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How New York Jews are creating opportunities for disadvantaged Israelis seeking high-tech jobs
Until four years ago, Haim Hacohen, 37, was a full-time student in a haredi Orthodox yeshiva in the Israeli city of Ramat Bet Shemesh. Every month he received a government stipend of about $800 for his yeshiva studies, but it was hardly enough to support his wife and five children.
“That’s when I decided to learn programming in my free time in order to make a living,” Hacohen said. “Back then, it was much less accepted in our community, and people didn’t really understand it.”
Then Hacohen saw an ad for a boot camp seeking haredi Jews with some computer experience. He enrolled, and the training eventually led to a job with the software developer Unique. Now he works for Israel’s Education Ministry, where he earns over $4,000 per month calculating attendance, salaries and other data.
“After only one year, I tripled my salary,” he said.
Yirga Semay, 43, immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia alone at age 9. After his mandatory army service, he stayed on in the Israel Defense Forces for over a decade and a half, serving as an officer in a cyber intelligence unit, eventually earning a degree in computer science and an MBA, and marrying and having three children.
Semay’s long-term dream was to establish his own startup, so after retiring from the army he launched a company in the central Israeli city of Ramle. Called MetekuAI, the company and its 10 employees — all Ethiopian Israelis — combine artificial intelligence with human expertise to tackle problematic online content. Among its clients is the Jewish Agency for Israel, for whom Meteku AI focuses on fighting online antisemitism.
“Our vision is to tackle misinformation and fake news concerning Israel,” said Semay, who started the company a year ago. “We help organizations control the narrative by taking active part in online conversations, identifying potential crises before they spread and responding in real time with personalized content.”
Both Hacohen and Semay received help at key points in their careers from programs funded by UJA-Federation of New York designed to help Israelis from disadvantaged communities — including haredi Jews, Ethiopian Israelis, Bedouin Arabs and underprivileged Israelis from the country’s periphery, among others — find places in Israel’s enormously successful high-tech sector.
Hacohen is an alumnus of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)’s Tech Ventures Program, which helps integrate haredi Jews into Israel’s high-tech sector. Semay was assisted by Olim Beyachad, a nonprofit group that for the past 12 years has been working to get more Ethiopian Israelis into higher education and competitive fields. Both organizations receive substantial funding from UJA-Federation.
“Especially in the current climate, our investments in these diverse initiatives represent our commitment to strengthening a flourishing, inclusive and democratic Jewish state for the next 75 years and beyond,” said Eric S. Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation. “We’re helping to bring hope and possibility to people across Israeli society for the sake of the country as a whole.”
As a founding partner of Olim Beyachad, UJA-Federation gives $180,000 per year to the program, which to date has over 1,400 alumni. Led by CEO Genet Dasa, who was born in Addis Ababa and came to Israel at age 11, the nonprofit aims to steer Ethiopian-Israeli university graduates toward rewarding careers while helping middle- and high-school students in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math) so they’ll be better prepared for the job market.
“We know from research that our participants face racism while looking for employment,” said Dasa. “So our mission isn’t just to help them find work but also to change society’s perceptions and negative stereotypes toward Ethiopians.”
Through a group called Siraj, Bedouin Israelis participate in a hack-a-thon and skills building program in southern Israel. (Courtesy of UJA-Federation)
UJA-Federation is also a founding partner of JDC’s Tech Venture Program, which includes Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry and the Haredi Coalition for Employment. The program offers 100 types of services and has more than 5,000 current participants.
“We work with young men ages 17 to 24 who want to integrate into the job market,” said Eli Salomon, who heads the Tech Venture Program. “From the yeshiva world, there’s no natural pathway, so we help to bridge that gap.”
Since its inception in 2006, the initiative has helped 130,000 haredim find jobs.
Programs like these are critical to Israel’s economic health, said Eugene Kandel, the former CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, a nonprofit that helps support Israel’s startup ecosystem. Haredim comprise 13% of Israel’s 9.5 million citizens but account for only 3% of all high-tech workers, according to Kandel. In 30 years, haredim are projected to be 25% of Israel’s population, but they’re ill-equipped to enter the workforce, he said.
“About 60% of haredi homes have computers, so it’s not like they’re completely disconnected, but most of them cannot go to universities,” said Kandel, also a former chairman of Israel’s National Economic Council. “The quality of the places they do study is not great, and most haredi men don’t learn English. So it’s mostly the women who are joining high tech.”
Kandel has served on the advisory board of UJA-Federation’s Benin Scholars Program, which gives talented young people from Israel’s socioeconomic periphery the chance to pursue undergraduate studies in STEM fields. A pilot of this program is operating this year with 180 students across three institutions: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Sami Shamoon College of Engineering in Beersheba. The program offers large scholarships and living stipends alongside psychosocial support and career guidance. It is slated to grow to six or seven institutions and encompass some 700 students, which would make it among the largest STEM scholarship programs in Israel.
When it comes to integrating Israel’s minorities into the high-tech sector, Arab Israelis — who comprise 21% of Israel’s population but only 1.8% of its high-tech employees — are cause for more optimism, Kandel said.
“For many years, Arabs were very wary of high-tech because it was related to defense, and in many cases Arabs couldn’t get into that, so they studied other fields like law and medicine,” Kandel said. “But that’s no longer the case.”
Fahima Atawna is the executive director of Siraj, a nonprofit based in Beersheba that aims to get more Bedouin youth into technology, starting in middle and high school. The organization, whose name means “source of light” in Arabic, was established six years ago. It has partnered with Ben-Gurion University and, more recently, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose students teach local Bedouins how to write code as well as soft skills like working in teams.
“We hope to be a source of light for all those students who dream of a future in high-tech,” said Atawna. “I know that we are a poor community, but our approach is not to sit here and say, ‘We are weak and poor.’ Rather, I know that I’m smart and have ability. Just give me opportunities.”
At present, two cohorts with a combined 43 Bedouin teens ranging in age from 14 to 18 participate in the program, which receives annual funding of $50,000 from UJA-Federation.
Israel is home to an estimated 280,000 Bedouin, of whom fewer than 100 work in high tech, according to Atawna. But the numbers are growing.
“When I started, there were zero Bedouin high-tech graduates at Ben-Gurion University. Now, 21 Bedouins study computer science and software engineering there,” Atawna said. “My community understands that you can do this work from home. You don’t have to travel to Tel Aviv. And Beersheba has good companies like Microsoft and Intel, and it’s very close to our villages.”
She added that companies are being encouraged to hire minorities because having people from diverse backgrounds adds value.
Raghad Aboreash, 15, who lives in a Bedouin village 20 minutes from Beersheba called Hura, said she joined Siraj after hearing about it from friends.
“I like trying new things; it’s in my character. I’ve learned Python” — a computer programming language — “and how to build programs, and I’ve made friends in America. I want to be a software engineer.”
Mohammed Alafensh, 15, from the Bedouin city of Rahat, is studying software engineering and physics. He hopes Siraj will help pave the way to success.
“I dream of becoming a big engineer, because this is the future,” he said. “I will be great at this.”
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The post How New York Jews are creating opportunities for disadvantaged Israelis seeking high-tech jobs appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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‘Jewish Whore’ Graffiti Targets Mexican President Sheinbaum During Anti-Government Protests
During anti-government protests, the words “Puta Judía,” which translate to “Jewish whore,” were spray-painted on the gates of Mexico City’s National Palace, apparently targeting Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Photo: Screenshot
Anti-government protests in Mexico City turned openly antisemitic over the weekend, with demonstrators chanting and scrawling graffiti attacking President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Jewish heritage — sparking outrage from Jewish leaders and politicians nationwide.
On Saturday, protesters spray-painted the words “Jewish whore” on the gates of Mexico City’s National Palace, the presidential residence, in an act apparently directed at Sheinbaum, the country’s first female and Jewish president.
According to local media reports, youth groups staged the protest to voice their concerns over escalating violence, crime, and corruption, particularly linked to the country’s drug cartels.
Clashes erupted shortly after local police moved in to contain the demonstrations, leaving dozens reportedly arrested and injured.
During the protest, demonstrators targeted the presidential residence with antisemitic insults, chanting slurs and spray-painting a crossed-out Star of David on its walls.
En México, los mexicanos pintaron con aerosol la frase “puta judía” en las puertas del Palacio Nacional, tras el descontento generalizado con Claudia Sheinbaum, la presidenta del país.
Las protestas se intensificaron especialmente tras el asesinato de un alcalde, Carlos Menzo,… pic.twitter.com/bfqfuHrW5m
— ITON GADOL es Israel y las comunidades judias (@Itongadol) November 16, 2025
The country’s Jewish community has strongly condemned these latest incidents, denouncing the antisemitic attacks and calling for accountability.
“Antisemitism is a form of discrimination according to our constitution and must be rejected clearly and unequivocally,” the statement read.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also condemned the displays of anti-Jewish bigotry, expressing solidarity with Sheinbaum and warning against such acts of political violence.
“Israel strongly condemns the antisemitic and sexist slurs directed at Mexico’s President [Claudia Sheinbaum],” the top Israeli diplomat wrote in a post on X.
“There is no place for such attacks in political discourse. All forms of antisemitism, in any context, must be rejected unequivocally,” Saar continued.
Israel strongly condemns the antisemitic and sexist slurs directed at Mexico’s President @Claudiashein. There is no place for such attacks in political discourse.
All forms of antisemitism, in any context, must be rejected unequivocally. pic.twitter.com/HEDKzq34e8— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) November 16, 2025
As in many countries around the world, the Jewish community in Mexico has faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Jewish leaders have consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.
Earlier this year, Voice of the People — a global initiative launched by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to survey and amplify Jewish voices worldwide — released a study showing that concerns about rising antisemitism now top the list of challenges facing Jewish communities across demographics.
Among Jews in Mexico, 84 percent expressed deep concern about rising antisemitism.
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Dolphins Quarterback Suggests Israel as Next Location for NFL International Series Game
Oct 19, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) throws a pass against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Photo: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said he thinks it would be “pretty cool” to compete in an NFL International Series game in Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.
The Dolphins secured a 16-13 victory in overtime against the Washington Commanders in Madrid, Spain, in Sunday’s Week 11 matchup, which was the final international game of the season. At a postgame news conference closing out the NFL’s 2025 International Series, Tagovailoa, 27, was asked where would like to play a league game internationally. The athlete first mentioned his home state of Hawaii, where his close family still lives. “Shoot, it would be pretty cool to go play in Jerusalem, I don’t know,” he added. “That would be sick.”
Tagovailoa has already played three international games throughout his NFL career with the Dolphins – in London, England, in 2021 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2023 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Miami lost both games.
Sunday night’s game at the Santiago Bernabeu marked the seventh international game of the 2025 NFL regular season, which included previous games in Brazil, Ireland, Germany, Mexico, and the UK. There have been no regular-season games in the Middle East or Asia.
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Trump Backs Carlson Over Interview With Antisemite Fuentes as Heritage Board Member Resigns in Protest
US President Donald Trump in the Oval office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, Sept. 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
US President Donald Trump on Sunday defended online provocateur Tucker Carlson after the far-right podcaster came under fire from prominent conservative figures for conducting a friendly interview with Nick Fuentes, an openly antisemitic white supremacist.
Trump’s defense came hours before a leading conservative intellectual, Robert P. George, announced on Monday his resignation from the board of the Heritage Foundation think tank, a decades-long fixture of right-wing political thought in Washington, DC that has faced widespread backlash for supporting Carlson’s decision to platform Fuentes.
“I think he’s good, we did some good interviews,” Trump told reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, referring to Carlson. “You can’t tell him [who] to interview. If he wants to interview Nick Fuentes — I don’t know much about him — but if he wants to do it, get the word out.”
Trump added that “people have to decide.”
A few minutes later, Trump reportedly said, “Meeting people, talking to people for somebody like Tucker — that’s what they do. You know, people are controversial. I’m not controversial, so I like it that way.”
Trump dined with Fuentes and rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida in November 2022, when the hip-hop star had begun a media tour announcing a range of antisemitic and pro-Hitler views.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) responded to Trump’s latest comments on X.
“When leaders are asked about antisemitism, there’s only one responsible answer: denounce it,” the civil rights group posted. “President Trump’s refusal to condemn Nick Fuentes — an avowed antisemite — or to call out Tucker Carlson for amplifying him is unacceptable and dangerous.”
George, a well-known professor at Princeton University and one of the most respected scholarly voices on the political right, took a different approach to Carlson’s embrace of Fuentes and the subsequent backing of that relationship by Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts.
“I have resigned from the board of the Heritage Foundation. I could not remain without a full retraction of the video released by Kevin Roberts, speaking for and in the name of Heritage, on October 30th,” George wrote in a Facebook post. “Although Kevin publicly apologized for some of what he said in the video, he could not offer a full retraction of its content. So, we reached an impasse.”
George described Roberts as “a good man” and noted the Heritage head had admitted his error. However, this was not sufficient. “What divided us was a difference of opinion about what was required to rectify the mistake,” George wrote.
The academic who specializes in political theory and public law wrote that his hope for Heritage was that the think tank “will be unbending and unflinching in its fidelity to its founding vision, upholding the moral principles of the Judeo-Christian tradition and the civic principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.”
He continued, “I pray that Heritage’s research and advocacy will be guided by the conviction that each and every member of the human family, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, or anything else, as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, is ‘created equal’ and ‘endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights.’ The anchor for the Heritage Foundation, and for our nation, and for every patriotic American is that creed. It must always be that creed. If we hold fast to it even when expediency counsels compromising it, we cannot go wrong. If we abandon it, we sign the death certificate of republican government and ordered liberty.”
Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University and the chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, a leading libertarian think tank, expressed support for Roberts’ decision.
“Robert George is right about the moral rot at Heritage, and he’s not the one who needs to leave, though I totally understand his reasons for doing so,” Somin wrote. “I’m a former Heritage intern (way back in 1994) but would never work with them today.”
The Manhattan Institute’s Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the conservative think tank, expressed similar views on X.
“Robby George was the head of the ‘Kevin Roberts showed terrible judgment and there need to be consequences’ camp, which has apparently lost out to ‘everything is well, nothing to see here’ camp,” Shapiro wrote. “Heritage will now decline as an institution (or we will decline as a nation). Sad.”
Additional controversy over Carlson this weekend involved US Vice President JD Vance.
On Sunday, Vance re-shared an X post from conservative journalist Sloan Rachmuth and offered a defense of Carlson’s son, Buckley, who serves as the vice president’s deputy press secretary.
Rachmuth wrote, “Today, we learned that Tucker Carlson’s brother idolizes Nick Fuentes. Racism and antisemitism is a Carlson family trait. Is Tucker’s son Buckley, who serves as JD Vance’s top aide also a vile bigot? America deserves to know how deep the Carlson’s family ethnic and religious hatred runs.”
Vance responded in a post that as of Monday afternoon has gotten more than six million views: “Sloan Rachmuth is a ‘journalist’ who has decided to obsessively attack a staffer in his 20s because she doesn’t like the views of his father. Every time I see a public attack on Buckley it’s a complete lie. And yes, I notice ever person with an agenda who unfairly attacks a good guy who does a great job for me.”
Continuing, Vance wrote that “Sloan describes herself as a defender of ‘Judeo-Christian Values.’ Is it a ‘Judeo-Christian value’ to lie about someone you don’t know? Not in any church I ever spent time in!”
Rachmuth pushed back against Vance on X.
“Mr. Vice President, that ‘someone I don’t know’ is one of your top advisors being paid with taxpayer funds,” she posted. “It’s not the guy who trims your shrubs or cuts your hair. And YES, defending Judeo-Christian values entails speaking out against the antisemitism that’s tearing our nation apart. It also involves questioning those at the highest level of government about their hires, and speaking truth to power when needed. Sir, shall I remain quiet while Jews like me are being targeted by massive media platforms, and while our country is being destroyed by hate?? Or can I continue to ask questions and fight against injustices without being unfairly questioned about my loyalty to my country? I look forward to hearing back from you.”