Articles written by Ben Sales
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Israelis want American Jewish help
(JTA)—For years, American Jewish groups have agitated for more religious pluralism in Israel. And year after year, the Israeli government has acted as if the country’s demographic and political realities make any kind of substantial reform...
Wohl wants to be the face of young Jewish Trump supporters
NEW YORK (JTA)-If you scroll down the Twitter feed of Jacob Wohl, former teenage hedge fund manager and current pro-Donald Trump provocateur, you'll see a stream of insults directed at Robert...
Randi Weingarten wants the teachers' union to love Israel
By Ben Sales (JTA)-The statement, issued the day Israel passed a controversial bill defining itself as a Jewish nation-state, could have come from any number of liberal American Jewish groups. "We...
Here's how JTA covered the real-life story of 'Operation Finale' and Eichmann's capture
(JTA)-When undercover Israeli agents captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1960, JTA's reporters were just as surprised as everyone else. An article dated May 23 of that year described an...
Hydrox, the original kosher sandwich cookie, is accusing Oreo of sabotage
(JTA)-You know what Oreos are. They're two delicious chocolate cookies sandwiched around a creme filling. Oreos also come in Double Stuff, vanilla, birthday cake and pumpkin spice (really). There is d...
Lauder helped make Netanyahu prime minister-now he's opposing him
(JTA)-It's gotta hurt when the guy who used to fund your political career writes two op-eds criticizing you in The New York Times. Benjamin Netanyahu would know-that's what's happening to him right...
Ocasio-Cortez cheered
NEW YORK (JTA)-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic congressional candidate and rising progressive star, was cheered at an event at a Jewish museum that did not touch on Israel or the Jewish...
Here's how Birthright guides talk about the Palestinians
(JTA)-When Samuel Green talks about Israel's West Bank security barrier with the Birthright groups he guides, he first explains the Israeli view that the barrier was built to prevent Palestinian...
Zuckerberg says Facebook won't delete Holocaust denial posts
(JTA)-Mark Zuckerberg says he wants to give everyone in the world a voice. But what happens when some of those wishing a voice are Holocaust deniers? That question was posed to the Facebook founder...
Jewish philanthropist questioned by Israeli airport security
NEW YORK (JTA)—A prominent Jewish philanthropist says he was aggressively questioned by Israeli airport security after going on a Jewish tour of Palestinian areas of the West Bank. Meyer Koplow, chair of Brandeis University’s board of trustees...
They tried to take Judaism out of synagogue spaces-now they're coming back to them
NEW YORK (JTA)-For 10 years, Rabbi Dan Ain has tried to take Judaism out of the synagogue. He's convened Friday night prayers in auditoriums with musicians like Matisyahu and Lisa Loeb. He's held...
Filipino guest workers come to Israel-and embrace Judaism
TEL AVIV (JTA)—One of the biggest days of the year for Ronaldo and Bernadette Lopez is Christmas. They open up their Filipino restaurant in South Tel Aviv, and their friends bring their families, crowd the place and eat embutido, a rolled pork...
This Jewish man survived World War II in Axis-era Japan
NEW YORK (JTA)-Growing up in Imperial Japan during World War II, Isaac Shapiro's best friend was a member of the Hitler Youth. The friend wore the organization's brown shirt uniform to their...
Jewish activists are helping families separated at the border
(JTA)-When Mary McCabe explains America's immigration courts to children who have been separated from their parents, she tries to make it interactive. She draws a sketch of a courtroom and asks kids...
Supreme Court's cake shop ruling is good for the Jews
(JTA)-Seven Supreme Court justices sided with a Colorado baker in his legal fight with a gay couple. And seven major Jewish groups weighed in on the decision. Six of the Jewish groups disagreed with t...
It's a big deal that Argentina cancelled its soccer game in Israel
(JTA)—Israelis want nothing more than for their country to be considered normal. That may have to wait. A much-anticipated soccer game between the Argentine and Israeli national teams was cancelled Wednesday because, Israeli and Argentine...
As night falls, Jerusalem's old-school Jewish market transforms into a hipster hangout
JERUSALEM (JTA)-In another life, Kobi Frig would have been sitting behind vats of spices in Jerusalem's bustling, labyrinthine Mahane Yehuda market, hawking paprika, zaatar and cinnamon like his...
Israel's conversion laws are about to get stricter
(JTA)—Jewish converts in America may have a much harder time being accepted in Israel because of a new set of regulations proposed by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. If adopted, some activists in Israel say, the new guidelines for religious courts...
These Jewish camp counselors want to teach their kids about the occupation
(JTA)-When Aviva Schwartz started praying publicly for Palestinians at her Jewish summer camp, she knew it would be controversial. Schwartz had grown up ensconced in the Conservative movement, had att...
Philip Roth showed me how to be an American Jew
(JTA)—I never did anything like that with liver, but when I read “Portnoy’s Complaint,” I knew it was about me. Not the actual me, because I would never do any of the things that Alexander Portnoy confesses in the 274-page rant about lust,...
Neighbors of the new US embassy in Jerusalem are worried about traffic and rising rents
JERUSALEM (JTA)-As he strolled on his leafy, narrow street overlooking what is now the United States Embassy in Israel, Ben Katz stepped back to dodge the side-view mirror of an oncoming truck, which...
Israel defends Gaza crackdown as self-defense: 'We are saving human life'
NEW YORK (JTA)-Despite growing condemnation for the deaths of 60 Palestinians on the Gaza border yesterday, Israel defended its military's actions as an act of self-defense in the face of a mass...
Amid renewed talk of war, Israelis are keeping calm and carrying on
TEL AVIV (JTA)-When war broke out on Israel's northern border in 2006, Avigdor Guy remained calm. He lived in the northern port city of Haifa, but he didn't think the war would hit home-until, that...
Some rabbis say it isn't kosher to borrow from Quicken Loans because it's run by Jews
NEW YORK (JTA)—If you’re an Orthodox Jew with a mortgage from Quicken Loans, you might be in trouble. Agudath Israel of America, a major haredi Orthodox organization, issued a Jewish legal ruling last month prohibiting Jews from taking out loans...
The Italian cycling champion who saved Jews during the Holocaust is given honorary Israeli citizenship
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Gino Bartali had already won the Tour de France once and the Giro d'Italia twice when he started taking the most dramatic bicycle rides of his life. Bartali was an Italian cyclist who...
