Uncategorized
Israel is turning 75. For American Jews, planning the birthday party has gotten complicated.
(JTA) – Like many synagogues have done over time, Congregation Kol Ami in Seattle is partnering with local Israelis to celebrate Israel’s birthday — a big one this year.
But Kol Ami won’t be holding a straightforward celebration for Israel’s 75th. Instead, it’s working with UnXeptable, a group of expat Israeli activists who have been protesting for months against the Israeli government’s plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary, for what they are calling a “family gathering honoring Israel’s democracy.” There, congregants will study Israel’s Declaration of Independence then sign a new copy to “rededicate” it.
“Most cities are just going to do a pareve 75th anniversary of Israel and not recognize the emotional reality of a lot of Israelis right now,” said Rabbi Yohanna Kinberg, using the Jewish term for food that contains neither meat nor dairy — in other words, a safe option.
“We have all these people in our communities who are worried about their friends and family, and we’re just going to be folk dancing and eating falafel?” she asked.
Such is the dynamic at play as Israel celebrates a milestone birthday under the shadow of political and cultural turmoil that people on both sides of the judicial reform fight say could change the country’s character forever — and that has altered the relationship between American Jews and Israel.
Long hesitant to weigh in on Israel’s domestic affairs, many American Jewish groups and leaders, including rabbis, spent the past several months openly criticizing the country’s right-wing government for its effort to sap the power of the Israeli Supreme Court.
Now, with the judicial legislation on pause, many of those groups have turned their attention to Yom Haatzmaut, this year celebrated starting the evening of April 25, and the 75th secular anniversary of Israel’s independence on May 14. Jewish Federations of North America is supporting its 146 local federations in convening “Israel @ 75” programming, while synagogues of all denominations have planned an array of parties, study sessions and special events.
People gather to watch performers from the Independent Women Dance Troupe during celebrations marking Israel’s 73rd Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) in New York City’s Times Square, April 18, 2021.(Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
The question facing all of them: With even Israel’s president warning of possible political violence, just how festive can this year’s birthday feel?
For Kinberg, the answer is clear: An uncomplicated party would be “sort of like celebrating the Fourth of July if we’re in the middle of a civil war.”
American Independence Day offers an instructive example for Rabbi Erez Sherman of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, too — but he has come to a different conclusion from Kinberg. He said his community celebrates Yom Haatzmaut the way most Americans mark the Fourth of July — without tailoring it to the current political headwinds.
“Are we going to spend it pointing at every challenge that Congress has?” he asked. “Or are we going to say, ‘This country is unique’?”
Temple Sinai is partnering with several local Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Pico Union Project and the Jewish Journal, for its weeks-long series of “Israel @ 75” events. Another sponsor is StandWithUs, a pro-Israel advocacy group that is involved in Israel-at-75 celebrations in several cities.
Together, the consortium will host concerts, history lectures, art exhibits and special Shabbat services — and even if the complicated present is expected to come up, it won’t be a focus.
“While we can understand challenges, there is also time for celebrations and birthdays,” said Sherman, who oversees Israel programming at his synagogue. “Israel is not perfect, but a world without Israel would be a lot less perfect than it is now.”
Thousands of Israelis protest against the planned judicial overhaul at the Azrieli junction in Tel Aviv, April 15, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
The balancing act has hit home this week for the umbrella group for North America’s Jewish federations, which is holding its annual convention in Israel next week — a plan that was set even before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reelected and formed his right-wing government last fall. UnXeptable called for the group not to feature Netanyahu, who has sworn to restart his push to pass the judicial reform measures. But Jewish Federations of North America rejected the call on Monday, saying that “the opportunity to hear from Israel’s duly elected president and prime minister is a symbol of Israel’s achievement.”
What’s clear is that American Jews interested in engaging with Israel on its 75th birthday will have no shortage of options, from food festivals, children’s carnivals and concerts to headier fare. Experts on Israel are in high demand, with packed schedules of live and Zoom events offering up seemingly unending choices for people with all levels of familiarity with Israel’s history and politics.
For some American Jewish leaders, some of whom have expressed concern about Israel engagement in their communities, the very density and diversity of the offerings is itself a win.
“That’s great that we are in a Jewish community that has so many different forms of expression,” said Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield, executive vice president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, a think tank that is organizing its own series of Israel-at-75 events that begins with a talk at New York City’s Central Synagogue titled “Dispatches from an Anxious Nation.”
For some Jewish communal organizers, celebrating Israel and discussing its future as a democracy go hand in hand, a dynamic eased by the landmark year and its invitation to hold multiple events.
In Cleveland, for example, the Jewish federation is mounting an “Israel Fest” headlined by a concert from the Shalva Band, a group of musicians with disabilities who appeared on an Israeli talent show. But the community is also hosting Israeli journalist Matti Friedman, who has been critical of the judicial reforms, as a guest speaker.
The federation is offering small grants to any Jewish Clevelanders looking to host their own Israel at 75 events, too, and is placing very few stipulations on their content.
If grantees want to use the opportunity to talk about the fight for Israel’s democracy or even debate matters related to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, they can, said Ilanit Gerblich Kalir, assistant vice president of external affairs at the federation. If they just want to host “blue-and-white-themed parties,” she said, they can do that too.
“We have to celebrate what we’re proud of Israel for. There’s a lot to be proud of,” Kalir said. “But at the same time, part of connecting with Israel and part of what’s going on is affected by this country right now.”
—
The post Israel is turning 75. For American Jews, planning the birthday party has gotten complicated. appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
Mamdani concedes he can’t arrest Netanyahu but urges U.S. to enforce International Criminal Court warrant
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday night that a legal review he ordered found he does not have the authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the city, putting to rest a question that has repeatedly surfaced since he first vowed to take custody in light of an International Criminal Court order for Netanyahu’s arrest.
In the two-minute address posted on his official social media accounts, Mamdani opened by declaring “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people” but acknowledged the legal limits that prevent him from following through on his pledge, which had become a rallying cry for his pro-Palestinian supporters. (The use of the term “genocide” to describe the Gazan death toll in the Israel-Hamas war remains contested.)
“My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here,” Mamdani said. “It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this one.”
Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. pic.twitter.com/YRezmW6YVx
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) July 22, 2026
The United States does not recognize the court’s authority over American citizens or foreign nationals on U.S. soil, and local authorities have no power to execute such a warrant. U.S. law gives the federal government control over foreign policy, and heads of state traveling to the United Nations are protected by diplomatic immunity.
The announcement ended days of speculation and fierce backlash over one of his most controversial campaign promises after comments he made when asked about his arrest vow in an interview with The New York Times reignited the issue. “If someone is charged with a warrant from the International Criminal Court for these types of crimes, that’s something I believe should be honored,” Mamdani told reporters on Monday.
Mamdani, who rose to power aligned with pro-Palestinian activism, has been unapologetic about his anti-Zionist views. He came under fire during the mayoral race last year for defending the slogan “globalize the intifada,” used by some at the pro-Palestinian protests and perceived by many as a call for violence against Jews, and repeatedly said he’d arrest the Israeli leader over the conduct of the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s representatives in the U.S. responded angrily to Mamdani’s move, calling him “an antisemite” and accusing him of attacking Israel to cover up for political failure.
On Tuesday night, Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, responded on social media: “Zohran Mamdani, ENOUGH. Enough with the blood libels. Enough with the attacks on Jewish organizations. Enough with the outreach to the Iranian regime. You were elected to serve New Yorkers, not Hamas’ propaganda. Do your job!”
Tuesday’s video mirrored the Nakba Day video produced by his City Hall media team commemorating the displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s founding in 1948, which drew sharp criticism from Jewish and Zionist organizations. But it also highlighted the tension that has defined Mamdani’s first six months in office: balancing the activist politics that propelled him to City Hall with the legal limits and governing responsibilities of leading the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel.
In his address, Mamdani said that while the city had exhausted its legal options, the federal government had not. He urged the Trump administration to join the International Criminal Court and enforce its arrest warrant for Netanyahu. President Donald Trump, writing on Truth Social on Monday, reassured Netanyahu that he “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.”
Mamdani concluded that Netanyahu “is not welcome in New York City” and said New York leaders can choose not to remain silent to defend Palestinian human rights. “That is my commitment to you,” he said.
The post Mamdani concedes he can’t arrest Netanyahu but urges U.S. to enforce International Criminal Court warrant appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
Democratic socialist rails against AIPAC in uphill primary bid against pro-Israel incumbent in Arizona
(JTA) — Kai Newkirk, an activist and democratic socialist, has made Israel and AIPAC a focal point in his effort to unseat pro-Israel Rep. Greg Stanton in Tuesday’s Arizona Democratic primary.
“I’ve been arrested over 25 times in civil disobedience — and I’ll go to jail for justice again before I ever take a dime from AIPAC,” Newkirk wrote on X last week, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Newkirk, 45, whose organizing has largely focused on campaign finance reform, has repeatedly blasted Stanton’s support from the pro-Israel lobbying group. He has also accused the Israeli government itself of “trying to interfere in our elections,” including in Arizona’s 4th Congressional District where he is running and which covers parts of Phoenix and Maricopa County.
He pointed to a $45 million text message campaign to improve Israel’s image in the U.S. as a sign of such interference, and posited that “they may be targeting areas where AIPAC is more invested or where these issues are more at stake.”
The primary comes as a number of left-wing congressional candidates with sharply critical Israel stances have won the Democratic nomination around the country, and as Israel and AIPAC grow increasingly unpopular among Democratic voters.
The most recent poll on the Arizona race, commissioned by a group that favors Newkirk, had Stanton up by 8 percentage points, while another poll, conducted two weeks earlier by a group favoring Stanton, showed the incumbent ahead by 33 points.
Newkirk’s platform includes ending all military aid to Israel and imposing an arms embargo on the country, which he accuses of genocide.
Stanton, 56, a four-term incumbent, voted against Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie’s amendment to cut military aid to Israel last week. Newkirk criticized Stanton, saying that he would have voted for the amendment, and suggested that Stanton’s vote was the result of his support from AIPAC.
“Greg Stanton has taken over $300K from AIPAC,” Newkirk wrote. “And today — as so many Americans in our district and across the country struggle to get by — he just voted to send billions more of our tax dollars to Israel to fund their war crimes and genocide. Disgraceful.”
Among AIPAC’s endorsees in Congress, more than a dozen voted to cut aid to Israel last week; AIPAC has since removed the option on its website to donate to those candidates.
Stanton explained his vote on X, saying that the amendment “would undermine America’s ability to counter real threats from Iran” and weaken the ability to promote long-term stability across the region. He also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and wrote that “clear change is necessary” as the U.S.-Israel security agreement, which includes $3.8 billion in annual military subsidies for Israel, nears its expiration in 2028.
Newkirk is endorsed by progressive groups such as Our Revolution, Track AIPAC and the Progressive Democrats of America.
Also among Newkirk’s endorsers is Cenk Uygur, the host of the Young Turks who has spread conspiracy theories about Israel. “Kai is Israel Free and has fought to get money out of politics his whole life,” wrote Uygur last month.
Newkirk has faced turbulence in establishing broader support.
The Young Democrats of Arizona pulled its endorsement of Newkirk earlier in July, writing that it had been “made aware of some concerning patterns of behavior” displayed by Newkirk, without specifying what it meant.
Newkirk did not respond to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s request for comment. After the Young Democrats of Arizona retracted its endorsement, Newkirk wrote that the withdrawal of the endorsement was based on a false report amid “a wave of wins by democratic socialists” and called it a “weaponization of … disavowed misinformation.”
Newkirk did speak out against last year’s killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. “I stand always with my beloved Jewish siblings against the scourge of antisemitism just as I will never stop in the nonviolent struggle to end the genocide in Gaza, release all hostages, and open the way to just, lasting peace,” he said.
The post Democratic socialist rails against AIPAC in uphill primary bid against pro-Israel incumbent in Arizona appeared first on The Forward.
Uncategorized
Ed Miliband, Britain’s new Jewish foreign secretary has a long history of support for — and disagreement with — British Jews
(JTA) — Tapped to become Britain’s new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband said he would strive to honor the memories of his Holocaust refugee parents.
“My parents came to Britain as Jewish refugees from the Nazis,” Miliband tweeted just hours after Prime Minister Andy Burnham named him to the post. “To them, Britain was both a sanctuary and a beacon of hope in the global fight against fascism. I will carry my parents’ faith in that spirit of Britain to my role representing our country.”
The appointment by the new prime minister positions Miliband as the highest-ranking Jewish official in the British government, assuming a role once held by his older brother David and at a time when questions of the country’s relationship to Israel are a pressing priority. Miliband has long decried antisemitism, including within his own party, and is also known as a critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Among the priorities facing the office is whether Britain should move forward with an effort to ban imports from West Bank settlements, which has support across the political spectrum, and how to handle surging anti-Israel and anti-Jewish violence that authorities say has been orchestrated by actors abroad.
Ed Miliband led the Labour Party when it was in opposition from 2010-2015; his brother was among the candidates he bested in the party’s 2010 leadership race.
He has said he has no Jewish practice or formal education and that his parents favored politics over religion. His mother, Marion Kozak, who died last month, was an early supporter of Jews for Justice for Palestinians, a British group, but ceased speaking out publicly as her sons ascended in British politics.
David Miliband, now the president of the International Rescue Committee, has also said his career choices stem from the suffering their parents endured as Jewish refugees.
Ed Milliband’s stances on Israel have caused consternation among British Jewish groups in the past. In 2014, he led his party in a symbolic vote to recognize a Palestinian state and also criticized the toll of Israel’s operations during that year’s Gaza war.
“I defend Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks,” he said then. “But I cannot explain, justify or defend the horrifying deaths of hundreds of Palestinians, including children and innocent civilians.”
He also told the Jewish News at the time that he did not eschew the “Zionist” label.
“I am proud to be Jewish,” he said. “I’ve no issue with people calling me a Zionist.” He described Israel as “the homeland for the Jewish people.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said they recognized Miliband’s overall support of Israel, but also chided him for his comments about the Palestinian civilian death toll. “These comments regrettably ignore the ideology of Hamas, the psychology of Hamas, the actions of Hamas and thus the reality faced by Israel,” they said then in a joint statement at the time.
Miliband was succeeded as Labour Party leader by Jeremy Corbyn, whose strident pro-Palestinianism and perceived insensitivity to Jewish sensibilities marked the worst relations between the party and the Jewish community in decades.
Miliband was cautious about criticizing his successor but made clear his unhappiness with how Corbyn was handling the antisemitism charges in 2018 when he took the organized Jewish community’s side in lambasting the party leadership for rejecting a definition of antisemitism that includes some forms of anti-Israel rhetoric and activity.
“Labour should adopt the full IHRA definition,” he said then, referring to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. “The argument that it is somehow incompatible with criticizing the actions of the Israeli government is wrong. The views of the vast majority of the Jewish community are very clear.
Miliband condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, but also persisted as one of Labour’s most forceful critics of Israel’s government.
During the 2024 general election campaign, he called Oct. 7 “an appalling terrorist atrocity,” saying, “We in the Labour leadership are completely committed to the security for the people and security for the state of Israel.”
However, he added that “the continuing Israeli action in Gaza is not either beneficial now for Israel, or for the people of Gaza.”
One of the first questions Miliband will face is how he will handle relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, who is famously averse to people who have criticized him in the past. “These are dark days for America and the world,” Miliband wrote in 2017, as Trump assumed his first term of office. The same year, Miliband also said Trump had “lowered the bar for idiocy.”
The post Ed Miliband, Britain’s new Jewish foreign secretary has a long history of support for — and disagreement with — British Jews appeared first on The Forward.
