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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

A poster of Tenafly’s Edan Alexander hanging at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport is covered in messages of support. It's been 11 months since Alexander was taken hostage in the Hamas terror attack of Oct. 7, 2023.

Trump administration pushes for release of last living American hostage in Gaza

By Jacob Kornbluh, The ForwardPublished February 23, 2025

The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to secure the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American and the last known living U.S. citizen held by Hamas in Gaza, according to White House Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. “He is front...

Pictures of Shiri Bibas and her children Kfir and Ariel who are held hostage in Hamas captivity hang outside the protest tent calling for the release of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem, Feb. 19, 2025.

Hamas promises investigation after ‘error or overlap in bodies’

Ben Sales, JTAPublished February 21, 2025

Hamas has handed a body to the Red Cross that, the terror group says, belongs to Shiri Bibas, Israeli media reported on Friday. The transfer of the body comes less than 24 hours after the Israeli military announced after a forensic examination that...

Steve Bannon made a gesture at CPAC that was accused of being a Nazi salute in February 2025. (Screenshot)

ADL condemns Steve Bannon’s gesture resembling Nazi salute

By Louis Keene, The ForwardPublished February 21, 2025

The Anti-Defamation League on Friday condemned the Nazi salute-like gesture that Steve Bannon made during his speech at the Conservative Policy Action Conference the day before, a stark contrast to the group’s declaration that a similar salute by...

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...

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...

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks after giving his annual State of the State address on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Springfield.

Illinois governor compares Trump’s policies to 1930s Germany – ‘It took the Nazis one month’:

By Jacob KornbluhPublished February 20, 2025

Illinois’ Democratic Governor, J.B. Pritzker, drew a parallel between the Nazi regime of the 1930s and the policies of the Trump administration in a speech on Wednesday warning against authoritarian tactics. His remarks sparked sharp backlash from state...

Brookings Hall at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, March 23, 2023. (Warren LeMay via Creative Commons)

Since Oct. 7, WashU has quietly opened its doors to Jewish students leaving uncomfortable campus environments

Andrew Lapin, JTAPublished February 19, 2025

(JTA) — During Lauren Eckstein’s freshman year at Pomona College, her grandparents pledged $1.2 million to the private school toward a scholarship to support refugee students. They gave the money, a press release said at the time, in honor of their...

An olive tree named in honor of Dr. Miriam Adelson. Credit: Courtesy/My Tree in Israel Archive Photo.

Fruit of the field: Adopting olive trees in Israel

Etgar Lefkovits, JNSPublished February 19, 2025

MOSHAV HAYOGEV, Israel—The row upon row of pristine olive trees that line the green farmland in this northern Israeli village stretch as far as the eye can see. Olive trees flourish at the agricultural village at Hayogev (meaning “farmer” in Hebrew),...

The Weber Siblings at the New York Harbor, May 20th, 1946; Front Left to Right: Renee, Judith, Bela Back Left to Right: Gertrude, Alfons, Senta, and Ruth.

How seven siblings survived the Holocaust — and how the next generation is telling their story

By Olivia Haynie, The ForwardPublished February 18, 2025

Alfons Weber recorded every detail of how he and his six siblings survived the Holocaust, and distributed copies of the typed memoir at a family reunion in 1996. His niece, actress Beth Lane, couldn’t bring herself to read it for years. “Every...

Two of the books removed from U.S. military schools.

Military schools removed a book on Ruth Bader Ginsburg because of ‘equity ideology’

By Mira Fox, The ForwardPublished February 18, 2025

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. A children’s picture book on Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been pulled from the shelves of US military schools. No Truth...

American comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Credit: Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.

Seinfeld shuts down anti-Israel activist: ‘I don’t care about Palestine’

JNS StaffPublished February 18, 2025

The American comedian Jerry Seinfeld swiftly shot down an anti-Israel activist telling him he doesn’t “care about Palestine” when the online personality attempted to ambush him this weekend with a video, according to a clip posted on social media...

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...

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