Author: Sara Wood

PITTSBURGH ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — To try to save his client from the death penalty, a lawyer defending the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter spent hours this week pressing a prominent psychiatrist on a question that has occupied many over time: Is hating Jews a manifestation of mental illness? Robert Bowers was convicted last month of committing the […]

((JEWISH REVIEW)) – Jeff Nitz, a social worker and lay leader at his church, sees himself as a trained listener. But beginning in 2020, his congregation — Mosaic Church in the evangelical Christian hub of Lynchburg, Virginia — started becoming riven by fierce COVID-era fights over masking, distancing and vaccinations. Used to bridging divides among […]

PITTSBURGH ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — The gunman who murdered 11 Jewish worshipers in a Pittsburgh synagogue did not suffer from delusions but was spurred by white supremacist radicalization, a storied forensic psychiatrist testified for the prosecution. Park Dietz, who has for decades provided expert testimony in some of the highest profile insanity defense cases, was the […]

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — The Los Angeles Dodgers selected power-hitting Jewish infielder Jake Gelof with the 60th pick in the 2023 MLB Draft on Sunday night. The 21-year-old Delaware native holds the all-time home run record at the University of Virginia, where he slugged 48 home runs across three seasons. His 23 home runs in 2023 […]

WASHINGTON ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — President Joe Biden blamed increasing tension in the West Bank on the “lost credibility” of the Palestinian Authority as well as on “extremists” in Israel’s government. In a televised interview with CNN host Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, Biden also again declined to say when he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin […]

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — The request for rainbow-frosted cupcakes came from a repeat customer — a local synagogue that had relied on the West Orange Bake Shop to make kosher desserts for its special events. But this year, bakery co-owner Yitzy Mittel decided to decline the order. He couldn’t bring himself to produce the Pride-themed goods. […]

TEL AVIV ((JEWISH REVIEW)) — Bar Shelly is hoping that the fourth time’s the charm when it comes to gaining entry into the United States. The 24-year-old first applied for a visa in 2019, shortly after his release from the Israeli military. He tried again in 2021 and 2022 and was refused each time. People […]

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — It was still winter when the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs learned that its June conference would share space at a hotel with an unexpected guest: a conservative “parents’ rights” group that is driving book bans across the United States. Among the books pulled from classrooms at the behest of Moms for […]

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — The CEO of Kars4Kids, the Jewish charity with a catchy advertising jingle, is challenging New York state’s concealed carry law in court — claiming that it leaves children vulnerable to antisemitic attacks.  Eliohu Mintz, who heads Kars4Kids, is also the CEO of Oorah, a Jewish outreach nonprofit funded by Kars4Kids that runs […]

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — Brandeis University’s president has apologized to the school’s Orthodox Jewish student group for a university ad that called the school “anything but Orthodox.” The two-page spread, which appeared in The New York Times Magazine last week, drew the ire of Orthodox Jews and others on social media, who called it offensive.  Days […]