(JTA) — An Israeli woman who lives in Massachusetts chased down and held a man who exposed himself to her while she was jogging. Single mother Aia Polansky, 33, was running in Cambridge when the male jogger dropped his pants to his knees as she ran by. Polansky, a 6-foot-1-inch-tall veteran of the Israel Defense…
The JCC Maccabi Games have added video game tournaments to the Olympic-style competition. Three-thousand Jewish teenagers are due to compete in various athletic events at the upcoming Maccabi Games, in Atlanta from July 28 to August 2, and Detroit from August 4 to 9. This year, esports are joining the lineup of events. Esports are…
(JTA) — A photo editor who began working at CNN in January resigned after some anti-Semitic tweets he made in 2011 were discovered. Mohammed Elshamy, a 25-year-old former photojournalist with the Anadolu news agency, quit Thursday night after an employee of Israel’s Government Press Office flagged on Twitter some of the anti-Semitic statement by Elshamy,…
(JTA) — Following protests, authorities in eastern France rescinded a ban they had issued forbidding soccer fans from Israel to come to the center of Strasbourg and fly their country’s flag. The prohibitions, which are unusual and provoked vociferous criticism, came in a four-page order Thursday from the head of the Bas-Rhin district office prior…
(JTA) — A Michigan restaurateur said he will “step away” from opening a Dearborn branch of a burger chain founded in Israel following boycott threats. Sam Zahr will open two other Burgerim restaurants, in nearby Oak Park and Redford Township. The Lebanese American told the Detroit Free Press that he will not open in Dearborn…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli embassy in Finland has been vandalized by neo-Nazi and far right extremists at least 15 times in the last year and a half. The embassy, located in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, was most recently attacked last weekend, Ynet reported. In that attack, the glass front door of the embassy…
(JTA) — Citing the risk of anti-Semitic incidents, authorities in eastern France are forbidding soccer fans from Israel to come to the center of Strasbourg and fly their country’s flag. The prohibitions, which are unusual and provoked vociferous criticism, came in a four-page order Thursday from the head of the Bas-Rhin district office prior to…
(JTA) — More than 1,400 Jewish clergy from across the United States have signed a letter that calls on government officials to protect the legal right to seek asylum in the United States. HIAS, an immigrant advocacy and aid group formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, organized the petition. It calls on elected officials…
(JTA) — An Iowa man was arrested for allegedly threatening a New York-based Jewish organization by phone and email. Garrett Kelsey, 31, of Cedar Rapids, was charged Tuesday in an Iowa courtroom with one count of transmitting threats to injure a person across state lines, which carries a maximum five-year sentence. Kelsey, whose Facebook page…
An elite Jewish prep school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side accepted a half million dollar donation from a foundation funded by Jeffrey Epstein. In February 2008, an Epstein foundation — the C.O.U.Q. Foundation — gave Ramaz $500,000. Epstein pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an investigation into allegations that he solicited sexual favors from minors…
(JTA) — Bernie Madoff has asked President Trump to commute his sentence. Madoff, 81, filled a request with the Justice Department between one and three months ago, The Hill reported. The Justice Department’s website lists the request as “pending,” and says it is updated to July 1. The request is for clemency, not a pardon….
