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 »
Tagged anti-Semitism
Belgian editor defends publication of column saying Jews have ‘ugly noses’
(JTA) — The editor of a prestigious Belgian daily defended an op-ed described as anti-Semitic, saying its critics were trying to silence criticism of Israel. The column, written by Dimitri Verhulst, was published July 27 in De Morgen and quickly drew outrage. It describes Jews in Israel as land… Read more »
False accusations of anti-Semitism hurt the Jews more than you realize
BALTIMORE (JTA) — As Americans of conscience, many of us are deeply troubled by the hyperpartisan tone that seems to color almost every news story and cycle. The sensationalism that is so often present within our nation’s discourse undermines our collective ability to assimilate information and reach well-reasoned conclusions.… Read more »
He posed as a righteous Jewish convert for 19 years. Then he wrote a 2,000-page anti-Semitic screed.
NEW YORK (JTA) — “Eisenmenger belonged to the class of insects which sucks poison even out of flowers,” the 19th-century Jewish historian Heinrich Graetz wrote. Graetz was referring to Johann Andreas Eisenmenger, a young 17th-century scholar from Mannheim, Germany, who dedicated some 19 years of his life to mastering… Read more »
Barbra Streisand says she will address anti-Semitism in her anticipated memoir
(JTA) — Barbra Streisand has been “writing a lot” about modern anti-Semitism in her memoir, which she has been working on for years. “It’s an extremely complex topic, and there’s not enough room in this interview to adequately cover it,” the show business icon said in an interview with the Chicago… Read more »
41 percent of young European Jews have considered emigrating due to anti-Semitism
(JTA) — Forty-one percent of young Jews in Europe have considered emigrating because of safety concerns, according to the findings of a survey published Thursday. Some 2,700 respondents aged 16-34 said they wanted to leave “because they did not feel safe living there as a Jewish person,” the European… Read more »
Anti-Semitism is strengthening the Jewish identity of young people. Why haven’t our organizations embraced them?
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (JTA) – The year was 2000, and Michael Steinhardt had just dropped a bombshell that nearly brought an otherwise dignified conference to blows. “I tend, in my dourest moments, to consider both the Reform and Conservative Jews as historic accidents in the 21st century and suspect,… Read more »
Virginia GOP legislature candidate takes down ‘concentration camp’ joke after Jewish Democrat complains
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A Republican running for the Virginia state legislature removed from his Facebook campaign page a meme that mocked comparisons of migrant camps to concentration camps. Paul Milde, running to be a delegate in Virginia’s 28th district, encompassing the town of Fredericksburg about halfway between Washington, D.C.,… Read more »
Manager of Pittsburgh restaurant fired for anti-Semitic Facebook post
(JTA) — The manager of a popular restaurant in Pittsburgh was fired after he shared an anti-Semitic post on Facebook. Yokoso Japanese Steakhouse owner Jeff Kim apologized in a Facebook post for the action of his employee, calling it “inexcusable.” He also wrote: “Please know that his comments and… Read more »
Jewish candidate for Seattle City Council subject of violent anti-Semitic threats
(JTA) — A Jewish candidate for Seattle City Council has been subjected to anti-Semitic threats on the online message board 8Chan and on social media. Ari Hoffman, a married father of three, is one of nearly 50 candidates for seven of the nine council seats. The primary is scheduled… Read more »
Ukrainian ultranationalists set off smoke grenades outside Jewish community building
(JTA) — Ultranationalists in Ukraine protested outside a Jewish community building with smoke grenades. Men from the National Corps group, a namesake of a unit of the Azov Battalion militia set up in 2014 by the Ukrainian government, set off the grenades Monday in front of the building in… Read more »
Volkswagen’s CEO says he has an obligation to fight anti-Semitism
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Herbert Diess believes he has a special obligation to combat the rise of the far right in Europe because the company he leads was once quite literally its engine. “Volkswagen has because of its history, and our history in the Second World War, we have an… Read more »
Bernie Sanders: Politico article on my wealth was anti-Semitic
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., among the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, said a Politico story on his wealth that called him “cheap” was anti-Semitic. “Call that what it is, an anti-Semitic article,” Sanders said Saturday in an interview with the progressive political online show,… Read more »
Afraid to wear a Jewish symbol in public? That’s exactly why you should.
This story originally appeared on Kveller. A few months ago, when two of my kids and I boarded the London Underground, all eyes seemed to rest on us. My son’s small black kippah, which he always wears, seemed to be drawing dozens of staring faces — and also a… Read more »
It is dangerous to wear a kippah in Germany, anti-Semitism official says
BERLIN (JTA) – It is dangerous to identify publicly as Jewish in Germany, including wearing a kippah, Germany’s commissioner on anti-Semitism said. In a wide-ranging interview, Felix Klein told the Berliner Morgenpost on May 24 that he could not recommend that Jews wear a kippah everywhere and any time… Read more »
Paris Uber driver says he was beaten and robbed because of his Jewish name
(JTA) — A French-Jewish taxi driver was mugged and beaten in what he said was an anti-Semitic crime by perpetrators who targeted him because of his Jewish-sounding name. The driver, a 33-year-old man from the Paris region whose first name is Israel Hai, said he accepted a ride in… Read more »
Chicago high schools pull yearbooks over alleged anti-Semitic and white power messages
CHICAGO (JTA) — High school administrators in two Chicago suburbs are halting distribution of yearbooks after students were alleged to include anti-Semitic, Nazi and white supremacist elements. Highland Park High School, located 15 miles north of Chicago, is a leafy suburb with a sizable Jewish population. Students there are… Read more »
Pope Francis praises role of women in meeting with Jewish delegation
(JTA) — Pope Francis used an audience with the American Jewish Committee to praise the role of women in the world and renew his longstanding condemnation of anti-Semitism. In the private audience Friday – International Women’s Day – he highlighted the “irreplaceable contribution of women in building a world… Read more »
Jewish Agency’s Isaac Herzog blames ‘killing fields of social media’ for rising anti-Semitism
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Social media are spreading anti-Semitism, Jewish Agency chief Isaac Herzog told American Jewish leaders meeting here, and are “a hotbed of the lunatics of the world.” “The real dirt of the world comes up from the killing fields of social media,” he told the Conference of Presidents… Read more »
Insisting it is not anti-Semitic, NJ group sees haredi Orthodox as a threat to ‘quality of life’
(JTA) — The video, with suspenseful music playing in the background, opens with footage of a crowd of Orthodox Jews. Then it paraphrases a classic poem about the Holocaust. “First they came for my house, but I did not speak up,” the narrator says. “I said I am not… Read more »