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A ‘gender-sensitive’ translation of the Hebrew Bible has hit digital shelves. Not everyone is happy.
(JTA) — A new Biblical translation that eschews gendered pronouns for God is now available through Sefaria, the online library of Jewish texts, prompting backlash on social media from some who see the change as a sacrilege.
The Revised Jewish Publication Society edition of the Bible, which the 135-year-old Jewish publishing house has released in partnership with Sefaria, is the first major update to the JPS translation of the Tanakh in nearly 40 years. So far, only the books comprising the Prophets, the Hebrew Bible’s second section, are available on Sefaria..
The new English translation refers to individuals with pronouns that are consistent with traditional gender norms. But unlike nearly all translations of the Bible throughout history, the new edition, known as RJPS, does not refer to God with masculine pronouns. It doesn’t use feminine pronouns either: Instead, God is referred to simply as “God” throughout the text.
For example, Isaiah 55:6 reads, “Seek GOD while you can, Call out while [God] is near.” JPS’ landmark 1985 translation, by contrast, reads, “Seek the LORD while He can be found, Call to Him while He is near.”
“The RJPS makes the case that the art of Bible translation is always a work in progress, and should take into account not only our deeper understanding today of biblical Hebrew but also the significant changes that have occurred in the use of English over the past decades,” said JPS’ director emeritus, Rabbi Barry Schwartz, in the announcement for the new translation of the Bible, which is called the Tanakh in Hebrew.
“Tanakh is the foundational text of the Jewish people, and we share Sefaria’s desire for everyone to be able to access it in language that is appropriate and meaningful for them while remaining faithful to the original,” Schwartz added.
The lack of divine pronouns in the RJPS translation comes as non-traditional pronouns — and debate over their use — have become increasingly prevalent in public discourse. A 2021 study by the Pew Research Center found that more than a quarter of American adults know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns, up eight percentage points since 2018. Meanwhile, many conservatives have decried the use of gender-neutral pronouns, and multiple Republican-led states have passed laws effectively permitting educators to refuse to use the pronouns their students prefer.
The RJPS translation, one of at least 12 available through Sefaria, has sparked backlash online from some Orthodox Jews who believe the new translation is not aligned with their values. Arguing that the translation is an example of progressive political ideology seeping into religion, some have said they will stop using the app over the RJPS translation.
Yehiel Kalish, the CEO of Jewish ambulance corps Chevra Hatzalah, announced last week via Twitter that he had deleted the app. Other prominent figures in the Orthodox world also condemned the new translation.
“Sefaria is a tremendous resource for the [world of] Torah,” tweeted Yochonon Donn, news editor of Mishpacha Magazine, which reaches a haredi Orthodox audience. “Messing around with [holy books] to conform to western ideas of equality is an unacceptable breach. If this is true, I can’t see people learning from an unholy source.”
Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values, a right-wing Orthodox political advocacy organization, tweeted that “to be more inclusive of atheists, they’ll provide a ‘historically accurate translation’ that avoids mention of the Supreme Being. ‘In the beginning, heaven and earth were created.’”
Sefaria has always featured texts relevant to Jews with a range of approaches — a spectrum that has only widened as the digital library has added (and begun supporting the creation of) contemporary texts and translations.
Publishing the RJPS is “about having different translations that are available,” said Sara Wolkenfeld, Sefaria’s chief learning officer. (Sefaria’s CEO, Daniel Septimus, is on the board of 70 Faces Media, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s parent organization.)
“We are always working to include Jewish texts that are studied by the full range of Jewish learners,” she said. “And that’s why we chose to include the newest JPS translation, but among the many other translations that we’ve already hosted in the library.”
Sefaria also has translations from Orthodox-geared publishing houses, such as the Koren and Metsudah versions, and even translations into French and German. Users can select their own preferred English translation, and RJPS is not the default translation for the Book of Prophets.
“People should know that Sefaria is a library for the entire Jewish people,” Wolkenfeld said. “And our mission is to provide access to Torah and to bring Torah into the digital age. That’s really what we’re aiming for.”
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New Evidence in Leaked Classified Documents Case Links Netanyahu Advisor
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem, Aug. 10, 2025. Photo: ABIR SULTAN/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – During an appeal hearing at the District Court over the decision not to extend restrictions in the classified documents case, police revealed new correspondence between Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein.
The messages suggest that Feldstein, an advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was aware of the secret document and its potential leak.
Feldstein was also summoned for further questioning at Lahav 433 amid suspicions of obstruction during a late-night meeting in a parking lot.
The correspondence, dated October 13, 2024, was exchanged on the encrypted messaging app Signal. Feldstein reportedly wrote to Urich that he was considering taking advantage of a visiting Bild reporter to discuss the document. Urich responded: “Let Hasid handle it, why waste your time on it,” referring to the reporter as a “nuisance.”
Police stated that the messages contradict Urich’s previous claims that he had never seen or heard of the secret document, showing that he was not only aware of it but also discussed its publication with Feldstein.
Last Thursday, the court rejected a request to remove Urich from the Prime Minister’s Office and denied lifting restrictions on Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman and Omer Mansour. Judge Menachem Mizrahi wrote that the requests lacked “evidentiary, substantive, proportionate, or purposeful justification,” and saw no reason to extend prohibitions on contact or work for the respondents.
The new revelations are likely to intensify scrutiny of the roles of senior aides in the handling of classified material within the Prime Minister’s Office.
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Senior Iranian UN Diplomat in Geneva Defects, Seeks Asylum in Switzerland
Swiss flags flutter on the Swiss Parliament Building (Bundeshaus), after the weekly governmental meeting in Bern, Switzerland, Jan. 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – A senior Iranian diplomat posted to the United Nations’ European headquarters in Geneva has reportedly defected and applied for political asylum in Switzerland, according to diplomatic sources cited on Sunday by the Iranian opposition outlet Iran International.
The diplomat, Alireza Jiranieh Hokambad, served as a minister-counselor, the second-highest-ranking position in Iran’s UN delegation in Geneva.
According to the report, he left his post and submitted an asylum request for himself and his family, citing fears of persecution should he return to Iran.
Sources said Hokambad’s decision was driven by concerns over the ongoing political and social unrest in Iran, as well as doubts about the stability of the Islamic Republic’s governing structure. Swiss authorities have not yet issued an official response to the asylum application.
Hokambad joined Iran’s Geneva delegation in 2017 and represented Tehran in several UN-affiliated economic bodies, including forums focused on trade, development, and investment.
Diplomatic sources noted that increasing international support for protesters in Iran, coupled with strong criticism from European leaders, has heightened unease among Iranian diplomats stationed across Europe.
According to the report, several other Iranian diplomats have discreetly contacted European authorities in recent weeks to explore the possibility of seeking asylum.
European sources added that some governments are considering easing asylum procedures for Iranian diplomats, even in cases where applicants are unable to demonstrate an immediate and direct threat to their lives.
Defections by Iranian diplomats during periods of domestic unrest are not without precedent. In the aftermath of Iran’s 2009 “Green Movement” protests, a number of senior diplomats posted in countries including Norway, Finland, Italy, and Belgium resigned and sought asylum, publicly condemning the Tehran government’s violent crackdown.
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World Leaders Show Caution on Trump’s Broader ‘Board of Peace’ Amid Fears for UN
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by Reuters White House correspondent Steve Holland (not pictured) during an exclusive interview in the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
Governments reacted cautiously on Sunday to US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace” initiative aimed at resolving conflicts globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations.
Only Hungary, whose leader is a close Trump ally, gave an unequivocal acceptance in response to the invitations, which have been addressed to some 60 nations and began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, according to diplomats.
Other governments appeared reluctant to make public statements, leaving officials to express concerns anonymously about the impact on the work of the U.N..
The board would be chaired for life by Trump and would start by addressing the Gaza conflict and then be expanded to deal with other conflicts, according to a copy of the letter and draft charter seen by Reuters.
Member states would be limited to three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion each to fund the board’s activities and earn permanent membership, the letter states.
“This simply offers permanent membership to partner countries who demonstrate deep commitment to peace, security, and prosperity,” the White House said in a post on X.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, visiting South Korea, told reporters her country was “ready to do our part,” although it was not clear whether she was specifically referring to Gaza or the broader peace.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday he had agreed to Trump’s Board of Peace for Gaza in principle although details were still being worked out.
The Board of Peace’s mandate was only authorized by the United Nations Security Council through 2027 and was solely focused on the Gaza conflict.
‘DARK TIMES’
The inclusion of a “charter” in the invitation letter stoked concerns among some European governments that it could undermine the work of the United Nations, which Trump has accused of not supporting his efforts to end conflicts around the world.
“It’s a ‘Trump United Nations’ that ignores the fundamentals of the U.N. charter,” said one diplomat.
Three other Western diplomats said it looked as if it would undermine the United Nations if it went ahead.
A further three diplomats and an Israeli source said that Trump wanted the Board of Peace to eventually have a broader role beyond Gaza that would oversee the other conflicts that Trump has said he has resolved.
The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Australia, Canada, the European Commission and key Middle East powers were among those invited to sit on the Board of Peace, according to officials.
“Declaring that durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common-sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed,” the document showed.
In what appeared to be directed at the United Nations, the document added that there was a “need for a more nimble and effective international peace-building body.”
Trump, who covets the Nobel Peace Prize, said in the letter that the board would convene in the near future, adding: “This board will be one of a kind, there has never been anything like it!”
In public comments in response to a reporter’s question, a senior UN official did not address the plan directly, but said the United Nations was the only institution with the moral and legal ability to bring together every nation, big or small.
“And if we question that … we fall back and very, very, dark, times,” Annalena Baerbock, president of the United Nations General Assembly, told Sky News, adding that it was up to individual states to decide what to do.
The White House on Friday named some individuals who will sit on the board, which would outlive its role supervising the temporary governance of Gaza, under a fragile ceasefire since October.
They included US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas signed off on Trump’s plan, which says a Palestinian technocratic administration will be overseen by an international board, which will supervise Gaza’s governance for a transitional period.
TRUMP GOES FOR GLOBAL PEACE ROLE
“It’s going to, in my opinion, start with Gaza and then do conflicts as they arise,” President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview earlier this week.
Many rights experts and advocates have said that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s governance resembles a colonial structure, while Blair’s involvement was criticized last year due to his role in the Iraq war and the history of British imperialism in the Middle East.
The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the board. The names do not include any Palestinians. The White House said more members will be announced over the coming weeks.
It also named a separate, 11-member “Gaza Executive Board” to support the technocratic body.
This would include Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, U.N. Middle East peace coordinator Sigrid Kaag, United Arab Emirates International Cooperation Minister Reem Al-Hashimy, Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay and officials from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the composition of this board had not been coordinated with Israel and contradicted its policy – possibly a reference to Fidan’s presence, as Israel objects to Turkish involvement. Israel’s government also has a tense relationship with Qatar. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment beyond the statement.