World News
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In JFNA’s first ‘State of the Jewish Union’ address, security and antisemitism loom large
(JTA) — Speaking from Washington, D.C., on Thursday, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, Eric Fingerhut, laid out his assessment of the state of Jewish life in America. “The state of the Jewish union in America is strong, but it is being tested,” said Fingerhut. “We are united in our…
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Trump and Biden officials clash over campus antisemitism actions as federal investigation kicks off
The first hearing held as part of a federal investigation into how the Trump administration has sought to counter campus antisemitism turned into a showdown between Democratic and Republican officials over how civil rights laws are being enforced. Craig Trainor, who ran civil rights investigations at the Education Department for most of last year, described…
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Trump’s Board of Peace met. But can it follow through?
When Donald Trump won the 2024 election, promising to bring peace to the Middle East, the open question was whether he would deliver a credible plan to end the war in Gaza and revive the momentum of the Abraham Accords or stage another round of deal-making theater. This week’s “Board of Peace” rollout suggests an…
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Israel’s High Court sides with egalitarian prayer advocates in long-running Western Wall dispute
(JTA) — Israel’s highest court has delivered a unanimous rebuke to state and municipal authorities over long-stalled plans to upgrade the Western Wall’s egalitarian prayer section, intensifying a dispute that has come to symbolize broader tensions over religious pluralism in Israel. In a decision issued Thursday, an expanded seven-justice panel of the High Court of…
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The Jesse Jackson I knew didn’t just repent toward Jews — he became a hero for us
I know that for many in our community, the name of Reverend Jesse Jackson evokes a complicated history. Yet when I received the news of Jackson’s passing on Tuesday, I did not just mourn a global icon of the Civil Rights movement. I mourned a cherished friend. Over the course of more than three decades,…
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Confronting art and love as the Nazis close in
The New York theater world has been enriched in recent years by small companies of artists who are Russian-born and work from a Russian sensibility, though often in the English language. In an interview, Roman Freud, a playwright, actor, and co-founder of the Five Evenings Company, pointed out that many of the Russian theater artists…
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Rembrandt has been hailed for his love of the Jewish people — was it all a myth?
In a preface to the 1932 Hebrew edition of the painter Leonid Pasternak’s study of Rembrandt, Russian-Jewish poet Hayim Nahman Bialik observed that although the Dutch artist was not Jewish, we “must consider him as ‘a Jew of honor,’ for his love and empathy towards the Jews.” Bialik was not alone in his admiration. Rembrandt’s…
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New U2 album includes Israeli poem and a song about slain Palestinian activist
(JTA) — U2 frontman Bono delivered sharp criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and lavish praise on Jewish tradition in an interview released Wednesday alongside the band’s new EP, titled “Days of Ash.” The album — the first from U2 since 2017 — includes a song memorializing Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, who was killed…
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A ‘Yiddish Vokh’ for nerds — but without the families
דעם 9טן ביזן 16טן פֿעברואַר איז אין קלויזנבורג, רומעניע פֿאָרגעקומען די ערשטע אינטענסיווע ייִדישע ווינטער־פּראָגראַם געווידמעט דער טעמע ייִדיש אין געוועזענעם מיזרח־בלאָק, ד״ה אין ראַטן־פֿאַרבאַנד, פּוילן, און רומעניע אין דער קאָמוניסטישער תּקופֿה. אַן אינטענסיווע ייִדיש־פּראָגראַם מיט אַזאַ טעמע, וווּ מע לערנט סאָוועטיש ייִדיש און אָרטאָגראַפֿיע, איז נאָך קיין מאָל נישט געווען, אויף וויפֿל איך ווייס —…
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Trump’s Board of Peace convenes on Gaza as prospect of U.S. war with Iran surges
(JTA) — The Board of Peace convened by President Donald Trump to administer Gaza’s reconstruction is meeting for the first time in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. At the same time, signs are mounting that Trump could launch a long-threatened war on Iran imminently, which would throw the Middle East back into turmoil. U.S. warships are…
