World News
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Conservative rabbis just told interfaith couples they don’t count — again
Acting improv students learn a fundamental tool called “Yes. . . And.” As you step into a scene, you take what you are given, you don’t ignore it, you don’t try to change it. YES, this is what I have to work with. Then comes the AND: here’s how I build on it. The guidance…
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Justice Department pledges action on antisemitic hate crimes in New York as it recognizes Ari Halberstam murder as civil rights case
More than 30 years after Ari Halberstam was killed in one of New York’s deadliest antisemitic attacks, the U.S. Justice Department has formally acknowledged that if his murder had happened today, it would be investigated as a federal hate crime and civil rights violation. At the same time, the Justice Department also pledged that it…
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Lawn signs for Abdul, door knocking for Haley: Michigan Jews split in Senate Democratic primary
(JTA) — OAK PARK, Michigan – Karen Bick has spent the days leading up to Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary fielding calls from Jewish friends urging her to vote for U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens. Despite the pressure, Bick, 69, said she plans to sit out the race altogether. As much as she is compelled by the…
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In a world of AI run amok, Yiddish folktales are making these theater wizards ‘cranky’
A unique theatrical performance inspired by Yiddish folk tales features dead Jews dancing at a cemetery, a prophet appearing in the form of a bunny rabbit and a stone-munching worm named Shamir. It all takes place within the confines of a 2’ X 4’ box known as a cranky and it’s coming to New York…
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Cori Bush promised to bury AIPAC. Her rematch with Wesley Bell in Missouri tests that.
(JTA) — Missouri primary voters will travel back two years when they head to the polls on Tuesday. There they’ll confront a rematch of two candidates whose previous face-off was largely defined by an influx of AIPAC cash that helped oust one of Israel’s most ardent critics in Congress. In 2024, AIPAC “demonstrated its clout,”…
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The Met’s plan to honor designer John Galliano puts Jewish ideas of repentance to the test
(JTA) — Before the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it would honor fashion designer John Galliano with a major Costume Institute exhibition next spring, the museum convened at least two unusual meetings: a face-to-face with Galliano and a number of prominent rabbis, and a larger meeting with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, museum officials and…
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Spike in number of Israelis leaving country may be harmful to security and economy, new study warns
(JTA) — Israelis are exiting the country in high numbers, a trend that could harm the state’s future security and economy, according to a new demography study published Tuesday by Tel Aviv University. It showed that 268,509 Israelis left the country for a period of at least three consecutive months from 2023 to 2025, part…
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AIPAC gets a lot of attention in Michigan Senate primary, but voters say it’s not their top issue
(JTA) — OAK PARK, Mich. – Working as a morning producer for Detroit’s Local 4 television station, Noelle Gray has had a front-row seat to the flood of political advertising in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. Amid the barrage, one thing stood out to her: how much money AIPAC was pouring into the race between U.S.…
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5 Muslim police officers in Toronto face punishment for controversial comments after Oct. 7
(JTA) — Five Toronto police officers speaking on a Muslim outreach podcast after the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of Israel “made statements that were biased or inappropriate,” violating police standards, and now face a penalty, the police said. Multiple people had complained about the March 10, 2025, episode of the “Project Olive Branch” podcast. The…
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How the Ceuta migration crisis became fodder for anti-Israel conspiracy theorists
The sudden migration of an estimated 50,000 people from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta last week defied immediate explanation. Why now? Why all at once? Had someone sent them? To a certain crowd, all the answers could be found some 2,000 miles away, on the other end of the Mediterranean Sea. The reason…
