Author: Sara Wood

(JTA) – A candidate for chair of the Michigan Republican Party who faced criticism after inviting a Messianic “rabbi” to offer a prayer for the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018 has now announced that she is a “Jewish Messianic believer of Christ.” Lena Epstein, who was raised Jewish, made the comments Tuesday […]

(JTA) — NBA star Kyrie Irving’s tenure in Brooklyn has come to an end, but the drawn-out saga over his antisemitism scandal apparently has not. NBA reporter Sam Amick pointed out in a podcast published Tuesday that Irving had deleted his November Instagram post apologizing for sharing an antisemitic film on Twitter. Irving had been […]

(JTA) – An Ohio woman who alleged six years ago that she had been fired because she was an observant Jew has won $1.1 million in damages after a federal jury sided with her. Kimberly Edelstein had been working as a magistrate in Butler County, Ohio, when she asked her supervisor — a judge — […]

(JTA) – A university in Oregon that fired a Jewish professor after he reported several incidents, including purported antisemitic remarks made by its president, has settled with the professor. Linfield University, a private school in McMinnville, will pay $1 million to English professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner for his wrongful termination in 2021. Pollack-Pelzner had accused the […]

(JTA) — Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is extending his focus on Holocaust remembrance by inviting a Washington, D.C.-area survivor to be his guest at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech Tuesday evening. Ruth Cohen, who survived multiple concentration camps including Auschwitz, will join Emhoff at the annual policy address in Washington. Emhoff first […]

(JTA) — It’s “ridiculous” to doubt that Jews like money, popular podcaster Joe Rogan said on his show on Saturday.  Rogan was discussing the 2019 tweet by Rep. Ilhan Oman in which she she wrote that pro-Israel votes in Congress were “all about the Benjamins.” That tweet, for which she has apologized, was one of […]

(JTA) — Rep. Adam Schiff, the Jewish Democrat from California who recently announced a run for the Senate, said that he was “very concerned” about proposed Israeli measures that “would make Israel less democratic or potentially place individuals above the law.” Speaking to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last week, Schiff drew a link between former […]

(JTA) — Mark Auerbach was not yet 5 years old when he noticed an unusual stamp in his father’s dresser. The well-worn three-cent stamp featured a drawing of a small group of men and a sinking ship, with the words “The Immortal Chaplains… Interfaith in action.” It piqued his interest, so he asked his father […]

(JTA) — “Hi, my name is Dan. I’m 11 years old and I like doing magic and circus skills, especially unicycling. I’m here today to testify against House Bill 170, 183, and 337,” a young voice said into the microphone. “I really like to play sports with my friends, although honestly I’m not very good […]

(J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — A man fired blanks from a handgun at a Jewish center in San Francisco Wednesday, shocking a group gathered for a study session in a community space serving mainly Russian-speaking Jews. But no one present called police, so it was not until word of the […]