Ahmed Khalifa is winning recognition from the community after helping chase down a homeless man who slapped an Orthodox Jewish woman in the face on December 27. “It was a very hard slap, I almost could feel the slap. He was 6-foot-6, and a very big, big guy,” said the 17-year-old Muslim high school student,…
Following threats against the Jewish community in Whitefish, Montana, more than two dozen of the state’s faith leaders are urging Montanans to put menorahs in their windows this season to demonstrate support for Jews. “As an act of solidarity, we invite people across Montana to show support by displaying menorahs in their windows this season….
After announcing its closure a couple months ago, Manhattan’s Carnegie Deli will serve up its last pastrami sandwich on December 30. It’s an iconic spot, open for almost eight decades, where Woody Allen filmed scenes for “Broadway Danny Rose,” a monument to New Yorkism. But mostly these days it draws tourists, as the $20 price…
President-elect Donald Trump’s backers have appropriated the phrase “basket of deplorables” – used by Hillary Clinton during the campaign to pillory some of his backers – to plan an inauguration party called the “Deploraball.” But the planned gathering has revealed a deep schism within the ranks of a movement known as the alt-right: pitting those…
(JTA) — A Muslim teen from New York City helped police catch a homeless man who hit an Orthodox Jewish woman on the subway. Ahmed Khalifa, 17, told the New York Daily News about the incident aboard a Brooklyn-bound train Tuesday. “It was a very hard slap, I almost could feel the slap,” the high…
(JTA) — Jewish organizations split along ideological lines in their reactions to Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech criticizing Israeli settlement growth and laying out principles to achieve a two-state solution. Centrist groups were measured in their reactions, criticizing the American decision to abstain last week on a U.N. vote rebuking the settlements while praising Kerry’s commitment…
(JTA) — Yona Metzger, a former Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, reportedly has reached a plea deal on corruption charges. Under the agreement reached with state prosecutors, Metzger will plead guilty to some of the charges in exchange for a reduced prison sentence, according to reports Wednesday in the Israeli media. The rabbi was charged…
(JTA) – A prominent rabbi from Budapest rejected an unusual Hanukkah greeting from the far-right Jobbik party, citing its alleged anti-Semitism. Rabbi Slomo Koves, leader of the Orthodox Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation, in an open letter Wednesday spurned the greeting his office received earlier this week from the party’s chairman, Gabor Vona. “It’s a nice…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Gap will shut down its seven stores in Israel in 2017. Gottex Brands, also known as Zara Group Israel, which holds the GAP franchise in Israel, made the announcement Thursday, saying the brand failed to gain popularity, the Israeli business daily Globes reported. High prices were cited as one reason for the…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s attorney general reportedly will announce a criminal investigation into suspicion of bribery against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The country’s Justice Ministry on Thursday said it would issue an update about the case and announce the closure of others that are not supported by evidence. Netanyahu reportedly will be summoned for questioning,…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — President Reuven Rivlin of Israel called for the new year 2017 to be a year of “mutual respect, between people, and between nations.” Rivlin issued the nearly 3-minute recorded message on Thursday in advance of the secular new year. “There is no ignoring the fact that 2016 was a very difficult year….
