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A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

Israel News

An Israeli soldier talks with Tal, 9, and Gal Goldstein, 11, of Kfar Aza, on their way back to Israel from Hamas captivity, Nov. 26, 2023.

Son of Hamas founder urges Israel to kill his father if hostages not freed

Pesach Benson, JNSPublished November 29, 2023

Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of Hamas’s original founders, on Tuesday called on Israel to set a time limit for the terror group to release all Israeli hostages, and to assassinate his father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, and other Hamas leaders if they...

Israelis hold photographs of the Bibas family, and orange balloons, at a press conference calling for the release of 10-month-old Kfir, 4-year-old Ariel, and their parents Shiri and Yarden. at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv, Nov. 28, 2023.

Israel probes Hamas claims that youngest hostages were killed

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished November 29, 2023

(JTA) — Israel is investigating Hamas’ claim that its youngest hostages, brothers Kfir and Ariel Bibas, are dead, along with their mother Shiri. The Bibas family became an early face of the hostage crisis after Hamas released a video showing Shiri...

What is Neturei Karta, the Orthodox group at many pro-Palestinian protests

What is Neturei Karta, the Orthodox group at many pro-Palestinian protests?

By Mira Fox, The ForwardPublished November 26, 2023

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. Photos of pro-Palestine rallies in the U.S. since the outbreak of the war often feature a group of Orthodox Jewish men,...

Posters of Israeli hostages in New York City's Union Square subway station, October 16, 2023.

17 additional hostages released by Hamas

BY BEN SALES, JTAPublished November 26, 2023

(JTA) — Hamas has released 17 more hostages — 14 Israelis, including one U.S. citizen, and three foreign nationals — to the Red Cross as part of its agreement with Israel to pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip. In total, the terror group has...

Israel Air Force helicopters prepare to take hostages released from the Gaza Strip, Nov. 24, 2023. Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

13 Israeli hostages released after 7 weeks in Hamas captivity

Jewish News SyndicatePublished November 24, 2023

Thirteen Israeli hostages were released on Friday as part of a ceasefire deal, 49 days after Hamas terrorists kidnapped them and some 230 others during the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people in the northwestern Negev. The hostages were being brought...

Israelis and supporters rally in support of Hamas hostages outside the United Nations, October 24, 2023.

Israel approves deal with Hamas to free at least 50 hostages in exchange for pause in fighting

Published November 21, 2023

(JTA) — Following six weeks of fighting, Israel’s government has agreed to a deal with Hamas that will free about 50 of the hundreds of hostages that Hamas took in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Most of those released will be women and children. The...

Image by Below the Sky via Shutterstock.com

13 books to help you and others understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

By Naama Barak, Israel 21cPublished November 21, 2023

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has the dubious honor of being the highest-profile conflict in the world, and the war now waging between Israel and Hamas means it is getting more headlines than ever before. But to better understand the conflict raging...

NBC cuts ties with freelancer who glorified Oct. 7 Hamas massacre

NBC cuts ties with freelancer who glorified Oct. 7 Hamas massacre

Published November 21, 2023

Israeli police arrested Marvat Azzeh, an NBC News freelance journalist in Jerusalem, last week for glorifying Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people in Israel. The network subsequently cut ties with her, it confirmed on Monday. Azzeh, of the eastern...

A picture collage of the 40 Israeli schoolchildren under the age of 18 being held by Hamas in Gaza. Source: X.

Israel posts pics of the 40 kids held hostage by Hamas in Gaza

Published November 20, 2023

On Monday, World Children’s Day, Israel tweeted a picture collage of the 40 Israelis under the age of 18 being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. The day commemorates the Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the United Nations General Assembly on...

Abraham Matt from the United States. Credit: Courtesy.

100 Jewish young men and women make ‘aliyah’ to enlist in IDF

Noam Dvir, JNSPublished November 20, 2023

Some 100 young Jewish men and women from around the world have decided to make aliyah and enlist in the Israel Defense Forces as Israel wages war against the Hamas terrorist organization. In a month, they will put on their uniforms. Meanwhile, they are...

Actor Jason Alexander holds a picture of 9-year-old Ohad Munder-Zichri, Nov. 18, 2023. Source: X.

Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame speaks up for Hamas captive

JNSPublished November 19, 2023

Jason Alexander, famous for his role in the sitcom “Seinfeld,” joined in calling for the immediate release of the captives who have been held by the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip for 44 days. Alexander held up a picture of Ohad Munder-Zichri...

Families of the Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and march along with hundreds of Israelis towards the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, as part of a protest calling for the immediate release of the hostages, at the entrance to Jerusalem, November 18, 2023.

Reports swirl about a hostage release deal as thousands rally in Jerusalem

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished November 19, 2023

(JTA) — Tens of thousands of Israelis joined the families of many of the roughly 240 people held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7 in a silent protest outside the offices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday night. Later on Saturday, the Washington...

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