Tagged HEADLINES

Ronald Lauder is funding a $25 million campaign against anti-Semitism in US politics

(JTA) — Billionaire philanthropist Ronald Lauder is funding a $25 million campaign against political candidates in the United States who support or normalize anti-Semitism. Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, announced the new campaign, called the Anti-Semitism Accountability Project, or ASAP, on Monday. The effort will include… Read more »

Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky named 2020 Genesis Prize recipient

NEW YORK (JTA) — The Genesis Prize Foundation has announced that Natan Sharansky, a Jewish refusenik, prolific leader in the Soviet Jewry emigration movement and former Israeli politician, will be awarded the 2020 Genesis Prize. The Genesis Prize, dubbed the “Jewish Nobel,” was started in 2013 and is financed through… Read more »

Netanyahu says he and Mike Pompeo talked about annexing the Jordan Valley

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he discussed annexing the Jordan Valley with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when they met in Portugal, but the State Department has denied the claim. On Thursday, a day after meeting Pompeo in Lisbon, Netanyahu told reporters that they… Read more »

Crafts, volunteering, variety make Hanukkah meaningful for children

Hanukkah’s proximity to Christmas can complicate the holiday. For those who try to make Hanukkah more like Christmas, it inevitably seems to fall short. Yet while Hanukkah traditionally was not one of the most central holidays of the Jewish calendar, it can offer many opportunities for fun and joyous… Read more »

Baron Cohen calls social media ‘propaganda machine’

Sacha Baron Cohen speaks at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never Is Now conference in New York, Nov. 21, 2019. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Sacha Baron Cohen has made a career out of playing absurd comedic characters, from the dopey Brit Ali G to the Kazakh journalist Borat to the Israeli veteran Erran Morad. He rarely gives interviews and stays relatively far from the movie star limelight. But on Nov. 21, Cohen tossed… Read more »

What ZOA’s legal victory at UNC means for Jewish students across country

The Old Well at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Fall. Photo: Getty Images

Those who care about Jewish college students should be celebrating a landmark legal victory in the fight against campus anti-Semitism. The victory stems from a civil rights complaint filed against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by our organization, the Zionist Organization of America. Triggered by the… Read more »

Author to share insider look at widowhood in local talks

Sula Miller

Tucson resident Sula Miller will discuss her recent book “Welcome to … The Widows Club” (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2017) at two local venues next week. Tucson is the last stop on Miller’s seven-state book tour that began in Florida. The novel was inspired by her mother-in-law, Bernyce, who became… Read more »

Hallmark Channel to broadcast its first Hanukkah movies

Brittany Bristow, center, plays Brooke in the first of two new Hallmark Channel Hanukkah-themed features, ‘Holiday Date.’ Photo courtesy Crown Media

The Hallmark Channel will premiere its first two Hanukkah-themed movies this month in honor of the holiday, which starts this year on Dec. 22. “Our audience is very vocal, and they tell us when they’d like to see more of something,” says Michelle Vicary, Crown Media’s executive vice president… Read more »

M’kor Hayim joins URJ

(L-R): Carol Weinstein; Janice Brumer, a member of the Union for Reform Judaism national board; and Rabbi Helen Cohn Photo courtesy Congregation M’kor Hayim

Congregation M’kor Hayim has joined the Union for Reform Judaism, the association of nearly 900 Reform congregations in North America.  “Our congregation began in 2008. Now that we are fully established locally, we felt it was time to connect with the wider Jewish community,” Rabbi Helen Cohn said. She… Read more »

Israel pushed Trump to send 14,000 troops to the Middle East, report claims

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel played a role in President Donald Trump’s reported plans to send an additional 14,000 troops to the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported. Multiple reports citing unnamed officials say Trump is planning to deploy the troops to counter increased Iranian adventurism in the region.… Read more »

Report: Iran stashing missiles in Iraq that can reach Israel

(JTA) — Iran is stockpiling short-range ballistic missiles in Iraq that can reach Israel, according to a New York Times report that cited American intelligence and military officials. The hidden rockets are part of a larger effort by Iran to intimidate countries in the region and assert its power,… Read more »

Arizona State student government passes resolution to support Jewish students

(JTA) — The undergraduate student government of Arizona State University passed a resolution in support of the Tempe school’s Jewish students. The resolution, which passed Tuesday by acclamation, comes amid public discussion among campus student organizations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and in the wake of fliers bearing swastikas and… Read more »

Leave the Holocaust out of your self-promotion, political agenda and profit-seeking

Clockwise from top left: A protester bearing a sign comparing Trump to Hitler; Russia’s Anton Shulepov performs in the men free skate at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating; an ornament sold on Amazon depicting a concentration camp; American protesters comparing abortion to an American Holocaust; another ornament sold on Amazon depicting a concentration camp. (Getty Images / Amazon Screenshots)

NEW YORK (JTA) — Here we go again: Just this week, two more cases of the abuse of Holocaust imagery have surfaced and created an international stir. In November, Russian figure skater Anton Shulepov wore an Auschwitz-themed costume during his free skating performance at the Grand Prix of Figure… Read more »

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