Tagged HEADLINES

(JTA) — Restorers working on a building that used to house a synagogue near Krakow, Poland, found a chest inside a wall containing precious silverware and Jewish artifacts. More than 350 items were found about two months ago in Wieliczka, the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper reported last week, including silver-plated… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump said he may unveil his long-awaited plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace before a planned meeting next Tuesday in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz. “Probably we’ll release it a little bit prior to that,” Trump told reporters traveling… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — American teen Ezra Schwartz will never play on the baseball field in Raanana that bears his name. But hundreds of Israeli young people, including some of Ezra’s cousins, will have the chance. In doing so, they will be honoring the memory of a young man who… Read more »

(JTA) — A mosque in Jerusalem was burned down in an apparent hate crime. The torching of the mosque in the Sharafat area on Thursday right resulted in no injuries. But nearby, spray painted in Hebrew, was the message: “Wreck Jewish — enemy homes will be wrecked.” Graffiti… Read more »

(JTA) — Swastikas were found painted on and around a synagogue in Wellington, New Zealand. One swastika was painted on Wednesday on the Temple Sinai synagogue and several others were found nearby, a Wellington City Council spokesperson told Newshub. The word “Heil” was also painted nearby. “I’m upset by… Read more »

Chabad of Oro Valley will host a community-wide event addressing safety and security on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m.. The Oro Valley Police Department will present an “active shooter response” class to provide attendees with strategies for dangerous situations. Since the recent violent attacks against Jewish communities, including… Read more »

Graham Hoffman

Donor centrism has become a rallying cry in the Jewish philanthropic giving space. For many modern donors, the ability to see the impact of their funds is essential to their charitable involvement. This results-driven mindset marks a shift from the more hands-off approach taken by prior generations, in which… Read more »

The ultra-Orthodox make up some 13% of Israel’s population. The main cities in which this largely secluded population lives are Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, with large ultra-Orthodox communities in Elad, Betar Illit, and Modi’in Illit. There also are ultra-Orthodox communities in mixed cities such as Sefad, Ashdod, and Tiberius.… Read more »

The Tucson Jewish Community Center launched its 2020 Women inPower Tucson leadership program with a brunch orientation session Jan. 12. The fellows chosen for the pilot program funded by the JCC Association are Elise Bajohr, Debbie Boggs, Gabby Erbst, Katie Filous, Katharine L. Gerst, Maya Horowitz, Robin Kelley, Shannon… Read more »

Thomas Sayler-Brown and John Linder at the Bahai Gardens in Haifa

Destination: Israel From Nov. 20-Dec. 5, Thomas Sayler-Brown and his husband, John Linder, traveled as first-timers to Israel. Sayler-Brown, chair of the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation board, planned their itinerary, and did research for a future JPride group trip. The pair are drawn to urban settings, with Thomas… Read more »

Bonnie Schock has been selected as the new executive director of the Fox Tucson Theatre, beginning March 9. Schock comes to Tucson from Red Wing, Minnesota, where she has been executive director of the Sheldon Theatre of Performing Arts since 2015. Along with a Bachelor of Arts from The… Read more »

A Dutch artist is installing a light display commemorating the Holocaust in 150 municipalities ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Daan Roosegaarde’s “Light of Life” project features dark spaces with stones that light up briefly. Roosegaarde chose the theme of stones because Jewish custom is to place them on… Read more »

A multi-generational group of more than 100 women gathered Jan. 8 at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy for an evening of food and drink, mah jongg — with many newcomers learning the game— and giving, hosted by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Women’s… Read more »

(JTA) — A senior Muslim leader from Saudi Arabia visited Auschwitz with a delegation from the American Jewish Committee. Mohammed al-Issa, the secretary-general of the Mecca-based Muslim World League and a former Saudi justice minister, joined a delegation of Muslim religious leaders from several countries at the site of… Read more »

(JTA) — British Jews protested what they perceived to be a BBC reporter’s claim that the Holocaust has distorted Israelis’ perception of reality and the occupation of Palestinian land. The rebuke Thursday by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Campaign Against Antisemitism and the editor in chief… Read more »

(JTA) — Bradley Cooper will direct, produce and star in a Netflix film about the late Jewish composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. The untitled film is expected to begin production early next year and will be released in theaters before the film premieres on Netflix, Deadline first reported. The… Read more »

(JTA) — Jason Greenblatt said he left his position as special representative for international negotiations in the Trump administration because of political turbulence in Israel — and the financial cost of raising an Orthodox family in America. In an interview with Mishpacha Magazine, one of the most widely read… Read more »

(JTA) — Belgian police will open an online hotline for reporting anti-Semitic and racist incidents, and some Jews hope it will replace the country’s discredited anti-discrimination agency. Michael Freilich, a Jewish member of Belgian parliament, announced the hotline’s opening Wednesday. Going in person to a police station is intimidating… Read more »

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — A London-based Jewish newspaper did not have to use the term “German Nazis” an appeals court in Warsaw ruled, upholding a lower court decision. The former head of the Polish League Against Defamation, Mira Wszelaka, had sued the Jewish News under Poland’s controversial Holocaust law… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the mother of Naama Issachar, the American-Israeli woman jailed in Russia for drug smuggling, and told her “everything will be all right.” Putin met with Yaffa Issachar during his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. He arrived in… Read more »