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‘West Wing’ star Joshua Malina will join the cast of Broadway’s ‘Leopoldstadt’

(New York Jewish Week) –  “West Wing” star Joshua Malina will join the cast of Broadway’s “Leopoldstadt” starting March 14, replacing David Krumholtz in the central role of wealthy businessman and family patriarch Hermann Merz in the Holocaust drama.

“I know the day that I was introduced to Tom Stoppard’s work: January 5th, 1984, when at 17 I attended the opening night of ‘The Real Thing,’” Malina tweeted to his nearly 314,000 followers on Twitter about the Tony-winning production. “I am blown away to be joining the spectacular cast of his brilliant LEOPOLDSTADT 40 years later.”

“Leopoldstadt” follows multiple generations of a Jewish Viennese family through the first half of the 20th century as they contend with their status as Austrians and Jews. Since opening at the Longacre Theatre in Sept. 2022, the show has been met with mixed reviews from Jewish critics, though it has proved meaningful for Holocaust survivors and their descendants who saw their family history reflected onstage.

A view of the cast of “Leopoldstadt,” which focuses on multiple generations of a Viennese Jewish family. (Joan Marcus)

Loosely based on Stoppard’s own family history, its characters include a cousin — who like Stoppard was raised by a Christian British stepfather – who learns of his Jewish past and the losses in his family in the years after the Holocaust. 

This will be Malina’s first Broadway role since his appearance in the ensemble of Aaron Sorkin’s “A Few Good Men” in 1989. A native of New York City, the Jewish actor is best known for his television roles: In addition to starring as Will Bailey in “The West Wing,” he has appeared in “Scandal,” “Sports Night” and “The Big Bang Theory.” 

Malina is also an avid Twitter user who frequently uses his platform to call out antisemitism, express pride in his Judaism and raise money for Jewish causes.

I was last on Broadway in 1989. I try to do a play there every 34 years. Look for me in WEEKEND AT BERNIE’S in 2057,” he joked on Twitter about his new role.

Along with Malina, Dave Register and Cody Braverman will join the cast as Fitz and Young Leo, respectively. Current cast member Jesse Aaronson will replace Arty Froushan as Leo in addition to his role as Aaron and understudies Charlotte Graham and Sarah Killough will take over for the roles of Nellie and Eva, replacing original cast members Tedra Millan and Cassie Levy.

The show is scheduled to run at the Longacre Theatre through July 2.


The post ‘West Wing’ star Joshua Malina will join the cast of Broadway’s ‘Leopoldstadt’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’

Rep Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, on Sunday likened the Trump administration’s immigration rhetoric to Nazi depictions of Jews.

“It reminds me of the way the Nazis described Jewish people in Germany,” Omar said in an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, commenting on a social media post by Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, in which he suggested that “migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.” Miller, who is Jewish, is the architect of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

Omar called Miller’s comments “white supremist rhetoric” and also drew parallels between his characterization of migrants seeking refuge in the U.S. to how Jews were demonized and treated when they fled Nazi-era Germany. “As we know, there have been many immigrants who have tried to come to the United States who have turned back, you know, one of them being Jewish immigrants,” she said.

Now serving as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, Miller is central to the White House’s plans for mass deportations and expanded barriers to asylum. During Trump’s first term, Miller led the implementation of the so-called Muslim travel ban in 2017, which barred entry to the U.S. for individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and pushed to further reduce a longtime refugee program.

Miller’s comments echoed similar rhetoric by Trump after an Afghan refugee was accused of shooting two National Guard members near the White House last month, killing one.

Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting last week that Somali immigrants are “garbage” and that he wanted them to be sent “back to where they came from.” The president also singled out Omar, a Somali native who represents Minnesota’s large Somali-American community. “She should be thrown the hell out of our country,” Trump said.

In the Sunday interview, Omar called Trump’s remarks “completely disgusting” and accused him of having “an unhealthy obsession” with her and the Somali community. “This kind of hateful rhetoric and this level of dehumanizing can lead to dangerous actions by people who listen to the president,” she said.

The post Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller’s comments on immigrants sound like how ‘Nazis described Jewish people’ appeared first on The Forward.

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Nigeria Seeks French Help to Combat Insecurity, Macron Says

French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Pool

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has sought more help from France to fight widespread violence in the north of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, weeks after the United States threatened to intervene to protect Nigeria’s Christians.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has witnessed an upsurge in attacks in volatile northern areas in the past month, including mass kidnappings from schools and a church.

US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians. The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.

Macron said he had a phone call with Tinubu on Sunday, where he conveyed France’s support to Nigeria as it grapples with several security challenges, “particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”

“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” Macron said in a post on X.

Macron did not say what help would be offered by France, which has withdrawn its troops from West and Central Africa and plans to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance.

Nigeria is grappling with a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest and deadly clashes between largely Muslim cattle herders and mostly Christian farmers in the central parts of the country, stretching its security forces.

Washington said last month that it was considering actions such as sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to compel Nigeria to better protect its Christian communities.

The Nigerian government has said it welcomes help to fight insecurity as long as its sovereignty is respected. France has previously supported efforts to curtail the actions of armed groups, the US has shared intelligence and sold arms, including fighter jets, and Britain has trained Nigerian troops.

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Netanyahu Says He Will Not Quit Politics if He Receives a Pardon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would not retire from politics if he receives a pardon from the country’s president in his years-long corruption trial.

Asked by a reporter if planned on retiring from political life if he receives a pardon, Netanyahu replied: “no”.

Netanyahu last month asked President Isaac Herzog for a pardon, with lawyers for the prime minister arguing that frequent court appearances were hindering Netanyahu’s ability to govern and that a pardon would be good for the country.

Pardons in Israel have typically been granted only after legal proceedings have concluded and the accused has been convicted. There is no precedent for issuing a pardon mid-trial.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in response to the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and his lawyers have said that the prime minister still believes the legal proceedings, if concluded, would result in a complete acquittal.

US President Donald Trump wrote to Herzog, before Netanyahu made his request, urging the Israeli president to consider granting the prime minister a pardon.

Some Israeli opposition politicians have argued that any pardon should be conditional on Netanyahu retiring from politics and admitting guilt. Others have said the prime minister must first call national elections, which are due by October 2026.

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