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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

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Barnard College in New York City as seen on Aug. 29, 2024. (Philissa Cramer)

Two students who disrupted Israel history class with pro-Palestinian protest, expelled

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished February 24, 2025

Barnard College has expelled two students, both seniors who disrupted an Israeli history course last month by banging on drums, shouting “Free Palestine” and distributing fliers showing a boot stomping on a Star of David. The incident drew widespread...

Friedrich Merz, chancellor candidate of Germany’s Christian Democrats, speaks to supporters at CDU headquarters in Berlin following preliminary results showing him leading in federal elections, Feb. 23, 2025. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Far-right AfD notches record 2nd-place finish in German election as center-right party prevails

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished February 24, 2025

The far-right Alternative for Germany came in second place in German elections Sunday, taking a record 21% in a vote won by the center-right. But Alternative for Germany, known as AfD, is unlikely to join Germany’s governing coalition. The party...

Hundreds gather in St. Louis to honor Israeli hostages—A night of light and hope

Hundreds gather in St. Louis to honor Israeli hostages—A night of light and hope

Bill Motchan, Special To The Jewish LightPublished February 23, 2025

After a long, difficult week for the St. Louis Jewish community, Stephanie Gross and Dafna Revah felt the need to honor and remember the Israeli hostage survivors, those still held in captivity and the tragic loss of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas. Late...

A poster of Tenafly’s Edan Alexander hanging at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport is covered in messages of support. It's been 11 months since Alexander was taken hostage in the Hamas terror attack of Oct. 7, 2023.

Trump administration pushes for release of last living American hostage in Gaza

By Jacob Kornbluh, The ForwardPublished February 23, 2025

The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to secure the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American and the last known living U.S. citizen held by Hamas in Gaza, according to White House Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. “He is front...

Pictures of Shiri Bibas and her children Kfir and Ariel who are held hostage in Hamas captivity hang outside the protest tent calling for the release of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, Feb. 19, 2025.

Hamas promises investigation after ‘error or overlap in bodies’

Ben Sales, JTAPublished February 21, 2025

Hamas has handed a body to the Red Cross that, the terror group says, belongs to Shiri Bibas, Israeli media reported on Friday. The transfer of the body comes less than 24 hours after the Israeli military announced after a forensic examination that...

Steve Bannon made a gesture at CPAC that was accused of being a Nazi salute in February 2025. (Screenshot)

ADL condemns Steve Bannon’s gesture resembling Nazi salute

By Louis Keene, The ForwardPublished February 21, 2025

The Anti-Defamation League on Friday condemned the Nazi salute-like gesture that Steve Bannon made during his speech at the Conservative Policy Action Conference the day before, a stark contrast to the group’s declaration that a similar salute by...

St. Louis Jewish community to gather in solidarity for hostages

St. Louis Jewish community to gather in solidarity for hostages

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished February 20, 2025

The tragic loss of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Kfir and Ariel, after months of captivity in Gaza has devastated Jewish communities worldwide. But the pain deepened further when, during the recent prisoner exchange, Hamas failed to return Shiri’s...

Israeli soldiers salute as they receive the coffins with the bodies of deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, and were handed over under the terms of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, in the Gaza Strip in this handout image obtained by Reuters on February 20, 2025. GPO/Handout via REUTERS

Hamas sent ‘anonymous, unidentified’ body in Shiri Bibas’ place, IDF says

By Louis Keene, The ForwardPublished February 20, 2025

Hamas delivered an unidentified body instead of Shiri Bibas in Thursday’s prisoner exchange, the IDF said, dealing a new wave of horror to a nation still grieving the deaths of her children. The IDF confirmed it had identified the remains of the...

Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs

Hollywood duo to appear on NCJWSTL’s next Coffee Talk show

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished February 20, 2025

Danny Jacobs and Darren Grodsky aren’t done with St. Louis just yet. Fresh off their packed live recording at STL Style House, the creative duo behind the hit podcast "How to Destroy Everything" are sticking around town for one more can’t-miss...

Firefighters and rescue personnel at the scene of a possible bus bombing in Bat Yam, central Israel, Feb. 20, 2025. Credit: Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90.

Israeli authorities probing bus blasts near Tel Aviv as terror

JNS StaffPublished February 20, 2025

Three buses exploded near Tel Aviv and bombs were found on two others on Thursday night in what is being investigated as a coordinated attack. All of the explosions occurred in parked, empty buses across the central city of Bat Yam, located just south...

IDF soldiers at the ceremony to receive the coffins of the four deceased hostages on Feb. 20, 2025.

Nation mourns Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz as bodies handed over to Israel

Israel Hayom (JNS)Published February 20, 2025

Israel redeemed on Thursday the bodies of four fallen hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza: the three members of the Bibas family – mother Shiri, infant son Kfir, and his older brother Ariel, and Oded Lifshitz. Although the Israeli government has...

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks after giving his annual State of the State address on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Springfield.

Illinois governor compares Trump’s policies to 1930s Germany – ‘It took the Nazis one month’:

By Jacob KornbluhPublished February 20, 2025

Illinois’ Democratic Governor, J.B. Pritzker, drew a parallel between the Nazi regime of the 1930s and the policies of the Trump administration in a speech on Wednesday warning against authoritarian tactics. His remarks sparked sharp backlash from state...

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