How Did Religious Jews Become the Most Enthusiastic Supporters of the Occupation?
Violence and plunder were always anathema in Judaism. What went wrong?
Jewish World
The Jewish Housewife Who Became a Soviet Nuclear Super-spy
Ursula Kuczynski was a full-time mother until a meeting in Shanghai transformed her into ‘Sonya.’ Her biographer describes the Jewish KGB spy's career, which climaxed with the theft of American atomic secrets
Opinion From Texas to the Taliban, the Dark Politics of Fundamentalism Is Rising
The ties that bind the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Texan lawmakers and Israel’s ‘Torah-true’ political parties – and the secular patrons who enable them
Biden Tells U.S. Rabbis High Holy Days a Chance to Restore 'Our Sense of Camaraderie'
In most extensive remarks to the Jewish community, U.S. president says 'hate has been given too much oxygen over the last 10 years'
Analysis U.S. Jews Got Out of Two Toxic Relationships This Year
The battle for America’s soul didn’t end after Trump’s exit . It will continue in the Jewish year 5782 and those that follow
‘It’s Time to Get Out’: Why Jews Are Fleeing South Africa for Israel
500 Jews are set to make aliyah from South Africa in 2021, the most in a single year since the fall of the apartheid regime. Immigrants and experts explain the reasons for the exodus
Scattered by Hurricane Ida, New Orleans' Jews Prepare for Holiday Season
The widespread evacuations add to an already difficult set of circumstances created by the pandemic, with congregations across the country weighing public health directives against the desire to gather in some capacity
Antisemitic Incidents in Austria More Than Double Over the Past Year, Report Finds
According to figures collected by the local Jewish community, incidents have risen to 562 during the first half of 2021, compared to 257 during the same period last year
The Israeli Activists Putting Orthodox Women Back in the Picture
Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll is the driving force behind a new project to normalize the idea of seeing Orthodox women in everyday life. ‘The Orthodox world erases us and the secular world fetishizes us,’ she says
The History of Rosh Hashanah Which Wasn't Always the 'New Year'
Much of today's traditions originated with Babylonian worship, and you have to read this to believe how a calf's head morphed into gefilte fish.
Opinion Israel Must Take in Afghan Refugees Fleeing the Taliban
The humanitarian reasons for Israel to offer shelter, now, to Afghans fleeing Taliban rule are compelling. And it would be a powerful retort to decades of racist fearmongering against desperate non-Jewish refugees
Holocaust Survivor's Son Who Flew Afghan Refugees to U.S.: It Was Easy to ‘Put Myself in Their Position’
Alexander Kahn, who flew hundreds of refugees to the U.S., says his father was liberated from Buchenwald and arrived in U.S. 'not much differently'
Ed Asner, Proudly Jewish Actor Who Delighted in Pixar’s ‘Up,’ Dies at 91
The beloved actor and activist incorporated Judaism in his many roles: 'I was raised to believe that giving back to your community is the good and right way above all'
In Pictures: Jewish Leaders, Activists Join D.C. March for Voting Rights
Thousands marched down Washington’s National Mall on Saturday, with Rabbi Jonah Pesner telling protesters they're walking in the footsteps of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Jewish activists of the civil rights movement
WATCH Jewish New Yorkers Slam COVID Anti-vaccine Holocaust Comparisons in Parody Song
The song is a deeply Jewish response to a disturbing trend, said one of the creators of 'The Anti-Vaxxer’s Lament'
Spike Lee Re-editing Documentary Featuring 9/11 Conspiracy Theorist, Antisemite
This was prompted by reports of early media screenings that criticized the Oscar-winning filmmaker
Opinion Dani Dayan's Appointment Is the Final Step Toward Politicizing Yad Vashem
How can former settler leader Dani Dayan, who doesn’t believe Palestinians deserve equal rights, head an institution dedicated to documenting the most horrific consequences of the actions of a nationalistic, racist regime?
Israeli-Lithuanian Team Reveals Torah Ark at the Site of Vilnius’ Great Synagogue
The Great Synagogue, which was destroyed by the Nazis and the Soviets, was built in the 17th century and was part of a larger complex of Jewish institutions that included 12 synagogues or prayer halls
Republican Lawmaker Compares U.S. Vaccine Mandates to the Holocaust
Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie posted an image of a hand raised in a fist with a tattooed number visible on the wrist, implying that presenting proof of vaccination is akin to being tattooed by the Nazis
IN PHOTOS: Excavating the Great Temple at Motza Near Jerusalem
Dozens of silos, figurines and arrows: The 2021 summer dig in the shelter of a bridge on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway
Rabbinate Asks Pope to Clarify Remarks on Torah
In letter, rabbinate says Pope Francis' appeared to denigrate Jewish law, by suggesting it was obsolete when he recently told a general audience that 'The law (Torah) however does not give life'
Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Eleven Israeli and Jewish Athletes to Watch
Some 4,500 athletes are set to compete in 539 events, starting August 24
The German Who Was the Key to Mossad’s Capture of Eichmann Finally Revealed
Without German geologist Gerhard Klammer, the Nazi war criminal never would have gone to trial
Why Is Spain Suddenly Turning Down So Many Jews Who Apply for Citizenship?
New citizenship data reveals that last quarter, 2,276 applications of Sephardic Jews were turned down — compared to a total of three before this year
What Israelis Really Think About Civil Marriage, Surrogacy and Dating Foreigners
According to a survey by Haaretz and the Israeli Congress over half of Israelis are in favor of civil marriage, and 61 percent support equal rights for LGBTQ couples
Jewish Agency Invites Staff to Radical West Bank Settlement for Holiday Trip
Workers were invited to attend a Rosh Hashana trip in Hebron, where hundreds of Israeli settlers live among more than 200,000 Palestinians. The Agency's deputy chairman says he was not consulted
New Destination for Jewish Vacation: Welcome to Taiwan's Talmud Business Hotel
Ideas about successful Jews like the ones displayed at the Talmud Business Hotel, with rooms named after George Soros and Alan Greenspan, are commonplace in East Asia
Prayers Outside, but No More Zoom: U.S. Synagogues Prepare for Another COVID Holiday Season
A few weeks ago, congregations across America were looking forward to hosting in-person services for the Jewish new year and Yom Kippur. Now, the delta variant is playing havoc with their best-laid plans
Even Liberals Are Happy With Choice of a Former Settler Leader to Head Yad Vashem
Considering that anti-Arab Effi Eitam was almost a shoo-in for the job, Jewish world leaders and organizations are relieved by the appointment of former New York consul-general Dani Dayan
Requests for Secrecy and No Tenders: Inside the Monopoly Bringing a ‘Lost Tribe’ to Israel
Despite being the subject of complaints from members of the Bnei Menashe community, Shavei Israel continues to enjoy a unique arrangement with the government worth large sums of money. The organization denies the allegations
‘There’s Nothing Religious People Fear More Than Gay Men’
Widely respected saxophonist Daniel Zamir is a man of many contradictions: He’s an openly bisexual Orthodox Jew who is forthright about his relations with men, yet he rejects the LGBTQ community and is a member of the religious Zionist movement. 'I’m not willing to be considered less than any other Jew'
Polish Holocaust Memorial Defaced With Slogans Praising Hitler
The large tombstone-shaped monument near Krakow, commemorating about 1,500 people murdered there in 1941 by German troops, was found vandalized on Wednesday, the news site Jewish.pl reported
Police Arrest Suspects in Shooting of Denver Yeshiva Student
Despite demands to investigate the murder as a hate crime, police have refrained from ascribing motives until all the perpetrators are caught
‘Dark Horse’ Candidate Becoming More Likely to Nab Top Job at Jewish Agency
A candidate for the position of Jewish Agency chairman must be endorsed by nine of the 10 members of the nominations committee, but given the current makeup of the committee, the front-runner could be blocked from obtaining this majority
Yeshiva Student Shot and Killed During Late-night Crime Spree in Denver
The victim, identified as Shmuel Silverberg, was shot in what does not appear to be a 'bias-motivated' incident according to police