USA

NYC Mayor-Elect Thanks Orthodox Jewish Supporters

Addressing supporters with a “heart filled with hope purpose and love for this city,” Eric Adams accepted his win as New York City’s mayor-elect with a nod to strong support from the Orthodox Jewish community, especially in Brooklyn, N.Y. Adams, a Democrat, received 66.5 percent of the vote to Republican Curtis Sliwa, 67, founder of the Guardian Angels, who won 28.8 percent with nearly 78 percent of precincts reporting as of Wednesday afternoon. [JNS.org]

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USA

Visit to Holocaust Exhibit Impresses Mother and Daughter

During my daughter Harriet’s recent visit from Portland, Oregon, I suggested we visit the Chula Vista Public Library to see the Holocaust Exhibit arranged by our friend, Sandra Scheller. Harriet teaches Middle School Humanities at the Portland Jewish Academy and one of her classes is learning about the Holocaust. The drive down from University City was under 25 minutes. Both of us found this visit profoundly worthwhile. Sandra met us there and gave us a private docent tour. [Eileen Wingard]

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Eileen Wingard, Jewish History, Middle East, USA

OpEd: Jews Endangered by Trump’s and Cruz’s Reckless Words

Those “authoritarian school board Nazis.” “Israel literally owned Congress.” Reckless words. Wacky parents raging at school officials? Pro-Arab students whipping a crowd into a frenzy? Comparable words were uttered by them, yet such words were echoed in the past week by the unfiltered voices of Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

Israel and US Defense Chiefs Discuss Iran’s Nuclear Aspirations, Regional Entrenchment

(JNS) Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke on Tuesday about American-Israeli coordination on a range of top-priority security issues. According to a tweet by Gantz, the two discussed bilateral cooperation vis-à-vis Iranian regional entrenchment and Iran’s nuclear aspirations. “We agreed to meet soon to deepen our discussion on

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Middle East, USA

Jewish Agency, Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles Host Night of Comedy and Community

LOS ANGELES (Press Release) — The Jewish Agency for Israel and the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles on November 1 hosted a screening and discussion featuring “The New Jew,” an Israeli documentary mini-series that explores the diversity of American Jewish life and is hosted by one of Israel’s most popular comedians, Guri Alfi.

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Middle East, USA

FBI Believes US Faces Equal Threats from Domestic Extremists and Islamic State

Published by Reuters By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. law enforcement and security agencies believe domestic extremists, notably white supremacists, pose a violent threat in the United States similar to that of Islamic State militants, top U.S. security officials told Congress on Wednesday. Concern about racially motivated domestic extremists had prompted the FBI to

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USA

Holocaust Museum LA’s Expansion Advances Its Founding Vision

By Jacob Kamaras When California state lawmakers recently announced $2.5 million in funding to support the expansion of Holocaust Museum LA, it marked the latest step toward realizing a cornerstone of the museum’s founding vision. The state support will fund a new learning center pavilion and new programming for younger learners at the museum. It

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Jacob Kamaras, Jewish History, USA

American Lifestyles Contrast with Israel’s, Western Europe’s

You want it, you pay for it. Economic liberalism is the essence of the American experience. Don’t tread on me. Don’t make me pay for someone else’s benefit. Of course it’s not total. In the U.S., there are programs to pay, or help to pay for those in need. And there’s lots of insurance, often associated with a job, that pays most or all of health care needs. And government programs to lend money for education.  [Ira Sharkansky, Ph.D]

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Business & Finance, International, Ira Sharkansky, Lifestyles, Middle East, USA

Economic Relief for Low Income Families Could Diminish Israel-Bashing

Let’s hope Congress soon adopts the twin bills for infrastructure and social reforms. They will likely jumpstart the economy and aid both lower and middle-income Americans. This legislation could also yield dividends for Israel and American Jews: Eliminating much of the anti-Semitism from the Left. [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

StandWithUs Releases Ethnic Studies ‘Tool Kit’

StandWithUs announces the release of a new Ethnic Studies Tool Kit. This resource is designed to educate the public about how K-12 ethnic studies courses can impact the Jewish community, and offer tools for activism on a state and local school district level across the U.S. The toolkit draws from StandWithUs’ unique experience working with students, partner organizations, and concerned citizens to remove hatred and bias from California’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC). With ethnic studies set to become a graduation requirement in California and elsewhere in the coming years, working with school districts has become more important than ever. [StandWithUs]

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Both Parties Harbor Anti-Semites

Both political parties seek to hang onto base voters by tolerating anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry to some degree. Perhaps the right is a more dangerous threat to American Jews, but anti-Semites on the left are holding their own among Democrats. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, for those who brand her an anti-Semite, was even endorsed last year by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the Democratic primary for her congressional seat. [Bruce Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

San Diego School Board Modifies Resolution Calling for ‘Unbiased’ Materials on Israel

By Jacob Kamaras (JNS) The San Diego Unified School District’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved, though modified, a resolution condemning antisemitism that would have also supported “unbiased and politically neutral” classroom materials pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the approved version of the resolution, the board stated that it “affirms the rights of Jewish

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Jacob Kamaras, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Enrollment in Jewish Day Schools Continues to Increase as Pandemic Lingers

By Faygie Holt (JNS) A Jewish day-school enrollment boost that began during last year’s COVID-19 school shutdowns is continuing, according to a new study from Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools. In the last two years, the report found that Jewish day schools and yeshivahs reported an enrollment increase of 3.7 percent with more than

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Science, Medicine, & Education, USA