(JTA) — “This is my anti-Semitic song,” Tamer Nafar, a Palestinian-Israeli rapper, said at the opening of a conference on Gaza last month at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “I know it might sound R&B stuff, but don’t think of Rihanna when you sing it,… Read more »
National
Pittsburgh newspaper wins Pulitzer for coverage of synagogue massacre
(JTA) — The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in breaking news reporting for its coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre last October. Eleven people were shot and killed by a gunman during the rampage, which came as congregants at the synagogue complex in Pittsburgh… Read more »
Trump peace plan will be ‘born dead,’ new Palestinian Authority prime minister says
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The new Palestinian Authority prime minister said the still-to-be unveiled Trump administration peace plan will be “born dead.” Mohammad Shtayyeh told The Associated Press in a wide-ranging hourlong interview that the international community would join the Palestinians in rejecting the peace plan, whose release date has… Read more »
500 doctors who serve US Jewish communities sign letter urging vaccinations
(JTA) — Some 500 doctors who serve Jewish communities across North America have signed on to a letter calling on all children and healthy adults to be vaccinated. “We the undersigned doctors who faithfully serve the Orthodox Jewish communities of North America, strongly urge all members of our community… Read more »
Liberal streams, ADL not on White House list for ‘pertinent’ meeting with Jewish leaders
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The leaders of three of the four major Jewish religious streams were not invited to a White House briefing on issues “impacting the community,” nor was the Jewish community’s leading civil rights advocacy group. Officials of three Orthodox umbrella groups — Orthodox Union, Agudath Israel, and… Read more »
House Judiciary Committee to hold hearing on hate crimes and rise of white nationalism
(JTA) — The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on hate crimes and the rise of white nationalist groups in America. The hearing scheduled for Tuesday also will look at how social media can rein in white nationalist propaganda and hate speech online. “Social media platforms have served… Read more »
‘Nearing Ninety,’ Viorst still writing with the same sass
As a mother of three active boys, bestselling author Judith Viorst never had the luxury of waiting for the muse to strike. “I just put my tushy on the chair and wrote” when the kids were napping or at preschool, she told the AJP recently. “If every once in… Read more »
Jewish ‘Good Samaritan’ stops man from jumping off a New York bridge
(JTA) — A Jewish man was in the right place at the right time when an elderly man attempted to jump off a New York bridge. Tuli Abraham, 30, told the Gifter in Gotham news website that he and his wife were driving over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects the boroughs… Read more »
Police have suspect in Oklahoma anti-Semitic vandalism
(JTA) — Police have a suspect in a spree of anti-Semitic and racist graffiti in Oklahoma City and the neighboring city of Norman. A woman was caught on surveillance video painting white supremacist, racist and anti-Semitic graffiti on the Oklahoma Democratic Party headquarters in Oklahoma City. She is the… Read more »
Chabad of Flagstaff building site vandalized
A Chabad center being built in Flagstaff was broken into and vandalized sometime between late afternoon on Friday, March 22 and 7 a.m. on Monday, March 25. Crude swastikas were drawn in black paint on the windows and carved into the walls of the Molly Blank Jewish Community Center, which… Read more »
This relative of a Pittsburgh victim is combating anti-Semitism with love and matzah
This article originally appeared on Kveller. Joyce Fienberg was a connector. Bringing people together for a holiday meal was incredibly important to her, and not just her family: She invited people she met on world travels, her students from the University of Pittsburgh, colleagues. She loved connecting people of… Read more »
New York county with Orthodox enclaves declares emergency over measles outbreak
(JTA) — A New York suburb with a large haredi Orthodox population has declared a state of emergency over a serious measles outbreak. Rockland County will prohibit unvaccinated minors under the age of 18 from going to public places, including school, shopping centers, business and synagogues. The prohibition, which… Read more »
Former AIPAC officials launch bipartisan political action committee
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Two former top AIPAC staffers are helming a new political action committee that will steer donations to candidates in both parties who adopt a centrist pro-Israel position at a time when that gold standard for pro-Israel giving is being challenged by the right and the left.… Read more »
Orthodox-run cemetery in St. Louis OKs area for cremated remains, burial of non-Jewish family members
ST. LOUIS (St. Louis Jewish Light via JTA) — A Jewish cemetery in a suburb here has opened a section for the burial of cremated remains and will allow for the burial of non-Jewish, immediate family members of Jews who are buried at the cemetery. The decision by the board… Read more »
Palestinian peace activist barred from entering the United States
NEW YORK (JTA) — A Palestinian peace activist was denied entry to the United States and deported, despite having a valid visa. Osama Iliwat, 42, was questioned over the course of eight hours by officials from Customs and Border Protection at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City… Read more »
5 Democratic presidential candidates say they would rejoin Iran deal
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Five Democratic presidential candidates said they would re-enter the Iran nuclear deal that President Donald Trump abandoned last year. Al-Monitor, a Middle East news site, solicited the Democratic candidates about whether they would rejoin the deal. The five who said they would are Sens. Bernie Sanders… Read more »
Michael Steinhardt’s staff and son say sexual remarks were examples of his ‘well-known sense of humor’
(JTA) — Michael Steinhardt’s family and foundations responded to a New York Times article alleging a pattern of sexual harassment by the billionaire Jewish philanthropist, saying remarks that women said made them feel debased were made in “jest.” Seven women in Wednesday’s article, a joint investigation by The Times and… Read more »
Prominent pro-Israel donor pulls out of AIPAC conference after saying two Muslim lawmakers ‘clash’ with American values
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Adam Milstein, a major pro-Israel funder, has withdrawn from speaking at the annual AIPAC policy conference following a series of tweets in which he accused two Muslim lawmakers of clashing with “American values.” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee distanced itself from Milstein. Milstein, the chairman… Read more »
Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue raises more than $40,000 for families of Christchurch mosque attack victims
(JTA) — The Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh is paying it forward. The congregation has raised more than $40,000 to support the victims and their families of the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. “We feel compelled to come to the aid of those communities, just as our… Read more »
Pitzer College president says he’ll ignore faculty’s vote to end Haifa study program
(JTA) – Faculty at California’s Pitzer College voted in favor of suspending its study abroad program in Israel, but the institution’s president said he would ignore their motion. Thursday’s non-binding recommendation by faculty at the college governing body was spearheaded by proponents of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement… Read more »