National

NEW YORK (JTA) — Like the rest of the world, the Jewish world is reeling as the novel coronavirus spreads. We’ll be tracking the latest developments here. Have an idea or question? Reports of coronavirus in your community? Send us an email. A cluster of cases involves New York… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The American Israel Public Affairs Committee alerted the thousands of activists who attended its conference this week that a New York group in attendance had been in contact with someone who has the virus. “To our knowledge, no one who attended the conference has tested positive… Read more »

This is an evolving story. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency will provide updates as they become available.   NEW YORK (JTA) — Three Jewish day schools have temporarily closed, while 600 congregants and two university students have been required to self-quarantine as a result of the coronavirus. Here’s what we know… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Two Yeshiva University students are in self-quarantine as a precaution after potential exposure to coronavirus. According to an all campus alert sent by the university on Tuesday, the second confirmed case of coronavirus in New York — a Westchester County attorney in his 50s — … Read more »

(JTA) — James Lipton, who hosted the “Inside the Actors Studio” on the Bravo channel for 23 seasons, has died. He was 93. Lipton interviewed about 275 actors, writers and directors. In the first season alone his guests included Paul Newman, Alec Baldwin, Neil Simon, Sally Field, Dennis Hopper… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump will speak at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference for the second consecutive year. The venue for the March 14 appearance, the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, is owned by Sheldon Adelson, a major benefactor of the RJC and Republican campaigns, including Trump’s.… Read more »

(JTA) — The National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia filed for bankruptcy protection, saying it owes more than $30 million to bondholders. Much of the debt is from the construction of its building on Independence Mall, the museum said in its Chapter 11 filing, the Philadelphia Inquirer… Read more »

(JTA) — Three Jewish day schools in New York were closed Tuesday due to coronavirus concerns, including one in New York City, SAR Academy, that said it was due to a “suspected case of coronavirus in our community.” SAR, which is located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx,… Read more »

(JTA) — Draizy Junik is well acquainted with the challenges of living a Jewish life in Vermont, a state that while home to a well-known Jewish Democratic presidential candidate has a total Jewish population of about 20,000 people. As a kid, Junik was homeschooled until the age of 13… Read more »

(JTA) — “Judge Judy” will stop banging her gavel after 25 years on the TV bench — but she won’t stop meting out justice. Judy Sheindlin, the Jewish judge on the popular court television series, told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in an interview set to be aired Monday… Read more »

(JTA) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said the pro-Israel lobby has “a lot of money; they have a lot of power” in a television interview. Sanders was responding to a question on the CBS News program “Face the Nation” from moderator Margaret Brennan, who asked the Vermont senator… Read more »

(JTA) — A University of Maryland student was arrested for sending anti-Semitic text messages to a female student “because of her religious beliefs,” university police told local media. The female student began receiving messages on her cellphone in December from a person she did not know while she studied… Read more »

(JTA) — At 53, Bill Goldberg is a world championship wrestler again. Goldberg won the World Wrestling Entertainment universal title last week in Saudi Arabia. Hundreds of Saudi Arabian wrestling fans were on their feet cheering as the Jewish grappler defeated Bray Wyatt, also known as “The Fiend,” during… Read more »

(JTA) — Hundreds of Jews from across the country have signed a declaration of support for Elizabeth Warren in the latest effort to influence Jewish voters in the Democratic primaries. Among the some 850 signatories to the #JewsforWarren declaration are Joshua Malina, the “Scandal” actor who starred in a… Read more »

(JTA) — More than a year after the Tree of Life attack in Pittsburgh, every classroom in synagogue religious schools, Jewish day schools and preschools in western Pennsylvania will now be equipped with medical and emergency equipment. It’s a project of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, whose Security… Read more »

(JTA) — No matter who is running on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2020, he or she is likely to get the Jewish vote by a wide margin, according to a new survey. The survey, released Friday by the Jewish Electorate Institute, found that two-thirds of Jewish voters said… Read more »

(JTA) — A Jewish firefighter from New York has sued his ex-boss allegedly for using anti-Semitic language against him in the work environment. Jonathan Cummings alleges that in 2017, Assistant Chief Fire Marshal Michael Durkin of the Bureau of Fire Investigation sent a text message to someone in the… Read more »

(JTA) — Charter school supporters in Los Angeles are targeting a Jewish school board member with attack mailers that some critics have called anti-Semitic. The mailers portray Scott Schmerelson as greedy, corrupt and determined to score fast cash by exposing children to deadly vaping and McDonald’s French fries, the… Read more »

(JTA) — A bill that would allow the Bible to be taught as an elective in West Virginia public schools passed in the state legislature over the objections of a Jewish third-grader who testified that the measure was a “bad idea.” The measure would allow social studies courses on… Read more »

(JTA) — Democratic presidential candidates Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg said they will not attend AIPAC’s annual conference because it overlaps with Super Tuesday. Their absence leaves former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg as the only Democratic candidate to confirm that he will speak at the prominent Israel lobby’s… Read more »