Diaspora

Diaspora Jewry is the collective name for the Jewish communities outside of the Land of Israel. Historically, these communities go back to big historical events like the Babylonian exile, the siege of Jerusalem and the expulsion from Spain. Today, the biggest Diaspora communities exist in the United States, France, Canada, the UK and Russia.

bds israel boycott
Swedish Muslims chant about killing Jews at Malmo protest

The chants reference a massacre of the Jews in the town of Khaybar, in northwestern Arabia, in 628 C.E.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
03/09/2020
Palestinians burn signs depicting an Israeli flag and a U.S. flag during a protest against the U.S.
‘Get Zionism out of Argentina’ is spray-painted in small Argentine city

The city’s mayor, Sebastian Bragagnolo, condemned the vandalism, saying Wednesday that “it goes completely against the values ​​in which we Lujaninos believe.”

By JTA STAFF
03/09/2020
BBC journalist sets up anonymous Twitter account to bash Israel

Thaker’s account tweeted that Israel is “racist” and a “white supremacist state.”

By GABE FRIEDMAN/JTA
03/09/2020
AYENEW AND his mother, brought to Israel despite the coronavirus, receive Bibles and prayer books in
US surgeon general advises Orthodox rabbis on High Holiday practices

“No matter how good your synagogue’s reopening plan is, you’re going to be set up to fail if you’re opening up in the context of runaway community spread,” Adams said.

By SHIRA HANAU/JTA
03/09/2020
A United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag waves alongside an Israeli flag
Orgs to send emissaries, launch initiatives to connect with UAE Jews

The WZO will send its emissaries, who will be the first permanent Jewish emissaries to an Arab country, and the ADL will collaborate with Jewish Council of the Emirates.

MK Miki Zohar, 2019.
Coalition chair accuses COVID-19 czar of causing antisemitism in Ukraine

‘Antisemitism has been increasing since Prof. Gamzu sent his letter to the president of Ukraine,’ Zohar tweeted.

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN , CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
02/09/2020
Genesis Prize, SNC to dedicate funds to COVID-19 tech solutions

The two call to Israeli tech companies, hubs, and R&D centers to present the most promising tech solutions for the global COVID-19 reality.

Israeli firms need to stay in US market during COVID-19, MIDC shows how

The US government often prefers to do business with larger Israelis companies.

Lithuania holding activist who protested Holocaust glorification

He is being kept until he can be put on a direct flight to Spain.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
02/09/2020
Tik Tok logo / illustrative
US investigating Tik Tok influencer officer for Holocaust joke video

“If you get offended, get the f*** out because it’s a joke,” Freihofer said in the video after telling a Holocaust joke.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
02/09/2020
Jewish man beaten at supermarket in Uman, Ukraine

Two men approached the Orthodox shoppers and one hit the victim in the nose, causing some bleeding.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
02/09/2020
POLICE TAPE at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
New York police chaplain, Alvin Kass, 84, mugged during daily walk

Kass, 84, was walking at 5:45 a.m. when he was approached by an individual who told the rabbi that he was hungry and needed food.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
02/09/2020
3 House races, 6 Jewish candidates in the Massachusetts primaries

The campaign has been dogged by controversy, but the impact is not at all clear

By GABE FRIEDMAN/JTA
02/09/2020
Posters glorifying Nazism hung at Arizona State U

The posters read “Hitler was right,” “unity of our blood” and other comments deemed anti-Semitic.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
02/09/2020
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/antisemitic-mural-resurfaces-at-march-on-washington-2020
Man acquitted after hackers sent antisemitic threats from his computer

“I want to skin them and make lampshades from them”

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
02/09/2020
Toni Pina entering the synagogue of Palma de Mallorca, Spain on Feb. 11, 2019.
European synagogues will open for Days of Jewish Culture despite corona

Jewish institutions normally stay firmly locked down for security — open to the public for a one-day event aimed at fostering ties between Jewish communities and non-Jewish Europeans.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
02/09/2020
‘Lovecraft Country’ plot point resembles age-old antisemitic lie

Could “Lovecraft Country,” which deals so elegantly with the Black American experience, really have a blood libel embedded in its plot?

By PHILISSA CRAMER/JTA
02/09/2020
Hayat Boumeddiene
France’s 'most-wanted woman' absent from 2015 Paris attacks trial

The January 2015 attacks in Paris, where no less than 17 people lost their lives, were claimed by the Islamic state.

COVID-19 'became opportunity for hatemongers' – deputy antisemitism envoy

US assistant special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism Ellie Cohanim spoke in a webinar hosted by the Hudson Institute, and addressed the challenges of fighting global antisemitism.

Planes of Lufthansa unit Austrian Airlines are parked at Vienna International Airport in Schwechat,
Thousands of Jews expected to apply for Austrian citizenship

The amendment is “in line with Austria’s ongoing endeavor for reconciliation with all those who suffered under the totalitarian Nazi regime in Austria.”

By TOBY AXELROD/JTA
01/09/2020
COVID-19 spike: 138 Long Island Jewish docs ask community to trust experts

Local doctors in several Orthodox communities have noticed slight upticks in COVID cases, with many resulting from summer camps, travel, bungalow colonies and particularly large weddings.

By SHIRA HANAU/JTA
02/09/2020
Omer Yankelevich
Diaspora Affairs minister conducts virtual tour of Jewish schools

During the tours, Yankelevich emphasized that the ministry is committed to assisting financially with Jewish education in the Diaspora.

A wind driven wildfire in the hills of Canyon Country north of Los Angeles, California
US Jewish communities raise funds for hurricane, wildfire relief

The US is currently taking on two natural disasters simultaneously: Hurricane Laura and California wildfires

TikTok announces 'zero tolerance' policy on antisemitism

The announcement comes as the app has faced controversy over hate speech content on the service, including the Holocaust challenge, which saw users attempt to portray themselves as Holocaust victims.

Jews gather at the Western Wall on February 16 under the slogan,  ’The Nation of Israel prays for Ch
Andrew Sullivan hints belief that Jews are genetically smarter than others

Sullivan has in the past floated the idea of Jewish Americans being a “model minority,” along with Asian Americans.

By GABE FRIEDMAN/JTA
01/09/2020
Berlin
Hundreds associated with antisemitic movement attempt to storm Reichstag

Several hundred were arrested in incidents at both the Reichstag building and the nearby Brandenburg Gate, where protesters reportedly threw stones and bottles

By TOBY AXELROD/JTA
01/09/2020
With coronavirus buffeting US Jewry for months, what lies ahead?

With so much in flux and no end to the crisis in sight, what lies ahead for the world’s largest Jewish community?

By URIEL HEILMAN/JTA
04/09/2020
US President Donald Trump and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel hold a bilateral meeting at the sid
German Jewish leaders turn down US briefing on Iran danger

"We are deeply worried about the continued antisemitic belligerence and genocidal threats emanating from Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei."

Uman pilgrim tests positive for coronavirus, mayor threatens to close city

Uman's mayor plans to use all legal options to block the city as pilgrims enter despite regulations.

31/08/2020
Pedestrians walk past a yeshiva in the South Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, April 9, 2019.
Two haredim lightly injured in Brooklyn hit-and-run

"This attempted murder in Williamsburg is a warning sign to authorities around the world. The next murder motivated by antisemitism is around the corner."

Israeli House to establish first Holocaust memorial in Georgia

Hasbara is Israel’s main “soft-power” diplomacy tool, aimed primarily at external audiences, unlike the negatively perceived “propaganda,” which is directly internally.

A member of the audience looks on wearing a United States-Israel themed custom suit during the AIPAC
Esther Levens, founder of Unity Coalition for Israel, passes away at 95

In July 1991, Esther founded the UCI, which is a pro-Israel Jewish-Christian alliance that works to support the Jewish State and educate the American public about Israel.

Snoop Dogg compares America to Nazi Germany via Instagram

The rapper shared an image of a black and white American flag with a blue strip pulled off revealing a Nazi flag behind it - more specifically the official ensign of the Nazi regime.

Protestors near the White House at the 'March on Washington 2020' wearing shirts bearing an antisemi
Antisemitic mural resurfaces at March on Washington 2020

Two protestors were photographed wearing shirts with the image of an antisemitic mural, championed by former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Suspects arrested in antisemitic vandalism of Cleveland Jewish buildings

"The University Heights Police Department condemns antisemitism and acts of ethnic intimidation."

New Castle, New York condemns antisemitic, racist graffiti

The case comes following another incident earlier that month in which a BLM banner hung by the Chappaqua Quakers was set ablaze and vandalized.

29/08/2020
Citi Field baseball stadium in New York, home field of the New York Mets
Steve Cohen enters talks to buy New York Mets - CNBC

Cohen fended off a bid from a consortium led by Alex Rodriguez and singer-producer Jennifer Lopez.

By REUTERS
29/08/2020
Antisemitic London Underground passenger pleads not guilty to abuse

Campbell was also facing another charge of racially-aggravated abuse toward another Jewish man.

29/08/2020
Antisemitism institute halts activities in support of African-Americans

ISGAP is an institute devoted to scholarly research on the origins, processes, and manifestations of global antisemitism.

29/08/2020
A pro-Palestinian mural on a graffiti wall at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg
IfNotNow walks back condemnation of synagogue vandalism

This proved unpopular among other Jewish Twitter users, who were unhappy with the group acceptance of such an act.

By OMRI RON
29/08/2020
People take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement outside the US Supreme Court in Was
New Movement for Black Lives platform contains no mention of Israel

After their infamous 2016 platform accused Israel of genocide, a 10-page summary of the 2020 platform obtained by JTA contains no mention of Israel, Zionism, Palestinian rights or the BDS movement.

By BEN SALES/JTA
29/08/2020
A general view of a session of the parliament in Vienna, Austria, January 10, 2020
Austrian gov't launches anti-hate plan following antisemitic incidents

Descendants of Austrian citizens expelled by Nazis to be permitted citizenship

By OMRI RON
29/08/2020
Unsealed Vatican documents detail Pope Pius XII Holocaust complacency

Pius XII has long been accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust, which happened early on in his stint of nearly 20 years as pope, until his death in 1958.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
30/08/2020
As one antisemitic site gets taken down, another takes its place

The rapid resurfacing of Minadeo’s videos, on a different but similar channel, reflects the challenge of controlling hate-spewing websites on the internet.

By GABE STUTMAN / JTA
29/08/2020
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden at a campaign event in Ne
Joe Biden calls Delaware Chabad torching ‘deeply disturbing’

The Tuesday night blaze, which resulted in damages estimated at $150,000-$200,000, was ruled an arson by the state fire marshal on Wednesday.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
28/08/2020
Kenosha synagogue still supportive despite vandalism during BLM riots

On Wednesday night, the 93-year-old synagogue’s driveway was graffitied with the words “Free Palestine.”

By BEN SALES/JTA
28/08/2020
Rabbi performing brit milah
New Zealand father circumcises son with no mohels available

Their son, Eden, was born some five months ago, two days before the country closed its borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
28/08/2020
Bette Midler
Bette Midler apologizes for mocking Melania Trump’s accented English

"I was wrong to make fun of her accent. America is made up people who speak with all kinds of accents, and they are all welcomed always.”

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
28/08/2020
NAACP PHILADELPHIA Chapter president Rodney Muhammad
National NAACP takes over Philadelphia chapter over antisemitic posts

The announcement of the takeover came a day after local Black and Jewish leaders held a virtual discussion to address Muhammad’s social media post and smooth tensions between the two communities.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
28/08/2020
Sign with Battle-Scarred Wall - Ninth Fort - Nazi Genocide Site - Kaunas - Lithuania
Alleged Holocaust distorter named top adviser to Lithuania genocide museum

The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania has faced Holocaust distortion allegations for years.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
28/08/2020
Auschwitz museum says Holocaust victims trend on TikTok is ‘challenge’

In the Holocaust victim videos, teens wear stage makeup to look like a concentration camp inmate.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
28/08/2020
Rabbi Sacks on politics from the pulpit: ‘US Jewry is making a mistake’

The consequence of blurring the line between politics and Judaism can be significant, Sacks said.

By PHILISSA CRAMER/JTA
28/08/2020
‘It’s not the same and everybody knows it’: Jewish campus life online

Being involved with Hillel and other Jewish student organizations forms a significant part of the social lives of many Jewish students.

By JOSEFIN DOLSTEN/JTA
28/08/2020
Beth Israel Synagogue, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Young Israel calls for end to antisemitic protest outside synagogue

On every Saturday morning since September 2003, a group of protesters has gathered in front of the Beth Israel Synagogue in Ann Arbor during Shabbat morning services with antisemitic signs.

University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware located in the USA. Memorial Hall in the background
Fire at University of Delaware Chabad ruled arson

The damage from Tuesday night’s blaze was initially estimated at $75,000, though new estimates put the figure at closer to $150,000-$200,000.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
28/08/2020
Ukraine’s president thinks Jews should invest in his country

To many, the fact that Zelensky could win an election while openly identifying as a Jew is a powerful sign that Ukraine has moved beyond the violence that characterized its history with Jews.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
27/08/2020
Rabbi Sacks talks about cancel culture, restoring morality and Israel

"Dealing with people who espouse views different from our own — isn’t that the typical Jewish family?"

By LAURA E. ADKINS/JTA
27/08/2020
Jews prepare for a High Holiday season of rupture and resilience

"How do you do Rosh Hashanah on your own? Our community hasn’t invented that yet," said Rabbi Vanessa Ochs.

By SHIRA HANAU/JTA , PHILISSA CRAMER/JTA
27/08/2020
The Marlene Meyerson JCC closed in March and laid off or furloughed 72 staff members last week.
JFNA launches initiative to help recently unemployed Jewish professionals

The new website offers information about financial relief from the government and Jewish community sources, and the International Association of Jewish Free Loans, which provides assistance.

Democrats disavow 19-year-old Jewish nominee as 'unfit'

Should Coleman win the election in November, the party will likely launch an effort to keep him from being seated.

27/08/2020
A FRENCH gendarme inspects swastikas painted on a wall of a former synagogue turned into a cultural
Artist wearing 'Israel' T-shirt attacked in France

One of the attackers stole the young graffiti artist's spray paint and wrote on the ground "forbidden to Jews and bitches."

Lee Zeldin.
Jewish Republican Lee Zeldin is in a dead heat in his House race

Zeldin this week released his first TV ad, and there’s no mention of Trump or Goroff; it’s all about his support for law enforcement.

By RON KAMPEAS/JTA
27/08/2020
Police arrest 2 suspects in beating of Jewish man in Paris elevator

The men followed him into the elevator, according to his police complaint. David sustained minor injuries to the face and throat.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
27/08/2020
AMSTERDAM, WITH SOME 750,000 citizens, is rich with culture, history, amazing architecture and moder
Dutch Moroccan gets 8 months in jail for fake bomb at kosher eatery

The criminal tribunal in Amsterdam also handed down a suspended sentence of another four months to the man, identified in the media only as Morocco-born Hassan N.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
27/08/2020
U.S. House of Representatives votes on Trump impeachment on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 1
Marjorie Taylor Greene shared antisemitic and Islamophobic video

Greene wrote on Facebook that “This is what the UN wants all over the world.”

By BEN SALES/JTA
27/08/2020
NEW YORK Governor Andrew M. Cuomo holds his daily COVID-19 press briefing at the New York Stock Exch
Cuomo vows to take action on Brooklyn weddings if NYC mayor doesn’t

“If the mayor is not doing any enforcement actions, then the state will,” Cuomo said at a news conference, according to the New York Post.

By SHIRA HANAU/JTA
27/08/2020
Director Steven Spielberg poses at the premiere of the HBO documentary film 'Spielberg' in Los Angel
Arnold Spielberg, who helped son Steven make his first movie, dies at 103

Spielberg died Tuesday in Los Angeles of natural causes, his children said in a statement published in the Hollywood Reporter. His children reportedly were with him at the time of his death.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
27/08/2020
Ancestry launches new partnership with USC Shoah Foundation

Building on its commitment to preserve at-risk history, there are now more than 19 million Holocaust records available globally, for free and in perpetuity.

By JTA STAFF
27/08/2020
Amar’e Stoudemire finishes his conversion to Judaism

He announced more than two years ago that he was in the process of converting to Judaism.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
27/08/2020
German court fines activist for comparing abortion-physicians to Nazis

The District Court of Hamburg ruled Monday on a petition for an injunction filed by Dr. Kristina Hanel of Giessen, a city in western Germany.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
27/08/2020
Two religious men outside the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, New York.
Fire causes significant damage at University of Delaware’s Chabad center

It took 45 firefighters, including from neighboring fire companies, some 40 minutes to bring the fire under control, the Newark Post reported.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
27/08/2020
THE JEWISH MUSEUM BERLIN, once known as the City of Berlin Museum.
Berlin Jewish museum director on Jewish life in Germany, beyond BDS

Stepping into the fraught position is Hetty Berg, who began her tenure on April 1 after spending the last 30 years as a manager and curator at the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam.

By JOE BAUR/JTA
27/08/2020
Mary Ann Mendoza dropped from RNC lineup after sharing antisemitic theory

Also speaking is Abby Johnson, an anti-abortion activist who in 2017 said on Twitter, “I have a hard time understanding how people can’t see the connection between abortion and the Jewish holocaust.”

By RON KAMPEAS/JTA
27/08/2020
A man drinking liquor.
The top 10 Jewish stories on ‘Drunk History’

Drunk History, the beloved Comedy Central show where comedians get drunk and tell a story from history, was just canceled after six seasons.

By EMILY BURACK/ JTA
27/08/2020
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, also known as BDS.
UK police arrest Pro-BDS Palestinian activist on terrorism charge

The paper said that Hijjawi was arrested at Heathrow airport and the 62-year-old's house in the Blackhall area of Edinburgh was searched by Scottish police.

Remembering Phil Blazer, broadcaster and Jewish activist

Blazer is survived by his wife, Kathy, his three sons and one daughter, and six grandchildren, as well as his two sisters and several nieces and nephews.

Yiddish-speaking Pink Peacock cafe aims to spark a Jewish revolution

Glasgow is about to welcome a notable new Jewish neighbor: a queer-friendly, Yiddish-speaking kosher cafe operated by Jewish self-described anarchists where customers will “pay what they can.”

By JACOB JUDAH/JTA
30/08/2020
A journey into Lithuania’s heart of darkness

In an effort to discover the truth about the Holocaust in Lithuania, the Jerusalem-based Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff and writer Rūta Vanagaite undertook a 40-day journey together through the country.

02/09/2020
Bringing Nostra Aetate forward

55 years ago, Pope Paul VI repudiated the 2,000-year-old charge of deicide against the Jewish people, and affirmed that the Jews’ relationship with the God of Israel is eternal, and cannot be broken.

By SIMONE COHEN SCOTT
02/09/2020
When mohel unavailable, family takes circumcision into its own hands

Noam and Elisheva Fogel, Jewish Agency emissaries to New Zealand, welcomed Eden Refael to the world just two days before the coronavirus lockdown in the country began.

EasyJet Airbus
Israeli sues EasyJet for being made to give up seat twice for haredi men

The lawsuit was filed last week on behalf of Tel Aviv resident Melanie Wolfson, 38, by the Israel Religious Action Center, a division of the Reform movement in Israel.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
26/08/2020
Bomb threat left on Virginia synagogue's voicemail

A police K-9 search of the area did not turn up any bombs.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
26/08/2020
UK renters’ union rejects Jewish applicant: ‘Sorry, no time for Zionists’

The union has not yet identified the person who sent the messages.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
27/08/2020
John Mann leaves the British Cabinet Office in Whitehall, in central London, Jan. 31, 2019.
A non-Jewish Brexit supporter, is the UK’s loudest critic of antisemitism

“The battle against anti-Semitism has not only played a major role in my public life. It is also an issue which I am passionate about on a personal level.”

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
26/08/2020
Graduate holding diploma, graduation
Holocaust survivor fulfills dream of getting high school diploma – watch

The students had planned to give her the diploma at their graduation ceremony, but when the graduation was switched to a virtual ceremony due to the coronavirus, they planned the special ceremony.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
26/08/2020
Mirjam Wenzel is the director of the new Jewish Museum of Frankfurt, Aug. 25, 2020
Frankfurt's new Jewish museum reclaims Anne Frank’s forgotten roots

A new $58 million Jewish museum is preparing to showcase the Frank family’s deep attachment to a city they left in 1933, when Anne was 4 years old.

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ/JTA
26/08/2020
Uber driver asked to stop the car after passenger found out he was Jewish

"Stop here, I don't like Jews. I'm not going to ride with a Jew"

19-year-old who won Kansas House seat goes back on decision to withdraw

The 19-year-old community college student has previously defeated the 13-year incumbent, Stan Frownfelter, in the Democratic primary for a state House seat in Kansas.

Uman rabbi claims he developed a 'cure' for coronavirus

Speaking with Rafi Reshef, an Israeli journalist, the rabbi said his natural medicine has supposedly helped cure 50 people who were infected with the coronavirus.

Merriam-Webster removes Israel example from ‘apartheid’ definition

Some critics of Israel claim Israel practices apartheid against the Palestinians. However, the Palestinians are largely self-governed.

RABBI PINCHAS GOLDSCHMIDT: Jews become the collateral damage
CER president: The fact Jews are being attacked in Austria is inexcusable

After an investigation, the two cases were found to be linked by their motive: antisemitic hate crimes based on hatred of the state of Israel.

By OMRI RON
25/08/2020
Rabbi spends 4 months on a ventilator, has 4 collapsed lungs from COVID-19

Rabbi Yehuda “Yudi” Dukes began breathing on his own last week after being in an induced coma for months.

By PENNY SCHWARTZ/ JTA
25/08/2020
Antisemitic graffiti near a London Underground station. The graffiti reads “dirty f***ing Jew”
Can antisemitism be eradicated?

One might have thought that when the reality of the Holocaust became public knowledge, widespread revulsion would have eliminated antisemitic behavior permanently.

By ALBERT JACOB
02/09/2020
An American Jewish dilemma: Supporting Israel

Why do progressive Jewish-American leaders oppose Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria? Have they turned their backs on Israel?

02/09/2020
The IDF West Bank Courts continues to be disrupted by political and legal battle.
Weekly anti-Israel protests by Michigan synagogue allowed by constitution

The groups named in the lawsuit as leading the protests are Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends and Deir Yassin Remembered, which Southern Poverty Law Center in 2017 identified as a hate group.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
25/08/2020
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