Tagged HEADLINES

(JTA) — Several large companies have joined a campaign to boycott Facebook advertising until the social media giant changes its policies regarding hate speech and targeted harassment. The clothing retailers Patagonia and The North Face; outdoor gear company REI; and Upwork, a freelancing platform, will not be posting ads… Read more »

In an economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, impacts to the housing market aren’t cut-and-dried. Demand for homes appeared to drop along with sales in March, but home prices have risen. What does this mean for the average homebuyer or seller? Gary Pivo, a professor of real estate… Read more »

(JTA) — Actress Mayim Bialik will channel the DC Comics character the Flash to turn kids on to science. DC Comics announced Thursday that “Flash Facts,” a collection of stories featuring DC characters such as the Flash, Batman and Superman, will be published in February. The anthology curated by… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Nefesh B’Nefesh, an organization that helps North Americans immigrate to Israel, said it has received the highest number of applications since its founding nearly two decades ago. In the first half of June, over 900 applications have been submitted to the group for making the move… Read more »

(JTA) — Some 28 Jewish gravestones dating from the 17th century were discovered in the foundation of a wall built to protect a castle in Austria. They were discovered during restoration work earlier this year on the Ebenfurth Castle in the state of Lower Austria, according to Jewish Heritage Europe.… Read more »

(JTA) — Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, will be recognized with a monument at a site in Lisbon that recognizes the country’s greatest figures. The parliament decreed the honor unanimously earlier this month at the National Assembly in Portugal’s… Read more »

(JTA) — The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York is laying off about 40 percent of its staff in order to weather the financial crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. The museum’s president and CEO, Jack Kliger, made the announcement Monday in a call with the staff,… Read more »

(JTA) — A new Holocaust memorial will be built in Vienna engraved with the names of 64,000 Austrian Jews killed by the Nazis. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday for the The Memorial to the Jewish Children, Women and Men of Austria who were Murdered in the Shoah, will… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Researchers at an Israeli government center say that tests of a coronavirus vaccine have been successful on hamsters and the vaccine could be ready by the end of winter if human trials are allowed in the coming weeks. The country’s Ministry of Health must approve the start… Read more »

(JTA) — Actress Winona Ryder said she was passed over for a movie role because the studio head thought she looked “too Jewish” and Mel Gibson once asked her if she was an “oven dodger.” Ryder talked about her experiences with anti-Semitism in Hollywood as part of wide-ranging interview… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Nearly 200 Israelis stranded in several Central American countries because of the coronavirus are going home. A special El Al flight left from Panama City on Thursday morning, the Spanish language Panama Star reported, in the first direct flight ever from Panama to Israel, according to… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two years after his bill trying to negate all conversions outside of the state’s Chief Rabbinate stalled in the Knesset,  Shas party head Aryeh Deri is trying again. Deri, now the interior minister, has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to float a bill to government coalition… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Knesset approved extending emergency measures targeting the spread of the coronavirus as the number of cases in Israel saw its largest one-day increase in the past two months. The legislation, which will remain in force for 45 days starting Wednesday, was approved late Tuesday night,… Read more »

(JTA) — The Auschwitz Memorial and the site of the former Nazi camp will reopen to visitors on July 1. The memorial and museum said it will open for guided tours and individual entry beginning on that date. Reservations must be made online. It closed to visitors in mid-March… Read more »

(JTA) — Amy Acton, the Jewish Department of Health director in Ohio who came under fire for the stay-at-home orders to stem the coronavirus crisis, including armed protesters carrying signs with anti-Semitic messages, has resigned. Acton, whose resignation was official on Thursday, will become the chief health adviser to… Read more »

(JTA) — Universal Music Group, one of the largest music corporations in the United States, has become the first major American music company to open a branch in Israel. UMG Israel will be based in Tel Aviv and be led by Yoram Mokady, a lawyer with no experience in… Read more »

(JTA) — The European Union’s foreign policy chief effectively rejected President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan and asked the United States to join a new international effort to broker a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Josep Borrell said Monday that the Trump plan has created a… Read more »

(JTA) – When Ilana Goldberg scrolled through Instagram last Tuesday, much of her feed consisted of black squares as part of an initiative called #BlackoutTuesday to honor the Black Lives Matter movement. Then she saw a photo of student artwork posted by the Jewish Community High School of the… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli soldier rescued a Palestinian resident of Hebron from a mob of Jewish settlers and was attacked by the mob himself. By Monday morning, four people had been arrested in the attack, including a minor and two teens. The soldier from the Golani Brigade stationed… Read more »

(JTA) — A group of 37 members of the Peruvian Jewish community flew to Israel on a special charter flight amid high rates of COVID-19 in their native country and street riots that have broken out as a result of a scarcity of food and medical supplies. The group… Read more »