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Evan Gershkovich, Judy Blume among 10 Jews on Time’s 2023 ‘Most Influential’ list

(JTA) — The journalist who was arrested in Russia last month and the Biden administration’s antisemitism envoy are among the 10 Jewish members of Time magazine’s “100 most influential people of 2023.”

The magazine’s annual list, released Thursday, includes politician, business titans, artists and innovators from around the world, from President Joe Biden to a YouTube sensation with 145 million subscribers. Each entry is accompanied by a short essay by another prominent figure. Here are the Jews who made the cut.

Sam Altman is the tech entrepreneur who is CEO and co-founder of the OpenAI artificial intelligence laboratory. In 2016, the entrepreneur Peter Thiel told the New Yorker that Altman is “culturally very Jewish — an optimist yet a survivalist, with a sense that things can always go deeply wrong, and that there’s no single place in the world where you’re deeply at home.”
Judy Blume is the children’s author whose books deal frankly with puberty and other challenges of growing up. A film adaptation of her 1970 novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” — one of the first mainstream treatments of interfaith families — is opening in theaters this month.
Doja Cat is a rapper and performance artist who burst onto the scene in 2020, when she won MTV’s best new artist award. The daughter of an Ashkenazi Jewish mother and a Black South African father, she is renowned for blending genres.
Nathan Fielder is a comedian and performance artist whose genre-defying 2022 series “The Rehearsal” tackled antisemitism, Holocaust denial and interfaith parenting. It also featured a Portland, Oregon, Hebrew tutor.
Neil Gaiman is a science-fiction writer whose comic book series “The Sandman” was recently made into a Netflix series. Raised by a Jewish family that dabbled with Scientology, he was also an early critic of the Tennessee school district that banned the Holocaust memoir “Maus” last year.
Evan Gershkovich is a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained in Russian in March on spying charges that the State Department has called part of Russia’s “ongoing war against the truth.” The American child of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union, Gershkovich was the subject of an awareness campaign urged during this month’s Passover celebrations.
Bob Iger is the CEO of Disney after returning to the company last year. “His return as CEO in 2022 ushered in a new era of transformation and creative excellence” for the entertainment company, General Motors CEO and Disney board member Mary Barra wrote in Time. He received the 2019 Humanitarian Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, warning that “Hitler would have loved social media.”
Deborah Lipstadt was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March 2022 as the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. A well-known academic specializing in the history of antisemitism and Holocaust denial, she welcomed Time’s recognition by tweeting, “Receiving this award advances my ongoing fight to stamp out antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
Natasha Lyonne is the writer, director and actress whose popular series on Netflix, “Russian Doll,” used sci-fi conventions to explore identity, trauma and the intergenerational effects of the Holocaust. In his Time essay, actor and director Taika Waititi, who is also Jewish, called Lyonne “the coolest person in the room.”
Janet Yellen is the first woman to hold the role of U.S. treasury secretary. Born to Polish Jewish immigrant parents, she has featured in antisemitic conspiracy theories about “globalist” control of financial institutions.

A handful of other people on the list have Jewish backgrounds. The actor and businesswoman Drew Barrymore, recognized by the comedian Jimmy Fallon for being “a true role model,” is married to a Jewish man, raising a Jewish child and said she has “embraced Judaism,” though she has not announced a conversion. Lea Michele, who last year took over the lead role in “Funny Girl” on Broadway, has a Jewish father but does not identify as Jewish. And the skier Mikaela Shifrin has a Jewish grandfather but, according to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, is “not connected to the Jewish community.”


The post Evan Gershkovich, Judy Blume among 10 Jews on Time’s 2023 ‘Most Influential’ list appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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UK Police Investigate Security Incident Near London’s Israeli Embassy

A Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) car. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

British police said on Friday ​they were investigating a security incident near the Israeli embassy in London after a group reported ‌online that it had targeted the premises with drones carrying “dangerous substances.”

Matt Jukes, the head of counterterrorism at London police, said there were no signs the embassy had been attacked, but officers in protective clothing were assessing “discarded items” found near the building.

The embassy said in a statement ​all its staff were safe.

COUNTERTERRORISM POLICE INVESTIGATE

“Counter Terrorism Policing London are aware of a video shared online ​overnight in which a group claim to have targeted the nearby embassy of Israel with ⁠drones carrying dangerous substances,” Jukes said in a televised statement.

“And whilst we can confirm that the embassy has not ​been attacked, we’re carrying out urgent inquiries to determine the authenticity of the video and to identify any potential link ​between it and the items discarded in Kensington Gardens.”

The pro-Iranian group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya, or Movement of the Companions of the Right Hand of Islam, had posted a video which included footage of drones along with two figures dressed in protective clothing and a message ​that the Israeli embassy was being targeted.

The group has claimed responsibility for a spate of attacks across Europe on ​US, Israeli, and Jewish targets, including an arson attack which destroyed several ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola which ‌were parked ⁠near a synagogue in the Golders Green area of north London.

Jukes said the police presence had been stepped up and cordons had been put in place, meaning there was no public access to Kensington Gardens and the surrounding area.

“We do not believe there to be any increased public safety risk at this time, and we would urge people, nonetheless, to ​avoid the area while officers ​carry out their work,” ⁠Jukes said.

The Israeli embassy said in a statement that a suspected security incident was being investigated in an adjacent park.

“We wish to clarify that all embassy staff are safe and ​that the embassy was not attacked,” it said. “As always we remain in close and ​continuous contact with ⁠the local authorities.”

It was the latest in a number of incidents involving the embassy and Jewish sites in the British capital since the ambulances were torched last month.

Earlier this week, two suspects were arrested over an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in ⁠north ​London.

In March, two men were charged with being tasked by Iran to carry ​out hostile surveillance on the Israeli embassy and other Jewish targets, while earlier this week a man from Kuwait went on trial accused of planning a ​terrorist attack on the embassy.

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Kanye West Concert in Poland Will Be Canceled, Venue Says

Kanye West walking on the red carpet during the 67th Grammy Awards held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA on Feb. 2, 2025. Photo: Elyse Jankowski/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

A Polish stadium said on Friday that it will cancel a concert by US rapper Kanye West days after he postponed a show in France amid a furor over his past antisemitic comments and celebration of Nazism.

“We would like to inform you that the Ye [Kanye West] concert planned for 19 June 2026 at the … Slaski stadium will not take place due to formal and legal reasons,” stadium director Adam Strzyzewski said in a statement posted on Facebook.

The decision by the Slaski stadium in the western city of Chorzow, first reported by Wyborcza newspaper on its website, comes just over a week after Britain blocked the 48-year-old from traveling there to headline a festival.

There was no immediate comment from the rapper, now known as Ye, who in January apologized for his behavior, which he attributed to untreated bipolar disorder, and renounced past expressions of admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Authorities in Poland had already signaled they would seek to ban the planned June 19 concert.

“In a country scarred by the history of the Holocaust, we cannot pretend that this is just entertainment,” Polish Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska said on Thursday.

More than 1.1 million people, most of them Jews, were murdered at the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II. Nazi Germany killed more than 3 million of Poland‘s 3.2 million Jewish population.

Ye was barred from Australia last year after releasing a song promoting Nazism and advertising swastika T-shirts on his website.

He has performed in the United States and Mexico City this year, with further concerts planned in Europe and Asia.

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Iran Says Hormuz Strait Open After Lebanon Truce, Trump Expects Iran Deal ‘Soon’

An Iranian flag lies amidst the rubble of a building of the Sharif University of Technology, which was damaged in a strike, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, April 7, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the Strait of Hormuz was open following a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, while US President Donald Trump said talks could take place this weekend and he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come “soon.”

Araqchi said in a post on X the Strait was open for all commercial vessels for the remainder of the US-brokered 10-day truce agreed on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon to halt fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Trump told Reuters on Friday that the US will work with Iran to recover its enriched uranium and bring it back to the United States as part of any deal.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, triggering Iranian attacks on Gulf neighbors and reigniting the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon.

Thousands have been killed and the conflict effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz – through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually transits – threatening the worst oil shock in history.

OIL PRICES TUMBLE, STOCKS JUMP

Oil prices fell more than 10%, extending earlier losses after Araqchi’s post. Global stocks, already trading near record highs, jumped further on the news.

Major shipping companies reacted more cautiously, signaling it may take more time for traffic through the chokepoint to return to normal levels – about 130 ships a day before the war.

Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd said it would refrain from passing through the strait while it assessed the announcement. The Norwegian Shipowners’ Association said several issues needed clarification, including the possible presence of sea mines.

The US Navy warned in an advisory to seafarers that the mine threat in parts of the waterway was not fully understood and avoidance of the area should be considered.

A senior Iranian official said ships could pass through the Strait only under coordination with Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

After a video conference on Friday, more than a dozen countries said they were willing to join an international mission to protect shipping in the Strait when conditions permit, Britain said.

US BLOCKADE REMAINS IN PLACE

Shortly after Araqchi’s statement, Trump posted on Truth Social: “IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR PASSAGE.”

However, he said the US military blockade of ships sailing through the Strait to Iranian ports – announced after talks with Iran last weekend in Islamabad ended without agreement – would remain until “our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.”

An Iranian official later told Fars news agency Tehran would consider the Strait‘s continued blockade by US forces a violation of the ceasefire and would again close the waterway.

Trump told Reuters on Friday there could probably be more talks this weekend. Some diplomats said that was looking unlikely given the logistics of assembling officials in the Pakistani capital, where the talks are expected to take place.

DIPLOMACY PROGRESS

A Pakistani source involved in mediating between the US and Iran said there was progress in backdoor diplomacy and that an upcoming meeting could result in the signing of a memorandum of understanding, followed by a comprehensive deal within 60 days.

“Both sides are agreeing in principle. And technical bits come later,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters there had been an agreement on unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets, as part of the accord to reopen the Strait, without giving a timeline.

One key sticking point has been Tehran’s nuclear program. At last weekend’s talks, the US proposed a 20-year suspension of all Iranian nuclear activity, while Iran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.

Iran has demanded the lifting of international sanctions, while Washington has pressed for any highly enriched uranium to be removed from Iran. Two Iranian sources have said there were signs of a compromise on the HEU stockpile, with Tehran considering shipping part of it out of the country.

Trump told Reuters the US would bring Iran‘s enriched uranium back to the United States. “We’re going to go in with Iran, at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery … We’ll bring it back to the United States,” he said during a phone interview.

He mentioned “nuclear dust,” a reference to what he believes remains after the United States and Israel bombed Iran‘s nuclear installations in June last year.

Despite Trump‘s optimism, Iranian sources told Reuters on Friday that “gaps remained to be resolved” before reaching a preliminary deal, while senior clerics struck a defiant tone during Friday prayers.

In Tehran, cleric Ahmad Khatami said: “Our people do not negotiate while being humiliated,” while in Isfahan, the imam said: “We did not accept the terms proposed by the other party.”

In Islamabad, troops were deployed along routes into the capital on Friday, though roads remained open and the government had not ordered business closures, as it did ahead of the previous meeting.

LEBANON CEASEFIRE GOES INTO EFFECT

The US-backed ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah appeared to be largely holding on Friday, despite Lebanese Army reports of some Israeli violations. Paramedics said an Israeli drone strike killed one person in southern Lebanon.

The conflict was reignited on March 2 when Hezbollah opened fire on Israel in support of Tehran, prompting an Israeli offensive.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported ceasefire violations on Friday.

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