(JTA) — The Georgia legislature approved a hate crimes bill that allows a longer sentence for crimes deemed to be based on a particular bias. The effort was led in part by the Hate Free Georgia Coalition, a group of 35 nonprofit groups organized by the Anti-Defamation League, the… Read more »
News
For this Black Jewish leader, George Floyd protest movement shows some Americans finally get it
As senior vice president at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Gamal Palmer is in charge of professional development for the federation’s staff and does leadership development for its board. (Courtesy of Gamal Palmer)
Gamal Palmer has spent virtually his entire professional career working to advance racial diversity, equity and justice. As a Jew of color in charge of leadership and professional development at the Los Angeles Jewish federation, he’s spent years running diversity workshops and pushing for conversations about race within the… Read more »
Israel immigration group Nefesh B’Nefesh reports highest number of applications since its founding
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organization that helps North Americans immigrate to Israel, said it has received the highest number of applications since its founding nearly two decades ago. In the first half of June, over 900 applications have been submitted to the group for making the move… Read more »
Jewish gravestones from 17th century discovered during renovations of castle in Austria
(JTA) — Some 28 Jewish gravestones dating from the 17th century were discovered in the foundation of a wall built to protect a castle in Austria. They were discovered during restoration work earlier this year on the Ebenfurth Castle in the state of Lower Austria, according to Jewish Heritage Europe.… Read more »
For the few Jewish camps that are opening despite risks, finding willing families hasn’t been hard
The ropes course at Camp Modin, which has seen immense interest from parents since announcing last month that it was opening this summer. (Courtesy of Camp Modin)
(JTA) — This week, as he prepares to open Camp Modin and administer coronavirus tests to its hundreds of campers and staff, Howard Salzberg is still fielding 50 calls a day from parents who want to send their kids. That’s because Modin, a small, unaffiliated Jewish camp in Maine,… Read more »
New York primary’s preliminary results show good news for Jamaal Bowman and a surging left
New York Democratic House candidate Jamaal Bowman greets supporters in Yonkers, N.Y., June 23. 2020. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Left-wing candidates appeared to be surging in Democratic congressional primaries in New York, although results were preliminary into Wednesday as mail-in votes necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic were still being counted. Jamaal Bowman, who challenged longtime incumbent Eliot Engel in the 16th District, covering parts of… Read more »
Portuguese diplomat who rescued 10,000 Jews to be honored with monument at famed Lisbon site
(JTA) — Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, will be recognized with a monument at a site in Lisbon that recognizes the country’s greatest figures. The parliament decreed the honor unanimously earlier this month at the National Assembly in Portugal’s… Read more »
NYC’s Museum of Jewish Heritage laying off 40% of staff due to financial crisis caused by coronavirus
(JTA) — The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York is laying off about 40 percent of its staff in order to weather the financial crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. The museum’s president and CEO, Jack Kliger, made the announcement Monday in a call with the staff,… Read more »
Here’s how Jewish schools found creative ways to maintain community during COVID lockdown
Yeshivat Noam, a Modern Orthodox school in Paramus, N.J., organized a graduation float that visited students' homes so that members of the class of 2020 could celebrate safely amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy of Yeshivat Noam)
As soon as it became clear in March that COVID-19 would force school closures around the country, Jewish day school administrators faced a conundrum that went beyond the question of how to continue educating students. The challenge: how to maintain a sense of community at a time when everyone… Read more »
Austria breaks ground for Holocaust memorial in Vienna
(JTA) — A new Holocaust memorial will be built in Vienna engraved with the names of 64,000 Austrian Jews killed by the Nazis. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday for the The Memorial to the Jewish Children, Women and Men of Austria who were Murdered in the Shoah, will… Read more »
Israeli government research institute says tests of its COVID-19 vaccine have worked on hamsters
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Researchers at an Israeli government center say that tests of a coronavirus vaccine have been successful on hamsters and the vaccine could be ready by the end of winter if human trials are allowed in the coming weeks. The country’s Ministry of Health must approve the start… Read more »
A Jewish ‘Dreamer’ breathes a sigh of relief after US Supreme Court preserves DACA
Elias Rosenfeld with U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine in front of the U.S.Supreme Court, Nov. 12, 2019, the day oral arguments werepresented in the case on DACA arrivals. (Courtesy of Rosenfeld)
BOSTON (JTA) – Elias Rosenfeld’s phone rang on Thursday morning hours after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump from moving to deport him and hundreds of thousands of other young immigrants like him. It was Rabbi Jonah Pesner, director of the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, with… Read more »
Amid a national reckoning over race, Jews are embracing Juneteenth
Marchers in the 48th Annual Juneteenth Day Festival in Milwaukee, Wisc., June 19, 2019. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images for VIBE)
(JTA) — After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic this spring delayed the launch of the website for TribeHerald, a new media company for Jews of color, founders Yitz Jordan and Rabbi Shais Rishon settled on a perfect alternative: the evening of June 18. After all, it would be… Read more »
NYC playgrounds will open next week, ending protests by Orthodox Jews who have demanded access
Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein and New York City Councilman Kalman Yeger at Brooklyn's Dome Playground, June 16, 2020. (Benjamin Kanter)
(JTA) – Just days after Orthodox lawmakers cut the chains off New York City playgrounds in defiance of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s orders, the mayor announced Thursday morning that playgrounds will reopen in the city starting Monday. The decision comes as the city moves into its second phase of… Read more »
Nearly 200 Israelis are heading home after being stranded in Central America due to the coronavirus
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Nearly 200 Israelis stranded in several Central American countries because of the coronavirus are going home. A special El Al flight left from Panama City on Thursday morning, the Spanish language Panama Star reported, in the first direct flight ever from Panama to Israel, according to… Read more »
Israel’s interior minister again seeks to end conversions outside of state’s Chief Rabbinate
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two years after his bill trying to negate all conversions outside of the state’s Chief Rabbinate stalled in the Knesset, Shas party head Aryeh Deri is trying again. Deri, now the interior minister, has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to float a bill to government coalition… Read more »
With the number of cases rising, Israel extends emergency measures to halt spread of coronavirus
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Knesset approved extending emergency measures targeting the spread of the coronavirus as the number of cases in Israel saw its largest one-day increase in the past two months. The legislation, which will remain in force for 45 days starting Wednesday, was approved late Tuesday night,… Read more »
Auschwitz memorial and museum will reopen to visitors on July 1
(JTA) — The Auschwitz Memorial and the site of the former Nazi camp will reopen to visitors on July 1. The memorial and museum said it will open for guided tours and individual entry beginning on that date. Reservations must be made online. It closed to visitors in mid-March… Read more »
How this iconic Yiddish song became an anthem for Black Americans
(Design by Arielle Kaplan)
This story originally appeared on Kveller. What makes one person tick is totally subjective, but science confirms that people are hard-wired to respond to music. It lifts our moods, eases pain and triggers powerful emotions. Some songs become so popular that they transcend their original meaning. Take “I’ve Been… Read more »
Some New York City yeshivas are operating in the shadows
Orthodox children watch as protesters march through Brooklyn, June 3, 2020. Some yeshivas have provided instructions for parents to bring their children back to yeshiva three months after schools closed due to the pandemic. (Angela Weiss/Getty Images)
(JTA) – As Orthodox lawmakers were brazenly cutting the locks off a New York City playground on Tuesday morning, Orthodox children were settling in for a school day just nine blocks away. The classes at Yeshiva K’tana Torah Vodaath in Brooklyn were the first held in the school building… Read more »
MORE HEADLINES
- Bar Mitzvah: Michael Green
- Inside Project Isaiah and the Community Food Bank’s Impact
- Of Blessed Memory: William Abel
- Rabbi’s Corner: Let the New Year and Its Blessings Begin!
- Songs, Prayers, and Solidarity Mark Tucson Commemoration of Oct. 7
- Even Through a Window, Birding Offers Connection to Natural World
- At 100 and 99, Murray and Honey Manson are Going Strong
- Of Blessed Memory: Barbara Soble
- High Holiday Services in our Southern Arizona Community
