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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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Gil Ofarim, a German-Israeli singer, said in a video posted to social media that he had been denied a hotel room in Leipzig, Germany, after being told to hide his Jewish star necklace. (Screenshot from Instagram video)

German-Jewish singer apologizes for falsely accusing hotel worker of antisemitism

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished November 28, 2023

(JTA) — Gil Ofarim’s allegation that a hotel clerk in Leipzig, Germany, denied him a room after seeing his Star of David necklace ignited outrage when the pop singer made it in an October 2021 video that went viral. Jews and others protested outside...

Dictionary definition of antisemitism.

Multiple US synagogues hit with anti-Israel, antisemitic graffiti

Jackie Hajdenberg, JTAPublished November 27, 2023

(JTA) — Over the course of a week, three synagogues across the United States were tagged with anti-Israel and antisemitic graffiti. The vandalism follows weeks of similar defacement at a variety of American Jewish sites, including cemeteries, Chabad...

Posters of Israeli hostages in New York City's Union Square subway station, October 16, 2023.

2 women charged with hate crimes for allegedly assaulting passerby after tearing down hostage posters

Luke Tress, JTAPublished November 27, 2023

(New York Jewish Week) – Two women have been charged with hate crimes after allegedly attacking a passerby who confronted them while they were tearing down posters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. The two suspects, Mehwish Omer and Stephanie Gonzalez,...

Hamas hands over 11 Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City, Gaza on November 27, 2023.

Hamas releases 11 Israeli hostages as truce set to extend

Ron Kampeas, JTAPublished November 27, 2023

(JTA) — Hamas released 11 Israeli hostages, the last of four groups it agreed to free last week and an indication of how difficult it may be for Israel to secure the freedom of the rest of the hostages held by terror groups in Gaza. Hamas has so...

Elon Musk, under fire for antisemitism on X, visits Israel and tours ravaged kibbutz with Benjamin Netanyahu

BY PHILISSA CRAMER, JTAPublished November 27, 2023

(JTA) — Elon Musk, the tech titan who is under fire for his role in amplifying antisemitism on his social media platform X, visited Israel on Monday and toured the devastation at a kibbutz ravaged by Hamas on Oct. 7 alongside Prime Minister Benjamin...

What is Neturei Karta, the Orthodox group at many pro-Palestinian protests

What is Neturei Karta, the Orthodox group at many pro-Palestinian protests?

By Mira Fox, The ForwardPublished November 26, 2023

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. Photos of pro-Palestine rallies in the U.S. since the outbreak of the war often feature a group of Orthodox Jewish men,...

Posters of Israeli hostages in New York City's Union Square subway station, October 16, 2023.

17 additional hostages released by Hamas

BY BEN SALES, JTAPublished November 26, 2023

(JTA) — Hamas has released 17 more hostages — 14 Israelis, including one U.S. citizen, and three foreign nationals — to the Red Cross as part of its agreement with Israel to pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip. In total, the terror group has...

Families of the Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza march along with hundreds of Israelis towards the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, as part of a protest calling for the immediate release of the hostages, Nov. 18, 2023.

Hostage release timeline is delayed, extending an excruciating wait for their families

Ben Sales, Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished November 22, 2023

KIBBUTZ NIR OZ, Israel (JTA) — Israel has begun making preparations for the care of traumatized hostages who are freed from Gaza, as the country reaches a pivotal moment in its six-week war with Hamas. But confusion reigned late Wednesday about...

Illinois tax credit program for private schools set to end, upsetting Jewish educators

Illinois tax credit program for private schools set to end, upsetting Jewish educators

By Andrew Lapin, JTAPublished November 22, 2023

(JTA) – For the last five years, thousands of Jewish children in Illinois and their families have taken advantage of a state program that lets them defray the cost of private Jewish schools. Now, those families could see their payments rise after...

Israelis and supporters rally in support of Hamas hostages outside the United Nations, October 24, 2023.

Israel approves deal with Hamas to free at least 50 hostages in exchange for pause in fighting

Published November 21, 2023

(JTA) — Following six weeks of fighting, Israel’s government has agreed to a deal with Hamas that will free about 50 of the hundreds of hostages that Hamas took in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Most of those released will be women and children. The...

Henry Ford was a notorious antisemite.(Bettmann/Getty Images)

Henry Ford’s history with antisemitism to become a movie

Published November 21, 2023

(JTA) — A lawsuit filed by a Jewish labor activist in 1925 took down Henry Ford’s antisemitic newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, in a real-life drama that riveted Americans. A century later, the saga is set to become an on-screen drama, too,...

Families of the Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza march along with hundreds of Israelis towards the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, as part of a protest calling for the immediate release of the hostages, Nov. 18, 2023.

Deal to release dozens of hostages appears to be close

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished November 21, 2023

(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called special meetings of his war cabinet, security council and full government for Tuesday evening, in the clearest sign yet of an imminent deal to free at least some of the hostages taken by Hamas...

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