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Aruba’s new rabbi comes out of retirement to lead a congregation in ‘paradise’
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (JTA) — One of Alberto Zeilicovich’s first duties as a Conservative rabbi was to officiate the funeral of a 20-year-old congregant, murdered by a drug cartel while enjoying a night out with his friends at a disco.
It was the late 1980s in Medellin, Colombia, and Zeilicovich had entered the pulpit at the height of the Colombian drug wars and the reign of notorious kingpin Pablo Escobar. Two years later, he would bury another member of the congregation murdered by the cartel.
“We felt fear,” Zeilicovich, who goes by Baruch, said about his six years in Medellin. “The president of the congregation told me you cannot walk on Shabbos to the synagogue. ‘You should come with a car.’ I asked, ‘Are you afraid someone is going to kidnap me?’ He said, ‘No, I am afraid somebody will kill you.’”
To give him a break, a congregant sent Zeilicovich on a trip to Aruba and Curacao, islands where, he recalled, he could “unplug a little bit from a situation that was very dangerous.”
That 1990 trip would ultimately result in the other bookend of his career: Zeilicovich recently came out of retirement to begin a three-year contract as the rabbi of Beth Israel Synagogue, a small synagogue on the Dutch island of Aruba in the southern Caribbean Sea. He had visited the island at least once a year for the past 32 years.
Temple Beth Israel, a Conservative-style synagogue in Oranjestad, Aruba, was consecrated in 1962. (Dan Fellner)
“First, the people are very friendly,” he says of Aruba, which has a population of about 100,000 and is officially called a “constituent country” of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. “Second, it’s a very safe place. And third, the island is a paradise. Everything is so beautiful.”
The synagogue, located in the island’s capital city of Oranjestad, is not affiliated with any movement of Judaism but operates in the style of the egalitarian Conservative movement. It is just a block from one of Aruba’s signature white-sand beaches and a five-minute drive to Eagle Beach, perhaps its most famous.
While Zeilicovich no longer needs armed security guards to accompany him to synagogue as he did in Medellin, he still brings to the pulpit the difficult life lessons he learned during those tumultuous years in Colombia.
“Being in Medellin made me realize how a rabbi should teach the congregation about what are the most important things in life,” he says. “That shaped me in understanding what the role of a rabbi should be — a facilitator for everybody to be a better Jew, a better person.”
Zeilicovich, who speaks five languages, was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he experienced antisemitism and life under an oppressive military regime. He studied at a rabbinical seminary in Buenos Aires before completing his ordination at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.
Following his six years in Medellin, Zeilicovich moved to a synagogue in Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, before rabbinical stints in Puerto Rico, Texas and most recently New Jersey, where he announced his retirement from Temple Beth Sholom in Fair Lawn in late 2020.
Zeilicovich and his wife Graciela had moved to Israel when he got a phone call from Daniel Kripper, a friend and fellow Argentine who was retiring as the rabbi of Aruba’s Beth Israel.
“He called me and said, ‘Baruch, what are you doing in Israel?’ I said I’m going to the beach. He said, ‘Why don’t you come to the beach in Aruba where you can have a congregation again?’ And I said, ‘Why not?’”
According to Richenella Wever, a member of the Beth Israel board, Zeilicovich has been a good fit with the synagogue’s diverse congregation. “His way of thinking, teaching and his ability to connect the Torah with daily life is amazing,” she said.
Jewish life in Aruba dates back to the 16th century, when immigrants arrived from the Netherlands and Portugal. In 1754, Moses Solomon Levie Maduro, who came from a prominent Portuguese Jewish family in Curacao, settled in Aruba, where he founded the Aruba branch of the Dutch West Indies Company. Maduro paved the way for more immigrants but the island’s Jewish population has always remained small. It’s now about 100.
In 1956, the Dutch Kingdom officially recognized the Jewish community of Aruba; Beth Israel was consecrated six years later. The synagogue calls itself a “Conservative egalitarian temple keeping Sephardic and Ashkenazic traditions.” In addition to Beth Israel, there is a Chabad chapter on the island that opened in 2013.
With a membership of just 50 local families and a few dozen overseas residents, Beth Israel has limited resources. A Dutch law stipulating that the salaries of clergy in Holland’s overseas territories be paid by the government helps the synagogue remain solvent.
“This is really unique,” says Zeilicovich. “You can be a minister of an evangelical church, a Roman Catholic priest, an imam from a mosque or a rabbi from a synagogue — the government pays the salary.
“When I want to brag about myself, I say I am an employee of the Crown of Holland,” he added with a laugh.
Zeilicovich says the Aruban government has been highly supportive of the Jewish community, even erecting a life-sized bronze statue in 2010 of Anne Frank in Queen Wilhelmina Park in downtown Oranjestad.
A bronze statue of Anne Frank stands in the Queen Wilhelmina Park in downtown Oranjestad, Aruba, at left; at right, a T-shirt for sale in the Beth Israel gift shop in Aruba reads “Bon Bini,” meaning “welcome” in Papiamento, the local language. (Dan Fellner)
“That means they have respect for the Jewish community,” he says. “And they are very sympathetic with us about the Holocaust.”
Zeilicovich says a typical Friday night Shabbat service attracts about 20 people, about one-third of whom are tourists. Some arrive on the many cruise ships that dock just a mile away from the synagogue; others stay at condos or at one of Aruba’s posh resorts.
If there aren’t enough worshippers for a prayer quorum of 10 on Saturday mornings, a Torah study group meets instead. The synagogue’s small sanctuary can hold 60 worshippers, and is normally full for the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur each fall.
“We are a friendly, welcoming congregation,” Zeilicovich says. “We are family — mishpocha. When you come here, we try to make you feel that way.”
Indeed, a popular item in the synagogue’s small gift shop is a T-shirt imprinted with the words “Bon Bini Shalom.” Bon Bini means “welcome” in Papiamento, the Portuguese-based Creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean.
Zeilicovich says one of his priorities as the new rabbi is to improve the synagogue’s marketing efforts and revamp its website. He adds that Aruba’s Jewish community often is overshadowed by Curacao, its Dutch neighbor to the east that is home to the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the Americas.
“We are behind in marketing,” he said. “And we understand we are missing a huge opportunity.”
For now, Zeilicovich is enjoying his time in Aruba and can’t help but marvel at how his life has changed since his days as a rabbi in Medellin when just getting from his home to the synagogue was a dangerous ordeal.
“I think about that and look to heaven and say, ‘God, thank you.’”
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Guinness World Records Starts Accepting Israeli Submissions Again Following Legal Pressure
People stand next to flags on the day the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages, Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, are handed over under the terms of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Guinness World Records (GWR) is once again accepting submissions from Israel and the Palestinian territories, following pressure from an association of British lawyers that claimed the policy was discriminatory and threatened the validity of Guiness’s registered trademarks.
GWR confirmed to UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) via email that it ended its temporary pause on submissions from Israel and the Palestinian territories that was implemented in November 2023, shortly after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terrorist attack across southern Israel.
The exclusionary policy drew widespread condemnation in early December after Guinness World Records refused to accept a submission from the Israeli NGO Matnat Chaim, which was hoping to set a world record with an event in Jerusalem where 2,000 Israeli kidney donors will gather in one place.
GWR told Matnat Chaim at the time it was “not generally processing” record applications from Israel or the Palestinian territories “with the exception of those done in cooperation with a UN humanitarian aid relief agency.” Guinness denied claims that its policy against submissions from Israel or the Palestinian territories unlawfully excluded and discriminated against Israelis and Palestinians because the policy was based on location, not nationality or ethnicity.
In late December, UKLFI wrote to Guinness and warned that the company could face legal risks because of the policy and that it amounted to indirect discrimination. UKLFI noted that marketing publications under the title “Guinness World Records” while excluding records from in Israel or the Palestinian territories could be considered unfair commercial practice under consumer protection law. The policy could also risk the validity of Guinness’s registered trademarks, according to UKLFI.
Starting Jan. 15, GWR resumed its “routine acceptance” of applications, it told UKLFI in an email shared with The Algemeiner.
“We have continued to monitor the situation in the region carefully, reviewing the policy monthly,” GWR wrote. “The recent ceasefire and the return to a more stable environment have been key factors in these reviews. With these factors in mind … we recommenced our routine acceptance of applications for world records from Israel and the Palestinian Territories, including the application made by the Matnam Chaim charity.”
The company added that the decision to resume processing applications from the region was not an admission that its temporary pause had been unlawful or that its trademarks had been used improperly. Guinness also shared that several records set in Israel had in fact been recognized during the temporary pause. They included records for the fastest robot to solve a rotating puzzle clock, most backward somersault burpees in 30 seconds done by a male, oldest female person to perform a headstand, most sequences completed in a game of “Simon,” and tallest drag performer.
“Guinness World Records’ decision to resume accepting submissions from Israel and the Palestinian territories is welcome,” said UKLFI chief executive Jonathan Turner. “Excluding particular countries carries serious legal and commercial risks. Global organizations cannot present themselves as neutral and inclusive while applying exceptional policies to certain countries, particularly where this misleads consumers and disadvantages entire populations.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also commented on GWR’s change in policy, celebrating that the massive gathering of kidney donors in Jerusalem will be recognized.
“Two thousand Israeli kidney donors are making the largest donation ever, in a selfless act of solidarity and humanity,” Sa’ar posted on the social media platform X on Monday. “Good to see it finally receive the celebration it deserves by the Guinness World Records, which revoked their original distorted decision to deny Israeli kidney donors their rightful recognition.”
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California Theater Apologizes for Canceling Show by Israeli Comedian After He Refuses to Condemn Home Country
Illustrative: Bondi shooting survivor Chaya Dadon, 14, holds a pendant, in the shape of Israel, and a partial Star of David engraved on it, that she bought a few hours before the shooting in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 19, 2025. Photo: Reuters/Cordelia Hsu
The Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills, California apologized for canceling a show by Israeli stand-up comedian Guy Hochman after he declined the venue’s demand to issue a public statement denouncing “genocide, rape, starvation, and torture of Palestinian civilians.”
In a statement posted on Instagram and on the theater’s website over the weekend, Michael S. Hall, president of the Screening Services Group, acknowledged that canceling Hochman’s scheduled appearance on Tuesday at the Fine Arts Theater was poorly handled. He said the venue, which will host screenings as part of the 37th Israel Film Festival in February, has contacted Hochman’s representatives and is open to rescheduling his performance if “it can be done safely.”
The relationship between the theater and the Screening Services Group was not immediately clear.
Hall also admitted that the decision to cancel the show was made after he and the theater received several messages from the public, including threats of violence, related to Hochman’s performance.
“I want to apologize, especially to the Jewish community, for my statement and for how this situation was handled,” Hall wrote. “I understand that my decision caused harm and distress to many people in the community, and I take responsibility for that … I made the decision to cancel the show without giving the matter the careful thought and judgement it required. That was my mistake.”
He also acknowledged it was wrong to ask a performer “to make political or ideological statements as a condition of appearing” and that “imposing a litmus test of any kind was a mistake and should never have happened.”
“The Fine Arts Theater has supported and will continue to support Jewish and Israeli projects, artists, and community events,” Hall added. “I am committed to ensuring the theater remains a place for culture and expression without discrimination. I am already engaging with members of the local Jewish community and will continue to listen, learn, and work with community leaders moving forward.”
Hall’s apology follows a public statement from the venue that said Hochman was banned from the theater after he declined to issue a public statement denouncing “genocide, rape, starvation, and torture of Palestinian civilians.”
The statement also acknowledged that the venue could not corroborate accusations made against the comedian but still asked him to issue a public statement against Israel. Hochman talked about the venue’s demands in an Instagram video and said he will never condemn his home country.
The former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier further told The Hollywood Reporter he does not accept Hall’s apology and refuses to return to the venue.
“Do I think he’s sincere? No. He’s doing it because he was pressured,” Hochman said of Hall. “He doesn’t care. He tested me, like a loyalty test. For me, my people come before my career. I don’t care about money. I will never say lies about my people. I will never say things like rape, starvation, or genocide. That is not the story, and I don’t believe it … Jewish pride comes before everything.”
Actress and comedian Amy Schumer came to Hochman’s defense on Sunday. In an Instagram story, she wrote that the venue’s demand for Hochman to publicly condemn his country was “straight up wrong.”
“They canceled his show, admitted there’s zero evidence, and only backpedaled after the backlash. No artist should sign a forced apology note just to perform,” Schumer wrote. “Last I checked, we don’t run like those dictatorship-run spots, demanding stars trash America before letting them on stage.” Hochman shared Schumer’s statement on his Instagram story.
Photo: Screenshot
Hochman’s stand-up comedy tour has faced protests in several cities, and his scheduled show in New York City last week was canceled over safety concerns. He was also detained for several hours by Canadian border officials earlier this month after the pro-Palestinian advocacy group Hind Rajab Foundation filed a legal complaint against him, accusing the comedian of war crimes and “incitement to genocide.” The comedian was released and not charged, but his Canadian visa was revoked. His scheduled performance in Dallas, Texas, this week was canceled because of a winter storm in the region.
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As with Cain and Abel, the blood of our brother Alex Pretti is crying out from the ground
We don’t have to quote Pastor Niemoller anymore.
Because Alex Pretti could have been any of us. He could’ve been me, you, your neighbor, or your rabbi. In fact, many of my rabbinic colleagues and friends are on the streets of Minneapolis at this very moment. They are brave, patriotic and principled, and having known some of them for many years, I know that they, like Pretti, would protect the most vulnerable, even at unfathomable cost.
And what was Pretti doing? He was protesting peacefully, recording ICE agents with his iPhone. He tried to protect a woman the agents were attacking. He never drew the gun that he legally carried in its holster. He was beaten, and once on the ground, he was shot 10 times. His last words were “Are you OK?”
No longer are “they” coming only for ‘illegal’ immigrants, legal immigrants arriving at their court dates, permanent residents, Latinos, Asians, Somalians, veterans, and Black off-duty police officers.
“They” are now coming for us.
And they hate us. They lie about us, calling us assassins and terrorists. Their rage is palpable, and egged on by right-wing podcasts and right-wing media. We hate America, we are rioters, we are terrorists, we are Antifa. “Have you not learned? This is why we killed that lesbian bitch,” an ICE agent said to a protester two weeks ago, referring to Renee Good.
Even after Pretti’s murder, the Fox News headline was “Minnesota ICE official warns of unrest ‘like nothing I’ve ever seen before.’”
Other than the murder itself, the lies have been the most disturbing part of this spectacle; the immediate rush to lie about and vilify Alex Pretti, a VA nurse described by everyone who knew him as kind, caring, altruistic, and just the sort of person who would put himself in harm’s way to protect a stranger.
Stephen Miller called him a “would-be assassin” and a “terrorist.”
Commander Gregory Bovino (who parades around in a military ‘greatcoat’ that is popular among neo-Nazis online) said that Pretti planned to “massacre law enforcement” and had “violently resisted” before his men killed him, despite the video evidence flatly contradicting the latter claim.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said “this looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.” Yet Pretti had his iPhone out to record what the ICE officers were doing.
There are two reasons these lies are the second-worst part of this episode.
First, it is morally repellent to drag Pretti and his family through the mud — and, if Renee Good’s family is any example, expose them to doxxing, death threats and defamation. Just imagine what they will say about me if they kill me at a protest. Or you. Or your rabbi.
Second, this isn’t one ICE agent. This is an entire apparatus of dehumanization and deceit. And though polling says only 20% of Americans believe that Pretti deserved to be shot, large swaths of America believe this extremist propaganda. We all have targets on our backs, painted by the government and their media apparatus.
There is a teaching in the Torah about this. It is, in fact, the first teaching in the Torah about the violence people do to one another: the story of Cain and Abel.
You know the myth, in all its brevity and primal truth. Cain and Abel are brothers. Both have offered sacrifices to God, though the text suggests Abel gives of his best while Cain does not. And so, Abel’s sacrifice is accepted and Cain’s is not. Vayichar l’kayin me’od; Cain is infuriated, filled with rage. God speaks reprovingly to Cain, telling him in essence that he has gotten what he deserved, that he must curb his desires more. But Cain does not accept this lesson and kills his brother in jealousy and rage.
As we all know, God asks Cain where Abel is — though of course, God already knows. Cain replies “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
But God responds, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.”
Read closely and see. Cain is lying, of course; he knows exactly what he has done. He also denies responsibility; it’s not his job, he says, to take care of Abel. Ha-shomer achi anochi, he asks. Literally, am I my brother’s guard? His protector? Am I supposed to keep him safe?
Cain’s lies are like those of Miller, Bovino, Noem, and the rest. They are transparently preposterous. We are not God, but we can all watch the videotape; we can all inspect the freeze-frames of Pretti lying on the ground being beaten and then being shot.
And we can all easily learn that Pretti, like Abel, was innocent. He was not violently resisting, he posed no threat to these officers. He was no more a “terrorist” than I am — indeed, the word ‘terrorist’ has now become just a slur, drained of actual meaning, as if a non-violent activist is no different from the Bondi Beach terrorist or the Tree of Life terrorist. What a disgusting side-note, that the government has rendered this word meaningless.
Pretti’s blood cries out from the ground. And it is louder than the lies of the murderers.
One final epilogue. There is a midrash (Genesis Rabba 22:9) that blames God for Abel’s murder, because God could have prevented it but chose not to do so. When God says that Abel’s blood is crying out, the midrash says, it is crying out at God.
This is a bold midrash, accusing the Almighty of complicity in murder. But it is aimed at us, not God. None of us individually has the power to stop the next murder in Minneapolis, or Iran, or Gaza, or anywhere else, but collectively, we have the power to rise up against this injustice. We are made in the image of God, and with that similitude comes responsibility. We cannot turn away anymore. The blood cries out from the ground – to each and every one of us.
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