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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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Eugene Vindman, Democratic candidate for Virginia's 7th Congressional District, attends a news conference to urge the House to pass the Senate National Security Aid Package, which includes aid to Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Eugene Vindman, whose Jewish immigrant story featured in Trump’s first impeachment trial, wins primary in Virginia

Ron Kampeas, JTAPublished June 19, 2024

WASHINGTON — A former White House official whose Jewish Ukrainian origins played a prominent role in Donald Trump’s first impeachment hearings won a Democratic congressional primary in Virginia on Tuesday. Elsewhere in the state, two prominent...

An academic paper found that a dedicated group has for some 15 years manipulated Wikipedia in ways that lay blame for the Holocaust on Jews and absolve Poland of almost any responsibility for its record of antisemitism.

ADL faces Wikipedia ban over reliability concerns on Israel, antisemitism

Asaf Elia-Shalev, JTAPublished June 18, 2024

(JTA) — Wikipedia’s editors have voted to declare the Anti-Defamation League “generally unreliable” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding it to a list of banned and partially banned sources. An overwhelming majority of editors involved...

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, June 10, 2024. (Amos Ben-Gershom/Israel Government Press Office)

Netanyahu accuses Biden of withholding weapons. White House: We ‘do not know what he’s talking about.’

Ron Kampeas, JTAPublished June 18, 2024

WASHINGTON — White House officials denied withholding weapons from Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement criticizing the Biden administration for an “inconceivable” delay in delivering weapons. The exchange...

Amid rising antisemitism, WashU still standing strong in revised ADL report

Amid rising antisemitism, WashU still standing strong in revised ADL report

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished June 18, 2024

Since the Anti-Defamation League released its first-ever Campus Antisemitism Report Card in April, universities across the U.S. have experienced a significant increase in antisemitic incidents and hostile campus climates. This surge led the ADL to reassess...

From left to right: Rev. Traci Blackmon, Maharat Rori Picker Neiss and Americans United for Separation of Church & State CEO Rachel Laser march to the Civil Courts building in St. Louis. (Courtesy of Americans United for Separation of Church & State)

Missouri judge rejects suit by interfaith clergy, including rabbis, that challenged abortion ban

Jackie Hajdenberg, JTAPublished June 17, 2024

(JTA) — A Missouri judge upheld the state’s abortion ban Friday, rejecting efforts by a group of 14 interfaith clergy, including rabbis, who sought to protect reproductive rights by suing the state on religious freedom grounds. The faith leaders,...

Rabbi Asher Lopatin. Credit: JCRC/AJC Detroit.

Michigan, CUNY failed to protect Jewish students, Education Department investigation finds

Andrew Bernard, (JNS)Published June 17, 2024

The U.S. Department of Education released a pair of agreements on Monday with the University of Michigan and the City University of New York to address their failure to protect the civil rights of Jewish students. The resolution agreements are the...

Philanthropist Staenberg turns Crown Center's blank walls to art-filled halls

Philanthropist Staenberg turns Crown Center’s blank walls to art-filled halls

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished June 17, 2024

Nothing says "possibility" more than a blank wall. So, when the 57-year-old Crown Center senior living facility in University City received a $1 million donation from philanthropists Michael and Carol Staenberg to build a new 52-unit residential building...

Brooke Williams, Jordyn Lange, Zac Cantor and Ava Sherman.

Why these St. Louis teens are choosing camp over other summer jobs

MOLLY LEVIN, JEWISH LIGHT INTERNPublished June 17, 2024

As school lets out, many teenagers are eager to find a summer job. From fast food restaurants to car washes, countless places of employment are available for teenagers to work. Many, however, choose to spend their summers working at a place of familiarity:...

Legendary Mossad agent’s spy sketchbook, turned art exhibition coming to St. Louis

Legendary Mossad agent’s spy sketchbook, turned art exhibition coming to St. Louis

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished June 17, 2024

In 1960, when Mossad agent Peter Zvi Malkin led a team to capture the notorious Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, his cover was that of an ordinary tourist. To maintain this facade, Malkin carried art supplies, including pastels, colored pencils,...

Carl Reiner with Dick Van Dyke. 
From Wash D.C. Kennedy center Mark Twain awards 2000

The secret Jewish history of Dick Van Dyke

By Seth Rogovoy, The ForwardPublished June 17, 2024

Was The Dick Van Dyke Show a precursor of Seinfeld? And why am I wondering about that now, decades after both TV comedy shows aired their final episodes? In case you haven’t heard, Dick Van Dyke just added another trophy to his bedroom-sized closet...

El Al planes are seen at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv on Dec. 31, 2022. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto)

Public outcry prompts El Al to backtrack

Asaf Elia-Shalev, JTAPublished June 17, 2024

Steeply discounted shipping of donations to support the Israeli war effort aboard El AL aircraft is coming back days after Israel’s national airline said it planned to end the program.  El Al’s decision to reinstate the discount follows reporting...

Jerry Seinfeld said that network sitcoms lost their sizzle. Photo by Jeffery Neira/ NETFLIX

Seinfeld roasts anti-Israel heckler

Published June 17, 2024

(JNS) -- An Australian audience on Sunday cheered comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s response to a heckler who interrupted his stand-up show with shouts of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” “We have a genius, ladies and gentlemen....

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