Articles written by Ben Sales
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Netanyahu wins narrow victory
(JTA)-Benjamin Netanyahu appears likely to win a fifth term as Israel's prime minister as right-wing parties apparently have maintained their majority in the nationwide elections held Tuesday. With mo...
Airbnb will cancel ban on West Bank
(JTA)—In a reversal of a 2018 policy announcement, Airbnb will not remove West Bank settlement listings from its website. The policy change came after two federal court settlements Monday between the vacation rental company and two groups of...
Netanyahu wins narrow victory in Israel's election
(JTA) - Benjamin Netanyahu appears likely to win a fifth term as Israel's prime minister as right-wing parties apparently have maintained their majority in the nationwide elections held Tuesday. With...
The Golan Heights, explained
(JTA)-President Donald Trump recently signed a proclamation recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Here's what you need to know about the Golan Heights, the 52-year argument over...
Benjamin Netanyahu's views on a Palestinian state, explained
(JTA)-It wasn't so long ago that most major Israeli politicians supported establishing a Palestinian state. Now it's not clear that any of them do, including the current prime minister, Benjamin...
How partisan politics are dividing an Orthodox synagogue movement
NEW YORK (JTA)-At the end of March, the National Council of Young Israel, an Orthodox synagogue association, will hold a gala dinner hosted by Pete Hegseth, the co-host of "Fox & Friends." The...
Bibi's scandals explained
(JTA)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to court on corruption charges-he says he's innocent. Netanyahu was indicted in three cases Thursday pending a court hearing. It's the first ti...
Deborah Lipstadt quits synagogue after its national affiliate backs Netanyahu's overture to far-right party
(JTA)—Deborah Lipstadt, the prominent Holocaust historian, is resigning her membership in her local synagogue because it belongs to a movement that defended an Israeli political deal with the extremist right wing. Lipstadt belonged to Young Israel...
US Orthodox group defends Netanyahu's deal with far-right
NEW YORK (JTA)—An American Orthodox Jewish group is defending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to work with a far-right political party. It is the first statement by a major American Jewish organization defending...
Meet the Jewish DACA UCF student
ORLANDO (JTA)-He's not just a student at the University of Central Florida, he is the student president. Growing up, Josh Boloña was just like a lot of kids in South Florida: He was a Latino...
Will Israel be the fourth country to land on the moon?
(JTA)-He's spent eight years trying to land a spacecraft on the moon, but when Yonatan Winetraub stood on the launchpad this month at Florida's Cape Canaveral, he was still in shock. "I stood right ne...
Orthodox rabbis compare abortion to murder-and Orthodox women are angry about it
NEW YORK (JTA)—When New York State liberalized its abortion law last week, the Catholic Church and Southern Baptist Convention unsurprisingly released statements slamming the action. And they were joined by two large Orthodox Jewish religious...
How the Forward ran low on cash-and miracles-before ending its print edition and laying off its top editors
NEW YORK (JTA)-A decade ago, the publisher of the Jewish Daily Forward asked his board to believe in miracles. "We are supposed to believe in miracles; we are forbidden to rely on them, " Sam Norich w...
Illinois governor opens up about his family's immigrant past
(JTA)—J.B. Pritzker’s great-grandfather slept in a train station on his first night in Chicago. Now his billionaire descendant is about to become the governor of Illinois. Pritzker, a Jewish venture capitalist and Democrat, defeated the Republica...
Can anyone beat Benjamin Netanyahu?
(JTA)—Israeli police want him to be indicted in three separate corruption cases. He’s embattled from left and right for his attacks on Gaza and his policy in the West Bank. He’s made a point of cozying up to controversial right-wing...
The fast train from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv isn't fast and doesn't go to Tel Aviv
JERUSALEM (JTA)-As our train hurtled through the tunnel-my ears popping on the descent-and then burst out into sunlight bathing a landscape of fields and rocky hills, I finally let myself feel impress...
A lot of the bread in the US will no longer be kosher
By Ben Sales NEW YORK (JTA)-The largest baking company in the United States will be removing kosher certification from nearly all of its bread and rolls. Bimbo Bakeries USA confirmed to JTA that it...
This Santa Claus is an Orthodox Jew
(JTA)-Just like any other Santa Claus, Santa Rick will spend much of the next couple of weeks sitting children on his knee, asking whether they've been good and listening to their Christmas wishes....
Netanyahu says he supports a Palestinian 'state-minus' controlled by Israeli security
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled that he supported a Palestinian “state-minus,” wherein Israel would maintain a military presence across Israel and the West Bank. Netanyahu also said in a question-and-answer...
More than 75 percent of Jews voted for Democrats in the midterms
(JTA)—More than 75 percent of Jews voted for Democrats on an Election Day that was also good to Jewish congressional candidates. A poll conducted by GBA Strategies, a Democrat-aligned pollster, and commissioned by the liberal Israel lobby J...
Here are the results in Tuesday's races that matter most to Jews
(JTA)—Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections held Nov. 6, with Jewish Congress members poised to take key leadership roles. Republicans looked to increase their majority in the Senate. Five Jewish Democrats...
Stars of Hope brings comfort to Pittsburgh with help of trauma survivors
PITTSBURGH (JTA)-In the middle of the day on Tuesday, above a growing pile of wilting flower bouquets and sympathy cards, five wooden, five-pointed stars hung on a signpost in front of Tree of Life...
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting shakes the city's iconic Jewish neighborhood
(JTA)-When a gunman entered The Tree of Life Congregation and killed 11 worshippers on Saturday, he also struck at the heart of Pittsburgh's Jewish community-the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill....
How a school for kids with learning disabilities prepared its students for mainstream Jewish high school
NEW YORK (JTA)-Going to high school for the first time last month, Linda Shamah felt like many other incoming freshmen: really nervous and really excited. The large lecture-style classes seemed...
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...
