National

Rabbi suffering from ALS makes cross-country trip for son’s bar mitzvah

(JTA) — A Southern California father of seven suffering from ALS made the cross-country trip to be at his son’s bar mitzvah with family and friends in his hometown of Brooklyn. Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz, 47, of West Hollywood, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s… Read more »

What does John Bolton’s departure mean for Israel?

National Security Adviser John Bolton arrives at his news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, Aug. 28, 2019. (STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu had quite a Tuesday. One week before Israelis go to the polls in their country’s second election this year, the Israeli prime minister went on live television with a promise that if re-elected, he is prepared to annex sensitive areas of the West Bank… Read more »

Trump fires John Bolton, national security adviser close to Israel

National Security Advisor John Bolton answers journalists' questions after his meeting with Belarus' president in Minsk, Aug. 29, 2019. (Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump fired John Bolton, his national security adviser and one of the administration officials seen as closest to the views of Israel’s government. “I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” Trump said Tuesday on… Read more »

In Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn, a spate of assaults feels all too familiar

Women and children wait at a crosswalk in the Orthodox neighborhood of Borough Park, Brooklyn, Sept. 3, 2019. (Ben Sales)

NEW YORK (JTA) — As he talks about the recent string of attacks on Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, Yosef Rapaport points to a small scar above his right eye. It’s the remnant of an anti-Semitic attack he experienced 50 years ago as a teenager in Montreal. “For those of… Read more »

Sackler family in talks to give up ownership of Purdue Pharma under proposed opioid settlement

A view of Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., owned by the Sackler family. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

(JTA) — The Sackler family would give up ownership of Purdue Pharma and pay $3 billion of its own money to settle thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its role in fueling the nation’s opioid epidemic. The settlement, according to a tentative negotiated agreement described to NBC and… Read more »

Jewish socialist philosopher who met with Hamas is running for president

(JTA) — A Jewish socialist philosopher who met with the leader of Hamas is running for president. On Wednesday, Jerome Segal announced that he would run as the nominee of the Bread and Roses Party he founded last year. The party supports wealth redistribution, as well as guaranteed employment… Read more »

Back from the brink, Hadassah banks on bipartisanship in attracting new members

Hadassah CEO Janice Weinman speaks at the group's national convention in New York, July 18, 2019. (Hadassah)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A decade after the Bernie Madoff debacle — one so serious that Hadassah officials refuse to even utter the Ponzi schemer’s name — the women’s Zionist organization is back. The finances are robust — 2017 tax returns show $108 million in assets — and a staff… Read more »

As U.S.-Iran tensions escalate, Jews are warned they could be targeted

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech at a ceremony in Tabriz, Iran, Aug. 1, 2019. (Presidency of Iran/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) – In 1992, Israel killed Abbas al-Musawi, a founder of the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, in a dramatic helicopter attack. Iran, Hezbollah’s primary funder, threatened to retaliate – talk that was somewhat expected for a country that routinely calls for the destruction of Israel. But two… Read more »

Nadler criticizes Tlaib and Omar for sharing controversial cartoon

NEW YORK (JTA) — Rep. Jerry Nadler criticized fellow Democrats Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for sharing a cartoon that shows President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu covering their mouths. Omar, D-Minn., and Tlaib, D-Mich., were criticized for sharing it last week because the cartoonist Carlos… Read more »

Tucsonans join Tisha b’Av vigils protesting migrant deaths

Allison Stuewe reads while Marc Goodman blows the shofar and Deborah Mayaan demonstrates movement to release grief during a Jewish Voice for Peace Tisha b’Av vigil at Tucson’s Historic Y on Aug. 10. (Brooke Hotez)

More than 50 Jewish demonstrations were held across the country last weekend in opposition to U.S. immigration policy and to mark Tisha b’Av, the traditional Jewish day of mourning. The call to action came from T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and other organizations, including the refugee aid… Read more »

As a Mexican-Jewish lawmaker, I feel doubly targeted by hateful rhetoric

Alma Hernandez (center) with her family at her naming ceremony at Congregation Chaverim, April 8, 2016. (Courtesy Hernandez)

I  am proud to be Jewish, Latina and bilingual. I have the honor of representing the state House of Representatives district where I was born and raised in Arizona. My home in Tucson is less than one hour away from the U.S.-Mexico border. Tucson and El Paso in many… Read more »