Isaac Herzog is set to become Israel’s 11th president after winning Wednesday’s election against Miriam Peretz, in a secret ballot among the country’s 120 lawmakers. Eighty-seven lawmakers voted for Herzog, while 27 voted for Peretz. He will officially replace outgoing President Reuven Rivlin next month, with his seven-year term beginning on July 9. “I plan…
(JTA) — As soon as next week, Benjamin Netanyahu may no longer be prime minister of Israel. So who will be the next person to lead the Jewish state? The answer may be Naftali Bennett, a former Netanyahu ally who supports many of his right-wing policies and is a longtime, staunch advocate for Israel’s West…
As many Americans settle back into the workweek, one motorcyclist is going a step further to burn off long weekend celebrations: Tuesday marks the start of Steve Goode’s “Great American Deli Schlep” around the country. Goode is partnering with the Jewish national advocacy group MAZON to raise money and awareness for the fight against hunger…
In a push to restart its execution program, the state of Arizona is dusting off its gas chamber and stocking up on hydrogen cyanide gas, a compound better known by the name the Nazis called it when they used it at Auschwitz — Zyklon B. According to documents found by the UK-based Guardian, the state…
(JTA) — (Detroit Jewish News via JTA) — On his way home for a surprise visit to see family and friends, Jewish journalist Danny Fenster was detained Monday in Myanmar, where he works for a news site in the country’s largest city of Yangon. Fenster is among the many journalists who have been detained, imprisoned…
(JTA) — In two separate disturbing incidents in Ukraine, bullet holes were found in a synagogue and grave robbers allegedly raided a Holocaust-era mass grave , exposing and scattering human remains. The aftermath of a shooting at the synagogue of Kremenchuk, a city located 130 miles southeast of Kyiv, was discovered early last month but…
(JTA) — Bill Maher spent nearly 10 minutes of his HBO talk show Friday night defending Israel, bringing up ancient Jewish history and showing comparative maps of the state from its early days to today. The liberal comedian and political commentator reserved a large portion of his comments for those who have criticized Israel before…
(JTA) — A Nashville hat shop apologized for selling yellow star patches opposing coronavirus vaccination policies after Stetson said it was pulling its products from the store. HatWRKS last week posted on its Instagram account a photo of an unnamed woman, apparently the shop’s owner, wearing a yellow Star of David that read “Not Vaccinated.”…
(JTA) — Naftali Bennett, the leader of a right-wing party, accepted an offer from centrist Yair Lapid to lead a new Israeli government, which if the agreement holds would oust from power Benjamin Netanyahu after 12 years in power. “We lost a Jewish state 2000 years ago because of internal arguments, that will not happen…
A vandal carrying a box of concrete slabs targeted an Orthodox synagogue and a kosher steakhouse in Los Angeles Thursday night, adding to a spate of attacks on American Jewish communities in the wake of the Israel/Gaza conflict. Young Israel of Century City and Pat’s Restaurant a few hundred feet from each other at the…
The chancellor and provost of Rutgers University-New Brunswick issued an apology Thursday following a May 26 statement condemning the rise in antisemitic violence and hostile sentiments across America. A Wednesday statement from Chancellor Christopher J. Molloy and Provost Francine Conway said recent incidents were greatly concerning and a reminder of “what history has to teach…
