World News
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Writer of sitcom airing instead of Eurovision in Ireland calls broadcaster’s boycott over Israel ‘disgraceful antisemitism’
(JTA) — Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan accused Ireland’s public broadcaster of “disgraceful antisemitism” over its decision not to air this year’s Eurovision Song Contest because of Israel’s participation — even as his work will get prime airtime as a result. Instead of airing the annual international song contest’s finale Saturday, which Ireland and four…
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At Jewish Democratic event, Jacob Frey says anti-Zionism can blur into antisemitism
(JTA) — WASHINGTON — Jacob Frey, the Jewish mayor of Minneapolis, decried some criticism of Israel during a Jewish Democratic event on Wednesday. Speaking at the national conference of the Jewish Democratic Council of America in Washington, D.C., Frey recounted visiting a local grocery store shortly after Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.…
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All American Jews should acknowledge Nakba Day — for Israel’s sake, and Palestine’s
Many American Jews were raised with the word “Nakba” absent from our vocabularies. We were taught, correctly, about the miracle of Israel’s founding; the refuge Israel provided after the Holocaust; and the flourishing of Jewish life in our ancestral homeland. What went unmentioned was the other side of that joy: the Nakba, meaning “catastrophe” in…
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Jewish students wanted to bring J Street to Sarah Lawrence. Why did the student senate say no?
(JTA) — After Oct. 7, Sarah Lawrence College student Emilyn Toffler felt something was missing on campus. “My campus blew up with pro-Palestinian activism,” Toffler recalled. “I was encouraged to see my classmates engage with the issue, many for the first time, but I looked around campus and saw that there was no space for…
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Jewish Republican Paul Singer tarred with rainbow Star of David in Kentucky candidate’s anti-LGBTQ ad
(JTA) — A prominent Jewish donor to Republican politicians is the target of a new ad about the Kentucky GOP congressional primary. The one-minute spot criticizes the candidacy of Republican Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy Seal backed by President Donald Trump, who is running against incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s 4th district. Among Gallrein’s…
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When it comes to Israel/Palestine, everyone is sure that everyone else is a bigot
Welcome to the Great Hardening, in which Zionists and Anti-Zionists have each decided that the other side is made up of Nazis. Literally. For many on the Hard Left, all Zionists are Genociders. Doesn’t matter if you’re in Standing Together or Smol Emuni — Zionism is settler colonialism and entails genocide. And on both the…
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Elected PA Jewish judge leaves Democratic party, citing ‘disturbingly common’ antisemitism
(JTA) — An elected Supreme Court justice in Pennsylvania announced Monday night that he has left the Democratic Party and registered as an independent, citing concerns about antisemitism. In a statement, David Wecht, who is Jewish and served as Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party chair from 1998 to 2001, said he believed antisemitism has moved from the…
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At Abraham Foxman’s funeral, an elegy for the last generation with direct ties to the Holocaust
(JTA) — As mourners gathered Tuesday for the funeral of Abraham Foxman, they were saying goodbye not only to one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the last half-century, but to one of the dwindling number whose moral authority was forged in the Holocaust itself. Foxman, who died Sunday at 86, spent decades as…
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Israeli report on ‘systematic’ Oct. 7 sexual violence seeks to shift debate from denial to accountability
(JTA) — A sweeping new Israeli report on sexual violence committed during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks and against hostages in Gaza concludes that the crimes formed part of a deliberate strategy. It also lays out a roadmap for turning two years of documentation into legal prosecution. The report concludes that “sexual and gender-based violence…
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Mamdani supersizes NYC hate crimes office, as tensions simmer over synagogue protests
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a nearly ninefold increase in New York City’s budget for preventing hate crimes as part of his budget proposal announced Tuesday, fulfilling a campaign promise that was central to his outreach to Jewish voters amid concerns about his stance against Israel. The Jewish community overwhelmingly did not support…
