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An Asian-Jewish superhero fights the 1970s Chinese mob in comic book debut
(JTA) — An independent comic book publisher that aims to promote diversity in comics is about to spotlight a historic new character: the Asian-Jewish Leah Ai Tian, AKA “The Last Jewish Daughter of Kaifeng.”
The character is the brainchild of Fabrice Sapolsky, co-founder of the Queens, New York-based FairSquare Comics, which aims to “promote and give more exposure to immigrants, minorities and under-represented creators of the word.” “The Last Jewish Daughter of Kaifeng,” which debuts June 7, is the latest installation of the Intertwined series of comics, which Sapolsky and fellow Frenchman Fred Pham Chuong started in 2017.
Leah, who made a brief appearance in the first Intertwined book, has the ability to manipulate anything water-based and travel through streams — not unlike a certain character in the popular TV show “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
The book tells her complex origin story, which Sapolsky said is meant to “explain the reality of being a minority in a country that does not accept you as a minority.”
At first, Leah lives freely as a Jew in 1970s New York City — she wears a chai necklace, has opened a kosher Chinese restaurant and says her rabbi calls her powers “a blessing” from god. But the reader learns that she had left China to avoid a forced marriage to a mob lord who now terrorizes Kaifeng — a large city in eastern China home to the remnants of the country’s only native Jewish community.
That community, once thought to be at least a few thousand strong, by the time of Leah’s story was thought to be mostly dispersed or assimilated into the non-religious society of the Cultural Revolution. Leah returns home to try to save her parents and bring them to New York, where they could practice their religion freely.
Sapolsky’s interest in the Jewish community in Kaifeng dates back to the 1990s, when he was a teenager and his Jewish camp in France one year held “Kaifeng-themed” activities, meant to educate campers about Chinese Jews.
Born in France to a Sephardic mother from Algeria and an Ashkenazi father with roots in today’s Ukraine, his own background informed his interest in Jewish diversity.
“When working on the original concept of Intertwined, I knew we had to have a Jewish character, and there had never been an Asian Jewish character in comics,” Sapolsky said.
For Sapolsky, it was important to make Leah’s story “real, make it authentic, make it believable.” He talked to consultants about Kaifeng history and culture, making sure even the architecture depicted on the page was realistic.
“The two artists, Fei Chen and Ho Seng Hui, are from China and Malaysia, and never thought about Jews before this project, so they learned while drawing the book,” he said. “Will Torres, a Christian of Puerto Rican descent, helped with the inking, and the coloring was done by Argentines Exequiel Roel and Walter Pereyra.”
The goal of the story was not only to refer to the minority experience in China — but also to the realities in the United States, Sapolsky’s adopted home.
“Unlike in France, where Jews are clearly defined as a minority, in this country they are widely perceived as simply white, which denies the diversity of Judaism,” he said.
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The post An Asian-Jewish superhero fights the 1970s Chinese mob in comic book debut appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Protesters at Tel Aviv Rally Call for State Inquiry into Oct. 7 Failings
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl. In Jerusalem on 16 October 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/POOL/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli protesters gathered on Saturday in Tel Aviv, to demand the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoint a committee to initiate a state inquiry on the security failings of October 7.
Saturday night rallies in Tel Aviv have been a fixture of the two-year-long war in Gaza that was triggered by the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, that saw the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Protesters charged that Netanyahu refuses to be held accountable for his share of responsibility in Israel’s blackest day. They likewise took exception to Netanyahu’s wish to select the members of the committee, arguing this represented subversion of the democratic process.
Protesters also demanded the return of remains of the three deceased hostages still remaining in Gaza: Ran Gvili, Dror or and Sudthisak Rinthalak.
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Ukraine ‘Ready to Discuss’ Trump Admin’s Plan to End War, as US Official Says Plan Not Up for Negotiation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the press conference after the opening session of Crimea Platform conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 August 2023. The Crimea Platform – is an international consultation and coordination format initiated by Ukraine. OLEG PETRASYUK/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Kyiv will engage with Washington’s 28-point plan to end the war with Russia and demonstrate it is open to substantive discussions, a senior Ukrainian official said on Saturday, even as an official from the US administration of President Donald Trump indicated that the plan was not up for negotiation.
“In the coming days in Switzerland we are launching consultations between senior officials of Ukraine and the United States on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement,” Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, wrote on his official Facebook account.
“Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps,” he further added. “We value the involvement of the American side and its readiness for a substantive discussion. Ukraine will continue to act responsibly, professionally, and consistently — as required by our national security.”
This comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Friday that Ukraine risked losing its dignity and freedom — or Washington’s backing — over a US peace plan that endorses key Russian demands.
Washington’s 28-point plan calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept restrictions on its military and renounce its bid to join NATO.
Meanwhile, Financial Times reported on Saturday that US army secretary Daniel Driscoll communicated in no uncertain terms to Ukrainian and European officials there was no room to negotiate on its plan and Washington would show little flexibility.
“We are not negotiating details,” he was quoted as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has previously refused to budge on Russia’s demands, said on Friday the US plan could be the basis of a final resolution to the nearly four-year-old conflict. He said Kyiv was against the plan but neither it nor its European allies understood the reality of Russian advances in Ukraine.
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MAGA Favorite Marjorie Taylor Greene to Resign After Split with Trump
U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announces her resignation from her position, in this screen grab from a statement released on social media, November 21, 2025. Marjorie Taylor Greene via X/Handout via REUTERS
Saying she refused to be a “battered wife,” US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Friday she was resigning from the House of Representatives in the wake of a dramatic falling out with President Donald Trump.
Her exit marks a stunning turn of events that few would have imagined months ago. Greene, a Republican from Georgia, was once one of Trump’s closest allies and an outspoken advocate of his “America First” agenda, but the rift between the two widened in recent months over the release of government files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and other matters.
In a 10-minute video posted on social media, Greene said she was spurred to resign by the prospect of having to face a Trump-backed Republican primary challenger and the potential takeover of the House by Democrats in next year’s midterm elections. She also complained that Congress has largely been “sidelined” since Trump returned to the presidency in January.
RUPTURE PROMPTS CONCERNS OVER MAGA BASE BEFORE MIDTERMS
“I have too much self-respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms,” Greene said.
“I refuse to be a battered wife hoping it all goes away and gets better,” she added.
Interviewed by ABC News, Trump said Greene’s resignation, to take effect on January 5, was “great news for the country. It’s great.”
Greene lamented the state of American politics, contending that neither Republicans nor Democratic lawmakers were working to solve the nation’s problems, including the rising cost of living.
She said voters were tuning out Washington because “they know how much credit card debt they have, they know how much their own bills have gone up over the past five years, they actually do their own grocery shopping and know food costs too much, their rent has increasingly gone up, they have been outbid by corporate asset managers too many times when they put in an offer to buy a house.”
The public dispute between Trump and Greene had fueled concerns among some Republicans that Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base could fracture a year before the midterms, when Democrats hope to regain control of Congress.
Greene’s resignation will narrow the Republican majority in the House to 218 members over the Democrats’ 213. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
Greene had been increasingly exhibiting her independence from Trump, joining a House effort to force the release of the Epstein files over his objections, blasting House leadership for not doing more to address healthcare costs during the recent government shutdown and calling Israel’s assault on Gaza a genocide.
Trump, in turn, became more critical of her.
Before the House voted overwhelmingly to release the Epstein files, he called her a “traitor” and “disgrace” to the Republican Party. He withdrew his support for her and called her a “ranting lunatic.”
GREENE SAYS ORDINARY AMERICANS BEING ‘CAST ASIDE’
In her video, Greene defended her Epstein vote.
“Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I fought for,” she said.
Greene said she was proud of her conservative voting record, adding, in a swipe at Trump, that “loyalty should be a two-way street.”
Her ally in the House, Representative Thomas Massie, posted on X that Greene “embodies what a true representative should be.”
Barbara Comstock, a former Republican House member and a Trump critic, lauded Greene’s decision on social media.
“She doesn’t want to be a Republican ‘battered wife’ taking Trump’s abuse and getting death threats and pretending it’s all ok only to end up in the minority. Good for her,” Comstock posted.
Greene won her northwest Georgia district with 64% of the vote in 2024. Residents there said this week they hoped her rift with Trump would soon heal and expressed a willingness to support both of them. But Greene made clear on Friday that she had no interest in sparring with a Trump-backed opponent.
Even if she prevailed, she said, she likely would be in the House minority after the midterms and would have to defend Trump in impeachment proceedings, a situation she called “absurd” and “completely unserious.”
“If I am cast aside by MAGA Inc and replaced by Neocons, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Military Industrial War Complex, foreign leaders, and the elite donor class that can’t even relate to real Americans, then many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well,” she said.