WASHINGTON (JTA) — When Secretary of State Antony Blinken cited his family’s Holocaust-era history in explaining a matter of U.S. foreign policy on Monday, it was far from the first time he has done so. “One of my responsibilities as Secretary is determining, on behalf of the United States, whether atrocities have been committed,” Blinken,…
(JTA) – A new museum about the history of Hollywood will have a permanent exhibition devoted to the contributions of Jews after early criticism that Jews were omitted. The change was announced this week in the lead-up to this year’s Academy Awards, which features a slate of nominees more diverse than in the past. It…
(JTA) – Eight of the looted artifacts that billionaire philanthropist Michael Steinhardt must return to Israel as part of a deal with prosecutors in New York are still missing. That’s according to a press release on Tuesday from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announcing that $5 million in stolen antiquities previously belonging to Steinhardt are…
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Madeleine Albright was the quintessential late 20th-century Jewish diplomat, haunted by the Holocaust and determined to use what tools her adopted country had to crush inhumanity when it arose. Except she didn’t know she was Jewish until she was in her 50s, or so she claimed, a revelation that led some Jews…
This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Soldiers posted in the West Bank have recently received instructions from their commanders that in any shift at a checkpoint or guard post they must enter the details and photos of at least 50 Palestinians to the IDF’s “Blue Wolf” tracking system. A…
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked to describe a case she tried as a judge that moved her. She cited one that involved a Black group with a base in Israel, one that Israel’s foreign ministry has credited with enhancing its public diplomacy. That didn’t stop conservatives on Twitter from claiming erroneously that…
(New York Jewish Week) — In a rickety warehouse in Long Island City, reached only by a footbridge that crosses underneath the Long Island Expressway, some 80,000 Yiddish books are stacked on shelves in a large, sunlight-filled room that overlooks the Pulaski Bridge, Midtown Manhattan to the west, and Downtown Brooklyn in the distance. This…
(JTA) – An academic professional organization devoted to international study of the Arab world and Israel has voted to endorse boycotting Israel, in a resolution signed by thousands of professors and scholars worldwide. Members of the Middle East Studies Association signed off on a resolution “endorsing the Palestinian call for solidarity in the form of…
Two Jewish institutions, one in Missouri and one in Pennsylvania, were the targets Wednesday morning of what the Anti-Defamation League described as identical bomb threats that invoked Ukraine, the latest in a “spate of bomb threats” that it is tracking. The two most recent threats began: “I’ll be there at 12 to bomb your facility…
(JTA) — As an Orthodox Jewish man, each morning Tzvi Arieli wraps his arm and forehead with tefillin, the black leather straps that connect two small boxes filled with verses from the Torah. But Arieli makes exceptions. “If I need to shoot some Russians, timing is really important. I might not be able to focus…
(JTA) — Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $10 million to the Jewish humanitarian group HIAS for its work aiding refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. HIAS announced the gift Wednesday as Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, revealed her latest multi-billion-dollar round of charitable giving. She gave $3.8 billion to 465 organizations in this…
