World News
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650+ US rabbis sign letter opposing Zohran Mamdani and the ‘political normalization’ of anti-Zionism
As the New York mayoral election draws near, a group of 650 rabbis and cantors from across the United States have signed onto a letter voicing their opposition to mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani and the “political normalization” of anti-Zionism. The letter, titled “A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future,” cited Mamdani’s previous defense…
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Iran Says It Won’t Return to Nuclear Talks as Long as US Makes ‘Unreasonable Demands’
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS Iran will not return to negotiations with the United States as long as Washington makes “unreasonable demands,” the Iranian foreign minister said on Wednesday according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Tehran and Washington…
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Israel’s Parliament Gives Initial Nod to West Bank Annexation
The Israeli national flag flutters as apartments are seen in the background in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the West Bank, Aug. 16, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun A bill applying Israeli law to the West Bank, a move tantamount to annexation of land where the Palestinian Authority (PA) exercises limited self-governance, won preliminary approval…
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Nobody wants all those menorahs in ‘Nobody Wants This,’ do they?
The first season of the hit series Nobody Wants This left viewers with more questions than answers. Did Rabbi Noah Roklov (Adam Brody) really ditch the pulpit for forbidden love? Why did Joanne (Kristen Bell), so enthralled by every Jewish ritual she experienced, suddenly balk at conversion? And, uh, why is Nobody Wants This obsessed…
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A revived Jewish Museum spotlights the story of Jewish endurance
The object that best explains the Jewish Museum’s new core exhibition isn’t actually there. Printed on the wall is a photographed section of the first century Arch of Titus, depicting the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Among the plunder looted by the Romans was the Temple’s seven-branched menorah. This image, carved by conquerors, speaks…
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JD Vance just made a critical error in Israel — and time to curb Hamas is running short
The arrival of Vice President JD Vance in Israel on Tuesday was, in one sense, encouraging. Vance’s presence, with presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, signaled that the United States remains focused on the Gaza endgame. That message of engagement was right, as was the trio’s repeated message that Hamas must…
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If Mamdani is the future of the Democratic party, how will Jews respond?
Many Jewish New Yorkers are hoping that Zohran Mamdani’s candidacy is an aberration and that Democrats will soon return to candidates who embrace a close alliance with Israel and express a heartfelt understanding of the relationship many American Jews feel toward the country. That aspiration describes many of the city’s most prominent Democratic officials, from…
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Why the story of Noah’s Ark seems timelier than ever
Instead of going to therapy, a widower escapes his trauma by fleeing to an island halfway between Antarctica and Tasmania, where he’s supposed to be taking care of a broken seed vault meant to protect the global food supply against disaster. But various emotional and environmental twists get in the way of his success. Published…
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NJ Republican gubernatorial nominee faces backlash after aide says he wouldn’t take ‘money from Jews’
(JTA) — The Republican nominee for New Jersey governor has come after one of his aides said he wasn’t “taking money from Jews” at a campaign event. Ibrar Nadeem, the Muslim relations adviser to Jack Ciattarelli, made the remarks at a “community dinner” in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday organized by a group called Muslims…
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In Jerusalem, Vance and Netanyahu reject idea that Israel is a ‘vassal state’ of the US
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday dismissed claims that Israel is a protectorate of the United States, as U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance visited the country to monitor the fragile ceasefire with Hamas. “One week they say that Israel controls the United States. A week later, they say the United States controls…
