Category: World News

(JR) — Just three weeks after the singer Eden Golan was chosen to represent Israel at Eurovision, her participation in the music competition is in jeopardy because of the song she wants to sing.  The European Broadcasting Union, which runs the competition, declined to accept the first song Israel submitted to the contest because of […]

TIGRE, ARGENTINA (JR) — For the first time in nearly six decades, a Jewish soccer club is competing in an Argentine national soccer tournament. The club, Náutico Hacoaj used its victory in the first round of competition to pay tribute to Israel. The team represents the prominent Hacoaj (“strength” in Hebrew) Jewish community center and […]

TAIPEI, Taiwan (JR) — A Chinese actor who voices a popular children’s cartoon is drawing criticism after he made antisemitic comments on social media. “Jews are all rats and cockroaches. Wherever they stop to rest a moment, they multiply. Dirty as hell,” the actor, Zhang Bingjun, wrote on Weibo, the microblogging site that is one […]

BERLIN (JR) — An Israeli journalist says he has been receiving death threats after winning two major prizes at the Berlinale International Film Festival for his documentary about Israel’s expulsion of Palestinians from their West Bank villages. The prizes were awarded during the film festival’s closing ceremony, during which multiple filmmakers — including a Jewish […]

(JR) — As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its third year, nearly all funds raised by Jewish federations for humanitarian relief in Ukraine have run out, according to Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America. After distributing $96 million in aid such as relocation expenses, food, and medical care over the […]

When Rabbi Avraham Wolff leaves the Mishpacha Children’s Home in Odessa, Ukraine, most evenings, he whispers a silent prayer.  He prays that the 120 children for whom his organization cares will be able to sleep through the night, uninterrupted by air raid sirens and a race to the bomb shelter. He prays that the food, […]

(JR) — A Canadian International Women’s Day event that drew attention for canceling its keynote speaker over her past Israeli military service has itself now been canceled. “Circumstances beyond our control” led to the cancelation of the event in Peterborough, Ontario, that had been planned by INSPIRE, a women’s empowerment organization, the group told kawarthaNOW, […]

(JR) — As we mark the grim second anniversary of the Ukraine conflict this Shabbat, I’m reminded of a haunting melody I heard in the city of Poltava last month. I was standing before Sonia Bunina, a plucky 17-year-old, when she opened her mouth to sing when an air raid siren rang out. I flinched. […]

BUENOS AIRES (JR) — Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, is shuttering the country’s anti-discrimination office, eliciting rare criticism from Jewish leaders who have so far expressed optimism about the right-wing politician’s leadership. “Discrimination in Argentina is a problem suffered by various groups. That is why the DAIA, together with other organizations, promoted the creation of […]

YEREVAN, Armenia (JR) — It’s just after sunset on a chilly February evening as Mama Jan begins filling up with customers. The cozy little café, located on Alexander Speniaryan Street — one block from Yerevan’s Freedom Square — lures passersby with its traditional khashlama (Armenian meat stew), dolma (stuffed grape leaves) and grappa (homemade brandy). […]