News

‘We feel like we failed’: How one Jewish school is processing the arrest of a teacher who preyed on children

A view outside the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Google Street View/JTA Photo Service)
September 23, 2019 / Ben Sales, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — Sitting at the front of a large room lined floor to ceiling with Jewish holy books, Rabbi Joseph Beyda’s voice broke as he processed, seemingly in real time, the idea that a trusted teacher had preyed on his students. “I think the overarching feeling of… Read more »

Arab parties recommend Benny Gantz to form the next government

Members of the Joint List arrive for a meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Sept. 22, 2019, where they said they would support Blue and White head Benny Gantz for prime minister. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
September 23, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Arab Joint List recommended to Israel’s president that Blue and White head Benny Gantz be tapped to form the next government in order to end the political career of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ayman Odeh, who heads the coalition of four Arab parties, explained its… Read more »

Grounds of Boston-area synagogue vandalized
September 23, 2019 / Penny Schwartz, JTA

BOSTON (JTA) — The grounds of a suburban Boston synagogue were vandalized. Congregants of Temple Sinai in Sharon, about 25 miles south of Boston, discovered graffiti of unidentifiable defacing symbols splashed over the large Star of David in the pavement near the synagogue’s front entryway as they arrived for… Read more »

United Arab Emirates will build its first official synagogue
September 23, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

(JTA) — Construction on the first official synagogue in the United Arab Emirates will begin in several months. The synagogue, slated to be completed by 2022, will be part of a multi-faith complex called the Abrahamic Family House in the capital Abu Dhabi, Reuters reported, citing the Abu Dhabi-based… Read more »

Extreme Jewish religious sect Lev Tahor requested political asylum from Iran
September 23, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

(JTA) — Lev Tahor, a fringe haredi Orthodox sect, requested political asylum from the Iranian government. In its request, the group “declared their loyalty and submission to the Supreme Leader and Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” It asks for “asylum, protection and religious freedom of the families… Read more »

2 new synagogues open in Budapest
September 23, 2019 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA

(JTA) – Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis in Hungary opened two new synagogues in the Budapest area. The larger synagogue in Újlipótváros, a central area of the capital city, is housed in a riverside building overlooking the Danube River. It will be part of a three-story Jewish community center and worship complex… Read more »

Ro Khanna, a rising star among progressive Democrats, navigates a careful pro-Israel line

Ro Khanna in his congressional office, Sept. 17, 2019. The California congressman wants close U.S.-Israel ties to continue, but says that should not preclude the American government from using the relationship as leverage to push for changes in Israeli policy. (Ron Kampeas)
September 23, 2019 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Ro Khanna, a rising star among progressive Democrats, wants to make a point about how to be progressive and pro-Israel, so he quotes Alan Dershowitz. Yes, that Alan Dershowitz, the Fox News habitue who has accused the Democratic Party of “tolerating anti-Semitism.” “I don’t agree with… Read more »

Transnistria is a tiny, poor state in Eastern Europe. The few Jews left there eye an escape.

Anastasia and Vitaly pose for wedding photos in Tiraspol, Transnistria, Aug. 24, 2019. (Courtesy of Roman Yanushevsky/Channel 9)
September 23, 2019 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA

TIRASPOL, Transnistria (JTA) — Officially, this disputed sliver of land between Ukraine and Moldova is called the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. But to visitors to Transnistria, a breakaway region that declared its independence in the 1990s but which most of the world considers part of Moldova, it looks more like… Read more »

Netanyahu and Gantz agree to hold negotiations for a unity government
September 23, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz have agreed to hold negotiations to form a unity government. The heads, respectively, of the Likud and Blue and White parties announced the negotiations late Monday night following a two-hour meeting at the Jerusalem residence of President Reuven Rivlin.… Read more »

The first exit polls for Israel’s Election Day are in. It’s close.

Blue and White party chairman Benny Gantz casts his ballot at a voting station in Rosh Haayin, Israel, on Election Day, Sept. 17, 2019. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
September 17, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the Blue and White were again locked in a virtual dead heat at the close of voting in Israel, exit polls on Tuesday showed. Both Blue and White, which is led by Benny Gantz, a former military chief of… Read more »

Sackler family-owned Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy
September 16, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

(JTA) — The Sackler family-owned Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy as part of a tentative $12 billion settlement with dozens of state and local governments that filed lawsuits accusing the company of fueling and profiting from the opioid epidemic. The company’s board met Sunday evening to approve the move,… Read more »

7 things to look for in Israel’s elections on Tuesday

An Israeli election billboard for the Likud party shows President Donald Trump shaking hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also the Likud party chairman, on a street in Jerusalem, Sept. 16, 2019. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)
September 16, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israelis head to the polls for the second time this year on Tuesday. Exit polls from the country are notoriously fickle, so the real results of the election may leave onlookers in suspense for a bit. Here are some of the more important things to look… Read more »

Israeli elections and analysis available online in English
September 16, 2019 /

Almost 6 million voters, over 11,000 ballots. Sept. 17 is national Elections Day for the 22nd Knesset. This is the second time in 2019 that the Israeli public is called to actively participate in the democratic process. First results of this 2nd round are expected to be published tomorrow… Read more »

Annual Project Isaiah food drive to help the hungry

A food drive collection box is available in the lobby of the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, home of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, at 3718 E. River Road. (Phyllis Braun/AJP)
September 13, 2019 /

Project Isaiah, the Jewish community’s annual High Holidays food drive benefiting the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, begins Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 15. When asked why we fast on Yom Kippur, the prophet Isaiah responded, “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry?” (Isaiah… Read more »

Young Men’s Group aims for community interaction

Back row (L-R): Oren Riback, Matt Landau, Tom Brannock, Stephen Segal, Isaac Figueroa (past co-chair), Jeff Winkelman (co-chair), Howard Cohen, David Kornberg, Alec Berens, Christian Yoder. Front row: Adam Miller, Eric Mellan (co-chair), Antar Davidson, Sam Bowman, Eric Natter.
September 13, 2019 /

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Men’s group held its annual leadership development retreat Aug. 23-25 on Mt. Lemmon, facilitated by Jewish Federations of North America National Young Leadership Cabinet co-chair Adam Miller, from Orange County, California. The 13 young men participated in leadership development programming including community… Read more »