Category: World News

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — When Brazilian soccer legend Neymar recently declared his support for far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s reelection, he was bombarded with messages of both love and hate on social media. The same thing happened to pop star Anitta, who earlier this year became the first Brazilian to top Spotify’s global chart, when […]

(JTA) — Though the Jews of Herat in western Afghanistan haven’t lived there in decades, the city’s historic synagogue, thought to have been built around the turn of the 20th century, is set to undergo a conservation project with the backing of the Taliban government, according to the Art Newspaper. The 16-month project, set to […]

(JTA) — Since Feb. 24, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Jewish groups from around the world have flooded the country with support, from food to medical care to evacuations. Now, as temperatures fall and Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid ramp up, those groups are directing their efforts toward making sure that Ukrainian Jews can […]

(JTA) — An influential Germany rabbi may return to teaching at the University of Potsdam and the seminary he founded, nearly six months after he stepped back amid a scandal involving allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of power. But the school should be restructured to reduce the influence of any one person — in […]

(JTA) — The German branch of international fast-food chain KFC apologized to customers Wednesday for sending out a promotional message tied to the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the evening of Nazi-led antisemitic riots that precipitated the mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust. “It’s memorial day for Kristallnacht! Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your […]

BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — Jorge Luis Borges, one of South America’s canonized writers, wrote many poems in his esteemed career — including at least two about Israel. In 1967, after the Six-Day War, the Argentine poet, essayist and short story writer compared the Jewish state to a “man imprisoned and bewitched… a man doomed to […]

(JTA) — A Russian official has apologized after his deputy published an op-ed that referred to the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Orthodox Judaism as a “neo-pagan cult” striving for “global domination.” Top leaders of Chabad in Russia, who have been navigating a fine line in their relationship with the government during the country’s war on Ukraine, […]

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — As the left-wing former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva completed a triumphant return to politics by beating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a tight election on Sunday, Brazilian Jewish groups welcomed him with a conciliatory message they hope will cool down the polarization within their deeply split 120,000-strong community. “President […]

(JTA) — Thousands marched to the grave of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in Predappio on Sunday to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of his coming to power in Rome, days after the new Italian prime minister, whose party has fascist roots, decried the Italian race laws of the 1930s that targeted Jews. The crowd of […]

(JTA) — King Charles III wants to make sure that the United Kingdom’s chief rabbi can make it to his coronation ceremony next year — so much so that he’s letting the Jewish leader sleep over at his house. The coronation is set for May 6, 2023, which falls on a Saturday, in the middle […]