Latest Judaism News
Ceremony marks start of rebuilding for Pittsburgh synagogue targeted in antisemitic mass shooting
Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro were among the dignitaries marking the groundbreaking Sunday of a new structure replacing the Tree of Life synagogue, where 11 worshippers were murdered in 2018 in the deadliest act of antisemitism in U.S. history. ...
Emhoff will speak at groundbreaking of the memorial for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims
WASHINGTON (AP) — Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish person to serve as the spouse of a nationally elected U.S. leader, will deliver remarks on Sunday at the groundbreaking of the memorial to victims of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. ...
Book Review: Twin brothers, one religious, one not, go on a wild and wacky road trip through South
In the beginning was… a lie. One day a rabbi knocked on the door of a woman with a Jewish-sounding last name in a small town in Georgia to recruit new members for his synagogue. When he asks if she knows of any Jews in the area, Ida Mae Belkin admits to being one herself. This comes as a shock to...
Theater show spotlights the stories of those who are Asian American and Jewish
LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Chiu’s mother comes from a long line of Lithuanian Jews; his father is an immigrant from Hong Kong. For most of his life, the 42-year-old Southern Californian has felt like he “never completely belonged in either world.” It wasn’t until a few years...
Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba
HAVANA (AP) — The 1959 Castro-led revolution installed an atheist, Communist government that sought to replace the Catholic Church as the guiding force in the lives of Cubans. But 65 years later, religion seems omnipresent in Cuba, in dazzling diversity. The bells...
Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba
HAVANA (AP) — The 1959 Castro-led revolution installed an atheist, Communist government that sought to replace the Catholic Church as the guiding force in the lives of Cubans. But 65 years later, religion seems omnipresent in Cuba, in dazzling diversity. The bells...
Tunisian Jews scale back annual pilgrimage to ancient synagogue because of security concerns
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Jewish Tunisians who organize an annual pilgrimage to one of the world’s oldest synagogues are planning a scaled-down event next month, citing concerns about security less than a year after a deadly shooting there shook their community. Thousands regularly...
Children learn matzo making and Passover's traditions ahead of the Jewish holiday
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — The group of first graders had no time to waste — they had matzo to make. The students from Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School of the Nation’s Capital had just 18 minutes to prep and cook the cracker-like, unleavened Passover staple if they wanted to keep...
War, hostages, antisemitism: A somber backdrop to this year's Passover observances
Passover is a major Jewish holiday, celebrated over seven or eight days each year, commemorating the exodus of ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt, as recounted in the Bible. To many Jews, it symbolizes freedom and the birth of a Jewish nation. This year, for many Jews, the...
Israelis grapple with how to celebrate Passover, a holiday about freedom, while many remain captive
JERUSALEM (AP) — Every year, Alon Gat’s mother led the family's Passover celebration of the liberation of the ancient Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago. But this year, Gat is struggling with how to reconcile a holiday commemorating freedom after his mother was slain and other family...
