In the early days of the Russian invasion, Kharkiv native Oleg Kosariev, who now lives in Israel, lost touch with his mother and stepfather, who had no electricity and had taken shelter in a basement of their home in the Ukrainian city. He would have to wait until he could communicate with them again, but…
(JTA) – When West Virginia lawmakers opened a discussion about proposed “critical race theory” legislation on Monday, it didn’t take long before topic of conversation turned to Jews. West Virginia’s House of Delegates was debating legislation along the lines of laws considered or passed in a slew of other states, to prohibit classroom instruction that…
BERLIN (JTA) – Germany is easing immigration requirements for Jewish refugees from Ukraine, the country’s main Jewish umbrella group announced today. In a deal worked out with the federal government, refugees who have papers proving their Jewish roots will have an expedited path to German citizenship. Jewish leaders welcomed the news even as they struggled…
(JTA) — Ukraine’s Jewish president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become a global symbol of defiance as his country endures an all-out offensive from Russia. British lawmakers gave him a standing ovation. Fans have set his speeches to rousing soundtracks. And Jewish supporters have called him a “modern Maccabee,” a reference to the ancient Jews who stood…
(JTA) — The Israeli Holocaust museum and historical authority Yad Vashem is suspending its philanthropic partnership with Roman Abramovich as the Russian-Israeli oligarch is hit with sanctions in the United Kingdom aimed at isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin and people close to him. Abramovich, who made billions in the Russian oil industry but has denied…
(JTA) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has added the Knesset to the list of legislative bodies he is appealing to for support as he faces down Russia’s war against his country. Israeli media reported Wednesday that Ukraine’s government requested a chance to address the legislature. The request came just as the Knesset session was adjourning…
MANTUA, Italy (JTA) — A new initiative aims to digitize some 35,000 Jewish texts sitting in the hands of 14 different Jewish community organizations and 25 state institutions across Italy. Around 10,000 volumes have already been digitized as part of the Italya Books project, an initiative of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, the National…
(JTA) — Two decades after she graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Ayelet Cohen is going back to school — this time, as the first-ever woman to serve full-time as dean of the rabbinical school. As dean, Cohen will be responsible for the “vision and setting the tone and direction for training clergy for…
Jared Kushner pressed Pfizer for vaccines already slated for other countries to go to the U.S., Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla writes in his new book, “Moonshot: Inside Pfizer’s Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible.” Bourla refused, and wrote that the disagreement became “heated” with Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and was a…
(JTA) — When Rabbi Danny Fink saw that the lieutenant governor of his state had just spoken to a white nationalist group helmed by a Holocaust denier, he was shocked. After all, he had just gotten a letter from Janet McGeachin, Idaho’s Republican lieutenant governor, asking him to join her in working on a task…
(JTA) — The most prominent Jewish figure in Ukraine right now is the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The runner-up may well be another country’s famous Jewish leader. Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel and a native of Kyiv whose family fled amid antisemitic violence, has loomed large ever since Russia launched its war…
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