World News
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Jewish basketball legend Amar’e Stoudemire to be inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame
(JTA) — Amar’e Stoudemire, the American-Israeli basketball star who became a devout convert to Judaism after retiring, is reportedly headed to the hall of fame. Stoudemire will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 alongside Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers and WNBA legends Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne, according…
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Trump, signaling that he wants to wind down war, will address nation on Iran Wednesday night
(JTA) — President Donald Trump will address the nation “to provide an important update on Iran” on Wednesday night, his press secretary announced late Tuesday. The speech comes one month into the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has caused death and destruction across the Middle East as well as global economic shocks including a…
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Jews paused Indiana’s abortion ban — by turning a religious freedom law against the evangelical right
When Elly Cohen chose to terminate her pregnancy in 2022, it aligned with her understanding of Jewish law that life begins at birth, not conception. Cohen and her husband were eager to give their then 4-year-old daughter a sibling. But her fetus had been diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a severe chromosomal disorder that, in most…
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Scallion fights, soft matzo and other Passover traditions live on around the world
Indian Jews smear animal blood on their doors. Ethiopian Jews gorge on chickpeas. Iraqis dump wine after the meal. And matzo might be soft and squishy, depending on where in the world the recipe hails from. Adapting Passover to the cultures and conditions of the places where they lived is a practice Jews have sustained…
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For Passover, an interactive map brings the haggadah down to earth
(JTA) — In 2024, as Alon Gildoni and his brother-in-law, Ron Milo, prepared for Passover in Israel, they asked themselves a puzzling question: Where did the events described in the haggadah actually take place? But what started as a casual curiosity, including a rough sketch on the back of an envelope of the ancient Israelites’…
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Mayor of Bath, England, resigns after amplifying idea that Jewish ambulance arson was a ‘false flag’ attack
(JTA) — The mayor of Bath, in southwestern England, resigned from his post Monday after drawing criticism for amplifying the idea that the London arson of ambulances owned by a Jewish emergency service was a “false flag” attack. “I have been made aware that I have reposted or replied to some posts which have never…
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Penn must turn over list of Jewish employees to Trump administration, federal judge rules
(JTA) — A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the University of Pennsylvania must turn over lists of Jewish employees as part of the Trump administration’s investigation into antisemitism on its campus. The ruling marked a significant blow to the school and its Jewish leadership, who submitted court filings opposing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s…
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The Passover lesson we need most after devastating years of war
During my family’s Passover seder we will drip wine from our glasses as we recite each plague suffered by the Egyptians, a tradition that partly symbolizes regret at the suffering of innocents. Perhaps the most fundamental lesson of Passover, as Rabbi Lauren Metzger wrote in 2025, is that “you must have empathy for others because…
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Jewish communities can help save trans lives — here’s how
In the 16 months since the 2024 election, the lives of hundreds of thousands of transgender, nonbinary and intersex people in the United States have been upended. A new survey shows that, during that time period, 9% of the country’s transgender population moved from one U.S. state to another over concerns for their personal safety.…
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Why the ‘No Kings’ marches reminded me of Germany in 1933
Germany’s parliamentary election on March 5, 1933 was the most fateful in the nation’s history, securing Hitler’s hold on power and launching 12 years of despotic rule and, eventually, a world war. Like Germany nearly a century ago, as the United States enters the campaign season for our midterm elections, we too stand at destiny’s…
