World News
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Antisemitism is the focus at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In songs and in speeches, an event at the White House marking Jewish American Heritage Month celebrated the presence of Jews in America since colonial times — and fretted about threats to American Jewry today. “For some reason it’s come roaring back in the last several years,” President Biden told a crowd…
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Jewelry with Nazi ties fetches record prices at Christie’s auction amid controversy
(JTA) — A blockbuster jewelry auction at Christie’s is drawing criticism because of the gems’ ties to a Nazi. The pieces sold Monday belonged to the late Heidi Horten, an Austrian art collector whose husband, Helmut Horten, was a Nazi Party member. The items fetched a total of $202 million, making the auction the largest…
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Days after synagogue attack, Tunisian president criticizes Israel and says his country saved Jews in WWII
(JTA) — In response to questions about antisemitism in his country posed days after a deadly synagogue shooting in Djerba, Tunisian President Kais Saied said Palestinians “are killed every day” and “no one talks about it.” He added on Saturday during a visit to the city of Ariana that his grandfather saved Jews during World…
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Julian Shapiro-Barnum, 23, YouTube star
Julian Shapiro-Barnum, 23, is a comedian and actor known for his viral online show, “Recess Therapy.” By channeling the energy of Mr. Rogers and Art Linkletter, as he tells us, “I conduct on-the-street interviews with children ages 2 to 9 about their hopes, confusions, and dreams, eliciting thoughts on topics including climate change, love, stress,…
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Eric Finkelstein, 41, reinventing the Jewish luncheonette
Eric Finkelstein, 41, is the co-owner, along with his partner, Matt Ross, of the hip local sandwich chain Court Street Grocers, as well as the HiHi Room, a “neighborhood restaurant” in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Last fall, the duo was tapped to revitalize an iconic, old-school luncheonette across from the Flatiron Building, which first opened in…
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Shoshana Nambi, 34, children’s book author
Shoshana Nambi, 34, grew up in the Abayudaya community in eastern Uganda. As a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College, she is also a student rabbi at Rodeph Sholom, a Reform congregation on the Upper West Side. Nambi, a mother of a teenage daughter who lives on the Upper West Side, recently authored a picture…
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Jessica Seinfeld, 51, cookbook author who is standing up to hate
For the full list of this year’s 36 to Watch — which honors leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers who are making a difference in New York’s Jewish community — click here. Jessica Seinfeld is better known as a cookbook author than an activist. Her popular books include 2007’s “Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids…
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Chanie Apfelbaum, 42, kosher food writer
Chanie Apfelbaum, 42, is a food writer and photographer who shares her love of kosher cooking through her popular blog, Busy in Brooklyn, social media and cooking demonstrations worldwide. She’s also the author of two kosher cookbooks: “Millennial Kosher” and the brand new “Totally Kosher.” The new book, published by mainstream house Clarkson Potter, features…
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Jewish middle school teacher in Wisconsin arrested for threatening students over swastika drawings
(JTA) – A Jewish teacher at a public middle school in Wisconsin was arrested last week for threatening his students with gun violence after discovering a piece of paper with swastikas in class. David Schroeder was arrested on Friday and charged Monday with a felony count of making terrorist threats, according to the court record.…
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Mia Simring, 41, Rikers Island chaplain
Mia Simring, 41, is a rabbi and a Jewish chaplain at Rikers Island, New York City’s largest and most notorious jail complex. Simring, who lives on the Upper West Side with her family, says she was inspired to become a chaplain when her mother was hospitalized with cancer. “I felt very much like I wanted…
