A Jewish cemetery in Belarus was destroyed by Nazis. Now its headstones are being made into a memorial.

(JR) — Earlier this year, the local Jewish community of Brest, Belarus received a call from a young couple who had just purchased a fixer-upper house and needed some help with a difficult situation: Their basement was built from old Jewish gravestones. For nearly two decades, the Jewish community — and in recent years, the […]

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Elon Musk to join Ben Shapiro and other Jewish men for live chat on antisemitism and free speech

((JR)) — Leaning into his latest controversies, Elon Musk is planning to join a bevy of Jewish men for a live chat on Thursday. The conversation will focus on “X, anti-Semitism, and the future of free speech,” according to conservative pundit and social media personality Ben Shapiro, who announced Wednesday that Musk would join him […]

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Why most Asian Jews use imported etrogs on Sukkot even though their countries grow the fruit

TAIPEI, Taiwan (JR) — Rebecca Kanthor, a member of a progressive Jewish community in Shanghai, knows that she can easily order lulavs and etrogs in a few clicks online. Kanthor, who belongs to Kehilat Shanghai, simply logs onto Taobao, China’s equivalent to Amazon. Etrogs, important components of a ritual for the Sukkot holiday, are known […]

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​​Biden’s new book ban czar is a longtime progressive Jewish leader

((JR)) – The Biden Administration’s new point person for combating book bans at school districts and public libraries across the country is a gay, Jewish progressive activist who has served as a government liaison to the Jewish and LGBTQ communities. The appointment of Matt Nosanchuk comes as the thousands of book challenges nationwide have focused […]

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Top Canadian lawmaker resigns after inviting former Nazi soldier to Zelensky speech

MONTREAL (JR) — A leading Canadian lawmaker apologized, and then resigned from his leadership role, after inviting a former Nazi soldier to attend Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Parliament last week. Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota said he had not known that 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka had volunteered with the Waffen SS […]

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