Judaism

Anti-Israel protester stickered matzah box at grocery store

A small square sticker had been placed in the center of the box: “ZIONISM IS FACISM.”

My mind started to spin, my arms moved in slow motion as I tapped my card and walked out of the store. After sitting outside for a few minutes, I went back in, still holding the box, now damp from my tears. I found the manager, a young woman wearing a large gold cross around her neck. I didn’t know exactly what to say, so I just showed her. She gasped and was immediately apologetic …” [Karen Klein]

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Antisemitism, California, Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Mideast War report: April 13, 2026

Israel & the United States at War with Iran Special Update from Israel Prepared by and sent from Jewish Federations of North America’s Israel Office Ceasefire between Iran and Israel + the US holding, even as negotiations break down Fighting with Hezbollah continues as talks between Israel and the Lebanese Government begin Unrelenting rocket attacks

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Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Press Release, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA

Childhood of Judy Blume reimagined in poetry

Otherwise Known as Judy the Great: A Poetic Ode to Judy Blume by Selina Alko; New York: Christy Ottaviano Books, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company; © 2026; ISBN 9780316-570633; 42 pages; $18.99. By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego Children’s author Judy Blume (née Sussman) was born in 1938 and through her 7th

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Trump lauded for signing legislation making it easier for families to recover art seized during the Holocaust

RJC CEO Matt Brooks said: “It is deeply meaningful that on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, President Trump signed the HEAR ACT—landmark legislation to extend and improve the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016—into law. The HEAR Act empowers family members, who have fought for decades, to recover artwork stolen from Jews by the Nazi regime during the Second World War.  (Press Release)

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Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Opinion, Press Release, USA

An excellent book about Maimonides

Maimonides composed his landmark philosophical work, The Guide for the Perplexed (Moreh Nevukhim in Hebrew), in Judeo-Arabic, written in Fustat (Old Cairo), Egypt. The treatise aimed to reconcile Jewish theology with Aristotelian philosophy and was addressed to his student, Rabbi Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

I’ve seen this before: When old hatreds find new voices

I was not born carrying hatred; it was placed gently in my hands, like an heirloom no one thinks to question. As a child in Morocco, I inherited stories about Jews long before I ever met one. They were shadows in conversations, warnings disguised as wisdom, conclusions handed to me without evidence. I accepted them the way a child accepts the horizon, distant, unquestioned, and always there. [Mustapha Ezzarghani]

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Antisemitism, Israel, Jewish History, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Suggestion for preserving Holocaust memory

What is the solution to safeguard Holocaust memory? The Shoah must be incorporated into religious ritual. It should be part of the Haggadah, the machzor, High Holiday and other Jewish holidays. [Rabbi Dr. Bernhard H. Rosenberg]

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Antisemitism, Bernhard H. Rosenberg-Rabbi, Holocaust, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Opinion, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA

Buchenwald liberation marks 81st anniversary amid controversy

At 10 a.m on the 11th, the Nazi commander ordered all 1,200 S.S. to retreat from the Camp. The Americans were coming. At 10:30 a.m,. the International Committee rose in revolt, captured 76 S.S. stragglers and their weapons. They took possession of Buchenwald. Throughout the day, heavy fighting continued as American armed forces secured the area. Not until late in the afternoon did advance units of the XX Corps enter Buchenwald. [Jerry Klinger]

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Former Congressman Eliot Engel dies at 79

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Eliot Engel, a devoted public servant to his constituents in Westchester and the Bronx, a tireless advocate for democracy and global security, and a steadfast champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship. As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he was a fierce leader who advanced American interests and promoted peace and security. [Press Release]

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Israel, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, Press Release, USA