New Jersey teen pleads guilty to online threats detailing attacks on Jews

((JEWISH REVIEW)) – The New Jersey teen charged with making threats to synagogues and other Jewish institutions last year has pleaded guilty.  Omar Alkattoul, 19, of Sayreville, was arrested in November, shortly after many Jewish institutions in New Jersey, including synagogues and schools, briefly shuttered amid warnings from the FBI about a “broad threat.”  Jewish […]

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Key congressional committee OKs a hike in funding for the antisemitism monitor

WASHINGTON ((JEWISH REVIEW)) —A congressional committee approved an increase in funding for the office of Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department’s antisemitism monitor, from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. The U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved the bill, which pays for State Department and foreign operations, late Wednesday. It now goes to the full House, and […]

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Law firm issues report on Orthodox feminist group’s handling of allegations against its sex-guru founder

((JEWISH REVIEW)) — After sexual harassment allegations against its co-founder broke into public view last year, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance commissioned an investigation into itself. Now, 14 months later, the investigation is complete — and the third-party law firm hired to complete it has verified the actions that underlay the allegations but concluded that […]

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Is antisemitism always delusional? The Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s punishment could hinge on the answer.

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 […]

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Evangelical churches are turning to a Jewish nonprofit to help them have hard conversations

((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 […]

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Pittsburgh synagogue trial: Expert says antisemitism and white supremacism, not delusions, spurred shooter

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 […]

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