World News
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A court ruling has transformed — and limited — the way New York state can regulate yeshivas
NEW YORK (JTA) — What should happen when a yeshiva does not teach its students the legally required amount of secular studies? And who should be held responsible: the school, or the parents who chose it? Both of those questions were at the heart of a bombshell ruling in a New York state court last…
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The Jewish Sport Report: Into ‘WrestleMania’? Then ‘Mitzvah Mania’ is for you.
This article was sent as a newsletter. Sign up for our weekly Jewish sports newsletter here. Good afternoon, sports fans! This Opening Day was the first since 1968 to feature every MLB team playing on the same date. According to Jewish Baseball News, there were six Jewish players in the league in 1968 — how…
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The legacy of Isaac Babel, Russia’s Jewish Hemingway, is dissected in new Chicago play
CHICAGO (JTA) — All writers strive for a good story. How far they will go to find it depends on their ambition, their wherewithal and their sanity. Isaac Babel, a Russian-Jewish writer who came from a relatively stable, privileged background in Odessa in the late 1800s, would go to war among Cossacks who murdered Jews, make…
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This organization hired asylum seekers to pack Passover goods for Jews in need
(New York Jewish Week) — At a warehouse in Borough Park, thousands of apples were waiting to be taken off two 18-wheelers, as dozens of volunteers were hard at work putting groceries into bags. The scene was one part of a massive $1.5 million operation undertaken every year by Masbia, an Orthodox organization that helps…
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Where to celebrate Passover in NYC: seders, art and matzah pizza
(New York Jewish Week) — Passover is practically here! This year the eight-day holiday begins with the first seder on the evening of Wednesday, April 5 and ends the evening of Thursday, April 13. Passover celebrates the Israelites’ departure from Egypt and is celebrated with one or two nights of seders where guests retell the…
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An 1859 fight over how to make matzah has lessons about the threat of AI today
(JTA) — In the last few months the world has been dazzled by an astonishing sequence of AI systems capable of performing all kinds of difficult tasks — writing code, composing poetry, generating artwork, passing exams — with a level of competence that rivals or exceeds what humans can do. The existence of these AIs…
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‘Mitzvah Mania’: A Los Angeles synagogue is hosting a show with Jewish professional wrestlers
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Colt Cabana, real name Scott Colton, is used to walking out to crowds of hundreds of fans as a member of All Elite Wrestling, a popular show that airs on channels such as TBS and TNT. On Sunday, he’ll be wrestling at a synagogue. Temple Beth Am, located in Los Angeles’…
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A Brooklyn concert will celebrate the forgotten history of women cantors
(New York Jewish Week) — Jeremiah Lockwood, the singer, composer and frontman of The Sway Machinery, is preparing for an upcoming concert by “doing a lot of talking to ghosts.” These “ghosts” are those of the Jewish women singers and cantors of the past century. As it happens, many women — not just men —…
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Law that would bar Congo’s only Jewish politician from presidency is under consideration again
(JTA) — Backers of a law that would bar the Democratic Republic of Congo’s only Jewish politician from becoming president are trying again to get it passed, in a move decried by Jewish leaders abroad. The law, reintroduced to the African nation’s parliament in Kinshasa this week, would bar anyone without two Congolese parents from…
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Indonesia removed as host of U-20 FIFA World Cup over Israel objections
(JTA) — Indonesia has been stripped of its hosting rights for the upcoming FIFA Under-20 Men’s World Cup, after the country objected to Israel’s participation. FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, announced the decision Wednesday, saying Indonesia was removed as host “due to the current circumstances,” without providing further clarification. The Football Association of Indonesia may…
