Ben Sales
June 6, 2019, 8:52 pm
Chicago-area high school pulls support for teacher training on Palestine
Members of the Jewish community call it one sided
By Ben Sales
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro addresses a Stand Against Hate rally at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, March 2, 2017. (Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)
August 30, 2018, 5:19 pm
Josh Shapiro is leading the charge against Catholic clergy abuse in Pennsylvania
As the national and even global spotlight has swung his way, Shapiro spends his time at the Jewish day school giving lectures or watching his kids play soccer and basketball.
By Ben Sales
Ronald Lauder speaking next to a lit menorah at a memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Poland, April 19, 2018. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
August 24, 2018, 7:51 am
Lauder helped make Netanyahu prime minister, but now publicly opposes him
In two recent op-eds in the New York Times, Lauder wrote that Israel's turn to the nationalist right is betraying its commitment to democratic, humanistic ideals.
By Ben Sales
Simone Zimmerman, a leftist activist, lives in Israel on a work visa. (Photo courtesy of Simone Zimmerman)
August 17, 2018, 9:52 am
Left-wing activists claim that Israel is trying to intimidate them at border
Israeli officials say the questioning is a matter of security, but left-wing groups worry it could mean the beginning of interrogation of people who are critical of the government.
By Ben Sales
A Palestinian man walks by Israeli troops standing guard in the West Bank city of Hebron. (Photo by Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
August 3, 2018, 8:27 am
Counter to IfNotNow narrative, Birthright guides do talk about the Palestinians
Recent protests over what activists call Birthright's silence on Israel's occupation have sparked debate about the group's responsibility. Tour guides say debate is unnecessary.
By Ben Sales
Meyer Koplow, left, accepts an award from the American Friends of The Hebrew University in 2016. (Photo screenshot from YouTube)
July 27, 2018, 9:43 am
Philanthropist questioned by Israeli security after visiting Palestinian areas
Meyer Koplow, a longtime donor to pro-Israel causes, believes he was called for questioning after airport security found a brochure in his luggage titled "This Week in Palestine."
By Ben Sales
Ronaldo and Bernadette Lopez, who arrived in Israel in 2003, now run a Filipino restaurant and converted to Judaism in April. (Photo by Ben Sales)
July 12, 2018, 3:17 pm
Filipino guest workers come to Israel — and decide to embrace Judaism
While many Filipinos who come to Israel tend to stay culturally isolated, Ronaldo and Bernadette Lopez took a major step that deviated from fellow expatriates: they converted.
By Ben Sales
The Shapiro family in Yokohama in 1941. (Photo courtesy of Isaac Shapiro)
July 5, 2018, 4:46 pm
This Jewish man survived World War II — in Axis-era Japan
Countless Jews have harrowing stories of growing up under the terror of Nazi rule, but Isaac Shapiro has a different tale — he was one of the few Jews living in Japan at the time.
By Ben Sales
Alma Hernandez, a Mexican-American Jew and daughter of immigrants, is running for the Arizona House of Representatives and founded a progressive Jewish group in Tucson. (Photo courtesy of Alma Hernandez)
June 28, 2018, 3:35 pm
Meet the Mexican-American Jewish woman running for office on the southern border
If she wins, she will be the first Hispanic Jewish woman to hold elected office in the state. For Alma Hernandez, many of the political issues are personal.
By Ben Sales
Michael Chabon speaking at The New Yorker Festival in New York, Oct. 10, 2014. (Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for The New Yorker Festival)
June 15, 2018, 11:14 am
Michael Chabon attacks Jewish inmarriage in speech to rabbinical students
Novelist Michael Chabon delivered a diatribe against Jewish inmarriage, as well as Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, in a commencement speech to newly ordained Reform rabbis.
By Ben Sales
Lionel Messi, left, and Gonzalo Higuain of Argentina playing against the United States during the 2016 Copa America Centenario in Houston. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
June 15, 2018, 9:04 am
Argentina’s canceled soccer game causes shockwaves in Israel
Israelis are outraged — and split on who is to blame. Some say it's pressure from the BDS movement, and others say its the Israeli government's attempts to politicize the game.
By Ben Sales
Participants in a camp counselor training by IfNotNow in Boston, May 27, 2018. (Photo courtesy of IfNotNow)
June 7, 2018, 3:17 pm
Some Jewish camp counselors want to teach kids about ‘the occupation’
At a recent training in Boston, a dozen counselors from eight camps gathered to talk about how to present both sides of the conflict, rather than solely a pro-Israel line.
By Ben Sales
The headquarters of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is located in Jerusalem. (Photo courtesy of Flash90)
June 5, 2018, 12:50 pm
Israel’s conversion laws are about to get stricter
If adopted, some activists in Israel say, the new guidelines for religious courts could drive a deeper wedge between Israel and Diaspora Jewry.
By Ben Sales
A newly hung sign pointing to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, which was inaugurated on May 14, 2018. (Photo by Ben Sales)
May 15, 2018, 11:04 am
Neighbors of new US embassy in Jerusalem are worried — about traffic, rent
In Arnona, the neighborhood surrounding the embassy, residents sounded unconcerned by the embassy’s historical significance, and unruffled about its potential to spark riots.
By Ben Sales
A man seen at the entrance to a bomb shelter that was open in the Golan Heights, in northern Israel, May 8, 2018. (Photo by Basel Awidat/Flash90)
May 10, 2018, 2:56 pm
Amid renewed talk of war, Israelis are keeping calm and carrying on
After the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal Tuesday, Israel warned its citizens in the north to prepare for a possible conflict.
By Ben Sales
Load More