JERUSALEM (JTA) — Yair Netanyahu, a son of the Israeli prime minister, called for the return of a “free, democratic and Christian” Europe in a tweet that criticized a joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial ceremony for Israel’s Memorial Day. Netanyahu’s post on Tuesday, Yom Hazikaron in Israel, was in response to… Read more »
Israel
JFNA plans global virtual celebration for Yom Haatzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day
The Jewish Federations of North America are hosting a Facebook Live worldwide celebration of Israel’s Independence Day on Wednesday, April 29. The event celebrating Israel’s 72nd birthday can be viewed on JFNA’s Facebook page or its YouTube page. No login is required. Beginning at 11 a.m. Mountain Standard Time,… Read more »
Virtual Yom Hazikaron commemoration for Southern Arizona planned
The Weintraub Israel Center and the Tucson Jewish Community Center will host a virtual event for Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s memorial day, on Monday, April 27 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. All those in Tucson and beyond are invited to gather as a community to honor the memory of Israel’s fallen… Read more »
Worldwide population of 14.7 million Jews falls well short of pre-World War II numbers
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The worldwide population of Jews stands at 14.7 million, still falling short of the pre-World War II numbers, according to a report by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. The figures, which are similar to the population of world Jewry in 1925, were released ahead of Yom… Read more »
Netanyahu and Gantz sign agreement for ‘national emergency government’ that keeps Netanyahu as prime minister for now
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz signed a deal Monday to form a “national emergency government” that keeps Netanyahu as the prime minister for now. Israel has spent more than a year under a caretaker government as neither Netanyahu, who heads… Read more »
Israeli historian donates $1 million to mitigate US suspension of WHO funding
(JTA) — Israeli author and historian Yuval Noah Harari has pledged $1 million to the World Health Organization, or WHO, to mitigate the suspension of U.S. funding. “Unfortunately, the US president has chosen this moment to halt funding to the WHO,” Harari and Itzik Yahav, his husband, wrote in… Read more »
Jerusalem’s Old City, virtual reality edition: A game brings quarantined people around the world into the holy neighborhood
JERUSALEM (JTA) — This time of year — the convergence of Passover, Easter and Ramadan — is peak tourism time for this city. This year is the first time since 1992 that all three festivals fall in the same month. But traveling as a tourist to Jerusalem right now… Read more »
Israel is suffering from coronavirus. Haredim have been made scapegoats
After the deluge of negative headlines over the last several weeks, when COVID-19 is finally beaten back, it will be the scenes of police cordoning off Bnei Brak like a medieval plague city that will define the corona crisis for most Israelis and international observers. These media attacks, which… Read more »
To give my Israeli synagogue a chance of surviving the pandemic, I had to quit my job as rabbi
REHOVOT, Israel (JTA) — To help my kehillah survive the coronavirus pandemic, I had to do something dramatic and counterintuitive: step away from being its official rabbi. Our faith communities need spiritual leaders in these trying times more than ever. But as a non-Orthodox rabbi in Israel, I am largely… Read more »
In Bernie Sanders’ endorsement of Joe Biden, foreign policy — and Israel — go unmentioned
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernie Sanders joined his old friend Joe Biden in a live webcast to endorse him on Monday, and the two candidates left standing in the Democratic primaries emphasized that they agree on more than what they disagree on. “Today I am asking all Americans, I am… Read more »
Brazilian-Israeli family performs home-quarantine version of ‘Hallelujah’
RAANANA, Israel (JTA) — A video clip featuring an Israel family performing “Hallelujah” has garnered thousands of views on social media. The Brombergs, who immigrated to Israel from São Paulo, Brazil in 2018, play and sing Leonard Cohen’s enduring classic song in English and Hebrew from their homes in… Read more »
BDS founder: Israel-invented coronavirus vaccine would be OK for boycotters to use
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel said that if Israel invents a vaccine for the coronavirus, those who reject normalization with Israel by boycotting it can still be given the vaccine. Omar Barghouti made the comments in a Facebook live Arabic-language… Read more »
Israel declares complete coronavirus lockdown on eve of Passover
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israelis will be under a complete lockdown beginning on Tuesday through at least Friday to stem the spread of the coronavirus during the Passover holiday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the closure on Monday evening in a nationally televised address from his official residence in… Read more »
1 in 3 residents of Israeli city Bnei Brak tested for coronavirus are positive
JERUSALEM (JTA) — One in three residents, or 34 percent, of the mostly haredi Orthodox city of Bnei Brak in central Israel who have been tested for the coronavirus are positive. The high percentage of positive tests reported Tuesday by the Health Ministry compares to 6 percent in Tel… Read more »
Haredi rabbinic leader calls on followers to pray alone
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a prominent leader in the haredi Orthodox community, called on his followers to pray alone without a prayer quorum. The ruling on Sunday came after a steep rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Bnei Brak, a mostly haredi city in Israel,… Read more »
Israel’s National Library launches project to document impact of coronavirus on Jewish community
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The National Library of Israel has created an archive to document the impact of the coronavirus on Jewish communities around the world. The Jewish Community COVID-19 Archive will be made up of “ephemera items” — materials not generally intended for long-term preservation. Such items often help… Read more »
Alfred Landecker Foundation providing emergency funding for Holocaust survivors affected by COVID-19
(JTA) — The Alfred Landecker Foundation has created a fund to provide emergency support for Holocaust survivors affected by COVID-19. The 1 million euro ($1.12 million) fund is meant to support elderly survivors who are vulnerable to the coronavirus and who are suffering from the effects of self-isolation. The… Read more »
Hundreds attend funeral of religious leader in central Israel, flouting Health Ministry directives
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hundreds of members of Israel’s haredi Orthodox community attended the funeral of a religious leader despite government restrictions on the number of people who can participate in such ceremonies due to the coronavirus crisis. About 400 mourners gathered in the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak… Read more »
The coronavirus hasn’t stopped immigration to Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Aviva Karoly, an attorney originally from Queens, New York, and her husband, Tzvi, were raised in religious Zionist homes and always dreamed of living in Israel. In preparation, the couple had sent their 6-year old son Adi to a Hebrew-speaking preschool. They also put off purchasing… Read more »
Benny Gantz takes Knesset speaker post as his prime minister hopes break down
JERUSALEM (JTA) — As his Blue and White party was on the verge of breaking up, its leader, Benny Gantz, was elected speaker of the Israeli Knesset on Thursday evening. Gantz has been tasked with forming a coalition government following elections earlier this month, Israel’s third vote in less… Read more »