National

(JTA) — Richard Alpert, the spiritual seeker better known as Baba Ram Dass who first came to prominence as a confederate of the controversial LSD proponent Timothy Leary, has died. Albert, who was raised in a Jewish family in suburban Boston, died at his home in Maui on Sunday.… Read more »

(JTA) — A member of an Ann Arbor synagogue has filed a federal lawsuit against anti-Israel protesters and the Michigan city over weekly demonstrations that have been held since 2003. Marvin Gerber, a member of the Beth Israel Congregation, filed an 85-page complaint last week in U.S. District Court,… Read more »

(JTA) — All day Monday, volunteers trickled in and out of the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center in Jersey City’s Greenville neighborhood, lining up boxes upon boxes of pretzel challah, soup mix, hummus, turkey and chocolate. Trucks backed up to the community center to unload pallets of food and… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — If where you spend your money is the clearest sign of your priorities, Congress seems to be saying that it remains invested in Israeli-Palestinian peace and in robustly supporting Israel’s defense systems. The House of Representatives threw its support this week behind a spending package that… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Growing up in a Modern Orthodox community in South Africa, Sara Hurwitz never imagined that she would one day become a clergy member. The Conservative and Reform movements have been ordaining female rabbis for decades. But in the Orthodox world, women are barred from many… Read more »

(JTA) — One of the Jersey City kosher store shooters made derogatory comments about Jews in social media posts, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL on Tuesday said it had uncovered a Facebook page that it says belonged to David Anderson, one of the two shooters who killed… Read more »

(JTA) — A Board of Education member in Jersey City has sparked controversy with social media comments following the shooting last week at a kosher market there. “Where was all this faith and hope when Black homeowners were being threatened, intimidated and harassed by I WANT TO BUY YOUR… Read more »

(JTA) — New Jersey officials believe the two shooters at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City were motivated by bias against Jews and the police. “We believe that the suspects held views that reflected hatred of the Jewish people as well as a hatred of law enforcement,” the state’s… Read more »

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (JTA) — One opened a grocery store that became a hub for a growing community. Another was a young student who stood out for his charitable work. Another was an exemplary cop who tried to make the streets safer. Another was a worker who was always… Read more »

(JTA) — A police officer and two gunmen are dead in the aftermath of an hourlong shootout Tuesday afternoon at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey. The gunmen, described as young juveniles, had holed up in the JC Kosher Supermarket after shooting a police officer in the… Read more »

(JTA) — Billionaire philanthropist Ronald Lauder is funding a $25 million campaign against political candidates in the United States who support or normalize anti-Semitism. Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, announced the new campaign, called the Anti-Semitism Accountability Project, or ASAP, on Monday. The effort will include… Read more »

(JTA) — Two Democratic Jewish Congress members have called on the White House to condemn anti-Semitic comments by TruNews founder and host Rick Wiles and deny TruNews any future access to the White House. Reps. Ted Deutch of Florida and Elaine Luria of Virginia sent a letter on Monday… Read more »

(JTA) — More than 30 employees of West Virginia’s Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation have been suspended over a photo showing trainees making a Nazi salute. The photo of dozens of participants in a basic training class reads “Hail Byrd!” at the top, a reference to a training instructor… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he discussed annexing the Jordan Valley with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when they met in Portugal, but the State Department has denied the claim. On Thursday, a day after meeting Pompeo in Lisbon, Netanyahu told reporters that they… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Allan Gerson, a lawyer who made it easier for the families of terror victims to sue foreign governments, has died. His daughter Daniela told family and friends that he passed away Sunday at his Washington, D.C., home. His wife, Joan Nathan, the cookbook author and authority… Read more »

(JTA) — The undergraduate student government of Arizona State University passed a resolution in support of the Tempe school’s Jewish students. The resolution, which passed Tuesday by acclamation, comes amid public discussion among campus student organizations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and in the wake of fliers bearing swastikas and… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Seth Rogen and his father were honored by the secular Jewish group The Workers Circle — formerly known as The Workmen’s Circle until Monday night — for their contributions to Jewish culture, activism and promotion of the Yiddish language. Rogen, 37, who usually plays Jewish… Read more »

(JTA) — Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour took to Twitter to clarify recent controversial comments she had made about Israel. Speaking Friday at the annual conference of American Muslims for Palestine in Chicago, Sarsour had criticized progressive Zionists. “Ask them this, how can you be against white supremacy in America… Read more »

(JTA) — Kamala Harris, the junior senator from California, is dropping her presidential bid. “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue,” Harris, 54, told supporters in a message on Tuesday. The former California attorney general had failed to gain steam among the… Read more »

(JTA) — Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents were killed in the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai when he was 2, was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah. Holtzberg celebrated on Saturday in his hometown of Afula, in northern Israel, Chabad.org reported. A party was held on Sunday night in… Read more »