Teachers at Chabad’s Jewish kindergarten in Odessa, Ukraine, were shocked one morning recently to discover that a classroom window had been blown out by an explosion overnight. “It was fortuitous that there were no children in the building at the time,” one teacher said. “We benefited from a miracle here.” The magnitude of the miracle […]
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(JR) — Uruguay’s president has withdrawn a proposal to transform a swastika-emblazoned 800-pound bronze eagle from a sunken Nazi ship into an artistic display of peace, following criticism that the plan devalued history. The question of what to do with the eagle, which sits in a naval warehouse, has vexed Uruguay since private explorers recovered […]
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(JR) — Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that other Jews think Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not Jewish, despite his having “Jewish blood.” “I have a lot of Jewish friends,” Putin said on Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “They say that Zelensky is not Jewish, that he is a disgrace to the […]
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((JR)) — One spring morning in 1934, two little girls followed their mothers to a corner grocery store in Amsterdam. The mothers, hearing each other speak German to their daughters, discovered they were both Jewish refugees who had recently fled Nazi Germany. The two girls peeked shyly at each other from behind their mothers’ skirts, […]
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(JR) — South Africa’s president has taken heat for not cutting off ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine — but his country’s chief rabbi sees an opportunity in the relationship to lobby for an imprisoned Jew. South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein wants his country’s president to advocate for Evan Gershkovich, the Wall […]
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(JR) — For the past several years, life was good for Lalam Hangshing as president of the Bnei Menashe Council, the governing body for Jewish communities in the Indian states of Manipur and Mizoram. While living at his parents’ house, he and his wife enjoyed the clean air and beautiful scenery of Manipur, a state […]
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((JR)) — A biopic of Golda Meir, the Israeli prime minister who helmed Israel during the Yom Kippur War, is set to hit screens just one month shy of the conflict’s 50th anniversary. “Golda,” directed by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmaker Guy Nativ and starring Oscar-winning actor Helen Mirren, will begin playing in theaters on Aug. 24. […]
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(JR) — Ben Helfgott, one of two known Holocaust survivors to go on to compete in the Olympics, died Friday at 93. Helfgott survived the Holocaust as a teenager, and he went on to become a champion weightlifter and a champion of Holocaust education. He was knighted in 2018. “Sir Ben Helfgott was one of […]
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BERLIN (JR) — As a teenager in Berlin, Adelle was honored when a rabbi began showing interest in her spiritual development. Rabbi Reuven Yaacobov’s offer of personal instruction was an appealing prospect to the Russian-speaking immigrant with no documentation of her Jewish heritage. Over time, Yaacobov’s private lessons escalated to phone calls and text messages and, […]
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LOS ANGELES ((JR)) — The White House recently released a detailed strategy for combating antisemitism, complete with more than 100 action items. One thing not on the list? Comedy. That’s where Jewish celebrities such as Howie Mandel, Rachel Bloom and Michael Rapaport came in on Wednesday night at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills, at […]
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