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High Holiday services are set to return this year — with a new eternal flame — to a Texas synagogue damaged in a 2021 arson

(JTA) — A portion of the stained glass that survived the 2021 arson of an Austin, Texas synagogue has been rebuilt into a three-dimensional eternal flame that will be installed in the social hall of the synagogue’s building next week.
While the main sanctuary of the synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel, is still not open, the social hall has been renovated into a transitional worship space. On Aug. 25, the congregation hosted its first Friday night services in the building in nearly two years, and will gather there for the High Holidays beginning on Sept. 15.
In Nov. 2021, then-18-year-old Franklin Barrett Sechriest was arrested on local and federal arson charges for setting fire to the synagogue, a Reform congregation. The fire caused over $250,000 worth of damage to the synagogue, according to an email from a spokesperson representing the synagogue. It destroyed the synagogue’s historic carved wooden doors, damaged the building’s exterior and its stained glass windows, and caused smoke damage throughout the sanctuary, according to a donation page on the synagogue’s website.
The glass that has been refashioned into an eternal flame, which stays perpetually lit, sits on a square wooden platform and is carved into the shape of a fire rising up from the wood in red, orange, yellow and blue. It will be hung over the bimah, where the Torah is read and where the rabbi leads services.
While the synagogue was closed for repairs, the congregation met for services at the nearby St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. Lori Adelman, who served as president of the synagogue during the fire, says being back in the auditorium two weeks ago left her speechless.
“I was so overwhelmed with the energy in that room, the pure joy of our members being together,” she told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “It’s overwhelming the amount of love and care that’s gone into creating this new space.”
Sechriest started the fire on Oct. 31, 2021, just one week after banners with the words “Vax the Jews” were hung by a neo-Nazi group from an Austin overpass in an area near a number of synagogues and the local Jewish Community Center.
In April 2023, Sechriest pleaded guilty to two federal charges, including the destruction of religious property, which is a hate crime. The board of directors of the synagogue had endorsed a plea deal, arguing that it “means the defendant must admit his guilt in open court and allows us to begin to heal without the trauma of being put through what would most likely be a difficult trial,” synagogue leaders wrote to their members.
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The post High Holiday services are set to return this year — with a new eternal flame — to a Texas synagogue damaged in a 2021 arson appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israel Receives Shipment of Heavy Bombs Cleared by Trump

US President Donald Trump looks on as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 31, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Israel has received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the United States, after US President Donald Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden, the defense ministry said on Sunday.
The MK-84 is an unguided 2,000 pound bomb, which can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
The Biden administration declined to clear them for export to Israel out of concern about the impact on densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
The Biden administration sent thousands of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas terrorists from Gaza but later held up one of the shipments. The hold was lifted by Trump last month.
“The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump Administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said late on Saturday.
The shipment arrived after days of concern about whether a fragile ceasefire in Gaza agreed last month would hold, after both sides accused each other of violating the terms of the deal to halt fighting to allow the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails.
Washington has announced assistance for Israel worth billions of dollars since the war began.
The post Israel Receives Shipment of Heavy Bombs Cleared by Trump first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Mideast Envoy Says Phase Two Gaza Talks to Continue This Week

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that talks on phase two of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian terrorists Hamas would continue this week “at a location to be determined” to figure out how to reach a successful conclusion.
He told Fox News that he had “very productive and constructive” calls on Sunday with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s director of intelligence.
Witkoff said they spoke about “the sequencing of phase two, setting forth positions on both sides, so we can understand… where we are today, and then continuing talks this week at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of phase two successfully.”
The post US Mideast Envoy Says Phase Two Gaza Talks to Continue This Week first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Arab States to Reveal 5-Year Plan to Rebuild Gaza: No Hamas or Relocation

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends the Arab summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, May 31, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad l Mohammed/File Photo.
i24 News – Arab countries will unveil their plan for the reconstruction of Gaza on February 27 in Cairo. This initiative, developed by the Palestinians and handed over to the Egyptians for implementation, will be presented to the leaders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The plan provides for reconstruction over three to five years, without the displacement of the Palestinian population and without Hamas control. The funding, estimated at several hundred million dollars, will come from Gulf countries. The work will be carried out by Egyptian companies, representing a significant source of income for Egypt, which is strongly opposed to any migration of Palestinians out of Gaza. The workforce will consist mainly of local Palestinians.
“The goal is to marginalize Hamas so that it understands that it has lost control of Gaza, and to completely eliminate the terrorist organization’s grip on the population and the territory within 5 years from the start of reconstruction,” a source involved in the plan said.
An independent “Palestinian administration,” separate from the Palestinian Authority but relying on it, will oversee the reconstruction. This power structure is designed to get the approval of Israel and the United States, who refuse direct management by the Palestinian Authority.
Arab countries fear a resurgence of fighting by Israel, which could, in their view, favor US President Donald Trump’s plan to move Palestinians to neighboring countries. The former US president said he wanted to see Jordan, Egypt, and other Arab countries welcome more displaced people from Gaza, so that the war-torn area can be “cleaned up.”
According to analyzed satellite images, approximately 65% of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed during the war. Experts estimate that reconstruction could take more than a decade and cost several hundred billion dollars.
The post Arab States to Reveal 5-Year Plan to Rebuild Gaza: No Hamas or Relocation first appeared on Algemeiner.com.