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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

Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham at the 97th Oscars held at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Rich Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)

‘No Other Land’ director reportedly beaten and arrested in West Bank

By Ben Sales, JTAPublished March 24, 2025

Hamdan Ballal, one of the Palestinian directors of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was beaten by West Bank settlers and then taken from his ambulance by the Israeli military, according to a local publication and fellow activists. “Now:...

Holocaust revisionist featured on popular mainstream podcast and complains of ‘paranoid’ Jews

By Ben Sales, JTAPublished March 14, 2025

Joe Rogan, who hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the country, invited a Holocaust revisionist to his studio just over a week after interviewing someone who spreads antisemitic conspiracy theories. Rogan’s interview of so-called “historian”...

Palestinians walk along destroyed houses at the Shaboura area in the center of Rafah, days into the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Jan 24, 2025.

Hamas says that it will delay next hostage release

By Ben Sales, JTAPublished February 10, 2025

Hamas announced that it will delay its next release of Israeli hostages, claiming that Israel has violated the ceasefire agreement. The announcement came two days after the last hostage release sparked outrage in Israel and beyond, as the three released...

US sending troops to Israel

By Ben Sales, JTAPublished October 13, 2024

American troops will be stationed in Israel for the first time since Oct. 7, 2023, as the country prepares for ongoing conflict with Iran. The announcement that U.S. personnel would arrive came on the same day that a Hezbollah drone strike on a military...

Goldie Falafel, owned by Michael Solomonov, was the target of a pro-Palestinian protest in Philadelphia, Dec. 3, 2023. (Google Maps)

Pro-Palestinian protesters target falafel shop owned by Jewish celebrity chef

BY BEN SALES, JTAPublished December 4, 2023

(JTA) — Elected officials and Jewish groups are decrying a rally by pro-Palestinian activists in Philadelphia that targeted a restaurant founded by the Israeli-American celebrity chef Michael Solomonov. “Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide, we charge...

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...

5 winners and 4 losers from the historic treaty between Israel and the UAE

By Ben SalesPublished August 13, 2020

(JTA) — The treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates is a big deal. The agreement, announced Thursday in a joint statement from the White House and called the Abraham Accord, means that Israel will now have diplomatic and economic relations...

Bernie Sanders pushed the Democrats on Israel in 2016. Has he become the party’s mainstream?

By Ben SalesPublished February 19, 2019

NEW YORK (JTA) — This may be hard to remember, but three years ago it was a big deal when Bernie Sanders criticized Israel in public.During a debate in New York City with Hillary Clinton, Sanders generated headlines when he said the United States should...

No surprise: Experts disagree over what’s to blame for the widening partisan gap on Israel

By Ben SalesPublished January 26, 2018

NEW YORK (JTA) -- The share of Democrats who sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians is falling fast, while Republican sympathy for Israel over the Palestinians is spiking.So says a new poll by the Pew Research Center. But experts are divided...

Top 10 Rolling Stones Shavuot songs

By Ben SalesPublished April 3, 2014

The good news? The Rolling Stones will play Tel Aviv in June. The bad news? A large portion of Israelis won’t be able to go.The concert, scheduled for June 4, falls at the end of Shavuot — making it near impossible for holiday-observant Israelis to...

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