Matt Lebovic

Jack Kulbersh lights a menorah (Courtesy: Project Menorah)

December 7, 2023, 8:18 pm

Dad launches ‘Project Menorah’ to support Jews fearful of displaying Hanukkah lights

To combat antisemitism, a Los Angeles-based grassroots initiative invites the non-Jewish public to print and display images of menorahs for passersby to see during the festival

By Matt Lebovic

December 5, 2023, 1:54 am

Near the Gaza border, Israeli sculptor turns Hamas ‘swords into plowshares’

After surviving the terrorist massacre at his moshav on Oct. 7, Israeli blacksmith Yaron Bob has brought his renowned pro-peace Rockets into Roses project to US communities

By Matt Lebovic

Scene from the rock musical 'RISE' (Photo: Lou Schneider)

November 30, 2023, 11:00 am

With Israel at war, rock musical on Holocaust resisters to ‘test-run’ in Tel Aviv

Playwright Joshua Hershfield will stage a reading of ‘RISE’ on Thursday as pilot for Israeli production of musical based on female couriers who planned ghetto revolts

By Matt Lebovic

Ed Wallack outside his home near Boston (Courtesy)

November 28, 2023, 3:55 pm

Grass is not greener: Thousands of pro-Israel lawn signs stolen across US since Oct. 7

Upstart activists are manufacturing hundreds of placards daily, but nighttime raids by anti-Israel vandals put a dent in the effort, local police reports show

By Matt Lebovic

Illstrative: A hand-drawn swastika is seen on the front of Union Station near the Capitol in Washington, January 28, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

November 21, 2023, 1:32 am

Antisemitic incidents surged globally since Oct. 7 but most aren’t reported. Here’s why

Up to 79% of antisemitic harassment is never divulged, according to experts who weigh in on ‘obstacles’ that deter Jewish victims – especially youth – from speaking out

By Matt Lebovic

On the morning after Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass," local residents watch as the synagogue in Ober-Ramstadt, Germany, is destroyed by fire in 1938. (CNS photo/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

November 8, 2023, 4:53 pm

With antisemitism surging, Diaspora synagogues are ‘afraid’ to mark Kristallnacht

As Holocaust survivors reflect on Oct. 7 and the ‘global pogrom’ during Israel’s war with Hamas, some Jewish communities avoid commemorating 85 years to the Night of Broken Glass

By Matt Lebovic

Peter Tsadilas, owner of The Golden Dolphin in Huntington, NY (photo: Terri Wortzman Ackerman/Facebook)

November 8, 2023, 2:16 am

Boycotted for supporting the Jewish state, US eateries are rescued by Israel supporters

After creating a window display with dozens of ‘Kidnapped’ posters, a Long Island diner saw a dip of 40% in sales; word got out and now business is booming

By Matt Lebovic

Students at 'The Salad Trail' in southern Israel. (Chabad at University of Central Florida)

November 6, 2023, 10:34 pm

Birthright invites alumni to volunteer in harvesting abandoned fields

The largest organizer of educational trips to Israel activates 850,000 alumni with a framework to serve citizens of war-torn Israel on the ground — quite literally

By Matt Lebovic

Franciscan University in Ohio. (Courtesy)

November 6, 2023, 3:58 pm

US Catholic universities offer campuses as refuge for ‘harassed’ Jewish students

Yeshiva University quietly builds coalition of institutions willing to expedite transfer processes for Jewish students fleeing antisemitism at colleges since Oct. 7 Hamas massacres

By Matt Lebovic

November 5, 2023, 12:49 am

Carefully constructed misinformation videos boost viral anti-Israel TikTok presence

Can using Taylor Swift songs help pro-Israel creators win over Gen-Z and escape ‘swarms’ of haters while bypassing TikTok’s ‘mysterious’ – and allegedly biased – platform algorithm?

By Matt Lebovic

Jewish Agency teen volunteers serve Diaspora communities around the world (Courtesy)

November 1, 2023, 1:02 am

Far from home, Israeli teen envoys in Diaspora show Israeli grit and resilience

While dealing with grief, guilt and worry for Israel’s future, the Jewish Agency’s post-high school ambassadors are on the frontlines of the war for public opinion

By Matt Lebovic

Illustrative: Palestinians hold a kite adorned with a swastika that is carrying a bomb near the border with Israel east of Gaza City, on April 20, 2018. (AFP Photo/Mohammed Abed)

October 29, 2023, 1:01 am

Holocaust scholars weigh in on politicians’ comparisons of Hamas to Nazis

US President Biden’s remarks in Tel Aviv stirred emotions, in part for his ‘connection’ of the October 7 massacres with scope of Jewish history. Is it a fair analogy?

By Matt Lebovic

Dr. Micah Goodman delivers his acceptance speech for the 2014 Marc and Henia Liebhaber Prize for Religious Tolerance. (courtesy)

October 20, 2023, 11:42 am

After ToI podcast, US rabbis weigh thinker’s call for ‘vows’ to support Israel at war

Israeli author Micah Goodman wants US rabbis to take an oath in front of their congregations. While some leaders are on board, others say the gesture is redundant

By Matt Lebovic

The Clarity team includes CEO Michael Matias (left); Dr. Natalie Fridman, chief technology officer, and Gil Avriel, chief strategy officer (courtesy)

October 18, 2023, 3:55 pm

These Israelis are fighting Hamas on the war’s emerging ‘deepfake’ cyberfront

Generated by artificial intelligence, false footage of the Israel-Gaza war has been inundating media outlets around the world since the October 7 Hamas massacres

By Matt Lebovic

Candlelight Vigil for Israel at East Northport Jewish Center on Long Island, New York, October 12, 2023 (Wayne Rivera/Church Unleashed)

October 14, 2023, 10:36 pm

On Long Island, Jews put communal squabbles aside to ‘light up this darkness together’

The suburban region’s Jewish denominations, often at odds with each other, unite to mourn the over 1,300 Israelis murdered in last weekend’s Hamas massacres

By Matt Lebovic