Category: World News

(JR) — A German microbiologist known for repeatedly spreading misinformation about the coronavirus was acquitted on Tuesday of incitement to hatred for comments about Jews and Israel. In a 2021 campaign video for the fringe political party die Basis (The Basis), Sucharit Bhakdi, 74, a well-known critic of Germany’s pandemic restrictions, had said that the […]

PRAGUE (JR) — Not long after she puts away her silver Shabbat candlesticks and home-baked challah, Yael Schoultz walks through a cavernous hallway, and up a set of gray concrete stairs. Past a door, she finds a group of heavily made-up women in red and black G-strings and spike heels, listlessly beckoning men for sex […]

(JR) — A Russian court extended the pretrial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich until at least Aug. 30. Gershkovich, 31, the American son of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union, was arrested on an allegation of espionage on March 29 during a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg — claims that […]

(JR) — Wikipedia has banned three editors from working on articles related to Jewish history in Poland during World War II, in a bid to resolve editing disputes and safeguard its credibility. But the online encyclopedia stopped short of taking more aggressive action in response to allegations of widespread Holocaust distortion on the platform.  The […]

BUENOS AIRES (JR) — Around 4,000 Jewish Argentines showed up to cheer on Israel at their first appearance in a FIFA World Cup tournament in over 50 years, at times chanting songs in Spanish. But their festive mood changed after a Palestinian flag surfaced in the crowd — and after the Israeli team lost narrowly […]

The American diplomat Kurt Volker, a former State Department special representative to Ukraine and a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, arrived one recent morning for a solidarity visit to Chabad’s Mishpacha Children’s Home in Odessa. Accompanying the distinguished guest were Odessa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov and his deputy, Pavel Vugelman. Greeting the guests was Rabbi Avraham […]

(JR) — Austrian authorities are searching for two men suspected of blaring a recording of Hitler’s voice and a series of “Heil Hitler” and “Sieg Heil” chants on a public train for about 20 minutes on Sunday night. Vienna’s chief rabbi was on the train and told CNN that the recording started with “strange music, […]

(JR) — London’s fire and rescue service gave a statement reminding Jewish congregations to keep holiday bonfires outdoors after the city’s Jewish News outlet shared video of a synagogue celebrating Lag B’Omer with an indoor fire last week. The video showed a fire raging inside Beis Medrash Beis Shmuel, a haredi Orthodox synagogue in Golders […]

(JR) — Tunisia’s president met with the country’s chief rabbi and pledged to protect Tunisian Jews and their houses of worship on Wednesday, just over a week after a deadly synagogue shooting rattled the local Jewish community and raised questions about their security. Kais Saied had also drawn scrutiny over comments he made last weekend, […]

BUENOS AIRES (JR) — Israel’s under-20 men’s national soccer team has arrived in Argentina and is preparing for its first-ever appearance in FIFA’s under-20 World Cup, which begins this weekend. Israel has only made the general World Cup one time, in 1970. “I’m 48, and coming to Argentina to play soccer was my dream since […]