Wednesday, October 28th 2026   |

Jews in the News

Matchmaking Jewish father postpones interviews of prospective brides for son

(JTA) — The Jewish father who took out a full-page ad in an Idaho newspaper seeking a wife for his 48-year-old son has postponed the interviews with prospective brides he scheduled at an Idaho resort.

Arthur Brooks, 78, of Beverly...

Who is Donald Trump’s Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner?

By URIEL HEILMAN

NEW YORK (JTA) – Jared Kushner has many claims to fame.

He’s married to Ivanka Trump, daughter of the Republican presidential front-runner. He’s the scion of a philanthropy-minded Jewish family from New Jersey that is one of...

Guinness confirms candy-making Holocaust survivor is world’s oldest man

(JTA) — It’s official: Yisrael Kristal, a 112-year-old Holocaust survivor and Israeli citizen, is the world’s oldest living man.

Guinness World Records confirmed Yisrael Kristal’s status on its website last Friday.

In January, JTA and other media reported that Kristal,...

Orthodox billionaire Hershey Friedman: Why I bought scandal-plagued kosher meat giant Agriprocessers

By URIEL HEILMAN

NEW YORK (JTA) – When Orthodox Jewish billionaire Hershey Friedman bought America’s largest kosher meat company, Agriprocessors, out of bankruptcy in 2009, it was the Canadian packaging magnate’s first foray into the meat business.

Getting things in order...

Bernie Sanders’ Jewishness a non-issue for Iowa voters

By JOSH TAPPER

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (JTA) — On a frigid night in what has been an unusually cold winter here, Bernie Sanders packed more than 1,200 people into the resplendent Orpheum Theatre, a nearly 90-year-old venue in this western...

Rabbi Lila Kagedan poised to make history with job at Orthodox shul

By URIEL HEILMAN

NEW YORK (JTA) – When Rabbi Lila Kagedan spends her first Shabbat at the Mount Freedom Jewish Center in Randolph, New Jersey, later this month, she will be making history.

A recent graduate of Yeshivat Maharat, Kagedan,...

3 centuries after excommunication, is it time to lift ban on Spinoza?

By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ

AMSTERDAM (JTA) – More than 350 years after this city’s Portuguese Jewish community excommunicated Baruch Spinoza and banned his writings for eternity, the philosopher’s books are for sale at the souvenir shop of the community’s synagogue.

Spinoza,...

Naftali Bennett: Time to annex parts of West Bank

By URIEL HEILMAN

NEW YORK (JTA) – Naftali Bennett, the leader of Israel’s Jewish Home party, has had a few headaches recently.

Earlier this week, one of his party’s Knesset members, Yinon Magal, resigned amid allegations that he sexually assaulted...

Bernie Sanders, he’s not — he’s Barney Frank

By CURT SCHLEIER

(JTA) — When Barney Frank first ran for a seat in the Massachusetts legislature, he more closely resembled a rumpled guy who slept in his suits than a polished pol. His campaign poster featured a photo of...

Ivanka Trump is pregnant with her third child

By GABE FRIEDMAN

(JTA) — If you can’t get enough Trump, good news: Another one is on the way!

Ivanka Trump, who converted to Judaism in 2009, announced across her social media platforms that she is expecting her third child...