Posts in Judaism
Palestinian Journalists Receive Pulitzer ‘Special Citation’ For Gaza War Coverage

The Pulitzer Prize committee awarded a “special citation” to journalists covering the war in Gaza. In addition, “A Day in the Life of Abed Salaman: Anatomy of a Jerusalem” Tragedy by Nathan Thrall, which documents the experience of a Palestinian father whose 5-year-old son was killed in a bus crash, won the prize for general nonfiction.

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Nearly Half of US Voters Believe Colleges Should Ban Pro-Palestine Protests

A new survey found 47 percent of U.S. voters believe colleges should ban pro-Palestinian protests, compared to 30 percent who say the demonstrations should be permitted. A slightly smaller number — 41 percent — would ban pro-Israel protests. The vast majority of voters — 76 percent — also said they support colleges asking police to protect campuses from violence.

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Crossroads Podcast: Why Jewish College Students Are Headed To The Bible Belt

No doubt about it. Quite a few students up north are taking their talents, and tuition dollars, to Southern states. For a conservative take on the statistics, see this Daily Mail piece: “Why college kids are abandoning Ivy Leagues to go to Southern schools.”

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Violence Erupts At UCLA As Pro-Israel Group Tries To Dismantle Encampment

A quiet weeknight at UCLA descended into mayhem after hundreds of pro-Israel protesters descended on the campus and began trying to dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment. Violence raged outside the encampment for nearly three hours — from around 11 p.m. Tuesday to a little before 2 a.m. Wednesday — before police officers arrived at the scene and began dispersing them.

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Why I Don’t Believe American Students Care Deeply About Palestinians

(OPINION) No, I don’t believe for a split second that suddenly, college students all over America really care about the plight of the Palestinians. I don’t believe this anymore than, a few years ago, people around the globe were suddenly concerned about the plight of Black Americans when they marched for BLM. Not a chance.

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How Schumer Persuaded Speaker Johnson To Pass Foreign Aid Bill

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the recent bipartisan passage of a $14.3 billion military aid bill to Israel, without imposing any conditions, a “great victory” for the Jewish state. In an exclusive interview, Schumer said he dedicated significant time to discussions with House Speaker Johnson, emphasizing the importance of passing the comprehensive foreign aid package, crucial for Israel’s defense.

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Israelis See Antisemitism — And Foreign Interests — Behind US campus protests

News about the demonstrations spreading at colleges in the United States has been dominating the headlines here. All of the 21 Israeli Jews we spoke with perceive protesters’ rally cries as attacks on Jews writ large. Most also said, without evidence, that American college kids are being manipulated, if not also paid, by Hamas, Qatar, Iraq or China to undermine Israel and Jews.

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Christian Activists Stage ‘United for Israel March’ At Columbia University

As pro-Palestinian protests spread to college campuses across America and around the world, three conservative Christian activists staged a “United for Israel March” at Columbia University on Friday night. The group of a few dozen people carrying American and Israel flags gathering before marching to Columbia’s gate, accompanied by a snare drum.

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How Passover Haggadahs — And Their art — Have Been Evolving For Centuries

The Jewish festival of Passover recalls the biblical story of the Israelites enslaved by Egypt and their miraculous escape. During a ritual feast known as a Seder, families celebrate this ancient story of deliverance, with each new generation reminded to never take freedom for granted. Every year, a written guide known as a “Haggadah” is read at the Seder table.

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Campus Chaos: Columbia Goes Remote After Protests Intimidate Jewish Students

Columbia University’s president canceled all in-person classes and urged faculty and students who do not live on campus to stay away, after a weekend of anti-Israel protests swelled and included threatening messages to the school’s large Jewish student population. The extraordinary move was announced in an early-morning Monday email.

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Jewish Students Advised To Leave Columbia’s Campus Amid Protests

Jewish students concerned about their safety amid a new wave of anti-war protests at Columbia University received mixed messages on Sunday about staying on campus during the holiday of Passover. Rabbi Elie Buechler, who leads the Orthodox Union’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus at Columbia and Barnard, advised students to return home until it is safe for them to be on campus again.

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Israel Sends A Message To Iran, But Tensions Not Likely to Escalate

(OPINION) Is the conflict between Israel and Iran about to explode? Are we on the edge of World War III, if not Armageddon? The answer to all these questions is the same: not likely. But in saying this I do not claim supernatural, prophetic insight.

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What Houdini, Coney Island And Space Aliens Have To Do With The Book Of Exodus

Every year at Passover we are commanded to imagine ourselves leaving Egypt — Joel Silverstein painted himself into the picture. In “The Brighton Beach Bible” — an art book with narrative commentary — Silverstein envisions the boardwalks and abandoned attractions of his childhood in Brooklyn as the staging ground for the Exodus and 40 years in the wilderness.

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After A Sleepless Night, Israelis Anxiously Wonder ‘What Happens Next?’

Sunday is the start of the Israeli workweek, but schools and many government offices were closed for the day. This cosmopolitan city’s typically crowded light rail was sparse and remarkably silent, with the few passengers glued to their smartphones looking for answers nobody could seem to find. 

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New Moses Docudrama Heavy On Entertainment, But Light On Scholarship

(REVIEW) The average religious viewer will likely also find little offensively objectionable in the portrayal of the Biblical story. They take the story, with its miracles and supernatural elements, as if they all really happened. The flaws in Moses’s character are all ones that come from the Biblical accounts.

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Hillel Revamps College Guide For Jewish Students In Response To Campus Turmoil

Amid what many consider an increasingly hostile climate for Jewish students on campus, Hillel has updated its college guide, including a new feature that indicates whether students at a particular school have held a vote to boycott Israel.

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As Tensions Escalate, How Will Israel Retaliate Against Iran?

(OPINION) As expected, in retaliation for Israel’s killing of a top Iranian general and seven other senior military leaders on April 1 — all of whom were suspected of having Israeli blood on their hands — Iran struck back on Saturday night, launching roughly 350 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles on Israel. What will Israel do in response? And what does this mean for the region and the world?

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Online Jewish Salon Hopes Conversation Has The Power To Heal

When Jews gather around their Passover seder tables on April 22, most will read in the hagaddah prayerbook a simple tale of four children who are tasked with learning of the Jewish exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt: The wise child, the wicked child, the simple child, and the child who does not know how to ask.

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‘Judaism Is About Love’ Shatters Stereotypes And Addresses Jewish-Christian Relations

(ANALYSIS) “Judaism Is About Love” is a new book that thoroughly and poetically shatters the misconception that the God of the Hebrew Bible is about law, while the God of the New Testament is about love. As a result, it creates healthy parameters for disagreement between Jewish and Christian believers.

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