Grace Gilson


Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

5 arrested for allegedly filming a music video in historic Indianapolis synagogue - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Five people were arrested in Indianapolis for allegedly breaking into the city’s oldest synagogue building to film a music video.
The group was found with video equipment at Beth-El Zedeck Temple after police responded to calls reporting a burglary on Saturday evening, according to the local NBC affiliate, WTHR.
Upon arrival, police saw several people in the driveway of the historic site and four people inside, according to WTHR.
One of the suspects, D’Shawn Parrish, was arrested after being cha...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Nearly 80 bipartisan lawmakers call on Trump administration to unfreeze security funding for religious institutions - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Nearly 80 members of Congress from both parties are calling for the Trump administration to end a freeze on security funding for religious institutions.
The halt to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, or NSGP, began recently as part of an overall funding freeze on FEMA, the federal disaster relief agency. Synagogues, schools and Jewish community centers have long relied on the funding, which goes to religious institutions of all kinds, to pay for measures like security cameras or bollards to p...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

A Facebook history page noted a massacre of British Jews. Cue the laughing emojis. - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The Facebook page British History has a devoted but not particularly emotive following. Multiple times a day, it posts an image and factoid from, well, British history, to a handful of comments and thumbs-up emojis.
But when it showed followers an image of Clifford’s Tower in York, England, over the weekend and informed them about an antisemitic massacre of 150 Jews that took place there in 1190, the response was different.
More than 1,600 people applied Facebook’s “laughing” emoji, signaling th...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Holocaust remembrance pages — and one about Bea Arthur — removed in Pentagon’s DEI purge - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

When she was 5 years old, Kitty Saks’ home in Vienna was commandeered by the Nazis, leading her family to flee to Brussels, where she was hidden in a convent until the Allies liberated Belgium. Twenty-seven members of her family were killed in the Holocaust.
Until a few weeks ago, that story could be read on the website of a U.S. Air Force unit, one of the many ways the government commemorated the Holocaust.
But now it is gone, one of many Holocaust remembrance articles taken down as part of the...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Miami Beach mayor ends effort to evict local theater over 'No Other Land' screening - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The mayor of Miami Beach has rescinded his proposal to evict and defund a local independent theater over its screening of an Oscar-winning documentary on Israeli demolitions in the West Bank, following a public outcry.
In his original resolution last week, Mayor Steven Meiner, who is Jewish, described the film titled “No Other Land” as antisemitic, and proposed that the independent theater that screened it, O Cinema, have its lease in the Miami Beach Historic City Hall revoked and its funding wi...
Global Observer •

Behind the story: Unveiling “The Climate Generation”

(Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and cohesion, preserving the core meaning of the interviewee’s response.)
After nearly a year of gathering stories of young climate activists and innovators across four continents, the Christian Science Monitor has debuted its newest series: The Climate Generation.
The Monitor’s Toronto bureau chief, Sara Miller Llana, and environment correspondent, Stephanie Hanes, collaborated with reporting coach and project director, Clara Germani, to tell th...
The Scope •

When the bike lane ends

Cyclists and their advocates say there is a bike safety issue in Greater Boston. Last week, a cyclist was killed on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In June of this year, two people were struck and killed within two weeks of each other, also in Cambridge. Data from the City of Boston’s Vision Zero reported 3,539 cyclists injured and 10 killed in 2023. 
Toni Magee, who works with Dorchester Bike Kitchen (DBK), a volunteer-run bike repair space that is part of a large network of collabo...
GBH News •

Basic Black: Black and Gay, and Living in Massachusetts

On May 17, 2004, three of the couples who were plaintiffs in the Goodridge v. Department of Public Health case, which solidified marriage equality in Massachusetts, lined up at City Hall to get their marriage licenses. As Massachusetts approaches the 20th anniversary of this historic moment, a look at the landscape of Black and queer spaces across the state paints a picture of activism and resiliency. Basic Black host Tanisha Sullivan, Esq., President NAACP Boston, spoke with...
BostonGlobe.com •

A brief history of animal-to-human transplants - The Boston Globe

A brief history of the advances that led to this week’s breakthrough.Cross-species transplantation — or xenotransplantation — dates as far back as the 17th century.Scientists have experimented for centuries with using parts from animals to improve human health, but the technology has leapt ahead recently with advances in gene editing and immunology. Pigs have emerged as especially promising, because they are easy to breed and their organs are genetically similar to human organs.1667 — In what is...
The Huntington News •

Northeastern student biker launched to social media stardom

Last summer, Sam Westby, a Northeastern student pursuing a doctorate in psychology, was catapulted to social media stardom when he began documenting a cross-country cycling trip with his father on Instagram.
Westby’s short-form video series showed people the highs and lows of interstate biking and gas station feasts. The videos resonated with audiences and Westby’s account has amassed over 50,000 followers since its creation. 
Since completing his cross-country endeavor in 2023, Westby has diver...
BostonGlobe.com •

Second judge in Wisconsin rules defrocked cardinal Theodore McCarrick not competent to stand trial - The Boston Globe

A judge in Wisconsin has become the second to find defrocked Roman Catholic cardinal Theodore McCarrick not competent to stand trial in a case involving allegations that he sexually assaulted a 18-year-old boy in 1977, according to the victim’s lawyer Mitchell Garabedian and Reuters.Judge David Reddy’s decision was handed out after McCarrick’s diagnosis of dementia previously prevented him from going to trial in Massachusetts in August.McCarrick, 93, is the highest ranking official in the Roman...
BostonGlobe.com •

Man who allegedly placed fake bomb on Harvard campus pleads guilty - The Boston Globe

William Giordani, 55, of Nashua, N.H., pleaded guilty in US District Court in Boston to one count of concealing a federal felony.A New Hampshire man pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges related to a bizarre scheme in which he claimed he was duped into planting a fake bomb at Harvard University last spring as part of a plot to extort bitcoin payment from the Ivy League school, according to the US attorney’s office.His public defender, Jane F. Peachy, didn’t immediately respond to a request...
Northeastern University •

The End of Memory

Esther Adler's eyes gaze somewhere far away as she sings the chants of Hitler Youth that she heard outside her family's apartment in Germany over 80 years ago. She's more than 3,000 miles away from there in her dining room in Canton, Massachusetts, but the memories are still palpable.
Adler is one of thousands of childhood survivors of the Holocaust who are working to preserve the world's collective memory, but everyday more and more of their stories are lost to time.
Last year,...
GBH News •

Labor experts debate the efficacy of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs | Basic Black

This episode we discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion, and how it has changed three years after George Floyd’s murder. Companies pledged their support to hire DEI officers, and they did, however, there has been a drop off in the positions. DEI specialists have either left or lost their jobs. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is doing away with diversity and equity advances in education. Here in Greater Boston, several towns have seen DEI officers come and go, due to lack of commitment and resources. So where does DEI stand and how can companies, and organizations implement it moving forward?
GBH News •

Reflecting on the life of Mel King and his legacy for communities of color | Basic Black | GBH News

The city of Boston is mourning the loss of Melvin Herbert King, who died March 28, 2023 at the age of 94. Mel King was a nationally known civil rights icon, lawmaker and the first Black mayoral candidate to advance to a general election in Boston. Many that knew King will remember his work as a longtime community organizer and his lasting impact across the Commonwealth.
GBH News •

Women of color entrepreneurs exchange their views of building success and community | Basic Black

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we have a conversation with three women of color business owners on running a business before and during COVID, and even starting a business during the pandemic. Also, the business owners will discuss the importance of helping other businesses and entrepreneurs grow and building community in the face of discrimination, and what the future looks like for them.
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