World News
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In Orban’s rule, Israelis saw a model for their own country. Will he also be one in defeat?
(JTA) — For years, critics and supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alike have seen Hungary’s Viktor Orban as a model for his politics. Netanyahu long called Orban a “true friend” who consistently backed Israel against criticism in Europe, and his allies said Orban’s policies kept Hungarian Jews safe amid increasing danger. His critics…
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Houston synagogue and Jewish day school closed due to unspecified threats
(JTA) — A Houston synagogue and Jewish day school closed Wednesday after receiving threats to their shared campus. The threats to Congregation Beth Israel, a Reform synagogue, and the Shlenker School, a preschool and elementary school, were communicated to the Houston Police Department, which informed the Jewish institutions. The Shlenker School said on its website…
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An Orthodox Jewish hooper famous for viral dunks aims to break Division-I boundaries
A yarmulke-wearing basketball prospect who gained online fans with highlight-reel dunks announced his next major leap Wednesday: He’ll try to be the first Orthodox player to play four years of Division-I college basketball. Chaim Galbut, a 6-foot-7 wing who played high school basketball for Miami Country Day School, a nondenominational Jewish K-12 school, before graduating…
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Former Columbia professor tells NYU students to learn from Hamas at off-campus event
A group called Shut it Down NYU hosted an off-campus event near New York University on Tuesday that featured a lecture by Mohamed Abdou, a former Columbia University professor at the Middle East Studies Institute. During his two-hour-long lecture, Abdou told students they had much to learn from Hamas and other armed groups, including lessons…
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VIDEO: A creative way to make Yiddish come alive in the classroom
לעסלי טערנער, אַ גראַדויִר־סטודענטקע אין פּראָפֿ׳ אַנאַ שטערנשיסעס קלאַס בײַם טאָראָנטאָ־אוניווערסיטעט, האַלט בײַם פֿאַרענדיקן אַ מאַגיסטער אין ייִדיש־לימודים. זי האַלט, אַז זי — און אַנדערע ייִדיש־סטודענטן — קענען העלפֿן אױפֿהאַלטן די ייִדישע שפּראַך דורכן שאַפֿן נײַע ווערק אין ייִדיש. מיט פֿינף יאָר צוריק האָט זי אָנגעהױבן שרײַבן און אינסצענירן ליאַלקע־שפּילן אױף ייִדיש. דאָס איז געװען…
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These states want to ban the term ‘West Bank’ and replace it with ‘Judea and Samaria’
When it comes to discourse surrounding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, fights over word choice can be as charged as fights over the facts themselves. Is it “occupied territories” or “disputed territories”? A “security fence” or an “apartheid wall”? “Terrorist” or “militant”? These terms often signal a speaker’s allegiances — and which historical narrative they accept as…
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New York City’s top Jewish officials urge Mamdani to recognize Israel’s centrality to Jewish identity
New York City’s most senior Jewish elected officials are urging Mayor Zohran Mamdani to do more to address the concerns of Jewish New Yorkers directly, including acknowledging the community’s deep emotional connection to Israel and reconsidering his pledge not to visit the country. Mamdani, who rose to power aligned with pro-Palestinian activism and is the…
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A lost film by Israeli B-movie director Sam Firstenberg gets a new life
(JTA) — Sam Firstenberg, the Israeli-raised director behind cult B-movie staples like “American Ninja” and “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,” is getting an unexpected career revival — thanks to one of his most overlooked films. “Riverbend,” his little-seen 1989 action drama, will screen for one night at Alama Drafthouse theaters in five cities on April 29,…
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Looming large over Israel’s 78th Independence Day celebrations: Argentina’s Javier Milei
(JTA) — During his three days in Israel this week, Argentinian President Javier Milei made a strong impression. There he was, weeping again at the Western Wall. There he was, receiving the Presidential Medal of Honor for his leadership and support for Israel. And there he was, lighting a torch for the Independence Day festivities…
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Marx Brothers fans rejoice: There’s a recording of Harpo speaking
Harpo Marx’s wife, Susan Fleming, once remarked that, when you got him talking, you couldn’t shut him up. The proof was there for those who chanced to see him in the 1930s and ‘40s, screening clips of the films he made with his brothers. If a crowd was good, he’d deliver what was known as…
