Articles written by Ben Sales
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Anti-Semitic hate crimes in NYC have risen significantly in 2019
NEW YORK (JTA)—The number of hate crimes against Jews in New York City has risen significantly over the first nine months of this year, part of a citywide rise in such offenses. The New York Police Department has reported 311 total hate crimes...
How one Jewish school is processing the arrest of a teacher who preyed on children
NEW YORK (JTA)—Sitting at the front of a large room lined floor to ceiling with Jewish holy books, Rabbi Joseph Beyda’s voice broke as he processed, seemingly in real time, the idea that a trusted teacher had preyed on his students. “I think th...
Here's how New York City's new hate crimes chief plans to tackle rising anti-Semitism
(JTA)-Like other local officials, Deborah Lauter can't say exactly what's causing the recent spike in hate crimes against Jews in New York City. It could be, in her words, "the rhetoric that's coming...
The New York Times exposé
(JTA)—As of this writing, Israel has not bombed Iran’s nuclear program. But according to an exposé in The New York Times that dropped Wednesday, it could still happen. And nearly did. The 10,000-word story details how close Israel came to...
The relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Jewish philanthropist Leslie Wexner, explained
(JTA)-One of the most befuddling questions surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein saga is why Leslie Wexner, a billionaire entrepreneur, entrusted all of his money to Epstein, a secretive financier with no...
Trump condemns bigotry and white supremacy in response to El Paso and Dayton shootings
(JTA)—President Donald Trump said “hate has no place in America” in an address to the nation following the mass shootings over the weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Trump pledged additional resources to the FBI to investigate domesti...
Netflix's 'The Red Sea Diving Resort' misses the real story of Ethiopian Jews
(JTA)-Out of all of the unrealistic scenes in "The Red Sea Diving Resort," the most absurd one might be when Ben Kingsley, playing a supposedly gritty Mossad agent, shows up in the desert wearing a su...
El Paso shooting investigated as domestic terrorism
(JTA)—Before he killed at least 22 people at a Walmart on the southern border, the gunman in El Paso posted a white supremacist manifesto on the fringe social network 8chan denouncing a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.” The U.S. Justice Department...
Jews helped inspire America's refugee program and Stephen Miller might end it
(JTA)-In July 1939, eight months after Kristallnacht and seven weeks before Hitler would invade Poland, Congress killed a bill that would have allowed 20,000 Jewish refugee children into the United...
Americans don't know much about Judaism but love the Jews, survey says
(JTA)—U.S. Jews know more about religion in general than their non-Jewish neighbors, a new survey shows. Americans who are not Jewish, meanwhile, don’t know a lot about Judaism. But they like Jews more than any other religious group. And they...
The Jews getting arrested at ICE centers are just getting started
NEW YORK (JTA)-If you're going to physically block an entrance to an ICE detention center, the handbook says, don't act nice about it. Do chant in Yiddish. Do sing Hebrew prayers. "Defiant, angry,...
Bernie Sanders says being the first Jewish president would be 'another barrier broken down'
NEW YORK (JTA)-Bernie Sanders wants you to know that he's not grumpy all of the time. "There are some times I'm not grumpy. Now is not one of those times," he says, a wry smile crossing his face....
Shooter drills during services
(JTA)-When the ushers locked the door to the sanctuary, and the congregants prepared to flee the synagogue in preparation for a mass shooting, Rabbi Neil Cooper made sure it all happened before they...
NYC closes tenth Jewish school
NEW YORK (JTA)—New York City is shuttering an Orthodox school in Brooklyn because it has continued to admit unvaccinated students in violation of a city order. The Central UTA Satmar School for Boys, a hasidic school in the Williamsburg...
An Orthodox rally in Brooklyn sees vaccines as a conspiracy
NEW YORK (JTA)—The weirdest part of an Orthodox anti-vaccine conference here was probably when the emcee, a rabbi wearing a black hat and white beard, quoted the Gospel of Luke. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” he cried,...
Orthodox synagogue in Atlanta breaks from national Young Israel movement after political spat
(JTA) — A large Orthodox synagogue in Atlanta is breaking away from the Young Israel synagogue movement. The exit comes months after its rabbi protested the movement’s right-wing political positions. In a statement provided Wednesday afternoon to...
This Chicago synagogue is a home for non-Zionist Jews
CHICAGO (JTA)-If a pro-Israel activist were to conjure an image of an anti-Zionist synagogue, they'd probably come up with something like Tzedek Chicago. A congregation of 180 people that meets in a...
Chicago-area high school pulls support for teacher
CHICAGO (JTA)—A high school district with a large Jewish population has withdrawn its recommendation of an optional training opportunity for teachers called “Teaching Palestine” after local teachers, synagogues and national organizations...
Why Israel will hold a second national election in 2019
(JTA)—Israel held a national election seven weeks ago. It will hold another one in September. If that sounds weird to you, you’re right: Israel has a famously raucous political system, but it’s never held national elections twice in one year....
Jewish lawyer representing clients at immigration court
(JTA)-Most of the year, Marty Rosenbluth lives alone in a small house in Lumpkin, a Georgia town with 2,000 residents and one restaurant. It's 500 miles away from his wife and community in North...
Palestinian activists don't understand why they can't enter the US
(JTA)-In December 1992, about nine months before the first Palestinian-Israeli peace accords were signed on the White House lawn, Hanan Ashrawi met with President George H.W. Bush in the Oval Office....
Who are the Sacklers, the family at the center of the opioid crisis?
NEW YORK (JTA)-In the 1930s, Mortimer and Raymond Sackler both traveled to Scotland for medical school because, they said, American universities wouldn't admit them as Jews. Eighty years later,...
After Poway, ADL director calls for government to take action
(JTA)—The head of the Anti-Defamation League said Saturday’s synagogue shooting should serve as a “wake-up call” for politicians and business executives to more seriously address anti-Semitism. Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO and national...
How Venezuela's remaining Jews are hanging on amid the crisis
(JTA)—One night years ago, when a Jewish man was driving to his parents’ house in Caracas, Venezuela, two cars blocked off the street he was on and held him up at gunpoint. He got into their car and began answering questions: who he was, where...
Pete Buttigieg keeps calling Mike Pence a 'Pharisee' and it angers Jews
(JTA)-Pete Buttigieg has a word he likes to use to describe Vice President Mike Pence: "Pharisee." Jewish scholars would like him to stop doing that. Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend,...
