Posts tagged Judaism
Erling Haaland’s New Haircut Sparks Comparisons To Biblical Hero Samson

The Manchester City striker — long one the game’s most recognizable figures — went for a new look ahead of Sunday’s Premier League opening game against Bournemouth. Gone were his long blond locks. Instead, Haaland chopped off his hair for a buzz cut.

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How Will Democrats’ Israel Shift Affect Jewish Voters?

(ANALYSIS) Is it conceivable that the 2026 and 2028 election cycles will erode the Democratic Party’s lock on Jewish voters, one of the iron laws of American politics? Or instead, will Jewish Democrats increasingly turn against support for Israel? The results of the upcoming midterm elections could give us a glimpse of what’s to come.

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When Does Criticizing Israel Become Antisemitism?: Ask Mark Ruffalo

Since the Hamas attack on Israel, the actor has frequently called out Israel’s military action in Gaza, notably wearing an Artists4Ceasefire pin to the 2024 Oscars. In 2024, he was among more than 700 SAG-AFTRA members who signed a letter demanding the actors’ union publicly call for a Gaza ceasefire and protect pro-Palestinian members from what they described as industry blacklisting.

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Orthodox Jews Are Scootering To Synagogue: Will Shabbat Ever Be The Same?

For thousands of years, the Jews have walked. Dispatched by God to the promised land of Canaan, Abraham walked. When the Israelites became a nation in the desert, they camped, kvetched, warred, and worshiped, but mostly walked. And on Shabbat, when the Torah forbids riding horses, carriages, trains or cars, observant Jews have walked — but not anymore.

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2 Jews Gave The Lakers Their Name. Another Jewish Duo Will Try To Restore It To Glory.

The sale comes 14 months after Buss sold the Lakers to Mark Walter, the head of a private equity firm and a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Walter, who bought the team at a $10 billion valuation, is currently facing federal and SEC investigations into insurance companies tied to his broader business operations.

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‘Impulse Towards Reform’: How Jewish Women Helped Shape Modern Design In Vienna

(REVIEW) The Jewish Museum’s exhibition “Modernity and Opulence: Women of the Wiener Werkstätte” highlights the pivotal role Jewish women played in Vienna’s influential design collective. Featuring nearly 200 works, the show explores how artists and patrons transformed modern art, fashion and women’s professional opportunities in the early 20th century.

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Mahmoud Khalil Sues Feds, Alleges Conspiracy With Pro-Israel Groups

The complaint alleges there had been a “conspiracy” among private pro-Israel entities, including the Heritage Foundation, Canary Mission and Betar USA, and senior Trump administration officials to target and prosecute pro-Palestinian activists. The lawsuit names Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, former DHS secretary Kristi Noem and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

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What Americans Think Of Israel And Gaza Since The Oct. 7 Attacks

It’s the conflict that seems to never end — and Americans have shifted their opinions on it. Following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, a messy war ensued in Gaza. Americans fiercely debated which side, if any, the U.S. should align with. After almost three years of war, researchers have been able to gauge how American sentiments about Israel, Palestine and Hamas have changed over time.

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‘Standing For Dignity’: Faith Leaders Urge Officials To Protect Midterm Elections

Faith leaders representing more than 1,500 congregations held coordinated events in nine states, calling on election officials to protect voting rights and follow election laws ahead of the 2026 midterms this November. Organizers described the campaign as nonpartisan and focused on election integrity and ballot access.

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Advocates Seek Expanded Understanding Of Antisemitism

Antisemitism spans the political spectrum. On the far right, antisemites may support a vision of America under white supremacy. On the far left, antisemites may consider Jews oppressors and white colonialists. 

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Taking On a Post-Oct. 11 World: 2 Plays Stage 3 Years Of Infighting Over Israel

The Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, proved to be just the first bloodletting in a renewed cycle of violence and recrimination. Israel responded with its destructive campaign in Gaza. Far from the theater of war, American Jews reckoned with renewed fears of antisemitism and fractures within their own communities and families.

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Seeing Pope Leo XIV’s AI Encyclical Through A Jewish Lens

(ANALYSIS) In Judaism, this distinctly-human urge — or as Immanuel Kant puts it, “self-imposed immaturity” — separates humanity from God. Immaturity, however, implies the concept of a future maturation process, induced by palpable experience and excluding any computational rigging or other attempt to authentically possess it.

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Amy Goodman’s Relentless Pursuit of Power, Accountability And Truth

One of America’s greatest and fearless investigative journalists, Amy Goodman, seeks the truth and reports it. Religion Unplugged sat down with her to discuss how her Jewish upbringing and its influences on her career and reporting.

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Religious Freedom Faces Growing Pressures Worldwide

A new Pew Research Center study found religious hostilities increased sharply around the world in 2023, driven by harassment of religious minorities and fallout from the Israel-Hamas war. Government restrictions on religion remained near record highs, an issue affecting billions of people across dozens of countries.

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From The NASL To World Cup: Meet The Jews Who Helped Soccer Grow In The United States

When the North American FIFA World Cup starts Thursday, the story will largely be told through the familiar lenses of Lionel Messi, the geography of the 48 participants and three hosts, and — because 75% of the games will be played there — the continuing rise of soccer in the United States. But there is another, less familiar story woven through the tournament: The long, strange and often overlooked history of Jews in North American soccer.

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‘The Old Stories: Moses’ Offers Up A Biblical Epic With An Artificial Soul

(REVIEW) While the show’s theological justification is surprisingly in line with the pope’s new AI principles, the execution proves that — as always — the devil is in the details.  

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Stage Against Hate: A Theater Keeps Jewish Culture Alive Beyond Memory And Myth

In the heart of Budapest lies a theater unlike any other. Founded 20 years ago, Gólem Theater stands as the only professional Jewish theater in Hungary. By blending humor with questions of identity, the theater seeks to engage audiences with a different side of Jewish culture.

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This Jewish Artist Hadn’t Painted In More Than 5 decades. Then Came 10/7.

(REVIEW) Sid Klein has finally found his subject. More than half a century after he scrambled to pick a topic for his senior art project at Brooklyn College in New York — and settled on exploring the porcelain curves of a toilet bowl in a 20-painting series — he’s discovered a purpose.

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Uncovering Coded Antisemitism Online Takes Both Humans And AI

(ANALYSIS) History shows that at every moment of profound technological change in our communication systems, incidents targeting Jews or other minority groups go up dramatically. This era’s technical innovation is unprecedented — but unfortunately, hate speech now travels around the globe almost instantly.

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Op-Ed Compared An Underdog NBA Team To Israel — And Then The Threats Poured In

With the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder fighting to return to the NBA Finals, one bold writer dug deep for an analogy: The Thunder, he wrote, is like the state of Israel — a former underdog now despised for its success. The Oklahoman, a daily newspaper, published the opinion column on its website Monday morning, hours before the Thunder began their semifinal series against the San Antonio Spurs. The story was accompanied by an image of a basketball with the Israeli flag on it.

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