News

Jesse Wilks had a bar mitzvah — just not a religious one.

His parents raised him in a secular home in New York City but still instilled him with a strong sense of Jewish identity. His mother — who worked for the Workers Circle and is now on the editorial board of the left-wing Jewish Currents magazine — hosted holiday dinners, minus the religious prayers. Instead of attending Hebrew school at a synagogue, Wilks grew up going to a “shule,” or non-religious school that taught him Yiddish.

RAANANA, Israel  — When Thiago Benzecry left his home in Brazil’s Amazon region to join the Israeli navy, he knew he was putting significant distance between himself and his family, in more ways than one.

(JNS) Two people were killed on Sunday evening during prayers at an unfinished synagogue in the town of Givat Ze’ev, near Jerusalem.

Dozens of American rabbinical students have issued a public letter accusing Israel of apartheid and calling on American Jewish communities to hold Israel accountable for the “violent suppression of human rights.”

BERLIN (JTA) — Following a spate of anti-Israel protests across Germany tied to the ongoing Israel-Gaza violence, political leaders here have vowed to crack down on demonstrators who have used antisemitic rhetoric and have attacked Jewish institutions.

Climate change is a hot topic for Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy’s juniors and seniors, and they’re getting hands-on at the local level. The project is part of an annual social justice initiative the school has done in the past alongside University Academy.

Meet America’s Jews: They’re older, more educated, richer and less religious, on average, than the rest of the country.

Big Slick, the celebrity fundraiser that’s raised more than $12 million for Children’s Mercy Hospital, will return this June as a virtual celebrity variety show. It will be hosted by KC and area natives Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Rob Riggle, Eric Stonestreet and David Koechner. Rudd, who is Jewish, is one of the founders of Big Slick, along with fellow Shawnee Mission West alumni Riggle and Sudeikis.

Cosentino’s Price Chopper stores are continuing to partner with Jewish Family Services and the community to help feed the hungry in Kansas City.

BBYO Kansas City recently elected its 2021-2022 Council. Named to the board, and their roles, are: Emma Jacobson (n’siah), Quinn Koffman (godol), Emma Sandler (MIT mom), Aaron Yurman (shaliach) and Ellie Goldberg (mazkirah).