WASHINGTON (JTA) — Robert Levinson, the Jewish-American former FBI agent missing since 2007, has died in Iranian custody, his family said. Iran has claimed over the years that the regime did not know his whereabouts. On Wednesday, the family posted the “devastating” news “with aching hearts” on Twitter on… Read more »
Tagged HEADLINES
Benny Gantz takes Knesset speaker post as his prime minister hopes break down
JERUSALEM (JTA) — As his Blue and White party was on the verge of breaking up, its leader, Benny Gantz, was elected speaker of the Israeli Knesset on Thursday evening. Gantz has been tasked with forming a coalition government following elections earlier this month, Israel’s third vote in less… Read more »
The Bonds of Life: Remembering those we lost to COVID-19
We’re creating space to mourn Jews who are lost to the coronavirus at a time when Jewish mourning practices are nearly impossible to observe. If you’ve lost someone dear to you, we invite you to share their story with us using this form. Maurice Berger, 63, was a noted… Read more »
Israel’s Supreme Court orders Knesset speaker to reconvene parliament and schedule vote on his replacement
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein must reconvene the parliament and schedule a vote on naming his replacement, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled Monday. The decision by an extended five-judge panel gives Edelstein until Wednesday to schedule the vote. He was expected to respond to the Supreme Court directive… Read more »
First Israeli coronavirus fatality, a Holocaust survivor, is buried with social distancing
(JTA) — Arie Even, the first Israeli to die from the coronavirus, was buried in the dead of night with mourners standing six feet apart and funeral workers wearing Hazmat gear. Even, 88, a native of Hungary who survived the Holocaust, was a retired Israeli diplomat. He died Friday… Read more »
Last surviving German recognized by Yad Vashem as righteous gentile for Holocaust heroism dies
(JTA) — The last surviving German recognized as a righteous gentile for saving Jews during the Holocaust died on Monday. Gertrud Steinl, who was recognized by Yad Vashem in 1979 as a Righteous Among the Nations, died a day before her 98th birthday. Steinl’s death was confirmed to the German… Read more »
The real reasons coronavirus is spreading in my Hasidic community
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A vicious rumor has been making the rounds: Hasidim are neglecting to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously because we are selfish. But as someone born and bred in the Satmar community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who now lives in Jerusalem and writes for Yiddish publications, I can… Read more »
Jewish Brazilian cosmetics magnate donates 1.7 tons of gel alcohol to fight coronavirus
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — A Brazilian cosmetics giant owned by the billionaire son of Holocaust survivors donated 1.7 tons of gel alcohol, which can be used as hand sanitizer, to help the city where it is headquartered fight the coronavirus. The donation to Curitiba’s municipal health department was… Read more »
3 happy Jewish coronavirus stories to finish the week
(JTA) — After a week in which the headlines seemed to grow more grim by the day, it’s worth remembering that even as cities go dark across the globe, the world continues to turn. Babies are born, people are getting married, and thankfully the sun still rises every morning.… Read more »
JHM vandalism symptom of rising anti-Semitism
These are troubling times. Anti-Semitic threats and messages are escalating all around us. Three weeks ago, the words “Hail Hitler” (sic) were found scrawled on an exhibit inside our Holocaust History Center. March 5, a man brazenly unfurled a Nazi flag as Senator Bernie Sanders took the stage at… Read more »
Celebrating resilient Israeli women
As these words are being written, the entire world is looking anxiously toward the future, and the effects of the coronavirus. We can’t avoid it — people in supermarkets are stocking up, and news from all over the world arrives on our screens with alarming updates, political debates on… Read more »
Jewish groups, clergy call on U.S. to expand food aid during Covid-19 crisis
Eidtor’s note: This post has been updated to reflect that the number of signatories is now more than 650, and the statement is still open for signing. On Tuesday, the National Council of Jewish Women (www.ncjw.org) and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger (www.mazon.org) called on the U.S. government to increase and… Read more »
Gantz and Netanyahu break off talks of a unity government that would include both of them
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Blue and White party led by Benny Gantz, who has been tasked with assembling a coalition government, said Thursday that it has broken off talks with Likud on a unity government without reaching an agreement. “Contact with the Likud negotiating team has been terminated this… Read more »
5 Jewish NGOs join appeal to Congress for $60 billion cash infusion
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Five Jewish nonprofits are among about 100 that are asking Congress to inject $60 billion into the sector to weather the coronavirus pandemic. The groups in their letter this week say that they are on the frontline of assisting the poor during the crisis and that… Read more »
HIAS offers suggestions, digital resources for National Refugee Shabbat March 20-21
HIAS created National Refugee Shabbat 5780 as a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals around the country to dedicate a Shabbat experience to refugees and asylum seekers. While the National Refugee Shabbat was planned For March 20-21, local congregations such as M’kor Hayim are postponing to a later date… Read more »
Coronavirus shutters 770 Eastern Parkway, Chabad movement headquarters, for the first time ever
(JTA) — As the world shut down around it, the Brooklyn headquarters of the worldwide Chabad movement carried on as usual — until late Tuesday night, when its neighborhood’s rabbinic leadership ordered synagogues closed to combat the spread of the coronavirus. All week, men came and went from the… Read more »
Benny Gantz will get the first chance to form a new Israeli government
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will give Benny Gantz the task of forming a new government, his office said Sunday. Rivlin met Sunday with the heads of all the parties that won seats in Israel’s parliament in its last election earlier this month. At the end of… Read more »
Israeli government moves to allow tracking of cell phones to fight coronavirus
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli Cabinet approved a measure that will allow the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, to track the cell phones of Israelis who are infected with coronavirus. The agency would not require a court order to perform the surveillance and it will be limited in… Read more »
Former leader of Milan Jewish community dies of coronavirus
(JTA) — Michele Sciama, a former secretary-general of the Jewish Community of Milan — the city’s local Jewish communal life organization — has died of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Sciama, known to his friends and family as Micky, was 79 when he died Monday morning. He is survived by his… Read more »
Jewish Agency sending teen emissaries back to Israel, and to quarantine
(JTA) — Earlier this week, the Jewish Agency for Israel said it was committed to keeping its emissaries in the United States, even as other groups brought theirs home amid the rising coronavirus crisis. But on Friday morning, with schools and synagogues across the country shuttering in an effort… Read more »