(JTA) — After a man who killed his Jewish neighbor successfully pled that he was unfit to stand trial because of what a court called a marijuana-induced psychotic episode, French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for a change in his country’s legal system. “Deciding to take narcotics and then ‘going mad’ should, not in my…
(JTA) — An alleged neo-Nazi sympathizer who is accused of storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 is dangerous for Jews in his native New Jersey and should not be released from jail, prosecutors said. Timothy Hale-Cusanelli had asked to be released pending the outcome of his trial, which is ongoing. A federal judge ordered Hale-Cusanelli…
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Fans of the Dutch soccer team Vitesse chanted “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas” at a fan rally before a scheduled match against Ajax, an Amsterdam-based team known for its history of Jewish supporters. Police began examining footage from the action on Wednesday night, which occurred in Arnhem, where Vitesse is based….
(JTA) — Two more members quit the board of Poland’s Auschwitz-Birkenau museum in protest after the government appointed a right-wing politician to serve on it. Following the resignation of Jewish philosopher Stanislaw Krajewski on Wednesday, historians Marek Lasota and Krystyna Oleksy on Thursday announced they would do the same. The culture ministry appointed Beata Szydlo,…
(JTA) — Steven Spielberg has launched a film foundation called Jewish Story Partners to fund documentaries that “tell stories about a diverse spectrum of Jewish experiences, histories, and cultures.” It’s funded by the Righteous Persons Foundation, which Spielberg and his actress wife Kate Capshaw founded after Spielberg’s experience making “Schindler’s List” in 1993. Two Jewish…
(JTA) — Yeshiva University is planning to eliminate its in-person Hebrew courses indefinitely, making what was at first a pandemic-induced measure a permanent one. The change was first reported by the YU Commentator, one of the university’s student newspapers. The new Hebrew courses will be asynchronous, meaning students will not interact in real time with…
(JTA) — Three weeks after taking office, Joe Biden announced that he would quadruple the number of refugees allowed into the United States. For HIAS, it seemed like an answered prayer, as the Jewish refugee aid agency had endured a rough four years under Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump. HIAS, which once focused on resettling refugees,…
Other countries believed to be considering normalization with Israel include Oman and Saudi Arabia
Eric Adams, one of the leading candidates for mayor of New York City, has increased his outreach efforts to the Jewish community. By Wednesday, Adams had visited Jewish communities in all five boroughs. Adams’s outreach to all aspects of the Jewish community is an integral part of his campaign’s strategy to build a formidable coalition…
(JTA) — A Polish right-wing politician has been appointed to a board of the Auschwitz state museum, leading to a Jewish member’s resignation on Wednesday amid claims of politicization. Stanisław Krajewski said he would be leaving the International Auschwitz Council over the nomination of the Law and Justice party’s Beata Szydlo, Onet reported. Culture Minister…
(JTA) — Relatives of a Paris woman who was killed by her neighbor while he spewed anti-Semitic slurs and was high on marijuana have lost their final appeal to have the killer tried. In its decision Wednesday, the Court of Cassation’s Supreme Court of Appeals upheld rulings by lower tribunals that Kobili Traore cannot stand…
