Diaspora

Israel launches gov't initiative to bring home, reunite Bnei Menashe community

DIASPORA AFFAIRS: Under the government-led effort, Bnei Menashe families receive comprehensive support to facilitate their integration, with guidance from social workers and community mentors.

|ByBATSHEVA SHULMAN
THE KHONGSAI family in front of their sukkah, one of the families in Kibbutz Maoz Tzur. The kibbutz is home to more than 100 people across 21 families and is largely self-sustaining through basic farming, with residents maintaining Jewish traditions while awaiting their journey to Israel.
A staff member assists a resident of the Sinai Residences in Boca Raton, Florida, on June 6, 2025.

Jewish seniors rally behind their caregivers as 350,000 Haitians are set to lose legal status

At Sinai Residences in Boca Raton, Florida, for example, 9% of staff members are Haitians with Temporary Protected Status, and they won’t be able to work after Tuesday.

|ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaks at Pennsylvania Department of State’s press briefing, after polls close, on the day of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Josh Shapiro’s new memoir puts his Jewish identity at the center of his political vision

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro asserts that Judaism is not a sidebar to his public life, but one of its central organizing principles.

|ByANDREW SILOW-CARROLL/JTA
Congressional challenger Jose Vega, left, tells anti-Israel influencer Erik Warsaw that Rep. Ritchie Torres is controlled by "Zionist influencers and millionaires" living in Riverdale, a heavily Jewish Bronx neighborhood.

Ritchie Torres challenger takes aim at Bronx 'Zionist millionaires' in campaign video

Political organizer Jose Vega claimed Ritchie Torres was "bought and controlled by Zionist influencers and millionaires" in a new congressional campaign video.

|ByJOSEPH STRAUSS/JTA

Uncomfortable truth behind being a Diaspora Jew today - opinion

A stark look at the comfort, denial, and growing danger facing Jews abroad and the hard choices history keeps demanding from Jews.

JANUARY 17, 2026BySTEWART WEISS
An aerial view of emergency personnel working at the scene of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, December 14, 2025, in this screen grab from a video.

Larry Ellison once renamed a superyacht because its name spelled backwards was ‘I’m a Nazi’

“Izanami and Izanagi are the names of the two Shinto deities that gave birth to the Japanese islands, or so legend has it,” Larry Ellison said, before renaming the boat Ronin and later selling it.

JANUARY 17, 2026ByJACKIE HAJDENBERG/JTA
Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison speaks during a news conference with US President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Alex Bregman, who drew a Jewish star on his cap after October 7, inks $175M deal with the Cubs

Bregman's contract with the Chicago Cubs is the second-largest contract ever signed by a Jewish ballplayer, behind Max Fried’s $218 million contract in 2024.

JANUARY 17, 2026ByJACOB GURVIS/JTA
Alex Bregman meets the media during his first press conference after signing with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on January 15, 2026.

New Israel Fund's Gitzin: Defending democracy amid growing division

Mickey Gitzin takes the helm of NIF during a turbulent time in Israel, balancing the pursuit of democracy, equality, and a vision for a peaceful future amid rising political tension.

JANUARY 16, 2026ByANDREW SILOW-CARROLL/JTA
"We're there to push the mainstream, but in order to push the mainstream, you need to be in touch with the mainstream," said Mickey Gitzin, the interim CEO of the New Israel Fund.

What a German-Jewish scholar can tell us about pro-Mamdani Jews today

DIASPORA AFFAIRS: The parallels between 1920s Munich and New York (and other places around the US and the world) are glaringly obvious and ominous.

JANUARY 16, 2026ByHANNAH BROWN
‘WHAT I do think is highly likely is that Jews who are “visibly Jewish” will be the ones to pay the price for the normalization of antisemitism and the demonization of Zionism in New York.’ Here, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani attends a news conference at NYPD headquarters earlier this month.

Shabbat candle lighting times for Israel and US

See Shabbat times for your area.

JANUARY 16, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Shabbat candles

Tulsa’s Jewish community pushes back on Oklahoma Jewish charter school proposal

“To bypass community consultation in favor of an externally driven initiative is a serious error,” the community stated.

JANUARY 16, 2026ByASAF ELIA-SHALEV/JTA
Peter Deutsch, founder of the Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation, addresses the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board on Jan. 12, 2026, in Oklahoma City.

Editor's Notes: Future of Jewish Diaspora should follow spirit of 'October 8 Jewry'

For world Jewry, October 7, 2023, was that violent intrusion. The worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. What followed on October 8 was something nobody predicted: a mass awakening.

JANUARY 16, 2026ByZVIKA KLEIN
‘WHAT ARE the effects, in Israel, in the US, and the rest of the world, of the perceived opinions of American Jewry?’

Yaara Bank-Plotkin highlights diaspora support for IDF at Jerusalem Post Miami Summit

“Our Miami community may be far from the battlefield, but with organizations like Operation Israel and Belev Echad, our impact can be felt every step of the way”.

JANUARY 15, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Ya'ara Bank-Plotkin , Philanthropist

'We must unite with our Christian brothers and sisters': Flicker on the next front

Public diplomacy, online influence, and the surge in antisemitism took center stage at the 2026 Jerusalem Post Miami Conference.

JANUARY 15, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Abraham Accords advocate Loay Alshareef, influencer Sigi Flicker, US Justice Department Task Force to Combat Antisemitism head Leo Terrell, and community leader Natalie Hister Ostad in a discussion moderated by Jerusalem Post content strategist Inbal Ann Bouskila.