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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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Jewish leaders unite to combat antisemitism in Missouri politics

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-ChiefPublished March 19, 2025

The Missouri Alliance Network (Mo Alliance) will officially launch March 25 with a focused mission: to combat antisemitism in Missouri, especially among elected officials. “We’ve already begun meeting with officials, from local mayors and school...

Mirowitz plans to phase out grades 7-8

Mirowitz plans to phase out grades 7-8

By Megan Rubenstein, Special to the Jewish LightPublished March 19, 2025

A major shift is coming to Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School, reshaping Jewish education in St. Louis. On Feb. 27, families received an email announcing that Mirowitz will transition to kindergarten through sixth grade starting in the fall. Seventh...

Above, Mizzou Jewish Greeks were among the students who attended a campus memorial on Oct. 7, 2024 marking one year since the Hamas attacks on Israel. Photo courtesy Brian Schenberg

Inside the Jewish Greek resistance: Area fraternities and sororities battle campus hate

BY KEVIN DEUTSCH, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished March 19, 2025

Clad in Jewish fraternity jerseys, the brothers of Alpha Epsilon Pi and Zeta Beta Tau walked confidently across the University of Missouri campus in the weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, undaunted by anti-Zionist protests and “From...

Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist at Columbia who was arrested by ICE in March 2025, speaking to media. (Screenshot)

In jailhouse letter, Mahmoud Khalil urges renewed student pro-Palestinian protests

Ben Sales, JTAPublished March 19, 2025

Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian protester arrested at Columbia University nine days ago, wrote that he was a “political prisoner” in a letter sent from a Louisiana detention center. Khalil was arrested March 9 by ICE and has been threatened with...

Gal Gadot poses with her husband Jaron Varsano and daughters Alma, Ori, Maya and Daniella during the ceremony inaugurating Gadot's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, March 18, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Gal Gadot unveils star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming first Israeli actor honored there

By Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished March 19, 2025

Gal Gadot has made history as the first Israeli actor to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the ceremony, Gadot reflected on her journey from Rosh Ha’ayin to international stardom, encouraging young women to pursue their dreams. The event,...

Freed Israeli hostages Aviva Siegel, Keith Siegel, Yarden Bibas, Yair Horn, Yocheved Lifshitz and Sasha Trufanov hold a protest calling for the end of the war and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, March 18, 2025.

Former hostages decry return to war as Netanyahu says further talks will happen only ‘under fire’

By Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished March 19, 2025

Former Israeli hostages are speaking out against Israel’s renewed military campaign in Gaza, warning that continued fighting puts those still in captivity at risk. At a protest in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, freed hostage Yarden Bibas condemned the...

St. Louis’ own Karlie Kloss is adding to her growing Jewish family—baby No. 3 on the way!

St. Louis’ own Karlie Kloss is adding to her growing Jewish family—baby No. 3 on the way!

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished March 18, 2025

Karlie Kloss may have built her career on international runways, but her story begins right here in St. Louis. The Webster Groves High School alum, who converted to Judaism before her 2018 marriage to entrepreneur Joshua Kushner, is about to add another...

A Palestinian walks past graffiti and the rubble of buildings, ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 27, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Israeli strike kills Islamic Jihad spokesman

JNS StaffPublished March 18, 2025

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Iranian terror subsidiary in the Gaza Strip, confirmed on Tuesday evening “with great pride and honor” that its spokesman Naji Abu Saif, known as “Abu Hamza,” was killed in Israeli strike that day. The terror group...

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a residential building in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Israel vows to escalate strikes if Hamas refuses to release hostages

JNS StaffPublished March 18, 2025

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Tuesday that Hamas will face intensified military action unless it releases all remaining hostages. “The murderous Hamas needs to understand: If they do not release all our hostages, our blows will...

Steven Rosenzweig

Five questions with the new CEO at the J, Steven Rosenzweig

Bill Motchan, Special To The Jewish LightPublished March 18, 2025

Last November, the Jewish Community Center welcomed Steven Rosenzweig as its president and CEO. Rosenzweig, a member of Kol Rinah, was most recently CFO of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO). He served in that same role (and chief operating officer)...

Smoke rises during Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on October 31, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Ceasefire ends as Israeli bombs strike Gaza

Ben Sales, JTAPublished March 17, 2025

(JTA) — Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza overnight, bringing an end to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire after two months. Israeli leaders announced that they ordered the strikes after Hamas would not agree to frameworks for a hostage deal proposed by Israeli...

US President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi arrive to speak at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on March 14, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

US Justice Dept. launches ‘JTF 10-7’ to prosecute Oct. 7 terrorists

By Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished March 17, 2025

A U.S. Justice Department task force will seek redress for victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in the latest Trump administration move aimed at demonstrating support for Jews and Israelis. The task force, announced Monday by Attorney...

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