Asaf Elia-Shalev

Sam Bankman-Fried testifies during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, December 8, 2021 (Alex Wong/Getty Images via JTA)

December 7, 2022, 5:01 am

Will synagogues shun ‘effective altruism’ movement after Sam Bankman-Fried scandal?

Maximum-impact giving to save lives in the developing world has caught on among Reform Jews in particular, but the scandal involving one high-profile supporter is tainting optics

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

Reform and Conservative Jewish leaders at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2016. (Courtesy Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism)

November 11, 2022, 10:48 pm

$2.3 million plan to improve ties with non-Orthodox Jews uncertain after election

Watchdog reveals existence of plan to bring American youth to Israel and hold communal events in the US, without any apparent reference to issues driving disconnect

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

Hoboken Police officers stand watch outside the United Synagogue of Hoboken, in Hoboken, New Jersey, Nov. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Ryan Kryska)

November 11, 2022, 5:15 am

New Jersey teen charged after threatening synagogue attack in Islamist manifesto

FBI says Omar Alkattoul, 18, pledged allegiance to Islamic State leader, researched previous mass shootings and wrote as if he had already attacked a synagogue

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving looks out during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, in New York. (AP/Jessie Alcheh)

November 8, 2022, 7:04 am

Amazon under pressure to remove antisemitic film promoted by Irving as sales soar

ADL, American Jewish Committee call on company to take action against movie shared on social media by NBA player after it becomes site’s top-selling documentary

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

The building housing the Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque and the Jewish Federation of New Mexico (Courtesy of the JCC/ via JTA)

November 5, 2022, 3:12 am

New Mexico’s cash-strapped, lawsuit-plagued Jewish federation announces dissolution

After years of legal and boardroom battles, the organization’s new president calls for an ‘orderly shutdown,’ while JFNA CEO Eric Fingerhut promises to rebuild

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

The Twitter app is seen on a digital device, Monday, April 25, 2022, in San Diego. (AP/Gregory Bull)

October 29, 2022, 6:18 am

‘Now that Elon is taking over’: Antisemites emboldened as Musk arrives at Twitter

Online extremists say new ownership of platform will enable ‘maximum chaos,’ organize hashtag for antisemitic content

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

Chinese censors did not allow a local company to print copies of 'The Queen of Cleveland' for American publisher Hasidic Archives. (Book cover image courtesy of Hasidic Archives/ via JTA)

October 9, 2022, 3:03 am

Chinese censors ban the printing of Hasidic woman’s memoir for a US publisher

Citing ‘anti-Communist’ content, authorities won’t let locals print ‘The Queen of Cleveland,’ Shula Kazen’s story of surviving the Iron Curtain, even though it would be sold abroad

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights (Courtesty via JTA)

September 23, 2022, 6:46 am

Jewish think tank to counter conservative ideas, provide forum for Israel critics

Progressive leaders’ new Emor Institute for Bold Jewish Thought aims to influence discourse and US policy on racism, immigration and LGBTQ rights, boost scholars critical of Israel

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

September 19, 2022, 11:54 pm

New Mexico Jewish federation on brink of collapse with no staff or funding

Board discussing dissolution of 74-year-old institution that serves 24,000 Jews, due to resignations, lawsuits and flight of longtime donors

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

An estimated 400,000 Israelis demonstrate in the center of Tel Aviv to protest against rising housing prices and social inequalities in the Jewish state, September 3, 2011. (Jack Guez/AFP)

September 10, 2022, 11:35 am

Inequality between Israel’s Mizrahi, Ashkenazi Jews to be measured in new statistics

New policy will make it possible to learn far more than is currently known about gaps in wealth, education and other factors between Jews of different ethnicities

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

Flames burn near the Klamath River during the McKinney Fire in the Klamath National Forest northwest of Yreka, California, July 31, 2022. (David McNew/AFP)

August 13, 2022, 6:54 am

With climate bill passed, Democrats deliver on top policy concern for American Jews

While not often pegged as a Jewish issue, US community overwhelmingly considers climate change a priority for politicians, polls show

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

Illustrative photograph of drilling oil on land. (bashta, iStock at Getty Images)

August 7, 2022, 2:58 am

How US Jewish philanthropies sprung from oil fortunes are handling climate change

At least a dozen major dynasties have been involved in the fossil fuel industry, and they follow diverse giving patterns when it comes to environmental causes

By Asaf Elia-Shalev

Financier and philanthropist Michael Steinhardt attends the Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala at the Marriott Marquis on May 5, 2016, in New York. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

August 5, 2022, 12:18 am

Beleaguered Birthright founder Michael Steinhardt resigns from NYU board

Prominent donor to Jewish causes steps down after being accused of illegally trafficking in plundered artifacts and of sexual harassment

By Asaf Elia-Shalev