Hungary’s Viktor Orban loses to Peter Magyar, ending rule of a key Netanyahu ally in Europe

Peter Magyar has ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year tenure as Hungary’s prime minister, sending the closest ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu packing after a decisive vote on Sunday. Israel did not play a prominent role in the election, which centered on issues related to democracy, Hungary’s relationship to Europe and Russia, and corruption. It […]

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London music festival canceled after UK bars Ye’s entry amid pressure from Jewish groups

London’s Wireless Festival has been canceled after the British government denied entry to Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, following mounting pressure from Jewish groups over his history of antisemitic remarks. The organizers of the popular three-day festival confirmed its cancellation in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, writing that the British […]

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Mordecai Kaplan wanted Jews to choose Judaism. Why they didn’t was the bane of his life. 

Reconstructionist Judaism, wrote the Jewish sociologist Charles Liebman almost 60 years ago, “comes closer than any other movement or school of thought to articulating the meaning of Judaism for American Jews.” By emphasizing belonging over rote observance, personal fulfillment over inherited obligation, and Jewish “civilization” over theology, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan’s brainchild seemed poised to capture […]

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Iran claims synagogue in Tehran was ‘completely destroyed’ by US-Israeli strike

Iranian state media claimed on Tuesday that a synagogue in Tehran was “completely destroyed” by a U.S.-Israeli strike. The claim was impossible to verify. Footage of the alleged attack on the Rafi-Niya Synagogue posted online showed open Hebrew prayer books scattered among the rubble of a building. The synagogue was damaged when a nearby residential […]

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Israeli, Serbian leaders denounce antisemitic statements at Belgrade protest

Israeli and Serbian officials are denouncing antisemitic comments made by demonstrators during a clash between Serbian students and police at a protest last week. “Death to Vučić and all the Jews around him,” one protester said in a televised interview, referring to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. “Long live Serbia.” The protest last Tuesday marked the […]

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