World News
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My Jewish studies students aren’t talking about Israel or antisemitism. They told me why.
I first noticed something was off on the first day of class. I had given my students in my “Sociology of American Jewish life” course at Tulane University blank index cards, asking them to write five words they associate with American Jews. The word antisemitism didn’t appear once, and neither did Israel. Last week, it…
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Honoring Rabbi Arthur Waskow – activist, pioneer and prophet
At the 2014 Climate March in New York City, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, who passed away Monday at the venerable age of 92, rode atop a makeshift Noah’s Ark. The float was constructed by Auburn Seminary and a coalition of faith organizations to highlight the deep connections between religious values and environmentalism. I was honored to…
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A US military base canceled a children’s event celebrating a pioneering Jewish woman cyclist, citing DEI ban
A children’s museum housed on a U.S. military base cancelled a planned storytime reading celebrating the life of a pioneering 19th-century female Jewish cyclist earlier this year, after the book was flagged under a military-wide ban on “DEI” content. The stated reason was because the book was about a woman, its author, Mary Boone, told…
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Should synagogues remove the Israeli flag from bimahs now?
After the last of the living hostages in Gaza were released last week, a prominent New York synagogue faced a complicated question: Should it remove the Israeli flag on its bimah? Central Synagogue in Manhattan had displayed the Israeli flag on an empty chair since the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, along with a count…
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The Lakers were about to shock the NBA. But Shabbat had to end first.
Luka Dončić was headed to Los Angeles — if the Lakers could keep it quiet for one more Shabbat. The Feb. 2 trade that brought Dončić, widely touted as one of the two or three best basketball players on the planet, to Los Angeles blindsided the NBA — and Dončić himself. It was the most…
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As Greenpoint’s Jewish community grows, so does this shul’s Hebrew school
(New York Jewish Week) — Greenpoint, Brooklyn is known for many things: its extensive waterfront, a tight-knit Polish community and a vibrant arts scene. One thing it’s not known for: a thriving Jewish community. But that’s rapidly changing. The Greenpoint Shul — North Brooklyn’s only non-Haredi, brick-and-mortar synagogue — is today home to some 100…
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UN Nuclear Watchdog Believes Iran’s Enriched Uranium Survived War With Israel as Tehran Rebuffs Trump
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, confirmed that most of Iran’s enriched uranium survived the 12-day war with Israel in June and…
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Islamic Group CAIR’s Lawsuit Against University to Block Antisemitism Course Prompts Derision
People walk on the campus of Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois, US, April 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Vincent Alban Northwestern University in Illinois is being sued for teaching its students and staff not to indulge or promote antisemitism, according to a new lawsuit filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization that has been…
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Muslim Groups Call on US Lawmakers to Condemn Jewish Rep. Randy Fine for ‘Islamophobic Attack’ on Mamdani
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) leaves the US Capitol after the last votes of the week on Sept. 4, 2025. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect A coalition of Muslim organizations across New York has called on the state’s congressional delegation to take a public stand against what it described as “rising Islamophobia”…
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As Greenpoint’s Jewish community grows, so does this shul’s Hebrew school
Greenpoint, Brooklyn is known for many things: its extensive waterfront, a tight-knit Polish community and a vibrant arts scene. One thing it’s not known for: a thriving Jewish community. But that’s rapidly changing. The Greenpoint Shul — North Brooklyn’s only non-Haredi, brick-and-mortar synagogue — is today home to some 100 member families. That’s twice as…
