News

(Nov. 26, 2024 / JNS) U.S. President Joe Biden announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati had agreed to a U.S.-negotiated ceasefire deal on Tuesday.

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominations of prominent Israel supporters Pete Hegseth, Rep. Elise Stefanik, and Mike Huckabee respectively as Defense Secretary, US Ambassador to the UN, and US Ambassador to Israel, brought out cheers among my colleagues at this newspaper. They are familiar faces that we’ve seen at pro-Israel fundraising dinners, on missions to Israel, and in the news.

On Thursday night, every Jewish WhatsApp group lit up with horrific videos coming out of Amsterdam.  A roving mob of Arabs carried out a coordinated attack on Jews in what amounted to a pogrom.  This was eerily timed around the anniversary of Kristallnacht and is a shocking reminder of Europe’s dark history and its fragile present. 

The best-known photo of Theodor Herzl shows him learning on a hotel balcony in Basel, where he organized the First Zionist Congress in 1897. That shot became part of Jewish popular culture, appearing in mosaics, puzzles, carpets, and a flag flying on the side entrance at Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side. The flag serves as an introduction to All About Herzl, an exhibit on his lasting image and impact at the temple’s Bernard Museum.

In what has been viewed as an Israeli political earthquake 13 months after the heinous October 7 terror assault, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on November 5 after months of disagreements over domestic politics, and even for severe arguments over the execution of the war.

As Jewish communities worldwide watched in horror as the events of October 7 unfolded in Israel, many felt a desperate need to help. While numerous organizations sprang up overnight to support Israel’s soldiers, one organization had already been doing this vital work for nearly two decades: Yashar LaChayal.