus’s posthumous promotion — a proposal put forward by former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

“The French Nation is just and does not forget,” the embassy said in a statement. “This rights an injustice, honors a warrior, and clarifies that antisemitism, from history to today, will never have a place in the Republic.”

With the approval of lawmakers on the committee, the bill is set to be adopted by the full National Assembly in its plenary session on June 2.

When introducing the legislation earlier this month, Attal said the law would “constitute an act of reparation, a recognition of [Dreyfus’s] merits, and a tribute to his republican commitment,” in an effort to rectify the wrongful conviction, which unfolded amid widespread antisemitism across the country at the time.

“Five years of exile and humiliation irreparably harmed his military career,” Attal said. “It is undeniable that, had it not been for this injustice, Alfred Dreyfus would have naturally ascended to the highest ranks.”

According to the French diplomat, the proposed legislation would also signal that the fight against antisemitism remains urgent, as France has seen a rise in antisemitic hate crimes following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.

Antisemitism in France continued to surge to alarming levels across the country last year, with 1,570 incidents recorded, according to a report by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) – the main representative body of French Jews.

In late May and early June, antisemitic acts rose by more than 140 percent, far surpassing the weekly average of slightly more than 30 incidents.

France is home to the world’s largest Jewish population after Israel and the United States, as well as the largest Muslim community in the European Union.

In 1894, Dreyfus, a 36-year-old army captain from the Alsace region in northeastern France, was accused of leaking secret information to a German military official and was put on trial amid a fierce antisemitic media campaign.

Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was convicted of treason based on a handwriting comparison with a document found in a German official’s wastepaper basket in Paris, sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island in French Guiana, and stripped of his military rank.

Years later, French Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart, then head of military intelligence, secretly reopened the case and uncovered that the handwriting on the incriminating document belonged to another officer. But when he brought this evidence to the army’s general staff, Picquart was dismissed from his post and imprisoned for a year.

In 1899, Dreyfus was brought back to France for a second trial, where he was again found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison, before ultimately receiving a pardon — though the charges against him were not formally overturned.

It was seven years later, in 1906, when Dreyfus was officially exonerated after the French High Court of Appeal overturned the original verdict and reinstated him with the rank of major.

He lived until 1935, dying at the age of 76.

The post France Moves to Honor Alfred Dreyfus With Posthumous Promotion Over a Century After Wrongful Conviction first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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