Week of July 17, 2026
Week of July 17, 2026
(JNS) — Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran who has been accused of rape, among other sexual improprieties, and who has said that Israel is guilty of “genocide,” dropped out of the Maine Senate race on Wednesday night. “We are suspending campaign operations,” he said about seven-and-a-half minutes into a more than 11-minute video he posted to social media. “This is incredibly difficult, because I know that some will think that it’s an admission of guilt, and it most certainly is not,” he said. “We’re...
(JNS) - In a break from longstanding tradition, the rabbi, cantor and ritual director at Congregation Shaarey Zedek, a large Conservative synagogue in Southfield, Mich., penned a letter to the congregation's 1,000-member households urging everyone, Democrat and Republican alike, to vote in the Aug. 4 Democratic Senate primary. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), whom AIPAC has endorsed, is running against Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a former Detroit public health official who has accused Israel of...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that his administration would resume negotiations with Iran after the United States carried out another round of military strikes against the Islamic Republic earlier in the week. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks,’” Trump wrote. “We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the ceasefire is over.” The United States attacked some 90 military targets in Iran on Wednesday in response to Iranian strikes...
(JNS) — Israel recently shared intelligence with the United States indicating that Iran was considering a new plot to assassinate President Donald Trump, according to a report published Thursday in The Wall Street Journal. The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said the intelligence represented a potential escalation in the confrontation between Washington and Tehran. According to the newspaper, U.S. officials had not previously been aware of the specific intelligence provided by Israel. The Israeli embassy in Washington...
California lawmaker ‘heartbroken’ as Jews targeted in nearly three-quarters of state’s religion-based hate crimes By Aaron Bandler (JNS) — Rick Chavez Zbur, a Democratic member of the California State Assembly, told JNS that he is “heartbroken” over a newly released state report showing that nearly three-quarters of the state’s religion-based hate crimes in 2025 targeted Jews. The California Department of Justice’s 2025 “Hate Crime in California” report, released Wednesday by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, found...
Former Likud Knesset member and Temple Mount activist Rabbi Yehudah Glick believes his life's mission is to transform Jerusalem's Temple Mount - what he prefers to call "Zion" - into "a house of prayer for all nations." Interviewed in the JNS Jerusalem Studio on July 6, the American-born Israeli Orthodox rabbi reflected on four decades of activism, surviving an assassination attempt in 2014 and his belief that greater Jewish and international access to the site can advance religious freedom and...
(JNS) — The American military struck dozens of targets across Iran overnight in the fourth round of attacks on the Islamic Republic within a week, U.S. Central Command said early on Monday. Precision munitions were deployed against “dozens of targets at multiple locations” to degrade Tehran’s ability to disrupt international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM said. The targets included Iranian air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats, according to the statement. U.S. fighter...
(JNS) - U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Thursday that it is now clear to President Donald Trump that Iran is not serious about making peace. The remarks by the American envoy came a day after Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was effectively over following repeated attacks by the Islamic regime in the Gulf. "The one thing that he became very clear about in the last 48 hours is that the Iranians are not serious people when it comes to making peace," Huckabee told reporters after...
(JNS) — Prof. Adam Ferziger, a historian in Bar-Ilan University’s Israel and Golda Koschitzky Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, has been named co-winner of the 2026 Shapiro Award for Best Book in Israel Studies for his book “Agents of Change: American Jews and the Transformation of Israeli Judaism” (New York University Press, 2025). Presented annually by the Association for Israel Studies, the award recognizes the best book in the field published during the previous calendar year. While much public discussion has...
As part of the Hope & Humanity Speaker Series, Van Jones will be performing on Saturday, Sept. 5 in the Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center. Anthony Kapel “Van” Jones is an American political analyst, media personality, lawyer, author, serial entrepreneur and civil rights advocate.[1] He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author, a CNN host and contributor, and an Emmy Award winner. Make the evening even more memorable with a VIP ticket for this inaugural speaker series event. The VIP experience includes: • Exclusive...
(JNS) — Israeli Settlements and National Missions Minister Orit Strook called on Monday for building Jewish communities throughout all of Judea and Samaria, including in Palestinian Authority-administered areas. Strook, a member of Israel’s Security Cabinet, told Arutz Sheva that the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reversed what she described as much of the damage caused by the Oslo Accords signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1990s, as well as the 2005 disengagement from northern Samaria....
(JNS) - Israeli pianist and former Hamas hostage Alon Ohel performed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on Saturday as part of the United States' 250th Independence Day celebrations. Ohel was invited by American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik, known professionally as Five for Fighting, to join him in performing the song "Superman" on the carrier's flight deck during the central holiday events tied to the International Naval Review 250 in New York City. The USS Nimitz, which has been in...
(JNS) — A federal judge declined on Monday to block Florida’s planned designation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a domestic terrorist organization. CAIR and its Florida chapter sued last week after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans to designate the organization under the statute, arguing the law violates the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The plaintiffs also sought a temporary restraining order to prevent enforcement pending the outcome of the case. U.S. District Judge Mark E....
(JNS) — A New York City “neighborhood passport,” which the city’s official marketing group created and which is on hand at libraries in the Big Apple for tourists coming for the World Cup, includes a “cultural map” of the city detailing “thriving international communities and cultures.” The map identifies 30 neighborhoods associated with immigrant populations, including “Little Palestine” (Bay Ridge, Brooklyn), “Little Egypt” (Astoria, Queens), “Little Pakistan” (Newkirk Plaza, Brooklyn) and multiple Chinatowns....
(JNS) - Jerusalem was ranked as the world's seventh-best city in the World's Best Awards 2026 list in a survey published on Tuesday by the highly esteemed U.S. travel magazine Travel + Leisure. Israel's capital also topped the rankings as the best city in the Middle East and North Africa. Running for 31 consecutive years, this year's survey registered more than 661,000 votes by roughly 207,000 readers, across more than 10,088 total properties that include cities, hotels, cruise lines and more,...
(JNS) - Israeli-American baseball player Zev Moore signed a professional contract this week with the Trenton Thunder of Major League Baseball's Draft League. According to Moore's publicist, he became the second practicing Orthodox Jew to play professional baseball, while also becoming the second player raised in Israel to sign a contract allowing him to compete at that level. The 25-year-old outfielder will join the Thunder from July through early September, adding another chapter to a baseball...
(JNS) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, will reportedly honor Mary, mother of Jesus, as a “Palestinian woman giving birth under occupation” while co-hosting a women-only Muslim retreat in Corsica, France, that began on Thursday. Duwaji, 29, departed the United States for Spain before the July 4 holiday to attend the sold-out, five-night “spiritual” retreat organized by The Women Sanctuary. The retreat is being held at a 15th-century monastery in Corsica, France. According to the group’s website,...
The evening of Sept. 11, 2001, I remember standing in a sea of stupefied university students clutching candles on the Yale campus. I was there with my roommates, one an erstwhile and still lifelong New Yorker. We were all trying to make sense of the unimaginable that had happened to her city, to America, to us, only hours earlier. Twenty-five years later, in New York and across the country, a new cohort of candidates who express deep hostility toward Israel, fierce criticism of and contempt for the United States, and, in some cases, troubling...
(JNS) — Am Yisrael, the global Jewish people, stands at a historic crossroads. The challenges we face on a communal, social and national level are familiar yet somehow different. The Jewish experience of the 20th century and the establishment of the State of Israel have been game-changers. The question is: What are we doing about our current challenges? How should global Jewry leverage Israel’s success? For years, Israel’s innovation output has outpaced far larger nations across nearly every sector: transportation, aquaculture, climate,...
(JNS) — More and more information is surfacing to reveal that the Islamic holy war against the West isn’t just being waged on the battleground of the Middle East. Even more significantly, it’s also being waged through a trillion-dollar influence campaign to colonize and subvert the Western mind, organized by extremists from the Islamic world. These have tunneled into the West through a vast civic infrastructure whose real purpose and sources of funding have been as well concealed, and in their own way are just as deadly as the...
In these few days following Senator Lindsey Graham’s sudden death after returning from Ukraine, I have heard Jews offering the traditional blessing usually spoken for one of our own: “May Lindsey Graham rest in peace. May his memory be for a blessing.” The words felt fitting. Graham was not Jewish, but he stood firmly with Israel and the Jewish people. He understood that Israel was not only defending itself but also standing against forces that threatened the region and beyond. He wasn’t alone. Some of the greatest friends the Jewish...
(JNS) — The Institute for Science and National Security issued its “Analysis of IAEA Iran Verification and Monitoring Report: May 2025” by David Albright, Sarah Burkhard and Spencer August Faragasso on June 9, 2025. The report cited an International Atomic Energy Agency report dated May 31, 2025, that Iran’s stockpile of 60 percent highly enriched uranium amounted to 233 kg. Two weeks ago, the IAEA reported a slight increase of 60 percent HEU to 440.9 kilograms, enough to yield approximately 10 nuclear weapons. The finding reported...
(JNS) — When AFEKA Racing lines up on the starting grid in Belgium this September, the team’s solar-powered car will carry more than batteries and photovoltaic panels. A Magen David will be emblazoned on the vehicle, alongside the racing number 18, symbolizing chai (“life”). For the engineering students behind the project, the markings are a deliberate statement that they are proud to compete openly as Israelis. “We see ourselves as an Israeli team representing Israel,” Dan Herman,...
(JNS) - KRAKOW, POLAND-Thousands of people converged on the historic Jewish quarter of the southern Polish city of Krakow last week to attend the annual Krakow Jewish Festival, in the largest such event on the continent. The festival, which was initially launched three-and-a-half decades ago for a non-Jewish audience in a country where Jews were decimated during the Holocaust, was held amid a wave of global antisemitism across the globe, spurred by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern...
For thousands of years, the Jewish people have been known by a remarkable title: “The People of the Book.” It is an extraordinary designation. Not because Jews simply possess books, but because our identity has always been intertwined with learning. Long before literacy became commonplace, Jewish children were taught to read. Long before universities existed, our batei midrash were filled with spirited debate, thoughtful questions, and a relentless pursuit of wisdom. Education has never...
I did a "telehealth visit" last month as a follow-up to routine blood tests. My doctor said all the numbers looked great and I should live to 100. Then he added, "don't lose any more weight." I shared that information with my wife who then mentioned it to her mah jong partners. In reply, they invoked the words of beloved original columnist of Scene around, Gloria Yousha - "oh, shut up!" With that humorous encouragement and support, I set out on a special mission: revisit Philadelphia and regain...
Russian Kebab hamburgers (Uzbek Shashlik) 1/2 lb. ground beef 1/2 lb. ground lamb or turkey 1 T. olive oil 1 medium onion finely chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint 2 tsp. smoked paprika 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/ 2 tea salt 1/16 tsp.cayenne pepper 1 large egg In a large fry pan, mix spices and sauté in 1 T. olive oil with onions. Put onion/spice mixture in a medium bowl and add meats breaking up the pieces and mix...
Submitted by the Jewish Pavilion Senior Services For many older adults, giving up driving can feel like a loss of independence. Fortunately, throughout Central Florida, there are transportation services designed specifically to help seniors remain active, connected, and able to access important appointments, shopping, and social activities. The Orlando Senior Help Desk, a program of Jewish Pavilion Senior Services, often assists families searching for reliable transportation resources for older adults in Orange, Seminole, and Brevard...
Arnold Harold Bierman, born on April 11, 1936, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Samuel and Ada (Coutt) Bierman, passed away on June 28, 2026. Arnold showed his love of adventure from an early age, riding his tricycle at age two to the local elementary school to visit his sister, Norma, whom he loved and cared for throughout her life. Short in stature, he made up for it in grit, speed, and heart. As a teenager, he was a champion amateur weightlifter. He won a world record for the most weight lifted in... Full story
(JNS) - The exchange between Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Elena Kagan, during her confirmation hearing for the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29, 2010 is one of the most lighthearted Jewish references in such a venue. "As we move forward and deal with law of war issues. Christmas Day bomber. Where are you at on Christmas Day?" Graham asked. "Sen. Graham, that is an undecided legal issue. I suppose, I should ask exactly what you mean by that. I'm assuming that the question you mean is whether a... Full story
MORNING MINYANS Chabad of Altamonte Springs — Sunday morning minyan, 8 a.m. Weekday morning minyan 6:30 a.m., 407-720-8111. Chabad of South Orlando — Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 a.m., 407-354-3660. Congregation Ahavas Yisrael — Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-644-2500. Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona — Monday, 8 a.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m., 904-672-9300. Congregation Ohev Shalom — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community...
