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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

War In Israel

Congressman Brad Schnieder Illinois (IL) – 10th, Democrat

“We will not rest!” Illinois congressman demands action for hostages held by Hamas

JNS StaffPublished February 18, 2025

U.S. Congress members took time on Tuesday to recognize day 500 of the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 others, dragging them into the Gaza Strip. “500 days ago,...

U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office, Feb. 10, 2025. Credit: Daniel Torok/White House.

Trump’s Gaza plan backed by majority of Israelis, according to new poll

JNS StaffPublished February 18, 2025

In a survey of 501 Israeli adults, 68% said they support U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Gaza’s population, according to Israel’s Channel 12. The poll, which has a 4.4% margin of error, found that 20% oppose the plan, while 12% remain...

The exterior of Jerusalem Coffee House in Oakland.

Banned for wearing a Star of David? Coffee shop at center of explosive lawsuit

By Gabe Stutman, jweekly.comPublished February 18, 2025

A team of lawyers is preparing to file a civil rights lawsuit against Jerusalem Coffee House, an Oakland, CA café that has drawn controversy over its treatment of a Jewish customer. Attorneys say they are finalizing the legal complaint and expect to...

Israelis hold photographs of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas at a gathering calling for their release at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, on November 28, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Hamas official says bodies of Bibas family will return to Israel on Thursday

Ben Sales, JTAPublished February 18, 2025

This is a developing story.  A Hamas official has announced that the terror group will return the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, among them the Bibas family. Hamas is also due to release six hostages on Saturday, the final captives...

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff looks on, at the White House, in Washington, U.S. February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Middle East envoy Witcoff says the second phase of the ceasefire is proceeding

By Jacob Kornbluh, The ForwardPublished February 16, 2025

Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, said on Sunday that Israel and the mediators have agreed to advance to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, which could lead to a withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces from the enclave...

Israeli Defense Ministry personnel coordinate the arrival of U.S. MK-84 heavy bombs to the Port of Ashdod on Feb. 15, 2025. Photo credit: Israel Ministry of Defense.

Israel receives heavy bomb shipment in joint US operation

Joshua Marks, JNSPublished February 16, 2025

Israel received a shipment of MK-84 munitions overnight Saturday in a joint operation of the Israeli Defense Ministry and the United States government. The 2,000-pound bombs were unloaded at Ashdod Port and transferred to Israeli Air Force bases, according...

U.S.-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen and Russian-Israeli Sasha (Alexander) Troufanov, hostages held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, are escorted by Palestinian Hamas militants and Islamic Jihad militants as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 15, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

3 hostages released from Gaza, including American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen

Ben Sales, JTAPublished February 15, 2025

Three Israeli hostages were released from captivity in Gaza Saturday, including Sagui Dekel-Chen, an American citizen. Dekel-Chen was freed along with Yair Horn, an Argentine-Israeli, and Sasha Trufanov, a Russian-Israeli. All three were abducted from...

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy  (not pictured), on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), in Munich, Germany February 14, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis

Rubio: Hamas can’t stay in power, I’m open to Gaza plan alternatives

JNS StaffPublished February 14, 2025

Any plan allowing Hamas to rule Gaza would be unacceptable to Israel and ineffective in resolving the conflict, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday. President Donald Trump is willing to take the lead on rebuilding Gaza, as no other viable...

US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025.

Nobel laureates make bold peace prize offer to Trump in bid to save hostages from Hamas

Lidor Sultan, Israel Hayom via JNSPublished February 13, 2025

Four of Israel’s most distinguished scientists—including three Nobel Prize laureates in chemistry and the president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities—dispatched an urgent letter on Wednesday to U.S. President Donald Trump, sounding...

Joaquin Phoenix (left) and Ilana Glazer. (Getty Images)

Joaquin Phoenix, Ilana Glazer and hundreds of Jewish celebrities and rabbis ‘say no to ethnic cleansing’ in Gaza in full-page NYT ad

Ben Sales, JTAPublished February 13, 2025

Dozens of Jewish celebrities and artists, as well as hundreds of rabbis, took out a full-page ad in The New York Times Thursday to object to ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The ad is a response to President Donald Trump’s calls to permanently relocate...

Israelis protest for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, outside the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem, Sept. 1, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Hamas says ceasefire deal is still on as negotiations continue

Ben Sales, JTAPublished February 13, 2025

Hamas said that it will release three more Israeli hostages on Saturday, a sign that the ceasefire in Gaza may hold despite a crisis earlier this week. Israel has not confirmed that its dispute with Hamas was resolved. But negotiations are ongoing,...

Bassem Eid

What’s next for Gaza? Palestinian political analyst to share insights at B’nai Amoona

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished February 12, 2025

As the conflict in Gaza continues to shape headlines and political discourse, Congregation B’nai Amoona is providing a space for critical discussion on the region’s future. The event, titled “What’s Next for Gaza,” will take place on Feb. 27...

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