PHILISSA CRAMER

Nick Fuentes, far-right activist, holds a rally at the Lansing Capitol, in Lansing, Michigan, November 11, 2020. (Nicole Hester/ Ann Arbor News via AP)

January 25, 2023, 6:39 pm

Holocaust denier Fuentes reinstated to Twitter, then banned again within 24 hours

White supremacist who met with Donald Trump last year posts tweets about the US ‘Zionist Occupied Government,’ praises Hitler, during brief return to platform

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Rabbi Mordechai Bald and his wife, Sara, have distributed thousands of boxes of supplies to Jewish refugees from around Ukraine in Lviv – boxes of empty products that they have given out lie around outside the synagogue. (Jacob Judah/ JTA)

January 12, 2023, 4:13 pm

This year’s ‘Jewish Nobel’ is a group prize, going to Jewish activists in Ukraine

Though the $1 million Genesis Prize typically is awarded to an individual, ‘the extraordinary nature of events’ this year will see it go to NGOs ‘helping to alleviate suffering’

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Steven Spielberg poses in the press room with awards for best director of an motion picture and best motion picture drama for "The Fabelmans" at the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, January 10, 2023, (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

January 11, 2023, 7:56 pm

Spielberg says his late mom must be ‘kvelling’ over Golden Globes win

Jewish filmmaker says ‘five people happier than I am’ after winning award for ‘The Fabelmans,’ a film based on his family

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Then-Republican candidate George Santos for New York's 3rd Congressional District campaigns outside a Stop and Shop store, November 5, 2022, in Glen Cove, New York. (AP/Mary Altaffer)

December 23, 2022, 2:18 pm

NY congressman-elect apparently lied about having grandparents who fled Nazis

Maternal grandparents of George Santos born in Brazil, documents show, contradicting GOP candidate’s claim they escaped Europe; elected Republican also campaigned with false resume

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Target's array of Hanukkah mugs represent just a small swath of the national retailer's 2022 Hanukkah collection. (Philissa Cramer/ JTA)

December 23, 2022, 2:32 am

The US Hanukkah merch market has exploded. But are Jews feeling more represented?

Unlike years past, retail giants are now dedicating entire aisles to dreidel-shaped pet toys and latke onesies – but critics note that it’s a business strategy, not inclusiveness

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Illustrative: A Hanukkah menorah. (iStock by Getty Images)

December 21, 2022, 8:31 pm

Bright idea lets Jewish studies conference in Boston light menorah despite fire code

Faced with the prospect of not being able to celebrate Hanukkah for the first time due to hotel’s policy, academics put their heads together to find a creative compromise

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Argentine sportscaster and Telemundo soccer broadcaster Andres Cantor smiles during an interview in New York, on May 16, 2018 (File). Argentina's players celebrate after teammate Lionel Messi scored his side's opening goal during the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on December 18, 2022. (AP Photos/ Bebeto Matthews and Francisco Seco)

December 19, 2022, 7:26 pm

‘Campeon de mundo!’: Argentine Jewish announcer brought to tears by World Cup win

Prominent soccer announcer Andres Cantor responds to team’s game-winning penalty shot with his signature elongated ‘Gooooooool’ in video clip that has gone viral

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Rabbi Ben Gorelick. (Twitter screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

December 13, 2022, 3:17 am

Denver drops charges against ‘mushroom rabbi’ preaching psychedelics

Ben Gorelick, founder of multifaith group that mixes hallucinogens with ideas rooted in Jewish tradition, won’t face prosecution after Colorado votes to legalize psilocybin

By PHILISSA CRAMER

A screenshot of Hassan Chokr from an Instragram live video on December 3, 2022. (Screenshot from Instragram; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

December 5, 2022, 6:52 pm

Michigan man indicted after accosting synagogue-goers while cursing Israel

Hassan Chokr charged with ‘ethnic intimidation’ for allegedly yelling antisemitic and racist threats as families dropped off kids at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield Hills

By PHILISSA CRAMER

A screenshot of a tallit, or a Jewish prayer shawl, sold as "Elegant Sunscreen Scarves" on the Walmart website. (Screenshot/Walmart)

November 30, 2022, 3:50 pm

Walmart pulls $40 Jewish prayer shawls sold as ‘elegant sunscreen scarves’

Printed Bible verses and fish imagery made it clear that the items were meant for Messianic Jews

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Illustrative: Israeli women from the Ethiopian Jewish community pray during the Sigd holiday marking the desire to 'return to Jerusalem,' as they celebrate from a hilltop in the holy city overlooking the Temple Mount, on November 16, 2017. (AFP Photo/Gali Tibbon)

November 23, 2022, 5:02 am

New educational resources in US give boost to Ethiopian Jewish holiday of Sigd

Children’s book and ‘Sigd-in-a-box’ rolled out ahead of Tuesday festival, as American Jews look to embrace racial diversity, global peoplehood

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Jewish influencer Lizzy Savetsky in an interview in 2020. (Screen capture/YouTube)

November 17, 2022, 4:52 pm

Jewish influencer exits ‘Real Housewives of NY’ after ‘torrent of antisemitism’

Elizabeth Savetsky, who boasts 221,000 followers on Instagram, says internet hate made her realize ‘this path was no longer right’ for her and her family

By PHILISSA CRAMER

A tweet from an account impersonating AIPAC was online for hours Thursday night, in one of many signs of Twitter's chaos since its acquisition by Elon Musk. (Screenshot via JTA)

November 11, 2022, 6:24 pm

Fake AIPAC endorsement of apartheid spreads, Jewish exec exits, amid Twitter turmoil

Spoof of pro-Israel lobby comes amid wave of impersonations that has followed Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform

By PHILISSA CRAMER

An elderly Jewish man in the Dnipro region of Ukraine stands before a delivery of firewood made by JDC as part of an effort to support Ukrainian Jews in advance of a punishing winter. (Courtesy of the JDC via JTA)

November 11, 2022, 4:48 am

As winter approaches, Jewish groups fundraise to ensure Ukrainians able to stay warm

Chabad raising funds to buy hundreds of generators; JFNA announces another $7 million infusion for Ukraine effort; Joint Distribution Committee raising money for blankets

By PHILISSA CRAMER

Students at Jones College Prep hold a sit-in to protest their school's reaction to a student's Nazi-esque Halloween costume, Nov. 7, 2022. (Courtesy of Isaac Simon via JTA)

November 9, 2022, 4:23 pm

Chicago Jewish students protest after principal shrugs off Nazi Halloween costume

Teens at one of city’s most selective public high schools call for improved Holocaust education after classmate goose-stepped across stage in a German military uniform

By PHILISSA CRAMER