Police in Lakewood, N.J. arrested an Orthodox rabbi for violating state shutdown and distancing rules, as well as obstruction of justice and resisting arrest, after he hosted a bonfire for the Jewish holiday Lag B’Omer on Monday night. The rabbi, Yisrael Knopfler, is suing the state over the shutdown rules, which he claim violate his…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli soldier died after being struck in the head with a large rock during a raid in a Palestinian village in the West Bank. Sgt. Amit Ben-Yigal, 21, was wearing a helmet when he was struck early Tuesday morning in the village of Yabed, the Israel Defense Forces said in a…
(JTA) — Last year saw the most anti-Semitic incidents in the United States since at least 1979, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The 2,107 incidents recorded in 2019 reflect a 12% increase from 2018 and are more than double the 942 incidents recorded just four years earlier, in 2015. It’s the highest number recorded by…
(JTA) — In late April, police in London and Chicago broke up splashy Jewish weddings that far exceeded the number of people allowed under social distancing rules. Since then, no weddings have made the Jewish news — but that could change in the next day. That’s because tonight begins Lag b’Omer, a holiday when observant Jews get…
(JTA) — A shopper at a suburban San Diego supermarket was asked to remove a face mask decorated with a swastika. It’s another incident of stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus crisis being conflated with Nazi Germany. .@kroger Looks like you have the opportunity to respond better @Vons to a customer signaling hatred in your #Santee…
(JTA) — The New York Health Department has sent a warning to the Brooklyn synagogue whose funeral for their spiritual leader two weeks ago led Mayor Bill de Blasio to lash out at the entire Jewish community. A cease-and-desist order was served Friday as Congregation Kahal Tolaas Yaakov, located in the Williamsburg neighborhood, continued to…
The health guidelines issued by one of the country’s biggest Orthodox Jewish organizations proclaim that the first stage of opening synagogues safely will prevent women from attending. Agudath Israel of America, which represents Haredi Jews (sometimes called ultra-Orthodox Jews), released their plan on Friday advising member synagogues on how to safely reopen their synagogues once…
(JTA) — Jerry Stiller, the longtime Jewish comic who became best known for playing the belligerent character Frank Costanza on “Seinfeld,” has died. Stiller died of natural causes, his son, the comic actor Ben Stiller, announced in a tweet Monday. He was 92. Jerry Stiller was a classically trained actor who met and married Anne…
(JTA) — Two people were arrested for allegedly ripping face masks off of identifiably Jewish people in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. The suspects have not yet been identified or been charged, NBC New York reported Monday morning. Video posted on Twitter by Belaaz shows police and crowds gathering late Sunday…
After three weeks in a coma and more than a month of recovering, Lawrence Garbuz — the New Rochelle, N.Y., lawyer who was New York’s ‘patient zero’ for coronavirus — is talking about his ordeal and recuperating at home with his wife and children. “I feel glad I’m alive to be honest with you,” Garbuz…
A member of Vice President Mike Pence’s staff has tested positive for coronavirus, President Trump said on Friday. He referred to the infected person as a “press person” named Katie; Pence’s press secretary is Katie Miller. Two people with knowledge of Miller’s diagnosis also confirmed to Politico that it is coronavirus. Miller, who is Jewish,…
