Author: Sara Wood

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Top Biden administration officials launched a roundtable on antisemitism on Wednesday by describing a “rising tide of antisemitism” and likening the atmosphere in the United States to that of Europe, where Jewish worship is held under lock and key. “Right now, there is an epidemic of hate facing our country,” said Douglas […]

(JTA) – A Michigan man who allegedly threatened and harassed congregants at a Detroit-area synagogue uttered antisemitic slurs at the magistrate who arraigned him on Monday. Meanwhile, the synagogue where the incident took place is planning events to help community members process both their trauma and their concern about how local police handled the incident. […]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Lee Zeldin, the Republican Jewish congressman who mounted a stronger-than-expected but failed bid to be New York’s governor, says he has decided not to run to be the chairman of the Republican National Committee. But in a sign that he expects to have continued influence despite exiting Congress, Zeldin, who has been […]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A bipartisan slate of 125 lawmakers from both chambers are calling on the Biden administration to adopt a “whole of government” policy to combating antisemitism. A letter sent Tuesday to President Joe Biden, spearheaded by the chairmen of congressional task forces for combating antisemitism, called for action from officials from an array […]

(JTA) – When Brother John Muhammad emerged this fall as the leading candidate for a vacant city council seat in St. Petersburg, Florida, local Jews were distressed. Muhammad is well known in the city as the president of a local neighborhood association and as a frequent advocate for minority groups. But Jewish leaders learned that […]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Biden administration will base its relationship to Israel’s incoming government on the actions it takes, not the people installed in positions of power, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a speech Sunday. Blinken’s speech, to the conference of the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group J Street, was notable […]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The White House will convene a roundtable with Jewish organizations on antisemitism, to be chaired by Douglas Emhoff, the Jewish Second Gentleman. Also appearing at the event will be Susan Rice, President Joe Biden’s top domestic policy advisor; Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism; and Keisha […]

NEW YORK — (JTA) — Nothing riled Steven Salen like a powerful man in a bad suit. “‘That suit fits terribly!’” his daughter Elayne Landau recalled him as yelling at the TV, multiple times. “‘How’s he going to get elected? Elayne, send him a letter.’ He would dictate the letter. ‘I’m watching you on television. […]

(JTA) — A man who was waved away by local police after hassling people arriving at one of the Detroit area’s largest synagogues on Friday was arrested Sunday on charges of “ethnic intimidation.” Hassan Chokr was arrested Sunday, two days after video emerged showing local police questioning and releasing him, even after he said he […]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Iranian regime has launched dozens of plots to kill its perceived enemies abroad, including Jews, among them the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, according to a report in The Washington Post. The Iranian regime dramatically intensified its targeting of overseas figures after the United States assassinated a top general, Qassem Soleimani, in […]