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Toby Axelrod

A recovered parochet (Torah ark curtain) stolen by the Nazis is brought back to the Berlin Jewish community, in an undated photo. (Nicolai Froundjian via JTA)
October 28, 2026, 8:25 am
Jewish artifacts looted by Nazis return to Berlin, thanks to Arizona synagogue
Holocaust survivor exchanged Crisco, coffee and cigarettes for Torah sash and ark cover looted on Kristallnacht, brought them to US where they eventually went on display in Phoenix
By Toby Axelrod
A view of Greenwich, Connecticut (CC BY-SA Quintin Soloviev/Wikimedia Commons)
October 26, 2026, 6:22 am
CAIR Connecticut urges Greenwich schools to stop using Jewish camp over its Israel ties
Reform rabbi says he is proud of camp’s links to Israel as it faces concerns by parents, including over promotional material for visit to youth military program in Israel
By Toby Axelrod
Minister of Foreign Affairs Johann David Wadephul of Germany speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, September 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
October 21, 2026, 11:45 am
Germany summons Iranian envoy after court convicts spies in plots against Jewish leaders
Hamburg court sentences two men over surveillance of Jewish council chief Josef Schuster and Israel advocate Volker Beck; Tehran rejects accusations as ‘baseless’
By Toby Axelrod
Vienna Jews celebrating the renovation of the Stadttempel synagogue walk a new Torah scroll through the streets, Vienna, Sept. 9, 2026. (IKG/Rosa via JTA)
October 1, 2026, 11:19 am
Amid uncertain times, European Jews renovate old synagogues, dedicate new Torahs
In Vienna, Leipzig, Budapest and cities across the continent, local Jews are working to restore houses of worship to former glory despite rising antisemitism, say it’s a ‘sign of resilience’
By Toby Axelrod
A man holds up a placard reading “FCK AFD” as he gathers with others in front of Saxony-Anhalt’s state parliament to demonstrate for an open society based on solidarity during a festival of democracy in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on September 5, 2026, one day before regional elections in the eastern federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. (John MACDOUGALL/AFP)
September 8, 2026, 6:53 pm
‘Immense damage’: German Jewish leaders alarmed by election win of far-right AfD
Alternative for Germany’s plurality in Saxony-Anhalt election leads some of nation’s 200,000 Jews to fear throwback to fascism, amid backlash against culture of Holocaust memory
By Toby Axelrod
Babka & Krantz, a Berlin Jewish bakery, closed citing harassment as well as economic pressure, as seen in June 2026. (Toby Axelrod via JTA)
June 9, 2026, 6:34 am
Celebrated Berlin Jewish bakery closes, citing antisemitic harassment since Oct. 7
Babka & Krantz owners shutter original store after closing second location months ago, saying they have been ‘subjected to constant verbal abuse’ since the Hamas invasion of Israel
By Toby Axelrod
Holocaust stories and images generated by artificial intelligence are sparking debate among educators and historians. (Illustration by Grace Yagel for JTA)
May 12, 2026, 5:33 am
Experts debate whether AI-generated Holocaust content aids memory or distorts it
A World Jewish Congress clip of Anne Frank highlights potential and peril of new tools as firsthand testimony dies out — and opportunists capitalize on endless supply of ‘slop’
By Toby Axelrod
Photographer Edward Serotta takes a self-portrait in a hotel room during his efforts to document Romania in the 1980s. (Courtesy Serotta via JTA)
April 11, 2026, 7:07 am
Romanian secret police trailed a Jewish photographer in the ’80s. Those files are now a film
Edward Serotta only recently discovered he’d been surveilled while traveling the communist country. Acclaimed director Radu Jude has turned the findings into a short documentary
By Toby Axelrod
A woman sits alone in a Frankfurt, Germany, cinema in November 2021. (Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images via JTA)
April 7, 2026, 6:28 am
Frankfurt cinema declines to participate in Jewish film festival, drawing backlash
Jewish community in German city calls the decision a ‘devastating societal signal’; Astor Film Lounge claims move was financial, but Jewish NGO calls this a ‘mere pretext’
By Toby Axelrod
Rabbi Gesa Ederberg is installed as the president of the Rabbinical Assembly at Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck, New Jersey, March 11, 2026. (Courtesy RA via JTA)
March 20, 2026, 3:08 am
Berlin rabbi makes history as first European to head Conservative rabbis’ association
In a ‘major step forward’ in relations between US and German Jews of the major denomination, Rabbi Gesa Shira Ederberg is also likely the first convert to Judaism to assume the leadership role
By Toby Axelrod
German politician Andreas Büttner is sworn in during the state parliament session following his election as Brandenburg's antisemitism commissioner, with members of his Left party in the background, June 20 2024. (Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images/ via JTA)
March 17, 2026, 11:26 pm
German antisemitism commissioner quits far‑left party over anti-Israel resolution
After 11 years in Die Linke, Andreas Büttner submits resignation over party’s condemnation of ‘existing political manifestations of Zionism’; party leaders vow to keep working with him
By Toby Axelrod
Brothers David, Eitan and Ariel Cunio, from left, stand outside the Berlin theater Babylon before a screening of a documentary about their family, Feb. 20, 2026. (Toby Axelrod via JTA)
February 23, 2026, 4:22 am
At Berlinale, former hostages view film about their captivity rewritten after release
Tom Shoval’s ‘Letter to David’ first aired at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival but was given a new ending and a second premiere after the release of David and Ariel Cunio
By Toby Axelrod
Reuven Y., a rabbi and defendant in a court case, appears in the district court in Tiergarten, Berlin, January 16, 2026. His attorney, Galina Rolnik, sits next to him. (Courtesy via JTA)
January 23, 2026, 1:42 pm
Berlin rabbi convicted of ‘sexual assault and coercion’ of woman he offered to counsel
Conviction comes over two years after Jewish community fired him following allegations of abuse going back nearly 2 decades
By Toby Axelrod
The company logo of Weleda is on a glass bottle. Weleda produces herbal medicines and cosmetics. (Stefan Puchner/picture alliance via Getty Images via JTA)
September 13, 2025, 3:33 am
Cosmetics firm Weleda to examine Nazi ties amid revelation of role in Dachau experiments
In book published this week, historian reveals that 300 prisoners were submerged in ice water for hours to verify claims company’s skin cream could protect from frostbite, killing 80-90
By Toby Axelrod
The Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker kept a record of his holdings in a pocket notebook in the 1930s. Among the paintings he owned when he died was one that has reappeared in a real estate ad in August 2025 in Buenos Aires. (Black book by Marcel Antonisse/AFP via Getty Images via JTA; real estate photograph from Robles Casas & Campas via JTA)
August 27, 2025, 12:09 pm
Looted painting vanishes after being seen in Nazi’s daughter’s real estate ad
Friedrich Kadgien’s daughter evades questions from journalist who spotted artwork, immediately removes ad and changes name on Instagram
By Toby Axelrod
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