World News
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From Patagonia to Paris, here are 10 Jewish destinations that JTA reporters visited in 2023
(JTA) — Providing a window into Jewish communities across the globe, on the ground — from European metropolises to more isolated outposts — has always been part of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s mission. This year, our reporters ventured into places where Jews and Jewish life are at risk, including Ukraine — where we sent several…
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Rabbi Chaim Druckman, giant of Israeli settlement and Religious Zionist movements, dies at 90
(JTA) — Rabbi Chaim Druckman, whose mission was to unite the people of Israel, was father to a movement now poised to sow some of its deepest divisions in decades. Druckman, who died Sunday at 90 after contracting COVID-19, was a giant in the religious Zionism movement, which sought to integrate the two preeminent philosophies…
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Unique therapy program offers troubled Jewish youth a distinctly Israeli alternative
KIBBUTZ HAZOREA, Israel — Throughout high school, Ben rarely did his homework, struggled to complete school assignments and used marijuana on a daily basis. Frustrated with his situation, Ben, 18, decided in early September to leave his U.S. home and enroll in Free Spirit Experience — an in-residence therapy program in Israel’s Carmel Mountains. Three…
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Republican Jewish Coalition CEO: George Santos ‘will not be welcome’ at our events
(JTA) — George Santos’ first Hanukkah party with the Republican Jewish Coalition will be his last. The group says it will not host Santos at any future events after the congressman-elect lied to RJC officials and to the public about being Jewish and the descendant of people who escaped the Holocaust. Santos participated in an…
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A Queens synagogue is moving, and the fate of its storied ark is in limbo
(New York Jewish Week) — Crafted of bronze and gold-leaf plaster, and topped by a bejeweled crown, the astonishing 26-foot-tall ark of the Forest Hills Jewish Center fills its cavernous sanctuary with an imposing presence. When Temma Kingsley joined the congregation as a newlywed in 1965, she was taken aback by its style. “I thought…
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George Santos maintains Jewish heritage claim even as he admits to lying about resume
(JTA) — George Santos, the congressman-elect whose resume and personal story have collapsed under scrutiny this month, said Monday that he still identifies as “Jew-ish” despite reports showing that his grandparents were Catholics born in Brazil, not Jews who fled the Nazis in Europe as he previously claimed. The Long Island Republican also questioned why…
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Leading Brazilian Jewish economist targeted by criticism ripped from ‘antisemitism handbook,’ Jewish groups say
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Jewish groups in Brazil are calling for a retraction after one prominent Brazilian economist questioned the loyalty of a Brazilian Jewish economist during an interview streamed by a widely viewed news organization. The comments were about Ilan Goldfajn, a Brazilian-Israeli economist who was recently elected president of the Inter-American Development Bank,…
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Book bans, Ukraine and the end of Roe: The year 2022 in Jewish ideas
(JTA) — Jewish eras can be defined by events (the fall of the Second Temple, the Inquisition, the founding of Israel) and by ideas (the rabbinic era, emancipation, post-denominationalism). A community reveals itself in the things it argues about most passionately. It’s too early to tell what ideas will define this era, although a look…
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Latin America’s biggest online retailer says it reduced antisemitic products by 89% this year
(JTA) — Latin America’s largest online retailer has stripped its digital shelves of antisemitic content this year, the result of a push by the regional branch of the World Jewish Congress. Mercado Libre (“free market” in Spanish) was founded in 1999 in Argentina by a Jewish businessman there; it boasts 76 million users, making it…
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The Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s 10 most-read stories of 2022
(JTA) — From the very beginning of the year, 2022 was anything but easy for American Jews. The year began with a harrowing crisis at a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, during which an armed assailant took a rabbi and three of his congregants hostage during Shabbat services. From there, Jewish communities across the United States…
