JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases, the first time a sitting prime minister will face criminal charges. Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit announced on Thursday that he has decided to indict Prime Minister… Read more »
Tagged HEADLINES
Israel will continue to act against Iran in Syria, Netanyahu tells Putin in Moscow
(JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel told Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday that Israel will continue to act against Iran’s attempts to entrench militarily in Syria. Netanyahu shortened his trip and planned to return Wednesday night, the day of his meeting with Putin, reportedly… Read more »
Israel ranked 10th healthiest country in the world
(JTA) — Israel is the 10th healthiest country in the world — 54 spots ahead of the United States. The Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index, published Sunday, ranked 169 nations based on factors such as life expectancy and access to sanitation and medical care. Countries were penalized for tobacco use and obesity,… Read more »
Northwest bus trip to examine border status
Learn more about what’s happening along the Arizona border with an informative trip south. The Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest and Hadassah Southern Arizona will sponsor a bus journey to the border Tuesday, March 12. Stops will include Humane Border’s water station in… Read more »
Inclusion topic for professional training at J
The Special Abilities and Inclusion Initiative, in partnership with the Tucson Jewish Community Center, is offering a free daylong professional development opportunity next month through Matan, a New York-based organization. Matan advocates for the inclusion of diverse learners and educates Jewish leaders, educators, and communities, empowering them to create… Read more »
Many people hazy on what Messianic era will bring
Not too long ago I was at Tucson Hebrew Academy doing a couple of guest presentations for the third, fourth, and fifth graders, and what unfolded while doing so was rather exciting. The topic was the Jewish view regarding the Moshiach (Messiah) and the Messianic era. Essentially, my goal… Read more »
Hamantaschen go gourmet: The classic Purim pastry becomes hip
Salted Caramel Hamantaschen
Purim, which falls this year on March 21, is one of the most exciting holidays on the Jewish calendar, yet its signature food, hamantaschen, can be bland and disappointing. Pastry chef Paula Shoyer is on a mission to transform these triangle-shaped pastries from boring to tantalizing. The author of… Read more »
Eurovision contender showed how Israel has failed its religious Jews
The Shalva Band had a shot at becoming Israel's representative at the Eurovision contest. ( Screenshot from YouTube)
A beloved group of Israeli musicians, the Shalva Band, recently made the tough decision to give up a musical chance of a lifetime rather than risk being asked to desecrate the Sabbath. The group, which is comprised of musicians with various disabilities and diverse religious commitments, could not get… Read more »
Conservative Judaism: Reassessing numbers from 2013 Pew Survey
Jewish decision-makers and funders in Israel, the United States, and around the world in part shape allocations and the dispensing of positions of influence on the basis of demographic studies. When interpretations of these studies are misapplied, too often pivotal policy mistakes are made. Jack Wertheimer’s “The New American… Read more »
Venezuela’s Juan Guaido appoints Jewish envoy to Buenos Aires
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — A one-time diplomat to the Latin American Jewish Congress has been appointed Venezuela’s diplomatic representative to Argentina by Juan Guaido, the self-declared interim president of Venezuela. Israel’s ambassador in Buenos Aires, Ilan Sztulman, referred to Elisa Trotta Gamus as “ambassador” during a meeting at the… Read more »
Thousands protest anti-Semitism in marches across France
(JTA) — Thousands participated Tuesday in demonstrations against anti-Semitism across France. Protesters took to the streets in some 70 marches only hours after nearly 100 gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in the eastern French village of Quatzenheim were discovered vandalized with swastikas. Some protesters held posters saying “That’s Enough.” “Whoever did this… Read more »
Louis Farrakhan accuses ‘wicked Jews’ of using him to ‘break up the women’s movement’
(JTA) — Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan blamed “the wicked Jews” for the crisis over anti-Semitism and the Women’s March. “The most beautiful sight that I could lay eyes on when I saw, the day after Trump was elected, women from all over the world were standing in… Read more »
Ilhan Omar apologizes to Jewish groups for hurt caused by AIPAC tweet
(JTA) — In a brief confidential conference call with Jewish organizations, Rep. Ilhan Omar apologized for any hurt caused by her tweets suggesting that AIPAC pays politicians to support Israel. “Let me reiterate my sincere apology for any actual hurt my words have caused,” Omar, a freshman Democratic congresswoman… Read more »
Bernie Sanders launches 2020 presidential run
(JTA) — Bernie Sanders officially launched his second campaign for president. The Vermont senator’s 2020 campaign launched on Tuesday morning with an email to supporters and a tweet that included a nearly 2-minute video and a request for support. “I’m running for president. I am asking you to join me… Read more »
An idiot’s guide to anti-Semitic tropes
(JTA) — Dear JTA, I am an elected official in a large democracy in the Western hemisphere. A lot of my colleagues have gotten into trouble recently for using anti-Semitic “tropes.” I know what anti-Semitism is, but am less sure how that differs from a “trope.” Any guidance so… 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 »
YouTube personality shot outside of LA synagogue by security guard
JTA — A YouTube personality was shot outside of a synagogue and Jewish school in Los Angeles by a security guard who said the shot was meant to be a warning. Zhoie Perez, 45, a transgender free speech activist with a following in the thousands, was shot Thursday outside… Read more »
Trump calls on Ilhan Omar to resign from Congress for ‘anti-Semitism’
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump called on Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to resign from Congress for what he said was her anti-Semitism. “It’s terrible what she said and I think she should either resign from Congress, or she should certainly resign from the House Foreign Affairs Committee,” Trump… Read more »
Mike Pence to make first visit to Auschwitz, meet Netanyahu in Poland
(JTA) — Vice President Mike Pence will visit Auschwitz, his first visit to the Nazi death camp in Poland. Pence will visit the site on Friday with Polish President Andrzej Duda, The Washington Post reported Tuesday, citing a senior White House official. The vice president will be in Warsaw… Read more »
Sarah Silverman opens up on ‘Finding Your Roots’ about feeling like the only Jew in her town growing up
Sarah Silverman with "Finding Your Roots" host Henry Louis Gates Jr. (PBS)
(JTA) — “I was the hairy Jewish monkey in a sea of blond kids.” That’s not Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill — it’s Sarah Silverman talking about her upbringing in Bedford, New Hampshire, on an upcoming episode of “Finding Your Roots,” the celebrity genealogy show on PBS. Bedford, the… Read more »



