Monday, June 5th 2023   |

News

Citing industry changes, Kosherfest, oldest kosher food fair, announces its end

By JACKIE HAJDENBERG

(JTA) — After more than three decades, an annual trade show of kosher foods that saw the evolution of the cuisine in America grow from gefilte fish and pastrami to “facon,” gluten-free cookies and CBD gum is no more.

“Exhibitors feel Kosherfest has run its course,” the company that organized the two-day event, Diversified Business Communications, announced on Wednesday.

The company’s statement attributed the decision to shifts...

Bulgaria’s ambassador to Israel condemned for skipping Holocaust history conference

By TOBY AXELROD

(JTA) — Bulgaria’s ambassador to Israel did not attend a conference on Bulgarian Holocaust history last week, in a move that organizers said displays her government’s attempts to whitewash that history.

An embassy spokesperson told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Ambassador Rumiana Bachvarova had received “a last-minute invitation to greet the conference” and “decided that it was good for the conversations and discussions to remain at an...

In Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial, Jewish rituals feature as prominently as the carnage of the day

By RON KAMPEAS

PITTSBURGH (JTA) — Testifying at the trial of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, Carol Black described how, right before he opened fire, she had taken her yarmulke and tallis out of her velvet tallis bag. 

But first, she had to explain what a yarmulke, tallis and tallis bag were. 

“In my briefcase is a blue velvet bag that has a zipper on it,” she said. “I have a...

More than a third of people in Hungary and Poland have ‘extensive’ antisemitic beliefs, ADL survey says

By BEN SALES

(JTA) — A survey by the Anti-Defamation League found that significant portions of people in 10 European countries believe a range of antisemitic stereotypes, including more than one in three people in Poland and Hungary.

The ADL measures antisemitic attitudes across a range of countries by asking respondents if they believe a set of 11 stereotypes about Jews, ranging from “Jews have too much power in the...

Israeli man killed in shooting as West Bank violence continues

By BEN SALES

(JTA) — An Israeli man was killed in a terror attack on Tuesday in the northern West Bank, the latest in a string of violent incidents in the territory this year.

The Israel was identified as Meir Tamari, 32, a resident of the nearby settlement of Hermesh. He was shot while driving on a road close to the settlement and was treated by medics before his death...

Israeli girl recovering from stray bullet

(JNS.org) – A 9-year-old girl hit by a stray bullet on Friday while playing with friends in Kochav Ya’akov, in Israel’s Binyamin region, is out of the hospital and resting. 

Avigail was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem in light to moderate condition following the incident. The IDF Home Front Command issued an alert for a terrorist infiltration, calling on the residents to enter their homes, before...

German court acquits COVID denier who compared Israel to Nazi Germany

By JACKIE HAJDENBERG

(JTA) — A German microbiologist known for repeatedly spreading misinformation about the coronavirus was acquitted on Tuesday of incitement to hatred for comments about Jews and Israel.

In a 2021 campaign video for the fringe political party die Basis (The Basis), Sucharit Bhakdi, 74, a well-known critic of Germany’s pandemic restrictions, had said that the Jews had learned evil under Hitler and are utilizing it in Israel...

Roger Waters uses Anne Frank’s name at German concerts, prompting calls for punishment from Jewish groups

By TOBY AXELROD

(JTA) — Roger Waters projected Anne Frank’s name at recent concerts to draw comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany, leading Germany’s Orthodox rabbinical association to call for a ban on Waters performances in the country.

Observers told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Waters, the former Pink Floyd frontman known as a leader in the boycott Israel movement, has lumped Anne Frank together with Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist...

CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour apologizes for saying killing of British Israelis happened in a ‘shootout’

By BEN SALES

(JTA) — CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour apologized on Monday for saying last month that the killing of three British Israelis happened in a “shootout.”

Amanpour was referring to the shooting of three members of the Dee family, who were killed in a West Bank terror attack in early April by a Palestinian gunman. Maia and Rina Dee, ages 20 and 15, respectively, were killed, and their mother...

Ankara busts Mossad cell working against Iran

(JNS.org) – Turkish intelligence officials arrested a cell operating on behalf of the Mossad against Iranian assets, local media claimed on Tuesday.

According to the reports, 11 members of the 15-strong team were detained on accusations of spying on an Iranian company and 23 persons with business ties to the Islamic Republic.

The National Intelligence Organization of the Republic of Turkey, MIT, reportedly uncovered the cell following an 18-month...