National

BOSTON (JTA) – President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel became an unexpected agenda item as 6,000 members of the Reform movement from across North America gathered here for their four-day convention. Addressing the Union for Reform Judaism’s 2017 biennial on Friday, Sen. Elizabeth… Read more »

  (JTA) — It’s a shame Al Franken has to go, Minnesota Jews say. But he has to go. That’s the feeling Minnesota Jewish leaders expressed a day after the Democratic senator announced he would resign his seat in the coming weeks following a string of sexual harassment allegations… Read more »

(JTA) — Sen. Al Franken announced he will resign from Congress in the wake of calls for him to step down following accusations of sexual misconduct by several women. Franken said late Thursday morning in a speech on the Senate floor that he would resign “in the coming weeks.”… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — In announcing U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President Donald Trump spoke loud and clear — except when he didn’t. That’s not to say that Israel and many of its supporters weren’t thrilled with what many called the “long overdue” acknowledgement by the United States… Read more »

(JTA) — At least seven women in the Senate Democratic caucus, including potential 2020 presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, called on Sen. Al Franken to resign hours after a seventh woman came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct. Following the calls for his resignation, Franken’s office… Read more »

(JTA) — Jewish groups expressed both disappointment and pleasure at the expected announcement by President Donald Trump that the United States will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The Reform Jewish movement, the largest in the United States, called Wednesday’s announcement “ill-timed but expected.” The announcement, said Union for Reform… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but emphasized that he was not pre-empting negotiations over the final status of the city. “It is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Trump said in a televised address from the… Read more »

  WASHINGTON (JTA) — Staring at a massive defeat, Jewish groups dealing with social safety net issues are looking at the tax plan about to reach its final stages in Congress and hoping they can snatch a few small victories. The hope is that lawmakers in reconciling the bills… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — As President Donald Trump prepares to address the issue of Jerusalem in a White House speech, the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem instructed U.S. officials not to travel to the Old City or West Bank in the face of reports that there will be protests. Sarah Huckabee… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would be an act of “naked aggression” that would cause the United States to lose “its mediating role” in the Middle East, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation said. The statement by the group, representing 57 countries, came as President Donald Trump… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but will not open an embassy there for years and will reassure the Palestinians that the recognition does not impinge on their claims to the city. It’s likely to be years before an embassy opens in Jerusalem,… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jared Kushner stands up to bullies. He makes new friends. His academic progress — well, the first year is more about socialization than acing tests, right? President Donald Trump, in the first fraught months of his administration, heralded the promise of his Jewish daughter, Ivanka, and… Read more »

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (JTA) — Before she boarded the plane from Israel to Silicon Valley, Darya Henig Shaked already was bucking stereotypes of women in tech. Among married Israeli techies in the Bay Area, it’s assumed that the man in the marriage was the one who obtained a work visa… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — In 1987, Congress passed legislation that declared there would never be an office of the Palestine Liberation Organization on U.S. soil. President Ronald Reagan agreed and signed the law. Seven years later the law was still on the books. But that year the PLO opened an… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — As the Burning Bush crackles, God is heard. “Mow-zes,” God says in the mysterious mid-Atlantic accent that Hollywood once trained its actors to use — the one Anne Baxter as Nefertiti used to summon Charlton Heston’s Moses in the 1956 blockbuster “The Ten Commandments.” “Mow-zes, Mow-zes.”… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Just who is Bernie Bernstein, exactly? Well, first things first: He — or, more accurately, it — is a disembodied voice that has become a supporting character in the brouhaha surrounding Roy Moore, the U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama who has been accused of sexual… Read more »

As Hurricane Harvey swept over Houston, Chava Gal-Or counted herself lucky. The water rose up to her door and a little bit seeped in, but her home did not flood. However, many in the Reform synagogue where she works had it much worse: Twenty-nine families lost their homes —… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Stephen Bannon, the former chief strategist for President Donald Trump, called himself a “Christian Zionist” at the Zionist Organization of America’s annual dinner. He also praised Republican Jewish megadonor Sheldon Adelson for his help in guiding Trump through a sexual assault scandal. Bannon, at what… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — It’s lunch break during a one-day conference on “Israeli Cuisine as a Reflection of Israeli Society” — so naturally I’m eating lunch. Everything on my white plastic plate can be considered Israeli food. There is a burek (which originally heralds from Spain, by way of Turkey),… Read more »

  WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jewish and pro-Israel leaders exchanged heated remarks at a congressional hearing on how to define anti-Semitism. Tuesday’s hearing of the House Judiciary Committee took up a bill that would, among other things, define as anti-Semitism language that “demonizes” Israel. Of the nine witnesses who addressed the… Read more »