World News
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Concert to benefit Bondi Beach victims canceled after Greek choir refuses to sing with Jews
(JTA) — A concert to raise money for the victims of the shooting attack on a Hanukkah party on Sydney’s Bondi Beach has been canceled after the Greek choir that was to take part voted not to sing with a Jewish choir. A majority of members of the 50-member Australian Hellenic Choir “politically objected” to…
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No Tourists, no income: The collapse of livelihoods in Jerusalem’s Old City
Some people are describing the impact of the latest confrontation between Israel and Iran as one blow too many for the traders and craftspeople who used to make their living in the Old City of Jerusalem’s market. “The situation today is worse than it has ever been before,” says Hijazi Rashq, a member of the…
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California Jewish groups decry antisemitic conspiracy theories printed in governor’s race voter guide
(JTA) — As Californian voters checked their mailboxes this week, they found a voter guide containing conspiratorial claims about Israel and antisemitic rhetoric. The mailer, which was sent by California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to the households of all registered California voters, featured biographical information about candidates slated to appear in the state’s June…
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Matan Koch, disability advocate who urged Jewish communities to ‘let everyone in,’ dies at 44
(JTA) — Matan Koch needed little introduction as he rolled up to the podium to speak at his synagogue’s Disability Shabbat service in October. His wide smile and power wheelchair made him well known to many his Los Angeles congregation, Ikar. Still, Rabbi Sharon Brous, beaming at him, described her congregant warmly before ceding the…
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Assault outside synagogue and rock thrown through Judaica shop window ratchet up Toronto Jews’ concerns
(JTA) — A pair of incidents took place outside of Jewish sites in the Toronto area over the weekend, adding to a series of attacks that have left the city’s Jewish community unnerved. During Shabbat services on Saturday, a man tried to force his way into the Sephardic Kehilah Centre, in the suburb of Vaughan.…
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Trump administration to deny green cards to applicants with record of anti-Israel speech
(JTA) — The Trump administration is instructing immigration officers to deny green cards to applicants who have expressed political views it deems “antisemitic” or “anti-American,” including some forms of pro-Palestinian speech. The new guidance, which was first reported by the New York Times, discourages officers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from giving green cards…
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Pro-Palestinian activists force Milan Jewish group out of parade marking end of WWII in Italy
(JTA) — Pro-Palestinian activists, some reportedly shouting antisemitic invective, forced Jewish groups out of a procession celebrating Italy’s Liberation Day from Nazism and fascism in Milan over the weekend. About 100 protesters on Saturday blocked a group commemorating the Jewish Brigade, a unit of 5,000 Jews from British Mandate Palestine who volunteered to fight against…
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Venice Biennale jury won’t consider countries whose leaders face ICC charges, putting Israel out of contention
(JTA) — A five-person international jury at the Venice Biennale says it will no longer consider entries from Israel or Russia in its award deliberations — though it didn’t name either country in its announcement. The jury announced its decision in the online arts publishing platform e-flux last week. In a statement, the jury explained…
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New York shouldn’t divest from Israel Bonds — and voters should be wary of politicizing pensions
At the Passover Seder, we sing dayenu — “it would have been enough.” Each verse names a gift given by God to the Jewish people: the exodus, the parting of the sea, manna in the desert, the Torah. We sing the song to cultivate gratitude, and to remind ourselves that while just one of these…
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Cole Allen’s manifesto cites the Bible — so why did Trump say he ‘hates Christians?’
“When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians,” President Trump said on Fox News, speaking about the alleged culprit behind an attack at the White House Correspondents Dinner. But Cole Allen, the 31-year-old man tackled to the ground of the Capitol Hilton, where the dinner was held, was, according to reporting from independent journalist Ken…
