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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

World news

The family of Edan Alexander, an American held captive in Gaza, protests for his release in December 2024 in New York City. (Alon Kaplun)

Hamas says it would release Edan Alexander and bodies of 4 dual-national hostages

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished March 14, 2025

Hamas has agreed to release Edan Alexander, the last known American hostage held in Gaza, along with the bodies of four other dual-national hostages. The move comes as part of ongoing negotiations to end the Israel-Hamas war. Israel has not accepted the...

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Jan. 30, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump makes ‘anti-Semitism’ hyphenated again

Asaf Elia-Shalev, JTAPublished March 13, 2025

President Donald Trump has revived the hyphenated spelling of anti-Semitism, reversing a years-long shift toward the unhyphenated antisemitism used by Jewish organizations and scholars. The decision, reflected in his executive order on combating anti-Semitism...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) walks to a press conference following the weekly Senate caucus luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

‘He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian,’ Trump says of Schumer

Akiva Van Koningsveld, JNSPublished March 13, 2025

President Donald Trump stirred controversy by calling Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a Palestinian, saying, “He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore.” Trump made the remarks while speaking to reporters alongside Irish Prime Minister...

A Tesla logo is pictured on a car in the rain in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., May 5, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Israel asks Tesla to bid on tender for top officials’ cars

Akiva Van Koningsveld, JNSPublished March 13, 2025

Israel has invited Tesla to submit a bid for an official government electric vehicle tender, a senior Israeli official told JNS. The decision to consider Tesla vehicles for top officials is part of an effort to prioritize high-performance cars, with the...

Anthony Cumia, pictured in 2014. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Anthony Cumia’s New Radio Show

Ben Sales, JTAPublished March 13, 2025

Anthony Cumia, a controversial right-wing shock jock with a documented history of antisemitism, has launched a nationally syndicated radio show. The former Opie & Anthony co-host, who was fired from SiriusXM for racist remarks, debuted his new program...

Children and their teachers and parents dressed up for Purim, some as Batman in honor of the slain Bibas brothers, at the Gabrieli Carmel School in Tel Aviv, March 13, 2025.(Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Children in Israel and beyond are dressing as Batman for Purim to honor the slain Bibas brothers

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished March 13, 2025

For over a year, an image of the Bibas family in Batman pajamas symbolized the global call for their return from captivity in Gaza. This Purim, children in Israel and beyond are dressing as Batman for Purim to honor Ariel Bibas, the 4-year-old who was...

People walk in front of the Department of Education building, amid reports that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will take steps to defund the federal Education Department, in Washington, U.S., February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Education department reduces civil rights office handling antisemitism complaints

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished March 12, 2025

The Trump administration is dramatically scaling back the federal education department, including its civil rights office— which has gone into high gear addressing antisemitism allegations at colleges and public schools. Staffing at the Office of...

Columbia refusing to help identify ‘pro-Hamas’ students, White House says

Andrew Bernard (JNS)Published March 11, 2025

Columbia University is refusing to help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security identify students from a list of individuals, who have “engaged in pro-Hamas activity” on campus, the White House said Tuesday. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press...

Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, U.S., June 1, 2024. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Jewish groups targeted Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil – then ICE arrested him

By Arno Rosenfeld, The ForwardPublished March 11, 2025

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. Among the dozens of masked protesters at Barnard College’s library last week, Mahmoud Khalil stood out because...

A bagel store in Durham, North Carolina, found itself in hot water after backing out of a Jewish food festival over Israel. (Getty Images)

A bagel shop backed out of a Jewish food festival over Israel. Then regret set in.

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished March 11, 2025

Isaac Henrion makes and sells bagels for a living. But when he spent Sunday afternoon at the local Jewish food festival in Durham, North Carolina, he didn’t bring any of his own fare. It’s not that he hadn’t signed up as a vendor. It’s that...

President Trump posted a message on Truth Social that put social media and college campuses, including Columbia University, on high alert, March 4, 2025. (Truth Social)

As ICE targets a Palestinian activist, some Jews are asking if this is the fight against antisemitism they signed up for

Andrew Silow-Carroll, JTAPublished March 11, 2025

(JTA) — The campus pro-Palestinian protests that erupted after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks united many Jewish students, parents and “defense” groups in a national fight against antisemitism, intimidation and the disruption of university life. But...

Antisemitic terror plot in Australia was fake and staged by a crime boss, police say

Asaf Elia-Shalev, JTAPublished March 11, 2025

At first glance, when police discovered a camper vehicle packed with explosives and containing a list of Jewish targets near Sydney, Australia on Jan. 19, it appeared that they had foiled an unprecedented antisemitic terror plot. Indeed, police led...

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