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Shalom Hartman Institute hires ex-Ramah Berkshires director for education position
(JTA) — Six months after a lawsuit claimed that he mishandled an allegation of sexual assault between campers at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, the camp’s former director, Rabbi Ethan Linden, has a new job.
Linden began a role as director of educational operations and design for the Shalom Hartman Institute on Monday, the Jewish education nonprofit confirmed. The job involves supporting Hartman’s educational programs throughout the year in a “vital internal coordination and consultative role,” according to a Hartman spokesperson.
The Shalom Hartman Institute runs more than a thousand programs over the course of the year, ranging from one-off lectures to convenings of thought leaders to a gap year program in Israel. It also operates two high schools, one in the United States and one in Israel.
The spokesperson declined to say whether Linden would have any contact with the teens involved in Hartman’s programs but said in a statement, “We maintain rigorous processes for screening and evaluating prospective employees for competence and character in our commitment to the excellence of our work.”
The new job caps a tumultuous period for Linden, who was one of three parties named in a lawsuit filed in early May by a former camper at Ramah in the Berkshires, where he had been director since 2016. The camp and Linden told the court in August that they had reached a settlement with the former camper, which was finalized last month.
The lawsuit alleged that Linden and others overseeing the camp had “acted with deliberate indifference” in the summer of 2018 after the camper alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by a male camper. The lawsuit alleged that Linden did not inform the camper’s family of the assault, and instead pressured her not to tell her parents and involved the police only after her parents learned about the alleged assault.
The suit also claimed that Camp Ramah and National Ramah Commission, the organization that oversees all of the Ramah camps, was aware of the alleged assault and how it was handled by at least January 2019, and that they allowed Linden to remain in charge. Both groups said in a statement in May that the camp had previously cooperated with law enforcement.
Linden was placed on leave one week after the lawsuit was filed, and National Ramah Commission Director Amy Skopp Cooper led Camp Ramah in the Berkshires last summer. On Nov. 1, Susie Charendoff took over as its interim director.
The camp informed families on Oct. 16 that Linden had resigned from his position, saying, “We wish him all the best and know that we will miss his many talents, his energy and spirit, his warmth, and his passion for Jewish camping.”
Linden had previously worked as a rabbi at Shir Chadash Conservative Congregation in Metairie, Louisiana, near New Orleans, and at three other Ramah camps.
A lawyer for Ethan Linden did not return a request for comment by publication time.
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The post Shalom Hartman Institute hires ex-Ramah Berkshires director for education position appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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UK Police Charge Two Men in Connection with Filming Antisemitic TikTok Videos
The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company’s US head office in Culver City, California, US, Sep. 15, 2020. Photo: REUTERS
British police have charged two men with religiously aggravated harassment offenses after they were alleged to have traveled to a Jewish area of north London to film antisemitic social media videos.
The two men, Adam Bedoui, 20, and Abdelkader Amir Bousloub, 21, are due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court, a statement from the Crown Prosecution Service said on Saturday.
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US Imposes Sanctions on Companies It Accuses of Aiding Iran’s Weapons Sector
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, Jan. 20, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The US Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies, including several in China and Hong Kong, over accusations they aided Iran’s efforts to secure weapons and the raw materials needed to build its Shahed drones and ballistic missiles.
The Treasury move, first reported by Reuters, comes days before US President Donald Trump plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping and as efforts to end the war with Iran have stalled.
In a statement, Treasury said it remained ready to take economic action against Iran’s military industrial base to prevent Tehran from reconstituting its production capacity.
Treasury said it was also prepared to act against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce, including airlines, and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that aid Iran’s efforts, including those connected to China’s independent “teapot” oil refineries.
Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, said Treasury’s actions were aimed at cracking down on Iran’s ability to threaten ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz and regional allies.
Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint between Iran and Oman through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes, after the US and Israel attacked a large number of targets in Iran on February 28. Shipping through the crucial waterway has ground to a near halt since the war began, sending energy prices sharply higher.
Iran is a major drone manufacturer and has the industrial capacity to produce around 10,000 a month, according to the British government-fund Center for Information Resilience.
Erickson said the sanctions were still narrowly focused, giving Iran more time to adapt and reroute procurement to other suppliers. Treasury was also not yet going after Chinese banks that were keeping Iran’s economy going, he added.
The companies facing sanctions include:
• China-based Yushita Shanghai International Trade Co Ltd for facilitating acquisition efforts for Iran to purchase weapons from China.
• Dubai-based Elite Energy FZCO for transferring millions of dollars to a Hong Kong company to aid the procurement effort.
• Hong Kong-based HK Hesin Industry Co Ltd and Belarus-based Armory Alliance LLC for working as intermediaries in the procurements.
• Hong Kong-based Mustad Ltd for facilitating weapon procurement by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
• Iran-based Pishgam Electronic Safeh Co for procuring motors used in drones.
• China-based Hitex Insulation Ningbo Co Ltd for supplying materials used in ballistic missiles.
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Gaza Flotilla Activists to Be Released From Israel Detention and Deported
Brazilian Activist Thiago Avila, who was detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, appears at a court in Beersheba, southern Israel May 6, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Two activists arrested last month when Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound flotilla they were traveling on are expected to be deported in the coming days after being released from security detention on Saturday, their lawyers said.
Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities on April 29 and brought to Israel.
The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla launched from Spain on April 12 to try to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering aid to the enclave.
Israel’s foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization and Avila was suspected of illegal activity. Both denied the allegations.
BRAZIL AND SPAIN SAID THE DETENTION WAS UNLAWFUL
The governments of Spain and Brazil said Abu Keshek’s and Avila’s detention was unlawful, but Israel’s Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court remanded them in custody until May 10.
Human rights group Adalah, which has assisted in their legal defense and also said the detention was unlawful, said that Abu Keshek and Avila were informed that they will be released from detention on Saturday and handed over to immigration authorities’ custody until their deportation.
“Adalah is closely monitoring developments to make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days,” the group said. Israeli officials were not immediately reachable for comment.
Israeli authorities held them under suspicion of offenses that included aiding the enemy and contact with a terrorist group.
Gaza is largely run by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.