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Department of Ed resolves Title VI antisemitism complaints against 5 U of California campuses, U of Cincinnati

December 20, 2024December 20, 2024Sara Wood

The U.S. Department of Education announced it had resolved nine antisemitism- and Islamophobia-related civil rights complaints made against five campuses inside the University of California system on Friday, including some involving a prominent pro-Palestinian encampment in Los Angeles that had descended into violence in the spring. The sweeping resolution comes in the final weeks of […]

GOP-led congressional report on campus antisemitism recommends cutting funds to universities that boycott Israel

December 19, 2024December 19, 2024Sara Wood

WASHINGTON — A report on campus antisemitism by the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives recommended cutting government funding to universities that boycott Israel. The report released Thursday detailed the findings of seven congressional committees and painted a dire picture of antisemitism in the United States while specifying that it concerned “antisemitism on college campuses and […]

The Jewish leader taking on Christian nationalism

December 17, 2024December 17, 2024Sara Wood

For decades, Americans United for Separation of Church and State called its adversaries “religious extremists.” Today, the group has a more specific target: fighting Christian nationalism. The decision to sharpen the language was made by Rachel Laser, the group’s president for the last six years. A Jew and the first religious minority to lead Americans […]

A hostage deal by Hanukkah? Israel, US and Hamas indicate unusual optimism.

December 16, 2024December 16, 2024Sara Wood

WASHINGTON — U.S. and Israeli officials say a deal to release the hostages still held by Hamas may be imminent, a claim reportedly bolstered by an unnamed Hamas official. Hope around possible deals to release the remaining hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched its war against Israel, has escalated in the past […]

U of Michigan fires DEI official over purported antisemitic comments

December 13, 2024December 13, 2024Sara Wood

The University of Michigan has fired a director in its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office owing to antisemitic comments she made to Jewish professors at a spring conference. The New York Times first reported the firing, which a person with insight into the university’s governing body confirmed to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Friday. The […]

Challenges and opportunities for the Jewish members of the 119th Congress

December 11, 2024December 11, 2024Sara Wood

WASHINGTON — There are 34 Jews in the incoming Congress, with a 35th likely to join in April. Should that candidate, Florida State Sen. Randy Fine, win his special election in Florida, that would mean no change in numbers overall between the outgoing Congress and the incoming one: The House Jewish delegation will drop from […]

Biden signs law that could lead to US Jewish history museum joining the Smithsonian

December 11, 2024December 12, 2024Sara Wood

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that could bring the country’s premiere Jewish history museum under the Smithsonian umbrella, a measure that may help ensure the survival of an institution that faced bankruptcy just a few years ago. Biden on Wednesday announced the enactment of the “Commission to Study the Potential […]

House elects Brian Mast, U.S. army veteran who assisted Israeli soldiers as a civilian volunteer, to lead Foreign Affairs Committee

December 10, 2024December 10, 2024Sara Wood

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives elected Florida Rep Brian Mast, a zealous pro-Israel Republican who has volunteered with a group that assists the Israeli army, to chair the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee. Mast bested three other contenders to succeed Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, who is term-limited. Insiders say that President-elect Donald Trump lobbied […]

Vandals graffiti San Francisco Hillel with slogan evoking ancient battle between Muslims and Jews

December 10, 2024December 11, 2024Sara Wood

Vandals spray-painted the Hillel building at San Francisco State University with a slogan referencing an ancient battle in which Muslim troops defeated a group of Jewish fighters. The perpetrators in San Francisco also tried to break into the building, according to the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Bay Area. The sign on the front […]

Jewish U of Michigan official targeted with pro-Palestinian vandalism at home

December 9, 2024December 9, 2024Sara Wood

A Jewish trustee of the University of Michigan awoke on Monday to find his window broken and pro-Palestinian graffiti on his wife’s car, the third time he has been the victim of vandalism related to the Israel-Hamas war. Jordan Acker, an attorney and Democrat from Huntington Woods, Michigan, shared on Instagram that he and his […]