Asaf Shalev

A view of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, March 17, 2020. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images/JTA)

September 4, 2021, 8:53 am

National Museum of American Jewish History emerges from bankruptcy

Former trustee buys museum building and leases it back for a nominal monthly rent of $1,000

By Asaf Shalev

Fritz Berggren appears in a holiday video shared by the US Department of Defense in 2018. (Department of Defense via JTA)

September 2, 2021, 2:43 pm

70 State Department employees demand Blinken fire antisemitic worker

Fritz Berggren has been a mid-level civil servant since 2009; the blog under his own name spreads white nationalist and antisemitic content

By Asaf Shalev

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, people line up for food and ice at a distribution center September 1, 2021, in New Orleans, Louisiana. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

September 2, 2021, 4:44 am

Scattered by Hurricane Ida, New Orleans Jews struggle ahead of High Holidays

While many fled the city, those who remained are faced with long periods without power and air conditioning amid sweltering heat; several services will again be held over Zoom

By Asaf Shalev

Illustrative: The Ramaz School’s Morris and Ida Newman Education Center in New York City. (Manhattan Sideways via JTA)

August 30, 2021, 11:17 pm

NY Jewish institutions hit with 150 child sex abuse lawsuits since 2019

Claims were filed after Child Victims Act opened up a two-year window for abuse survivors to seek redress for incidents that otherwise fell outside of the statute of limitations

By Asaf Shalev and Ella Rockart

From left to right: Former Supreme Court Judges Miriam Naor and Esther Hayut; co-founder and chairman of Genesis Prize Foundation Stan Polovets; Supreme Court Justice and Genesis Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and former presidents of Israeli Supreme Court Aaron Barak and Dorit Beinich, at the Genesis Award ceremony in Tel Aviv, July 4, 2018. (Eran Lamm/Lens Productions)

August 20, 2021, 2:44 am

Grant in RBG’s honor funds report on gender gap among Jewish leaders

Survey, which received money as part of Genesis Prize won by the late US Supreme Court justice, finds relatively few women heading Jewish groups, calls to boost numbers

By Asaf Shalev

Top left, clockwise, Gage Gorsky, Dalya Perez, Ari Kelman, Tobin Belzer, Vincent Calvetti and Tory Brundage. (Courtesy)

August 13, 2021, 3:50 am

New major US study on Jews of color highlights experiences of discrimination

Research shows people often face casual racism, interrogations or simply being ignored in communal settings; some hope new data will serve as a watershed moment

By Asaf Shalev

Rabbi Mary Zamore, the executive director of the Women's Rabbinic Network (Steve Shawl via JTA)

August 12, 2021, 4:11 am

Reform movement probing itself over history of bungling sex abuse allegations

Denomination’s seminary, rabbinical association and synagogue network each hire different law firms to investigate cases of harassment and abuse to better ensure accountability

By Asaf Shalev

The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, photographed on October 17, 1934, is superimposed with an image of a page from a manuscript of a Tiberias rabbi who traveled to Europe on a fundraising mission in 1807. (MCNY/Gottscho-Schleisner/Getty Images/ via JTA)

August 5, 2021, 5:19 am

A NY Jewish library’s treasure surfaces at online auction. How did it get there?

The Jewish Theological Seminary’s quiet sale of a 200-year-old travelogue from the Holy Land raises questions about what responsibilities private libraries have to the wider public

By Asaf Shalev

Steven Berghuis of the Netherlands during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Group C match between North Macedonia National Team and Netherlands National Team at Johan Cruijff Arena in in Amsterdam, Netherlands on June 21, 2021. (Marcel ter Bals/BSR Agency/Getty Images via JTA)

July 29, 2021, 12:45 pm

Antisemitic mural drawn of Dutch soccer star after he signs with ‘Jewish’ team

Steven Berghuis transfers to his team’s rival, Ajax, known for Jewish fanbase; player depicted with enlarged nose, kippah and concentration camp garb

By Asaf Shalev

Members of the Jewish community hold a protest against Britain's opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and anti-Semitism in the Labour party, outside the British Houses of Parliament in central London on March 26, 2018. (AFP Photo/Tolga Akmen)

July 22, 2021, 9:00 am

UK Labour bans far-left factions in effort to change reputation on antisemitism

Four groups known for their support of ex- party leader Corbyn are accused of downplaying claims of antisemitism and condoning inappropriate comments by party members

By Asaf Shalev

After being arrested on federal corruption charges, Murray Huberfeld, the founder of a New York-based hedge fund Platinum Partners LP, leaving United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City, June 8, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images via JTA)

June 24, 2021, 6:27 am

Jewish philanthropist and former hedge fund exec gets 7 months in NYC bribe case

Murray Huberfeld, 60, convicted of paying head of prison guard union to funnel $20 million in union members’ retirement money to his hedge fund

By Asaf Shalev

Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster spent a decade with the human rights group T’ruah, including years advocating on behalf of farmworkers. Earlier this year, she left to become the executive vice president of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. (Courtesy of Kahn-Troster/ via JTA)

June 21, 2021, 3:20 am

Rabbi wants US Jews to be more involved in boardroom battles for social justice

Executive VP of the ICCR, a group of 300 institutions controlling $4 trillion in assets, Rachel Kahn-Troster says the Jewish community can pressure companies to act more ethically

By Asaf Shalev

Ice cream moves along the production line at Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, in Waterbury, Vermont. on March 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot/File)

June 18, 2021, 5:54 am

Did Ben & Jerry’s stop using social media due to pro-Palestinian activism?

While the ice cream company founded by two Jewish hippies usually puts up some pretty sweet posts, its accounts have been eerily quiet since last month’s Israel-Gaza flare-up

By Asaf Shalev

In this March 4, 2018, file photo, MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

June 16, 2021, 2:59 pm

MacKenzie Scott donates to Jewish charities in US, South Africa

Ex-wife of Amazon’s Bezos gives funding to HIAS, Repair the World and Afrika Tikkun as part of her latest $2.74 billion round of high-profile philanthropy

By Asaf Shalev

A Jewish demonstrator holds a sign as part of social justice protests following the death of George Floyd. (Courtesy of Sumekh/ via JTA)

June 15, 2021, 4:17 am

The US Jewish communal response to George Floyd’s murder, 1 year later

While many Jews of color see an enthusiastic embrace of efforts to spur diversity and change, only time will tell whether these commitments endure

By Asaf Shalev