World

Protest by pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Toronto’s York U turns violent

(JTA) — Violence erupted at a a protest by pro-Palestinian students against an appearance by Israeli army reservists at York University in Toronto on Wednesday night. Members of the university chapter of Students Against Israeli Apartheid, or SAIA, tried to shut down a university-approved panel discussion featuring Reservists on… Read more »

German Chancellor Angela Merkel to visit Auschwitz for first time

(JTA) — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will make her first visit to the site of the Auschwitz Nazi camp in her 14-year tenure. The visit to the former death camp in Poland is scheduled for Dec. 6, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported Thursday. She will participate there… Read more »

An Orthodox Jew is running for Jeremy Corbyn’s Parliament seat. He’ll need a miracle.

Yosef David says his Brexit Party is a "safe and friendly place" for Jews despite racism allegations. (Courtesy of David)

(JTA) — As an observant Jew, Yosef David was taught to believe in miracles. That’s a good thing since David, a social worker from London, is going to need one to succeed in his new mission: unseating Jeremy Corbyn from Parliament in the general election on Dec. 12. David… Read more »

Labour’s anti-Semitism problem is an election issue for non-Jews, too

British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks at the University of Lancaster, Nov. 15, 2019. (Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

(JTA) – Just like the Democratic Party in the U.S., Britain’s liberal Labour Party usually counts on star power for a boost. Ahead of the upcoming Dec. 12 general election, for instance, Labour has scooped up endorsements from major celebrities such as former Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher, pop… Read more »

As the children of survivors, the Rohingya genocide reminds us of the Holocaust

Rohingya refugees are seen on the second anniversary of the Rohingya crisis in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Aug. 25, 2019(Allison Joyce/Getty Images)

(JTA) —  She was 16 years old and alone in a refugee camp in a foreign country when we met her. Sobbing, she told us how she hoped that her brother might be somewhere in this camp, “camp number 18.”  She had heard that he might be alive — if… Read more »

These Jews made Time magazine’s new list of ‘rising stars’

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 01: Beanie Feldstein arrives the '2019 Billboard Music Awards' at MGM Grand Arena on May 01, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Daniel Torok/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

(JTA) — Time magazine is building on its list of the most influential people of the year by releasing a list of “rising stars,” or what it calls the Time 100 Next. The list features what the publication says is an increasing number of influential people who aren’t establishment… Read more »

In Ukraine, aid for needy Jews comes with a catch

Alina Feoktistova at the Tikva Jewish education complex in Odessa, Ukraine, Nov. 2, 2019. (Cnaan Liphshiz)

ODESSA, Ukraine (JTA) — Alina Feoktistova always knew she was Jewish, but the first time she sought contact with the community was to see if it could pay her tuition. Feoktistova’s family couldn’t afford to send her to college, but the local Jewish community provides an alternative in the… Read more »

Holocaust rescuer gets a surprise 100th birthday party in Poland

Jozef Walaszczyk was taken by an Italian sports car to his centenary birthday party in Warsaw, Poland, Nov. 14, 2019. (From the Depths)

(JTA) — The day after he turned 100, Jozef Walaszczyk prepared to attend yet another Holocaust commemoration ceremony in his native Warsaw. Walaszczyk is Poland’s oldest living Righteous Among the Nations – a title given by Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum to non-Jews who risked their lives to save… Read more »

Brazilian-born Holocaust survivor has bar mitzvah at age 91

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) – At 91, Holocaust survivor Andor Stern no longer fears the Nazis who imprisoned him in Auschwitz. Living in his native Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest metro area of nearly 25 million, what scares him today are burglars – his modest house has been broken into… Read more »

Jewish institutions and tourists warned of terror attack in India

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Intelligence agencies in India have warned Israel that Jewish institutions and Jewish tourists are under threat of terror attacks in the country. Terrorist organizations in India associated with the global jihad movement plan to attack Jewish and Israeli targets, including synagogues in Kerala, in the country’s… Read more »

For Ukrainian Jews, having a Jewish president is a source of pride — and fear

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky smiles after meeting U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the General Assembly in New York, Sept. 26, 2019. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

ODESSA, Ukraine (JTA) — Arkady Kesselman, a 20-year-old Jewish student, was set on leaving his native Ukraine for the West last winter. In a war-torn nation losing about 1.2 million citizens each year, where the average monthly salary is about $300, it’s not an unusual decision. But Kesselman has… Read more »

German city of Dresden declares it has a ‘Nazi emergency’

(JTA) — The eastern German city of Dresden has passed a resolution declaring a “Nazi emergency.” The Dresden City Council passed the motion last week saying that the city needed more support from state and federal sources to deal with rising far-right sentiment. Dresden is the headquarters of the… Read more »

The last Jews in Afghanistan argued so much the Taliban kicked them out of prison and stole their Torah

Afghanistan's last Jew, Zebulon Simentov, blows the shofar at the sole synagogue in Kabul. (Massoud Hossaini/AFP via Getty Images)

(JTA) — As the old saying goes, two Jews, three opinions. Add one headache for the Taliban. Meet Zabulon Simentov, 66, who is believed to be the last remaining Jew in Afghanistan. Emran Feroz recently profiled Simentov for Foreign Policy and uncovered some incredible stories about the feisty Afghan… Read more »

UK’s Labour Party has an opportunity in upcoming elections. The anti-Semitism controversy is holding it back.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn makes a campaign speech in Battersea, England, Oct. 31, 2019. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

(JTA) – After nearly a decade in power, Britain’s Conservative Party is in tatters. Years of failing to negotiate a deal with the European Union to follow through with Brexit have led to internal party discord and roiled public frustration. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s controversial push to leave the… Read more »