As the evening crowd arrived for services Thursday evening at Young Israel of Century City, Benny Factor watched for updates on his phone, which was leaned against a tissue box on the table in front of him. The chyron of an Israeli TV channel he was streaming told the story: “Happening now,” it said in Hebrew: “A wave of attacks has begun in Iran.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) On June 5, the U.S. Department of State sanctioned four individuals currently serving as judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for “directly engaging in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person without consent of that person’s country of nationality.”
Read MoreBetween 2010 and 2020, global religious affiliation shifted significantly, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. While Christianity remains the world’s largest religion, its growth lagged behind overall population growth. Christians increased by 122 million to 2.3 billion, but their share of the global population fell. At the same time, Islam saw a global surge.
Read MoreMany Jews are outraged that while the war in Gaza has been raging since Oct. 7, 2023 and they have suffered many casualties and interruptions to their civilian life in response to repeated reserve duty call-ups, their able-bodied ultra-Orthodox fellow citizens have not shared the defense burden. The IDF faces shortages, needing approximately 12,000 new recruits, including 7,000 combat soldiers.
Read MoreWhat motivated the smashing on April 23 of the main gate to Damascus’s historic Jewish cemetery and the digging of a pit disturbing the tomb of renowned mystic Rabbi Hayyim ben Joesph Vital? The desecration can be understood as part of the history of Jewish and Muslim leaders battling on the metaphysical astral plain in parallel to the normative Israeli-Arab military conflict.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In May 2025, the U.N. World Health Organization (WHO) reported that since the aid blockade began on March 2, 2025, 57 children have died from the effects of malnutrition. WHO further warned that if the situation persists, nearly 71,000 children under the age of 5 are expected to be acutely malnourished over the next 11 months.
Read MoreFor President Donald Trump’s MAGA Jewish base, the plane may be a bridge too far. Three influential Jewish voices in the MAGA movement — figures typically known for their unwavering loyalty to the GOP standard-bearer — are aghast over Trump’s decision to accept a $400 million aircraft from the government of Qatar.
Read MoreA newscast from Israel streamed on a large screen, and a woman speaking into a microphone translated updates into English: “Hamas announces it has released Edan Alexander.” “The Red Cross says it’s on the scene but does not yet have Alexander.” “We have confirmation that Alexander has been released.” “Alexander is officially in the hands of the IDF.” “Alexander has had a first conversation with his mother and is telling jokes.”
Read MorePizzaballa’s name has been included in almost every list — in secular and Catholic media — of “papabile,” or “pope able” candidates to fill the Chair of Saint Peter. Thus, journalists and church insiders have dissected sermons and addresses by Pizzaballa and other popular “papabile,” searching for clues about their stands on doctrine, worship and pastoral issues in the wake of the tumultuous Francis papacy.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion and Harvard University's Human Flourishing Program, along with Gallup and the Center for Open Science, released on Wednesday the first findings of their ongoing worldwide survey examining what makes for human flourishing.
Read MoreWhy was Segev Schwartz the only casualty in his battalion of 30 Israeli soldiers when a terrorist tossed a hand grenade in a cafeteria on Oct. 7, 2023? That was his mother Sara’s question. The answer she found completed a picture of Segev she and her husband shared on the eve of Israel Memorial Day, the commemoration of the fallen in Israeli wars and acts of terrorism since 1948.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In the United States, April is designated as Genocide Prevention and Awareness Month and is aimed at commemorating and raising awareness about genocides that occurred in the past, including the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide.
Read MoreWhen Jessica Yeroshalmi started her political science degree at Baruch College in New York six years ago, she was surprised to learn that some students in her classes had no idea there were Jews with roots in the Middle East. Yeroshalmi’s parents fled from Iran to New York after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It was only once Yeroshalmi went to college that she realized that her peers had an Ashkenazi-centric image of what it means to be Jewish.
Read MorePolitical and religious leaders from around the world offered condolences and tributes following the death of Pope Francis on Monday. The White House’s official X account posted two photos of the pope, one with President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, and the other with Vice President J.D. Vance, with a caption that read: “Rest in Peace, Pope Francis.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) In January 2025, Trump’s administration halted visa processing for refugees. All refugee travel to the U.S. was to be canceled. This included the travel of nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared to resettle in America — including many women and girls who were facing serious risk upon return.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It’s a straightforward part of the Easter story: The Roman governor Pontius Pilate had Jesus of Nazareth killed by his soldiers. But over the past 2,000 years, it was common for some Christians to deem Pilate almost blameless for Jesus’ death and treat Jews as responsible — a belief that has shaped the global history of antisemitism.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Although the Ayatollahs have responded with bullets, prison cells, and executions, sheer force can only do so much against an idea whose time has come. The regime is losing its grip. The Islamic Republic has long ruled through force and fear. Yet, as disillusionment spreads, hope takes root. In this context, Christianity is not just a religion. It is an act of defiance.
Read MoreAs always, the annual U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report focused on trends in nations known for bitter religious conflicts and the persecution of religious minorities, including Christians. The list of offenders of “particular concern” included China, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and others. The commission pushed to add Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Vietnam to that list.
Read More(OPINION) The international conversation about Gaza has long circled the same grim question: What would it take for the population to rise up against Hamas? We just might have the beginnings of a response: The resumption of war, after Israel broke a two-month ceasefire following 15 months of devastating conflict. The prospect of more death with no end date, all because Hamas refuses to free more hostages until Israel agrees to leave it in power as part of a more permanent truce, appears to be too much to bear.
Read MoreConditions in Afghanistan and India continued to deteriorate and remained poor in Nigeria and Vietnam, USCIRF commissioners said March 25 in its 2025 Report on International Religious Freedom, calling out countries where Christian minorities face murder, torture and other ills either sanctioned by the government or with little governmental intervention.
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