Posts By PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor

(JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel told Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday that Israel will continue to act against Iran’s attempts to entrench militarily in Syria. Netanyahu shortened his trip and planned to return Wednesday night, the day of his meeting with Putin, reportedly… Read more »

Purim, which falls this year on March 21, is one of the most exciting holidays on the Jewish calendar, yet its signature food, hamantaschen, can be bland and disappointing. Pastry chef Paula Shoyer is on a mission to transform these triangle-shaped pastries from boring to tantalizing. The author of… Read more »

Steven J. Zipperstein, left, and Mark Hetfield

A “brunch and learn” program next month, hosted by the Jewish History Museum, pairs noted author and Stanford professor Steven J. Zipperstein with Mark Hetfield, the chief executive officer of HIAS, a national refugee protection agency, for an interactive community dialogue. “The program, ‘Learning from the Past, Rising to the… Read more »

Rachel Wallace will present “Humanitarian Heroes Around the World” as the Weintraub Israel Center’s Gertrude and Fred Rosen Memorial Lecture next month. The free lecture marks the launch of a month-long photo exhibit at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, “Stories of Courage and Resilience.” The Tucson J will host… Read more »

With a growing number of homeowners looking to save money on power bills and help the environment, rooftops across America are taking on a new look, as more homes are dotted with solar panels. But it’s important to ask the right questions before installing them on your home. “While… Read more »

While mortgage interest rates remain near historic lows, they had been slowly rising over the third quarter of 2018, increasing the cost of 30-year loans for borrowers. If rates rise again, home buyers have other options to consider: an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), which provides an initial lower monthly… Read more »

ORLANDO, Fla. (JTA) — Growing up, Josh Boloña was just like a lot of kids in South Florida: He was a Latino immigrant, from Ecuador, in an area with a lot of Latino immigrants. He was a Jewish kid in an area with many Jews. He was a soccer… Read more »

AMSTERDAM (JTA) – Growing up, Heidi Fishman knew that she was alive thanks to her grandfather’s Paraguayan passport. A Jewish author from Vermont, she was told as a little girl that Heinz Lichtenstern’s passport was the only reason that her maternal grandparents and mother managed to avoid being sent… Read more »

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — A one-time diplomat to the Latin American Jewish Congress has been appointed Venezuela’s diplomatic representative to Argentina by Juan Guaido, the self-declared interim president of Venezuela. Israel’s ambassador in Buenos Aires, Ilan Sztulman, referred to Elisa Trotta Gamus as “ambassador” during a meeting at the… Read more »

(JTA) — Thousands participated Tuesday in demonstrations against anti-Semitism across France. Protesters took to the streets in some 70 marches only hours after nearly 100 gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in the eastern French village of Quatzenheim were discovered vandalized with swastikas. Some protesters held posters saying “That’s Enough.” “Whoever did this… Read more »

(JTA) — Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan blamed “the wicked Jews” for the crisis over anti-Semitism and the Women’s March. “The most beautiful sight that I could lay eyes on when I saw, the day after Trump was elected, women from all over the world were standing in… Read more »

(JTA) — In a brief confidential conference call with Jewish organizations, Rep. Ilhan Omar apologized for any hurt caused by her tweets suggesting that AIPAC pays politicians to support Israel. “Let me reiterate my sincere apology for any actual hurt my words have caused,” Omar, a freshman Democratic congresswoman… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — This may be hard to remember, but three years ago it was a big deal when Bernie Sanders criticized Israel in public. During a debate in New York City with Hillary Clinton, Sanders generated headlines when he said the United States should care about Palestinian… Read more »

(JTA) — Bernie Sanders officially launched his second campaign for president. The Vermont senator’s 2020 campaign launched on Tuesday morning with an email to supporters and a tweet that included a nearly 2-minute video and a request for support. “I’m running for president. I am asking you to join me… Read more »

(JTA) — Dear JTA, I am an elected official in a large democracy in the Western hemisphere. A lot of my colleagues have gotten into trouble recently for using anti-Semitic “tropes.” I know what anti-Semitism is, but am less sure how that differs from a “trope.” Any guidance so… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — It was meant to be a diplomatic triumph for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: a much-touted diplomatic summit here on Monday with four Central European states. Instead, harsh words from Israel’s acting foreign minister opened a diplomatic rift threatening to severely damage Israeli-Polish relations, and the… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Social media are spreading anti-Semitism, Jewish Agency chief Isaac Herzog told American Jewish leaders meeting here, and are “a hotbed of the lunatics of the world.” “The real dirt of the world comes up from the killing fields of social media,” he told the Conference of Presidents… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump called on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to resign from Congress for what he said was her anti-Semitism. “It’s terrible what she said and I think she should either resign from Congress, or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Trump… Read more »

(JTA) — Vice President Mike Pence will visit Auschwitz, his first visit to the Nazi death camp in Poland. Pence will visit the site on Friday with Polish President Andrzej Duda, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing a senior White House official. The vice president will be in Warsaw… Read more »

(JTA) — “I was the hairy Jewish monkey in a sea of blond kids.” That’s not Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill — it’s Sarah Silverman talking about her upbringing in Bedford, New Hampshire, on an upcoming episode of  “Finding Your Roots,” the celebrity genealogy show on PBS. Bedford, the… Read more »