Posts By PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor

NEW YORK (JTA) — As he talks about the recent string of attacks on Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, Yosef Rapaport points to a small scar above his right eye. It’s the remnant of an anti-Semitic attack he experienced 50 years ago as a teenager in Montreal. “For those of… Read more »

(JTA) — The Israel-based humanitarian group IsraAID, B’nai B’rith International and Chabad are among those pitching in to help the Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Dorian’s devastation, which has killed at least seven people. “We are in the midst of a historic tragedy in parts of the northern… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will serve as welfare minister in the wake of the resignation of Haim Katz over charges of fraud and breach of trust. Netanyahu adds the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, generally known as welfare, to three other ministries he now… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Fifty-two years ago, following the Six-Day War, Israel took control of the eastern part of this city. After annexing additional Arab villages to the north and south, it created what we know today as East Jerusalem, where approximately 200,000 Jews and 300,000 Arabs live. While Israel… Read more »

(JTA) — The Sackler family would give up ownership of Purdue Pharma and pay $3 billion of its own money to settle thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its role in fueling the nation’s opioid epidemic. The settlement, according to a tentative negotiated agreement described to NBC and… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Moshe Feiglin is taking his far-right Zehut party out of next month’s national elections in Israel following an agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Feiglin made the announcement during a joint appearance Thursday with Netanyahu, who heads the Likud party. Feiglin is a former member of… Read more »

(JTA) — A Jewish socialist philosopher who met with the leader of Hamas is running for president. On Wednesday, Jerome Segal announced that he would run as the nominee of the Bread and Roses Party he founded last year. The party supports wealth redistribution, as well as guaranteed employment… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Amazon announced the launch of operations in Israel. The company set up a website in Hebrew, which talks about its local delivery services, in order to attract vendors. Amazon also is asking overseas businesses to warehouse their inventory in Israel and make arrangements with international shippers… Read more »

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — Pope Francis had an audience at the Vatican with representatives of Hispanic Jewry from his native Argentina, as well as from Spain and the United States. The meeting details were revealed Monday by the chief Sephardic rabbi of Buenos Aires, Isaac Sacca. The U.S.… Read more »

(JTA) — A New Jersey law that permits doctors to prescribe life-ending medications went into effect after an Orthodox Jewish doctor lost in his bid to challenge the measure. The Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act was to take effect Aug. 1, but a state Superior… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli army bombed a Hamas military post in Gaza on Tuesday in response to mortar fire from the coastal strip on southern Israel earlier in the day. Four mortars were fired at Israel: Three landed inside Gaza and a fourth in an open area inside… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A decade after the Bernie Madoff debacle — one so serious that Hadassah officials refuse to even utter the Ponzi schemer’s name — the women’s Zionist organization is back. The finances are robust — 2017 tax returns show $108 million in assets — and a staff… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – In 1992, Israel killed Abbas al-Musawi, a founder of the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, in a dramatic helicopter attack. Iran, Hezbollah’s primary funder, threatened to retaliate – talk that was somewhat expected for a country that routinely calls for the destruction of Israel. But two… Read more »

(JTA) — Since early June, protesters in Hong Kong have been gathering multiple times a week to fight what they see as Chinese attempts to encroach on their freedoms. The police have responded violently at times, shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd. One demonstration drew an… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — In a rare occurrence, the head of the main opposition party in Israel was briefed on recent violence that has Israel and the security establishment on edge. In the past, such courtesy briefings were a signal that Israel could be contemplating military action. Benny Gantz, who… Read more »

(JTA) — Israel has carried out an airstrike on a weapons depot in Iraq that officials said was being used by Iran to move weapons to Syria, the New York Times reported. The attack, which happened last month and is believed to be the first Israeli bombing in Iraq… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg completed a three-week treatment course for a tumor found on her pancreas, the Supreme Court said Friday. “The focused radiation treatment began on August 5 and was administered on an outpatient basis to treat a tumor on her pancreas.” the… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Rep. Jerry Nadler criticized fellow Democrats Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for sharing a cartoon that shows President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu covering their mouths. Omar, D-Minn., and Tlaib, D-Mich., were criticized for sharing it last week because the cartoonist Carlos… Read more »

(JTA) — A 17-year-old Israeli girl was killed and her father and brother were severely wounded in a bomb attack at a nature reserve in the West Bank. Rina Shnerb of Lod, her father Eitan, a rabbi, and her brother Dvir, 19, were hiking at the Ein Bubin spring… Read more »

(JTA) — President Donald Trump clarified who voters — Jewish or otherwise — are being disloyal to when they vote for Democrats. “If you vote for a Democrat, you’re being disloyal to Jewish people, and you’re being very disloyal to Israel,” Trump said Wednesday as he left the White… Read more »