(JTA) — U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein, the highest-ranking Jewish officer in the American military, called the death of George Floyd a “national tragedy.” In a memo distributed late Monday asking commanders to “ensure wide distribution of this message,” Goldfein, a general, said that “every American should be outraged that the conduct…
NEW YORK (JTA) — “Pray for the welfare of the state,” Rabbi Hanina writes, “for if it were not for the fear thereof, people would swallow each other alive.” As cities around the nation burn with righteous indignation over yet another horrific incident of police brutality directed against a black man, Jewish leaders must reflect on…
(JTA) — Right-wing conspiracy theorists are increasingly claiming that George Soros is funding recent protests and riots across the United States in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing. According to the Anti-Defamation League, “aggressive language towards Soros has exploded on social media” this week. Negative tweets about the billionaire Jewish philanthropist rose from 20,000…
Iowa Rep. Steve King lost his congressional primary on Tuesday night, putting an bookend to the controversial congressman’s 17-year tenure. King had for years been criticized for his anti-immigrant views and remarks, but over the past few years had made an increasing number of steps toward outright white nationalism. State Sen. Randy Feenstra, who defeated…
The Austrian Parliament officially adopted a resolution May 30 calling to ban commemorations of the Nazi-era Croatian Ustase regime and the WWII event known as the Bleiburg Repatriations on Austrian soil. The move the comes after protests and declamations swept across Balkans when the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna, who oversees Catholic faithful in the eastern region…
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that he still supported quarantine measures that limited attendance at houses of worship to 10, even as he supported mass protests in the city against police brutality. While appearing at a virtual press conference, de Blasio was asked by a reporter for the Jewish outlet Hamodia…
As protests against police violence escalate across America, some Jewish institutions are beginning to plan virtual events in solidarity with black communities. BASE Manhattan, an New York-based organization that hosts events for young Jews, will host an online rally on June 4 in conjunction with JCC Harlem, Jewish Theological Seminary, Jews for Racial and Economic…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a conference call with Jared Kushner and other top White House officials to discuss slowing down West Bank annexation plans, an Israeli TV station reported. Channel 13 in its report Monday cited an unnamed senior Israeli source that the Trump administration wants to “downplay the enthusiasm”…
A Pittsburgh rabbi is fasting in mourning for George Floyd — and calling on others to do the same. Rabbi Jeremy Markiz said that fasting was a way to grapple with systemic racism in America and focus attention on Floyd’s death. “There’s no part of my day that I won’t be thinking about it,” he…
Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson castigated presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner on Monday, blaming the White House senior advisor for what he saw as President Trump’s insufficiently strong reaction to nationwide protests. “No one has more contempt for Donald Trump’s voters than Jared Kushner does,” Carlson said. Carlson noted that a Fox reporter was harassed…
(JTA) — The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it will begin the process of replacing three gravestones bearing swastikas in cemeteries in Texas and Utah, less than a month after saying they would be preserved as “historic resources.” The VA told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last month that it would preserve the gravestones, which…
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