Author: Jesse Orine

(JR) — Vladimir Putin said Russia hopes to reach an agreement to free Evan Gershkovich, the American Jewish journalist it imprisoned in March. “It is not that we have refused to return them,” Putin told reporters in a produced four-hour news conference on Thursday, referring to Gershkovich and United States Marine Paul Whelan, who has […]

(JR) — When 18-year old South African cricket player David Teeger was recognized with a “rising star” honor at a Jewish awards ceremony in October, he dedicated the accolade to Israel. “Yes, I’ve been [given] this award, and yes, I’m now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel,” […]

(JR) — A Hanukkah celebration in the Dutch town of Enschede took a bitter turn after its mayor refused to be seen near the Israeli ambassador to the Netherlands. Jaap Hartog, chairman of the Enschede synagogue, invited Mayor Roelof Bleker to a celebration of Hanukkah and the synagogue’s 95th anniversary on Monday night. He reserved […]

(JR) — The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, affirming a vote it took in late October calling for the fighting to end. In the vote on Tuesday, 153 nations approved the ceasefire call and 23 abstained. Ten countries voted against the resolution, including Israel […]

(JR) — Austrian officials on Monday announced the arrest of a 16-year-old who had allegedly been planning to attack a synagogue in Vienna. The teen, who has not been identified, was arrested on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. The suspect had reportedly said in online chats that he planned to obtain a weapon to […]

(JR) — In a shocking display, far-right Polish lawmaker Grzegorz Braun, a well-known antisemitic provocateur, used a fire extinguisher to blow out the candles of a menorah in Poland’s parliament building on Tuesday before calling Hanukkah “Satanic.” Videos from the scene showed white mist from the extinguisher filling much of a chamber in the building […]

BERLIN (JR) — Berlin’s attorney general dismissed incitement to hate charges against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, saying that the leader was protected by diplomatic immunity during a visit in 2022 even though Germany does not recognize the Palestinian Authority as a state. At issue was Abbas’ comments made during a press conference […]