The Chicago Rabbinical Council, a nonprofit that has a kosher certification arm, has developed what it says is an innovative model for Jewish divorce, which combines mediation and binding arbitration to address legal, religious and communal dimensions of divorce.

The CRC program allows divorcing couples to begin in mediation, turn to the beit din, or religious court, for arbitration on disputes that they cannot resolve and then return to mediation. If mediation breaks down fully, the case can proceed to arbitration.

Rabbi Levi Mostofsky, executive director of the CRC, told JNS that the program offers a healthier approach to the trauma of divorce, including its spiritual and communal aspects.

Couples entering the program sign a legally binding mediation-arbitration agreement that gives halachic, or Jewish legal, jurisdiction to the CRC's beit din as an arbitrating body and legal authority over the case under contract and arbitration law.

“If there’s just certain issues that we really cannot resolve, or it cannot resolve in mediation, we can send the parties to the beit din for arbitration just on that one issue, and then they can come back to mediation,” Elana Lipman, CRC director of divorce mediation services and an Illinois-licensed attorney, told JNS.

Separate teams handle the mediation and arbitration functions, and the process can address financial matters and parenting and custody disputes. When couples reach an agreement via mediation, the CRC prepares a memorandum of understanding that their attorneys can use to draft the legal agreement filed in civil court.

The CRC encourages each party to have independent legal representation.

Orthodox Jews understand religious requirements of divorce to begin with the husband, who must initiate the proceedings voluntarily. Some men refuse to grant divorces to their wives, whose status then becomes "chained,"agunah in rabbinic terminology. Such husbands have been targeted by protests and in some communities, by degrees of excommunication. Some Orthodox communities have encouraged what they call rabbinic prenups.

The CRC hybrid structure can also make it easier for the Jewish religious divorce—or get—to be given before disputes over finances and children are resolved, the nonprofit says. Once the jurisdiction of the beit din is secured, neither spouse needs to preserve the get as leverage or worry about measures the other side might take, according to Mostofsky.

“That’s what we always push—is for the get to be given, then to go through mediation,” he told JNS.

The CRC’s formal program grew out of professional mediation work that it had previously conducted without a dedicated framework and was established after Lipman joined the nonprofit. The CRC thinks that other rabbinic courts could replicate that model and says it is committed to helping them do so.

The program is supported in large part by a grant from the Walder Foundation, enabling the CRC to charge low fees and avoid turning away clients who cannot afford its services, it said.

Kevin S. Adelstein, president and publisher of the Cleveland Jewish News, Columbus Jewish News and Akron Jewish News and president of the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company, was named to Cleveland Magazine’s Cleveland 500, a list of the most powerful and influential leaders in our community. This list was published in August. Adelstein was also selected to the inaugural class in 2021 as well as in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Cleveland Magazine did not publish the list in 2023.

The Cleveland 500 lists and profiles the leaders, doers, decision makers, idea generators and visionaries who are shaping Cleveland, according to Cleveland Magazine.

To see the entire list, visit shorturl.at/rc3ja.

The Anti-Defamation League said on Wednesday that it reached a settlement with the Boulder Valley School District, which educates about 28,000 students at 56 schools, in a federal civil rights complaint that it filed in June.

After students bullied and harassed a Jewish student repeatedly, the school and district failed to respond appropriately, according to the complaint, which the ADL filed with the U.S. Education Department and the Denver civil rights office.

Under the agreement, the district will clarify that its discrimination and harassment policies include “basis of national origin and shared ancestry” and will post a page on its website with resources on antisemitism. It will also post the initial part of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of Jew-hatred but not the contemporary examples, per the agreement. (JNS sought comment from the district.)

The district also commits to hire an executive director and compliance officer focused on Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on shared ancestry, and to make its online reporting system for bias incidents more clear. The Title VI officials will publish and publicize annual reports for the next three years on the district's response to bias complaints, and the district will provide Jew-hatred training to all students, teachers and staff and will form a superintendent advisory group on Jew-hatred, per the agreement.

The superintendent also agreed to meet with the Jewish student, who was subjected to the antisemitic bullying, and his parents or to send them a letter, whichever the student prefers.

“Jewish students and all students are safer and better protected at Boulder Valley School District because of the bravery of one family that stepped forward to say ‘enough,’” stated James Pasch, vice president of litigation at the ADL.

“The pain of the last several years of targeted antisemitic harassment will now give way to meaningful, district-wide changes designed to help ensure that no other Jewish student feels unsafe or unwelcome because of their ethnic or religious identity,” he stated. “By establishing a strong framework for preventing antisemitic harassment, strengthening reporting and oversight and holding BVSD accountable for its commitments, this agreement lays the groundwork for safer, more inclusive schools.”

Part of Olivia Chow's job as mayor of Toronto is being the mayor for everyone, Brad Bradford, who is running against the incumbent, said at a mayoral forum on Jew-hatred at Adath Israel Congregation in North York on Tuesday where Chow was a no show.

"That means you've got to show up," Bradford stated. "Last night, hundreds of Torontonians came together for an important conversation about antisemitism, public safety and the future of our city. Mayor Chow chose not to be there."

Chow, who has drawn frequent criticism from Toronto Jews, said that she wasn't attending since she had yet to launch her campaign.

"I will be launching my campaign later on," she said at a press confernece on Tuesday about added security during the High Holidays. "I will continue to engage with the Jewish communities."

Bradford and Chris Alexander took part in the forum, which Jewish Lawyers of Canada hosted.

The city mayor since 2023, Chow leads the race with 42%, followed by Bradford (32%) and Alexander (8%), a new poll suggests.

At the forum, Alexander was asked if he would drop out at some point to help Bradford beat Chow. He said that he would.

"I think we, together, can grow the vote," he said.

Iddo Moed, Israeli ambassador to Canada, told JNS that he is "concerned about rising antisemitism, and particularly in Toronto."

The envoy added that he "welcomes any measure that municipal, provincial and/or federal government leadership takes to address this issue."

The lobby J Street, which has said it is “persuaded” that Israel is committing “genocide,” said on Wednesday that its Action Fund Super PAC plans to spend $3 million and, for the first time, to go “on offense against AIPAC-backed incumbents in a significant number of competitive congressional races.”

The lobby called those whom it plans to target “AIPAC-backed MAGA extremists.”

It plans to sponsor ads against Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) in the Georgia Senate race and to target Reps. Max Miller (R-Ohio), Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) in House races.

“J Street Action Fund’s investment in these targeted races represents the views of a majority of Jewish Americans, who understand that we need to preserve American democracy and fight xenophobia in all its forms to keep our communities safe,” Tali deGroot, J Street’s vice president of political and digital strategy, stated.

One of four Jewish House Republicans, Miller is particularly vulnerable as he faces allegations of domestic violence.

J Street is targeting others for backing U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, supporting the Iran war, links to antisemitic rhetoric and other reasons.

The spend is the group’s largest Super PAC investment in its history. J Street said that it set a record this cycle with $7 million overall in support for congressional candidates.

Former Republican Michigan congressman Mike Rogers holds a slim lead over Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat and former Detroit public health official, in the Michigan Senate race, according to a WDIV-Detroit News poll released Tuesday.

The poll suggests that Rogers has a 45.8% to 44.4% lead over El-Sayed, who has been a harsh critic of Israel. The Republican Jewish Coalition has called him “the most antisemitic U.S. Senate candidate in America.”

The survey sampled 600 likely voters over the phone. An additional 9.4% said that they were undecided.

Rogers has a favorability rating of 27.6% and unfavorability rating of 37.4%, while 24.7% had no opinion about him. El-Sayed has a favorability rating of 34.3% and an unfavorability rating of 42%, and 17.2% had no opinion of him.

An Orthodox Jewish man shouldn't have to finish a local permitting process in order to challenge an Ohio city's restriction on hosting prayer gatherings in his home, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty told the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Religious freedom is an empty promise when Americans can’t get their day in court," Joseph Davis, senior counsel at Becket, told JNS. "That is what happened to Daniel Grand."

"After University Heights demanded he obtain a permit to host a prayer group in his own home, the lower courts said he had to keep fighting city hall before they would hear his case—depriving him of the chance to engage in his practice of hosting a minyan all the while," Davis said.

An amicus brief that Becket filed with the high court on Tuesday supporting Grand explains that "Congress passed a law called RLUIPA," the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, "to stop this exact problem from happening," Davis told JNS.

"Jews have been discriminated against when opening synagogues and hosting minyans for years," he said. "The law gives them a chance to defend their rights in court."

Grand began inviting fellow Jewish men to his home for a Shabbat minyan—a prayer quorum of 10 men—in 2021. University Heights issued him a cease-and-desist letter stating that operating a "place of religious assembly" in a residential zone required a special use permit.

The University Heights resident applied for the permit but withdrew his application before the city planning commission reached a decision. He maintained that his proposed minyan did not constitute a house of worship under the zoning code.

Grand sued the city under the RLUIPA, which protects individuals from "zoning and landmarking laws that substantially burden the religious exercise of churches or other religious assemblies or institutions absent the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest," according to the U.S. Justice Department.

The case is scheduled for oral arguments on Dec. 9.

The United States had a distinct manufacturing advantage in a post-World War II global economy as it was the only developed country on the planet that, unlike European countries and Japan, hadn’t sustained massive damage to its major cities.

Cities like Cleveland, as well as Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, and others became manufacturing strongholds in the Eisenhower era, but that began to shift in the latter half of the 20th century and toward the end of the century, many once thriving industrial, retail, and office centers, including those in Cleveland, were a shell.

Today, iconic places like The Bell and the Terminal Tower have been repurposed into residential uses and demonstrate Cleveland’s success at making the transition, according to Michael Deemer, president and CEO of Downtown Cleveland.

“Beginning in the mid-20th century, Cleveland and other major cities experienced decades of population and business movement to the suburbs,” Deemer told the Cleveland Jewish News. “Automobile ownership, highway construction, federally supported mortgages and suburban development reduced demand for downtown commercial and retail space.”

But Cleveland began turning that challenge into an opportunity in the 1980s and 1990s as developers converted vacant and obsolete buildings into apartments and mixed-use properties, according to Deemer.

“These early projects demonstrated demand for downtown living and established a model that could be applied to historic buildings,” he said.

Tax credits, tax abatements and other financing tools helped make conversions viable.

“The result has been Downtown Cleveland’s steady transformation from a traditional central business district into a mixed-use neighborhood,” Deemer said.

Since 2013, abut 35 downtown buildings have been converted or repositioned, including former department stores, office towers and warehouses that now function as apartments, hotels, and mixed-use properties, according to Deemer.

These conversions include The Halle Building, a former department store that today contains 122 apartments, offices, and ground-floor commercial space; The May, another former department store converted into apartments; The 9, a former Ameritrust complex that today houses a hotel, apartment units, offices, and a restaurant; The Bell, Ohio Bell’s former headquarters that today houses more than 300 apartments; The Garfield, also converted into apartments; and the Athlon, the former Cleveland Athletic Club converted into apartments.

“Together, these projects demonstrate Cleveland’s ability to give obsolete buildings productive new uses,” Deemer said.

The influx of these new residents in downtown Cleveland represent a cross-section of demographics and collectively support a new crop of businesses in the city’s core, according to Deemer.

“New residents have supported restaurants and retail, attracted investment and created activity beyond the traditional workday,” Deemer said.

Downtown attracts residents across generations, including students, young professionals and empty nesters, according to Deemer.

“Gen Z renters value convenience, connectivity and neighborhood amenities. Older renters often want the same urban experience without the maintenance of a single-family home,” Deemer said.

“One of Cleveland’s greatest advantages is the ability to offer distinctive residences in historic buildings at rents below those in many comparable city centers,” Deemer said.

Downtown Cleveland has typically absorbed 400 to 450 new apartments annually over the past decade and nearly 900 units were added during the last year, temporarily lowering occupancy to approximately 87 percent, according to Deemer.

“Occupancy should rise as that unusually large wave of new supply leases up,” Deemer said.

Cleveland has proven to be a national adaptive-reuse leader as about 35 downtown buildings totaling more than 7.4 million square feet have been converted since 2013, but other projects lie ahead, according to Deemer.

“Potential future projects include the Rockefeller Building, Diamond-Shamrock Building and The Tower at Erieview,” Deemer said.

A. Kevin Corvo is a freelance journalist.

A fierce, snapping cold hung in the air and blankets of snow still covered the buildings and sidewalks in downtown Cleveland on March 24, 2013, when police, responding to calls of a woman screaming, found the body of Aliza Sherman covered in blood and multiple stab wounds in the area of 75 Erieview Plaza, near the intersection of East 12th Street and the Galleria at Erieview.

Sherman

The 53-year-old in-vitro fertilization nurse, who worked at Cleveland Clinic and was a mother of four from Beachwood, later died from her injuries at MetroHealth Medical Center that same day.

Now 13-and-a-half years later, the man accused of killing Sherman will stand trial, expected to begin at 9 a.m. Sept. 14 in Room 20C in the Justice Center at 1200 Ontario St. in downtown Cleveland.

Gregory Moore, the attorney who was hired by Sherman to represent her in a divorce from her husband, Dr. Sanford Sherman, will go before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Kira Krivosh and a jury of his peers, who will decide if the 52-year-old Sagamore Hills resident is guilty in connection with her murder.

Moore was arrested in Texas and was indicted on May 2, 2025, on 10 criminal counts – one count of aggravated murder, one count of conspiracy, six counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping – in Sherman’s killing. He pleaded not guilty.

Sherman was in the process of getting a divorce from her husband, who died in July 2024, and had hired the Stafford Law Firm in Cleveland to advocate for her during her divorce trial. Moore was representing Sherman after her original attorney, Joseph G. Stafford, had his law license suspended.

Prosecutors allege Moore had arranged for Sherman to meet him outside the law offices at 4:30 p.m March 24. He then delayed the meeting, sending a series of text messages to bring Sherman downtown from her Beachwood home, and keep her waiting outside the door to the locked office building, believing Moore to be inside waiting to meet with her.

Sherman was attacked around 5:22 p.m., according to prosecutors, chased and stabbed before the perpetrator left on foot. Moore continued to text and call Sherman at least nine times, to create “false evidence that Moore was unaware of Sherman’s assault,” prosecutors said.

On Sept. 8, less than a week before the start of the trial, Moore’s attorneys filed a motion asking for the trial to be continued, or delayed, because prosecutors are still giving them potential evidence in the case, materials it argues has been in its possesion “for years” but is still being produced as of Sept. 7, and they need more time to review and prepare a defense to this material before trial.

A notice of appeal was filed by the defense Sept. 8 , as well, with appellate attorney Joseph Patituce of Cleveland-based Patituce & Associates - Ohio Criminal Defense Attorneys filing an appeal of Krivosh’s Sept. 3 decision that denied the defense’s effort in a separate motion to disqualify lead prosecutor Kevin Filiatraut from the case.

As of press time on Sept. 9, Krivosh had not ruled on the motion to continue the trial, and the appeal had not affected the trial’s scheduled start date.

Timeline leading up to the trial of Gregory Moore in the Aliza Sherman murder on March 24, 2013

• March 24, 2013 – Cleveland police received a call reporting that a female was heard screaming in the area of 75 Erieview Plaza – about 300 feet away from the office of Aliza Sherman’s attorney, Gregory J. Moore. Aliza Sherman was found stabbed 11 times and was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, where she died as a result of her injuries.
• Jan. 28, 2016 – Gregory J. Moore, Sherman’s divorce attorney who replaced Joseph G. Stafford after his law license was suspended for one year, was indicted on seven charges connected to the murder investigation, including tampering with evidence, telecommunications fraud, possessing criminal tools, two counts of forgery, falsification and obscuring official business.
• May 1, 2017 – Moore pleaded guilty to one of the charges related to the murder investigation, a misdemeanor charge of falsification, and two related to charges regarding bomb threats to local courthouses in a separate case.
• May 23, 2017 – Moore was sentenced to six months in Cuyahoga County jail, three years of probation and 350 hours of court-ordered community work service.
• May 2, 2025 – Gregory J. Moore, 51, of Sagamore Hills, was arrested in Texas and was indicted on 10 criminal counts: one count of aggravated murder, one count of conspiracy, six counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping, all related to the March 24, 2013 murder of Aliza Sherman.
• May 28, 2025 – Moore’s defense team of Jon Paul Rion and Catherine H. Jackson of Rion, Rion & Rion, L.P.A., Inc. in Dayton entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf at his arraignment. Bond is set at $2 million.
• June 17, 2025 – At Moore’s first pretrial hearing at the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, an initial trial date of March 30, 2026 was set.
• July 3, 2025 – Moore posted a $2 million surety bond and, as a condition of his court-supervised release, was placed on GPS monitoring and other conditions.
• Jan. 8, 2026 – The trial of Moore was delayed from March to September after Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Kira Krivosh granted a request from both Cuyahoga County prosecutors and Rion to allow both sides more time to collect and analyze evidence crucial to the case. Moore waived his right to a speedy trial.
• April 22, 2026 – Cuyahoga County Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Filiatraut files a motion arguing there is no credibility to a previous claim by Moore’s defense team that Sanford Sherman killed his wife, Aliza Sherman, pushing back on a defense effort to challenge the case.
• April 30, 2026 – The family of Aliza Sherman files a civil lawsuit against Moore, Stafford Law Firm and 10 unnamed defendants.
• July 31, 2026 – Rion sent a courier to deliver a sealed envelope to Krivosh that contains data from a cellphone Moore gave to Ian Friedman, his attorney at Friedman & Frey L.L.C. prior to the firm merger with McCarthy, Lebit, Crystal & Liffman Co, LPA, during the bomb threat case, two-and-a-half months before Sherman’s death.
• Aug. 18, 2026 – Krivosh denies a motion made by Rion to dismiss the case because key people involved, namely Stanford Sherman, the “alternative suspect,” had died and that there is missing evidence, such as CCTV footage that captured the stabbing and phone records, that would dispute that Moore was the killer.
• Sept. 3, 2026 – Krivosh denied the defense’s motion to remove lead prosecutor Kevin Filiatraut from the case. Rion argued that Filiatraut colluded with McCarthy, Lebit, Crystal & Liffman Co., LPA, Moore’s defense counsel in the bomb threat case, to prejudice Moore and that Filiatraut’s alleged “violations” should be investigated by an outside body. Rion argued that because Moore’s phone in the bomb threat case was turned over to investigators for analysis two days after Friedman & Frey L.L.C. and McCarthy Lebit merged in 2014, Filiatraut’s conversations in 2025 and 2026 with McCarthy Lebit attorney Robert Glickman, both in person and by text, created a potential conflict and prejudiced Moore. Rion said Glickman had access to privileged information concerning Moore.

Source: The Samuel H. Miller | Keeping Our Words Alive Digital Archive of the Cleveland Jewish News at cjn.org/archive.

New Episode 8 now available: Digital Forensics: Building a Case Using Electronic Fingerprints

To listen to the “Aliza: Her Story” podcast, visit cjn.org/podcast.

To read the CJN’s comprehensive coverage of the Aliza Sherman case, visit cjn.org/alizasherman

Follow the CJN’s coverage of the trial of Gregory Moore from the courtroom at cjn.org and in the CJN mobile app for the latest developments, updates and reporting as the case unfolds.

Brittany Amber and Matthew Meddie Trevino of Phoenix, Ariz., formerly of Solon, are pleased to announce the birth of their son, Cooper Aiden Trevino, who was born on July 11. Cooper is the brother of Callie Quinn Trevino and the grandson of David and Tammy Sue Cooper of Irvine, Calif., formerly of Solon, Christine Smith of Phoenix, Ariz., and Martin and Karla Trevino of Indio, Calif.

Barbara and Lawrence Mervine of Lyndhurst marked their 60th wedding anniversary on Aug. 27, 2026, by celebrating with friends and family.

Barbara and Lawrence are the parents of Rachel (Rick) Adelstein, Rebecca (Matt Hogan) Mervine, Sarah (Mark Schiff) Mervine and Leah (Nathaniel, z’l) Merritt-Mervine. They are the grandparents of Melanie (Thomas Rodriguez) Adelstein, Jake Adelstein, Hannah, Sophie and Olivia Mervine-Schiff, and Sean Hogan.

Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday warned Iran’s leadership that any attack on Israel would see it incur blows the likes of which “it has not yet suffered to this day,” including on key energy facilities.

“In accordance with the prime minister’s instructions and my own, the Israel Defense Forces is on alert and ready to carry out the mission,” Katz said in a statement ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

The defense minister said he issued the warning because economic pressure on Tehran could push the regime to act against Israel. “Any attack on Israel, for any reason and anywhere, will be met with a powerful response,” he stated.

“Such a blow will set Iran back decades and further destabilize the ayatollah regime, which the Iranian people so deeply despise and long to see fall,” the Israeli defense minister said.

Katz also sent holiday greetings to Iran’s Jewish community, saying, “Next year in a Tehran liberated from oppression and tyranny.

“And to the Jewish people in Israel and around the world, I wish a happy New Year,” he concluded. “May our enemies, those who hate us and all who seek our harm be removed.”

Speaking at a Rosh Hashanah toast at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on Sept. 3, Katz said that an Iranian attack on the Jewish state would remove “every existing constraint” on an Israeli response, including strikes on Tehran’s civilian and energy infrastructure.

Katz said Israel would, if attacked, hit Iran’s “national, military and civilian infrastructure,” and send the Islamic Republic “back deep into the Stone Age and darkness.

“The ayatollah regime in Iran knows very well why it is not attacking Israel: After we struck them powerfully twice [in June 2025 and February 2026], dealt a blow to the nuclear program, eliminated [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei, and severely damaged their strategic capabilities,” Katz said.

He said Israel had identified indications that severe economic pressure and concern over internal unrest and a possible collapse of the regime could drive Iran toward “desperate steps.”

“Israel is very well prepared, defensively and offensively, for every possibility, and the IDF is ready to carry out the mission,” Katz said.

Israel is capable of toppling the Iranian regime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the same event on Sept. 3, describing the goal as “within reach.”

“I am convinced of our ability to remove this threat once and for all; meaning, to topple this regime,” Netanyahu said. “This is the central mission still before us, but it is close. It is not impossible. It is within reach.”

The prime minister said that Israel had achieved historic gains during three years of war, including in its operations against Iran.

“We faced the threat of annihilation by a regime that aspires to eradicate us and wants to arm itself with nuclear bombs to destroy us. We have pushed back this threat and other threats as well,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu noted that while Iran continues to attack other countries, it has refrained from attacking Israel.

“They are not just failing to attack us. They attack everyone, except us. They know our power, the force of our arm and our determination,” he said. “This regime is currently faltering. It is weaker than ever before. It is fighting for its life.”

Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter said in an interview aired on Aug. 31 that although Iran has been defeated, “there’s just a little bit of a time lapse until it actually collapses.”

Leiter said U.S. President Donald Trump “has led an incredible effort to bring this regime down; I think it’s going to happen soon.”

The ambassador likened Iran’s situation to that of the Soviet Union in the ’80s. While nobody could predict the exact date of its fall, U.S. President Ronald Reagan “saw it coming,” said Leiter. “He knew that it was the end of that evil empire. It was just a matter of time.”

Israel’s temporary chargé d'affaires for relations with Turkey presented his credentials at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara on Wednesday.

The visit by Ambassador to Moldova and Armenia Joel Lion, which the Israeli Foreign announced laconically on Thursday, was the first public diplomatic visit by an Israeli to Turkey since a crisis in bilateral relations led to the evacuation of the embassy in Ankara in 2023.

The evacuation for security reasons on Oct. 19, 2023, 12 days after the Hamas massacres in Israel that triggered a regional war, was over fears for the security of the diplomatic staff in Turkey, Israeli officials said.

On Oct. 28, 2023, a decision was made to withdraw diplomats for a diplomatic reassessment following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s increasingly harsh statements. Irit Lilian, the previous ambassador, retired earlier this year.

Contacted by JNS, a spokesperson for Israel's Foreign Ministry declined to elaborate on the new development and its potential significance for Israeli-Turkish relations.

Relations have deteriorated sharply under Erdoğan, particularly following the Oct. 7 attack. Erdoğan, whom the U.S. had accused before 2023 of spreading antisemitic speech, has repeatedly escalated his rhetoric against Israel.

In 2024, he said, “Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we will act similarly exactly to them,” a remark widely interpreted as threatening military action against Israel.

Last year, during an Eid al-Fitr prayer service, Erdoğan prayed: “May Allah, for the sake of his name ... destroy and devastate Zionist Israel.”

Addressing the U.N. General Assembly in 2024, he said, “Just as Hitler was stopped by the alliance of humanity 70 years ago, Netanyahu and his murder network must also be stopped by the alliance of humanity.”

Earlier this year, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described Israel as “a burden humanity can no longer bear.”

In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Erdoğan “an antisemitic tyrant,” accusing him of carrying out a genocide against the Kurds, supporting the Hamas terrorist group, repressing his own citizens and imprisoning political opponents.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on Thursday, voicing hope for expanded Mediterranean diplomacy that could eventually encompass Beirut.

During their private consultations and expanded bilateral meetings, the two heads of state discussed methods to bolster strategic ties across security, trade, energy and tourism.

I am delighted to visit Cyprus once again and meet with my dear friend President Nikos @Christodoulides.

The close partnership between Israel and Cyprus in so many fields brings great benefits to both our nations and contributes to regional stability and prosperity.

I look… pic.twitter.com/UuAOOekkkn

— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) September 10, 2026

"My dream is for the president of Israel and the president of Cyprus to meet together with the president of Lebanon here," Herzog said. "I believe that we should move toward peace in our region while making sure that terror is shunned and removed, and that life thrives between nations and peoples for the well-being of the entire region and the world."

Christodoulides welcomed Herzog as a close partner, emphasizing shared regional interests.

"I am looking forward to our discussion on how to enhance our strategic partnership at all levels," the Cypriot leader said, pointing to defense and economic cooperation to foster stability across the Eastern Mediterranean.

Following the meeting, Christodoulides said that Nicosia sees "great value in re-energizing our trilateral and 3+1 formats, including with the United States," with an eye toward regional connectivity frameworks such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

He added that bilateral cooperation encompasses "economy, health, trade and energy to infrastructure, education, defence, cybersecurity and maritime security."

Cyprus and Israel have made strides in our bilateral relations, building a truly strategic partnership.

Our relationship is anchored in a broad agenda – from economy, health, trade and energy to infrastructure, education, defence, cybersecurity and maritime security. We are… pic.twitter.com/tOAHBdMgSG

— NikosChristodoulides (@Christodulides) September 10, 2026

Israel, Cyprus advance emergency-response cooperation

Israel and Cyprus are advancing cooperation on emergency preparedness and response, including a joint work plan for 2026-27, Israel’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday following a two-day visit by National Emergency Management Authority chief Brig. Gen. (res.) Itzik Bar.

Bar met with senior Cypriot defense, interior and civil-defense officials, with talks focusing on professional coordination, exchanges of operational experience and additional mechanisms for responding to major emergencies.

The visit also included the Cyprus Regional Aerial Firefighting Station at the Paphos Airbase. The Defense Ministry said the stop was part of preparations for Israel to join a regional coordination framework for responding to large-scale wildfires.

ישראל וקפריסין מחזקות את שיתוף הפעולה בתחום ההיערכות והמענה לחירום

להמשך קריאה:https://t.co/1IhCDqRQq5 pic.twitter.com/pfoLjHW9c7

— משרד הביטחון (@MoDIsrael) September 9, 2026

President Donald Trump heckled the leaders of Iran at the first-ever Republican midterm convention on Wednesday, while promoting the idea of renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself. 

“The war will be over very shortly after the election,” Trump said in a 100-minute address. “They’re hanging out for dear life, hoping that we lose, so they can deal with dumb, weak Democrats, and they can have their nuclear bomb. But we’re not going to let that happen.” 

The president expressed confidence that Iran is “going to be quitting or dropping out” of the war “right after Election Day, because they want a deal desperately.”

“We’re winning it,” Trump said, referring to the war in Iran. “We control the Hormuz Strait.”

The U.S. and Israel started the war in February 2026. Since then, Trump has repeatedly predicted victory or an imminent end to the conflict. But six months later, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted amid competing U.S. and Iranian efforts to control the vital waterway. 

On Wednesday, Iran said it attacked 10 ships near the strait after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the largest exchange of attacks on shipping by the two sides since the war began. 

“I should get something out of this — the Trump Strait,” the president continued, repeating an idea he had proposed about a week ago. “I’ll have an announcement. We’ll call it the Trump Strait, and I’m sure the Iranian leadership will be thrilled with that.”

Declaring that they’re probably not “too happy about anything,” Trump said that Iran “is falling apart” and described the country as “the bully of the Middle East.”

“They’re not the bully anymore,” the president continued. “We’re the hottest country anywhere in the world.”

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The post Trump taunts Tehran, wants Strait of Hormuz renamed after himself appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The pro-Israel mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, lost his reelection campaign Wednesday to a progressive pro-Palestinian challenger in the latest demonstration of how Israel politics are seeping into local U.S. elections.

Incumbent Brett Smiley, who converted to Judaism in 2024 while in office, was bested by state Sen. David Morales in the Democratic primary in this deep blue city. Morales, a democratic socialist, carried endorsements from leading progressives, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Rep. Ro Khanna. With 99% of ballots counted, Morales had garnered 52.5% of the vote to Smiley’s 47.5%.

During the campaign, pro-Smiley flyers were defaced with Hitler mustaches and devil horns, acts which his opponent condemned.

The city’s Democratic primary also serves as a preview for a significant general election vote on divestment. In November, Providence will become the largest American city to cast a vote on a measure that, despite not naming Israel directly, could stop the city from investing in companies linked to Israel. 

Morales supports the binding divestment vote, while Smiley and local Jewish and pro-Israel groups have opposed it. The mayor called the ordinance “both unenforceable and likely in violation of existing state law” in a statement to Jewish Insider.

During the campaign, Morales criticized Smiley for participating in a mayoral summit run by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, in which Smiley serves in a leadership capacity. Morales accused the group of suppressing pro-Palestinian speech and not being transparent about its funders. 

The Rhode Island-Israel Collaborative, which promotes business ties between the state and Israel, opposes both the ballot initiative and Morales. Avi Nevel, the group’s founder, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency prior to the primary that Morales was “fueled by pro-Palestinians and Israeli haters.”

It was a night of overthrowing incumbents in the state, as Rhode Island’s sitting governor also lost his primary to an intra-party challenger. That race, however, did not pivot on Israel: Gov. Daniel McKee’s popularity in the state has sunk following a scandal involving the closure of a major bridge.

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The post Pro-Israel Providence Mayor Brett Smiley loses to progressive challenger appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The U.S. Department of Education plans to probe alleged Jew-hatred at the Etiwanda School District in Southern California in March 2025, it told the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, Anti-Defamation League and StandWithUs, which filed the complaint, the groups said on Thursday.

A Jewish student at Etiwanda Intermediate School was repeatedly subjected to antisemitic harassment, including a student allegedly hitting her with a stick and choking her. When the Jewish student cried out for help, the alleged assailant told her to “shut your stupid Jewish a** up,” according to the complaint.

The trio said that it told the Education Department about further incidents that allegedly occurred at the school, including students performing Nazi salutes in hallways and a student admitting to loving “making Jews uncomfortable, especially with Hitler jokes.”

Joel Taubman, an attorney and director of student programs at the Brandeis Center, told JNS that “this was a case where Etiwanda had a hostile environment against Jewish students.”

“An antisemitic hostile environment was reported to Etiwanda and rather than act upon it, they failed to act,” he said. “They let a family see that reports wouldn't go anywhere, and then incidents happened again and again and again.”

The department's decision to investigate the district shows that it thinks that “our allegations, if true, are violations of the law,” Taubman said. (JNS sought comment from the department and district.)

There are “many actions” that the district, which educates nearly 14,000 students in 17 schools, could take to better address Jew-hatred, including adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism and improving its programming and reporting mechanisms, according to Taubman.

“We want the whole community to see improvement and for really a message to be sent that this doesn't have to be the way,” he told JNS. “The message to others should be that they can address antisemitism as it's reported to them and as they hear about it, rather than letting issues fester.”

The Beachwood Photo Club opened its 12th annual exhibition featuring work by 20 local photographers that will be on display through Sept. 26 at the Beachwood branch of the Cuyahoga County Library at 25501 Shaker Blvd

The U.S. Department of Education is probing alleged Jew-hatred at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, a private performing arts college in New York, after the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League filed a civil rights complaint, the groups said on Thursday.

On Nov. 9, 2023, a month after Oct. 7, students slid materials stating that "resistance is justified when people are occupied" and “Palestine will be free” into the Jewish student’s dorm room. The Jewish student reported the incident to the school, which determined that four students targeted her and violated the school's harassment and discrimination policies, according to the complaint.

The school implemented a mutual no-contact order between the Jewish student and the four others and barred the four from going onto the same floor as the Jewish student’s dorm room. But the four later "weaponized" that no-contact order and retaliated by excluding her from a group chat for students in her program. The four students were part of the chat, per the complaint. (JNS sought comment from the school and the department.)

The four also tried to isolate her socially. One would interrupt her conversations and talk to the person with whom she was speaking. That forced the Jewish student to walk away, since she wasn't allowed to engage with the student under the no-contact order, according to the complaint.

That alleged behavior continued the following year, and three of the four students were placed in the same dorm as the Jewish student even though she requested that they be placed elsewhere, the complaint alleges. It further alleges that one of the four visited a friend on her floor in the dorm despite being barred from that the floor, and the school didn’t take action against him.

The Jewish student eventually left the school, the complaint states.

Sarah Golabek-Goldman, director of legal initiatives for the Brandeis Center, told JNS that she is “heartened” that the Education Department is opening an investigation.

“We want the school to adopt policies and practices to ensure that Jewish students are able to report when harassment occurs and that they will be protected,” she said.

“No student should have an experience like the Jewish student in this case, where she reported the harassment and then she was treated like the harassers, and experienced only more harassment,” she said.

VILNIUS, Lithuania — At a family reunion in California in 2013, Felicita Trueblood discovered a portal to the past: a binder full of letters from her great-grandfather, a rabbi in Ukraine, from before World War II.

As exciting as the discovery was, the letters were illegible to her — until now, thanks to an artificial intelligence tool developed by Sergii Gurbych, a researcher in Lithuania who hungered for information about his own Jewish past. They unveiled a world of grief but also brought Trueblood solace, uncovering the truth about her great-grandfather’s death.

The letters, about 50 pages in total, had sat untouched for decades in her cousin’s house in Palm Springs. They were penned in Yiddish by Pavel Malisoff, Trueblood’s great-grandfather in Konotop, Ukraine — then in the Soviet Union — to his son, Trueblood’s great-uncle Solomon, who immigrated to the United States and changed his last name to Malis.

Between 1927 and 1934, the letters bridged two worlds — on one side, a father in Ukraine witnessing a community on the brink of destruction, and on the other, a son journeying from New York to California under the weight of the Great Depression. Malis died in 1985. For nearly a century, no one else read those pages.

At the 2013 reunion, none of the living family members could decipher their ancestor’s Yiddish letters, written in Hebrew script. Trueblood, who is now 75, felt compelled to take charge of the treasure trove. She grew up in San Diego with few traces of her Jewish past. Her mother, Malisoff’s granddaughter, became a Christian Scientist before marrying her father, a non-Jewish descendant of colonial Americans. Trueblood wanted to know who her great-grandfather was and the life he inhabited, long cut off from her family memory. 

“I was raised outside the Jewish community, with no day-to-day connection,” Trueblood told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “But I was always fascinated.”

The post How a new tool in Lithuania helps people read letters from their Jewish ancestors appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the inauguration Wednesday of the Israeli embassy in Slovenia, which took place amid a push by many E.U. members states to isolate Israel internationally.

Sa’ar on X noted Janša’s attendance, which was unusual, and that of Sa’ar’s Slovenian counterpart, Tone Kajzer as well as “ministers from current and previous governments,” who “celebrated the opening of Israel’s new embassy in Ljubljana. Israel is on the map in Ljubljana too. Shana Tova!”

In a moving ceremony, together with my friend and colleague @TKajzer, the Foreign Minister of Slovenia, I inaugurated the Embassy of Israel in Slovenia just an hour ago.

This is the fifth new Israeli embassy within a year and a half.

We have friends in Europe and around the… pic.twitter.com/mNdBk7VbaO

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) September 9, 2026

Sa’ar continued: “This is the fifth new Israeli embassy within a year and a half. We have friends in Europe and around the world, and we must strengthen relations and cooperation with them. I will continue to expand Israel's diplomatic network around the world.”

On Tuesday, the British government announced it would ban products made or marketed by Israelis in Judea and Samaria, joining Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland, which had already announced similar boycotts. Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal and several other countries said they were considering imposing bans. The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, considers Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria illegal.

According to reports in the media, which Janša appeared to confirm last month, Slovenia, as a member of the E.U, had blocked a united condemnation of Israel by all 27 bloc members.

“In truth, we have merely extricated Slovenia from the vicious cycle of losing credibility through the incessant, disproportionate condemnations of Israel for every move it makes,” Janša wrote on X about the reports.

In June, Slovenia’s new government under Janša scrapped the previous administration’s sanctions on Israel, including on the import of arms, products from Judea and Samaria, and visits by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Slovenia’s former prime minister, Robert Golob of the left-wing Freedom Movement, was among the most hostile leaders to Israel in the European Union. His government banned the import of goods made by Israelis from Judea and Samaria, said it would endorse South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and said it would comply with the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu.

Otzma Yehudit Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech on Wednesday called the killing in Gaza of Hamas terrorist Farah Ahmad Hamed earlier in the day “another closing of the circle.”

In an X post, she noted that he was a member of the Silwad cell that murdered her husband, Shalom “Shuli” Har-Melech, in 2003.

Hamed was sentenced to three life terms and released to the Gaza Strip in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. In its Wednesday announcement of his death, Hamas identified him as a member of its military council responsible for Judea and Samaria.

עוד סגירת מעגל!

פרח חאמד, מבכירי הזרוע הצבאית של חמאס ומחברי חוליית סילוואד שרצחה את האיש שלי שולי הר מלך הי״ד, ב"ה חוסל היום ברצועת עזה.

שחרורו ושחרור יתר הרוצחים הם ההוכחה לצורך הקיומי בחוק עונש מוות למחבלים אותו זכינו להעביר לפני כחצי שנה.

ידע כל מחבל שרצח יהודים: גם אם… pic.twitter.com/7a0FtBXrwa

— לימור סון הר מלך (@limor_sonhrmelh) September 9, 2026

In its statement, Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades confirmed that the senior commander was killed in an Israeli strike in western Gaza City. The terrorist group lauded his role in the Silwad cell during the Second Intifada, boasting that the unit was responsible for nine attacks that killed six Israelis, and called on followers in Judea and Samaria to carry out further attacks.

Son Har-Melech thanked Israel Defense Forces troops and security personnel involved in the operation.

"Let every terrorist who has murdered Jews know: Even if he is released, even if he flees, and even if many years pass, the long arm of the people of Israel will reach him," she wrote. "Thank you to the IDF soldiers and security forces who today closed an important and painful circle. May the memory of Shuli and of all those murdered in Silwad be blessed."

Shuli Har-Melech, 25, and his wife were returning home to Homesh when they were ambushed by five terrorists with automatic weapons. He was killed on the spot, while Limor, then seven months pregnant, was critically wounded.

Limor was hospitalized and, several hours later, gave birth to their daughter by cesarean section. The couple also had an older child. They were expelled from Homesh during the 2005 disengagement.

Limor Har-Melech later married her current husband, Yehuda Son, with whom she had eight children. She entered the Knesset for the Otzma Yehudit Party following the 2022 election.

Oscar-nominated actor John Malkovich has withdrawn from an April 13, 2027, Tel Aviv performance of "The Music Critic" after a press release attributed to him remarks he said he never made or approved.

Malkovich said a public relations firm hired by the Israeli promoter drafted the quote without consulting him and that its publication as a direct statement from him was "unacceptable and untenable." The planned performance was scheduled for the Charles Bronfman Auditorium, until 2013 called the Fredric R. Mann Auditorium.

Israeli producer Alon Yurick apologized, saying the original release included an incorrect quote because of a misunderstanding. The Jerusalem Post removed the quote from its report.

In the statement announcing his withdrawal, Malkovich said performing in a country does not signal approval of its policies, leaders or actions, nor solidarity with a political cause, terrorism or the killing of civilians. He said he believes "we need more culture and more beauty in more places, not less," describing artistic freedom as a means of bridging conflict.

The show was created and conceived by violinist and composer Aleksey Igudesman.

The Israel Defense Forces told JNS on Wednesday night that it “categorically” rejects any claim that it deliberately targets civilians during operations against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization.

The military was responding to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who on Tuesday condemned reports of civilian deaths in IDF operations in Southern Lebanon.

The IDF said it operates “in accordance with Israeli law and international law, against military targets solely.” It added that it takes “all feasible precautions” to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure.

It vowed to keep acting against imminent threats to the Jewish state and its civilians and pledged to prevent Hezbollah terrorists from restoring their capabilities.

Guterres wrote on X on Tuesday that he was “deeply concerned” by the escalation of Israeli military operations in Southern Lebanon. He condemned civilian casualties, displacement caused by evacuation orders and “scenes of massive destruction.”

He said civilians and civilian objects must be protected at all times, writing that “attacks directed against them are unacceptable.”

Guterres called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” and for Jerusalem to withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory. He also said the Lebanese state “must have the monopoly on the use of force,” and urged “all parties” to respect its sovereignty.

Israel's Foreign Ministry also responded to Guterres' statement, pointing out that the post failed to mention the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

"Hezbollah put Lebanese civilians in harm’s way. UNIFIL watched Hezbollah build its terrorist infrastructure for decades. Your silence on who is responsible speaks volumes," the ministry wrote.

pic.twitter.com/nwF7gOzQCQ

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) September 9, 2026

The Israel Defense Forces struck Hezbollah infrastructure across Southern Lebanon overnight Sunday after the Iranian-backed terrorist organization launched two explosive drones at IDF troops in the security zone, the military said on Monday.

The suicide drones targeted soldiers operating in the area of the Ali al-Taher Ridge, the army said. No Israelis were injured.

In response, the IDF attacked several Hezbollah sites, including a weapons storage facility, it said. The military said it also struck several terrorists it identified transferring weapons near Kfar Reman, northeast of Nabatieh, to remove a threat to soldiers.

Separately, the IDF struck in the Nabatieh area, eliminating several Hezbollah operatives, it announced.

On Sunday morning, the IDF said it was striking in Southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched two drones toward soldiers operating in the security zone.

Troops downed one of the drones, the IDF said. No injuries were reported in the attack.

The statement called the incident “a blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement with Beirut.

Soldiers “will continue to operate in the security zone in order to remove any threat toward Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” the military said, adding that it would act “with determination against Hezbollah’s repeated attempts to harm IDF soldiers.”

Also on Sunday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged the United States and the international community to “urgently” intervene after the Israeli strikes in Southern Lebanon.

Israel will not withdraw from Southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout the country and the danger posed by attacks from the Land of the Cedars is neutralized, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday.

“[Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu and I are leading a clear and uncompromising policy, implemented every day by the IDF: Israel will not withdraw from the security zone in Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon and the threats to the residents of the Galilee are removed,” said Katz.

“The capture of Ali al-Taher is an important step toward achieving this goal,” he added.

Katz said the IDF’s capture of the ridge in southeastern Lebanon marked the completion of a phase in consolidating Israel’s hold on the security zone.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said on Wednesday that he had visited troops from the IDF’s 36th Division, including the Commando Brigade and Yahalom combat engineering unit, in the area of the former Dla’at outpost and the Ali al-Taher Ridge. Defrin noted that it was his first return to the area in roughly 30 years, since serving as a company commander in the IDF’s 75th Battalion.

אמש חזרתי למרחב מוצב דלעת, הפעם כחלק מביקור בחטיבת הקומנדו במרחב רכס עלי טאהר.
הפעם האחרונה שבה הייתי שם הייתה לפני כ-30 שנים, בהיותי מפקד פלוגה בגדוד 75.

פגשתי בשטח את הלוחמים המדהימים של אוגדה 36 על יחידותיה, ובהם לוחמי חטיבת הקומנדו ולוחמי יחידת יהל״ם.

ראיתי מקרוב מבצע שכולו… pic.twitter.com/klRQQHaoWv

— דובר צה״ל אפי דפרין - Effie Defrin (@IDFSpokesperson) September 9, 2026

Division forces had captured the ridge after crossing the Litani River “from an unexpected direction” and surprising Hezbollah fighters, he said, describing the operation as one marked by “boldness, deception and determination.”

"There are moments in service when you realize that you are encountering something greater than yourself. Yesterday was one of them. An extraordinary generation of principled fighters has risen here, and I am proud to meet you and witness the strength, professionalism and spirit you bring," Defrin wrote. "On the eve of Rosh Hashanah 5787, I salute you and thank you—on behalf of the IDF and the entire people of Israel."

In a separate development, Israel completed the release of five Lebanese civilians on Friday as U.S.-mediated negotiations with Beirut continued alongside efforts to locate and repatriate the remains of Lebanese Jewish community leaders abducted and murdered by terrorist organizations in the mid-1980s.

The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed on Friday that it had facilitated the transfer to Lebanon of all five individuals at the request of the parties.

An Israeli cabinet minister said Tuesday that Israel has formed a united alliance with Greece and Cyprus against Turkey.

The remarks by the Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli to a group of visiting Christian state legislators from the United States came amid strained tensions between Jerusalem and Istanbul.

“Israel is united with both Greece and Cyprus against Islamic extremism in the region led by Turkey,” Israeli Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli told a visiting delegation from the National Association of Christian Lawmakers.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has emerged as one of the most vociferous critics of Israel in the world during the war against Hamas in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

The hawkish minister, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, has long viewed the Turkish leader as a hostile regional threat due to his open support for Hamas and other jihadist forces.

Despite his strong support for U.S. President Donald Trump, Chikli also openly criticized American Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who serves as special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, for “acting against the interests of the West, Christians and the United States” in his diplomatic approach toward regional stabilization.

In his remarks to the American state legislators, Chikli also heaped praise on the “flourishing” Christian society in Israel, which he said was the "safest across the whole Muslim world and the Middle East," and condemned recent attacks against Christians in Israel by ultra-Orthodox extremists.

“We need to better educate our ultra-orthodox youth about Christianity,” he said. “Christianity is our sister religion.”

In the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, thousands of Israeli military reservists stranded abroad scrambled to make their way home and report for duty. One such reservist, a British-Israeli citizen, faced possible prison time when an anti-Israel NGO attempted to prosecute him for violating an obscure, Victorian-era law.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) argued that the soldier, referred to as “A.” in court documents, had violated the U.K.’s Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870.

A British judge threw the ICJP out of court. In an April 8 ruling, he berated the lawfare-waging NGO for “failure to present the full picture” and “failure of candor.”

“This application is legally flawed, evidentially deficient and procedurally defective. It constitutes an abuse of the process of this court, driven by an improper motive and facilitated by serious breaches of the duty of candor,” he said.

The soldier filed a complaint with the Israel Bar Association against an Israeli attorney who was one of those who had submitted a statement on behalf of the prosecution.

That attorney, Michel Pomeranz, was notified of the complaint this week.

“Pomeranz took an active part in this process by submitting an expert opinion,” soldier A. said in the complaint, which was filed with the Israel Bar National Ethics Committee on Aug. 17.

Basing her expertise on her status as a member of the Israeli bar, she attempted to “lay a legal foundation” to show that his IDF service was an offense under British law, according to the complaint.

“Attorney Pomeranz acted knowingly to bring about my arrest, my prosecution, and even my imprisonment for serving in the IDF, and in particular for reporting for service the day after the Oct. 7 massacre, during the country's most difficult time,” A. said.

Pomeranz’s opinion, he went on, was provided with the explicit knowledge that it would serve in legal proceedings against other soldiers. (In her Oct. 18, 2025, statement to the court, Pomeranz acknowledged, “The ICJP intends to initiate a private prosecution for at least nine named British citizens who are known to have traveled to Israel to participate in military activities on behalf of Israel since 7 October 2023.”)

The soldier accused Pomeranz of violating at least two sections of the Israel Bar Association Law, one of which prohibits exploiting bar membership as cover to harm national security in time of war.

A. demanded that the ethics committee take disciplinary measures against Pomeranz, either banning her permanently from practicing law in Israel or suspending her for an extended period.

Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center, an NGO which fights lawfare and BDS globally, helped A. file the complaint after he reached out for assistance. If successful, the complaint would be precedent-setting, Shurat HaDin founder Nitsana Darshan-Leitner told JNS. She was not aware of another case where a lawyer was suspended for disloyalty to the state.

Pomeranz said she would vigorously defend herself against the complaint, which “has no factual or legal basis.” She said she would file her response with the Israel Bar Association in the coming weeks.

“I did not write a legal opinion for the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians and I did not represent the organization. I was asked by a British law firm to prepare an expert opinion on Israeli law on specific legal questions, and I did so,” she told JNS.

“I was asked to write an opinion on whether an Israeli citizen who holds British citizenship is obligated to report for reserve duty. I wrote an opinion on the subject according to Israeli law,” she said. She concluded that if the individual is in Israel, the answer is the soldier must report to duty. If abroad, the answer is less clear.

“In other words, it is doubtful whether the opinion helped the lawsuit at all. But a legal opinion describes the law, not the client's will,” she said.

Persecuting lawyers through the bar association is “reminiscent of dark regimes,” she told JNS. “The role of lawyers is to present the legal situation, even before foreign courts, and I have no intention of allowing organizations like ‘Shurat HaDin’ ... to intimidate me because of my work.”

Added Pomeranz: “It would be better if the State of Israel itself examined the many well-founded suspicions of war crimes committed by IDF soldiers and brought to justice those who committed these terrible crimes, and thus there would be no need for organizations abroad and other countries to engage in this.”

In her statement to the court, Pomeranz said she had represented conscientious objectors who refused to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian victims of alleged IDF war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Darshan-Leitner called Pomeranz's response “disingenuous.” She was “completely aware” of the purpose her expert opinion served; “to be used to support the ICJP's attempt to bring criminal charges against IDF reservists.

“Her own expert report expressly describes ICJP’s intended prosecution,” said Darshan-Leitner, who noted that the organization “had collected the names of British citizens who had served in the IDF and intended to initiate private prosecutions against at least nine of them. She plainly knew what malicious purpose her expert opinion was intended to serve.

“The claim that a British law firm commissioned it does not answer the claims about her knowing involvement in that initiative,” Darshan-Leitner said. “Her reference to alleged war crimes is a diversion. This case did not allege that the reservist had committed a war crime or any misconduct during his service. It sought to criminalize his very act of reporting for reserve duty.”

Pomeranz’s participation has caused waves in Israeli media. Channel 12’s Amit Segal denounced her on Tuesday on social media. “She used her Israeli law license, and her supposed expertise in Israeli law, to supply legal ammunition to a dangerous, extremist anti-Israel organization,” he posted to X.

“Her actions are more than simply unethical. Helping to prosecute the people who came from thousands of miles away to protect you and your family in an hour of need is not only a betrayal of the country and the military, but a desecration of that sacred unity that followed Oct. 7,” he wrote.

Darshan-Leitner told JNS that the soldier’s complaint against Pomeranz rests on a solid foundation and her actions warrant disciplinary action.

“It brings before the ethics committee a legitimate and important question: Can a member of the Israeli bar use her credentials as such to base her expertise in a case which seeks to hunt down Israeli soldiers reporting for duty to save their country in its darkest hour?”

Quoting Yuval Elbashan, an Israeli legal scholar, Darshan-Leitner said, “While this soldier wore his military uniform and risked his life to save lives, Ms. Pomeranz wore her court robe to pursue him.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the war with Iran would end right after November’s midterm elections.

“I think the war’s going to end immediately after the election, because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before boarding Air Force One for the Republican midterm convention in Dallas.

The president said the Iranian leadership was “desperate” to influence the midterms, adding that Tehran wants “a nice weak group of people in there” who would “leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon.”

However, top White House advisers have privately warned that the conflict could last through the remainder of his presidency, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing U.S. officials.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among the advisers who told Trump in Oval Office and Situation Room discussions that Tehran could continue resisting U.S. pressure, potentially prolonging the conflict beyond Inauguration Day in January 2029, according to the report.

Trump also warned on Wednesday there would be many more American strikes on Iranian oil tankers around the Strait of Hormuz.

“We’ve taken out about nine of their tankers,” Trump said during the press gaggle on the Joint Base Andrews tarmac. He added that “you’re going to see a lot more.”

U.S. Central Command on Wednesday confirmed it had destroyed 10 Iranian tankers "in just the last week."

“These vessels were part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC, and Iran cannot defend them,” the command said.

At the Dallas convention later Wednesday, Trump defended his administration’s military campaign against Iran, saying that a nuclear-armed Tehran would have had far greater leverage over Washington. “If they had a nuclear weapon, I’d be calling the Supreme Leader and I’d be saying, ‘Mr. Supreme Leader, how are you, sir? Is there anything we can do for you?’ as opposed to bombing the crap out of him,” Trump said, adding: “It’s very simple. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to defeat Iran and prevent the establishment of terrorist armies on Israel's border, speaking during a Wednesday visit to the "crown of Hermon," the strategic high ground of Mount Hermon, a 9,232-foot (2,814-meter) mountain massif on the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

"We will not allow any terrorist army to establish itself on our border. We are committed to defeating the terrorist regime in Iran," he said. "We are very close to it. We know that the entire axis will ultimately fall."

Gazing out from an IDF outpost at the summit, Netanyahu said: "On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, we are atop Mount Hermon. Damascus is right here. Lebanon is right there. The Syrian Golan Heights are right there. And we control the entire area from the crown of the Hermon to the Yarmuk River [which forms part of the border between Syria and Jordan], and from here to the Mediterranean Sea—absolute control the likes of which has never been seen before."

At the outpost, Netanyahu received a briefing on operational activity in the sector by the head of the IDF Northern Command Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo and 210th "Bashan" Division commander Brig.-Gen. Yair Palai.

Defense Minister Israel Katz joined the prime minister on his visit.

Katz said Israel's position at the summit provided defense for the Golan Heights and the Galilee. From the heights, Israel could "keep an eye" on Hezbollah in Lebanon and send a "strong and clear message" to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, roughly 20 miles away in his palace in Damascus, he said.

"We have destroyed the enemy's infrastructure in Gaza, in Lebanon, and here as well. IDF forces are working every night to thwart more infrastructure of jihadist forces in order to protect the Golan Heights, the Galilee and the State of Israel," he said. "Iran is in the background. We hit it twice [in June 2025 and February 2026], and when we need to, we'll cripple it a third time."

Israel will continue to face all threats, from the Shi'ite axis led by Iran to the Sunni axis led by the Muslim Brotherhood, Katz said. "We will ensure the security of all the residents of the State of Israel."

The prime minister and defense minister took the opportunity to wish the IDF and Israel's citizens a happy Rosh Hashanah, which begins on Friday evening.

Roof renovations at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron were completed Wednesday after several months of work, Israeli officials said.

The Tomb of the Patriarchs is the burial place of the biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives Sarah, Rebecca and Leah, and is one of Israel’s most visited tourist sites.

The completion came as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as an additional minister within the Defense Ministry with authority over civil affairs in Judea and Samaria, moved to cancel the Hebron agreements and withdraw authority from the Hebron municipality.

Smotrich attended a ceremony marking the project’s completion alongside local officials and security officials.

“This is a historic closing of a circle,” Smotrich said, describing the site as a symbol of Jewish sovereignty. He said the renovations would allow larger numbers of worshippers to pray at the site during the upcoming High Holidays.

The current structure around the tomb was built 2,000 years ago by King Herod the Great. Byzantine and Crusader conquerors turned it into a church. During the Mameluke conquest, the site was converted into a mosque, and Jews were banned from going past the seventh step of a staircase outside the building. Israel liberated the site during the Six-Day War in 1967.

The High Holidays begin with Rosh Hashanah, which starts at sundown on Friday.

The Israel Police said on Wednesday that it would be deploying thousands of officers, Border Police personnel and volunteers nationwide during the High Holidays.

Preparations for the holiday period, which begins this year on Friday, the eve of Rosh Hashanah, and concludes after Simchat Torah on Oct. 3, were completed on Wednesday, the force said.

Officers will be stationed at holy sites, places of worship, major roads, parks and entertainment venues to maintain public order and security, and ensure freedom of worship for all faiths.

Police will operate "from the air, sea and ground" throughout the holidays, in order to provide a "rapid response to any unusual incident," it said.

Anticipating heavy traffic and increased activity at shopping centers, police urged motorists to leave early, follow officers' instructions and avoid speeding and using mobile phones while driving.

The public was asked to report any unusual incident to the Israel Police emergency hotline (100) or call 110 for information.

"Even while you are gathered with your family around the holiday table, our police officers will be out in the field, looking out for you everywhere and at all times, so that we can all get through the holidays safely and return home safely," the force stated. "The Israel Police wishes all the people of Israel a happy and safe holiday."

The Israel Defense Forces held a surprise nationwide exercise on Sunday to test the military’s readiness for a sudden, large-scale multi-front scenario ahead of the High Holidays. The Israel Police conducted its own nationwide exercise in the country’s northern and central regions in July as part of the force’s annual training program, testing readiness for terrorist attacks and civilian emergencies.

More than 20,000 Jewish immigrants from about 100 countries arrived in Israel over the past year, Israel’s Aliyah and Integration Ministry and the Jewish Agency said in a joint statement on Monday, ahead of the Jewish New Year.

The bulk of the olim (Jews who immigrate to Israel by virtue of the Law of Return) came from Russia, France and the United States, according to the statement.

“For more than 20,000 new olim, this is their first Rosh Hashanah at home—in the State of Israel,” the statement quoted Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer as saying, referring to the holiday that begins on the evening of Sept. 11.

He noted that a significant increase was recorded in immigration from France and the United Kingdom, and that the trend of Jewish immigration from Western countries is expected to “continue and strengthen.”

“The fact that more than a third of this year’s olim are young people aged 18-35, alongside many families seeking to build a future for their children in Israel, attests to the trust placed in the State of Israel,” he continued. “Every oleh who arrives strengthens society, the economy, and the resilience of the country, and aliyah is a central component of its future.”

In addition, the statement said that Sofer and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have initiated a tax reform to ease immigrants’ integration into the Israeli economy. The immigration figures included 414 physicians who arrived in Israel, alongside professionals in other in-demand fields.

The Jewish Agency has also advanced dedicated aliyah tracks for Israel’s north and south, aimed at strengthening the regions hardest hit during the War of Redemption demographically, communally and economically.

Among these initiatives is the “Garinei Aliyah” (“seeds of immigration”) model, in which groups of young immigrant families arrive in Israel together and are absorbed into local communities and municipalities, the Aliyah and Integration Ministry said.

Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, chairman of the Jewish Agency, said, “Aliyah is a profound expression of unconditional love, of trust in the future of the State of Israel and in the power of the Jewish people to build here together the next chapter of the Zionist enterprise.”

He continued, “Even in a complex and challenging year, thousands of Jews from every corner of the world have chosen to take the big step and call Israel home. This is the essence of Zionism. Aliyah is the strongest answer to every challenge we face; it is a growth engine that contributes to strengthening the State of Israel. … This is the time to act powerfully to bring hearts closer and to welcome thousands of olim with great love.”

A group of Temple Mount activists has condemned the government’s refusal to open Judaism’s holiest site to Jewish worshippers on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and allow the sounding of the shofar there.

Following more than a month of appeals to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Shofar B’Tzion NGO, along with the Committee for Opening the Temple Mount on Shabbat, filed a petition with Israel’s Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, challenging the restrictions ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

Shofar B’Tzion chairman Yosef Rabin explained to JNS that while the court did not dismiss the petition outright, the absence of a defined timetable for a hearing has left the petitioners without an effective avenue for obtaining judicial relief before the holiday.

Rabin said the dispute is particularly significant this year because the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat. While the shofar is not normally sounded when Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat coincide, the Temple Mount is an exception, where, according to Jewish law, the shofar is to be sounded.

He explained that since the Second Intifada in the early 2000s, the government has generally banned Jewish access to the site on Shabbatot throughout the year. Rabin expressed hope that the government would make a “one-off” exception this year.

Rabin said that after 2,000 years, the Jewish people had returned to the Temple Mount and that it was absurd that Jews now have to argue with the State of Israel over the issue.

“The Jewish people have an intrinsic right to pray at our holiest place,” he said.

Rabin also compared the government’s policy to restrictions imposed under the British Mandate.

“Under the British Mandate, Jews were forbidden to sound the shofar at the Western Wall, and young Jews were arrested for defying the ban. Nearly 80 years after the establishment of the State of Israel, Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir have chosen to continue that policy in a new form—this time on the Temple Mount.”

Political support for campaign

The campaign has drawn support from MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, who last month penned a letter to Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir calling for the sounding of the shofar on the Temple Mount on Rosh Hashanah and for opening the holy site for the Mussaf prayer on the first day of the holiday.

Rothman wrote, “Blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is one of the central commandments of the holiday. Significantly restricting the public’s ability to fulfill this mitzvah at the holy site constitutes a serious infringement.”

Asaf Fried, chairman of the Committee for Opening the Temple Mount on Shabbat, told JNS that the government’s refusal to open the site on the first day of Rosh Hashanah represented “a disregard for the rights of Jews to pray at the holiest site of the Jewish people.”

He said he has yet to receive a satisfactory answer as to why Jews are generally not permitted to ascend the Temple Mount for prayer on Shabbatot and why this is considered a security risk.

He explained that with the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000, the Mount was completely closed to Jews for three years. When Jews were allowed to return in 2003, there was no explanation for why they were no longer permitted to ascend on Shabbat.

“There is no reason for it. It doesn’t bother anyone. There are no Muslims up there that day,” he said.

Fried remains hopeful that if the site is not opened on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the court will allow Jewish visits during Sukkot and the other Jewish holidays in the month of Tishrei, some of which also fall on Shabbat this year.

A broader push for Jewish prayer

Rabin said that this past April, he and other Temple Mount activists led a campaign to allow Jewish worship on the Temple Mount on Jerusalem Day, which coincided with a Friday—another day on which Jewish worshippers are generally prohibited from ascending the site.

At the same time, more than 20 government ministers and MKs called on the heads of the Israel Police and the police’s Jerusalem District to allow worship on that day.

In response, Rabin received a letter from an adviser to Ben-Gvir indicating that “the fundamental decision regarding opening the Temple Mount on holidays or closing the Mount on certain occasions, such as Fridays, falls under the exclusive authority of the prime minister. It is not within the authority of the police commissioner or the district commander, whose role is to implement the minister’s policy.”

The adviser also highlighted Ben-Gvir’s support for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, saying that the minister had spearheaded “a historic change in the status quo after approximately 1,000 years during which Jewish prayer was prohibited. Today, Jewish worship on the Mount is permitted, including prostration, singing and the use of prayer sheets (pages of prayer text).”

Rabin clarified that, based on the letter, the prime minister has exclusive authority over opening the site on certain occasions, while broader issues concerning Jewish prayer at the site are addressed by the prime minister, Ben-Gvir, the courts, police and other authorities. He said this is why he approached the relevant authorities as part of the current campaign.

Rabin said he was grateful that the Temple Mount would be opened for a limited time this year for Jewish worship on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, on Sunday, although without the sounding of the shofar or the presence of a Torah scroll.

He said every small step toward unrestricted Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount was welcome.

“The Jewish state is fighting on the international stage against delegitimization in Europe, and it is creeping into the United States as well," said Rabin. "If the Jewish state won’t stand its ground and say that Jews have the right to pray there without restriction, we shouldn’t be surprised when the rest of the world delegitimizes us.”

DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump capped Wednesday’s opening night of the unusual Republican midterm convention by slamming Democrats as extremists and staunchly defending the war in Iran while making the extraordinary pledge to pay every adult American $5,000 if his party retains its control of both chambers of Congress after November.

The proposal, which could cost at least $1 trillion, was financially and politically implausible. But it reflected Trump’s apparent calculation that he needs bold moves to revive Republicans’ chances as Democrats try to take advantage of his low approval ratings in close races across the country.

Trump reveled in making the upcoming elections all about himself, even though it's unclear whether that will help or hurt his party. Many Republicans are skipping the two-day affair in Dallas, while others hoped their appearance would put them in the national spotlight as they work to turn out Trump's supporters in a year without him on the ballot.

“If we hand America's future to the radical-left Democrats, our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet,” Trump said. “Vote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.”

The president urged the crowd to pretend he's running in November and said there were about 35 key races in the Senate and House as his party hopes to maintain congressional control. He pledged “to go to every one of those states,” suggesting he might visit some repeatedly.

But Trump also frequently mentioned the unpopular war in Iran, even seeming to acknowledge that it had hurt the U.S. economy. “We were doing great,” he said before he approached his economic advisers to say, “I hate to do this to you," explaining that he needed to start the conflict because Iran was perhaps “two, maybe three weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.”

Trump similarly defended imposing sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners, insisting that the resulting economic turmoil would be worth it in the long run.

His most dramatic comments, however, were to promise, “If the Republicans win the Senate and House, because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”

The president said the only caveat would be that recipients spend the money in the U.S. He provided no details on how such a plan would be implemented but declared, “It will be called the Trump dividend.”

The convention was part rally, part fundraiser

The gathering took place as Republicans try to boost enthusiasm heading into the final stretch before Election Day, despite voters' economic concerns and dissatisfaction with the war in Iran. The event described Democrats as communists, anti-American or even evil. Republicans called themselves a “common sense” alternative.

Trump used several minutes of his speech to praise Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is in a tough Senate race in what is normally America's largest red state.

“He may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I've ever seen,” Trump said of Paxton, while adding, “he deserves to be your next senator.”

The convention got a boost from an unlikely source, Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who said in a video message that “I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism.” Fetterman, who has clashed with his party’s leaders, referenced his state’s steel industry in pledging to “work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life.”

A lineup of Trump and more Trump

Normal political conventions are held every four years and serve a purpose beyond pomp and circumstance, with parties formally nominating their presidential picks. This week's convention, by contrast, is The Trump Show, through and through.

The walls of the arena where the Dallas Mavericks play were covered with photographs of Trump, even in the elevators. Plenty of attendees wore cowboy hats and boots and many sequins were on display — as well as “Make America Great Again” and American flag caps and other gear.

People in the crowd waved signs reading “Republicans Are Fixing Democrats’ Mess,” despite Republicans controlling the U.S. House, Senate and presidency.

During the early hours of programming, speeches were delivered to scores of empty seats, even in areas close to the stage. Crowds began mostly filling them before Trump's speech, though areas in the upper decks remained sparsely populated.

Trump will follow up Wednesday's address with closing remarks on Thursday, after Vice President JD Vance gives his own speech.

“I’m not doing a big deal like this," Trump said, wrapping up his opening night address that approached the two-hour mark.

Ray Washburne, co-chair of the Dallas host committee, said the event is expected to draw roughly 30,000 people across both nights, but getting airtime was challenging. The NFL season kicked off Wednesday with a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. On Thursday, the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams will play in Australia.

Key candidates have their turns on stage

Speakers included Republican congressional leadership and Cabinet members. Attorney General Todd Blanche also spoke, which is uncommon for the nation's top law enforcement official, as Justice Department leaders don’t typically address such events given the agency’s tradition of political independence.

Blanche said Trump and Vance “put American families first. They prove that order and prosperity go hand in hand.”

Republican Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers, who is facing off against Abdul El-Sayed, isn’t giving his speech until Thursday night. However, many opening night speakers singled out El-Sayed as a sign Democrats were too radical.

There are 12 hours of programming over two nights, with 100-plus speakers and segments focused on subjects such as tax cuts, fraud allegations and border security.

Trump also hinted that he'd talk a lot about Iran even before leaving for Dallas. As he spoke to reporters on the tarmac prior to boarding Air Force One, the president said that oil prices — which have surged because of the conflict — likely won’t come down until after the midterms, a bit of economic forecasting that could darken his party’s fortunes.

“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” he promised, as oil prices jumped more than 3% Wednesday.

Organizers say they're fine with some Republicans skipping the convention

Some Republicans balked at high attendance fees. Republican House members were being asked to pay $25,000 for convention tickets and lodging, according to people familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to speak frankly about the private arrangement.

An additional 2,000 tickets were distributed by the National Republican Congressional Committee, largely to donors and others to attend the convention. Other tickets were allocated to state parties to distribute as they saw fit.

“Per the RNC, this is a ticketed fundraiser and rally, not a traditional national convention,” the Denton County Republican Party in Texas wrote in a Facebook post, which advertised packages from $5,000 to $20,000.

Trump’s political operation, which has been sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars, began spending heavily through a new group, the No Going Back PAC Inc., the New York Times reported Wednesday. The group has reserved $49 million in six competitive Senate races and one competitive House race.

That’s in addition to the $10 million that MAGA Inc., Trump’s super PAC, has spent on the Texas Senate race.

Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in Dallas, Steven Sloan, Aamer Madhani and Lisa Mascaro in Washington, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia contributed to this report.

The I-X Center in Cleveland will continue to host events and exhibitions.

“We are pleased to continue delivering the high quality events and experiences our clients and attendees expect, backed by the operational excellence that has defined the I-X Center for decades,” Lisa Vo, general manager of the I-X Center said in a news release last month.

Annual exhibitions such as the Cleveland Auto Show, Great Big Home and Garden Show, Cleveland Boat Show and Ohio RV Supershow will be coming back to the center. The I-X Center will keep hosting these events, while staying flexible to allow for long-term redevelopment opportunities and accommodation of a “future job-creating manufacturing user,” according to the release.

The I-X Center offers 2.2 million square feet with over 500,000 square feet of event space. Over the last 41 years since opening in 1985, the I-X Center has hosted an average of 1 million guests annually at its consumer shows, conferences and exhibitions, according to the release.

A version of this piece first ran as part of the New York Jewish Week’s daily newsletter, rounding up the latest on politics, culture, food and what’s new with Jews in the city. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

What you need to know today

• NYPD to boost presence: Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced plans to boost police presence for the High Holidays, in a press conference today. The first night of Rosh Hashanah coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which Tisch said will involve a “massive security operation.” Tisch said that there is no “specific credible threat directed at High Holiday celebrations,” but that police will remain vigilant. Mamdani noted a rise in antisemitic hate crimes, and said Jewish New Yorkers’ “safety during these sacred days is of the utmost importance to our administration.”

• UWS stabber sent antisemitic texts before attack, prosecutors say: Weeks after Raul Morales allegedly stabbed a man wearing a kippah outside the Jewish Center and an Asian man blocks away, investigators uncovered text messages on Morales’ phone “containing antisemitic statements,” prosecutors said. The two victims were wounded and have difficulty breathing to this day, the New York Post reported. Morales pleaded not guilty to attempted murder as a hate crime for the July 23 attack.

• ‘Zionists’ and NYC real estate: The Times of Israel reports on how some activists are blaming housing disputes in New York City on Israel or “Zionists” and leaning on antisemitic tropes.

• A familiar sandwich: Ten years after it closed, Carnegie Deli — the legendary Jewish delicatessen — is set to reopen in midtown Manhattan next week. Known for its towering pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, Carnegie will return on Sept. 15 at 834 Seventh Ave., where its old rival, Stage Deli, once stood.

• Ritchie Torres drops in at JCRC: Rep. Ritchie Torres, the vocally pro-Israel Democrat who represents much of the Bronx, including the heavily Jewish Riverdale neighborhood, joined a meeting of New York’s Jewish Community Relations Council yesterday. “We are deeply grateful for his leadership, his friendship, and his continued commitment to standing with the Jewish community during these challenging times,” the JCRC wrote about Torres afterwards.

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The post UWS stabber sent antisemitic texts before attack, prosecutors say appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

New York police are braced to protect Jews and synagogues during Rosh Hashanah this weekend, which coincides with the 25-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Twin Towers.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters at a Wednesday press conference that there are currently no “specific credible threats directed at High Holiday celebrations” in the city.

“But we remain vigilant,” she said.

“Your safety during these sacred days is of the utmost importance to our administration,” said New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who appeared alongside Tisch. 

“And we will work tirelessly to ensure that you can observe the holiday securely,” Mamdani said.

Antisemitic hate crimes have risen by 9% compared to this time last year, according to Tisch. Mamdani noted that Jewish New Yorkers comprise anywhere from 10 to 12% of the city population, but make up a majority of the victims of all hate crimes. 

“I have heard from Jewish New Yorkers of the fear they have in light of the rising antisemitic hate crimes that we have seen over the past few years,” Mamdani said. “Any act of antisemitism is unacceptable.”

Mamdani and Tisch, who is Jewish, announced that they will boost the police presence outside of synagogues and other Jewish cultural and religious institutions across the city. In addition to increased security, Tisch said that the department’s intelligence and counterterrorism bureau is monitoring threats both in the city and abroad, and looking for threats online.

A pair of high-profile incidents over the summer — an attack at Central Synagogue and stabbing outside the Jewish Center on the Upper West Side — have fueled concerns about safety at Jewish institutions.

“Too many of our neighbors have been the victims of antisemitic hate crimes,” Mamdani said. “And too many are understandably afraid to come together and celebrate openly.”

Mitchell Silber, CEO of the Community Security Initiative, a non-profit Jewish security watchdog, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the measures in place this year are not new, but that there are “more resources to meet increased need.” The CSI works with approximately 3,200 locations spanning the New York area, Long Island and parts of Connecticut, he said.

Major traffic restrictions will be implemented Friday morning to prepare for the city’s 9/11 memorial event, and Tisch said that a “massive security operation” will be in place as dignitaries and former presidents mark the attack’s anniversary in Lower Manhattan.

By the time the 9/11 commemoration concludes on Friday, the “major security operation” to secure Jewish sites “will already be underway across the five boroughs,” Tisch said.

Tisch added that the NYPD has “amped up” its deployments this year, “particularly since the start of hostilities in Iran.”

She said, “Our deployment this year at the World Trade Center for 9/11 will be larger than it has been in previous years, as will be our deployment this year for the High Holy Days at shuls and yeshivas and Jewish cultural institutions, just based on the realities of the world that we live in today.”

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The post NY police to beef up security for Jewish New Year, 9/11 anniversary appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

More than 5,000 leaders and public figures have signed an open letter rejecting the accusation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, calling the charge a form of anti-Jewish scapegoating that is fueling antisemitism worldwide.

“It’s an hour of crisis,” Deborah Lipstadt, former U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, told JNS on Wednesday. “I don’t usually sign joint letters, but I said, 'Why not? Let’s give it a try.' I don’t know what else we can do, and I think it’s a time when you have to try every avenue.”

"We're trying everything," she said.

The letter, released by the nonprofit Creative Community for Peace, says the genocide accusation “has become a dangerous vehicle for scapegoating Jews and fueling antisemitism around the world.”

"We, the undersigned, are outraged and sickened by the latest blood libel to be inflicted on the Jewish people: the lie that Israel committed 'genocide' in Gaza. We reject this accusation with contempt," the letter states.

"There is a vigorous debate within the Jewish community over aspects of how this war was fought, and that is a sign of moral health. So is our pain over every innocent life lost. But we must unite in repudiating the lie of genocide," it reads. (JNS sought comment from CCFP.)

Lipstadt said the accusations are having a tangible effect on Jews.

"There's a full-throated attack on Jews," she told JNS. "When you hear of kids who are putting together their resumes not wanting to mention they were Jewish Studies majors, it's coming down to the granular."

“Of course the bigger things, too,” she said, pointing to violent attacks targeting Jewish communities, including the March terrorist attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Mich., the April stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, London, and an August arson attack that destroyed the Nöam kosher restaurant in Montreal.

“Those are the things that grab our attention, but it’s also having a granular effect,” she said, noting that Jewish events routinely require security and describing the expense as a “tax.”

Lisptadt told JNS that while Jew-hatred "used to be seen as something that is wrong, illegitimate and prejudicial, now there's an attack on those who will call out antisemitism."

"No longer do we have to fight just the antisemitism, but we have to fight those who would say it's all performative, it's all phony, it's not real," she said. "We've seen it before with Holocaust denial."

Lipstadt said that she hopes the letter will "reach some people."

Other signatories include former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson; actors Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing and Patricia Heaton; and William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Former Israeli diplomat Ido Aharoni Aronoff was the keynote speaker at Jewish National Fund-USA’s annual Breakfast for Israel on Sept. 3, where he spoke on Zionist engagement and Israel’s national standing based on personal experience working as an ambassador for Israel.

Close

PHOTOS: Former Israeli diplomat discusses country’s strengths

The event, held at Green Road Synagogue in Beachwood, aimed to raise money toward JNF-USA’s mission as laid out at the breakfast by Chuck Whitehill, board president of Northern Ohio.

“Today, we are advancing more than 100 initiatives across Israel – strengthening communities, creating opportunities and changing lives,” Whitehill said at the event. “Our focus is clear – build a stronger north in the Galilee, build a stronger south in the Negev and build a stronger connection between the next generation and Israel.”

Aronoff, a 25-year veteran of Israel’s foreign service who has held several diplomatic positions in the United States, explored JNF’s impact during his keynote speech at the breakfast, sharing how the organization’s work can be used to promote Israel in a positive light. He was introduced by Michael Jacobson, a past president of JNF Northern Ohio and past board member of JNF of America.

“The Jewish National Fund, in absolute terms, is one of the largest, most active environmental agencies in the world,” Aronoff said. “We should all celebrate that, because there are many people out there that don’t care about geopolitics in the Middle East, but they care about the environment.”

Properly “marketing” and sharing the goals of JNF-USA and of Israel, overall, Aronoff said, will help continue to shape public opinion in support of the Jewish state, as he continued on to explore the topic of Zionism during his address.

Sharing the many friends that he has in Northern Ohio, the Jewish community of Cleveland, Aronoff said, is often a top contributor to providing JNF support.

“The Cleveland community is known globally for punching way above its weight,” Aronoff said. “Thanks to you, we’re able to celebrate this goal, despite the suffering, despite the pain, despite the challenge, and overcome those challenges together.”

Additional addresses were given by guest Sydney Apple, 15, who shared her experience attending Alexander Muss High School in Israel supported by JNF, and Avida Bachar, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri and victim of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, who shared his testimony of losing his wife, son and right leg during the terrorist attack and recovering at JNF’s partner rehab facility, Adi Negev.

The event was co-chaired by Dan Geller and Samantha Baskind and Linda and Clifford Wolf.

An invocation was delivered by Rabbi Binyamin Blau of Green Road Synagogue.

Publisher’s note:

Chuck Whitehill is an Emeritus Director of the Cleveland Jewish News Foundation Board of Directors and Clifford Wolf is a member of the CJN Foundation Board of Directors.

With Rosh Hashanah around the corner, there is much to do, buy, prepare, and, of course, cook.

Remember to make reservations for shul, send your shana tova greetings, and – most importantly – make plans to hear the shofar.

Visit RoshHashanah.org for help with all that and all your holiday needs.

And then there is the cooking, with so many symbolic foods full of traditions and meaning.

• Apples and honey for a sweet new year

• The head of a fish or a ram, to express the wish that “we be a head and not a tail.”

• Pomegranates, giving voice to a wish that “our merits be many like the (seeds of the) pomegranate.”

• Carrot, because of its Yiddish name, merren, which means both “carrot” and “increase,” symbolizing a wish for a year of abundance.

And, of course, whichever foods feel festive for your family. Here’s what’s on my menu:

Note: Since the first night and day of Rosh Hashanah coincide with Shabbat this year, if you’re serving warm food, be sure to leave the oven on in a Shabbat-appropriate way.

Sticky Pomegranate Chicken with Jewelled Couscous

A gorgeous, sticky, tangy-sweet chicken dish that brings together honey and pomegranate – two classic Rosh Hashanah symbols – in one glossy glaze, served over a vibrant, jewel-toned couscous with roasted butternut squash, sumac-spiced chickpeas, and pomegranate seeds.

Serves: 6-8

For the Chicken

• 8 chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, skin on

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 4 garlic cloves, minced

• ½ cup pomegranate juice

• ⅓ cup honey

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses (optional)

• Fresh pomegranate seeds and parsley, for garnish

For the Couscous

• 3 cups Moroccan couscous (fine couscous)

• Half of a medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes

• Sumac-Spiced Chickpeas (recipe below)

• Seeds from 1 pomegranate

• Fresh parsley, roughly chopped

• Fresh mint, roughly chopped

For the Dressing

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• Juice of 2 limes

• Salt to taste

For the Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Season chicken generously with salt and pepper.

2. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Sear chicken, skin-side down, until golden, then flip.

3. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.

4. Whisk together pomegranate juice, honey, soy sauce, and pomegranate molasses. Pour over the chicken.

5. Transfer skillet to the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, basting once or twice, until chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened and turned sticky.

6. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley before serving.

For the Couscous

1. Roast the butternut squash: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Spread cubed butternut squash in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Roast uncovered for about 30 minutes until tender and lightly caramelized.

2. Prepare the chickpeas (recipe below).

3. Prepare the couscous: Follow the directions on the packet. Fluff with a fork to separate the grains as soon as the water is absorbed, so it doesn’t clump.

4. While the couscous is still warm, gently fold in the roasted butternut squash and roasted chickpeas.

5. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then add the pomegranate seeds, chopped parsley, and chopped mint.

6. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lime juice. Season with salt to taste and gently toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To Serve

1. Spoon the jewelled couscous onto a large platter and top with the sticky pomegranate chicken. Serve warm. Couscous can be served as a stand-alone side dish at room temperature if preferred.

Sumac-Spiced Chickpeas

• 1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas

• 1½ tsp sumac

• 1½ tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp coriander

• ½ tsp salt

• Black pepper

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Open the can of chickpeas. Drain the liquid. Rinse the chickpeas well with cold water, drain and pat dry.

2. In a small bowl, combine the sumac, smoked paprika, coriander, salt, and black pepper.

3. Toss the chickpeas with the spice mixture and the oil. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15-20 minutes. Increase the temperature to 450°F (230°C) and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Spiced Roasted Carrots

On Rosh Hashanah, it is customary to eat foods whose names in the vernacular allude to blessing and prosperity. For example, the Yiddish word for carrot, meren, also means “increase,” symbolizing our wish for a year of abundance.

Here’s an alternative to tzimmes that hits the carrot brief without the overwhelming sweetness. And your house will smell amazing while they’re cooking.

Serves: 4-6 as a side dish

• 1.5 lb (680 grams) large carrots

• 2 tbsp oil (or cooking spray)

• ½ tbsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp coriander

• ½ tsp cinnamon

• ½ tsp ginger

• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tbsp kosher salt

• Optional: fresh parsley for garnish

• Optional: squeeze of lemon or lime

Directions

1. Wash and peel carrots. Cut into rounds, keeping the thickness even so they cook evenly. Place in a medium-sized bowl.

2. In a small bowl, mix the spices together. (Optional: for a sweeter taste, add a tablespoon of brown sugar to the spice mix.)

3. Add the spice mixture a little at a time, tossing as you go, until the carrots are evenly coated.

4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread carrots out in a single layer. Drizzle with 1-2 tbsp oil or a light coating of spray-oil.

5. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 25 minutes.

6. Taste and sprinkle with additional salt if needed. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime (optional).

7. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with fresh parsley.

Sweet Fruity Noodle Kugel

A sweet noodle kugel loaded with apples, dates, raisins and a bright hit of lemon zest.

Serves: 8-10

• 12 oz (340 g) wide egg noodles

• 2 apples, finely diced

• ⅓ cup raisins

• ⅓ cup chopped dates

• ⅓ cup oil

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

• ⅓ cup white sugar

• 6 eggs

• ½ tsp ginger powder

• Zest of 1 lemon

• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Soak the raisins in hot water for 20 minutes.

2. Crack the eggs and check for blood spots. Beat in a large bowl. Add all the ingredients except for the egg noodles.

3. Boil the egg noodles until soft.

4. Drain the noodles and mix a small amount into the egg mixture, then add the rest of the noodles (this prevents the eggs from curdling). Toss well to coat.

5. Grease a 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) baking dish (smaller for a thicker kugel), and pour in the mixture.

6. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 40 minutes.

Simanim Confit with Dates, Leeks, and More

Tomato-garlic confit with fresh challah is one of the most delicious foods in existence, and here it’s leveled up for Rosh Hashanah by adding in some of the symbolic foods we eat on the holiday: leeks, dates and pomegranate molasses.

Serve with the traditional round challah that symbolizes the cycle of life.

Yields: 1 batch, enough to share

• Handful of whole garlic cloves

• 2 leeks, white and light green part only, sliced into rounds

• 5-6 dates, roughly chopped

• Handful of olives, green or black

• Handful of grape tomatoes

• Olive oil (enough to cover ingredients)

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

• Salt to taste

• Pomegranate molasses, for drizzling (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

2. In a glass baking dish, combine the garlic, leeks, dates, olives, and grape tomatoes.

3. Pour olive oil over the ingredients until mostly covered.

4. Bake uncovered for 1 hour, until everything becomes soft and tender.

5. Remove from oven and immediately add the rosemary sprigs.

6. Season with salt, and, if desired, drizzle with pomegranate molasses for extra sweetness and symbolic meaning.

7. Serve warm or at room temperature, with warm challah for dipping. You can also drizzle it over roasted vegetables or chicken.

8. Note: Save the oil! If you’ve eaten all the pieces but still have oil left over, don’t discard—use it in your cooking or salad dressings.

Reprinted with permission from Chabad.org/Food.

Antisemitic incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools remained essentially unchanged in 2025 despite a sharp decline nationwide, prompting five major Jewish organizations to release a “Jewish Students’ Bill of Rights” outlining six steps schools should take to protect Jewish students.

The document, released on Wednesday, calls for school administrators and staff to be equipped to “identify antisemitism and the ways it manifests in modern educational environments” and for schools to have a clear process for reporting and responding to antisemitic incidents.

It also calls for teaching about Jewish culture, diversity, history, the Holocaust, antisemitism and Israel to be accurate and representative. Other provisions call for schools to treat religious observances as excused absences, avoid scheduling events on widely celebrated Jewish holidays and protect Jewish students’ ability to express their identities without bullying or pressure to distance themselves from their connection to Israel.

The final provision calls for educators and curricula to present contested issues in a balanced manner rather than using classrooms to advance specific political or ideological viewpoints.

The bill was created by the Jewish Federations of North America, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and StandWithUs.

“No child should have to choose between their education and their identity,” Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, stated. “We are not asking schools for special treatment. We are asking them to give Jewish students the same seriousness and the same protection that every other student in that building already receives.”

The Anti-Defamation League recorded 825 antisemitic incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools in 2025, compared with 860 in 2024. Nationwide, the ADL recorded 6,274 antisemitic incidents in 2025, a 33% decline from 9,354 in 2024. The organization said incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools were among the few categories that did not experience a meaningful decline.

“When a school does not know how to identify or respond to antisemitism, the lesson for every Jewish student in that building is that they do not belong,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the ADL, stated. “Not one child should be taught that lesson in the classroom. These six standards will set the textbook for what to do.”

“Our schools should be places where students are able to learn not only academics, but also how to be good citizens and good neighbors,” Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, stated. “This Bill of Rights outlines common-sense principles that will help ensure that Jewish students, like all students, are able to safely, fully and proudly participate in school life.”

William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents, said that while the beginning of the school year is typically “a time of excitement and possibility,” recent years have brought “harassment, bullying, and anxiety in the classroom” for many Jewish students.

“This Bill of Rights makes clear that Jewish students deserve what every student deserves—to learn openly, proudly, and safely,” Daroff stated.

Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs, said that “far too many Jewish students carry the weight of educating others and defending their community against bias and bigotry in K-12 schools.”

“This Bill of Rights sends a vital message—that responsibility should not fall on students alone,” Rothstein stated. “It is time for the adults in the room, educators and administrators, to meet this moment with courage and moral clarity.”

Some 300 people gathered in Seward Park on Manhattan’s Lower East Side on Tuesday evening to protest the Democratic Socialists of America, chanting things like “USA, USA” and “Hey ho, the DSA has got to go.”

The group EndJewHatred organized the “Unite Against Terror” gathering, which took place shortly before the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attack on Friday, when Rosh Hashanah starts at night.

“We are definitely in DSA territory, but we’re standing loud and proud,” said Jayne Zirkle, director of communications and outreach for the Lawfare Project, which started EndJewHatred.

The protest took place across the street from the New York City headquarters of the DSA, an organization with which a growing number of successful Democratic candidates for Congress are affiliated. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is also connected to the group.

“Not only are we here to remember 9/11. We’re here to ensure that another 9/11 never happens again, and we’re not afraid to address that the reason 9/11 happened was because of radical Islamic terrorism,” Zirkle told JNS at the gathering.

“We’re here saying that, identifying the issue and calling out the political leaders who refuse to say that or embrace it,” she told JNS.

The DSA is a political organization, not a political party, whose priorities include ending capitalism, defunding the U.S. Defense Department and recognizing the “rights of the Palestinian people, including the right of return, the right to resist military occupation and the right to self-determination in a free Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital,” per its website.

It also calls for an end to “all military and economic aid to Israel” and to “prosecute U.S. and Israeli leaders responsible for the genocide in Gaza.”

Speakers at the demonstration included Michelle Ahdoot, director of programming and strategy at EndJewHatred, and Shabbos Kestenbaum, a Harvard Divinity School alumnus who joined six other students in suing the university in 2024 for not addressing Jew-hatred and anti-Israel harassment after Oct. 7.

Kestenbaum, who now works at PragerU, reportedly reached a confidential settlement with Harvard in 2025.

“The DSA will tell you they’re the party of minorities, but according to their own internal survey 85% of them are white,” Kestenbaum told attendees from the podium. “They’re a bunch of rich white kids with daddy issues masquerading as socialists.”

Renee Collymore, a Democratic state representative and the head of the Black-Jewish Coalition in Brooklyn, also spoke from the podium. A black Christian, he noted some three dozen members of the anti-Zionist, Neturei Karta Chassidic group, protesting behind a police barricade near the main rally.

“I want to turn my attention to the Jews over here,” Collymore said, gesturing toward the counter-demonstrators. “Everybody knows that the Jews stick together. My question is what the hell are ya’ll doing?”

Collymore drew chuckles from the mostly-Jewish crowd. “Like we say in the black community, ‘Who raised you?’”

Ezra Greenspan, 16, of Teaneck, N.J., and Ori Solow, 16, who lives in New Jersey and is originally from Israel, co-founded an Instagram account called “Stop Mamdani.” Both spoke at the rally and encouraged participants to use their voices to speak out against Mamdani and the DSA.

Solow told JNS that as a Jewish teenager, he feels compelled to decry what he said are radical and extremist policies.

“It is our job, as Jewish people, as citizens of this country, to stand up and make sure that we are on the right side of this country,” he said.

Greenspan told JNS that Mamdani’s rhetoric is “endangering Jews” and “fanning the flames of antisemitism and hatred.”

Neturei Karta, who are Satmar and Satmar-aligned anti-Zionist Chassidim mostly from areas north of Manhattan like Kiryas Joel, are a ubiquitous presence at rallies that are not at all pro-Israel.

On Tuesday evening, they were joined by a handful of young, white, non-Chassidic adults wearing keffiyehs, who stood behind the Chassidim shouting “free Palestine.”

Collymore told JNS, before she addressed the crowd, that “we don’t support white supremacy.”

“Unfortunately, the DSA thinks that their own white supremacy is not oppressive, but it is,” she said. “They suffer from white savior syndrome. I’m here to stand against that, and to make sure they understand that they do not speak for black voices.”

“We want them to shut down their headquarters and go back wherever they came from, because they are causing disruptions in our beautiful city of New York,” she said.

“Do not let them scare you,” she told rally-goers of the DSA. “We must put our support together. The Jews and the black folks have to work together. This is the only way we are going to stop the DSA.”

BUENOS AIRES – A Dutch journalist hunting for art treasures belonging to an Amsterdam Jewish art dealer spent years trying to get answers from Patricia Kadgien, the daughter of the Nazi financier who had made off with some of them, with no luck. So last year he went to her house in Mar del Plata, a resort city on Argentina’s Atlantic coast.

No one was home, but the journalist, Peter Schouten, noticed a “for sale” sign outside the property from Robles Casas & Campos, a local real estate agency. 

Schoten went to the agency’s website, where the house was listed for $265,000. As he scrolled through the listing, he noticed something in a photograph of the living room. Schouten recognized the painting hanging above a sofa: “Portrait of a Lady,” most likely the work of the 18th-century northern Italian painter known as Il Pitocchetto.

On Friday, Argentine federal judge Santiago Inchausti authorized the restitution of “Portrait of a Lady,”  which belonged to the collection of Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, to his daughter-in-law and sole heir, Marei von Saher. 

“The property had been listed for sale on a real estate agency’s website, and one of the photographs showed a painting in the living room that matched one of the works from Goudstikker’s collection that had been sought for years,” Inchausti wrote in his ruling.

Goudstikker was one of Holland’s most prominent Jewish art dealers before World War II. In 1940, he fled the Nazi-occupied Netherlands with his wife and son, carrying a black notebook listing some 1,400 artworks. After his death during the voyage, his widow preserved it, and the notebook later became key evidence in the family’s restitution efforts. 

His gallery and collection fell under Nazi control. Hermann Goering, a powerful deputy to Adolf Hitler, acquired hundreds of paintings from Goudstikker’s collection in a forced sale that Dutch authorities later determined was directly linked to Nazi persecution.  

Herberto Robinson, von Saher’s lawyer who specializes in estate planning and asset protection, described what happened after Schoten’s sleuthing in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

“At that point, the journalist contacted attorney Yael Weitz in Freedman Normand Friedland of New York where she specializes in art and cultural property law,” he said “She then contacted us and asked us to take on the case. The family’s sole intention was to recover the painting. They were not interested in pursuing those who had possessed it or in seeking financial compensation, they wanted the artwork returned.” 

Kadgien is the daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a German financial official who worked for the Nazi regime and later escaped to South America. The elder Kadgien, who had close ties to Goering, fled Germany in 1945 to Switzerland, eventually making his way to Argentina, where he started a business and raised a family. He died in 1978.

Kadgien and her husband at first did not cooperate. The realtor’s listing was removed after the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad published its report. Argentine authorities then searched the property on Aug. 26, 2025, but the painting had been removed and replaced with another artwork, while an outline matching its dimensions remained visible on the wall. 

Kadgien and her husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso, were placed under house arrest for 72 hours while authorities searched the family’s other properties. They subsequently turned the artwork over to federal prosecutors and were charged with aggravated concealment.

Experts from Argentina’s National Academy of Fine Arts attributed the work to Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti, known as Il Pitocchetto, and valued it at approximately €250,000.  The local and national Jewish communities took a keen interest in the case.

“We are very pleased and hope this marks the beginning of many more restitutions, as we know there are undoubtedly other works out there that rightfully belong to families who suffered this tragic fate,” Clauda Beatriz Malamud, the president of Sociedad Union Israelita Marplatense, the local Jewish community body, told JTA.  

Under an agreement Inchausti approved, the criminal proceedings against the couple were suspended for two years, subject to a set of conditions. They irrevocably renounce any right or claim to the artwork, clearing the way for its restitution. The painting will remain in the custody of Argentina’s Supreme Court until the restitution is carried out. They also agreed to pay 4.8 million Argentine pesos — approximately $3,180 — in 24 monthly installments to the support association of Mar del Plata’s Interzonal Specialized Maternal and Child Hospital.

According to well-placed sources at the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum, von Saher has expressed interest in lending the painting to the museum for a temporary exhibition, possibly for one or two years. The exhibition would help raise awareness of the systematic theft of Jewish-owned art under the Nazi regime and the continuing international effort to return such works to their rightful owners. No final agreement about this has been announced.

--

The post Argentine court orders return of Nazi-looted painting to Jewish collector’s heir appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

More than a dozen Michigan rabbis said they have a list of “non-negotiables” when it comes to potentially backing Democrat Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in an upcoming Senate election, as they try to push the political novice with a history of incendiary rhetoric about Israel toward a more thoughtful stance.

“American Jews now feel forced to fight for the party they long claimed as their political home, asking its leaders to treat explosive bigotry and violence against our community as the national emergency it is not with platitudes, but with urgency and moral clarity,” 15 Michigan Jewish leaders wrote in a petition introducing the Nonnegotiables Michigan initiative.

The group calls on El-Sayed to “affirm five baseline commitments to Jewish safety, identity, political participation and self-determination,” including that the safety of all Jews, including Zionists, is non-negotiable, nor is Jewish sovereignty in Israel or the full participation of all Jews, including Zionists, in American political life.

The initiative is billed not as an ultimatum but an invitation for further dialogue.

El-Sayed is running against Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman, in a campaign in which a collection of notable Jewish voters, including Democrats, have been openly campaigning for the latter.

“Extremist politicians and extremist podcasters and extremists of all types have the microphone right now, on the left and the right. What needs to happen is that the majority of this country, including the majority of the American Jewish community, needs to take the microphone back and proclaim that we are all committed to honoring human dignity of every person,” Rabbi Aaron Starr, Michigan Board of Rabbis president and a leader of the new initiative, told JNS.

“We are all in need of safety, and just as much as the American Jewish community wants to partner for the safety, the well-being and the progress of every single American, we are asking every single American to return that same respect to us,” Starr said.

'Waiting and watching'

El-Sayed has described Israel as “bloodthirsty” and “evil,” accused it of buying American Jewish support, said that any form of a Jewish state is inherently illiberal and appeared to justify a terror attack on a Michigan synagogue.

He has campaigned with antisemitic podcaster Hasan Piker, but when reporters asked about it, he tried to downplay cooperation between the two. El-Sayed also clarified his comments about the synagogue attack, which some critics said was a non-apology.

“His actions always have to match words, so we’re going to be waiting and watching,” Starr told JNS, of El-Sayed.

Starr and colleagues are trying to educate elected officials and candidates that it’s good to say that they value Jewish safety, but when they denounce Israel and Zionists “far above and beyond any other criticism of any other place or country,” that “comes back to create violence,” he told JNS.

“When certain politicians accuse Israeli leaders of being bloodthirsty, that causes violence,” he said. “When they speak in language of genocide and apartheid, that sort of hateful rhetoric, those false truths, part of those falsities create the potential for people to wreak violence upon the Jewish people.”

Rabbi Josh Winston, rabbi at Temple Beth Emeth, a Reform synagogue in Ann Arbor, told press and attendees at a Nonnegotiables Michigan Zoom event on Tuesday that “Jews have voted for the Democratic ticket upwards of 70% for decades, and now they're asking themselves, ‘What’s going on? Do I belong here? Is this for me still?’ And what a shame for the Democratic Party that that’s happening.”

He decried El-Sayed, a former Detroit health director, for his stated willingness to strip Israel of the ability to purchase defense weapons from the United States.

“How does a medical doctor not support the right of people to defend themselves from rockets, missiles raining down on their country?” Winston said. “I’m not talking about aid. I’m talking about the ability for Israel to continue to buy Iron Dome missiles to make sure that they continue to keep their citizens safe.”

Starr told JNS that he had not heard from El-Sayed or anyone in his orbit in the hours following the introduction of Nonnegotiables Michigan.

But he said he thinks the message is still reaching the party, including the state branch, “and hopefully to all of our political candidates and elected officials, that we have non-negotiables” that need to be met in order for Jews to feel safe and part of the democratic process.

“We want to be safe. We want to work for a better America, and to be partners in all of that,” Starr said.

He said he plans to speak about the initiative next Sunday on the evening of Yom Kippur as part of an effort to sustain the campaign.

“While we’re all very aware of this coming November election, our eyes are also looking to 2028,” Starr told JNS. “We’re asking our political candidates, and we’re asking our elected officials to change the rhetoric, to turn down the temperature, to speak to Americans with a desire to build and to love and to grow, rather than just a desire to tear down.”

If you believe the polls, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Israel’s dominant political player and media maestro for the past decade and a half – is poised to lose to a political neophyte with relatively limited communications skills and a nondescript platform. 

How is that possible?

The rise of the potential usurper, former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, is remarkable. He only formed his party, Yashar! (Hebrew for “straight” or “honest”), less than a year ago, in September 2025. He lacks the political resume of many of his rivals within the opposition. He served as a Member of Knesset for just three years in Benny Gantz’s National Unity party and for just eight months in Netanyahu’s war cabinet. 

His party platform also doesn’t stand out – it positions itself somewhere in the political center, with its stated goals neither distinct nor specific: “seeking truth, rehabilitating Israeli society after the war and strengthening the country in the long-term.”

What’s more, in a move designed to curb Eisenkot’s rise and end his bid to become prime minister, his main opposition rivals – former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid – merged their parties in April to create a new center-right political juggernaut. In doing so, Bennett seemed poised to take over as the sole candidate who could beat Netanyahu. 

But four months later, Eisenkot’s party is consistently receiving 22 to 24 (out of the 120 that comprise the Knesset) in polls, while Bennett and Lapid’s party, Beyachad (Hebrew for “together”), is lagging far behind at 13 to 15 seats. In contrast, Netanyahu’s Likud garners about 21 to 23 seats in current polls.

Even more remarkably, Eisenkot has made inroads in far-flung areas of Israel previously considered Likud strongholds, such as Dimona in the south and Kiryat Shmona in the north. The Likud campaign itself is telling – in recent months its social media accounts and spokespeople have focused their criticism almost entirely on Eisenkot. The attention to the political newcomer suggests that they view him as the ultimate threat to Netanyahu’s reign, which he has maintained for 16 of the last 17 years. 

Short, overweight and unassuming, Eizenkot is the un-Bibi

The post Meet Gadi Eizenkot, the political novice who plays hardball — and who may unseat Benjamin Netanyahu appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

I’ve written in prior columns about the personal satisfaction that comes from living in Israel and the meaning that I have found in being part of Israeli society. To be honest, as much as I feel at home here, I will always be an immigrant. I will always eat and dress like an American. And even my name, Clifford, sets me apart and frequently prompts questions.

I would say that I speak Hebrew with a slight accent. My two daughters, who are now in their 30s and moved to Israel from Ohio at the ages of 5 and 6, would say it’s not so slight. One of the many payoffs of aliyah, however, is that I do speak Hebrew and that my children are completely bilingual.

Last November, my first grandchild was born – a new generation and the first to be born in Israel, I think to myself. That’s not quite true, but it requires some background about my family. My grandmother, my father’s mother, was born in what is now Ukraine, along with her four sisters and a brother, prior to World War I. The girls in the family immigrated to the United States, to Cleveland, but the brother, my father’s uncle, Itzik Hersh Reisberg, remained – and was murdered there.

Following Itzik’s death, his son Ze’ev, my father’s first cousin, moved to British-ruled Palestine and later managed to bring his own brother and sister and mother to pre-state Israel. On my first visit to Israel from Cleveland, when I was in high school, I received a warm welcome from my father’s three first cousins – and later from the younger generation. But it was only when I paid a condolence call last month in the Tel Aviv suburb of Hod Hasharon following the death of Ze’ev Reisberg’s son, Yoram, that I got a better understanding of how rooted my family’s history is in Israel.

We parked around the corner from Yoram Reisberg’s family home near a sign stating that Ze’ev Reisberg had acquired the site in the 1930s and later planted an orchard in what was then a small farming community. As the Tel Aviv area expanded, the community was consolidated into a suburban municipality – Hod Sharon. In the 1990s, the orchard was replaced by single-family homes, including three for the Reisberg family.

At the condolence visit, I asked Yoram’s brother, who lives in one of the three houses, about the family’s connection to the site. He explained that a Bedouin sheikh from the Abu Kishk tribe had gotten himself into trouble with the British authorities in the 1930s after three Jews were murdered on or near the sheikh’s land. In order to pay a fine in the case, the sheikh was forced to sell off some land.

Ze’ev Reisberg had come to Palestine with nothing and initially didn’t even have enough money to send a postcard to his mother in Ukraine to inform her that he had arrived in Palestine. But he later managed to scrape together the small sum necessary to buy some of the Abu Kishk land, which is now in Hod Hasharon, a thriving and sought-after community of 67,000 people.

The family’s connection to the area mirrors the growth and development of Israel itself. And the Reisberg family has done well for itself. There are now at least three generations of native-born descendants of my grandmother’s brother, Itzik. They include people who have distinguished themselves in law and academia and one of his great-grandsons recently retired as a major general in the Israel Defense Forces.

I may always be a new immigrant, but my family isn’t new to the country.

Cliff Savren is a former Clevelander who covers the Middle East for the Cleveland Jewish News from Ra’anana, Israel in this bi-weekly column. He is an editor at Haaretz. To read more from him, visit cjn.org/savren.

The New York City Police Department will deploy more officers than in prior years to synagogues, yeshivas and Jewish institutions during the High Holidays, according to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

“Our deployment this year for the High Holy Days at shuls and yeshivas and Jewish cultural institutions” will be larger than in previous years “based on the realities of the world that we live in today,” Tisch told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday about security plans ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

The Jewish High Holidays begin on Friday at night—the same day as the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The NYPD will increase its presence outside synagogues and other Jewish religious and cultural sites across the five boroughs. Additional uniformed foot posts and dedicated house-of-worship patrols will also be deployed, while the department’s intelligence and counterterror bureau monitors threats in New York and abroad.

“There will be assets you see and others that you don’t,” Tisch said.

There are no known specific or credible threats against High Holiday celebrations in New York City, she told reporters.

“But we remain vigilant,” Tisch said. “You have a partner in the NYPD now and throughout the year.”

Tisch pointed to several recent attacks on Jewish New Yorkers, including the Aug. 14 attack at Central Synagogue, where Larry Montes allegedly disrupted Shabbat services, struck a 63-year-old congregant in the face and spat on and headbutted a 65-year-old security guard.

She also cited the July 23 stabbing of Moshe Grunhaus, 50, who was attacked with a screwdriver after leaving afternoon services at the Jewish Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Witnesses told JNS that the attacker yelled “Allahu akbar.”

Since Oct. 7, 2023, intelligence officials have also tracked threats and disrupted alleged plots targeting Jewish institutions, including a Manhattan synagogue and a Jewish center in Brooklyn, Tisch said.

Mamdani told Jewish New Yorkers that their safety during the holidays is of “the utmost importance to our administration.”

“Our administration and the NYPD have been preparing for months to ensure the security and well-being of every New Yorker on Sept. 11,” he said.

“At sundown, the High Holidays will begin,” Mamdani said. “Hundreds of thousands of Jewish New Yorkers will dip apples into honey, blow the shofar, reflect on the year that passed and begin 5787 with sweetness.” (Many Jewish congregations won’t blow the shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah this year, since it is Saturday.)

The mayor said that “for many Jewish New Yorkers, there have been moments of immense sadness over this past year.”

“Too many of our neighbors have been the victims of antisemitic hate crimes, and too many are understandably afraid to come together and celebrate openly,” he said.

Anti-Jewish hate crimes surged 182% in the first month of Mamdani’s term as mayor compared to January 2025, and leaders of major Jewish organizations have said that the way the mayor talks about Israel and Jews puts Jewish New Yorkers at risk.

Tisch told reporters on Wednesday that precinct commanders and community affairs officers will work directly with clergy and Jewish institutional leaders on security plans tailored to their communities.

“As the 9/11 commemoration concludes Friday, another major security operation will already be underway across the five boroughs,” she said. “At sundown that evening, Rosh Hashanah begins, marking the start of the Jewish High Holidays.”

Recent hate-crime data is “deeply disturbing,” Tisch said.

Jews, who account for about 10% of New York City residents, were the targets of 42% of “confirmed” hate crimes in the city last month. Jews have been the targets of 53.9% of all “confirmed” hate crimes in the city so far this year, according to official city data.

The department describes “confirmed” hate crimes as those that it and its legal bureau determine meet the threshold under state law.

Both Mamdani and Tisch said they have heard from Jewish New Yorkers who fear for their own safety.

Tisch said Jewish New Yorkers have told her they are afraid of “walking around the city openly identifying as being Jewish” or attending synagogue on Shabbat and during the High Holidays.

“There are 35,000 noble members of the New York City Police Department willing to risk their own lives for that of a stranger,” she said. The Jewish community “has a real partner in the New York City Police Department.”

Israel remains one of the most difficult subjects for American college students to discuss openly at school, according to a new survey that gave nearly half of the universities it ranked an “F” for the way they handle free speech on campus.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, known as FIRE, released its annual College Free Speech Rankings on Wednesday based on responses from nearly 63,000 students and an analysis of policies and free-speech controversies at 261 colleges and universities nationwide.

The University of Chicago ranked first with a B-minus and overall score of 81. It was followed by Claremont McKenna College, Georgia Institute of Technology and Michigan Technological University.

New York University finished last at No. 261, preceded by University of Washington, Texas State University, Northeastern University and Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Of the 261 schools, none earned an “A” and 121 received an “F.” Vanderbilt University, which has been praised for its handling of Jew-hatred on campus, ranked fifth with a C-plus.

Sean Stevens, author of the report, told JNS that it is “probably hard for a school to get into the ‘A’ range,” because student survey responses make up a significant portion of the score.

“The reality is, a perfect score is likely unobtainable because if even one student doesn’t give you perfect survey responses, you won’t have a perfect score,” he said.

Half of students surveyed said that the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict” was difficult to discuss openly on campus, making it the most commonly cited difficult topic.

Stevens, who has authored all seven of FIRE’s annual reports on the topic, told JNS that the subject “has grown more contentious after Oct. 7.”

“For three years running, it’s been the most difficult topic,” he said. “In the immediate aftermath, that was the highest percentage of students we’ve ever recorded identifying any topic.”

That was not the case at every campus, he said. At Utah Valley University, for example, nearly two-thirds of students said that Charlie Kirk was difficult to discuss after the conservative activist was assassinated while speaking on the campus in September 2025.

Nine schools lost points after administrators punished professors over comments related to Kirk, according to the report. Some campus chapters of Turning Point USA, the organization that Kirk founded, were also denied recognition or faced efforts to revoke their status as official student groups.

Nationwide, 44% of students identified Kirk as difficult to discuss, behind U.S. President Donald Trump at 46%. Abortion followed at 43%.

“The impact of Charlie Kirk’s assassination continues to negatively reverberate on campuses across the country,” Stevens stated. “Rather than view the tragedy as a warning about the extreme results of partisanship and inability to peacefully engage in dialogue, many college admins took it as an invitation to double down on censorship.”

Stevens told JNS that Utah Valley’s “administration does not bear responsibility for what the assassin did, but it happened there.”

“So I think naturally that’s going to have some impact on student speech and how they feel about the climate, and it’s understandable,” he said. “But it’s also clear that the assassination reverberated on campuses across the country.”

JNS asked Stevens what went wrong at NYU, which received an overall score of 44.97 after finishing as the third-worst school last year.

“Since Oct. 7, they’ve had a number of different controversies that revolve around expression regarding Israel-Palestine,” he said. “Sometimes they’re punishing pro-Palestinian speech. Other times, it’s targeting pro-Israel speech.”

“With NYU, I think a lot of the controversies center around expression on that issue,” Stevens told JNS.

FIRE cited NYU for barring students from inviting performers affiliated with No Music For Genocide to the university’s annual V100 concert and for directing Jews Against Zionism, a Jewish student group critical of Israel, to remove a social media post.

The report also noted NYU’s initial cancellation of an Oct. 7, 2025, appearance by pro-Israel law professor Ilya Shapiro, a decision that the university reversed after public backlash.

Stevens said that Rutgers, his graduate alma mater, offered another example of how schools can send conflicting signals about free speech.

This spring, students tried to disrupt a campus speaking event involving a former Israeli soldier. Rutgers removed the protesters and issued a strong defense of free expression, a response Stevens said that FIRE viewed favorably.

About a week later, however, Rutgers rescinded an invitation for Rami Elghandour, an alumnus and CEO of Arcellx, to deliver the School of Engineering’s commencement address after students objected to his social media posts about Israel.

“To us, it’s kind of sending a mixed message,” Stevens told JNS. “The week before, you have this really good reaction to an attempt to disrupt an event, and then you cave to mob demands a week later about a commencement speaker.”

“That’s not sending the right message to the campus community,” he said.

The average score across the schools surveyed was 61.36, the highest in the rankings’ seven-year history, but equivalent to a D-minus under FIRE’s grading system.

Columbia University and Barnard College, which ranked as the bottom two schools last year, both improved substantially.

“Just as Utah Valley is kind of the epicenter for the impacts of the Charlie Kirk assassination, Barnard and Columbia are the epicenter of the encampment protests that started in the spring of 2024,” Stevens told JNS.

“I think they’ve been flashpoints of protest activity over Israel-Palestine since the Oct. 7 attacks,” he said.

Stevens pointed to leadership changes, improved student perceptions and policy reforms as factors in the schools’ improvement. Barnard, he said, “engaged in a good amount of policy reform.”

“We are encouraged by those policy changes,” he said. “But at the end of the day, that’s on paper, and you’re still going to have controversies happen, and so we’ll see how you handle them when they do pop up.”

FIRE’s methodology depends on student surveys, campus speech policies and how administrators respond to speech controversies.

The surveys ask students questions like, “If a controversy over offensive speech were to occur on your campus, how likely is it that your college’s administration would defend the speaker’s right to express their views?” and “How often do you self-censor during conversations with other students on campus?”

The grades primarily reflect “the outcomes of consequences,” Stevens told JNS.

“The deplatforming database can feature incidents where the students themselves are the ones doing the censoring like shouting down a speaker,” he said. “That’s usually not administrators engaged in that behavior.”

“It’s not limited to just the school punishing speech, per se, but a lot of the examples are, yes, administrative punishment of student or faculty speech,” he told JNS.

Students were slightly less accepting of efforts to shut down campus speakers than they were last year. Some 69% said that shouting down a speaker could be acceptable in some circumstances and half said that blocking access to a speech could be acceptable. Some 30% said the same about using violence.

Stevens said that he was encouraged that support for violence fell from 34% last year to 30% but expected a larger decline after Kirk’s assassination.

“I kind of maybe would have thought that would have declined a little more sharply in response to that event,” he told JNS. “The number is still pretty high.”

Schools looking to improve their scores should examine their speech policies and avoid sending students conflicting messages about what expression they will protect, Stevens advised.

“I think having strong leadership on the issue and not sending contradictory messages about what speech is or is not supported on campus also goes a long way,” he told JNS.

Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, was motivated to launch a U.N. Task Force on Combating Antisemitism due to growing concern about Jew-hatred worldwide and a disconnect between governments expressing concern publicly and following that up with action.

“Nobody will make a commitment, but we see the gap between the declaration and the action,” Danon told JNS after he launched the task force during an event in Turtle Bay on Wednesday. “That’s exactly what we were trying to do—to close that gap.”

The Jewish state has been working on the initiative for several months and wanted other countries to help shape the panel’s eventual recommendations. “It’s a team effort,” Danon told JNS.

Representatives of dozens of countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina and Slovakia, attended the task force launch and its first meeting, according to the Israeli mission to the global body. JNS also attended.

Danon shared a video collage of antisemitic attacks and news reports documenting anti-Jewish hatred around the world. Attendees faced each other at a round table, with the phrase “no to hate” displayed in front of each participant.

“The words ‘Never Again’ were not meant to be a slogan,” he told journalists during a U.N. Security Council stakeout announcing the panel. “They were meant to be a commitment.”

The Israeli envoy said that there has been a 136% increase in Jew-hatred across the seven countries with the largest Jewish populations outside Israel since before Oct. 7.

“Today, we issue a warning,” he said. “This has become an international problem. This demands an international response.”

At the meeting, Danon said that antisemitism has taken increasingly visible forms across the world, including online, on college campuses and within international institutions.

The United Nations must confront Jew-hatred not only in the international arena but “right here within the walls” of the organization, he said.

The coalition of U.N. member states is intended to identify emerging threats, develop policies and tools to combat them and coordinate diplomatic action, according to Danon.

“That’s why we coordinate government efforts, provide guidance and learn from each other,” he said at the meeting.

The task force will develop and issue concrete recommendations and “measurable” results rather than symbolic statements, according to the Israeli envoy. He added that the panel will address Jew-hatred within the United Nations and that rising antisemitism is “not only outside in the street but also inside.”

At the task force meeting, Katharina von Schnurbein, European Union coordinator on combating antisemitism, told attendees that “it is fully unacceptable that Jews in many regions of the world look across their shoulder in public or even hide their identity.”

“There can be no excuse for antisemitism,” she said. “It cannot be tolerated anytime or any place.”

Mark Goldfeder, an Orthodox rabbi and director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, called on governments and international institutions to move beyond decrying Jew-hatred and to focus on enforcement.

“Condemnation can be filed away, but the subpoena can’t,” he told attendees. “The difference between the two is the burden of proof.”

“Count your prosecutions, not just your statements,” Goldfeder said.

Jeff Bartos, U.S. representative to the United Nations for management and reform, described antisemitism as a global “pandemic” and criticized what he said is longstanding U.N. institutional bias against Israel.

“The U.N. has a choice,” Bartos told attendees. “It’s time for choosing.”

Confronting antisemitism is necessary for the long-term viability of the global body, Bartos said.

Danon said that words alone would not address the problem of Jew-hatred.

“Words, declarations and statements are not enough to fight the rising antisemitism on the streets, in synagogues, in universities and even here at the United Nations,” he said. “It’s time for action.”

Former U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken denied a report from Haaretz that he had refused an offer to secure the immediate release of Israeli hostages, whom Hamas kidnapped on Oct. 7.

The Israeli outlet claimed in an article published on Tuesday that Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Blinken just hours after the attack began that Hamas was willing to release all of the “civilian” hostages immediately and that Blinken rebuffed the offer.

The top U.S. diplomat preferred to wait until he could travel to Israel days later, according to the report.

“For the record, this is false,” Blinken wrote on Wednesday in response to a social media post about the article. “Complete fiction.”

It’s not clear if Blinken was saying that the story was false in whole or in part. JNS sought comment from Blinken.

The Haaretz article is based on a forthcoming book, “Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment,” that purports to offer bombshell revelations about Oct. 7, including that the leader of the United Arab Emirates gave forewarning of the attacks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It also claims that Netanyahu failed to pass that warning along to Israeli intelligence and that both Israel and the United States ignored early offers from Hamas to secure the immediate release of hostages.

The article relies on anonymous and frequently unclear sourcing, attributing direct quotations to figures like Blinken and the Qatari prime minister without reporting who heard the conversations.

Netanyahu published a statement from Likud on Wednesday claiming that the primary source for the article was Mohammed Dahlan, a former Fatah party leader who lives in the United Arab Emirates.

“Dahlan established a joint list with Hamas for the elections in the Palestinian Authority,” Likud stated. “He is interested in toppling the right-wing government led by Netanyahu, because he dreams of taking control of the Gaza Strip.”

“To do so, he needs a weak left-wing government,” it stated. “Such a government would withdraw from Gaza and hand it over to his control.”

Likud said that it would demand a criminal investigation of the article’s authors for “suspicion of attempting to disrupt the elections with foreign entities” and called the article “fake news.”

Blinken’s denial of the Haaretz report on Wednesday follows a similar statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday that rejected the article’s other claims.

“The press reports are false. No warning was given to the prime minister from the United Arab Emirates before Oct. 7,” the prime minister stated.

“If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries,” he added.

Steve Winston, managing director of the National Jewish Assembly in the United Kingdom, told JNS on Wednesday that Britain, Canada and France declaring a ban on trade with Judea and Samaria "is not the end of this issue," as legislation is yet to be passed.

"It marks the beginning of the next phase," he said.

The announcement, issued jointly on Tuesday, called for Israel to "halt the expansion of settlements" and committed to introducing "national measures to ban trade in settlement goods."

Winston told JNS that any potential legislation faces proper parliamentary and legal scrutiny, adding that NJA will be working with lawmakers to "challenge the policy, the double standards underpinning it, and the attempt to erase the historical and legal case for Jewish rights in Judea and Samaria."

He noted the British government's uneven targeting of Israel while looking the other way regarding the Palestinians, whose leaders "appear repeatedly to be given a free pass for incitement, the glorification and financial rewarding of terrorism, decades without democratic elections and the rejectionism that has helped bring the peace process to where it is today."

"The government has made its announcement," Winston said. "The argument is far from over."

Yigal Dilmoni, CEO and co-founder of American Friends of Judea and Samaria, told JNS that "such measures do not advance peace."

Instead, he said, "they reward terrorism and send a dangerous message to Hamas and other terrorist organizations that violence and international pressure can produce political gains. Truth is stronger than sanctions. The Jewish people will continue to build, grow and thrive throughout the land of Israel."

Kasem Noubani’s 300-day jail sentence and two years of probation for attacking two Jewish students at DePaul University are a “tough pill to swallow” for Max Long, one of the victims.

On Aug. 4, Noubani pleaded guilty to two Class 3 felony hate crime charges, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“In the grand scheme of things, there are so many cases that don’t even get that far,” Long told JNS. “I am trying to always be somewhat positive and try to close this chapter of not having to go back to that courthouse, hopefully ever.”

“But it’s a tough pill to swallow, the idea that after spending two years going back and forth to court—I’ve been serving in reserves in Israel, but still, this has been bringing me back constantly to having to deal with this. For it to end with a 300-day sentence, it’s just, I don’t know,” he said.

The attack occurred on Nov. 6, 2024, outside DePaul’s Student Center on the university’s Lincoln Park campus in Chicago. Beginning around Rosh Hashanah that year, Long had stood near the Monsignor John Egan statue each week with a sign reading, “Come talk about Israel with an IDF soldier.” Long served in the Israel Defense Forces for three years and remains an IDF reservist.

On the day of the attack, a man wearing a ski mask, later identified as Adam Erkan, approached Long and his friend Michael Kaminsky, the other victim. According to Long, Erkan asked about his military service, shook his hand and spoke with him for about five minutes.

The conversation became contentious when they began discussing terrorist groups in Gaza. Long mentioned Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Erkan told him not to call it “Islamic Jihad,” saying that it was “Islam,” Long said.

At that point, Long’s memory goes blank. According to surveillance footage, another man, identified as Noubani, approached him from behind and struck him in the head.

“I guess I hit the ground,” Long told JNS. “When he was on top of me, Erkan, who initially had just been trying to distract me, he was like boxing out, so no one could reach me.”

Kaminsky then ran over to help Long, and Erkan threw him to the ground, Long said. Kaminsky suffered a fractured wrist and has undergone two surgeries, according to Long.

Long suffered a “very serious concussion” and said that eight months after the attack, he was still experiencing symptoms.

“It’s just a slow process,” he told JNS. “I can’t lift over my head. It’s that bad.”

Long also said a DePaul public safety officer was standing nearby when the attack occurred. Long and Kaminsky have sued the university, alleging that it failed to protect them. The lawsuit remains pending.

The attack’s aftermath

Shortly after the attack, one student told Long that he deserved to be assaulted for “killing babies in Gaza,” according to Long. He also said there was a campus sit-in calling for his expulsion.

“Wanted” posters targeting Long also circulated on social media, accusing him of being a “reservist in the fascist criminal Israeli army” and a “participant in the genocide in Gaza,” he said.

An anti-Israel group called Behind Enemy Lines, which Long said Noubani is involved with and believes Erkan is as well, also set up a stand near the site of the attack and distributed flyers calling Long an “IOF butcher” and saying he should face a “Nuremberg-style trial,” according to Long. The flyer, which Long shared with JNS, also called for Erkan’s release.

DePaul subsequently banned Behind Enemy Lines from campus, according to the Anti-Defamation League and local reporting.

Erkan’s sentence was reduced as part of a plea agreement in which he agreed to cooperate against Noubani, who Long called the “main instigator.” Erkan originally faced felony hate crime and aggravated battery charges but pleaded guilty in November 2025 to two misdemeanor battery charges. He was sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

During the court proceedings, prosecutors presented evidence that Erkan and Noubani had met at an anti-Israel rally months before the attack. Long said the two had been planning the assault “for some time.” Their text messages referred to Long and Kaminsky as “Jewish guys,” he said.

“The goal there was to silence us,” he told JNS.

Long said Erkan’s friends would stare at him in court and swear at him in Arabic. One allegedly told him, “Just because you’re in the U.S., don’t think you’re safe.”

“It was really important to us to be there in person, to show that we’re not afraid,” Long said, adding that he and Kaminsky needed escorts whenever they went to court.

Long described the past two years as “the hardest two years of my life, and I’ve been through war on multiple occasions now.”

He said he has been unable to return to campus full-time to continue his education, although he has taken some in-person classes. He feels like he is “constantly looking over my shoulder.”

Long remains a part-time DePaul student studying business but is currently taking a semester off.

“I wish I could just be a student,” Long told JNS.

The Beachwood City Council unanimously approved Bais Avrohom congregation’s proposal to rezone two Edgewood Road homes and a vacant lot into a synagogue with a parking lot during a meeting on Sept. 8.

The vote passed 6-0 with council members Jillian DeLong, Alec Isaacson, Alexandra Jacobs, Pete Smith, Ali Stern and Danielle Shoykhet voting yes. Councilwoman June Taylor was not present.

Three lots of property on Edgewood Road, 2547, 2555 and 2561, are rezoned from a U-1 single-family residential district to a U-5 public and institutional district, which permits places of worship. The properties at 2555 and 2561 Edgewood Road contain residential homes, while 2547 is an empty lot.

“Bais Avrohom appreciates all the efforts the city made to find a solution to enable the rezoning and continued operation of Bais Avrohom on Edgewood Road,” Aaron Evenchik, an attorney with Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP in Cleveland who represents some of the city’s home synagogues and has been assisting Bais Avrohom through the process, told the Cleveland Jewish News.

“It was a collaborative effort. We had three different site plans we put in front of the city, and the city worked with us to find one that worked and included enough parking, which addressed the major concern of the neighbors.”

The rezoning clears the way for Bais Avrohom, which has operated its shul out of 2555 Edgewood Road for over six years, to expand the house at 2561 Edgewood Road into a 2,250-square-foot synagogue and demolish 2555 Edgewood Road and use that along with the property at 2547 Edgewood Road for parking spots.

The passage ends a two-year process by Bais Avrohom, which first proposed the rezoning in 2024. Council had twice previously voted down attempts by the shul to turn the lots into a synagogue due to variances that went against the city’s zoning code.

The shul purchased the vacant lot at 2547 Edgewood in the spring and because of the additional land, Bais Avrohom was able to increase the number of parking spaces on the property from 10 to 24, which meets the 14-spot minimum that a U-5 requires in Beachwood, and will increase the size of the lot from 13,200 square feet to 20,400 square feet, exceeding the 18,000-square-foot requirement.

“We were able to cooperatively work with the owner of that (vacant) lot to get it and create a site plan that worked well for the synagogue, the city and the neighbors,” Evenchik told the CJN. “There were lots of meetings, lots of conversations, and we’re very appreciative, especially, of the feedback we got from George Smerigan, the city’s planning director. He really helped give us guidance on what we needed to help get it across the finish line.”

Across the rezoning proposal process, several residents who live on Edgewood Road voiced concerns about the parking situation surrounding the shul, saying during public comment sessions that members park illegally and cause traffic disruptions. Others said they didn’t like the idea of a synagogue in a residential neighborhood because it wouldn’t match the look of the area.

During the Sept. 8 meeting, Evenchik, Rabbi Nissim Abrin, spiritual leader of the shul, five congregants of Bais Avrohom and seven community members, a majority of them Jewish, spoke in support of the rezoning. A resident of Edgewood Road said he supports the shul, but made the suggestion of having the entrance and exit of the synagogue at Fairmount Boulevard instead of in the neighborhood, with a different resident voicing support for that idea.

No resident took to the stand on Sept. 8 to voice opposition to the rezoning.

Bais Avrohom responded to residents’ concerns during meetings, saying that the exterior design will have residential character and that the parking spaces will alleviate the amount of cars parking on the road as members can now park in the lot.

After the passage, Isaacson addressed the room and said he “agonized” over the decision, and that he had received hundreds of emails, numerous telephone calls and been stopped in the street to discuss this rezoning.

Isaacson said he ultimately chose to pass the rezoning because of his oath to follow the country, state and city’s constitution, charter and laws, and his expectation that the shul will continue to follow that during the process. but said that rezoning does not give any applicant the “freedom to be a bad neighbor.”

“Edgwood is a very diverse street full of people with different backgrounds and beliefs, but people who stand together behind the shared Beachwood values of respect and support for their neighbors and neighborhood,” he said. “Time and again, the residents of Edgewood have made their expectations clear, and I expect the shul, as their newest neighbor, to share those values and to earn the neighborhood’s trust and respect.”

Stern said at the meeting that as the construction process starts on the shul, the neighbors need to hold one another accountable.

“There were reports of people parking in the street during snowbans and individuals parking in private driveways,” she said. “The real life experience sometimes conflicts with the opinion of the majority. Please hold one another to account. If you see bad behavior among your constituents, fellow neighbors or visitors who maybe don’t know our parking restrictions and rules, please enforce them amongst yourselves. We know that our law enforcement is always available to protect the safety of visitors and shulgoers. We look forward to welcoming you as good neighbors and good stewards for our community.”

Publisher’s Note:

Aaron Evenchik is a member of the Cleveland Jewish News Foundation Board of Directors.

Miami University celebrated its new CedarTech location in Cleveland with a private event on Aug. 25, expanding the university’s presence in Northeast Ohio.

Located at 10900 Carnegie Ave. in the Cleveland Innovation District, the space will serve as a hub for Miami’s Urban Bridges initiative and provide classroom, meeting and event space for students, faculty, staff, alumni and university partners.

“We have been fortunate to build strong partnerships across the state,” Miami University President Gregory Crawford said in a news release. “CedarTech represents another transformational moment for the university as we continue our work to benefit communities throughout Ohio.”

Miami, located in Oxford, occupies 7,022 square feet on the fourth floor of the CedarTech building, which was built in 1965. The location is near Cleveland Clinic, which announced a partnership with Miami in January 2025.

The partnership has included the establishment of the Ohio institute for Quantum Computing Research, Talent and Commercialization. Miami students also recently completed summer internships with Cleveland Clinic in areas including finance, cybersecurity, research, nursing education, pediatrics and biomedical engineering.

“Our partnership with Miami University has been highly successful through our shared focus on preparing the workforce of the future in innovative fields such as quantum computing,” Dr. Serpil Erzurum, chief research and academic officer at Cleveland Clinic, said in the release. “Miami’s presence in the Cleveland Innovation District will strengthen talent development, computational discovery, and research advancement, while creating meaningful opportunities for students to contribute to the future of healthcare, research, and industry in northeast Ohio.”

CedarTech will also house the university’s Urban Bridges director and include flexible workspace for faculty. Urban Bridges, part of the university’s MiamiTHRIVE strategic plan, is designed to provide students with experiential learning and real-world opportunities.

“This was one of the first things to come out of MiamiTHRIVE, and to have it open and operating within two years is amazing,” Ande Durojaiye, Miami’s vice president for strategy and partnerships, said in the release. “The Urban Bridges concept is something the university is very invested in and excited about. For it to come together with this facility is huge for the university.”

The location will also give students interning at Cleveland Clinic a nearby university space and provide a base for Miami faculty and staff working in the Cleveland area.

“We’re able to have an office in Cleveland that complements our offices in Oxford,” Randi Thomas, vice president of ASPIRE, said in the release. “Our partnership with Cleveland Clinic is dynamic and something special.”

The Cleveland Innovation District connects healthcare and higher education with a focus on job creation, workforce development and research.

Durojaiye said the CedarTech location will allow Miami to connect students with potential employers and host admission events and guest speakers in Cleveland.

“With CedarTech, anything we can do at Miami, we can do in Cleveland,” he said.

On Sept. 10, 2001, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that New York’s Central Synagogue was reopening.

The Reform synagogue had been closed for three years after a devastating 1998 fire. Hundreds of workers had helped restore the landmark building, at a cost of about $40 million. A brief JTA item noted that the synagogue had been rebuilt, and its congregants were coming home. 

It’s the kind of story that meant one thing at the time it was written, and came to mean something else just one day later. When Rabbi Peter Rubinstein delivered his Rosh Hashanah sermon on Sept. 17, he sought to balance the immense joy of reclaiming the rebuilt sanctuary with the collective trauma and grief gripping New York City. 

The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, are often called a historic inflection point, dividing the world into a neat and fateful before and after. A look back at what JTA reported in the days before Sept. 11, and the preoccupations of American Jews ahead of that bright, sunny day in September, suggest what has changed in the 25 years since — and, depressingly, what hasn’t. 

I was on a New Jersey Transit bus to my job at the Forward when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. I made it to our offices on 33rd Street. It was a Tuesday, which meant we were getting the weekly paper ready for the printer and most of the news decisions had been made. The devastation unfolding a few miles away meant whatever we thought newsworthy on Monday — and for the foreseeable future — was beside the point. 

I don’t remember what the week’s top stories would have been, but I can tell you what we and other Jewish news outlets thought was important in the Before Times. 

In September 2001, Israel was in the midst of the second intifada. Palestinian terrorist attacks and Israeli reprisals were daily news. On Sept. 4, JTA reported that Israeli schoolchildren were returning to classes under specific warnings of potential attacks; four car bombs had exploded in Jerusalem in a 12-hour period. 

American Jews were also confronting a hostile international campaign against Israel at the U.N. World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, which ran from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7. Israel and the United States withdrew their delegations after the conference became dominated by attacks on Israel. The JTA report called it “a viciously anti-Israel, anti-Jewish circus.” It wasn’t the first time that post-colonial politics had manifested as antisemitism, but the ferocity of the invective at Durban marked what the historian James Loeffler recently called “a turning point in the evolution of antisemitism and anti-Zionism.”  

You could glimpse another stage of that evolution in a Sept. 4 article about college campuses. JTA reported that pro-Palestinian student activists hoped to launch a national campaign urging universities to divest from companies doing business with Israel, explicitly comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa. Jewish leaders thought the campaign, which came to be known as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, was unlikely to catch on. “The divestment movement about South Africa was a uniting thing on campus, whereas anti-Israel activity on campus is divisive,” one Jewish leader said in a prediction I presume he regrets. 

In New York, three mayoral candidates, all Jews — Alan Hevesi, Mark Green and Michael Bloomberg — joined Elie Wiesel and Jewish leaders in criticizing Durban, just a week before the city’s Sept. 11 primary. 

And there was an argument over what American Jews should say about Israel. Organizers were preparing a huge Sept. 23 solidarity rally near the United Nations, but they deliberately chose a broad, almost bland slogan — “Standing together with the people of Israel.” ”If they had been more specific — asking for a return to the Oslo peace process or increased U.S. intervention in Israeli-Palestinian relations, for example — part of the coalition of sponsoring organizations might have bolted,” according to a JTA analysis. 

Despite the discord, and ongoing violence in Israel, some were still talking peace. Noa Ben Artzi, the then 24-year-old granddaughter of Yitzhak Rabin, was touring American Jewish communities saying that Israelis had lost touch with the slain prime minister’s conviction that peace required dealing with enemies who were also neighbors. 

A Jewish-Arab educational institute in Israel, Givat Haviva, had just won a UNESCO peace prize.  

Elsewhere, there were sightings of Jewish resilience, especially in Europe. Prague’s Jubilee Synagogue hosted its first Jewish wedding in more than 30 years, a small but powerful sign that Jewish life in the city was recovering from the Holocaust and Communist rule. 

Synagogues in England and seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe were receiving preservation grants. In Kosovo, Jews, Muslims and Catholics had worked together to rebuild a mosque damaged in the war that ended two years  earlier — a “ray of light,” as one Jewish participant put it, amid the conflict in Israel and the ugliness at Durban.

And, because Jewish life can be silly, there was a story about a giant Rosh Hashanah greeting card. The 6,400-square-foot card, weighing 1,000 pounds, was unveiled at a yet another pro-Israel event. Guinness World Records declined to recognize it because of the way it had been assembled.

There is a detail in the greeting card story that, like the rebuilding of Central Synagogue, would carry unanticipated meaning in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. One of the speakers at the demonstration was “a teen-aged survivor of the June 1 disco bombing in Israel,” a reference to an attack, carried out by a Palestinian suicide bomber, at the Dolphinarium discotheque on the beachfront in Tel Aviv. Twenty-one Israelis, including 16 teenagers, were murdered. 

At the time, the attack was largely denounced on the right and the left. Even Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat publicly condemned the bombing and called for an immediate cease-fire in the clashes between the IDF and Palestinian militants.  

The post The Jewish world before Sept. 11 — and the world it became appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s 2022 Population Study found that Jewish Cleveland is home to about 93,200 people living in 36,100 Jewish households, up from its last result of 80,800 in 2011.

As Jewish Cleveland continues to strengthen its community efforts, Jews from the greater community are noticing and choosing to call it home. Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, two families who are new to the area in the past year shared with the Cleveland Jewish News how they plan to celebrate the High Holy Days in their new home.

Sharon and Melinda Burgin

Residence: Cleveland Heights

Synagogue: Congregation Mishkan Or

Moved to Cleveland: May 2025

Why they chose Cleveland: Melinda is attending law school.

What surprised them about the Jewish community: The first surprise is how big the community is, yet so welcoming. Also, having easy access to kosher food.

Rosh Hashanah plans: This is actually our second Rosh Hashanah, but our first with the Mishkan Or community. We will be attending High Holiday services at Mishkan Or for the first time and we are very excited to do so. Mishkan Or truly offers something for everyone, many services to choose from and even different locations. Also, we are fortunate enough to be invited to share meals with new friends in the community. I (Sharon) am baking my special honey cake to take to dinner on the first night of Rosh Hashanah and we are really looking forward to getting to know our new friends better. We have also been invited for lunch with another family that has made us feel very welcome. The Cleveland Jewish community has been very warm and we are grateful for that.

Chana and Choli Mishulovin

Residence: Shaker Heights

Synagogue: Shaker Chabad

Moved to Cleveland: June 2025

Why they chose Cleveland: To return to our family roots and establish Chabad of Shaker Heights.

What surprised them about the Jewish community: How many Jewish families live in Shaker Heights, and how warm, welcoming, and eager people have been to connect and deepen their connection to Judaism.

Rosh Hashanah plans: Hosting a Rosh Hashanah dinner for neighbors in our home, followed by a community Rosh Hashanah Picnic on Sept. 13 at the Van Aken District.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended his government's decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, saying that Britain was being true to its roots by taking a stand for justice.

“Britain has to stand for fairness against injustice where people are being bullied out of their homes,” Burnham told Parliament. “We will always stand with the underdog and take what action we can to support them.”

The U.K. announced the ban on Tuesday, and Israel responded by closing the British consulate in east Jerusalem and banning 11 lawmakers from the country.

The U.K.’s tougher stance was followed by France and Canada’s leaders saying they would take similar action to prevent expanding settlements and growing violence from making it impossible to establish a future Palestinian state.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said “settler terrorists” were carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the U.K. government’s biggest pushback to Israel since it recognized Palestinian statehood a year ago. He said there had been “houses bulldozed, roads and public infrastructure destroyed, families displaced from their homes.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the “despicable” move and said Israel would expel U.K. representatives from a joint military center monitoring the Gaza ceasefire and end U.K. training of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces in the West Bank. In addition, Israel barred entry to a dozen British lawmakers and other U.K. citizens whom Saar said were “involved in antisemitic and anti-Israel activity.”

Miliband, who is Jewish, said he was disappointed with Israel’s response and rejected criticism from the U.K.’s chief rabbi, saying it would not lead to more antisemitism in the U.K.

Ephraim Mirvis, the chief rabbi in the U.K., accused the government of “gesture politics” that would bolster “the very extremism they seek to target.”

“We all need to do more to tackle antisemitism, but I believe we can do that and stand up for British values,” Miliband said.

The ban covers imports of all goods from the settlements and bars companies from providing services for the settlements, including financing, construction, infrastructure, real estate and advertising. It will take effect in up to nine months.

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Portugal and Sweden have pledged to “support further action,” Miliband said. The Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods from settlements or are in the process of doing so, he said.

Miliband also tightened Britain’s embargo on weapons sales to Israel for use in Gaza to include arms “that materially contribute to the occupation” of Palestinian territories.

Conservative lawmaker Bernard Jenkin said he was concerned that the government's decision could affect counterterror cooperation with Israel to keep Britons safe.

“We are now embarked, it seems, on a full diplomatic dispute with Israel and tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats,” Jenkin said.

The economic impact of the ban is likely to be limited, since the settlements produce only a small amount of largely agricultural exports. But the move is a symbolic expression of displeasure with Israel by some of its closest allies, and it offers a new sign of the Israeli government’s growing isolation as a result of the Gaza war.

Under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's ultranationalist government, settlement construction in the West Bank — seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — has surged. Netanyahu’s government views the West Bank as the biblical and historical homeland of the Jewish people and is opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

The international community overwhelmingly considers such construction to be illegal. Britain and other countries have voiced particular concern about the E1 settlement project approved by Israel, which would effectively cut the territory in two.

There have been marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, Israeli military operations and checkpoints that choke freedom of movement, as well as several Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Britain's action was applauded by former Ireland President Mary Robinson and ex-New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, both former U.N. officials. The two said the EU should follow suit.

“A coordinated international defense of the two-state solution is needed now more than ever,” they said. “Palestine must not be erased.”

Two of the most outspoken critics of Jew-hatred on Capitol Hill, Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) have formed a new bipartisan congressional caucus focusing on antisemitism on college campuses.

Gottheimer and Stefanik, who received national attention over her questioning of college presidents during the campus protests after Oct. 7, announced the Combating Antisemitism on College Campuses Caucus during a visit to Vanderbilt University.

They visited the Nashville campus to participate in a discussion with six university leaders on how to combat Jew-hatred while protecting free expression.

“Since Oct. 7, Jewish students on too many campuses have been harassed, intimidated and made to feel like strangers in their own school,” stated Gottheimer, who is Jewish.

The goal of the caucus is to ensure colleges and universities protect their Jewish students, faculty and staff.

“We are committed to saving American higher education for the next generation,” Stefanik stated.

The caucus will provide a forum for lawmakers to coordinate oversight of higher education institutions, push colleges and universities to enforce anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies, advocate for federal legislation addressing campus antisemitism and highlight schools that are successfully addressing the issue and share those practices.

Gottheimer said the caucus would “hold universities accountable, back up the schools getting it right, like Vanderbilt, and make sure every Jewish kid can have a college experience without fear of discrimination or violence.”

Dartmouth College, University of Alabama, University of Kentucky, University of Texas at Austin and Washington University in St. Louis were also part of the event.

Judith Marilyn Lewis, born on Aug. 19, 1949, died on Sept. 7, 2026. 

Judith is the beloved daughter of the late Abe “Chick” Lewis and Hilda Lewis. Dearest sister of Sherry (Art-deceased) Braun and the late Michael (Diane) Lewis. Loving aunt of Alan (Ann) Braun, Arlene (Greg) Grys, Mark (Sheryl) Lewis Joel Braun, Ronna (Paul) Darling, and the late Steven Lewis. Special great and great, great aunt.

Private graveside services will be held at the Mt. Olive Cemetery.

Family will receive friends at the residence of S. Braun, 2201 Acacia Park Dr. Suite #415 Lyndhurst, Ohio 44124, on Monday, Sept. 14. 

Friends who wish may contribute to the charity of choice.

Even as the Democratic Party has nominated several anti-Israel candidates, two-thirds of Jewish voters said that they plan to vote Democrat in the midterm election, according to a poll released on Wednesday.

The survey by the Jewish Voters Resource Center suggests that 67% plan to vote for Democrats and just 26% plan to vote Republican in November.

“Democracy, the cost-of-living and a deep hostility toward Donald Trump are driving the Jewish vote,” said Jim Gerstein, principal at GBAO Strategies, which conducted the poll.

“For Jewish voters, this is an election about stopping Trump,” according to Gerstein, who has worked for Democratic candidates and committees.

Nearly a year after Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, Democrats nominated others who expressed the same views—including that Israel is guilty of “genocide” in Gaza—in primary contests against pro-Israel Democrats.

The list includes Dr. Abdul El-Sayed over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in the Michigan Senate primary, Adam Hamawy for the House in New Jersey over a large field of candidates, including East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen, and former city comptroller Brad Lander over Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) in New York City.

The anti-Israel candidates singled out the American Israel Public Affairs Committee among the political action committees spending millions of dollars for favored candidates.

In July, a majority of House Democrats voted to cut off aid to Israel after most Senate Democrats voted in April to block some weapons sales to the Jewish state.

But that hasn’t dissuaded most Jews from continuing to support the Democratic Party.

A midterm election is often seen as a referendum on the president, and Jewish voters said that they disapprove of U.S. President Donald Trump by 75% to 25%.

An even larger majority, 82%, expressed an unfavorable view of Vice President JD Vance, while just 14% had a favorable view. Vance has embraced antisemitic commentator Tucker Carlson, whom Jewish Republicans have criticized over his anti-Israel rhetoric and his interview last year with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

Carlson is a proponent of the “great replacement theory,” which posits that Jews are bringing in non-white immigrants to displace white Christians. That’s the view Robert Bowers expressed when he gunned down 11 Jews at Sabbath services in Pittsburgh in the worst antisemitic attack in American history.

In the poll, 89% of Jewish voters said that they were concerned about antisemitism in the United States. While 61% said Trump was good for Israel, 50% said he was antisemitic, and 71% said he was racist.

By 70% to 30%, they said that they didn’t think Trump would accept the results of the 2026 election. Trump is still claiming that the 2020 election was stolen from him, even though members of his administration and election administrators have called it “the most secure in American history.”

Some 71% of Jews said that they were emotionally attached to Israel, but that issue was not as important to voters as the cost of living and affordability (37%), future of democracy (36%), Jew-hatred (23%) and healthcare (18%). Israel came in fifth, at 16%.

The poll found that 67% viewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfavorably, with just 27% expressing a favorable view of the long-time Israeli leader, and 65% opposed his policies on Gaza, Judea and Samaria. Some 35% supported his policies.

“Jews remain emotionally attached to Israel, but they oppose Netanyahu and his policies, and it is a lower-tier voting issue,” Gerstein said.

“It’s particularly striking to see the vast majority expressing concern that Trump will not accept the outcome of the election,” he said.

Two New Hampshire Democrats, whom the American Israel Public Affairs Committee backed, won their primaries easily against far-left candidates who accuse Israel of “genocide” in Gaza.

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) won the nomination to replace Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a former state governor, and Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) was renominated in the 2nd Congressional District.

With about 90% of the votes counted, Pappas secured 92,196 votes (65%), more than 30 points ahead of Karishma Manzur, who had 46,333 votes (32.7%).

On his campaign website, Pappas touted his support of Israel, a two-state solution and his votes for defensive aid for Israel and humanitarian aid for Gaza.

“After the deadly Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, Chris reaffirmed America’s ironclad commitment to protecting Israel’s right to exist,” it states. “He has supported bipartisan security assistance for Israel to defend itself and has voted for more than $9 billion in life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

On her campaign website, Manzur called for “ending U.S. complicity in the genocide of Palestinians.” The site adds that “our problems aren’t disconnected from violence abroad. The corporate greed and political corruption that fuel endless wars thousands of miles away are the same forces holding families back here at home.”

AIPAC raised more than $230,000 for Pappas, according to Federal Election Commission records.

In the 2nd District, with about 87% of votes counted, Goodlander secured 51,678 votes (81.6%), more than 60 points ahead of Paige Beauchemin, who had 11,553 (18.2%).

A state representative, Beauchemin said during a September debate that Goodlander took “AIPAC money and other Israel-aligned lobby money.” Beauchemin’s campaign website said that there was a need to “end the genocide in Gaza and provide aid to the Palestinian people.”

Goodlander will face GOP primary winner Lily Tang Williams, whom she defeated two years ago. AIPAC raised more than $118,000 for Goodlander’s re-election campaign, per FEC filings, even as she voted for an amendment to cut off aid to Israel in July.

AIPAC does not currently provide a link on its website to donate to Goodlander’s campaign among other candidates it supports.

“My support for Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself as a Jewish and democratic state is ironclad,” Goodlander stated after the vote.

She also decried Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for “having ignored the concerns of the vast majority of Americans about its conduct in Gaza.”

Pappas, the Senate nominee, voted “present” on the amendment in July to cut off aid to the Jewish state.

“I have deep concerns about the path Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to pursue that undermines the long term security objectives of Israel and the United States,” he stated at the time. “I cannot support this amendment as written but also cannot support the disproportionate, extreme policies of the Netanyahu government.”

The Jewish Democratic Council of America, which backed both Pappas and Goodlander, wished both “Mazel tov.”

In the 1st Congressional District, with 93% of the votes counted, former Portsmouth City Council member Stefany Shaheen, daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, secured 28,586 votes (37.3%).

Those numbers were narrowly ahead of Maura Sullivan, a veteran of the Obama administration, who had 26,885 votes (35.1%).

Pappas is the incumbent in the district, in which automobile executive Anthony DiLorenzo received U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement and won the Republican primary with 28,251 votes (51.6%).

Among two Washington-based publications that rate congressional races, Inside Elections called the Senate race a tossup, while the Cook Political Report gave Pappas a slight advantage. Both publications said Shaheen and Goodlander were strong favorites to win in November.

Like neighboring Massachusetts, Democrats ignored challengers from the left and chose more moderate nominees.

“I think that the progressive insurgency, which was based on younger voters, didn’t materialize,” Andrew Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, told JNS.

“This is likely because younger voters just don’t turn out in primary elections as often as older voters,” added Smith, an associate professor of practice at the University of New Hampshire.

“This fight is far from over, and we’ll keep putting in the work to win this November because you deserve a senator who’ll fight for you,” Pappas stated after beating Manzur.

He will face former senator John Sununu, who won the Republican nod over former senator Scott Brown, with 68,694 votes (68.6%) to Brown’s 26,644 (26.6%).

Sununu, the son and brother of former governors, carried Trump’s endorsement. He is of Palestinian heritage and was critical of Israel during his earlier tenure in Congress.

“As senator, I’ll have just one job: stand up for the people of New Hampshire every single day,” Sununu stated after his win. “We will keep listening, keep working and stay laser-focused on the economy, jobs and making life more affordable.”

In the gubernatorial race, New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte won the Republican primary with 91,473 votes (91.6%), with about 88% of votes counted.

She will face Cinde Warmington, a former member of New Hampshire’s Executive Council, in the general. Warmington was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

As Jewish Cleveland prepares to celebrate the High Holy Days with their loved ones, don’t forget to make accommodations for those with special needs.

Pepper Pike resident Shari Goldberg attends High Holy Days services with a bag full of supplies her son, Noah, might need: snacks, water, fidget toys, books and a boogie board.

Goldberg, co-founder and former president of the Autism Speaks Cleveland chapter, said she has found ways for Noah to be included in observing the High Holy Days.

The bag has sensory stimulation tools for Noah, who is 29 years old and has autism. Goldberg said she also takes outside Noah for breaks or to quiet areas in the synagogue when he needs them, and eventually she or her husband will take him home.

“It’s not just about how to keep them comfortable,” Goldberg said. “It’s about how to include them best we can.”

Larger Cleveland organizations also work to accommodate individuals with special needs during the High Holy Days. Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland in Pepper Pike can provide support such as transportation and High Holy Day tickets for those with special needs.

“We are lucky in Cleveland to have a vibrant community with a wide array of special needs services,” Heidi Solomon, manager of the Horvitz YouthAbility program of JFSA, said.

Some synagogues take steps to make their services more special-needs friendly. For example, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in Pepper Pike has an inclusion committee which has been hosting inclusion Shabbats since 2019.

Nasiyah Isra-Ul, an Autism Speaks Champion of Change from Richmond, Va., said that they hope more synagogues implement accommodations, particularly for the High Holy Days.

“I experienced the High Holidays with a lot of people last year and it was extremely overwhelming,” they said. “Having a sensory space, maybe even a sensory space that has headphones or fidget toys or any kind of sensory stimulating tools, is one of the core things that would have helped me a lot last year.”

Observance of the High Holy Days extends to the dinner table, and so do accommodations for loved ones. Goldberg said that she asks the host of the meal for the menu beforehand, so she can bring her own food for Noah if the meal doesn’t meet his dietary restrictions. She also brings his sensory bag to dinner if the host allows it.

“Maybe he joins the meal for 10 or 15 minutes,” Goldberg said. “Now as an adult, he can join for an hour.”

People with special needs can actively participate in services and meals as well, including saying a prayer at the dinner table or going up on the bimah.

“Many people with a variety of disabilities are very capable of doing a reading in Hebrew or English,” Solomon said.

Isra-Ul said that active engagement such as this allows people with special needs to feel a sense of belonging, rather than just inclusion. As a person with autism, they understand how impactful an effort to keep every involved can be.

“We want to transition from just saying, ‘Hey, welcome in, we want to get you in the door,’ to ‘We see you, and we want you to feel like you are a part of this community,’” Isra-Ul said.

For Solomon, an inclusive mindset is an important part of Jewish values. She said that inclusion can allow for a more meaningful holiday for everyone involved.

“We might be the one making accommodations, but they have a lot to teach us,” Solomon said. “We should be open to learning from them at this time when we’re reflecting on making each of us a better person.”

Shawna Polster was the Linda and Clifford Wolf Intern at the Cleveland Jewish News.

 Shari Goldberg is a member of Cleveland Jewish News Foundation Board of Directors.

Two-thirds of Jewish voters plan to vote for Democrats in the coming midterms, according to a poll published Wednesday, in a sign that roiling tensions in the party over Israel have barely budged its status as the political home favored by a substantial majority of Jews.

The poll by the Jewish Voters Resource Center, which is led by prominent Jewish Democrats, showed that 67 percent of respondents planned to vote for Democratic congressional candidates in November, and that 26 percent said they would vote for Republicans.

It reflected other polling since the Oct. 7, 2023 deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, showing increased concern about antisemitism and about Israel. 

Asked to rank their top two issues going into the voting booth, respondents made antisemitism third, after affordability and the future of democracy. Israel ranked fifth.

Much of the recent Jewish community anxiety about antisemitism and Israel has been directed at Democrats, who have elevated a number of strident Israel critics in primaries this season, including a number who refuse to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Additionally, a number of candidates have faced Jewish community criticism for appearing with social media influencers accused of peddling antisemitic tropes. 

Still, the high ranking of concerns about democracy are huge unfavorables for President Donald Trump – and his vice president, JD Vance – who at times has been hostile to Israel and who has maintained close relationships with figures who have drawn accusations of antisemitism – suggests that Republicans are stumbling in seizing the moment of Jewish disaffection with Democrats.

Asked to rate candidates on an unfavorability scale, Trump scored 75 out of 100; Vance scored 82.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been fiercely criticized by Democrats for his conduct of the war in Gaza, scored 67 on the unfavorability scale.

Since the 1930s, Jews have voted consistently in two-thirds majorities for Democrats, with peaks in the 2000 election, when some polling showed close to 80 percent of Jewish voters favored a ticket that had the Jewish senator, Joe Lieberman, as running mate to Al Gore. 

There was some movement toward Republicans in 2012, when moderate Mitt Romney was the GOP presidential nominee facing President Barack Obama, but Trump’s election in 2016 reversed those gains.

The survey was conducted by GBAO Strategies, a polling firm that works with liberal groups and with Democrats. For this poll, it reached 800 Jewish voters via text from Aug. 26-Sept. 1 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

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The post Poll shows two-thirds of U.S. Jewish voters will favor Democrats in November appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The NRP Group’s latest project, Stone Ridge at High Street, is taking shape as Columbus works to meet its growing demand for housing.

Andrew Bailey, the firm’s vice president of development for the Cleveland-based developer, builder and property management firm, said the need is particularly acute for affordable housing. NRP Group is led by co-founder and CEO J. David Heller, the current national campaign chair of Jewish Federations of North America.

“Columbus put out a number that it needs about 200,000 units of housing in the next decade,” Bailey told the Columbus Jewish News.

That’s why Bailey and the NRP Group believes the project is so important for the community.

The 150-unit affordable housing community located along South High Street in Columbus broke ground on Aug. 25 and has been developed in partnership with the city and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. According to the NRP Group, it will provide housing for working professionals and families earning up to 60% of local median income, featuring a pair of five-story buildings on a 4.5-acre site. Both will have a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments designed to accommodate families of varying sizes.

“The 150 units at Stone Ridge are really valuable to that fight for affordable housing,” Bailey said. “More importantly, over half of the units in this project are three- or four-bedroom apartments, which is crucial for families. You don’t see a lot of those being built.”

The project, at 45 W. Barthman Avenue, sits a mile from downtown, with the German Village and Brewery District neighborhoods close by. The site has access to public transit lines, and the Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Southern Gateway district are also in close proximity.

“It’s hard to find sites that score well for low-income housing tax credits, so you’re always looking for a site that’s going to do so,” Bailey said. “And something we’ve been good at here at NRP is mediating brownfield sites (land with no structures on them) and turning them into places we want to see in the community.”

The site will also have a resident clubhouse and a multi-purpose community room with a kitchen for gatherings and events, and outdoor amenities including landscaped courtyards and a playground, all planned to attract families with children of all ages.

Bailey said the city of Columbus gave $5 million in financing as a result of a $500 million affordable housing bond that voters passed in November 2025 to combat rising housing costs and homelessness. Huntington Bank provided debt and equity financing.

“Public-private partnerships are essential to the success of the Columbus Housing Strategy, and Stone Ridge at High Street demonstrates what can be accomplished when city leaders, financial institutions and private developers work together with a shared vision to improve the lives of Columbus residents,” Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said in a news release from NRP Group. “As Columbus continues to grow and prosper, we are making significant investments to ensure that every neighborhood shares in that success. Projects like this are building on the strengths of neighborhoods that have historically seen too little investment while creating affordable housing opportunities for working families.”

With construction currently underway, the project has a projected April 2028 completion.

Family members of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks delivered a petition with more than 100,000 signatures to New York City Hall on Tuesday, urging New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to attend this week’s ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

New York City Council member Joann Ariola stated that she "stood on the steps of City Hall with the loved ones of many victims of the 9/11 terror attacks" and "demanded that Mayor Mamdani stay away from this year's ceremonies."

Ariola said the group handed the petition to a member of Chief Counsel Ramzi Kassem’s staff. Kassem previously represented Ahmed al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty before a U.S. military commission to terrorism-related charges stemming from an al-Qaeda plot to attack commercial shipping.

"The same Ramzi Kassem who defended a convicted al-Qaeda terrorist and is one of the reasons these families don't want the mayor there in the first place," Ariola stated. "Mayor Mamdani, apparently, was too cowardly to come out and meet the families to receive the petition himself."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed back against the effort.

“Division should not prevail over the spirit of unity that brought us together after Sept. 11,” Hochul wrote. “On this 25th anniversary, we should honor those we lost by coming together again as New Yorkers and Americans. The mayor of New York City will be there, as he should be.”

JNS sought comment from Mamdani’s office and received a statement the mayor issued on Monday reaffirming that he would attend the ceremony. Mamdani has stated since the petition launched that he intends to stand alongside victims’ families, survivors and first responders at Friday’s commemoration.

The New York City Police Department said on Tuesday night that it is asking the public to help it identify two men, whom it suspects of two incidents that its hate crime task force is investigating as suspected Jew-hatred.

A man, who wore a white ball cap, shorts and a black coat, wrote “anti-Jewish remarks” and drew a Nazi swastika at a bus stop at the northeast corner of Lefferts Boulevard and Hillside Avenue, in Queens, on Aug. 27 at around 4:30 a.m., per the department.

The site is within several blocks of more than half a dozen synagogues.

The suspect, whom the department has yet to identify, faces a criminal mischief hate crime charge. He fled on foot at the time and traveled “southbound on Lefferts Boulevard to parts unknown,” the NYPD said.

On May 7, an attacker came up to a 39-year-old man at around 1 p.m. and “slapped the victim’s yarmulke causing the head covering to fall to the ground,” the NYPD said. The attacker, who is suspected of a hate crime, reportedly approached the victim from behind while the latter was trying to go into a business at 1 Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan not far from Wall Street.

That attacker, who wore a black ball cap, “fled the location on foot, traveling southbound on Whitehall Street to parts unknown,” the NYPD said.

Anti-Jewish hate crimes have surged in New York City since Zohran Mamdani became mayor in January. He has said that Israel is guilty of “genocide” and campaigned on jailing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although he has more recently admitted that he lacks the authority to do so. His spokeswoman has also said that synagogues violated international law when they host pro-Israel events.

After recording a 182% increase in anti-Jewish hate crimes in the Big Apple in January, in Mamdani’s first month in office, the city began publishing only “confirmed” hate crimes and not “reported” ones in February. That suggested a decline, although it was hard to compare 2026 statistics with those from 2025.

In March, the city said that it would publish both “confirmed” and “reported” statistics separately each month. The city provides a comparison between “confirmed” 2026 statistics and the prior year, but not of “reported” hate crimes.

The city says that after an incident is flagged as a possible hate crime, the NYPD hate crime task force “investigates and determines, in consultation with the NYPD legal bureau, whether it constitutes a hate crime under New York state law.” If it meets that threshold, it’s called a “confirmed” hate crime. Disclosing both “confirmed” and “reported” hate crimes “enhances transparency and reflects best practices in hate crime reporting,” the NYPD says.

It wasn’t clear if the two incidents at the center of the NYPD announcement last night had previously been categorized as “confirmed” hate crimes, or whether that has changed.

Last month, Jews, who make up about 10% of New Yorkers, were targets of 42% of “confirmed” hate crimes in the city. That actually represented a slight decrease over August 2025, but Jewish leaders told JNS there is little comfort in the small drop leading up to the High Holidays given how frequently Jews are targeted.

The Maltz Museum in Beachwood opened its 19th annual Stop the Hate competition on Sept. 1, inviting all Northeast Ohio students in grades six through 12 to compete for a share of $100,000 in scholarships and awards through essays that inspire their schools and communities to fight injustice and “stop the hate.”

Open to students of all faiths and backgrounds, Stop the Hate encourages young people to reflect on real-life experiences with hate, exclusion, discrimination or injustice and consider how they can use their voices and actions to make a difference, according to a news release.

“Stories have the power to change how we see one another and the world around us,” Aaron Petersal, executive director of the Maltz Museum, said in the release. “That belief is at the heart of the Maltz Museum and Stop the Hate. When students share their own experiences, they can build understanding, challenge injustice, and discover the power of their voices.”

Last year, 1,273 students submitted entries from across 13 Northeast Ohio counties. This year, the competition has expanded to 15 eligible counties – Cuyahoga, Ashland, Ashtabula, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne.

The essay and poetry prompt will take inspiration from civil rights attorney and “Just Mercy” author Bryan Stevenson, and his call for individuals to have the courage to stand and speak when others remain silent.

Participating students will be invited to submit a personal narrative essay or original poem exploring an experience they witnessed, experienced or learned about and reflecting on how one person’s courage, voice or actions can inspire meaningful change.

Junior and senior participants in the essay category will be eligible for a $30,000 grand prize scholarship, with additional scholarships of $15,000, $10,000 and $5,000 awarded to other top finalists. Winning schools also receive grants of up to $4,000.

Students in grades six through 10 can earn cash prizes at each grade level, while middle and high school students competing in the poetry category are eligible for additional cash awards. Top high school poetry entries can earn prizes of up to $2,000, with grants also awarded to select schools.

The Maltz Museum also provides free educator resources and support for teachers who wish to incorporate Stop the Hate into their classrooms, including a digital lesson, writing prompts and rubrics, examples of past winning entries and opportunities for classroom workshops.

Essay and poetry writing workshops are available through Lake Erie Ink, and songwriting workshops are available through ROOTS of American Music.

In connection with this year’s Bryan Stevenson-inspired competition, the Maltz Museum, in partnership with The Marshall Project, will host a screening and discussion of “Just Mercy” at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16. The film tells the true story of Stevenson’s fight to free Walter McMillian, who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.

All entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Jan. 14, 2027.

To view competition prompts and submit an entry, visit maltzmuseum.org/stop-the-hate.

Hundreds of people gathered on Wednesday in Rome for a demonstration against a bill that seeks to ban antisemitic rallies in Italy. The protesters oppose the bill’s use of a definition for antisemitism that includes certain types of anti-Israel statements. Several smaller protests against the bill were planned to occur in cities across Italy.

The bill, which the Italian Senate approved and amended earlier this year, would extend the 1931 Law on Public Safety to events with “a serious potential risk due to the use of symbols, slogans, messages, and any other antisemitic acts pursuant to the working definition of antisemitism adopted by this law.”

The working definition, the bill states, is the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition, which Italy adopted in 2020 but has not made legally binding. It lists examples of anti-Israel criticism that it says in certain contexts can be defined as antisemitic, including comparing the country’s policies to those of Nazi Germany, denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination and “applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation,” as the definition states.

The opponents of the bill argue that it is too limiting of freedom of expression, and risks being abused to silence pro-Palestinian voices and events.

The IHRA definition means the bill “risks creating a serious restriction of the spaces of political, cultural and academic freedom, affecting the possibility of expressing critical positions towards Israel and its policies and its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people,” according to Amnesty Italy.

However, Davide Romano, the director of the Jewish Brigade Museum in Milan, questioned the motives of the bill's opponents.

He told JNS he had questions for the protesters. "Where were you in the last three years when we Jews were attacked? Showing up only now against a law that aims to protect us shows that you are part of the problem," he said.

In 2025, the watchdog group of the Jewish community of Italy recorded 963 incidents of antisemitism in Italy, a 400% increase compared to 2022, Romano noted. “We have never seen the protesters against the bill take to the streets with us, in any of the dozens of demonstrations we have organized,” he said, addressing the protesters.

One of the 250 groups that supported the protest in Rome on Wednesday is the National Association of Italian Partisans (ANPI), a prominent anti-Fascist group. A longtime ally of Italy’s organized Jewish community in the fight against neo-Fascism and discrimination, it lost the trust of many Jews by joining anti-Israel protests after Oct. 7, 2023.

The President of the Jewish Community of Milan, Walker Meghnagi, addressed ANPI’s involvement in Wednesday’s rally.

"It is with great sorrow that we witness a position taken that we consider a grave political and cultural error," he wrote in a statement Tuesday. "ANPI represents the historical memory of the Resistance, a glorious history of women and men who fought, often at the cost of their lives, against Nazi-Fascist tyranny and the scourge of racial hatred. Seeing partisan acronyms alongside efforts to obstruct legislative instruments aimed at combating antisemitism is disconcerting and deeply wounding for our community.”

Trovo riprovevole che esponenti politici che fino a ieri andavano a braccetto con l'uomo di Hamas in Italia Mohammad Hannoun, pretendano oggi di stabilire cosa sia meglio o peggio per il mondo ebraico nella lotta all'antisemismo...https://t.co/9vKii8NNPT

— Ambassador Jonathan Peled (@JonathanPeled) September 8, 2026

Israel’s ambassador to Italy, Jonathan Peled, noted on X the involvement of the left-wing Five Star Movement in the protest in Rome, and particularly the proximity of one of its top representatives, MP Stefania Ascari, to an alleged Hamas operative, Mohammed Hannoun.

Hannoun was arrested in December on suspicion of funding Hamas from Italy. Ascari, who’s a member of the Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission, has participated in initiatives promoted by the network of associations linked to Hannoun, the author and pundit Massimiliano Coccia wrote last year in an op-ed for the Linkiesta website.

Peled recalled the op-ed, adding: “I find it reprehensible that political figures who until yesterday were arm-in-arm with Hamas's man in Italy, Mohammad Hannoun, now presume to dictate what's best or worse for the Jewish world in the fight against antisemitism.”

NEW YORK (AP) — As the High Holy Days approach, rabbis in the United States say their congregations are deeply unsettled by antisemitic threats and aware of sharp divisions in their own communities. But many are also determined to embrace the coming days of celebration and reflection.

“Jews feel extremely precarious right now,” said Rabbi David Ingber, founder and spiritual leader of Romemu, a fast-growing, nondenominational Jewish congregation in New York City.

Ingber says many of his congregants are politically liberal and opposed to Israel’s policies on Gaza and other issues, yet are troubled by vehement assertions that Israel has no right to exist as a Jewish state.

“Most of us see Israel as an ancestral homeland,” he said. “What’s disconcerting — we’re being told our own sense of history is illegitimate.”

Adding to unease, he said, is an upsurge of antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiment coming from the political right, augmenting the deep-seated anti-Zionist views of many on the left. In aggregate, Ingber said, “it is the worst uptick of antisemitism we’ve seen in my lifetime.”

“There’s a sense of absolute vulnerability,” he added. “We’re not sure where we belong.”

Ahead of holy days, webinars and training on response to threats

The High Holy Days begin at sundown on Friday with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year; it will be observed until nightfall on Sunday. A week later comes Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is widely considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. This year, it is observed from sunset on Sept. 20 until after nightfall on Sept. 21.

Ahead of the Holy Days, the Secure Community Network, which provides safety advice to Jewish institutions throughout North America, has been offering security webinars and in-person training on how to respond to active threats.

“Hope is not a strategy,” said Michael Masters, the SCN's national director and CEO. “It's about preparation, training individual members of the community, getting everyone engaged.”

Masters said the network’s task has become more complicated as antisemitic threats surface from a wider variety of domestic and foreign sources — ranging from proxies of Iran to white supremacists in the U.S.

“People are looking for who is the enemy, and it’s not an easy answer who’s behind the increase of anti-religion hate crime,” he said.

Violent attacks targeting U.S. Jews this year include an August assault at a Manhattan synagogue, a March truck-ramming at a temple in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and a January arson attack on a synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi.

Yet even as Jewish leaders across the political spectrum condemn such incidents, the broader Jewish community is riven by divisions related to Israel’s role in ongoing Middle East conflicts. Notably, about 3 in 10 Jews in the U.S. say Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians, according to a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Intra-Jewish divisions are a major concern

Masters says it's clear that events in the Middle East can affect the “threat environment” in the U.S.

“But more broadly, the community understands this threat is the continuation of well over 3,500 years of threat,” he added. “It's fundamentally about hatred of the Jewish community.”

Noting that some Christian churches also have faced recent violent attacks, Masters says there may be an opportunity “for all of us as faith groups to come together.” And similarly, he said efforts to improve security could be a “unifying component” for the different branches of U.S. Judaism.

“Our adversaries do not distinguish between Orthodox, Reform, Conservative,” he said. “We would be very wise to understand that as a community we are strongest when we stand as one.”

Ingber also addressed intra-Jewish divisions.

“We should create a space to hold differences, to be together with all of our differences,” he said. “There is a grave danger of schism around the Jewish people and its relation to the state of Israel. It's being weaponized.”

“Rabbis will have to try to speak into this space,” he added. “You don’t want to get up in the High Holy Days and speak of division.”

This year’s Holy Days will be a time of powerfully contrasting emotions, said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism — an umbrella group for more than 800 Reform synagogues in North America.

He noted that the Hebrew name for the Holy Days can be translated as “the days of awe” or “the days of fear.”

“The fear is genuine,” Jacobs said. “People are fearful in many cases to be publicly expressing their Judaism.”

“At the same time, we are human beings who crave the majestic dimension of these High Holy Days — the beauty and possibility of the new year,” he added. “You have to hold both of these at the very same moment.”

Divisions within the Jewish community “are pronounced,” Jacobs said. “Parents and grandparents may have one view of Israel. Their children may have very different ideas.”

Jacobs said one challenge for his movement is emphasizing “the connectedness within and beyond the walls of our congregations.”

An appeal to Congress for more security assistance

Ahead of the Holy Days, major Jewish organizations have called on Congress to allocate $1 billion — triple the current allotment — to help houses of worship and other nonprofits harden their physical security.

Among those urging the funding boost is Nathan Diament, executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, representing the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization.

In a commentary for Jewish News Service, he said annual funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program had grown from $10 million in 2004 to $300 million in 2026. But the increase has not kept pace with the demand, he wrote, with only 20% of the more than 8,000 nonprofit applicants receiving funds last year.

“With the High Holidays around the corner, millions of American Jews will attend synagogue with a sense of trepidation … because sitting in synagogues for hours at a time makes us think about the attacks that have occurred.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Designer Dress Days will return to Legacy Village in Lyndhurst from Oct. 16 to Oct. 18, featuring designer and high-end resale items while raising funds for Jewish Women in Action Cleveland.

The event will take place in the storefront across from Arhaus at 24633 Cedar Road. Shoppers can browse new and gently worn clothing, handbags, shoes, jewelry, furs and accessories. New this year, personal shoppers will be available to help guests navigate the sale and find items that fit their style.

Designer Dress Days will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Admission on Oct. 16, Early Access Day, is $20. Admission is free on Oct. 17 and on Oct. 18.

More than 250 volunteers help organize the annual event. Proceeds support JWA Cleveland’s community programs and advocacy efforts throughout Greater Cleveland.

For more information, visit jwacleveland.org.

Western Europe is “on the decline” amid clear demographic changes which are leading to the increased radicalization of their societies and to moral bankruptcy, the director-general of Israel's Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The unusually blunt remarks came just a day before a fierce diplomatic row erupted with the United Kingdom over its imposition of sanctions against Israel.

“They are declining. They are changing. And they are not changing to the positive side,” Eden Bar Tal said in an address at the ministry in Jerusalem honoring a veteran American Jewish leader. “We can see very clear demographic changes within Western European countries. Those changes are leading to social and political changes, dramatic ones.”

He added that the increased radicalization in these societies, which came to full view following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, was conspicuous.

“They are being polarized, and you see that what we used to call a center and moderates are shrinking, and more aggressive powers and more aggressive actors are taking part in those countries,” he said.

The event, honoring longtime B'nai B'rith head Dan Mariaschin, who retired from his position as CEO of the world’s oldest Jewish organization this summer after nearly four decades, drew multiple foreign ambassadors.

In his keynote address at the gathering, Bar Tal also cautioned against the “red and green alliance,” the political convergence of the radical left and Islamists.

“Radicals from the left, radicals from Islamic jihadism ... are converging in external and internal attacks in Western countries,” he said. “You can see that in the West, but you can see that more clearly throughout Europe, especially Western Europe,” he continued.

“What happened to you, Europe? What happened especially to Western Europe? Where are your values? Where is your historical memory and historical responsibility? You are supporting the anti-Israeli forces. Who are the anti-Israeli forces? Jihadist radicals. The ones that want the West to be dissolved,” he said.

”And I'm told by those Europeans that they are true friends of ours. So I told them that we learned recently, in the last two years, a new world, ‘frenemies,’ and we have to be realistic about that," he added.

"Friends support each other during a war. They are not sanctioning them and not even discussing them and certainly don't embargo essential weaponry from the only democracy in the Middle East facing those radicals and jihadism," he said.

“It's a shameful part of European history, and it's not the end of it. I think bad news is also to come. Bad news for Israel, bad news for the Jewish people. But more than that, it's the bankruptcy of Western Europe,” he added.

Mariaschin decried the “tsunami of hate” being normalized around the globe.

“The storm winds of blind hatred and antisemitism are buffeting us from every side,” he said. "This is more than just a perfect storm of hate. It is a tsunami of hate,” he added.

The crudest anti-Jewish tropes are now becoming normalized, he continued.

“Prestigious universities and their administrators have looked the other way as Jewish students are pilloried,” he said. “Many political figures in the United States and abroad who should know better are going along for the ride, fearful of losing power and influence to the insurgents and their followers in an era in which many simply do not want to be confused by the facts.”

The American Jewish leader stressed that unity was essential at this precarious moment in history.

“We need to find again a way toward more than just a semblance of unity in these unprecedented uncertain times. Finding that consensus is a must because if we are weak within our own community, we will not be strong enough,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he had instructed his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against Haaretz, journalist Shlomi Eldar and others over the newspaper’s claims that the United Arab Emirates had warned him ahead of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre.

Netanyahu said reviews by the Prime Minister’s Office, National Security Council and military secretariat found no record of a conversation between him and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan from the beginning of September through Oct. 7, 2023. He also said entry records showed no visit by an Emirati representative who, according to Netanyahu, would have been required to facilitate such a call.

Netanyahu called the report a “malicious fabrication” and said it was meant to divert attention from what he described as failures by then-Israel Security Agency Chief Ronen Bar and then-Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, whom he blamed for not acting on warning signs before the attack or alerting him in time.

Haaretz reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed senior foreign sources, that Mohammed bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu shortly before Oct. 7 that Hamas was planning a major attack. Netanyahu’s office denied the report that day, while the UAE Foreign Ministry declined to confirm or deny the alleged conversation.

“The UAE government does not comment on media stories or speculation regarding conversations between government leaders,” the ministry said in a statement posted on X.

“The UAE’s engagement since October 7 was consistently directed toward de-escalation, regional stability and preventing violence,” it continued. “UAE and Israeli government entities have maintained open and direct lines of communication since the inception of the relationship more than five years ago. When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated between the relevant entities,” the ministry said.

بيان صادر من وزارة الخارجية بشأن تقارير إعلامية

Statement by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Response to Media Reporting pic.twitter.com/9S4Zavjjzc

— MoFA وزارة الخارجية (@mofauae) September 8, 2026

The Haaretz report claimed that bin Zayed informed Netanyahu about an imminent attack that could destabilize the region in a phone call held 10 days before the Hamas-led invasion into the northwestern Negev.

The Israeli leader “reacted with relative calm,” according to the report, which has led to a political uproar in the run-up to Israel's Oct. 27 general election.

The British Consulate in eastern Jerusalem has 30 days from Tuesday to close, while diplomats assigned there will lose their accreditation, an Israeli official told JNS on Wednesday.

British officials at the U.S.-led International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat were told to halt their operations immediately, the official said, adding that the same order was issued to the British Support Team, which trains Palestinian Authority police forces in the Samaria city of Ramallah.

Both contingents must depart within seven days, according to the Israeli official.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on Tuesday evening unveiled several countermeasures in response to British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announcing earlier in the day an import ban on goods made in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

In addition to closing the consulate and expelling British officials from Kiryat Gat and Ramallah, Jerusalem also decided to deny entry to 12 British elected representatives and other British nationals involved in antisemitic or anti-Israel activity, said Sa'ar.

"A boycott of goods from Judea and Samaria is a despicable practice that harms hard-working, law-abiding citizens. The Labour Government has decided to employ this practice of boycotts and BDS only against the Jewish state," he continued, referencing the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Sa'ar added that the Israeli public overwhelmingly supports the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and just as overwhelmingly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state in its heartland. "This is something that the Labour government is attempting, through measures that are doomed to fail, to force upon Israel. It will not work," he said.

Miliband told Sky News on Wednesday that Jerusalem's decision to close the British Consulate would be "damaging," but said the government had weighed the costs and benefits before announcing the measure.

"I'd prefer that Israel hadn't announced what it did, but overall, I strongly believe that what we did along with other international allies was absolutely the right thing to do," Miliband said in the interview.

U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis on Tuesday called Miliband's announcement "truly a dark day for British Jews," saying the move amounted to "little more than political flag-bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric."

Asked by Sky News about the criticism, Miliband responded: "I'm a proud British Jew and I don't agree with the chief rabbi. I have great respect for the chief rabbi, but I don't agree with him."

As of Jan. 1, 2026, 529,704 Jews lived in Judea and Samaria, amounting to approximately 5.28% of the Jewish state's total population.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has led an unprecedented drive to expand Jerusalem's control of Judea and Samaria, having approved tens of thousands of homes and dozens of new communities in the past three-and-a-half years.

Nearly 70% of Israeli citizens want Jerusalem to extend its full legal sovereignty to Judea and Samaria, according to a 2025 survey.

Fifty-eight percent of Israeli Jews believe that communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to the security of the country, according to a survey the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) published on March 11, 2025.

Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli civilians in Judea and Samaria at least 5,051 times in 2025, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO.

Twenty-four Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2025, and more than 400 others were wounded, per the NGO's annual report.

The data, which were cross-checked against official data from the Jewish state's security agencies, included 3,299 instances of rock-throwing, 458 attacks with fire bombs, 655 attempts to blind drivers with laser pointers, 286 attacks involving explosive charges and 19 involving firearms.

Voice of the People, the global Jewish leadership initiative founded by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, opened applications on Wednesday for its second cohort, seeking 150 participants from communities worldwide.

The new cohort will include 50 participants from Israel, 50 from the United States and Canada and 50 from other Diaspora communities, according to the organization.

Voice of the People was established in 2023 to provide a framework for Jews with different backgrounds and perspectives to build relationships and trust, deepen understanding and develop practical responses to challenges facing the Jewish people.

The initiative’s inaugural cohort brought together 150 Jews from a range of countries, denominations, professions and generations, leading to more than 20 initiatives that have already reached the proof-of-concept stage.

“The strength of the Jewish people has always come from our ability to remain connected across differences of geography, tradition and perspective,” Herzog said in a statement, inviting Jews worldwide to contribute their “voices, experiences and ideas.”

Applicants must be Jewish, at least 21 years old, proficient in English and demonstrate leadership potential, with selections aided by an AI algorithm designed to produce a diverse and representative cohort.

Applications are open through Oct. 12, with those selected set to participate in a 16-month program.

The joint slate of the Religious Zionism and Zehut parties, headed by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former lawmaker Moshe Feiglin, was submitted on Tuesday to the Knesset’s Central Elections Committee ahead of Israel’s 26th Knesset election on Oct. 27 and before the official registration period closed at 10 p.m.

Following Smotrich and Feiglin at the top of the joint list, respectively, Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strock was placed third, followed by MK Simcha Rothman in fourth place.

Filling the No. 5 spot on behalf of the Religious Zionism Party is Tzvika Mor, a former leader of the Tikva Forum, which advocated for maintaining military pressure on Hamas rather than agreeing to partial hostage-release and ceasefire deals. Mor is the father of Eitan Mor, who was abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, while working as a security guard at the Supernova music festival near the Gaza border.

Another new addition to Smotrich’s faction is Lt. Col. (res.) Itamar Eitam, a reservist brigade commander and co-founder of the Generation of Victory reservists movement. Eitam, the son of former minister and lawmaker Brig. Gen. (res.) Efraim “Effie” Eitam, received the sixth spot on the list.

Reut Ben Haim, co-founder of Tzav 9, an organization that sought to halt supplies delivered into the Gaza Strip while the hostages were held in captivity, was placed ninth.

Candidates running on behalf of Feiglin’s Zehut Party include Rabbi Yitzhak Zaga, who received the eighth spot, and Omer Patziniach Waldman, a reservist IDF officer who helped lead the Generation of Victory reservists movement in the aftermath of the Hamas-led cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She was placed 10th on the slate.

On Monday, Smotrich welcomed Maj. Gen. (res.) Yossi Bachar to his party in a Facebook post. Bachar, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri who defended his community on Oct. 7 and whose mother was murdered during the Hamas massacre, was not included on the list. According to Ynet, he did not seek a realistic spot but only wanted to express his support for the party.

The first 15 names on the list are:

1. Bezalel Smotrich
2. Moshe Feiglin
3. Orit Strock
4. Simcha Rothman
5. Tzvika Mor
6. Itamar Eitam
7. Zvi Sukkot
8. Yitzhak Zaga
9. Reut Ben Haim
10. Omer Patziniach Waldman
11. Arcady Mutter
12. Ohad Tal
13. Roei Kirshberg
14. Omer Rahamim
15. Sima Hasson

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on Tuesday that he had finalized the establishment of a new military branch dedicated to unmanned systems and artificial intelligence.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the 153rd Naval Officers Course at the Haifa Naval Base, Zamir said, “This is a once-in-a-generation transformation, and the IDF intends to be a global leader in it,” according to an IDF statement.

Zamir said the branch will develop maritime, ground and aerial robotic systems capable of operating alongside manned forces or carrying out missions independently.

“The vision will soon become reality,” he said, adding that he had ordered the branch to be inaugurated on Chanukah.

The IDF chief also noted that INS Drakon, Israel’s sixth submarine, is currently sailing through the Mediterranean Sea from Germany and is expected to arrive in Haifa within days. The vessel symbolizes the Navy’s transformation into “a powerful strategic force capable of reaching any threat in the Middle East and beyond,” he said.

The submarine departed from the TKMS shipyard in Kiel, Germany, on Sept. 2.

On Monday, the IDF said that it will conduct an in-depth review of its surprise “Breaking Dawn 2.0” exercise, held on Sunday to test the military’s readiness for a sudden, large-scale multi-front scenario ahead of the upcoming High Holidays.

The unannounced nationwide readiness drill placed regional commands, directorates and branches on alert without advance notice and tested responses to ground, aerial and maritime infiltrations, projectile and shooting attacks, mass-casualty incidents and abductions. Standby and reserve forces, including battalions and special units, were also activated.

The exercise was conducted as part of the IDF Operations Directorate’s 2026 training schedule.

Israel's ruling Likud Party submitted its candidate slate for the 26th Knesset on Tuesday night ahead of the Central Elections Committee deadline for the Oct. 27 national election.

Prime Minister and party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu heads the 35-candidate list, which integrates winners of the party's primary alongside personal appointees placed in reserved slots.

ברוכים הבאים לליכוד! 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/e8ZV6TML0y

— הליכוד (@Likud_Party) September 8, 2026

Likud spokesperson Neta Molcho told JNS on Wednesday that Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi, founder of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, relinquished his reserved 35th spot on the roster to ensure sitting Knesset Member Avichay Buaron remained in a position to enter the next parliament.

Netanyahu announced that Avivi will instead serve as an external cabinet minister if Likud forms the next government.

The submitted Likud slate for the 26th Knesset:

1. Benjamin Netanyahu
2. Eli Cohen
3. Amir Ohana
4. Yariv Levin
5. Miri Regev
6. Israel Katz
7. Gideon Sa’ar
8. Ofir Katz
9. Talik Gvili
10. Yoav Kisch
11. Yaakov Bardugo
12. Miki Zohar
13. Almog Cohen
14. Amichai Chikli
15. Elisha Medan
16. David Peter
17. Moshe Saada
18. Haim Katz
19. David Amsalem
20. Eti Hava Attia
21. Boaz Bismuth
22. David Bitan
23. Shlomo Karhi
24. Nir Barkat
25. Gila Gamliel
26. Eli Goldschmidt
27. Erez Tadmor
28. Shlomo Lerner
29. Itzik Boncel
30. Moshe Binyamin Peretz
31. Shuki Yehoshua Ohana
32. Ze’ev Elkin
33. Amit Halevi
34. Keren Atias Bublil
35. Avichai Boaron

Israeli security forces said on Tuesday that they dismantled a terrorist network involving more than 30 suspects from Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria that was allegedly preparing attacks against Jews and security forces.

Five Jerusalem residents were indicted in Jerusalem District Court, according to a joint statement from the Israel Police, Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Defense Forces.

סוכלה תשתית טרור משמעותית שפעלה לביצוע פיגועים כנגד אזרחים וכוחות הביטחון - כתבי אישום הוגשו כנגד המעורבים

בפעילות משותפת של שירות הביטחון הכללי, משטרת ישראל וצה"ל, נחשפה תשתית טרור משמעותית ומסועפת אשר פעלה למימוש פיגועים נגד יהודים וכוחות ביטחון. במסגרת סיכול התשתית נעצרו ע"י… pic.twitter.com/HUNM4OUZg1

— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) September 8, 2026

Authorities said Rashid Rishq and Tzabih Abu Tzabih established the network and recruited terrorist cells across Judea and Samaria. Investigators said Rishq and Ahmad Azmi Bakri planned an attack at a restaurant in Modi’in where Bakri worked, while Rishq and Abu Tzabih also planned a shooting attack against security forces in Al-Eizariya, east of Jerusalem.

Rishq was released in January 2025 as part of a hostage-release deal with Hamas. Abu Tzabih is the son of Misbah Abu Tzabih, who carried out a 2016 shooting attack in Jerusalem that killed two Israelis.

Additional indictments against suspects from Judea and Samaria are expected in the coming days.

Israeli security forces apprehended a Hamas cell and dismantled a rocket during a counterterrorism raid in the Aqraba area, near Nablus (Shechem) in Samaria, the IDF and Shin Bet said on Sunday.

The operation, which included forces from the Border Police’s National Counter-Terrorism Unit alongside the IDF and Shin Bet, was completed on Sunday morning, according to the joint statement.

The 10-member terrorist cell had been working to advance attacks against Israeli civilians, according to the statement. The rocket was found without a launcher and dismantled on the spot.

Questioning of one of the terrorists led forces to a weapons cache, the statement said. The cache held an M16 rifle and a large quantity of explosives intended for the production of improvised explosive devices.

IDF soldiers on Friday completed a counterterrorism operation in the Qabatiya area of northern Samaria, apprehending five terrorists who were part of a cell planning an attack on civilians and security forces, the military said.

The operation was based on intelligence from the Shin Bet.

During searches of the suspects’ homes, the soldiers located and confiscated an M16 rifle and additional military equipment that had been concealed by the cell.

The soldiers apprehended the terrorists less than 10 minutes after arriving at the suspected locations. They were transferred to security forces for further questioning.

Earlier on Friday, the IDF said that more than 10 wanted suspects had been arrested during a 48-hour brigade-level counterterrorism operation in the Nablus area of central Samaria.

During the operation, troops searched hundreds of sites and questioned dozens of suspects.

The soldiers also dismantled more than 30 weapons-production machines and confiscated firearms, handguns and ammunition.

At a time when Israel’s relations with parts of Europe are under increasing political strain, Israeli and European diplomats, researchers and innovators gathered Tuesday at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem to celebrate a very different kind of relationship—one built on science.

The Horizon Europe Award Ceremony, jointly hosted by ISERD, the Israel-Europe R&D Directorate of the Israel Innovation Authority, and the European Union Delegation to Israel, recognized Israeli researchers, companies and institutions whose projects have won highly competitive Horizon Europe grants.

But beyond the awards, the gathering offered a reminder that scientific cooperation continues even when political relations are strained.

“Scientific diplomacy” was a recurring theme, describing partnerships and adding to the story of countries working together to build resilience—a story that is “still being written.”

Horizon Europe is the European Union’s €95.5 billion research and innovation program for 2021–2027. Israel, though not an EU member, participates as an associated country, allowing eligible Israeli researchers, universities and companies to compete for funding and collaborate with European partners.

Israel has participated in European research framework programs since 1996. Over three decades, the cooperation has generated more than 5,000 joint projects involving thousands of Israeli researchers and companies.

Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel pointed to that history during the ceremony, citing more than 5,000 joint projects, more than 6,000 Israeli participants and more than 1,000 companies involved in the broader cooperation, representing billions of euros in research activity.

But she also emphasized what is happening now.

Despite the upheaval caused by the war and difficulties surrounding Israeli participation in parts of European academia, she said, 140 collaborations were awarded during the past year.

The numbers, she suggested, tell a story of continuity.

“This is not just about funding,” was the message running through her remarks. “It is about cooperation.”

That cooperation has practical consequences, from Israeli expertise in water and agricultural technology to medical research, advanced technology and the exchange of doctoral students and researchers.

A short video at the ceremony put a human face on the numbers, highlighting innovations emerging from Israeli-European collaborations. One example was coffee grown from cells in a laboratory, an eye-catching glimpse of how scientific research can move from the lab toward solutions for future challenges.

EU Ambassador to Israel Michael Mann, who has served in Israel since September 2025, told JNS before the ceremony that he was pleased to be marking the partnership at the President’s Residence.

“It is 30 years of fantastic cooperation between the European Union and Israel in research and innovation,” Mann said, describing participation in Horizon Europe as “very useful for Israel and Europeans.”

“I hope it continues for years to come,” he added.

Mann emphasized that the relationship produces economic benefits as well as benefits for society, while stressing the importance of a positive agenda and academic freedom.

The European diplomatic presence at the ceremony underscored the breadth of that cooperation. Ambassadors and heads of mission from Portugal, Finland, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, among others, attended the event.

Millo Potsonen, Finland’s deputy head of mission, told JNS afterward that the challenges facing Europe and Israel make scientific cooperation particularly important.

“The challenges we are facing” require joint solutions, he said. “Academic, science and research collaboration is required; there are no borders.”

The ceremony’s panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Nati Bloch Damati, included Mann, Israel Innovation Authority CEO Dror Bin and ISERD Managing Director Shlomi Kofman, who discussed Horizon Europe’s achievements and the future of the partnership.

The discussion highlighted collaborations between European countries and Israeli startups, as well as the role of international research cooperation in economic security, resilience and building trust between countries and communities.

For Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the gathering also carried historical significance.

Speaking at the beginning of the ceremony, Herzog acknowledged the forces currently seeking to pull Israel and Europe apart before turning to the history of European scientific cooperation.

“Europe’s modern story is itself a testament to the power of choice,” he said. “On a continent scarred by the horrors of extremism and war, scientific cooperation became an expression of commitment to peace and the sustainable future.”

Europe, he noted, had descended into the catastrophe of the Holocaust. Yet the continent also experienced extraordinary rebuilding. Israel and Europe subsequently developed a relationship in which science became a bridge between them.

Herzog recalled Albert Einstein, who entrusted his intellectual legacy to the Jewish national home, where it is preserved today at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The president’s remarks then moved from the history of scientific cooperation to the diplomatic tensions of the present, including Britain’s announcement of trade sanctions related to Israeli settlements. The contrast was striking.

Inside the President’s Residence, European and Israeli representatives were celebrating three decades of scientific cooperation. Outside, political disagreements continue to test Israel’s relationship with European governments.

Yet the researchers recognized at the ceremony represented something more enduring than a diplomatic statement.

They demonstrated that scientists continue to work together across borders, sharing knowledge, developing technologies and tackling challenges that no country can solve alone.

As Kofman put it, the story of scientific diplomacy is not finished. It is still being written.

U.S. forces on Tuesday destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said early on Wednesday.

The U.S. warship successfully evaded both Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were injured, according to the CENTCOM statement.

In response, CENTCOM destroyed the IRGC-linked crude oil carriers M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon 1 and M/T Riesco in the Gulf of Oman, as well as M/T Derya near Kharg Island.

U.S. forces directed the crews to abandon the vessels before striking them and rendering them inoperable.

CENTCOM forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 8, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. The U.S. warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and… pic.twitter.com/Gi8a2tloN1

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 8, 2026

“Iran has used the tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies. Iran has no means by which to defend these vessels,” said CENTCOM.

Iran attacks U.S. forces in Jordan

Jordan’s air defenses intercepted 18 of 20 ballistic missiles fired from Iran toward the kingdom overnight Tuesday, with the remaining two falling in unpopulated areas and no casualties reported, a Jordanian army spokesperson told Amman’s official Petra News Agency.

The Jordan Armed Forces said specialized teams were securing sites where missile debris and shrapnel had fallen and warned residents not to approach unidentified fragments. The military said its surveillance, early-warning and air-defense systems remained on heightened readiness for further threats.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the missiles targeted a U.S. military base near Al-Azraq in retaliation for the U.S. strikes on the tankers. The IRGC claimed the barrage targeted shelters and hangars used for F-35, F-16 and F-15 aircraft and caused heavy damage, a claim that Jordan did not confirm.

The IRGC said it targeted 10 ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, including two U.S. vessels and eight oil tankers, according to Tehran's state-run IRNA news agency.

The IRGC said these attacks, too, were retaliation for the oil tankers' destruction. The Iranian military claimed the U.S. vessels and tankers suffered significant damage, but at time of publication that had not independently confirmed.

On Sept. 5, CENTCOM forces destroyed three Iranian crude oil vessels after the IRGC attempted to attack a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer.

Iran will keep losing oil tankers as long as it tries to strike U.S. naval vessels, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Tuesday during a visit to Colombia.

"Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships," Rubio said in response to a question. "For every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers." He added that he expected to "see that again today."

SECRETARY RUBIO: Iran continues to try to hit U.S. naval ships, and every time they try to do that, they're going to lose tankers. pic.twitter.com/IFo46Vh9GR

— Department of State (@StateDept) September 8, 2026

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, per the pool report.

He added of the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that the United States will do “everything in our power” to make sure such an attack never recurs. “It was a day like no other,” he said.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that it sanctioned 27 Iranian airlines “for supporting Iran’s aviation sector, which the regime uses to move weapons, personnel and illicit cargo.”

“Today’s action also targeted covert front companies, foreign intermediaries and deceptive trans-shipment routes that Iran relies on to obtain U.S.-origin aircraft and sensitive technology,” the U.S Treasury Department stated. It added that it was issuing an alert “asking financial institutions to report procurement networks supporting Iran’s aviation industry.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that “under Operation Economic Outcast, we promised severe consequences for those providing financial lifelines to the Iranian regime.”

“Today, we followed through on that promise with sanctions on companies that continue to support Mahan Air,” he said. “Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today. You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system.”

A huge plume of microalgae from Egypt is threatening Israel’s desalination plants and has taken two of them offline completely. Israel has compensated for the decline in desalinated water by increasing pumping from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and underground wells.

“It is a high-level challenge, and we haven’t seen an algae bloom like this for 20 or 30 years,” Danny Lacker, head of the water security and emergency division at Israel’s Water Authority, told JNS. “At the same time, we are managing the situation—it is not managing us.”

The algae became trapped in the reverse-osmosis filters, forcing Israel to temporarily close five of its six desalination plants. While individual plants have been closed before, the scale of the current disruption is unusual.

Lacker and other water experts said the quality of Israel’s drinking water remains unaffected and there has been no interruption in the supply of water to Israeli consumers. But they said the situation is a warning that Israel must prepare for future unexpected events.

“It was a ‘perfect storm’ of a series of events,” Clive Lipchin, lead water researcher at the Arava Institute, told JNS. “The high temperatures pushed the algae bloom northward because of the high sea temperatures. The algae may also have been contaminated with sewage from Gaza. It was a number of issues that combined in a unique set of circumstances.”

“There is still no consensus on exactly what happened,” he said. “But it shows that Israel cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in Gaza. None of the wastewater plants [in Gaza] are working because of the war, and large amounts of sewage are being dumped into the Mediterranean.”

Israel has one of the highest rates of desalination in the world, and according to Lipchin, if Israel had not embarked on its desalination projects, it would have no water today.

Lacker said Israel is coping with the crisis by increasing water supplies from other sources, including the Kinneret, whose water level is already quite low. He said there has been no impact on the domestic sector, but that the government has cut back supplies to some farmers in the south who use fresh water.

About 70% of Israel’s farmers use treated wastewater to grow crops, one of the highest rates in the world.

Lacker said Israel chose to shut down the desalination plants out of concern that the algae could damage some of their components, especially the filters used to remove salt from seawater.

“We are using risk management and seeing how the algae affects the machines,” he said.

Of Israel’s six desalination plants, the Hadera facility has remained online since the crisis began because the algae bloom has not reached that far north. Several of the other plants have been turned on and off for a few hours at a time.

In the end, Lacker said, Israel will have to rely even more heavily on desalination.

“We can’t change the amount of rain that we get,” he said. “But we have to make sure that we have the Sea of Galilee available and that we have the ability to get water from underground wells. We have to focus on how to protect the resources we do have.”

He compared pumping additional water from the Kinneret to going into “overdraft,” as many Israelis do each month with their bank accounts. Israel, he said, must ensure that it can handle that overdraft while expanding its desalination capacity.

CAIRO (AP) — In July, Saudi Arabia and the United States bombed Iran-backed groups in Iraq after blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that had been claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally.

Now, regional officials tell The Associated Press that the Houthis helped the Iraqi group's plan and execute the two-day swarm attack, showing a new level of coordination.

Iran spent decades building up armed groups on Israel's frontiers that suffered major losses in the wars following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza. Israel battered the Palestinian as well as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which had been Iran’s most powerful ally.

Regional officials and experts say Iran is now using the Iraqi groups and the Houthis to threaten Saudi Arabia and other American allies in the Gulf in order to drive up the costs of the war launched by the U.S. and Israel in February.

It is a risky strategy. A wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Tuesday threatened to reignite full-scale war with the kingdom. Iraq has ordered to disarm by the end of this month, though powerful Iran-backed groups have refused to do so. A new American effort to economically isolate Iran could spark further escalation.

Iran-backed groups in Yemen and Iraq form a pincer movement

The Houthi involvement in the Iraqi drone attack was confirmed by two Saudi officials, citing intelligence, and a senior Iraqi security official. They said Houthi emissaries worked in an operations room run by Iraqi groups.

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. responded with joint airstrikes that killed at least 20 Iraqi fighters, six Iranian advisers and at least one Houthi official. The death of the Houthi, not previously reported, was confirmed by a Houthi official and an Iraqi group member.

A U.S. military official said Houthis had been killed in previous strikes in Iraq. The U.S. is concerned about the Houthi presence there and their ability to launch attacks on other countries, including Saudi Arabia, the official said.

Two officials with the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group that is officially part of Iraq's security forces, denied involvement in the attack on Saudi Arabia and denied that the Houthis were operating under its auspices. The PMF includes powerful groups backed by Iran that sometimes act independently.

All the officials and the member spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. The Houthis did not respond to a request for comment.

Cooperation grew during the war in Gaza

Cooperation between the Iraqi groups and the better organized Houthis had grown throughout the war in Gaza, when they coordinated attacks on Israel, according to the Houthi and regional officials. At the height of the war, Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi spoke of a joint operations room.

After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, Iran and its allies began firing on Gulf nations to broaden the conflict and inflict pain on major oil producers hosting American forces.

“Iran has a hybrid strategy in the current war. We are not fighting on one front and we are not using one tool,” Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran's parliament speaker, wrote on social media in June.

“The Houthis’ growing prominence during the Gaza war opened up a new horizon in Iraq. Many groups there became eager to support the Houthis, and in return, the Houthis started sharing their military expertise with Iraqi groups,” said Ahmed Nagi, senior Yemen analyst at the Crisis Group, an international think tank.

Now they are “squeezing Saudi like with pliers,” Nagi said.

Houthi blockade of Saudi Arabia ramps up pressure

A week before the drone swarm attack, the Houthis declared a blockade against Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, threatening another critical trade route as the wartime disruption of the Strait of Hormuz has jolted the world economy.

Since late July, the Houthis have carried out over a dozen attacks against Saudi oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea, according to the war monitor group ACLED.

On Tuesday, they launched a wave of attacks on oil and other facilities in southern Saudi Arabia, wounding more than 70 people, including women and children, Saudi authorities said.

The Houthi blockade has forced Saudi Arabia to adopt a “dark” transit policy that includes turning off tracking signals on oil tankers in the Red Sea, according to ACLED.

Saudi oil exports are in the crosshairs

Saudi Arabia had diverted much of its oil to the Red Sea after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. When the Houthis began attacking, the kingdom started shipping more oil north to the Suez Canal and Egypt's SUMED pipeline, whose flows have risen from 650,000 barrels a day in June to over 1.9 million in August, according to global shipping monitor Kpler.

Last month, the Houthis showed they can target that route as well, striking a Saudi tanker in the northern Red Sea with a missile. The tanker had reportedly traveled from the Saudi port of Yanbu to the Suez Canal, some 1,000 kilometers (700 miles) from Houthi territory.

The Houthis “are willing to weather some shorter term pain for what they feel will be longer term gains,” such as extending their reach along the Red Sea coast, said Adam Baron, a Yemen expert at the New America think tank in Washington.

“The train to a return to full scale war has left the station, and it's unclear if anyone is going to jump in to stop it,” he said, citing the U.S. focus on Iran and the Saudis' reluctance to intervene in Yemen again.

The Houthis have their own reasons for fighting Saudi Arabia

The rebels seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014. The following year, the Saudis joined with Yemen’s internationally recognized government in a counteroffensive, likely fearing that the kingdom could end up with a Hezbollah-like group on its doorstep.

The civil war has killed at least 150,000 people, according to U.N. estimates, and at times pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. A ceasefire that had mostly held since 2022 is now in tatters.

For years, a Saudi-led blockade has raised pressure on the Houthis while exacting a heavy toll on ordinary people in rebel-held parts of Yemen.

The Houthis have often responded by escalating hostilities, and renewed fighting could allow them to gain control of energy-rich areas of eastern Yemen, said Elisabeth Kendall, a Yemen expert at Cambridge University’s Girton College.

The Houthis have no shortage of advanced weaponry

The Houthis, who control northern and central Yemen, have been smuggling in advanced weapons for years, circumventing the blockade and a U.N. arms embargo. Iran denies arming the rebels, but Iranian-made weaponry has been found on the battlefield and in intercepted shipments.

The rebels have an array of cruise and ballistic missiles, drones and unmanned submarines.

Saudi-backed forces in Yemen are fighting back on a number of fronts, including the crucial port city of Hodeida and the province of Taiz along Yemen’s west coast. The Houthis have attacked Mokha, the main Red Sea port still held by the government.

Saudi Arabia appears reluctant to directly target the Houthis again, but if the rebels continue to escalate, “it will have to act decisively once and for all,” Kendall said.

El Deeb reported from Beirut and Abdul-Zahra from Baghdad. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed.

Argentina's government announced on Monday that it will file criminal charges against an Israeli company for operating in the Falkland Islands.

The move came just days after Argentine President Javier Milei pledged to sanction oil companies drilling in the British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, heightening the two-century-old dispute over the territory.

The planned legal action against Israeli energy company Navitas Petroleum followed news that it intends to carry out offshore drilling in the archipelago with the British firm Rockhopper, which set off a diplomatic storm earlier this year despite otherwise burgeoning bilateral relations between Israel and Argentina.

At the time, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar informed Argentina that the Israeli government was not involved in, and had no control over, Navitas’s operations, given that it is a public company,

The Argentinian government previously sanctioned the Israeli firm for carrying out oil-drilling operations without authorization, based on a 1976 United Nations resolution which established that neither Argentina nor the United Kingdom can make unilateral decisions over the territory as long as negotiations over the sovereignty of the Falklands continue.

The issue of the islands, known to Argentinians as Las Malvinas, is a perennially charged topic in Buenos Aires.

A spokesman for the Argentinian Ambassador in Israel and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem declined comment on Tuesday.

Kiryat Motzkin has the highest mammography screening rate for breast cancer of all Israeli cities, with 75.5% of eligible women undergoing the checkup, according to 2025 data from Clalit Health Services, the healthcare organization said on Sunday.

In Israel, mammography screening is covered under the national health basket for women aged 50 to 74, with screening generally recommended once every two years.

Early detection can enable earlier treatment and improve outcomes. There is no blanket recommendation for routine screening for women aged 45 to 49 or for women aged 75 and over, as the decision is made jointly with one’s treating physician, the healthcare service stated.

Kiryat Motzkin was followed by the largest Bedouin city in Israel, Rahat, with screening rates at 74.9%, Givatayim at 74.4%, Herzliya at 73.4% and Nahariya at 72.9%.

High screening rates were also recorded in Petah Tikva at 72.7%, Netivot at 72.4%, Kiryat Ata at 72.3%, Ra’anana at 72.2%, Haifa at 71.7%, Afula at 71%, and Beersheva at 70.6%, according to Clalit.

At the other end of the spectrum, 52.8% of eligible women in Beitar Illit underwent mammography, the lowest rate among the cities examined. Low rates were also recorded in Umm al-Fahm at 57.6%, Bnei Brak at 58.2% and Yavne at 59.3%.

“Awareness and participation in screening programs are key components of preventive medicine," the report quoted professor Doron Netzer, the head of Clalit’s Medical Division, as saying. "Alongside efforts to raise awareness and encourage women to maintain regular medical follow-up and screening, we are mapping and identifying disparities so that we can focus our efforts on populations and areas with lower screening rates, make services more accessible and increase participation,” Netzer continued.

Sigal Mazor, director of Clalit’s Health Promotion Department, said, “Early detection is essential and saves lives, but good health begins long before a screening appointment. Regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding smoking and limiting alcohol consumption can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer and contribute to better overall health.”

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in Israel, accounting for approximately one-third of new cancer cases diagnosed in women each year. Most cases occur among women over the age of 50.

According to estimates by the Israel Cancer Association, approximately 5,870 women in Israel are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer by the end of 2026, equivalent to roughly 113 new diagnoses every week. Around 1,100 women are expected to die from the disease during the year.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar declared "countermeasures" against the United Kingdom following Tuesday's announcement by his British counterpart, Ed Miliband, that the U.K. would ban products from Judea and Samaria.

"The accusations made today by the Foreign Secretary of the Labour government in the British Parliament were outrageous lies," Sa'ar said.

"A boycott of goods from Judea and Samaria is a despicable practice that harms hard-working, law-abiding citizens. The Labour Government has decided to employ this practice of boycotts and BDS only against the Jewish state."

The measures Sa’ar imposed include closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem; removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center, an organization established to coordinate stabilization and relief efforts in the aftermath of the Gaza war and headquartered in Israel; terminating British training of Palestinian Authority forces in Judea and Samaria; and denying entry to Israel to 12 British elected representatives and other British nationals involved in antisemitic or anti-Israel activity. (Among them is former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn)

UK Foreign Secretary Miliband had told the British Parliament on Tuesday, “The government believes the unlawfulness of the occupation should be reflected in the economic relationship we choose to have with the occupied territories.” The ban will come into effect within six months.

Describing the British move as "morally distorted," Sa'ar called Labour's actions "blatant interference in the affairs of a sovereign state and in its electoral process ... [a] completely unacceptable attempt by a foreign government to exert external influence in the midst of an election campaign."

Israel's national elections take place on Oct. 27.

The U.K. on Tuesday also joined 11 other countries in announcing that they would sanction, or consider sanctioning, goods from Judea and Samaria in response to what they said were Israeli government actions undermining the “two-state solution.”

Sa'ar accused Miliband and the Labour government of imposing sanctions for "domestic political reasons," noting his counterpart made the move ahead of the Labour Party Conference (Sept. 27-30).

Israel's foreign minister also addressed the pretexts for the sanctions cited by Miliband, namely that they were in protest of Israel's announcement that it would market tenders for 1,400 housing units in Israel's strategic E1 corridor.

"Contrary to the false claims of the Labour government, no new decisions have been made regarding development in E1. ... The tender process has been underway for many months," Sa'ar said.

"The claims regarding the severing of potential Palestinian territorial contiguity are also baseless. The decision of the government of Israel, taken more than a year ago, stipulated that two roads would be built: the first, Road 80, which will serve as a major transportation route from the Bethlehem area to the Ramallah area; the second, known as the 'Fabric of Life' Road, between a-Za’im and al-Ezariya," he said.

Sa'ar added that the Israeli public overwhelmingly supports the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and just as overwhelmingly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state in its heartland. "This is something that the Labour government is attempting, through measures that are doomed to fail, to force upon Israel. It will not work."

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an age-old conflict. Unfortunately, the Palestinians have always rejected proposals to resolve it and have never abandoned terrorism and incitement. This conflict will not be resolved through declarations from London or Paris, and a one-sided, anti-Israel approach only pushes the possibility of reaching a solution further away rather than bringing it closer," he said.

It is "particularly astonishing" that the Labour government hasn't considered imposing sanctions on the P.A., which continues to fuel terrorism through its pay-for-slay program, which financially rewards terror acts, Sa'ar added.

He noted the Labour government's decision is the latest in an "increasingly escalating series of unilateral measures against Israel" since it took office in July 2024.

Among those actions are the recognition of a non-existent "State of Palestine," the renewal of funding for UNRWA, some of whose employees took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, and sanctions imposed on Israeli ministers.

"These measures by the Labour Government in Britain, along with biased and one-sided anti-Israel rhetoric, have already contributed significantly to the unprecedented rise in antisemitic attacks, including violent attacks against British Jews," he said.

Sa'ar's statement was bolstered by the U.K.'s shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat, who protested Labour's move, which he said risked “encouraging sectarianism and antisemitism at home.”

Sa'ar posted to X that he spoke with Tugendhat and U.K. opposition leader Kemi Badenoch Tuesday evening, thanking them for their firm opposition to the Labour government's actions and welcoming their friendship with Israel.

"We know that we have many friends in the U.K., but unfortunately we are faced with the ongoing hostility of the current Labour government. I also thanked Kemi for her warm wishes ahead of the Jewish New Year," Sa'ar said.

Coalition members of the Netanyahu government also expressed their dissatisfaction with Labour.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, called for the British ambassador to be “expelled” immediately, adding: “We will not be a doormat trampled by an antisemitic government, in a country conquered by radical Islam, trying to save itself from economic and social decline by attacking Jews and the State of Israel.”

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, in a Spanish-language post, called for Israel to recognize “that the Malvinas Islands are Argentine territory under occupation, which the British are violently stealing from the Argentine people,” a reference to the decades-long British-Argentine dispute over the Falklands.

The British decision also brought condemnation separately from U.K. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, a representative body of the community.

In an X post on Tuesday, Mirvis wrote: "This is truly a dark day for British Jews. Today our Government has chosen to ignore the deep concerns expressed by so many of us. The measures announced amount to little more than political flag bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric and those who harbour a dangerous obsession with the Jewish State. These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target."

The Board of Deputies said it "felt a deep sense of anguish about this breakdown in relations" and warned that the Labour government's decision risked "perverse consequences which go against the U.K.'s stated objectives."

However, the organization also appeared to blame Israel, saying "intolerable settler violence" and "provocative measures" undermine Israel's international reputation. It claimed that both governments appeared to be pursuing party interests over national interests.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, questioned by press about the U.K.'s decision, said the U.S. would not make any move similar to London's, but that Washington didn't want to see any "destabilizing moves" in Judea and Samaria that could jeopardize progress with the 20-point plan announced by President Donald Trump to bring about a long-term resolution to the war Hamas launched with the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a whirlwind 24-hour trip to speak at the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders this month because “there is no option” after New York’s mayor urged his arrest over the war in Gaza, Israel’s U.N. envoy said Tuesday.

Ambassador Danny Danon accused Mayor Zohran Mamdani of “doing politics” when he called the prime minister a “war criminal” and called for his arrest, which he had to withdraw because New York City does not have authority to take Netanyahu into custody.

“You know, it became very trendy to do politics by blaming Israel,” Danon added. He stressed, “For us, it’s important the prime minister will come.”

Netanyahu has become an increasingly polarizing figure over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Mamdani, whose office did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday, has pointed to the arrest warrant issued by the world’s top war crimes tribunal against Netanyahu in November 2024, accusing him and another Israeli official of crimes against humanity.

The International Criminal Court warrant said there was reason to believe Netanyahu used “starvation as a weapon of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeting civilians in the campaign against Hamas — charges Israel denies.

While New York City does not have legal authority to execute an ICC arrest warrant, Mamdani has encouraged the federal government to do so. The U.S. and Israel are not members of the court, and the Trump administration has imposed a series of sanctions on ICC staffers in a campaign to dismantle the tribunal.

Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive in New York late on Sept. 23, address the U.N. General Assembly the afternoon of Sept. 24 and fly back to Israel that night, Danon said.

Danon noted that the meeting of leaders from the 193 U.N. member nations is taking place during the Jewish holidays and an election campaign as Netanyahu tries to keep his job as prime minister.

Danon said protests against Netanyahu would “create more chaos” on New York streets during the high-level meetings the week of Sept. 22-28.

Last year, there was a mass walkout from the U.N. General Assembly hall when Netanyahu started to speak from the podium. This year, Danon said, “I expect that there will be something like another show.”

But the ambassador said Netanyahu is experienced, “and I’m sure he will deliver his speech despite those attempts.”

U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas swiftly defeated progressive opponent Karishma Manzur in a Democratic Senate primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday, capping off one of several races in which criticism of Israel and AIPAC became prominent talking points. 

The Associated Press called the race just an hour after polls closed, at 6pm, when Pappas accrued 61.9% of voter support to Manzur’s 36.1%, with 22% of ballots counted.

Having secured the Democratic nomination, Pappas is seeking to fill the seat of three-term Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is not seeking reelection this year. As he and Manzur spoke to the press during the final weeks of the campaign, their messaging often included condemnations of Israeli leadership. 

New Hampshire Democrats chose Pappas, a four-term congressman, as their Senate nominee at a time when their party is hoping to take control of both houses of Congress. Their selection of Pappas, seen as the establishment candidate, could play a pivotal role in November, in a swing state where many voters still split tickets.

Pappas will face former Sen. John Sununu, a Republican who received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, in the general election. Sununu served one term in the Senate, from 2003 to 2009, immediately following three terms in the U.S. House.

Two other Democratic primaries, for neighboring U.S. House seats, likewise focused outsized attention on Israel in recent weeks. But one of the races featured a decisive victory on Tuesday, while the second was inconclusive as the evening progressed.

The post Chris Pappas projected to win New Hampshire Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

ANN ARBOR – Liberal Michigan rabbis and other Jewish leaders are calling on the Democratic Party to agree to a list of “nonnegotiable” principles about Jewish safety and Israel as the party’s U.S. Senate candidate in the state, Abdul El-Sayed, seeks to make inroads with Jewish voters.

The campaign, backed by a progressive Zionist group, comes as a different subset of Michigan Jewish leaders are urging their community to reject El-Sayed outright and instead vote for his Republican opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers.

“I think he has the potential to be an amazing, visionary leader in the state of Michigan and in this country,” Rabbi Josh Whinston, who heads the Reform Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor and has met privately with El-Sayed, said Monday about the Democratic candidate during a press conference. “But his vision needs to be more inclusive.”

Whinston was one of more than a dozen Jewish clergy who signed “Nonnegotiable Michigan,” the open letter. It does not directly address El-Sayed by name but outlines five principles its signers say “leaders who want our votes” must demonstrate. 

The letter lists five “nonnegotiables”:

• “Jewish safety — including for Zionist Jews — in Michigan and across America”; 

• “Our right to define our own Jewish identities”; 

• “Jewish sovereignty in Israel”; 

• “Welcoming our full participation in American political life”; and 

• “An affirmative vision for a better future in the Middle East.” 

The “Nonegotiable” campaign is backed by Zioness Action Fund, a registered 501(c)4 associated with the advocacy group Zioness, which bills itself as “Unabashedly progressive. Unapologetically Zionist.” Past Zioness actions have put pressure on progressive spaces to become more welcoming of Zionism as the progressive movement has sharply turned against Israel.

The initial signatories number 16, most of whom are Reform and Conservative rabbis and cantors serving congregations in the state. The initiative was spearheaded by Whinston and Rabbi Aaron Starr, of the Conservative Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, a Detroit suburb. Starr is also president of the Michigan Board of Rabbis.

“We realized we were all having this same experience of our members coming to us and saying, ‘Rabbi, what should I do?’” Starr told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the letter’s origins.

At the press conference, Starr compared the relationship between Jews and political parties to a marriage. “I would advise against a couple getting married if they can’t ensure each other’s safety and can’t honor each other’s identity,” he said.

It remains relatively rare for Jewish spiritual leaders to directly involve themselves in electoral politics, though a large coalition of thousands of rabbis signed onto a letter opposing “rising anti-Zionism” shortly before the election last year of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a harsh critic of Israel.

The latest letter comes as Michigan’s Jewish community of around 100,000 has been put in the national spotlight in a crucial election for deciding control of the Senate. In late August, El-Sayed, a strident Israel critic who has questioned its future as a Jewish state, apologized to Jewish Democrats for his past comments about the Temple Israel attack in West Bloomfield Township earlier this year. El-Sayed had said of the attacker, who lost family in an Israeli strike in Lebanon, “Hurt people hurt people,” triggering backlash from the Jewish community. 

The candidate has also been meeting with Jewish voters and leaders, and recently told JTA that “safety” is the top concern he hears from them. His campaign intends to hire a Jewish liaison, sources have told JTA.

El-Sayed has not budged on other issues of concern to Jewish voters, including his reticence to back a two-state solution that would specifically recognize Jewish sovereignty — though he has said he would be open to the possibility if Israelis and Palestinians jointly agreed on it. 

The petition’s leaders told JTA their letter had been in the works since before El-Sayed’s apology, and said he needs to do more. “It took on another level of meaning after his quote-unquote ‘apology,’ which was really only a partial apology,” Starr said.

Following one of El-Sayed’s apologies, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, urged the same room of Jewish Democrats ”to place the needs of the world above even our own self-interest and, yes, even our own survival.” Invoking Queen Esther and “Jewish values,” Nessel’s remarks have since been criticized by Jews across the spectrum and spurred renewed debate over the role of Jewish interests in the broader political conversation.

In contrast to Nessel, and to the rival letter urging a Rogers vote, the “Nonnegotiable” campaign does not endorse a candidate. Instead it argues that Democratic leaders should make clear to Jews that they agree with what the letter defines as central Jewish concerns. 

“Every constituency must occasionally remind its party that support is earned, not owed,” the letter states. “This is a good faith effort to make our needs unmistakably clear, and to invite any candidate seeking public office — now or in the future — to engage, listen, learn, and grow.”

Spokespeople for the El-Sayed campaign and for the Michigan Democratic Party did not immediately return JTA requests for comment. 

Starr said the values articulated in the letter go beyond El-Sayed: Jews, he told JTA, also have “an eye to 2028.”

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday that state police will increase patrols around synagogues and other Jewish institutions during the High Holidays, as the state prepares for heightened security amid a rise in antisemitic hate crimes.

State troopers will conduct high-visibility patrols in Jewish communities and at religious institutions and have begun outreach to religious leaders, according to the governor’s office. They will coordinate with local and federal law enforcement, as well as the Anti-Defamation League, Community Security Initiative and Secure Community Network.

The increased security comes as New York prepares to distribute a record $70 million to 290 nonprofit organizations vulnerable to hate crimes and attacks. The grants, administered through the state’s Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program, will help organizations strengthen physical security and cybersecurity. Each organization can receive up to $250,000 for measures including alarms, panic buttons, access controls, fencing, shatter-resistant glass, cybersecurity upgrades and security training.

New York City organizations received the largest share of the latest funding, with 147 grants totaling nearly $35.8 million. The mid-Hudson region received 99 grants totaling nearly $24.2 million, while Long Island received 25 grants totaling about $6 million.

“Keeping New Yorkers safe is my top priority—and even as we’ve driven violent crime to historic lows, any increase in hate crimes is absolutely unacceptable,” Hochul stated. “As Jewish New Yorkers prepare for the High Holidays, we’re continuing our record investments to protect sensitive sites and surging state police resources to keep communities safe across our state.”

The announcement comes as hate crimes in New York City have continued to rise. According to NYPD data cited by the governor's office, 425 hate crimes were reported through Aug. 30, a 16% increase from 367 during the same period last year.

Anti-Jewish hate crimes rose 8%, from 212 to 229, accounting for 53.9% of confirmed hate crimes in the city during the period. Outside New York City, preliminary data from the first quarter of 2026 also showed a 16% increase in reported hate crimes, with anti-Jewish crimes the most frequently reported category.

“The need for a record level of security funding to protect Jews during the High Holidays underscores the troubling reality that antisemitism and threats against Jewish communities remain persistent and real,” Eric Goldstein, CEO of the UJA-Federation of New York, stated.

The American Zionist Movement said the funding allotment would help upgrade systems and strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure.

“At a time when Jewish institutions and organizations continue to face heightened threats, this critical support will help ensure that AZM can continue its work safely and securely,” the organization stated.

The state has distributed more than $201 million through the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes program since Hochul took office, funding 2,035 projects, according to her office.

Jewish parents and teachers, who sued the Los Angeles Unified School District and others over ethnic studies materials that they say promote Jew-hatred in city public schools, can revive their case after a federal appeals court overturned the decision of a lower court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on Friday that the lower court was wrong to permanently dismiss the lawsuit, which The Deborah Project filed in 2022 on behalf of Jewish parents and teachers. The plaintiffs can now revise their complaint and explain better how Jewish students were harmed by the materials, the court said.

The ruling “changes everything,” according to Lori Lowenthal Marcus, legal director of the Deborah Project, which represents Jews, who face educational discrimination, on a pro bono basis.

“The trial judge ruled completely against us,” she told JNS. “The Ninth Circuit undid that altogether.”

“Now the case goes back to the trial court, with the roadmap from the Court of Appeals for how to adjudicate the claims, which we will re-plead, according to that roadmap, in an amended complaint,” she said.

The case, filed on behalf of Jewish parents and teachers, challenges materials tied to the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium.

The materials tell students that Jews are not indigenous to the Middle East, describe Israel as a “colonialist” and “settler state” founded through “genocide,” “ethnic cleansing” and “apartheid,” and call Zionism a “nationalist colonial ideology,” according to the complaint.

The lower court dismissed the case after ruling that the families had not shown that the curriculum harmed their children personally. The Ninth Circuit said that the plaintiffs could try to show that their children experienced “an independent act of antisemitism causally linked to the curriculum’s use within LAUSD or the school.”

That distinction is central to the case, Lowenthal Marcus told JNS.

“The trial judge claimed that if we couldn’t prove that direct connection, plaintiffs could not claim harm,” she said. “As we all know, antisemitism is a mutating virus that changes and spreads as it comes into contact with more people.”

If a teacher tells students that Jews only arrived in the Middle East after the Holocaust and usurped Palestinian land, students might repeat those claims to classmates and at anti-Israel protests, Lowenthal Marcus said, setting up a hypothetical example.

“The source of that harm is Teacher A,” she told JNS. “But Student X is barred from entering a building because of what they learned at the protest. The instructional material caused or at least contributed to the end result.”

Lowenthal Marcus told JNS that Jews who are ostracized, bullied or attacked for supporting Israel or refusing to denounce the “genocide” were harmed if teaching materials were the source of the Jew-hatred.

“That’s the essence of a hostile environment,” she said.

“The court recognized the contagion of antisemitism, which doesn’t stay localized in a single classroom but instead, like a virus, spreads and mutates as it expands throughout a larger communal system,” the Deborah Project stated.

“As its proponents intend, classroom materials propagandizing against Israel generate widespread hostility and even hatred towards Jews and their commitment to Israel,” it said. “That hostility is expressed in student-on-student bullying, graffiti and other conduct that silences and intimidates Jewish kids, making them afraid to have their Judaism as well as their commitment to Israel known.”

THe materials also “even imposes pressure on Jewish students to publicly disavow their commitment in an effort to stop the hostility,” it said.

The ruling could have implications beyond Los Angeles, according to Lowenthal Marcus.

“The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals encompasses federal courts in California, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and the eastern and western districts of Washington state,” she said. “But because no other courts of appeal have ruled on this issue, courts in other jurisdictions may also be guided by it if they have a case directly on point.”

The Ninth Circuit also wiped out more than $500,000 in legal fees and costs that the lower court had ordered the plaintiffs to pay.

The case now returns to the lower court, where the Jewish families and teachers can file a revised complaint and continue their challenge.

“We begin amending our complaint with the guidance of the Court of Appeals’ decision,” Lowenthal Marcus said.

A victory in the case would be “a tremendous blow against the sweet-sounding, but toxic reality of what passes for ethnic studies,” she told JNS.

“A topic that was supposed to be about ensuring that all students understood the customs and histories of different ethnicities living in their region instead became a nuclear weapon for spreading divisiveness, hatred of others and, in our clients’ cases, brutality towards Jews,” she said.

A Palestinian stabbed and wounded a 19-year-old Israeli in the West Bank on Monday, before fleeing the scene. 

Israeli troops shot and killed the assailant after a roughly hour-long manhunt. Palestinian media identified the assailant as Mohammed Mohsen, 34.

The attack took place at Ma’oz Yehuda farm, a settler farming outpost near the Palestinian village of Osarin, south of Nablus and not far from Qusra, where settler raids have drawn international attention. The victim, identified as Netanel Yaakobs, was taken to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva in moderate-to-serious condition with multiple stab wounds to his upper body. His family later said his condition was stable. 

The attacker arrived at the farm in a vehicle and spoke briefly with Yaakobs, asking whether he was armed before pulling out a knife and stabbing him several times. During the struggle, the knife broke, but the attacker continued trying to stab Yaakobs with what remained of the blade. 

Yaakobs said from his hospital bed that he fought back, punching and pushing the attacker as the two fell to the ground. He eventually grabbed the attacker by the neck before the assailant broke free and ran toward his vehicle. Only after pursuing him briefly did Yaakobs realize the extent of his own injuries, including wounds to his head, neck and hand, according to Israel’s Channel 13 news. 

Israeli forces launched a manhunt, deploying troops from several units and placing roadblocks around nearby Palestinian communities. About an hour later, troops located the attacker near his vehicle. The military said he tried to stab the soldiers at close range, prompting a soldier to open fire and kill him. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the troops who killed the attacker and wished Yaakobs a speedy recovery. 

“No terrorist can hide,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel would continue targeting terrorists, pursuing those who send them and destroying terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank. 

Defense Minister Israel Katz pledged that Israel would “vigorously pursue Palestinian terrorism, develop and strengthen Jewish settlement, and maintain security stability.” 

The attack occurred close to Qusra, which has been at the center of a series of clashes involving Israeli settlers, Palestinians and security forces in recent weeks. Last month, settlers established an unauthorized outpost beside Palestinian homes in the village, leading to a standoff of several days before the IDF dismantled it. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee called  the actions against Palestinians there a “horrific act of terror” meant to “intimidate and harass” families and said Israeli security forces intervened following U.S. requests. 

Violence erupted again in Qusra last week, when dozens of Israelis entered the village and barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while members of the family were still inside, according to the IDF. Several Palestinians were reported wounded. Israeli forces confiscated vehicles allegedly used by the rioters, while Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials condemned the violence. 

The stabbing came about two weeks after another Israeli, 24, was moderately wounded in an attack near the Palestinian village of al-Auja in the Jordan Valley. Israeli forces captured the suspected attacker following an hours-long search. 

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A version of this piece first ran as part of the New York Jewish Week’s daily newsletter, rounding up the latest on politics, culture, food and what’s new with Jews in the city. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

What you need to know today

• Hochul announces funding and High Holiday security boost: Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today that New York state will distribute $70 million to 290 “community based organizations that are vulnerable to hate crimes and attacks due to their ideology, beliefs or mission.” Hochul also announced that she has directed state police to increase presence and coordination with local police around “sensitive sites” during the High Holidays. In a press conference today, Hochul said she is proud “to be not just a protector, but an ally and friend to the Jewish people of New York state, and proud that we have the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.”

• JCRC leader decries ‘collective blame’ for 9/11: Ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Mark Treyger, CEO of New York’s Jewish Community Relations Council, writes in an op-ed for the New York Daily News today that “Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South Asian New Yorkers were blamed for atrocities they did not commit,” and that “collective blame” should not be assigned to members of any group. Treyger’s op-ed comes as critics of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim, have called for him not to attend the city’s anniversary event.

• Bukharian leaders leave Democratic party: A pair of leaders in Queens’ Bukharian Jewish community announced that they are leaving the Democratic Party, which they say has embraced positions that are “hostile to Israel, hostile to the Jewish community, and increasingly tolerant of anti-Semitism.” Rabbi Nahum Kaziev and Rafael Nektalov, editor of the Bukharian Times, believe that “thousands of community members across Queens might follow their lead,” according to a press release.

• Long Island Jew reportedly freed from Iranian prison: A Jewish Iranian-American man from Long Island was released from prison in Iran after spending about one year in Tehran’s Evin Prison, the Jerusalem Post reported. Kamran Hekmati was convicted last year during what was meant to be a brief trip to Iran over a visit to Israel 13 years earlier for his son’s bar mitzvah. He is reportedly unable to leave Iran due to a travel ban. Iranian officials have not confirmed Hekmati’s release nor the conditions under which he was freed.

• Fashion Week Sameach: Two Jewish electeds will be wearing clothes designed by Jewish artists at “Style Across the Aisle,” a runway show at the Metropolitan Opera House to be held tomorrow as part of New York Fashion Week. Israeli-American designer Elie Tahari will dress City Council Speaker Julie Menin, while tailor and Chabad rabbi Yosel Tiefelbrun is dressing Comptroller Mark Levine.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a 2028 presidential hopeful, ventured farther than ever in his criticisms of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a weekend interview that delved into the Democratic Party’s relationship with Israel. 

“I think it’s overwhelmingly opposed to the current regime in Israel,” Newsom said of the party, in a PBS News Hour interview with Amna Nawaz.

Pressed by Nawaz on divisions among his colleagues on Israel, Newsom denied that the subject is “even controversial anymore,” stressing that “the condemnation of what Bibi Netnayahu’s doing is almost universal.” The governor slammed the Israeli military’s conduct in Gaza and condemned the settler violence that has expanded in the West Bank. 

“We want a democratic and secure Israel, and we want a secure and democratic Palestinian state as well right next door,” Newsom said, adding that Netanyahu has proved counterproductive to achieving a two-state solution. 

Though he repeatedly maintained that Democrats are not divided on Israel, the governor acknowledged that “some of the language” by fellow Democrats  “has been weaponized.” Certain “aspects of rhetoric” from individual candidates, he added, are on “the spectrum of concern,” Newsom said. 

A number of candidates from the party’s far left place  most if not all of the blame on Israel for a war in Gaza that has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths. and downplay the role of Hamas in launching the war with the Oct. 7, 2023 raid inside Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were abducted. Newsom’s rhetoric is of a piece with party moderates who are critical of the Israeli government but who call for a secure Israel, reject Hamas and who resist pressure from the left to call Israel’s actions “genocide.”

Newsome nonetheless insisted that the party is unified on the issue. “But I think universally, everyone agrees, even if you don’t think it’s genocide, that it’s been a moral catastrophe,” he said of the war in Gaza. “The vast majority of us also agree about the atrocities on Oct. 7th and how horrific and unacceptable it was, and the terrorism that was perpetrated by Hamas.”

Newsom was among the many U.S. politicians to visit Israel in October 2023, meeting with survivors and families impacted by the attacks. 

During a March book tour, Newsom sparked a backlash when he said that some people were referring to Israel “appropriately as sort of an apartheid state.” He quickly walked back these remarks, telling Politico that he had used the term “in the context of the direction that Bibi is going.”

“I revere the state of Israel,” he declared at the time. 

The governor warned, however, that if Netanyahu proceeds in the direction of West Bank annexation, apartheid could become “a word you may hear others use.”

In addition to amplifying his condemnation of Netanyahu this weekend, Newsom also addressed the fact that fewer Democrats are accepting funds from political action committees affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group. 

As for Newsom himself, Track AIPAC, an organization that compiles Federal Election Commission data to flag pro-Israel campaign contributions, did not log any such donations to the likely presidential candidate. But the group did flag him as “pro-Israel.”

“It’s a minority of Democrats that are accepting AIPAC,” the governor said, noting a “dramatic change” over the last couple years. 

“The vast majority of Democrats I talk to, even Democrats in the past that have in the past have taken AIPAC money, are pledging not to now,” Newsom added. “That’s more of a mainstream position, interestingly, within the Democratic Party.”

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Lee Hayden Gallery at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst was named the best gallery in Ohio by the 2026 American Art Awards.

The gallery was recognized as part of the American Art Awards’ 20 Best Art Galleries in the USA for 2026. Selections were based on factors including years established, industry reputation, location, size, aesthetics, socially relevant exhibits, educational and motivational programs, online presence, represented artists and references from artists, clients and visitors, according to a news release.

.Lee Hayden Gallery has served international art collectors for more than 20 years in Northeast Ohio and is located at Legacy Village. Owner Kevin O’Donnell exhibits new artwork weekly, including original paintings, sculptures, glass and rare limited-edition prints.

“Today most of our clients reside outside of our home state, all across America and around the world,” O’Donnell said in a the release. “We are humbled by the trust placed in us by collectors of all types far and wide.”

The 4,000-square foot gallery near the Legacy Village Lawn currently displays work from 70 artists representing 20 countries.

Among the artists represented by the gallery is Texas artist Todd White, who has been represented by Lee Hayden Gallery longer than any other artist. White began his career in animation, working as lead character designer for “SpongeBob SquarePants” and other cartoons before pursuing fine art.

The gallery also represents United Kingdom artist Rob Hefferan, known for romantic impressionist paintings as well as pop-style figurative works and Georgia artist John Hill, who creates portraits using mixed media.

“Northeast Ohio has a tremendous art community, and Legacy Village is thrilled to be the home of Ohio’s top art gallery,” Susan Windle, general manager of Legacy Village, said in the release. “Lee Hayden Gallery is a popular draw for our art-loving visitors who are looking to add unique and fun pieces to their collections.”

Will Cohen, who grew up in Cincinnati, and Ben Kraim – better known online as Tokin’ Jew – had been looking for an avenue to get into the THC beverage space. After searching high and low, the duo turned to Minneapolis’ Big Watt Beverage Co. to produce their kosher L’Chaim Infused Grape Drink, just in time for the High Holy Days.

“We started with kosher edibles, and it was just super successful,” said Cohen, who now lives in Colorado. “We always knew beverages were a wave we wanted to jump on, but we wanted to do it a little bit differently.”

Rather than the ubiquitous skinny 12-ounce cans that many THC beverages are found in, Big Watt produced a 750ml product that looks like a bottle of wine.

“We felt like what is so stereotypically Jewish is Shabbat; you know, kiddush wine. Why has no one ever done a wine?” Cohen said. “And so we went down that route.”

The route was hardly smooth; it took three months of finding the right production partner and another nine months of respite testing, getting the right bottles, production, pasteurization, and labels.

“We ended up at Big Watt; we liked what Rick [Dow] was doing, we liked Jackson [Gese], their recipe guy,” he said. “It was a mutually beneficial relationship that took a little bit of time for us to get off the ground.”

Dow, who works in sales and marketing at Big Watt, said the company’s beginnings were in canned, cold-pressed coffees, which expanded to sparkling waters and eventually co-manufacturing beverages for other companies and stores. As THC beverages started taking off, it became a significant part of Big Watt’s business.

“I came in one morning and was checking the mail, and I got this inquiry from ‘Tokin’ Jew,’ and my immediate reaction was, ‘Oh shit, this is fucking hilarious!’” he said. “ I said to myself, I don’t care what it is. We’re doing business with these guys immediately.”

Dow echoed Cohen’s assertion that the production was difficult.

“We explored a lot of different things, and it turned out to be, frankly, really complicated to find the proper formulation, the right bottle, all of that,” he said. “So it took us way longer than we had thought, and it really stretched the relationship.”

Dow is seeing huge growth in the THC beverage market.

“I call it the rapidity of normalization (that) has just been taking everybody by surprise,” he said. “You know, it’s grandparents, soccer moms, it’s in convenience stores, it’s on menus in restaurants. It’s available everywhere.”

Cohen is thrilled with how the beverage came out.

“It’s not just a grape juice that’s carbonated in a wine bottle,” he said. “It has a lot more of a robust taste. We wanted this to be something that you could have the whole bottle of and not feel disgusting after.

“We’re really excited for it. I think it’ll be a really cool foray into the beverage space.”

Tokin’ Jews’ Kosher certification is by Rabbi Yaakov Cohen’s Whole Kosher Services out of Houston, Texas. He asked Rabbi Sholom Brook, who leads Chabad Young Jewish Professionals in Minneapolis, to be present when the beverages were produced on Sunday morning, Aug. 16.

“Every rabbi of a kosher supervision agency needs someone locally to oversee certain things, that all the products are kosher, and that the production is done properly, and they kashered the big machines and big tanks that carry the liquid,” Brook said. “I was answering to Rabbi Cohen because it was his supervision.”

Rabbi Cohen has been at the forefront of where kosher and CBD come together after his late son, Elisha passed away after suffering from brain cancer.

“I was hoping [the buzz] was going to die down,” he said with a chuckle. “It has its controversial issues, but for the most part, the understanding (within Jewish law) is that cannabis medicinally is OK. Then, of course, you’re going now into the area of edibles and things like that. So therefore you’re in the gray area where most people understand that as recreational, but it can also be used medicinally.”

Rabbi Cohen said he gives his kosher supervision for medicinal purposes.

“I’m not an advocate of recreational (cannabis use),” he said. “I don’t even think the word ‘recreation’ is in the Torah.”

Rabbi Cohen said that most rabbis forbade marijuana and its byproducts mostly because of the stigma attached. But then research showing the medicinal properties led to a second look.

“People need it medicinally either to help them go to sleep or arthritis, you know all the kinds of ailments that a person who normally would take drugs, they could take this in place of their normal narcotics or whatever prescription drugs that they were taking,” Rabbi Cohen said.

Will Cohen said that being a kosher product adds a layer of complexity to the process – but it’s a good one to have.

“In this industry there’s so much uncertainty of what the final product looks like, and I think we’ve realized our our consumers trust us, and that’s what that that’s what that’s what’s paramount about this loyalty that we’ve built with our customers,” he said. “First and foremost, we are never using the cheapest ingredients because of our Jewish guilt. But also naturally because kosher is a requirement, and so we’ve built kind of our standards that mirror and ratchet up very nicely with the kosher certification process.”

The added steps of certification and the transparency that comes with it is important to Cohen and Kraim.

“It’s so integral to who we are and the transparency and the trust that we give,” Cohen said. “A lot of our consumers are Jewish moms. We get emails from people who are like, ‘I’m too scared to go to the dispensary. Like, I need you to tell me explicitly: what do I need to get here?’ We feel excited that we’re able to build such an open and honest and transparent shopping experience in an industry that’s usually not that.”

Cohen said that growing up a Reform Jew in Cincinnati, cultural Judaism was always important to his life, even if religious Judaism wasn’t.

“The actual learnings that I think underpin Judaism was not something I really took to heart when I was younger,” he said. “And now that I have this, I’m like, ‘Wait, there’s something really special here’ that we’re able to bring out through the lens of Tokin’ Jew because it’s cut with comedy, and that’s what I think people have been able to grapple with and gravitate towards.”

Not only is Cohen’s Judaism enhanced by Tokin’ Jew – so is his boyfriend’s. Sort of.

“My boyfriend is not Jewish, but like, the most Jewish at the same time because of my day-to-day life,” he said.

What was started by Cohen and Kraim as a meme account turned into an Instagram following of more than 177,000 and between 10 and 20 million monthly viewers.

“We always knew there was something there, and it was on the back burner for a little bit as we built the community on the meme engine,” Cohen said. “But we knew there was something bigger. I think we still feel that way, which is exciting.

“We have this community that’s super loyal, and I think we’re definitely the type of people who pilot things, we learn, we fail, and we move to the next thing. And then we find the next successful thing, and we go at it really hard. It’s exciting.”

This article was originally published by Cincy Jewfolk. Reprinted with permission.

Canada's coordinated action against what it calls Israeli "settlements" and the country's support for a two-state solution could embolden anti-Israel groups and threaten the safety of Canadian Jews, according to Iddo Moed, the Israeli ambassador to Canada.

"I'm concerned about the safety of the Jewish community," he told JNS. "Not just Israelis but the entire Jewish community in Canada."

Moed, who has served in the post for just over three years, spoke to JNS shortly after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron said jointly that their governments would ban imports from Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and impose targeted measures against what they called Israeli "settlements," and those who facilitate or profit from them.

"Settlements are illegal under international law," the trio stated. "The time has come to take further action to uphold our commitment to protect the two-state solution our interests and to stand up for our values before it is too late."

Also on Tuesday, the Toronto mayor and police chief said that there will more police officers patrolling during the High Holidays and through the three-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, attacks. There will also be a strategic post on the street corner where anti-Israel protesters stage demonstrations near the Jewish community, they said.

Moed told JNS that anti-Israel groups have already said on social media that the government's announcement about Judea and Samaria goods is a victory.

"When they are celebrating, normally they would go and intimidate more," he said. "They feel more emboldened to intimidate the Jewish community. This is what antisemitism looks like."

If people fail to understand the connection between anti-Israel and antisemitic comments and actions, "that's very concerning," he told JNS. "We have seen over the past three years how quickly people take criticism against Israel to attack and intimidate the Jewish community of Canada."

"Such decisions by the government definitely give more room for those to act, and I don't hear anything from the government trying to create proportion or to balance things out internally," he said.

Moed told JNS that Israeli officials "want to share our knowledge, our approach, our principles and of course technologies and collaboration, anything that can be helpful" with Canada from a security perspective.

"Indigenous people have about 20 words for 'snow.' In Hebrew, we have only one word, but I think we have a lot of words for security," Moed said. "More than people have here in Canada."

"It's hard to get people to understand what we are talking about," he told JNS. "When something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, we say that's a very dangerous duck. You have to be ready to take action."

He is particularly frustrated that the new announcement might disrupt efforts "to create further collaboration between Israel and Canada on innovation and entrepreneurship, on technology."

The envoy rejected the Canadian government's statement that the measures would lead to a two-state solution. Recognizing a Palestinian state before negotiating its security arrangements would encourage Hamas and other anti-Israel terror groups, he said.

The new announcement may also be a foreign effort to interfere in Israeli elections, slated for Oct. 27, according to Moed.

"As an Israeli citizen, the timing of this statement really bothers me," he told JNS. "It's a direct infringement and it has a direct impact on Israeli elections. It further degrades the trust that used to be between Canada and Israel."

Montgomery County police will not issue criminal citations for violations of a new firearms law barring the carrying of guns in or within 100 yards of houses of worship while litigation challenging the measure is pending, the county told a federal court Tuesday.

The county’s filing came in a lawsuit brought by the Silver Spring Jewish Center and congregants who argue that the law, signed by County Executive Marc Elrich on July 27, prevents volunteers from carrying firearms to protect their synagogue. Synagogue security volunteers previously told JNS that they continued carrying guns despite the ban.

"The county passed a law their own prosecutor thinks is probably unconstitutional and certainly dangerous," Rabbi Menashe Shapiro, a plaintiff in the case, told JNS. "Although they have, for now, instructed the police not to criminally enforce the ban, they reserve the right to pursue lawful gun owners for civil violations. We hope the court will intervene soon to provide full relief from any prosecution."

The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office has agreed to defer criminal prosecutions, and county police “will not issue criminal citations” under the disputed provisions “until full and final resolution of this matter,” according to the filing. The commitment applies to anyone, whether or not they are a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The county stopped short of promising that it would issue no civil citations. It told the court that such enforcement is unlikely and that the “only conceivable form of enforcement” in the interim would be “a civil citation and monetary fine.” The maximum fine is $500.

The county also argued that similar firearms restrictions are already in place in several other Maryland jurisdictions. The Silver Spring Jewish Center disputed that claim in a response Tuesday, arguing that Prince George’s County restricts loaded firearms, Charles County’s cited provision applies only to air guns, and Gaithersburg and Takoma Park exempt licensed permit holders.

The law, Expedited Bill 23-26, took effect after Elrich signed it on July 27. It bars carrying firearms in or within 100 yards of designated “places of public assembly,” including houses of worship, schools, parks, libraries and polling places.

Terry Lynn Kulkin of Lyndhurst, born on April 2, 1957, sadly and untimely passed away on Aug. 24, 2026. 

Terry, a loving daughter, sister, niece and aunt, was a dedicated Certified Registered Nurse with an extensive nursing background. She devoted 41 years of her career to University Hospitals, working in the ED, NICU and on the Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital Critical Care Transport team. Throughout her nursing career, Terry cared for critically ill and injured adults, high-risk obstetric adults, intensive care pediatric patients and pre-mature newborns. Terry also assumed many nursing administrative coordinator duties and trained new nurses who joined the CCT team later in her career.

Her devotion to nursing and patient care earned her numerous Nursing Excellence Service Awards throughout her career at UH. In addition, she also worked as a talented nurse paralegal for 20 years in the field of medical malpractice for a few different law firms, where she later in her career became the lead nurse consultant.

Outside of her professional life, Terry loved her family, friends, the water and the beach. She took great pride in taking care of her lovely home and yard, which she adoringly maintained and filled with beautiful flowers.

Terry is survived by her brother Scott (Lisa), her nephew Matthew (fiancée Corinna), her aunt Adrienne (Daniel, deceased), and many other cousins, family members and many close friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Nathan and Ilean Kulkin, (nee Greenberger), her uncles Jack, Harry, and Milton, and her aunts Rachel, Jean and Betty(all deceased).

A graveside service was held at Mount Olive Cemetery in Solon on Aug. 30.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations can be made to: The Littlest Heroes, P.O. Box 470177, Cleveland, OH 44147 or ACBC, Aluminum Cans for Burned Children, 4758 Ridge Road, Suite 166, Cleveland, OH 44144 or a charity of your choice.

The United Kingdom, France and Canada will ban goods produced in the West Bank settlements and Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Parliament on Tuesday, explaining that all such communities were deemed by his country to be illegal.

The declaration exacerbated the rising tensions riling the traditionally strong Israel-U.K. alliance. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that these steps stoked antisemitism against British Jews in an on-camera statement to reporters in Jerusalem. 

Sa’ar charged that the measures were a politicized hostile action deliberately taken ahead of Friday’s Jewish New Year holiday, with an eye toward influencing the country’s Oct. 27 elections.

Israel, he said, is responding by closing the British Consulate in Jerusalem that services Palestinians. It will also remove British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center in Kiryat Gat and halt the British training of Palestinian Authority security forces. He added that Israel would bar the entry of 12 British politicians and other nationals involved in anti-Israel activity.

France and Canada have also announced a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He noted that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so. 

In the same address, Miliband affirmed Israel’s right to exist, reflected on his own Jewish roots and rejected the notion that there was a connection between the policy steps against West Bank settlement activity and the safety of British Jews.

What is motivating the U.K., Miliband said, is “a deep sense of shame about what has unfolded in Palestine under the eyes of the international community” as well as Israel’s “clear intent to bury the Palestinian state.”

In response, he said, the U.K. “will introduce an import ban on goods from illegal settlements in the occupied [Palestinian] territory” as part of a “new comprehensive sanctions regime” that will be put in place within nine months.

This will include, he said, “action against specific companies and individuals who provide services, such as construction, infrastructure, financing or real estate for settlement expansion.”

To those who “finance or facilitate illegal settlements, let me say this, you will face the full force of U.K. sanctions,” Miliband warned.

Miliband clarified that the ban would not affect the export of religious items or life-saving Israeli medications. He explained that trade with the settlements was minimal and that the greater impact would be the sanctions on services.

As part of declaring the ban, Miliband said that the British government is also adopting the International Court of Justice’s 2024 advisory opinion that all Israeli settlement activity over the pre-1967 border was illegal.  

But others in Parliament pushed back against Miliband’s declaration. MP Richard Tice of Britain’s right-wing Reform party said that the sanctions were a grave mistake that would “embolden the scourge of antisemitism against British Jews on British streets,” endanger ties with the United States and lead to “tit for tat” sanctions from Israel.

Miliband shot back that “no British Jew is responsible for the policies of the Israeli government and it behooves all of us to make sure that there can be no confusion about that,” saying that Tice’s statement “fell foul” of that goal.

The U.K. action is the latest escalation in tensions between Israel and the Labour-led British government headed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took power in July. 

The prior government, led by former Labour Premier Keir Starmer, had already angered Israel by recognizing Palestinian statehood in 2025, suspending licenses for the export of arms to Israel and freezing talks toward a free-trade agreement.

France and Canada are also announcing a ban on the import of settlement goods, Miliband told parliament. He explained that the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain, and Norway have either banned goods or in the process of doing so. 

In concert with Miliband’s appearance at Parliament, Britain and 11 other countries issued a joint statement pledging “their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law.” 

Those other countries were Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. 

The 12-country bloc said it was taking this step to maintain the viability of the two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, describing the situation in the West Bank as “rapidly deteriorating.” 

In its statement, the bloc stressed that it was taking this step amid an “unprecedented level of settler violence and settlement expansion, including the unacceptable decision to publish tenders for the E1 settlement project.” That project is seen as cutting through land that would render a Palestinian state unviable.

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The post UK, France, Canada to ban goods from Israeli settlements appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

State Board of Education members on Friday approved a rewrite of what Texas high schoolers learn in social studies, disregarding pleas from Muslims who testified that schools should teach how people of Islamic faith positively contributed to world history.

The Republican majority instead adopted a lesson, for example, requiring public school students to learn that “radical Islam” motivated the 9/11 attacks, as opposed to more narrowly focusing on terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and extremists such as Osama bin Laden. A Muslim-American EMT was notably among those killed while attempting to save lives during the tragedy.

The board greenlit students learning about early Islam through the lens of the Prophet Muhammad’s “brutal military campaigns against Jewish and Christian tribes, the normalization and regulation of slavery, and the taking of female captives as harem slaves.” No credible Islamic scholar would find such a portrayal accurate, the Muslim Texans argued.

At least three of the board’s appointed experts also cautioned against the characterization. Andrea Hutchison, a social studies curriculum coordinator for Prosper ISD, said it does not “hold up to close historical scrutiny.” Robert Koons, a philosophy professor at UT-Austin, said most nonreligious scholars find the source of the claims “not very reliable.”

“I would warn us about including things that are not based on well-established secular sources,” Koons said Friday.

With minor tweaks, a Republican majority approved it anyway. The GOP members voted against eliminating the word “brutal,” as suggested by their colleague, Will Hickman.

They did not revive a previously deleted expectation that schools teach about Muslim contributions to algebra and astronomy. Students testified earlier in the week that the decision to instead portray Islam as violent will cause significant harm to them and their classmates.

“I feel attacked, as if my religion doesn’t belong,” Habiiba Quresh, 15, told board members. “I shouldn’t have to defend my religion in the middle of history class because of one sentence someone on this board wrote.”

Final revisions to high school history, government and geography studies come after the board’s Republican majority approved changes to Texas’ K–8 social studies materials in June alongside a mandatory reading list that includes Bible stories.

The group postponed four of the upper level courses after members expressed concerns about rushing the process and potentially causing unintended errors. Preliminary votes occurred after hours of discussion Monday and Tuesday. The elected officials continued debate and finalized the plan Friday afternoon.

“The board has turned our classrooms into a place where prejudice is taught as fact and entire communities are written out of their own history,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Texas chapter wrote in a statement. “This is not only a Muslim issue, a Black issue, or a Palestinian issue — it is a Texas issue, because a board willing to do this to one community can do it to any community next.”

Republican State Board of Education Chair Aaron Kinsey said he believes that once tensions calm, Texans will see how “balanced” the new social studies framework turned out.

“There’s been a lot said out of this room, particularly to sensationalize all these topics and to make them seem more divisive than they actually are,” Kinsey said. “Fifteen people sat in the room, and we worked through, democratically, how to make those choices on behalf of our constituents. So I don’t think we shortchanged anything. I think that we did an exceptional job overall.”

The contentious process to rewrite social studies has stretched several years. The board delayed changes to the courses in 2022 after pressure from conservative lawmakers who complained about how students would learn about topics such as race and gender.

Those leaders and activists now champion the new framework, which they view as the final battle in a push to rid Texas schools of instruction they say paints America in a negative light and trains students to hate the country.

Hundreds of people have testified at meetings that often extended overnight, well into the early morning. Throughout the board’s deliberations, many Republicans attacked Islam, a religion they see as incompatible with their interpretation of Christianity.

“All they need to know is how evil Islam is,” Chuck Allmon, one of over 100 people who spoke Monday, said of Texas students.

Democrats, educators and students, meanwhile, criticize the minimization of racial, ethnic and cultural diversity reflected in U.S. and world history courses, as well as the materials’ hefty emphasis on Christianity. The critics noted that many of the learning expectations will teach children what to think — not how to arrive at their own conclusions.

The education board approved a requirement, for example, that students graduate with the ability to describe arguments against “the modern welfare state that emerged from continued expansion of Great Society programs.” The Great Society refers to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1960s policy agenda that sought to abolish poverty and racial inequality.

Regarding Christianity, students must now learn how “biblical imagery and founding principles of equality and justice from the Declaration of Independence” connect to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Some speakers noted Monday that the changes whitewash other aspects of the religion, such as how white Americans used the Bible to justify violence against Black Americans, including slavery.

“Slavery existed for thousands of years before Islam,” said Sarah, an 11-year-old softball player who did not provide her last name. “It is unfair to label slavery as Islamic without also discussing the Christian role in the slave trade to the Americas.”

Democratic members and some of the board’s content experts also highlighted that the learning expectations in U.S. history now describe slavery as an institution that “existed in many societies throughout history,” failing to emphasize the race-based nature of American slavery that made it distinct.

“Slavery is foundational to this country, and for us to not pour energy and time into exploring the influences and impact that slavery had on the development of this country, it’s striking for me,” board member Marisa B. Pérez-Díaz, D-San Antonio, said. “I think we’re doing a disservice to our students if we’re not spending time on that.”

Many teachers have said they felt excluded from the revision process as the board majority placed more value on the input of conservative activists than on their own. Others point to a lack of transparency as the reason for their frustration, noting the difficulty in figuring out who influenced the lessons’ conservative approach.

The new social studies framework eliminates the current sixth-grade world cultures course, which some educators see as evidence that Texas officials do not prioritize traditions outside of Western civilization. They believe the lack of emphasis will diminish students’ knowledge of the world beyond America.

Republican members believe the opposite will happen, saying that students need more knowledge of the state and country they live in, as well as the influences that shaped them.

Kinsey said it was also important for members to cut down the number of learning expectations in each course after warnings from Texas Education Agency officials that the board had proposed too much content.

“The intention is not to shortchange anything,” Kinsey told members Tuesday. “But we have to determine what is essential.”

Texas schools will begin phasing in the adopted social studies changes during the 2030-31 school year.

On Monday, Republicans on the board welcomed another member to their majority, temporarily increasing their presence to 11-4.

Houston Democrat Staci Childs vacated her seat as she campaigns for the Texas House. Gov. Greg Abbott replaced her with Pasadena Republican Tammie Nielsen, who will serve on the board through the end of the year. She remained silent for most of her first week on the board, often voting alongside the most conservative of her Republican colleagues.

Nielsen and Democrat Coretta Mallet-Fontenot will appear on the November ballot to serve the remainder of Childs’ term.

This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

Toronto Chief of Police Myron Demkiw said on Tuesday that law enforcement will be boosted during the High Holidays and through the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel.

Toronto's Jewish communities have seen a spike in antisemitic violence in recent months, including shootings directed at synagogues. Police have made 573 arrests since Oct. 7, 2023, according to Demkiw.

"I want the community to know that the Toronto Police will have an increased presence, both visible and covert," he said during a press conference on Tuesday. "We will have police officers embedded with the Jewish security network over the coming weeks."

Demkiw mentioned specific strategic command posts, including one at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue, where anti-Israel protesters frequently gather.

"If you engage in criminal behavior, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will lay charges against you," he said.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who is up for re-election in October, said during the same press conference that "everyone gathering for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur deserves to do so without worry."

She added that in theory, the Jewish community shouldn't have to need extra security, but that at this time in certain parts of the country, "they do."

Chow called anti-Jewish targeting "despicable," adding that officers have been added to the hate-crimes unit.