World News
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When a Jewish language is lost, we lose more than just words
Always Carry Salt By Samantha Ellis Pegasus Books, 288 pages, $29 This charming and important memoir starts with two mothers in a cold London playground talking about where to send their young children to school. One mother says she would like her son to go to a French nursery so he could grow up with…
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FBI charges 8 tied to U of Michigan pro-Palestinian movement with threatening officials, Jewish federation
(JTA) — The FBI arrested eight pro-Palestinian demonstrators connected to the University of Michigan Wednesday, charging them with conspiracy to threaten university leaders and their families as part of a pressure campaign to get the school to divest from Israel. The charges were filed May 20 and unsealed Wednesday following arrests in multiple states. According…
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This Israeli filmmaker harshly criticizes his country. Pro-Palestinian activists boycotted him anyway
(JTA) — Earlier this year Nadav Lapid, the award-winning Israeli dissident filmmaker, traveled with his son to Marseille for a screening of his latest film. He fell in love. “This city reminded me of Tel Aviv, in a way, with the beach and everything,” he recounted Wednesday to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency — referring to…
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Trump is imagining an Israel after Netanyahu. So are many Israelis. Netanyahu isn’t biting.
(JTA) — The party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected speculation that he might not run in Israel’s election this fall, following an offhand comment by U.S. President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, ABC correspondent Jonathan Karl tweeted that Trump had told him he was unsure if Netanyahu wanted to press forward in the…
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Spain reports 86% rise in antisemitic incidents, as interior minister takes aim at ‘xenophobia’
(JTA) — Antisemitic offenses in Spain rose 86% last year amid the country’s highest total hate incidents on record, according to a report from the Spanish government. Jews were targeted in 69 hate crimes and incidents in 2025, up from 37 in 2024, according to a report released last week by Spain’s Interior Ministry. Islamophobic…
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Cara Trager, beloved Queens Jewish communal leader and lifetime journalist, dies at 71
(New York Jewish Week) — Standing before hundreds of mourners last month, Rabbi David Wise held up a T-shirt with the words “Proud American, Proud Zionist.” It was the shirt he had planned to wear to the Israel Day Parade that morning. Instead, he carried it to honor Cara Trager, a Queens-based journalist and congregant…
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Jewish leaders throw support behind bipartisan House antisemitism bill
(JTA) — Reps. Dan Goldman and Mike Lawler introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday aimed at expanding federal security support for Jewish institutions and combatting antisemitism. The bill, a House companion to Jewish American Security Act in the Senate, would increase Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding to $1 billion, extend funding to Jewish organizations and allow additional…
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California Dem backed by pro-Israel group loses congressional runoff spot to progressive opponent
(JTA) — A Democratic congressional candidate heavily backed by pro-Israel spending has lost her spot in a California swing district runoff after a progressive critic of Israel overtook her in the ballot count a week after the primary election. State Assembly member Jasmeet Bains, a moderate, received around $500,000 in ad buys from Democratic Majority…
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In Congress, a measure to tighten U.S.-Israel military ties sparks backlash on both sides of the aisle
Next year’s National Defense Authorization Act has made its way to the House floor, and has some Democrats and conservatives alike rallying against a provision that critics in Congress say would embroil the U.S. in unprecedented levels of military integration with Israel. The measure, Section 224 of the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the…
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Israel names a street after renowned Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever
The Israeli city of Netanya has renamed one of its streets Rechov Avrom Sutzkever (Abraham Sutzkever Street), after the renowned Yiddish poet and Vilna partisan. The event on June 10 marked an important cultural moment, recognizing the legacy of a poet who devoted his life to Yiddish language and Jewish culture. During his lifetime, Sutzkever…
