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Broadway’s Jews gather in response to neo-Nazi protest
(New York Jewish Week) – Twenty-four hours after neo-Nazi agitators heckled ticket-holders outside the first preview of “Parade,” a musical about a notorious antisemitic incident, Jewish members of New York’s theater community came together to share their emotions and reactions and look to the future.
The gathering, organized by producer and actor Ari Axelrod, was held on a rainy Wednesday afternoon in a rehearsal space at Open Jar Studios in Times Square. It was just three blocks north of the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, where “Parade” is currently in previews. About 50 people from all ranks of the theater industry — from Broadway producers and marquee stars to undergraduate students in college shows — joined the conversation.
Starring Jewish actor Ben Platt, “Parade” tells the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager accused and found guilty of murdering a girl who worked for him, despite little evidence. In 1915, Frank was kidnapped from jail and lynched by a mob, and the case led to the creation of the Anti-Defamation League and a resurgence of interest in the Ku Klux Klan.
At the show’s first preview on Feb. 21, protestors who identified with the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group headquartered in Florida, accused Frank of being a pedophile and condemned audience members for paying to support pedophiles and Jews.
“The story about Leo Frank is not a new one. They could be protesting anywhere. But there is a reason they knew that that play was happening and where it was happening,” said Axelrod, who told the New York Jewish Week that he has been thinking about holding a gathering in response to antisemitism for nearly two years. “It feels like they came into our home, not just our home as Jews, but our home as theater artists.”
Axelrod, 28, opened by leading the Shehechiyanu, a prayer of gratitude, and a round of deep breaths.
“The intention for today is not to find a solution to the rise in antisemitism or even the solution to what happened yesterday,” Axelrod told the crowd. “The intention is to be in a space and find community and gather as Jews, which is what we’ve been doing for thousands of years. To commiserate and talk and bear witness to how we’re feeling and how other people are feeling, to be seen and heard and held and valued and validated as an individual and as a member of a community.”
The room was full of Jewish and some non-Jewish people in the theater industry of all ages who wanted to express their thoughts and ideas about the protests. (Julia Gergely)
Many in the room felt fear, sadness, frustration and anger at the events. For an assistant on the production team of “Parade” — who asked to remain anonymous because he came to process his own feelings and not as a representative of the show — “it was emotional, especially because not everyone on the team is Jewish. So just being there as a Jewish person, hearing them say that to people going into the show was hard.”
However, he noted the importance of committing to see and work on the show. “Just being at the show last night was its own protest to what they were saying,” he said, adding that the team behind “Parade” is committed to ensuring a safe environment for everyone involved and that they don’t want to let the protests deter people from seeing the show, which is scheduled to run through Aug. 6.
Elliott Masie, a Broadway producer who was on the line with his wife when the threats and jeers began, said his initial reaction was surprise. “I couldn’t discern what they were about at first. They tried to pretend that they were against pedophiles, but then their rhetoric escalated and they started to go up to people in the line and say ‘You paid so much for this, to advocate for a Jew.’ The moment I heard them say the word ‘Jew,’ I realized what they were,” he told the New York Jewish Week.
“The hardest part was that it seemed like most people coming into the theater didn’t understand who they were,” Masie, 72, added.
Still, he said, the show was wonderful. “I’ve never been at a first preview that had as prolonged an ovation. In some ways, they stole the moment. We have to give the moment back and give the moment to all of us. The ultimate love and support we need to do is show the cast and the company that we’re here,” he said.
Over the last year, Jewish stories have been having a moment on Broadway and off, with “Funny Girl,” “Leopoldstadt” and “Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish” all coming to the stage in 2022. Surrounding each show has been discussions of their relevance at time when watchdog groups have been reporting a rise in antisemitic incidents.
“The entire cast of our show and company was scared last night that we were going to walk out to something similar,” said David Krumhotlz, who is in the final weeks of his role as patriarch Hermann Merz in “Leopoldstadt,” Tom Stoppard’s play about the Holocaust. “Thank God it didn’t. We stand in solidarity not only with ‘Parade,’ but with the entire Jewish Broadway community.”
Yael Chanukov, a cast member of “Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish,” spoke about the safety and security discussions the cast and crew had during the show’s run and the fear and anxiety she felt at times doing such a proudly Jewish show that otherwise was one of the most fulfilling experiences of her life.
The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, where “Parade” is in previews, Feb. 22, 2023. (Julia Gergely)
For many, it was an exhalation of years of frustration and confusion over minor and major antisemitism they said they experienced in the theater industry and beyond.
While Axelrod said the goal of Wednesday’s gathering wasn’t to find solutions, by the end of the evening, he had cemented an idea for a Jewish advocacy coalition within the theater industry. He said it might offer resources and tools for how to speak up and show up to support the Jewish theater community.
Representatives from the Anti-Defamation League and Jews for Racial & Economic Justice who were at the meeting offered to help get contacts and funding if the idea were to get off the ground.
“The general tenor that I’m getting is that no one is asking the theater community to make the fight against antisemitism the top priority. Just make it a priority,” Axelrod said.
Actor and writer Mike Haber, 31, had tickets for Wednesday night’s performance of “Parade.”
“Last night, I literally couldn’t even sleep because of what happened,” he said. “This is so beautiful to see so many theater people and we’re all coping with the same emotions and feelings.”
Ninety minutes before the Wednesday evening performance began, the rain had stopped and all was calm in front of the theater. Haber took pictures and burst out singing the show’s tunes. “I love this,” he said. “I can’t wait to see it.”
—
The post Broadway’s Jews gather in response to neo-Nazi protest appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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All 20 living hostages are back in Israel
אַלע 20 ישׂראלדיקע ערובֿניקעס, וואָס זענען לעבן געבליבן נאָכן פֿאַרכאַפּט ווערן דורך כאַמאַס מיט צוויי יאָר צוריק, האָט מען מאָנטיק צוריקגעבראַכט קיין ישׂראל, נאָך אַן עמאָציאָנעלן פֿרימאָרגן וואָס האָט פֿאַרכאַפּט דעם אויפֿמערק פֿון ייִדן איבער דער וועלט.
אין פֿאַרגלײַך מיט פֿריִערידיקע פֿאַרהאַנדלונגען צו באַפֿרײַען די ערובֿניקעס, האָט כאַמאַס דאָס מאָל נישט געמאַכט קיין עפֿנטלעכע „צערעמאָניעס“ בײַם באַפֿרײַען די פֿאַרכאַפּטע ישׂראלים. דאָס איז געווען איינער פֿון די תּנאָים בײַ דער אַמעריקאַנער־אָנגעפֿירטער גרופּע, וואָס האָט דורכגעפֿירט די פֿאַרהאַנדלונגען פֿאַר אַ וואָפֿן־שטילשטאַנד אין עזה די פֿאַרגאַנגענע וואָך.
אַ צווייטע זאַך וואָס מע האָט דאָס מאָל געטאָן אַנדערש: בעת די באַפֿרײַטע ערובֿניקעס האָבן געוואַרט אויף די אויטאָס פֿונעם רויטן קרייץ, האָט די פֿאַרהאַנדלונג־גרופּע זיי געבראַכט מאָבילקעס, כּדי זיי זאָלו קענען אָנקלינגען זייערע משפּחות. דערבײַ האָט זיך געשאַפֿן מאָדנע סצענעס, וווּ ישׂראלים רעדן פֿריילעך אויפֿן טעלעפֿאָן בעת עס שטייען לעבן זיי מאַסקירטע טעראָריסטן.
די משפּחה פֿון בר קופּערשטיין האָט אַרויסגעלאָזט אַ ווידעאָ וווּ ער זאָגט דער מאַמען: „אַלץ איז בסדר, מאַמע. זאָרג זיך נישט.“
אין אַ צווייטן ווידעאָ זעט מען ווי עינבֿ זאַנגאַוקער, די מאַמע פֿון מתן אַנגרעסט, זאָגט אים: „די מלחמה איז אַרביער. איר קומט אַלע אַהיים. דו ביסט מײַן וועלט. איך האָב דיך ליב.“
אַ פֿאָטאָגראַפֿיע אַרויסגעלאָזט פֿון דער ישׂראלדיקער רעגירונג, האָט געוויזן ווי גלי און זיוו בערמאַן, אַ צווילינג פֿאַרכאַפּט פֿון קיבוץ כּפֿר עזה, טרעפֿן זיך ווידער נאָכן זײַן צעטיילט אין געפֿענקעניש.
אַלון אוהל, וואָס מע האָט געזאָגט, אַז ער האָט געליטן וווּנדן אין די אויגן, האָט אָנגעטאָן אַ פּאָר זונברילן, וואָס עטלעכע ישׂראלדיקע סאָלדאַטן האָבן אים געגעבן.
לישי מירן־לביא, וואַרטנדיק אויף איר מאַן עומרי מירן נאָכן רעדן מיט אים דורך „פֿייסטײַם“, האָט אָנגעקלונגען אירע צוויי טעכטערלעך און זיי געזאָגט: „דער טאַטע קומט אַהיים.“ באַלד נאָך דעם האָט דאָס פּאָרפֿאָלק סוף־כּל־סוף זיך ווידער פֿאַראייניקט.
די ערובֿניקעס האָבן אויסגעזען בלאַס און אויסגעדאַרט אָבער אַלע זענען געגאַנגען אָן שום הילף. בײַ עטלעכע פֿון זיי האָט אויסגעזען ווי זייער פֿיזישער מצבֿ האָט זיך דווקא פֿאַרבעסערט זינט די פֿריִערדיקע ווידעאָס וואָס כאַמאַס האָט פֿאַרשפּרייט פֿון זיי.
די ווידעאָס און פֿאָטאָגראַפֿיעס אין די נײַעס האָבן אַרויסגערופֿן פֿריילעכע געשרייען פֿון צענדליקער טויזנטער מענטשן וואָס האָבן זיך פֿאַרזאַמלט אינעם „ערובֿניקעס־פּלאַץ“ אין תּל־אָבֿיבֿ — דאָס זעלבע אָרט וווּ מע האָט במשך פֿון די לעצטע צוויי יאָר טרויעריק געדאַוונט אויף דער אויסלייזונג פֿון די פֿאַרכאַפּטע.
אַ צווייטע פֿאַרזאַמלונג מאָנטיק האָט זיך געשאַפֿן אין רעים, דעם קיבוץ לעבן עזה וווּ אַ סך פֿון די ערובֿניקעס זענען פֿאַרכאַפּט געוואָרן בעת דעם נאָוואַ־פֿעסטיוואַל דעם 7טן אָקטאָבער 2023. מאָנטיק איז דאָס טאַקע געווען דאָס ערשטע אָרט, וווּ די פֿאַרכאַפּטע פֿעסטיוואַל־באַטייליקטע האָבן זיך אָפּגעשטעלט, איידער זיי האָבן זיך פֿאַראייניקט מיט זייערע משפּחות.
The post All 20 living hostages are back in Israel appeared first on The Forward.
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Trump in Jerusalem: Israel Has Won the Gaza War; Now’s the Time for Peace
US President Donald Trump speaks to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Oct. 13, 2025, in Jerusalem. Photo: Evan Vucci/Pool via REUTERS
US President Donald Trump delivered a sweeping address to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Monday, declaring “the end of war, the end of the era of terror and death,” while veering repeatedly off-script in remarks that mixed triumph, improvisation, and political provocation – including a surprise call for President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who remains on trial for corruption.
Trump landed in Israel just as the 20 living hostages kidnapped by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, still being held captive in Gaza were freed. The bodies of 28 deceased hostages were expected to be released later in the day, but reports emerged that only four would be returned.
The US president opened his speech by poking fun at those who took the floor before him – including Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Netanyahu, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid – for taking too long in their own speeches, causing him to be late for a planned summit in Egypt with world leaders about the future of Gaza.
“Who knows if they’ll still be there when I get there?” he quipped.
Trump praised Israelis, saying that “only a proud and faithful people could withstand” the torment of the past two years. The Oct. 7 attack, in which more than 1,200 people were murdered and 251 taken hostage, was “one of the most evil and heinous desecrations of innocent life the world has ever seen,” he said, adding that the atrocities “struck to the core of humanity itself.”
But he went on to say that “today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace.”
The entire Middle East hoped to see “the disarmament of Hamas,” Trump said, referring to the internationally designated terrorist group. “Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel.”
Hamas seized control of Gaza nearly two decades ago, following Israel’s total military and civilian withdrawal from the enclave.
“People are dancing in the streets – not just in Israel – about what is happening today,” Trump said, referring to the jubilation over the hostage release as part of the US-brokered ceasefire to halt fighting in Gaza.
“What a victory it’s been,’ he added, thanking “the almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
The president said the expansion of the Abraham Accords — which he jokingly referred to by its Hebrew pronunciation — was imminent. “Avraham, it’s so cool. So much, sorta, nicer. The Abraham, versus the Avraham.”
He even suggested that Iran could join the historic accords to normalize relations with Israel, asking Netanyahu, “Would you be happy with that? Wouldn’t it be nice?”
“I think they want to. I think they’re tired,” Trump said, adding that Iran was not resuming its nuclear program. “The last thing they want to do is start digging holes again in mountains that just got blown up.”
“They want to survive, OK?”
Iran, whose leaders regularly call for the destruction of Israel, on Saturday dismissed the idea of joining the accords, saying it was “wishful thinking.”
In his speech, Trump described Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East who led the hostage negotiations, as a “Henry Kissinger who doesn’t leak.”
Addressing Herzog directly, Trump said, “I have an idea, why don’t you give Netanyahu a pardon?”
Netanyahu is currently on trial on corruption charges, including fraud and breach of trust for accepting luxury gifts.
“Netanyahu was one of the best [leaders] during wartime,” Trump said, dismissing the charges against the premier. “Cigars and champagne? Who cares?”
His comments prompted laughs and whispers through the plenum.
He also praised Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, saying “he’s a very nice opposition leader” and, addressing Netanyahu by his nickname, added, Lapid “is a nice man. Bibi, he’s a nice man.”
“Now you can be a little bit nicer because you’re not at war anymore, Bibi,” Trump quipped.
At one stage, a commotion broke out when Trump’s speech was interrupted by Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif, two lawmakers from the Arab Joint List party who held up a sign calling on the US president to “Recognize Palestine.”
After the two were removed fairly quickly, Trump said, “That was very efficient.”
Hadash-Ta’al MKs Ayman Odeh and Ofer Cassif removed from Trump’s speech after holding up signs calling to “recognize Palestine.”
Trump quips that the ejection was “very efficient.” pic.twitter.com/0tvs7JbSAS
— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) October 13, 2025
Trump left for the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt just after 4 pm local time, telling the Knesset that he was going “meet with the most powerful, the richest nations in the world.”
Netanyahu received a last-minute Trump-brokered invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi but declined, citing the pending Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah which was set to begin on Monday evening.
It was the first time Sisi spoke to Netanyahu since the start of the war two years ago.
As Trump wrapped up his speech, footage began circulating on social media showing buses of released Palestinian prisoners departing from Ofer Prison in the West Bank.
According to the terms of the ceasefire, 1,950 Palestinian security prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences for deadly terrorist attacks, as well as 1,700 Palestinians arrested since Oct. 7, 2023, were slated for release.
A violent incident disrupted preparations for the exchange the night before, when one of the inmates slated for release attacked a female guard, leaving her injured. Prison staff quickly restrained the assailant, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the attacker would be removed from the release list, with another prisoner chosen to take his place.
Some Israelis – including Zvika Mor, the father of hostage Eitan Mor who was released on Monday morning – are bitterly opposed to the release of prisoners.
A day before his son’s release, the older Mor said his son would support his father’s staunch opposition to previous hostage-ceasefire deals.
“In our home, we educated our kids to risk their lives for the people of Israel, for the State of Israel. If Eitan hadn’t been taken hostage, he would have fought in Gaza, and then he, too, would have been required to risk his life,” he told Israel’s Army Radio.
“The deal is very far from what we wished for the State of Israel, because we have to pay for our hostages with 250 terrorists with life sentences — murderers who will no doubt go back to murdering Israelis,” he added.
Brenda Lemkus, whose daughter Dalia was murdered in a 2014 stabbing attack in the West Bank, joined other bereaved relatives from the Choosing Life group — which opposes prisoner releases — in condemning the decision to release her daughter’s killer.
“Releasing him invites the next murder immediately,” Lemkus said. “The blood of those murdered is on the ministers who voted for this.” She called on Israel to institute the death penalty for terrorists.
Michael Nurzhitz, brother of reservist Vadim Nurzhitz, said that while he was happy for the hostages and their families, releasing Raed Sheikh — the terrorist and Palestinian police officer responsible for his brother’s murder — was “unfathomable,” especially ahead of the 25th anniversary of the incident.
Vadim Nurzhitz and fellow Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservist Yossi Avrahami were lynched in Ramallah on Oct. 12, 2000, after accidentally entering the city and being taken into custody at a Palestinian police station.
“If they release the murderer, the terrorist will return to terror, just like those released in the Shalit deal — they will return to murder us,” Nurzhitz said, referring to the 2011 exchange that freed Gilad Shalit in return for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya Sinwar, who later masterminded Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Choosing Life petitioned the High Court against the move, saying “the blood of our children has turned into a tradable commodity.”
Eliya Atias, however, whose son Eden was stabbed to death while he was sleeping in 2013, said the release of his son’s murderer was a sacrifice she “felt good” about making if it meant freeing the hostages.
“I am a believing Jew who believes that the Creator will pay him back,” she said. “I feel that thanks to my act, I am saving the lives of my brothers in Gaza.”
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All 20 Living Hostages Freed, Back Home in Israel Over 2 Years After Hamas’s Oct. 7 Attack
Relatives and friends of Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, held in Gaza since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, react as they watch broadcasts related to his release as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, in Lavon, Israel, Oct. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Rami Shlush
Jubilation filled Israeli streets on Monday morning as all 20 living hostages abducted by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, still being held captive in Gaza were returned to Israel.
Air Force One, carrying US President Donald Trump for a lightning visit, landed in Israel at 9:20 am local time, just after the first group of hostages — Alon Ohel, Matan Angrest, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Eitan Mor, and Omri Miran — arrived on Israeli soil.
The second wave included Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, brothers David and Ariel Cuneo, Evyatar David, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Avinatan Or, and Matan Zangauker.
“It’s official: There are no more living Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote in a social-media post.
Hamas handed over the hostages — dressed in the same pseudo-military uniforms the Islamist group had forced previous captives to wear — to the International Committee of the Red Cross. While they were being transported, masked operatives patched video calls between the hostages and their families in Israel, in what appeared to be a cynical ploy to control the narrative. The ceasefire agreement barred public parades and ceremonies, unlike the earlier hostage-release deals in January and February.
Julie Kuperstein, the mother of hostage Bar Kuperstein, told Israel’s Channel 12 News she received a missed call from “Al-Aqsa Brigades,” referring to Hamas’s military wing. “I called them back, and they answered me! All of a sudden, I see Bar!” she said. “He said, ‘Mom, everything is OK! Mom, everything is OK!’” She spoke through tears, shouting in jubilation.
The Red Cross subsequently transferred the hostages to the IDF inside Gaza, where military medical teams conducted initial examinations before they traveled to the Re’im military base to reunite with their families.
Yosef-Chaim Ohana’s father reunites with his son and it is a hug for the ages
pic.twitter.com/2izIBicSFg
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) October 13, 2025
Footage of the reunions showed parents clutching their children in tears. Zvika Mor, who had opposed releasing terrorists even for his son’s freedom, could not speak and only sobbed as he held Eitan.
https://x.com/seanfeucht/status/1977689710630695052
Einav Zangauker — who had led an unrelenting campaign urging the Israeli government to strike a hostage-release deal at any cost — embraced her son, crying, “My life, my life, I love you, you are a hero, you are a champion!”
Einav Zangauker reunites with her son Matan, 25, after a heroic two-year campaign across Israel, during which she tirelessly pressed the government to end the war and bring the hostages home. pic.twitter.com/a5UkFkVyxm
— Tal Schneider טל שניידר تال شنايدر (@talschneider) October 13, 2025
Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where tens of thousands have gathered for protests and vigils over the past two years, erupted in cheers as footage of the releases appeared on giant screens. People waved American flags and posters thanking Trump. When news broke that Air Force One had landed, the crowd shrieked with delight.
The Trump administration led the effort to push the US-brokered ceasefire and hostage-release deal, which halted fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, over the finish line. Of the 251 hostages initially abducted during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, 48 remained in captivity entering Monday, and only 20 of them were still alive.
The freed hostages appeared to be in relatively stable condition, including Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, who had been shown emaciated in Hamas propaganda videos.
Each hostage received a welcome kit from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with a handwritten note reading: “On behalf of the entire Israeli people, welcome back! We waited for you and embrace you.”
President Isaac Herzog quoted from the Book of Jeremiah on X: “And the children shall return to their own borders.” He added, “With thanks to God we welcome our loved ones home. We are waiting for everyone — every last one.”
Rachel Goldberg-Polin and her husband, Jon, whose son Hersh was murdered in captivity, also invoked scripture, calling on social media for people to give thanks by reciting Psalm 126, which speaks of captives returning to Zion.
In his address at Israel’s parliament later on Monday, Trump said, “People are dancing in the streets – not just in Israel – about what is happening today.”
“What a victory it’s been,” he said, thanking “the almighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
“Today the skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still, and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace,” he added.
Under the deal, Israel agreed to release 1,950 Palestinian security prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences for deadly terrorist attacks, as well as 1,700 Palestinians arrested since Oct. 7, 2023. The prisoners were to be freed before the return of the 28 remaining dead hostages.
However, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said only four of the 28 bodies would be returned to Israel on Monday, calling it a “blatant” violation of the ceasefire agreement.
“This represents a blatant breach of the agreement by Hamas. We expect Israel’s government and the mediators to take immediate action to rectify this grave injustice,” the forum said. “The families of the deceased hostages are enduring especially difficult days filled with deep sorrow. We will not abandon any hostage. The mediators must enforce the agreement’s terms and ensure Hamas pays a price for this violation.”