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Bob Born, Jewish maker of Peeps marshmallow candies, dies at 98
(JTA) — Ira “Bob” Born, the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant who founded the company that makes Peeps candies, has died. He was 98.
Born was the former president of Just Born Quality Confections, the 100-year-old family-owned candy company in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that makes Mike and Ikes, jelly beans and Goldenberg Peanut Chews, but is probably best known for the marshmallow treats that are staples in Easter baskets.
Just Born’s Jewish roots came as a surprise to this reporter, who in 2012 reported for the New Jersey Jewish News on the company’s acquisition of Goldenberg Peanut Chews, a venerable Philadelphia brand that had recently dropped its kosher “pareve” certification. Ross Born, Bob’s son and co-CEO of the company, explained the difficulty in sourcing ingredients for the candies and spoke about the family’s commitment to Jewish causes in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. (Peanut Chews are kosher dairy; Peeps are not kosher.)
He also spoke about his father’s innovations as head of the company, which the elder Born joined in 1945 after graduating from Lehigh University with a degree in engineering physics and service in the U.S. Navy. Born had been accepted to medical school but fell in love with the business.
After Just Born acquired a maker of marshmallow candies in 1953, Bob Born devised a way to greatly speed the process. At the Bethlehem factory, huge machines squirt armies of the chick-shaped confections onto a conveyer belt, on which they glide past little guns that paint on the eyes.
Bob Born also cut down on waste when he figured out what to do with Mike and Ike candies that emerged misshapen in the manufacturing process: He remelted the candies, added a hot cinnamon flavor to mask their original taste, and repurposed them as Hot Tamales.
“That was his nature. He didn’t say, ‘No, we can’t do something.’ He said ‘Well, we’ll figure it out,’” Ross Born told the Lehigh Valley News.
Bob Born was born on Sept. 29, 1924, in New York City. His father, Sam Born, had been a rabbinical student from Berdichev, Ukraine, before his family fled to Paris, where he learned the art of chocolate-making. After opening a factory and store in Brooklyn, Sam brought his brothers-in-law, Irv and Jack Shaffer, into the business. A nephew, David Shaffer, is currently board chair and co-CEO of Just Born.
Bob Born retired after almost 40 years at Just Born and moved to Florida, where he was chairman of a literacy program in an underserved community.
In addition to his talents as a candymaker, Born was a musician, woodworker, chess player and photographer, according to his son. In 2019, the city of Bethlehem declared Feb. 15 as “Bob Born Day.”
Ross, a past president of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, told the local newspaper that his father will be remembered as a “real mensch” — Yiddish for a person of integrity and honor.
“He was a kind person, he was generous with his talents, sharing his abilities. He was very fair minded: he wanted to embrace differences rather than just tolerate them,” Ross Born said.
The family asked that contributions be made to the American Technion Society, Israel Guide Dog Center or any literacy program.
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The post Bob Born, Jewish maker of Peeps marshmallow candies, dies at 98 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Lindsey Graham urges Israel not to strike Iranian oil depots even as he says he helped make war happen
(JTA) — Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has called on Israel to rein in its attacks on Iranian oil infrastructure, marking a rare note of caution from a Republican lawmaker who has said he helped push the United States to join Israel in waging war against Iran.
In a post on X on Sunday, Graham praised Israel for its role in the war before adding that “there will be a day soon that the Iranian people will be in charge of their own fate, not the murderous ayatollah’s regime.”
“In that regard, please be cautious about what targets you select,” continued Graham. “Our goal is to liberate the Iranian people in a fashion that does not cripple their chance to start a new and better life when this regime collapses. The oil economy of Iran will be essential to that endeavor.”
Graham’s post linked to an Axios article that reported that the United States was alarmed by Israeli strikes over the weekend that targeted 30 Iranian fuel depots. On Monday, U.S. gas prices rose to their highest levels since 2024.
The warning from Graham, an ally of President Donald Trump and staunch supporter of Israel, comes days after the Republican hawk told the Wall Street Journal that he had played a key role in urging Trump to strike Iran.
Prior to the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, Graham made several trips to Israel where he met with members of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whom he said he coached on how to lobby Trump to strike Iran.
“They’ll tell me things our own government won’t tell me,” Graham told the newspaper.
On Monday, Graham also directed his criticism at Saudi Arabia’s decision to stay on the sidelines of the campaign against Iran.
“It is my understanding the Kingdom refuses to use their capable military as a part of an effort to end the barbaric and terrorist Iranian regime who has terrorized the region and killed 7 Americans,” wrote Graham in a post on X Monday. “Question – why should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?”
The post Lindsey Graham urges Israel not to strike Iranian oil depots even as he says he helped make war happen appeared first on The Forward.
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Belgian officials investigating synagogue explosion as possible act of terrorism
(JTA) — Belgian officials are investigating an explosion in front of a synagogue in Liège early Monday as a possible act of terrorism.
The explosion, which took place at 4 a.m., damaged the door of the historic neo-Romanesque synagogue and blew out the windows of multiple buildings across the street. No injuries were reported.
A range of Belgian politicians, including the prime minister and the mayor of Liège, characterized the explosion as act of antisemitism.
“Antisemitism is an attack on our values and our society, and we must fight it unequivocally,” Prime Minister Bart de Wever said in a statement. “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Liege and across the country.”
The explosion comes amid a surge of concern about possible attacks by agents associated with the Iranian regime, against which the United States and Israel launched a war last week. Iran has a long record of supporting attacks on Jewish targets abroad, including two bombings in the 1990s in Argentina that killed more than 100 people at the Israeli embassy and a Jewish community center. Now, with Iran being pummeled at home, watchdogs are warning that it might lash out through its Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, responsible for attacks abroad.
Azerbaijan said Friday that it had foiled multiple terror attacks planned by Iranian agents on Jewish sites. In London, four men were arrested last week for allegedly spying on the Jewish community for Iran, with the intent of planning attacks against the community. And a string of shootings at synagogues in Toronto has ignited concern in Canada, too.
Iranian agents have taken aim at non-Jewish targets, too. On Friday, a Pakistani man who prosecutors said had been directed by Iran’s IRGC was convicted of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump.
The attack in Liège, in the primarily French-speaking Wallonia province, comes amid a range of recent developments that have unsettled Belgian Jews, who number approximately 30,000. They include antisemitic carnival caricatures in the city of Aalst; a ban on ritual slaughter preventing the local production of kosher meat; and an ongoing row between U.S. and Belgian officials over Jewish circumcision practices. The attack also follows a 2014 shooting in which a gunman associated with the Islamic State, a rival to Iran’s Islamic Republic, shot four people to death at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.
A spokesperson for the Liège police described the effects to the area as “only material damage” to the 1899 building. Rabbi Joshua Nejman told local media that he was hoping that security footage would reveal the perpetrator.
“I’m going to try to calm my heart, because it is beating faster and faster this morning,” said Nejman, who said he had been at the synagogue for 25 years.
“Liege is home to a very small but vibrant Jewish community where I personally grew up,” Eitan Bergman, vice president of the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organisations in Belgium, told Reuters. “Today, the feelings among our community members are a mixture of sadness, worry and profound shock.”
Liege’s mayor, Willy Demeyer, praised the synagogue community to RBTF, Belgium’s French-language national broadcaster. He added, “We cannot allow foreign conflicts to be imported into our city.”
The post Belgian officials investigating synagogue explosion as possible act of terrorism appeared first on The Forward.
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The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life, 2025
In honor of The Algemeiner‘s 12th annual gala, we are proud to present our “J100” list — 100 individuals who have positively influenced Jewish life over the past year.