Israel-Hamas war
Lag B’Omer pilgrimage to Tunisian synagogue chilled by Gaza war
By David I. Klein — May 28, 2024
(RNS) — A deeply held tradition among the Tunisian Jewish diaspora, it historically has drawn worshippers from the U.S., France and even Israel, despite the lack of official relations between Tunisia and the Jewish state.
Bearing witness to the horrors of this war means remembering the pain on both sides
By Olivia Brodsky — May 24, 2024
(RNS) — We can grieve for two peoples at once, and we must, but we can’t let political debate erase the events of Oct. 7.
For many American Jews protesting for Palestinians, activism is a journey rooted in their Jewish values
By Atalia Omer — May 21, 2024
(The Conversation) — Jewish activists have been central to protests against how Israel is conducting the war with Hamas, and not just on campuses – the movement goes back decades.
Latin Patriarch Pizzaballa’s visit provides Palestinians a basic human need: Hope
By Daoud Kuttab — May 20, 2024
(RNS) — The visit is a reminder that the Gaza war is not a religious one and certainly not a Jewish-Muslim conflict.
French police fatally shoot a man suspected of setting fire to a synagogue
By John Leicester and Jeffrey Schaeffer — May 20, 2024
ROUEN, France (AP) — The main French Jewish umbrella group described the synagogue blaze as “a scandalous message” and “a way of saying that Jews don’t belong in French society.”
A Palestinian converted to Judaism. An Israeli soldier saw him as a threat and opened fire
By Jack Jeffery — May 16, 2024
JERUSALEM (AP) — In his final moments, David Ben-Avraham was once again viewed as a Palestinian who was in the wrong place, at a time of widespread anger and suspicion.
Playwright Tom Block aims to tell ‘two equally righteous narratives’ of Israel, Palestine
By Ambar Castillo — May 16, 2024
Queens, NEW YORK (RNS) — In 'Oud Player on the Tel,' playwright Tom Block, who is Jewish and identifies with Islamic mysticism, envisions a friendship between two displaced people in 1947.
Amid surge of campus protests, chaplains find reason for hope in their students
By Elizabeth E. Evans — May 10, 2024
(RNS) — The chaplains at Ivy League and other top schools say the students have learned about the concerns of other faiths, while finding ways to express their own.
Union Theological Seminary votes to divest from companies profiting from Gaza war
By Fiona Murphy — May 9, 2024
NEW YORK (RNS) — Union, a private, ecumenical school that serves as Columbia University’s faculty of theology but maintains a separate endowment, is the first U.S. institute of higher education known to divest from the war in Gaza.
Is the golden age of American Jews really ending?
By Mark Silk — May 8, 2024
(RNS) — Reports of its demise are premature.
For Muslim student protesters, a sense of purpose mingled with fear
By Dina Katgara — May 7, 2024
NEW YORK (RNS) — Muslim participants describe feeling solidarity with other protesters but also unease at the watching world.
In toxic time, hope can be the solid ground we can stand on
By Cassandra Lawrence — May 7, 2024
(RNS) — Severely tried in the months since Oct. 7, the interfaith community still looks to the promise of future flourishing.
The yearly memorial march at the former death camp at Auschwitz overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war
By Vanessa Gera and Rafal Niedzielski — May 7, 2024
OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) —The event, now in its 36th year, usually draws thousands of participants, including Holocaust survivors and Jewish students, leaders and politicians.
Universities close encampments in the name of ‘safety.’ Whose safety?
By Dilshad Ali — May 6, 2024
(RNS) — 'What some may actually be feeling is discomfort with the truth, and the truth hurts.'
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
By Melanie Lidman — May 6, 2024
KIBBUTZ MEFALSIM, Israel (AP) — While Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, tries to steer clear of politics, its ceremony this year includes an empty yellow chair in solidarity with the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
