Grace Gilson


Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

‘We are not made of wood and paper’: Jackson synagogue marks first Shabbat after arson - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

JACKSON, Mississippi — The emotion was palpable in the pews Friday night at Beth Israel Congregation’s first Shabbat service since its synagogue was targeted by an arsonist last week.
“We will not only survive, we will thrive,” the congregation’s student rabbi and spiritual leader, Benjamin Russell, told his community. He was draped in the only surviving tallit from the synagogue’s library, where the arsonist lit the fire.
“A few days ago, someone tried to wound us, someone tried to destroy what...
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 •

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 •

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...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Zohran Mamdani makes his case to Jewish New Yorkers at Congregation Beth Elohim - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Tensions ran high Sunday afternoon at Brooklyn’s Congregation Beth Elohim, where dozens of pro-Israel protesters gathered to oppose mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani’s appearance at the synagogue.
Mamdani’s visit, his first speaking engagement at a Jewish institution since before the primary election, was billed to the Reform synagogue’s congregants as an opportunity to hear directly from the candidate that has drawn condemnation from some Jewish New Yorkers for his sharp stances against Israel...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

NYC rabbi who spurred anti-Mamdani push turns his criticism toward Jews and Israel at Zionist gathering - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

In the lead-up to New York City’s mayoral election last month, Elliot Cosgrove emerged as one of the most outspoken rabbinic critics of Zohran Mamdani, the anti-Zionist activist who is now the mayor-elect.
On Monday, speaking to a convention of Zionists, Cosgrove turned his critique toward U.S. Jews, saying that supporters of Israel “shouldn’t be surprised” by Mamdani’s roughly 33% tally among Jewish voters.
“For a liberal Zionist disillusioned by the Israeli government, Mamdani’s anti-Zionism i...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

As a YouTuber targets Orthodox communities, the right wrestles with its antisemitism problem - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Richard Roberts had a pretty good idea what kind of video Tyler Oliveira was planning to make about Lakewood, his heavily Orthodox town in New Jersey.
After learning of Oliveira’s planned trip, Roberts, a prominent and wealthy Lakewood resident, watched Oliveira’s recent upload, “Inside the New York Town Invaded by Welfare-Addicted Jews…,” in which the YouTube provocateur toured Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic enclave in upstate New York. The portrayal, which garnered nearly 5 million views, was widely c...
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 •

At the BBYO International Convention, Jewish teens demand a seat at the table - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Standing before thousands of teens packed into the BBYO International Convention Saturday night in Philadelphia, Leo Coen and Raquel Rogoff unveiled the culmination of days of collaboration with their peers: a resolution meant to shape not just the next year of Jewish advocacy, but who gets to define it.
“People often say that we are the future of the Jewish people, but BBYO has never waited its turn,” said Coen as his voice echoed through the cavernous event hall. “This resolution claims our se...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Before his death, Charlie Kirk told Netanyahu that Israel faced a '5-alarm fire' over PR strategy - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Prior to his death, slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning the leader that Israel was losing support within the “conservative MAGA community” and exhorting him to do a better of job of making Israel’s case to the world.
Netanyahu teased the existence of a supportive letter from Kirk soon after the Turning Point USA co-founder’s assassination in Utah earlier this month. Now, the New York Post has obtained and published the lette...
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 •

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 •

A betrayal or politics as usual? A state rep's endorsement of Zohran Mamdani roils Orthodox rabbis on the Upper West Side - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Last Friday, a group of around six Orthodox rabbis called New York City Assembly member Micah Lasher for a conversation about the then-presumptive Democratic nominee in the city’s mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani.
The call centered on concerns the rabbis and their communities had with a candidate who had refused to condemn the pro-Palestinian slogan “globalize the intifada” and also supported the boycott Israel movement.
According to one of the rabbis on the call, Shaul Robinson of Lincoln Square Sy...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Jan. 6 protester Jake Lang renounced his Judaism to court the far right. It isn’t working. - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jake Lang has burned a copy of the Talmud, performed a Nazi salute outside AIPAC’s headquarters and repeatedly declared that “Christ is King.”
But those antisemitic displays have not earned him an in with his fellow far-right personalities. Instead, after Lang’s anti-Muslim rally in New York City earlier this month was derailed by bomb-throwing counterprotesters, they ramped up a campaign against him.
“This f—cking r—tard larping as a white Christian is jewish,” wrote social media personality Da...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

At the Jewish Museum of Chicago, anti-Zionist Jewish artists explore identity and dissent - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Returning to Chicago from an artist residency in Maine, Gabriel Chalfin-Piney-González surveyed the local Jewish museum scene and found it wanting.
“When I came back to Chicago, I wanted to get involved with the ‘Jewish Museum of Chicago,’ and, you know, lo and behold, it doesn’t exist,” said Chalfin-Piney-González, who uses they/them pronouns. “I found that kind of strange.”
So Chalfin-Piney-González set about creating the museum they dreamed of — a cultural center without walls that would offe...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’ - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Deborah Lipstadt, President Joe Biden’s antisemitism envoy, says parts of the Trump administration’s crackdown on campus antisemitism have “gone way too far.”
In an interview, she declined to comment on specific cases that have unfolded since the White House began cracking down on pro-Palestinian student activists. But she denounced the conditions under which some of the arrests have taken place.
“I think it’s wrong, absolutely wrong and contrary to American due process, to just pick someone up...
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...
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 •

Charlie Kirk, conservative activist who considered himself a defender of Jews and Israel, is dead at 31 - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who through more than a decade in public life expressed staunch support for Israel while at times being accused of antisemitism, is dead at 31.
He was fatally shot while speaking at a Utah university in front of a crowd of roughly 1,000.
Kirk was the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, an influential youth organization in conservative politics. Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, he founded the group at 18 after dropping out of college. Over th...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Jewish students, alumni decry ‘weaponization of antisemitism’ across country - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Dozens of rabbis and cantors who graduated from Brown University have a message for their alma mater’s president: “Do not cede control to those who weaponize antisemitism.”
Their message comes in an open letter to President Christina Paxson as she weighs how to respond to a $500 million funding cut threatened by the Trump administration, ostensibly over Brown’s handling of antisemitism on campus.
Brown is one of a growing number of universities, many of them in the Ivy League, to be threatened w...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

Dozens of Northwestern students face penalties for boycotting required antisemitism training video - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

After the Guardian reported on Sunday that hundreds of Northwestern University students were being blocked from classes after they refused to watch an antisemitism training video, the school offered a clarification on Monday: The real number of students penalized is less than three dozen.
But other elements of the story remain unchanged: The students are boycotting the video over what they allege is “biased” content in the video that the university began requiring this year in response to antise...
Jewish Telegraphic Agency •

From ‘October 8’ to ‘The Encampments,’ these new documentaries illuminate the post-Oct. 7 American experience - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

A host of new documentaries are showcasing a wide array of experiences stemming from Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and its aftermath, particularly in the United States.
Three of the movies — including one in wide release — interview Jewish Americans about their experience with antisemitism on campus and beyond.
Another documentary takes cameras inside the pro-Palestinian student encampments last spring. It features as a narrator one protester who has become a symbol of President Donald T...
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 •

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...
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