Posts tagged Jews
Palestinian Statehood Winning Major New Supporters At The UN

(ANALYSIS) Recognition of a Palestinian state is likely to dominate proceedings at the U.N. beginning this week when world leaders will gather for the annual general assembly. Of the 193 existing U.N member states, 147 already recognize a Palestinian state. But that number is expected to swell in the coming days, with several more countries expected to officially announce such recognition.

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A Different Saint Film: ‘Triumph Of The Heart’ Wins At Showing Faith In Suffering

(REVIEW) “Triumph of the Heart” is a rare movie that leans into the parts of the Christian walk we often like to talk about but not experience. In doing so, it shows us the beauty of standing up against evil. If one can take the constant drumbeat of pain and look past some of its repetitiveness and hagiographical weaknesses, one will be rewarded by having one’s heart drawn closer to God.

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UN Inquiry Concludes Israeli Actions In Gaza Meets Legal Definition Of Genocide

(ANALYSIS) A United Nations commission — the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel — concluded that Israel has committed acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

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A Hollywood Boycott Would Silence Israel’s Anti-War Voices

(ANALYSIS) Emma Stone and Javier Bardem think that, by pledging to boycott Israel’s film industry, they’re helping Palestinians. Instead, they’re actually helping a man they likely despise: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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‘Caught Stealing’ Gives Us Tough, Hasidic Drug Lords: is That Good For Jews?

(ANALYSIS) Darren Aronofsky’s most formative encounter with Haredi Jews may have come when he was an 18-year-old in Israel at the Kotel. It was there at the wall, he told film journalist Andrea Chase, he met a group of Hasidim who introduced him to the Jewish mysticism he’d go on to use to award-winning effect in his debut feature, “Pi.”  

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‘Guns & Moses’ Has It All: A Must-See Faith-Based Mystery Masterpiece

(REVIEW) “Guns & Moses” is a rare film that succeeds both as compelling entertainment and as a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of faith. It’s a model that shows how believers can examine all aspects of life through their faith and art — including those they'd prefer to keep in a concealed carry. The film expertly tells a story that is emotionally satisfying from a faith standpoint.

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Is The Jerusalem Terror Attack The Start Of A Third Intifada?

(ANALYSIS) For now, it would be premature to declare that that moment has arrived. Yet it would be incautious, too, to ignore the warning signs. The latest terrorism in Jerusalem may not be the turning point. But unless the trajectory changes — unless there is a serious Israeli effort to address Palestinian grievances, rather than inflame them — the explosion everyone fears may soon become impossible to prevent.

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Where Does Evangelical Support For Israel Come From?

(OPINION) As an evangelical Christian, I was taught God told Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that he would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. This was further identified with Israel in Numbers 24:1-9. So, my support for Israel was something I believed I should do as a Christian in order to be blessed personally and nationally. This included people and land.

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From ‘New Jerusalem’ To Lost Shtetl: Inside The Twin Souls Of A Polish Town

The Vistula, Poland’s longest river, snakes 650 miles north from the Tatras Mountains past Krakow and Warsaw to the Gulf of Gdańsk, where it empties into the Baltic Sea. Upstream from the capital, the river flows past Góra Kalwaria, a place the country’s Catholics revere as Nowa Jerozolima (or “New Jerusalem”).

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Beyond Brute Strength: A New Look At Samson’s Search For Intimacy

(ANALYSIS) By reevaluating the Samson narrative, readers can move beyond the one-dimensional portrayal of him as an overly masculine brute. His story is not just one of strength but also of longing and deep emotional vulnerability. His riddle may not be a challenge meant to humiliate his enemies, but an expression of personal connection.

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The Situation In Gaza Requires Urgent International Attention

(ANALYSIS) The situation in Gaza requires urgent attention and response from the international community — to prevent further civilian suffering and death. While some steps have been taken to provide humanitarians assistance, as it stands, the steps appear to be too little and too late to address the current and ever-growing needs of the population.

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UCLA Found In Violation of Jewish Students’ Civil Rights, Agrees To $6.13M Settlement

The University of California agreed to pay $6.13 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the school of antisemitism in its handling of campus protests that excluded Jews from sections of the campus. Hours later, the DOJ said UCLA violated the civil rights of Jewish students, neglecting “obligations under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

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Gaza’s Christians Feed The Starving Across Faith Traditions

“A love offering from the Baptist Church in Gaza” proclaims the sign as Christian Mission to Gaza serves hot meals to both Christians and Muslims in the Gaza Strip, where people are starving to death. CMG served about 2,000 hot meals over the weekend July 24-26 in the name of Gaza Baptist, said Hanna Massad, who served as the church’s first Palestinian pastor before founding CMG. But the meals only touch a small fraction of those in need.

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Jewish Students Aren’t Celebrating The Trump-Columbia Antisemitism Deal

(ANALYSIS) For some Jewish college students, the Trump administration’s approach to campus antisemitism came as a relief after two years of what they perceived as weak action by universities and the federal government. Fewer are cheering after the White House signed a $221 million settlement with Columbia University.

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Bob Dylan, His Jewish Roots And The Reinvention Of An American Icon

(ANALYSIS) In reinventing himself, did Robert Allen Zimmerman — Dylan’s birth name and the grandson of Lithuanian and Ukrainian Jewish immigrants — also betray his Jewish heritage? What was that heritage and how did it shape his music, his worldview, his rise to fame and identity? Harry Freedman explores these questions in his probing book, “Bob Dylan: Jewish Roots, American Soil.”

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Head Of Aid Group Says Gaza Starvation Is ‘Real’ — But Blames UN And Hamas

Rev. Johnnie Moore, who leads the beleaguered U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, said Palestinians in Gaza are starving, but the blame lies with Hamas, the United Nations and other aid organizations. “The desperation is real,” Moore said during a webinar on Tuesday with the American Jewish Congress. “The people need food.”

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A Concert For Peace In Gaza Brings Together Jews And Palestinians

A recent concert for peace in Gaza brought together Jews and Palestinians at a Catholic church in Santiago. Some 500 people attended the concert for cello, flute and classical guitar, with two female voices, organized by the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Fernando Chomalí. The archbishop, who organized the event, is a descendant of Palestinian immigrants.

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America’s Founders And The Quran: A Forgotten Legacy Of Religious Freedom

At a time when the Trump administration has renewed a travel ban on various Muslim majority countries in Africa and across the Middle East, the Quran owned by John Adams is but one indication that our nation’s founders regarded Islam — as well as other, non-Western, non-Christian faiths — as worthy of respect and protection under the law.

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2024 Election Post-Mortem: Jews

(ANALYSIS) Maybe what stands out here is that no matter how much the country has changed socially, religiously and politically, none of that has really shifted the overall relationship between Jews and the Democratic Party.

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