National

Poway, a California haven, learns it can happen here

Hundreds gather in Poway, Calif., for a vigil for the victims of the synagogue shooting there, April 28, 2019. (Gabrielle Birkner)

POWAY, Calif. (JTA)— With hundreds gathered to show support for the victims of a shooting inside his synagogue, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein recounted the moment when he came face to face with the gunman and what happened next: He described watching a congregant’s husband, a doctor, faint as he attempted… Read more »

I used to avoid everything Holocaust related. This Auschwitz exhibit changed my attitude.

An original barrack from Monowitz, a labor and concentration camp that was part of the Auschwitz complex, is featured in the exhibit "Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away" at the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City. (Josefin Dolsten)

NEW YORK (JTA) — As a teenager, whenever my mother would suggest watching a Holocaust film, I would groan. I always felt that the Shoah already was close enough. My father had shown me the letters my great-grandfather wrote from a concentration camp in Poland to his daughter, who… Read more »

First-ever official US delegation joins March of the Living at Auschwitz

Elan Carr, second from left, the U.S. special anti-Semitism envoy, stands with U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, second from right, and Israeli soldiers at the March of the Living at Auschwitz, May 2, 2019. (Cnaan Liphshiz)

OSWIECIM, Poland (JTA) — President Donald Trump’s appointee as special envoy for monitoring and combating anti-Semitism toured Auschwitz for the first time on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. Elan Carr, who was named earlier this year, was part of the first official U.S. delegation to the March of the Living,… Read more »

In the wake of another deadly synagogue shooting, we need Holocaust education more than ever

A gate with the inscription "Work Sets You Free" at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial in Oranienburg, Germany, Jan. 25, 2019. (Omer Messinger/Getty Images)

(JTA) — On the Shabbat morning of April 27, Hadassah member Lori Gilbert-Kaye was murdered while celebrating Passover at the Chabad of Poway. The synagogue’s rabbi, a male congregant and an 8-year-old girl were wounded as well by the self-avowed white supremacist shooter. We know that anti-Semitism is on the… Read more »

Mitt Romney: Two-state solution is all there is

Sens. Mitt Romney, left, and Chris Murphy at the Capitol discuss their recent tour of the Middle East, April 30, 2019. (Ron Kampeas)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sen. Mitt Romney returned from a Middle East tour saying that he saw no alternative to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict other than the two-state solution. The Utah Republican, his party’s 2012 presidential nominee, has just assumed the chairmanship of the Middle East subcommittee in the Senate. Romney’s conclusion… Read more »

Alleged Poway synagogue shooter charged with murder

(JTA) — The alleged gunman in the attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue near San Diego was charged with murder. John Earnest, 19, was charged on Sunday afternoon with one count of murder in the first degree and three counts of attempted murder in the first degree, according… Read more »

Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, killed in Poway attack, shielded rabbi from bullets

Mourners leave mementos across the street from the Chabad Community Center in Poway, California a day after a shooter killed a congregant and wounded three others, on April 28, 2019. (Gabrielle Birkner)

POWAY, California (JTA) — Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who was killed in the attack at a Chabad synagogue near San Diego, is credited with jumping in front of the synagogue’s rabbi to shield him from the gunman’s bullets. Gilbert-Kaye, 60, of San Diego, is survived by her husband and 22-year-old daughter.… Read more »

Poway mayor: post-Pittsburgh precautions saved lives

POWAY, California (JTA) — Poway’s mayor said preparations made in the aftermath of the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue “contributed to saving lives” in his hometown. On Saturday, a gunman entered Chabad of Poway, killing Lori Gilbert-Kaye, a 60-year-old congregant, and injuring three others, including Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, the… Read more »

In second statement, New York Times apologizes for publishing ‘anti-Semitic political cartoon’

NEW YORK (JTA) — After widespread condemnation, and an initial statement that critics slammed as inadequate, The New York Times apologized for publishing an “anti-Semitic political cartoon.” The image, which appeared Thursday in the opinion section of the international print edition of the newspaper, depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu… Read more »

JFSA and JCF statement on shooting in Poway, California

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona are heartbroken and horrified by the senseless act of violence on Saturday at Congregation Chabad in Poway, California. This act came on the exact six-month anniversary after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, on… Read more »

1 dead, 3 injured in San Diego-area synagogue shooting

(JTA) — A shooting at a Chabad synagogue in Poway, near San Diego, California, has left one person dead and three injured, including a child. Police in Poway detained a white 19-year old San Diego man in connection with the shooting on the last day of Passover, and hospitals said… Read more »

Jewish Latino Teen Coalition lobbies in D.C. for immigration reform

Members of the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition with U.S. Representative Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, April 3, (L-R): Elliot Baruch, Katie Kantor. Lily Molina, Derek Contreras, Mia Martinez, Amari Lampert, Kirkpatrick, Sofia Lyon, Bella Wexler, Shira Dubin, Noah Richter, Gavin Carmichael Photos courtesy Jewish Latino Teen Coalition)

Eleven members of the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition, a program founded by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Jewish Community Relations Council and the Office of U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, visited Washington, D.C., March 31-April 5 to lobby lawmakers on immigration reform. In addition to meeting with a dozen… Read more »