Jewish Insider

02/02/2025

As Zach Bauer steps into his new role as CEO of Passages, it will be his first position with the group that organizes Birthright-style trips to Israel for Christian college students.

For years, however, Bauer has thought of himself as a “Passages student before there was a Passages,” he told Jewish Insider.

“I went to Israel for the first time right after high school with my family,” recalled Bauer, a former staffer for then-Rep. Mike Pence — who went on to work for Pence’s 2024 presidential campaign.

“It was an experience that I’ll never forget, connecting my faith roots to the roots of the Hebrew faith. I never felt closer to God than at that time, and I came back from that trip as an even stronger supporter for Israel than I had been before.”

Full story: https://ji.news/4hABGzO

31/01/2025

For nine weeks each summer, a small plot of land on the shores of Chautauqua Lake, in Western New York, becomes a utopian gathering place for Americans whose ideal summer vacation includes lectures, interfaith services and symphony performances, alongside kayaking, pickleball and ice cream.

That easygoing, harmonious spirit was shattered in 2022, when the novelist Salman Rushdie was stabbed onstage during a lecture by a man linked to Iranian-backed terrorists. But Rushdie and the Chautauqua Institution emerged defiant, confident that the institution’s commitment to community and free expression had survived unscathed.

Now, Chautauqua’s values are again being put to the test. This time, there is no clear path forward as controversy surrounding the Israel-Hamas war and accusations of antisemitism threaten to splinter this idyllic summer community.

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/the-exclusive-chautauqua-institution-wrestles-with-antisemitism-inside-its-gates/?utm_source=facebook

31/01/2025

As a helicopter flew overhead carrying newly released hostage Agam Berger from Gaza back to Israel, the father of another Israeli hostage, Bar Kupershtein — who is not on the list for the first phase of releases — was carrying a poster of his son at the site of the Nova music festival in Reim, from which his son was kidnapped.

Traversing the sun-soaked fields of Reim, Bar’s father, Tal Kupershtein, told Jewish Insider’s Tamara Zieve that he had prayed for the release of the hostages together with Agam Berger’s mother, Merav, during a trip they both took to Poland as part of a delegation.

He said it was “very moving” that Berger was on her way home and “Bar must come home too.”

Tal lost his ability to speak after he suffered a stroke after numerous surgeries he underwent following a car accident in which he was seriously wounded five years ago while volunteering for United Hatzalah.

He subsequently uses a wheelchair and a year ago, following his son’s kidnapping, he began working with a speech therapist, determined to advocate for Bar’s release. Today, though his speech is still impaired, he is able and willing to talk to anyone who will listen about his son.

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/hostages-father-relearns-to-talk-after-stroke-to-advocate-for-his-sons-release/

31/01/2025

Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to be FBI director, vowed to make counterterrorism a priority under his leadership during his confirmation hearing, telling senators that the threat of a major terrorist attack is “as high as I’ve ever seen it.”

Patel, a Trump loyalist and longtime Republican operative, referenced his concerns about terrorism repeatedly in his testimony, saying in his opening statement that two terrorist attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas on New Year’s Day “serve as a stark reminder that our national security is at threat, both internally and externally.”

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/kash-patel-fbi-director-nominee-donald-trump-counterterrorism/?utm_source=facebook

31/01/2025

Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearing to become director of national intelligence seems to have done little to improve her standing among Republicans — and may, in fact, have worsened concerns among some conservative skeptics.

Gabbard repeatedly provided vague answers on key questions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including on whether government leaker Edward Snowden was a traitor, among other issues.

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/gabbards-testimony-stokes-conservative-concerns-about-her-nomination/?utm_source=facebook

31/01/2025

Read today's :

Tulsi Gabbard’s eyebrow-raising confirmation hearing

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Recent Issues Jan 31Jan 30Jan 29Jan 28Jan 27Jan 24Jan 23Jan 22 Daily Kickoff January 31, 2025 SHAREShare optionsFacebookTelegramLinkedInWhatsAppReddit Good Friday morning. In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover Tulsi Gabbard’s confirmation hearing to be national intelligence director and the react...

31/01/2025

Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, said he will seek a third and final term in office, as the Jewish Democrat prepares to face a growing number of challengers in the November election.

“Our city has come through adversity together, and Minneapolis is coming back with real results,” he told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel. “But the job is not finished yet, and I am running to finish the job and to set up the next mayor and our city residents for success for decades to come.”

In his seven years as mayor, Frey, 43, has clashed with the far left on such issues as policing and Israel’s war with Hamas. He has said he drew closer to his Jewish identity amid a surge in antisemitism after the Oct. 7 attacks.

“As a Jewish person and as a Jewish mayor, I’ve seen horrid incidents play out without a lot of pushback,” he told Jewish Insider. “I’m going to stand up for a community I happen to be a member of that has seen quite a bit of discrimination.”

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/jacob-frey-mayor-of-minneapolis-november-election/?utm_source=facebook

30/01/2025

Columbia University’s administration has launched an investigation — together with law enforcement — to identify the perpetrators of an act of vandalism in which anti-Israel demonstrators clogged the sewage system in the School of International and Public Affairs building with cement and sprayed the business school with red paint.

Columbia defined the spray-painting as an “act of vandalism” in a statement, adding that the graffiti “included disturbing, personal attacks.” It said it was “acting swiftly to address this misconduct” and “to identify the individual perpetrators and address their actions.”

“The university has done a better job [responding to antisemitic incidents] compared to in the past year, but at the same time, the actions of these perpetrators has gotten a lot worse,” a second-year graduate student in SIPA who requested to remain anonymous told Jewish Insider.

“This went from antisemitic vitriol to cementing toilets and causing staff to be there overnight scrubbing f***l matter out of the toilets.”

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/columbia-university-launching-investigation-against-latest-anti-israel-vandals/?utm_source=facebook

30/01/2025

The independent U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted unanimously on Jan. 17 to open a yearlong investigation into the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, which is set to include a probe of how the Department of Education and Department of Justice have responded to the growing crisis.

The commission’s vote comes after a request from a bipartisan group of House members led by Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and Kevin Kiley (R-CA).

The investigation is set to be led by former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) and attorney Peter Kirsanow, a Republican, who were both appointed by congressional leaders to the commission.

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/u-s-civil-rights-commission-campus-investigation-antisemitism/?utm_source=facebook

30/01/2025

A newly proposed mask ban bill aimed in part at addressing a recent uptick in antisemitic incidents in New York is emerging as a potential flashpoint in Albany’s fledgling legislative session, even as it has won outspoken support from a wide range of Jewish leaders and civil rights groups.

The legislation, introduced last week by state Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, would reinstate a previous ban repealed during the COVID pandemic, while adding “masked harassment” as a new criminal violation, and also expanding the definition of aggravated harassment in the second degree to include acts of masked intimidation and violence.

It includes several carve-outs for people who wear masks for religious, health or occupational reasons.

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/new-york-legislature-mask-ban-legislation-antisemitism/?utm_source=facebook

30/01/2025

As George Mason University contends with several major incidents of antisemitism on its campus, Democrats in the Virginia State Senate rejected Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s renomination of one of the country’s leading antisemitism experts — who has been advising the university — to its board of visitors.

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/glenn-youngkin-virginia-democrats-antisemitism-george-mason-university-ken-marcus/?utm_source=facebook

30/01/2025

Several major Jewish organizations welcomed Trump’s executive order calling on every federal agency and department to review and report on civil and criminal actions available within their jurisdiction to fight antisemitism.

But some groups also expressed caution that deportations carried out under the executive order could conflict with the First Amendment.

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/campus-antisemitism-trump-executive-order-jewish-groups/?utm_source=facebook

30/01/2025

Read today's Daily Kickoff

Senate spotlight on Gabbard, Patel hearings

Full briefing ⬇️

In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover the release earlier today of three Israeli hostages, and report on President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting campus antisemitism. We also talk to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey about his bid for a third and final term, and report on Israeli Ambassador to...

30/01/2025

Palestinian terrorist groups released three Israeli and five Thai hostages from Gaza on Thursday, in the third hostage release since a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect earlier this month.

Agam Berger, Gadi Moses and Arbel Yehud released from Gaza; Israel demands Hamas control dangerous crowds surrounding hostages

30/01/2025

Yechiel Leiter, the new Israeli ambassador to the United States who began his term in Washington last week, made his first trip as ambassador to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, a source familiar with the situation said.

The trip included meetings with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, the source said.

Leiter’s visit, just days into his role in Washington, included meetings with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle

29/01/2025

SCOOP | In early January, the American Academy of Pediatrics wrote a letter to former Secretary of State Tony Blinken calling on the State Department to look into the situation of a Gazan doctor who was detained by the Israeli military. Now, several major Jewish organizations are calling on the AAP to issue a retraction to their letter, given Dr. Hassam Abu Safiya’s affiliation with the terrorist group Hamas.

The Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Medical Association, Hadassah and StandWithUs wrote in a Tuesday letter obtained by Jewish Insider that the AAP’s failure to mention that Abu Safiya has been determined by “Israeli authorities and other sources” to be a member of Hamas risks “fundamentally compromising the integrity of the Academy.”

“The implications and optics of such a statement are troubling, especially given the Academy’s slow response to the kidnapping, captivity, torture and murder of Israeli children by Hamas,” the organizations wrote.

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/jewish-organizations-urge-american-academy-of-pediatrics-to-retract-letter-of-support-for-hamas-doctor/?utm_source=facebook

29/01/2025

Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday focused on countering antisemitism, in what the White House described as an effort to “marshal all federal resources” to “combat the explosion of antisemitism on our campuses and in our streets since Oct. 7, 2023.”

The executive order will require every federal department and agency to review criminal and civil authorities that could be used to fight antisemitism, with a requirement to report back to the White House within 60 days, according to a fact sheet provided by a White House official.

The action also demands the deportation of foreign nationals living in the U.S. and foreign students who broke the law in the course of anti-Israel protests on American campuses, a policy that conservative activists pushed Trump to adopt during his campaign.

“I will be the best friend Jewish Americans have ever had in the White House," Trump said in the fact sheet.

The EO requires the deportation of foreign students who broke the law during campus anti-Israel protests

29/01/2025

Following Sen. Gary Peters’ surprise announcement that he won’t seek another term in 2026, a wide field of potential contenders for the seat is beginning to take shape on both sides of the aisle.

Peters’ announcement set off a flurry of speculation about who might run to replace him. Republicans and Democrats alike will be clamoring for the chance at a vacant seat in a state Trump won by less than two points and freshman Sen. Elissa Slotkin won by less than half a point.

“Right now, it seems like it’s a free-for-all. I think names are being thrown around, many with serious viability and an opportunity,” David Dulio, a political scientist and director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oakland University, told Jewish Insider of the state of the race after Peters’ announcement.

Full story: https://jewishinsider.com/2025/01/senate-seat-gary-peters-michigan-race-swing-state/?utm_source=facebook