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
All content by Ben Sales
An Iranian missil is intercepted over Tel Aviv on April 14, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Iran attacks Israel: How we got here and what might happen next

Ben Sales, JTA
Published April 13, 2024
Norberto Louis Har, 70 (left), and Fernando Simon Marman, 60, were rescued in a nighttime operation in Rafah.

IDF rescues 2 hostages as it steps up operations in Rafah

Ben Sales, JTA
Published February 11, 2024
Families of the hostages, and their supporters call for the release of all the hostages during a demonstration outside The Kirya ahead of the war cabinet meeting on the fifth day of the temporary truce, in Tel Aviv, Nov. 28, 2023. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Israel and Hamas set to resume indirect talks as fallout continues from IDF killing of 3 hostages

Ben Sales, JTA
Published December 18, 2023
Claudine Gay, President of Harvard University, Liz Magill, President of University of Pennsylvania, and Sally Kornbluth, President of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee on December 5, 2023, in Washington, DC. The Committee held a hearing to investigate antisemitism on college campuses.

Penn president resigns amid criticism of her testimony on campus antisemitism

Ben Sales, JTA
Published December 9, 2023

Osama bin Laden’s antisemitic ‘Letter to America’ goes viral on TikTok

Ben Sales, JTA
Published November 16, 2023
Supporters of Israel protest near the U.S. Capitol, Oct. 13, 2023.

Three-quarters of American Jews fear Israel-Hamas war is making their communities less safe, poll finds

Ben Sales, JTA
Published November 9, 2023
Alyssa Milano and Ady Barkan (center) attend the Los Angeles Supports a Dream Act Now! protest at the office of California Senator Dianne Feinstein on January 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

Ady Barkan, healthcare activist who fought Lou Gehrig’s disease, dies at 39

Ben Sales, JTA
Published November 2, 2023
Smoke rises during Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on October 31, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Hamas opens border crossing with Egypt as death toll rises amid heavy fighting in Gaza

Ben Sales, JTA
Published November 1, 2023
Asher Moskowitz, a volunteer first responder, describes seeing the body of a baby who was burnt in an oven on Oct. 7. (Screenshot)

An Israeli first responder recalls tending to the body of a baby burnt in an oven

Ben Sales, JTA
Published October 31, 2023
Yocheved Lifschitz, left, and Nurit Cooper were reportedly released by Hamas after more than two weeks in captivity in Gaza.

Hamas frees two additional hostages from Gaza as more than 200 remain

Ben Sales, JTA
Published October 23, 2023
18-year-old pianist opens Carnegie Hall performance with Israeli national anthem

18-year-old pianist opens Carnegie Hall performance with Israeli national anthem

Ben Sales, JTA
Published October 22, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv on April 10, 2023. (Tomer Neuberg/FLASH90)

Netanyahu says ‘hard days are still ahead of us,’ vows to defeat Hamas in ‘massive attack’

Ben Sales, JTA.
Published October 9, 2023
Under Elon Musk, the social media platform X has been at the center of several antisemitism-related controversies.

ADL to resume advertising on Elon Musk’s X after weeks of his attacks

Ben Sales, JTA
Published October 5, 2023
ADL’s CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt and Elon Musk

ADL CEO: Elon Musk is a ‘great innovator’ who engages with ‘users who are espousing antisemitism and hate’

Ben Sales, JTA
Published September 7, 2023
In this photo illustration, the image of Elon Musk is displayed on a computer screen and the logo of twitter on a mobile phone in Ankara, Turkiye on Oct. 6, 2022. (Muhammed Selim Korkutata / Anadolu Agency)

Elon Musk threatens to sue the ADL for billions

Ben Sales, JTA
Published September 5, 2023
A group of Israeli and Ethiopian citizens pose for a photo. (Photo: Israeli Embassy in Ethiopia)

Israel evacuates more than 200 Ethiopians from conflict region

BEN SALES, JTA
Published August 10, 2023
President of the Israeli Supreme Court Esther Hayut and fellow justices arrive for a court hearing on petitions demanding the annulment of the appointment of Shas leader Aryeh Deri as a government minister, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, Jan. 5, 2023.

Israeli Supreme Court to hear petitions against ‘reasonableness law’

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 26, 2023
Israeli court overhaul: Arrests, strikes and economic troubles follow pivotal vote

Israeli court overhaul: Arrests, strikes and economic troubles follow pivotal vote

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 25, 2023
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and Manara Center Chairman Dr. Ali Al Nuaimi at the signing ceremony at Manara’s new offices in Abu Dhabi.

Large Jewish groups in 7 countries team up to fight antisemitism

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 25, 2023
Yariv Levin (middle), the Israeli justice minister was an architect of the judicial reform and celebrated Mondays vote.

Israel passes first law weakening Supreme Court following months of civil strife

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 24, 2023
Israelis attend a rally in support of judicial reform in Tel Aviv on March 30, 2023. Photo by Erik Marmor/Flash90.

What you need to know about the fight over Israel’s court system

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 23, 2023
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel speaks in Jerusalem Nov. 18, 2020. Photo by Ron Przysucha/U.S. Department of State | rawpixel.com | (CC0 1.0)

In fiery address, Netanyahu doubles down on judicial overhaul while calling for unity

BEN SALES, JTA
Published July 20, 2023
Joe Biden invites Benjamin Netanyahu to meet in US, after months of tension

Joe Biden invites Benjamin Netanyahu to meet in US, after months of tension

BEN SALES, JTA
Published July 17, 2023
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims COVID was ‘ethnically targeted’ to avoid Ashkenazi Jews, Chinese people

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims COVID was ‘ethnically targeted’ to avoid Ashkenazi Jews, Chinese people

BEN SALES, JTA
Published July 16, 2023
Netanyahu ousts prominent Likud party activist for wishing ‘another six million would burn’

Netanyahu ousts prominent Likud party activist for wishing ‘another six million would burn’

BEN SALES, JTA
Published July 16, 2023
Feb 7, 2023; Washington, DC, USA; Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., arrives before President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. Mandatory Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool-USA TODAY NETWORK

Ilhan Omar: ‘No way in hell I am attending’ Israeli president’s speech to Congress

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 13, 2023
Then-Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands while giving joint statements at the Prime Ministers Office in Jerusalem, March 9, 2016.

As protests rage across Israel, Diaspora minister accuses Biden of colluding with Israeli opposition and ‘inflaming’ unrest

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 11, 2023
Thousands of Israelis protest against the planned judicial overhaul, at the Azrieli junction in Tel Aviv, on April 15, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Israeli government revives judicial overhaul push by advancing a bill to limit Supreme Court’s power

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 10, 2023
A sign on the Brandeis University campus with the schools emblem and motto reads, Truth even unto its innermost parts. (Wikimedia)

Brandeis U. president apologizes for ad calling school ‘anything but Orthodox’

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 3, 2023
5 Palestinians killed, 8 Israeli soldiers wounded in fierce West Bank violence

5 Palestinians killed, 8 Israeli soldiers wounded in fierce West Bank violence

Ben Sales, JTA
Published June 19, 2023
Ofir Akunis. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Israeli minister cancels LA speech due to protests and ‘bad vibes’

BEN SALES, JTA
Published May 31, 2023
Fighter jets fly over the Israeli flag on Independence Day celebrations in 1957. The state’s founding a decade earlier was full of fun facts. Photo by Moshe Pridan/Government Press Office

Israel-Gaza conflict: Israel suffers first fatality as rocket attacks continue, Palestinian death toll hits 30

Ben Sales, JTA
Published May 11, 2023
Israel at 75: How Israel’s political crisis took center stage at a major American Jewish conference

Israel at 75: How Israel’s political crisis took center stage at a major American Jewish conference

BEN SALES, JTA
Published April 28, 2023
A Tel Aviv protest at the start of Yom Haatzmaut, Israels Independence Day, featured a sea of flags, April 25, 2023. (Photo: Ben Sales)

On Israel’s 75th Independence Day, its flag has taken on new meaning as a protest symbol

BEN SALES, JTA
Published April 26, 2023
‘The gun is on the table’: Both sides of Israel’s debate say that a constitutional crisis is coming

‘The gun is on the table’: Both sides of Israel’s debate say that a constitutional crisis is coming

Ben Sales, JTA
Published March 22, 2023
Dictionary definition of antisemitism.

Anti-Jewish incidents jumped nearly 20% in 2021, FBI finds

Ben Sales, JTA
Published March 14, 2023
Park East Synagogue (Ben Sales)

A world-famous rabbi, a popular assistant and a succession crisis: Inside the rupture at Park East Synagogue

Ben Sales
Published October 27, 2021
Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt, 34, had been working for Park East Synagogue for a decade. (Screenshot from YouTube)

Park East Synagogue pushes out assistant rabbi, sparking protest

Ben Sales
Published October 20, 2021
Jake Berman, a Jewish former student, speaks at a school board meeting in Southlake, Texas on Oct. 18, 2021. (Screenshot)

Local Jews raise concerns after teachers were told that Texas law requires ‘opposing’ views of the Holocaust

Ben Sales
Published October 19, 2021

Sally Rooney: Israeli publishers can’t put out my work, but Hebrew translation ‘would be an honour’

Ben Sales
Published October 12, 2021

Sally Rooney won’t let her new novel ‘Beautiful World, Where Are You?’ be published in Hebrew

Ben Sales
Published October 11, 2021
Rabbi Asher Meza, in addition to supporting anti-vaccine activists, has bucked the wider Orthodox community in other ways. (Courtesy of Meza)

A Proud Boys-affiliated rabbi in Florida is offering to endorse COVID-19 vaccine exemption requests

Ben Sales
Published October 9, 2021
Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the undersecretary for political affairs at the Bahraini Foreign Ministry, speaks at Yeshiva University in New York City on Oct. 4, 2021. (Courtesy of the Reut Group)

Bahrain signed a treaty with Israel. Now it wants to make friends with American Jews.

Ben Sales
Published October 6, 2021
Amid antisemitism concerns, 101 local Jewish federations to spend $54M on improving security

Amid antisemitism concerns, 101 local Jewish federations to spend $54M on improving security

JTA
Published October 4, 2021
Is Alicia Silvestone Jewish?

Is Alicia Silvestone Jewish?

JTA
Published October 3, 2021
The remarkable true story of the Great Knish War of 1916

The remarkable true story of the Great Knish War of 1916

Jordan Palmer and JTA
Published October 3, 2021
Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson. (Wikimedia Commons)

Anchorage mayor defends anti-maskers who wore yellow Stars of David in protest

Ben Sales
Published October 1, 2021
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks to American Jewish leaders in New York City on Sept. 27, 2021. (Courtesy of the Jewish Federations of North America/Sara Naomi Lewkowicz)

Israeli PM Naftali Bennett to American Jewish leaders: ‘We have to redesign our relationship’

Ben Sales
Published September 27, 2021

Iraq issues arrest warrant against activists who called for normalization of ties with Israel

Ben Sales, JTA
Published September 27, 2021

After a fight, Seattle City Council won’t bar police from training with Israeli forces

Ben Sales
Published September 27, 2021
A view of the Secure Community Networks new command center in Chicago. (Courtesy of SCN)

Jewish security organization opens national command center in Chicago

Ben Sales
Published September 27, 2021

Hundreds of Iraqi leaders call for normalization of ties with Israel

Ben Sales
Published September 26, 2021

Matt Gaetz calls the ADL ‘racist’ after it again calls on Tucker Carlson to step down for promoting white supremacist conspiracy theory

Ben Sales
Published September 25, 2021

Los Angeles teachers union votes to postpone Israel boycott motion indefinitely

Ben Sales
Published September 24, 2021
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are captured on cellphone video physically attacking Jews at a restaurant in Los Angeles, May 18, 2021. (Screenshot)

Hate crime charges filed in May fight with Jewish diners at LA restaurant

Ben Sales
Published September 23, 2021
A photo of Helmut Oberlander when he was a translator for a Nazi death squad. (Screenshot)

97-year-old former member of Nazi death squad dies at home in Canada

Ben Sales
Published September 23, 2021
An IDF officer kneels on the neck of activist Tuly Flint in the West Bank on Sept. 17, 2021. (Courtesy of Combatants for Peace)

Israel Defense Forces officer will be reprimanded after injuring and teargassing left-wing activists in West Bank

Ben Sales
Published September 20, 2021
A snapshot of Rocket League, a popular online game. (Screenshot)

22% of adult Jewish gamers faced antisemitic harassment while playing, survey finds

Ben Sales
Published September 15, 2021
The banner in question flies across the Florida sky, August 2021. Screenshot)

An aerial banner said ‘Jew, I have a question.’ It was a marriage proposal — the Jew reportedly said yes.

Ben Sales
Published September 2, 2021

An anti-vaxxer in Montreal said he would stop wearing a yellow star. He still thinks vaccine mandates are like the Holocaust.

Ben Sales
Published September 2, 2021

FBI reports drop in number of antisemitic crimes in 2020 amid rise in total hate crimes

Ben Sales
Published September 1, 2021

Ed Asner, who starred as Lou Grant, dies at 91

JTA
Published August 29, 2021
GOP congressman compares COVID measures to Holocaust, prompting an intern’s resignation

GOP congressman compares COVID measures to Holocaust, prompting an intern’s resignation

JTA
Published August 27, 2021
Laizy Shapira, the creator of Srugim, is having trouble finding funding for his next show. (Screenshot from YouTube)

The creator of ‘Srugim’ is turning to fans to finance his next project

Ben Sales, JTA
Published August 16, 2021
18 Orthodox Jewish girls pulled off New York-bound flight in Amsterdam in dispute over COVID protocols

18 Orthodox Jewish girls pulled off New York-bound flight in Amsterdam in dispute over COVID protocols

jta
Published August 8, 2021
Hezbollah fires 19 rockets at Israel in worst fighting since 2006 war

Hezbollah fires 19 rockets at Israel in worst fighting since 2006 war

JTA
Published August 6, 2021
Israel becomes first country to begin giving third COVID vaccine shots

Israel becomes first country to begin giving third COVID vaccine shots

Ben Sales
Published August 1, 2021
Naftali Bennett, now Israels prime minister, visits the haredi Orthodox town of Elad, September 2020. (Flash90)

Orthodox institutions dominate Jewish ritual in Israel. Could the new government change that?

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 29, 2021

Ben & Jerry’s board chair says ‘I am not anti-Semitic’ as Unilever disavows BDS movement

Ben Sales
Published July 28, 2021
Likud lawmaker Nir Barkat speaks at a conference in Tel Aviv, June 10, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Meet the former Jerusalem mayor who wants to succeed Netanyahu — and lead Israel

Ben Sales, JTA
Published July 21, 2021

Omri Casspi, first Israeli player in NBA, retires from professional basketball

BEN SALES
Published July 18, 2021
Naftali Bennett hints at change in Temple Mount prayer policy

Naftali Bennett hints at change in Temple Mount prayer policy

BEN SALES
Published July 18, 2021

How Naftali Bennett’s kippah stays on his bald head and why it matters

Ben Sales, JTA
Published June 22, 2021
Palestinian worshippers gather rocks to throw at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalems Old City, June 18, 2021. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

Violence renews on Temple Mount and in West Bank amid escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinians

Ben Sales, JTA
Published June 20, 2021
An Israeli student receives a COVID-19 vaccine injection at a vaccination center in Tel Aviv, Jan. 23, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Palestinian Authority cancels deal for 1 million COVID vaccine doses from Israel

BEN SALES
Published June 18, 2021
Incendiary balloons from Gaza prompt new Israeli airstrikes

Incendiary balloons from Gaza prompt new Israeli airstrikes

JTA
Published June 16, 2021

Everything you need to know about the Israeli government that will replace Netanyahu

BEN SALES
Published June 2, 2021

People are accusing Israel of genocide. These human rights lawyers beg to differ.

Ben Sales, JTA
Published May 26, 2021

What is the Iron Dome? All about the missile defense system that changed how Israelis experience war

BEN SALES
Published May 14, 2021
(Illustration by Grace Yagel)

The Pew study cheat sheet: 10 key conclusions from the new survey of American Jews

BEN SALES
Published May 11, 2021
Students at Scheck Hillel Community School in south Florida celebrated Lag bOmer while commemorating the tragedy in Meron, Israel. (Greg Feldman)

Jewish day schools struggle with how to celebrate Lag b’Omer, commemorate tragedy

BEN SALES
Published April 30, 2021
Israeli rescue forces and police at the scene after a mass fatality scene during the celebrations of the Jewish holiday of Lag BOmer on Mt. Meron, in northern Israel on April 30, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)

At least 45 people dead in stampede at mass Lag b’Omer holiday celebration in Israel

BEN SALES
Published April 29, 2021

Iran’s judo team suspended until 2023 for refusing to face Israeli opponents

BEN SALES
Published April 29, 2021

ADL calls on Oregon university president to resign over firing of Jewish professor

Ben Sales
Published April 29, 2021
Rabbanit Shira Marili Mirvis will be the spiritual leader of Shirat Hatamar, an Orthodox synagogue in the West Bank settlement of Efrat. (Screenshot)

For the first time, a woman will lead an Israeli Orthodox synagogue

BEN SALES
Published April 29, 2021

Despite COVID restrictions, antisemitism barely decreased in US in 2020, ADL says

Ben Sales
Published April 27, 2021
The Riverdale Jewish Center, one of the vandalized synagogues. (JTA archive)

Windows broken at four synagogues in Bronx Jewish neighborhood

Ben Sales
Published April 25, 2021

Senate passes legislation to improve hate crime reporting

Ben Sales
Published April 25, 2021

Dozens of rockets fired at Israel from Gaza as protests continue

Ben Sales
Published April 25, 2021

Barricades preventing Palestinian gathering removed in Jerusalem following protests

Ben Sales
Published April 25, 2021
A fire burns amid violent protests in Jerusalem, April 22, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

What you need to know about the violent clashes rocking Jerusalem this week

Ben Sales
Published April 23, 2021

‘Relieved but disappointed’: How America’s Jewish refugee aid agency is doing 3 months under Biden

Ben Sales
Published April 16, 2021
Tucker Carlson takes aim at the Anti-Defamation League in a monologue on Fox News, April 12, 2021. (Screenshot)

Why did Tucker Carlson talk about Israeli immigration policy?

Ben Sales
Published April 16, 2021
An Israeli woman has her temperature taken before entering the Mahane Yehuda market in Israel, part of a national effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus, June 16, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Starting Sunday, Israelis won’t be required to wear masks outdoors

Ben Sales
Published April 16, 2021
Robert Lappin’s charitable foundation was nearly wiped out through the downfall of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. (Lappin Foundation)

How the Bernie Madoff scandal rocked the American Jewish world

Ben Sales
Published April 14, 2021

Bernie Madoff, whose Ponzi scheme devastated the Jewish world, dies in prison at 82: Report

Ben Sales
Published April 14, 2021

Former ADL chief Abe Foxman says he would still give an award to Rupert Murdoch

Ben Sales
Published April 13, 2021
El Al Israel Airlines departure counter is pictured empty after it cancelled flights to Italy at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, on February 27, 2020 (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel to allow vaccinated tour groups starting in May

Ben Sales
Published April 13, 2021
Tucker Carlson

Fox News to ADL: We won’t fire Tucker Carlson for endorsing a white supremacist theory

Ben Sales
Published April 12, 2021
New Knesset memberOfer Cassif at the Knesset Plenary Hall, ahead of the opening Knesset session of the new government, on April 29, 2019. Photo by Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90

Israeli police beat up and kneel on the face of left-wing Jewish lawmaker

Ben Sales
Published April 9, 2021
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