Grace Gilson


Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

She broke barriers as a trans writer on HBO's 'Transparent.' Now Yona Speidel has become Jewish, too. - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Hours after emerging from a ritual bath marking her conversion to Judaism, Yona Speidel was leaving a celebratory dinner with her rabbi when a man across the street yelled, “F–ck Jews.”
For Speidel, it was an unexpected welcome into the Jewish community.
“My rabbi looked at me and he goes, ‘Welcome,’” Speidel recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh, great, I’m home.”
The conversion ceremony in Los Angeles in March marked the conclusion of a decade-long exploration of Judaism for Speidel, the prominent tr...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

A tale of two marches: LGBTQ Jews face cheers and heckles at NYC Pride - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Dillon Perez was both heckled and embraced for being Jewish as he waved a large rainbow flag with a Star of David at New York City’s Pride March on Sunday.
Marching earlier in the day with “Jew York Pride,” Perez was greeted with cheers and cries of “Jewish pride” from spectators. But hours later, after joining a second Jewish contingent hosted by the liberal pro-Israel group Zioness, Perez endured booing and spectators shouting “free Palestine, f–ck Israel.”
“There’s a sensitivity over this wor...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Jewish day school enrollment is rising across denominations - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

After decades of declining enrollment in non-Orthodox Jewish day schools, a new report from Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools found enrollment is now growing across denominations.
Within Prizmah’s network of 305 Jewish day schools, which includes 122 nondenominational schools and 153 Orthodox schools, enrollment increased from 94,008 students in the 2021-2022 school year to approximately 101,041 students in 2025-2026, marking an increase of 7,000 students, or 7.5%. In the 2025-2026 school y...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Texas creates required reading list that includes Anne Frank and the Bible - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Texas instituted on Friday the nation’s first-ever statewide K-12 required reading list for public schools. Students in public schools will soon be required to read Anne Frank’s diary and a host of Bible passages, along with other Jewish- and Holocaust-related texts.
The decision has drawn vigorous objections from some of the state’s Jews. Several local rabbis and other Jewish leaders pushed back on the proposal during the public comment period in the lead-up to the vote this week because of con...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

From Columbia protests to Democratic nominee, Avila Chevalier completes Mamdani's sweep of NYC primaries - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Progressive challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier ousted Rep. Adriano Espaillat on Tuesday night in the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District in a major upset that underscored the influence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s political movement.
The victory by Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who helped organize pro-Palestinian encampments at Columbia University, marked a stunning defeat for Espaillat, a five-term congressman and influential member of New York’s...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Trump envoy’s push to eliminate standalone Holocaust office divides Jewish leaders - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

For months, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the Trump administration’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, has worked to fold the State Department’s Holocaust envoy office into his own, a congressional source told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
That effort would absorb the State Department’s Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, which oversees U.S. policy on Holocaust-era restitution, education and remembrance, into Kaploun’s office, which focuses on combating contemporary antise...
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After 14 years ‘at war with Jews,’ an ex-antisemitic activist heads to Lakewood to explain himself - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

In July 2024, X suspended antisemitic influencer Lucas Gage for six months for making “repeated and clear calls for violence.”
This month, Gage was in Lakewood, New Jersey, explaining to two Jewish interviewers why he no longer considers himself an antisemite.
“It’s like a disease. I’m serious. It was like this compulsion and look, it comes from a justified place in some, but then it’s like what have I become honestly and it’s like I was sick of myself,” Gage told Yaakov Langer and Jake Turx on...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Trump-backed Oklahoma congressional candidate supports Israel — and says the Antichrist will be Jewish - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

A pro-Israel pastor who inveighs against “sharia law” and preaches about the Jews worshipping the Antichrist is the favored candidate in a crowded congressional primary in Oklahoma on Tuesday.
Jackson Lahmeyer, the founder of Pastors for Trump and a political activist from the Tulsa area, secured the president’s endorsement ahead of Tuesday’s primary for the state’s solidly Republican 1st District House seat. Other big GOP endorsements soon followed, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Hous...
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Thomas Massie calls for USS Liberty probe, elevating anti-Israel conspiracy theory to House floor - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie took to the House floor Monday to call for an investigation into Israel’s 1967 attack on an American spy ship, giving new prominence to a decades-old conspiracy theory that has become a touchstone for critics of Israel.
“It’s my great honor, maybe one of the biggest honors of my lifetime, to stand here on the floor and do something that’s 59 years overdue, to recognize the survivors and those who gave their lives on the USS Liberty,” Massie said. “Fifty-nine years a...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Smotrich’s surprise appearance at Israel Day Parade sparks backlash from NY and Jewish leaders - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Amid a record crowd at New York’s annual Israel Day parade on Sunday, one participant is standing out.
A growing number of city, state and Jewish leaders are denouncing the participation of Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right Israeli minister who joined the march without having been announced in advance.
“The facts: Smotrich was NOT invited. Crashed at the last minute. Marched in the back of the parade. Not one New York public official joined him,” David Greenfield, the CEO and executive director of t...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

At the Vatican with Chicago’s mayor, a rabbi gave Pope Leo a White Sox kippah - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Lizzi Heydemann didn’t plan what she was going to say to Pope Leo XIV.
But when the Chicago rabbi found herself face-to-face with the new pontiff during a Vatican visit alongside a delegation of Chicago leaders, she thanked him for the way he has spoken about the war in Gaza.
“I said, you know, it’s been a hard time over these past two years to be a rabbi, but I want to thank you for, in the midst of conflict, holding the humanity of everyone involved in the conflict,” Heydemann recounted.
Leo,...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

The mayor missed the Israel Day Parade. Many who went didn’t miss him. - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The energy was palpable Sunday as thousands packed a dozen blocks of Fifth Avenue waving Israeli flags for New York’s annual Israel Day Parade. Organizers said the turnout was the largest in the event’s six-decade history.
The procession featured its usual mix of Jewish nonprofits, schools and synagogues marching to blaring Israeli music alongside parade floats sponsored by groups including Nefesh B’Nefesh, the UJA Federation of New York and the Maccabiah Games.
But this year’s parade, which was...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

For the first time, a kosher restaurant has won a Michelin star - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

As golden confetti rained down around him Thursday, Israeli chef Raz Shabtai broke down in tears and was embraced by his cheering staff.
Moments earlier, a livestreamed Michelin ceremony had announced that his Miami restaurant, Mutra, had become the first kosher restaurant ever awarded a Michelin star, long regarded as the highest honor in the restaurant industry.
“It’s a moment of joy, it’s a moment of pride, it’s a moment of relief, it’s a moment of confirmation,” Shabtai told the Jewish Teleg...
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At Mamdani’s Shavuot gathering, Jewish allies make the case for engagement - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

More than 100 people shmoozed among trays of blintzes and cheesecake at Gracie Mansion on Monday night as Mayor Zohran Mamdani hosted a festive Shavuot celebration for Jewish supporters.
The event, billed as a “Pre-Shavuot Celebration in Honor of Jewish American Heritage Month” by Mamdani’s office, featured a large number of left-wing Jewish activists associated with the cohosts, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, New York Jewish Agenda, Bend the Arc, the Williamsburg JCC and Jewish Voice for...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Pacific Palisades Jews, displaced by fire, reopen their synagogue as part of returning home - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Sixteen months after the fires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and uprooted hundreds of Jewish families, congregants of Kehillat Israel are returning to their synagogue.
On Friday, hundreds of congregants are carrying their Torah scrolls back into the building that became a symbol of the Los Angeles neighborhood that was devastated by fire in January 2025.
While the synagogue suffered significant smoke damage from the fires, the building, constructed in 1950, remained standing, providing d...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

They posted about Jewish American Heritage Month. Then the antisemitic comments poured in. - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Emily braced herself when she posted a video of her weiner dog Sprinkles wearing a kippah and posing with a challah earlier this month to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month.
She wasn’t girding herself for the kind of “cute overload” responses that once littered online posts about adorable animals.
Instead, she was expecting exactly what happened: Her Instagram post quickly drew dozens of antisemitic comments, including one user who wrote “kike” six times and another who commented “HEIL AUS...
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Long Island school district pays $125K to settle lawsuit over erased pro-Palestinian student art - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

A Long Island school district agreed to pay a $125,000 settlement to a former student whose pro-Palestinian artwork was painted over in a high school parking lot.
The lawsuit stemmed from a September 2024 incident at Half Hollow Hills High School West, which permitted seniors to decorate their campus parking spots. A Muslim-American student, who was a senior at the time, painted a watermelon featuring a keffiyeh pattern alongside her name in Arabic and the phrase “Peace be upon you” on her space...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

As protesters swarm Brooklyn Israeli real estate expo, attendees say support mattered more than sales - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

As Leah Preiserowicz was ushered through rows of metal barriers by police officers on her way to an Israeli real estate event in Brooklyn, she had two goals in mind: to peruse the listings and to show support for the event in the face of a large pro-Palestinian protest.
“We want to support what they were doing, support the sales,” said Preiserowicz, an Orthodox Jewish Midwood resident. “Why should they scare us?”
The Israeli real estate event Monday evening at Young Israel of Midwood, an Orthodo...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

As anti-LGBTQ laws spread, these Jewish nonprofits are funding moves to safer states - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

As anti-LGBTQ legislation proliferated across the United States in late 2024, leaders at two Jewish nonprofits began discussing the mounting crisis for LGBTQ Americans who no longer felt safe in their home states but lacked the financial means to leave.
Now, some of those individuals are receiving interest-free loans to help finance their moves through “Move to Thrive,” an unusual joint initiative launched by the national LGBTQ Jewish advocacy group Keshet and the New York-based Hebrew Free Loan...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Park Slope Food Coop condemns member over 'Jewish supremacy' remark - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Days after a Park Slope Food Coop member drew backlash for declaring at a community meeting that “Jewish supremacism is a problem in this country,” the grocer’s general manager has issued a statement denouncing the remarks.
Joe Szladek, the general manager of the grocer in Brooklyn, wrote in an email to members Monday morning that the statement, as well as the applause it had received from other meeting attendees, had “not only hurt our community but attributes harmful, false characteristics to...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Her mother's prized Judaica collection is headed to a Jewish museum, thanks to a viral Instagram post - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

As Rae Ann Kaylie sat on her mother’s couch in the wake of her death, the Judaica felt overwhelming.
Over 50 menorahs adorned the shelves. A dozen seder plates had been meticulously hung alongside a trove of Jewish art on each wall. And countless dreidels, kiddush cups and shofars filled every corner of the 1,100-square-foot home in Rockville, Maryland.
There were so many hamsas hanging near the entrance, Kaylie joked, “Whoa, Mom, what on earth? Like, how much evil eye do we have in here?”
For 3...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

A synagogue helped Palestinians raise money for Gaza — and found common ground over falafel - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Six months after first sitting down with Dr. David Hasan for a meal, Rabbi Daniel Greyber returned to the table on Tuesday — this time bringing congregants from his synagogue to support Hasan’s work helping children in Gaza.
So many members of Beth El Synagogue wanted to attend the fundraiser at the Palestinian-owned Mediterranean Deli in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that the Conservative congregation asked them to sign up for shifts.
Between tables piled high with falafel and hummus, the daylon...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Influencer Myron Gaines performs Nazi salute, denies Holocaust death toll at Ohio University event - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

The influencer Myron Gaines visited Ohio University last Thursday as part of a national campus tour, performing a Nazi salute and claiming that the Holocaust’s death toll had been purposefully distorted.
Seated at a table on the campus of Ohio University wearing a hoodie that read “Let Em Cook – Oy Vey,” a meme mocking Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, Gaines greeted the students gathered with a Nazi salute before saying, “Number one, women are stupid, Jews control America and Blacks are...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Tensions flare at Passover seder over Mamdani's inclusion - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was briefly interrupted by a heckler during an appearance at a Passover seder in Manhattan Monday night, marking a tense moment that highlighted ongoing strains between the mayor and segments of the Jewish community.
“The rising tide of antisemitism has caused enormous pain for so many Jewish New Yorkers. Doors are locked that used to be open, routine subway journeys felt fraught, synagogues that once felt like sanctuaries now require armed protection,” Mamdani...
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