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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

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...

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...

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...

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