Spain’s prime minister draws criticism after saying lack of nuclear weapons limits role in stopping Gaza war

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez lamented his country’s lack of “nuclear weapons” while announcing sanctions against Israel over the war in Gaza. “Spain, as you know, doesn’t have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves,” said Sánchez in a speech posted to X earlier this week. “We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive, […]

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Sam Sussman’s novel is about his Jewish mom and the teasing possibility that Bob Dylan is his dad 

Sam Sussman’s debut novel, “Boy from the North Country,” revolves around a mystery: Was Bob Dylan, the singer and Nobel laureate, the narrator’s father?    Sussman could have written this tale as a memoir, an expansion perhaps of the 2021 essay he wrote for Harper’s Magazine: “The Silent Type: On (Possibly) Being Bob Dylan’s Son.” His […]

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In Moldova, Jewish life is fueled by descendants of those who fled — and new refugees from Ukraine

CHIȘINĂU, Moldova — For most of her life, Peruvian-born Yvette Merzbacher wondered where her four paternal great-grandparents were buried. All she knew was that her grandparents came from Bessarabia, and that her grandmother, Liza Bronstein, had emigrated to Lima, Peru, in 1932 with her two older sons, following her husband, Yoil, who had moved there […]

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Gaza drama about Hind Rajab wins Grand Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival

A Palestinian-led docudrama about the Israel-Gaza war, executive-produced by Jewish director Jonathan Glazer, won a top prize at the Venice Film Festival, drawing what may have been a record ovation. The Golden Lion for best film went to a family drama, “Father Mother Sister Brother,” whose stars include the pro-Israel activist Mayim Bialik. Bialik walked […]

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Hundreds of scholars call on genocide scholars group to retract declaration of genocide in Gaza

Nearly 200 genocide, Holocaust and legal scholars are calling on the International Association of Genocide Scholars to retract its resolution finding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. In a letter finalized on Friday, the scholars charge the association with “critical errors” in its resolution, including failing to consider Hamas’ role in the deaths in […]

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New crop of High Holidays children’s books take place in Uganda, Hong Kong and a Sephardic home

A laugh-out-loud Sukkot story that reimagines the classic tale of the three little pigs; an inspiring work of historical fiction story about a Jewish family in Vienna fleeing Nazi persecution and becoming refugees in Shanghai; and a heartwarming Rosh Hashanah story about two quarreling sisters who promise to be better as the Jewish new year […]

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Hungarian Jews spark backlash with letter condemning both Gaza war and local Jewish leaders

Hundreds of Hungarian Jews have denounced the Israeli government over its war in Gaza — and the groups that purport to represent them at home, where protests against Israel are largely banned. “The one-sided, extreme statements of the current Israeli government and the domestic Jewish organizations and opinion leaders who dominate Hungarian public discourse do not […]

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