News
Whom Does Your God Love? A Jewish Case for the Stranger. With Shai Held.
4+ hour, 44+ min ago (1919+ words) Like many children, I grew up being told not to talk to strangers, and especially don't accept candy or car rides from them. If they offer, run to the nearest responsible adult. I was told kidnappers lurk in shopping malls....
The Western Wall isn’t just a public place — it’s an Orthodox synagogue
4+ day, 5+ hour ago (725+ words) (RNS) " A bill currently before Israel's legislature, the Knesset, is bringing the long-debated and divisive issue of prayer at the Western Wall to a head." Israel's parliament has given preliminary approval to a bill that would put the country's Orthodox…...
How the Book of Esther echoes through 17th-century Netherlands to this day
1+ week, 2+ hour ago (783+ words) RALEIGH, N.C. (RNS) " As the United States and Israel began pummeling Iran with airstrikes Saturday (Feb. 28), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a biblical analogy to explain his motives for going to war. "Twenty-five-hundred years ago, in ancient Persia, a tyrant…...
When Trauma Becomes Identity: Rabbi Steven Burg on Changing the Script for Young Jews
3+ week, 5+ hour ago (742+ words) (RNS) " When Rabbi Steven Burg asks young Jews how they see themselves, the answer he hears most often is, "We're the people everyone hates." In this episode, host Amanda Henderson talks with Burg, CEO of the Jewish educational organization Aish,…...
Poll: US Jews see a rise in antisemitism, but few are personally targeted
3+ week, 6+ day ago (386+ words) (RNS) " A new poll of 1,222 U.S. Jews suggests Jews overwhelmingly view antisemitism as a problem, with 86% saying it has increased "a lot" or "somewhat" since the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, on Israel, and Israel's retaliatory two-year military campaign. But the poll,…...
We must give Jewish youth an identity beyond the trauma of antisemitism
1+ mon, 2+ hour ago (440+ words) (RNS) " On Wednesday, Jan. 28, Ran Gvili was finally laid to rest. The 24-year-old police special forces officer, who was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, was the final Israeli hostage returned from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip. His burial closed a chapter…...
140 rabbis train in Washington on how to resist authoritarian governments, ICE
1+ mon, 4+ hour ago (542+ words) (RNS) " Opposition to President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign has brought thousands of people into the streets of U.S. cities. Among them are the growing ranks of clergy who have wanted to do more than preach from the pulpit about the…...
New PBS docuseries examines the ‘interwoven history’ of Black and Jewish Americans
1+ mon, 6+ day ago (799+ words) (RNS) " A new four-part PBS documentary series traces the history between Black and Jewish Americans, examining their connection through shared experiences of persecution and tests to the relationship involving politics and societal dynamics." "It was such a rich discussion, and…...
Jewish-Muslim Solidarity: Moral Witness in Pressing Times Jewish-Muslim Solidarity: Moral Witness in Pressing Times
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (784+ words) Highlights from a Capitol Hill briefing on Jewish-Muslim solidarity as a defense against authoritarianism, featuring prominent Muslim and Jewish leaders and lawmakers. With discussion and inspiration from host Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush and interfaith organizer Maggie Siddiqi. The post Jewish-Muslim…...
A language course is reviving Moroccan Jewish culture and bridging Middle East divides
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (519+ words) These influences left a deep imprint on Elfassi, 37. "In my family there were (many) different languages " Moroccan Arabic, French, Hebrew at the synagogue, and my dad also speaks Amazigh, Berber," said Elfassi. Music, too, was a constant presence " from Andalusian…...