Category: World News

BUCHAREST (JTA) — Romanian authorities adopted a law that recognizes and gives specific protection to shechitah, or kosher ritual slaughter of animals, the Conference of European Rabbis said in a statement, hailing the move as a “landmark” example for other countries in Europe. The new legislation, which the Romanian parliament passed Thursday, comes roughly a […]

(JTA) — Patagonia, Argentina’s famously beautiful southern region, has been a haven for Israeli backpackers, vacationers from Buenos Aires and, in the 20th century, Nazi war criminals. What the scenic territory hasn’t had for nearly 40 years is a new synagogue. That has changed in the last year, as a group of Jews living in […]

ISTANBUL (JTA) – So far six are reported dead and dozens injured in a blast on Istanbul’s İstiklal Caddesi, a major tourism hotspot and thoroughfare that sees tens of thousands of tourists every day. The perpetrators and full extent of the attack are not yet clear, but Israel’s Channel 13 news reported that one Israeli […]

(JTA) — In an usual move, a chief rabbi of Russia has accused a senior defense official of antisemitic hate speech in connection with the war in Ukraine, and a spokesperson for the rabbi warned of the onset of “a new era in Russia’s relations with Jews.” Berel Lazar, one of Russia’s two chief rabbis, […]

LVIV and IVANO-FRANKIVSK, Ukraine (JTA) — An elderly couple waited patiently on a steel bench for a food parcel. A teenage boy negotiated furiously with a gruff flat-capped caretaker about how much support his family needed. A little girl timidly held her mother’s hand as she waited in line for a week’s worth of supplies. […]

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 […]