Jesse Jackson’s daughter reveals she converted to Judaism, says her father gave his blessing.

By World Israel News Staff

Ashley L. Jackson, the daughter of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, has revealed that she converted to Judaism following a years-long spiritual journey that received the support of both of her parents.

Jackson, a writer, producer and founder of the nonprofit Push The Next Generation, said she formally completed her conversion on June 12. She disclosed the decision publicly Friday in an opinion article for The Washington Post.

She said her interest in Judaism developed gradually after years of considering the relationship between religion, justice and public service.

Jackson began exploring those questions while attending college but said they took on greater urgency during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she experienced a serious illness and a lengthy period of isolation. An online conversation about Jewish life led her to begin reading about Judaism and eventually attend a Shabbat service.

She continued returning to the synagogue and eventually began the formal conversion process.

“I was raised to believe that faith must lead to action,” Jackson wrote, saying she found the same principle reflected in Jewish study, ritual and the concept of tikkun olam, or repairing the world.

Jackson said she was deeply moved by the sound of the shofar during her first Rosh Hashanah service and gradually came to view the Jewish community as her spiritual home.

Two years before her father’s death, Jackson brought him to a Shabbat morning service at IKAR, a Jewish community in Los Angeles led by Rabbi Sharon Brous.

The longtime civil rights leader sat in the front row, held his daughter’s hand and participated in the service despite not understanding the Hebrew prayers, Jackson recalled. He also joined congregants celebrating a bar mitzvah.

At the end of the service, Brous called Jackson’s father forward to receive a blessing. Before the rabbi began speaking, the congregation reportedly rose and gave him a spontaneous ovation, bringing him to tears.

The synagogue visit carried particular significance because Jesse Jackson was one of the best-known Baptist ministers and civil rights activists in the US. He worked with Martin Luther King Jr., founded the organizations that became the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988.

Ashley Jackson said her father’s willingness to enter her Jewish community reflected the curiosity and openness he had encouraged in her throughout her childhood.

After completing her conversion, she adopted the Hebrew name Miriam Yiskah. She described Yiskah as a feminine echo of Jesse that would carry her father’s memory into her new religious life.

Jackson said she hoped her experience would demonstrate that divisions between the black and Jewish communities were not inevitable. She concluded that “our differences do not preclude unity.”

Her conversion also adds a new dimension to her father’s complicated relationship with the Jewish community.

During his first presidential campaign in 1984, Jesse Jackson faced widespread criticism after using the antisemitic term “Hymietown” while referring privately to New York. He subsequently apologized and sought to repair relations with Jewish organizations, although concerns continued over his associations with arch terrorist Yasser Arafat and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Following Jackson’s death at age 84 in February, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism acknowledged that he had “caused tremendous pain in the Jewish community and beyond” but said that, through later engagement and apologies, he ultimately became “an ally in the fight against antisemitism.”

The organization also recalled Reform Jewish leaders joining Jackson at demonstrations and events supporting civil rights and other shared causes.

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More than 10,000 Jewish singles are expected on a global Tu B’Av speed-dating event on Wednesday.

By World Israel News Staff

More than 10,000 Jewish singles from around the world are expected to participate in an online speed-dating event on July 29, which organizers are billing as the world’s largest speed-dating event ever held.

The event, scheduled around Tu B’Av, the Jewish holiday traditionally associated with love and matchmaking, is being organized by Partners in Torah, Aish and CoronaCrush in cooperation with more than 100 Jewish organizations across six continents.

Participants will complete a detailed questionnaire before the event and will then be matched based on their answers, preferences and, when relevant, location. Each participant will be able to take part in as many as seven brief video dates over the course of the evening.

The annual initiative has expanded substantially since last year, when 6,750 singles participated in 15,463 dates during a single hour. Organizers said the event led to dozens of continuing relationships and at least three marriages.

“Every year the response grows, and every year we hear new stories that remind us why this matters,” said Tehilla Friedland, chief operating officer of Partners in Torah and one of the event’s lead organizers.

“We are not just running an event. We are building a community, one date at a time.”

Michaela Tobias, community manager for CoronaCrush, said organizers had improved the matching system based on feedback from previous participants.

“Singles told us what worked and what didn’t, and we listened,” Tobias said. “This year’s questionnaire and matching are smarter, and we are ready to help even more people find each other.”

Among the couples who met during last year’s event were Gila and Neriya, whose relationship began with a seven-minute video conversation.

Gila, originally from London, had recently decided to immigrate to Israel when a friend showed her an advertisement for the event on Instagram. She initially hesitated before registering.

“I was sitting in the call with my friend, and we saw it,” she recalled. “I was like, why not? To think that I met my husband is really crazy.”

Neriya, an American who had moved to Israel to study in a yeshiva, was also uncertain about participating. He had hoped to meet someone who had already decided to build a life in Israel.

“There are only benefits to this,” he said. “Either you spend an hour of your evening and nothing happens, or you spend an hour of your evening and find, in seven minutes, the person you’re going to marry.”

After being matched during the event, the two spoke by telephone for another two hours that night. They remained in daily contact for several weeks before meeting in person.

They became engaged three months later after Neriya proposed in Jerusalem. The couple married in February, several months after their initial online meeting.

“It’s really crazy,” Gila said. “Almost a year later, I’m celebrating a year of meeting my husband. I never thought it would happen this way, but I’m so grateful it did.”

She encouraged other singles to participate even if they were skeptical about online matchmaking.

“Give it a try,” she said. “You really just never know where your husband is going to pop up from.”

“You don’t have to tell anyone if nothing works out,” Neriya added. “But you have nothing to lose by trying.”

Success after seven previous events

Another participant, Goldie, met her future husband, Barak, after previously attending seven speed-dating events over three years without finding a lasting relationship.

“I believe in putting myself out there as much as I can,” she said. “If Hashem wants me to find someone, then I have to allow for the opportunity.”

Goldie said she did not fit easily into a conventional communal category and therefore needed to explore different ways of meeting potential partners.

She nearly missed the online event after being invited to an in-person gathering at a friend’s home. After the host learned she had registered for the virtual event, he arranged a quiet room where she could participate.

“I was able to log in, and the rest is history,” she said.

Goldie was matched with seven men, including Barak, a Los Angeles psychologist whose parents are Israeli. Their allotted time ended just as they were beginning to connect.

Barak called her after the event, and the two spoke for another two hours. They continued speaking almost every day, and Barak soon flew to meet her in person.

Goldie said she was attracted to his direct approach.

“He didn’t play games or beat around the bush, and I really appreciated that,” she said.

The couple dated for six months and became engaged in Israel in February after Goldie traveled to meet Barak’s family. They married in June and plan to make aliyah.

“Moving to Israel was a deal breaker for him, and it was something that I wanted as well,” Goldie said.

“You never know. You could meet your spouse as I did,” she added. “Or, at the very least, you’re just meeting another Jewish neshama searching.”

Organizers said the participation of more than 100 partner organizations reflects growing recognition of the difficulties faced by Jewish singles, particularly those living in smaller or geographically isolated communities.

Previous events have included participants from Israel, the US, Britain, South Africa, Brazil, France, Sweden and other countries.

Rabbi Steven Burg, chief executive officer of Aish, said the initiative gives Jewish singles an opportunity to meet people they might otherwise never encounter.

“The Jewish response to building the future has always been through relationships and family,” Burg said.

“Every year this event brings together singles who might never have crossed paths otherwise, and every year we hear that it changed someone’s life.”

“Tu B’Av has always been a day associated with matchmaking in Jewish tradition, and it feels fitting that this event now carries that spirit forward for a new generation,” he added.

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The move follows the British government’s full acceptance of recommendations from an independent review into antisemitism in the NHS.

By Ailin Vilches Arguello, The Algemeiner

In a move likely to intensify tensions over rising antisemitism in Britain’s health-care system, the British Medical Association (BMA) has voted in favor of scrapping the world’s most widely recognized definition of antisemitism across the country’s National Health Service (NHS), arguing that government efforts to combat anti-Jewish discrimination risk undermining free expression among health workers.

During the BMA’s annual meeting on Tuesday, health-care professionals voted to remove the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism from the NHS, arguing that its application could limit health-care workers’ ability to express political views and ethical concerns.

The BMA passed a motion calling on “the government and NHS England to revoke the mandatory adoption of the IHRA definition across the NHS until proper safeguards …” are in place to help protect “free speech in health-care settings.”

An intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries, including the United States and Israel, IHRA adopted the “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. The British government adopted the definition that same year.

Since its adoption, the definition has gained widespread support from Jewish organizations and lawmakers around the world, and is now used by hundreds of governmental bodies, including the European Union and the United Nations.

According to the definition, antisemitism “is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.

Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Beyond traditional antisemitic acts associated with the medieval period and Nazi Germany, the definition provides contemporary examples of antisemitism found in public life, media, education, workplaces, and religious settings — including Holocaust denial and modern forms targeting Israel, such as demonizing the Jewish state and denying its right to exist.

In the United Kingdom, the NHS adopted IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism last year after Health Secretary Wes Streeting required its use across all Department of Health and Social Care arm’s-length bodies, in response to rising concerns over anti-Jewish discrimination.

However, the BMA — which represents more than 200,000 doctors and medical students across the UK — strongly opposed the move, arguing that the IHRA definition has a “chilling effect” on political speech and could prevent NHS doctors from expressing “ethical concerns about Israel’s actions in Palestine.”

Now, the motion calls for “urgent guidance and support to members who face disciplinary action or professional detriment for expressing legitimate political views or ethical concerns about international conflicts, including Palestine/Israel.”

It also “advocates for the protection of free speech in health-care settings, ensuring that NHS staff can engage in legitimate political discourse and express ethical concerns without fear of professional reprisal.”

The BMA is encouraging its members to “work with other health-care unions and professional bodies to challenge any attempts to use the IHRA definition to suppress legitimate debate about human rights violations, war crimes, or colonial practices in international conflicts.”

The move follows the British government’s full acceptance of recommendations from an independent review into antisemitism in the NHS, which urged stronger action by health authorities to address anti-Jewish racism and proposed national guidance on NHS uniforms and equipment amid rising antisemitic incidents in health-care settings.

Among the review’s recommendations was a requirement that leaders of all NHS provider trusts complete anti-racism training, including specific education on antisemitism, within six months.

However, there was mounting opposition from some medical organizations, with the British Islamic Medical Association and the Muslim Doctors Association arguing that the review’s focus on antisemitism was too “narrow.”

Last week, leaflets opposing the government’s plans to implement the review’s recommendations were distributed outside University College Hospital (UCLH) in London.

The leaflets, bearing the phrase “Hands Off Our Healthworkers, we will not be silent about the genocide in Palestine,” described the review as “racist” and alleged that enhanced antisemitism training within the NHS amounts to “pro-Israel indoctrination.”

The NHS has been under scrutiny following several high-profile cases both in the UK and around the world involving medical practitioners promoting antisemitic beliefs online and even threatening or boasting about their hate for Jewish people as well as Israelis.

In the UK, however, there has been an especially high number of cases of alleged antisemitism over the past several months.

The case of Dr. Rahmeh Aladwan, a trainee trauma and orthopedic surgeon, particularly drew public attention.

In November, Aladwan was suspended from practicing medicine in the UK for 15 months over social media posts denigrating Jews and celebrating terrorism.

British law enforcement had arrested Aladwan in October, and in March she pleaded not guilty to inciting support for Hamas, a proscribed terrorist group, and publishing material intending to stir up racial hatred.

Her suspension last year came about two weeks after Streeting called it “chilling” that some members of the Jewish community fear discrimination within the NHS.

Other incidents in the UK included a Jewish family fearing their London doctor’s antisemitism influenced their disabled son’s treatment.

The North London hospital suspended the physician who was under investigation for publicly claiming that all Jews have “feelings of supremacy” and downplaying antisemitism.

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Ultra-Orthodox recruits to the IDF must be allowed to maintain their religious lifestyle in the army, says Prime Minister Netanyahu, while calling on men not studying in yeshiva to enlist.

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that ultra-Orthodox men who are not studying Torah must enlist in the military, while stressing that the IDF must allow them to preserve their religious way of life during service.

Netanyahu made the remarks during a visit to the IDF’s Hasmonean Brigade in the Jordan Valley with Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth.

“I respect the world of Torah because generations of my ancestors and your ancestors preserved Israel’s heritage through Torah study,” Netanyahu told soldiers. “But those who do not study Torah must enlist. And when they enlist, they must be granted the right to enter ultra-Orthodox and leave ultra-Orthodox.”

The Hasmonean Brigade was established as a framework for ultra-Orthodox soldiers, seeking to combine military service with conditions that allow them to maintain a strict religious lifestyle.

Netanyahu said the brigade represented an effort to bridge the divide between Torah study and military service.

“We are going to connect these two worlds,” he said. “That is what you are doing. You are continuing the legacy of the Hasmoneans.”

He said the soldiers showed that it was possible “to study Torah and serve, maintain an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle and serve, hold the sword of David and serve, and also study.”

“This is the very thing that strengthens us more than anything else,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister praised the soldiers as pioneers and said others were following their example.

“I am very moved because I was here before you went to the officer training course, and today I am meeting graduates,” he said. “An amazing thing. You are the pioneers, and others are following in your footsteps.”

Netanyahu said he was seeing “a great increase in enlistment” and a growing desire among ultra-Orthodox Jews to defend the state.

His comments came as Israel continues to debate ultra-Orthodox enlistment during the ongoing war, with the military facing manpower needs and the government under pressure to pass new legislation regulating exemptions for yeshiva students.

“We are in the midst of a war, still on seven fronts,” Netanyahu said. “Of course, we have monumental achievements. We are not finished yet, but these achievements come first and foremost from faith, from the spirit, and also from the power, the tools, the technology, and the weapons.”

“But in the end, or rather at the very beginning, this comes from the Hasmonean spirit,” he added. “You are Hasmoneans!”

Bismuth also praised the brigade, calling it evidence of a major shift.

“I am very moved to be here,” Bismuth said. “We are in a place where a real revolution is taking place; we are witnessing something amazing and moving.”

He said the brigade brought together “our two greatest values” — Torah study and the IDF.

“On this base, these two things connect, Torah with uniforms,” Bismuth said. “I want to thank you, Prime Minister Netanyahu, this is happening on your watch. This revolution cannot be stopped.”

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European Jewish leaders accuse Belgian prosecutors of working to establish a stealth ban on circumcision by charging mohels.

By World Israel News Staff

Dozens of Jewish community leaders from across Europe appealed to Belgian and European Union officials on Tuesday to intervene against the planned prosecution of Jewish ritual circumcisers in Antwerp, warning that the case would effectively criminalize a central Jewish religious practice.

The open letter, led by European Jewish Association Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, was signed by Jewish leaders from communities including Paris, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Porto and Amsterdam.

It came after the Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office said it intended to refer two mohels, or Jewish ritual circumcisers, to correctional court over alleged illegal circumcisions.

“We are horrified that the Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office intends to refer two Jewish ritual circumcisers, known as mohels, to the correctional court, effectively criminalizing the act of circumcision,” the leaders wrote.

Belgian law does not ban religious circumcision, but authorities say it must be performed with a doctor’s involvement.

The Antwerp case reportedly concerns suspicions that ritual circumcisions were performed by mohels without recognized medical qualifications.

Belgian reports said the alleged offenses could be classified as intentional assault or battery against minors and the unlawful practice of medicine.

Jewish leaders said the prosecution goes beyond a technical dispute over medical regulation and threatens religious life in Belgium.

“We remind Belgium that Freedom of religion is a fundamental right,” they wrote.

“This decision stands in direct contradiction to it. The message being sent here is clear: Jews are no longer welcome in Belgium. And Belgian Jews are now Second-class citizens with limited rights.”

The letter said other European countries had found ways to regulate circumcision without bringing criminal cases against religious circumcisers.

“In many countries a solution has been found that balances freedom of religion. In France, Holland, and Germany for instance,” the leaders wrote.

“We believe therefore, based on the Belgian authorities’ outright refusal to seek an accommodation, that this prosecution is antisemitic in nature, reminiscent of efforts taken in Europe against Jewish practice prior to the Second World War.”

The dispute has been building for months. In February, Belgium summoned US Ambassador Bill White after he accused Belgian authorities of antisemitic harassment over the investigation into Jewish mohels in Antwerp.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot rejected the accusation, saying Belgium permits ritual circumcision when performed by a qualified physician and calling the ambassador’s remarks “dangerous disinformation.”

White called the investigation “unacceptable harassment of the Jewish community here in Antwerp and in Belgium” and urged Belgian officials to create a legal framework allowing mohels to continue their work.

Israel also criticized Belgium after prosecutors moved toward charges. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Belgium was joining “a short and shameful list of countries that use criminal law to prosecute Jews who practice Judaism,” according to Euronews.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Prévot responded that “the judiciary is independent and makes its own decisions.”

The European Jewish Association said earlier this month that police had confiscated circumcision knives during searches and asked for lists of children circumcised over the previous year.

The group described the searches as “yet another crossing of a red line in the intimidation of Jewish religious leaders in Belgium.”

Belgian Jewish organizations have sought a compromise. The Brussels Times reported that the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium and the Central Israeli Consistory proposed creating a supervisory body for ritual circumcisers after news emerged that the Antwerp prosecutor intended to bring the mohels to court.

The European Jewish Association’s new letter said circumcision is not harmful and is widely practiced for both religious and nonreligious reasons.

“Circumcision has been shown throughout decades of medical research to not be harmful to baby boys,” the leaders wrote. “In fact, it has medical benefits — which is why so many people choose to circumcise their children outside of religion. Attacking circumcision in this manner — only when it relates to Jewish babies, is an attack on Jewish life in Europe.”

The case comes amid wider European tensions over religious slaughter, circumcision and other Jewish and Muslim practices that some governments have sought to regulate on animal-welfare, medical or child-rights grounds.

Jewish organizations have long argued that such measures, even when framed neutrally, can make traditional Jewish life impossible in parts of Europe.

The leaders urged Belgian, European Union and European political officials to act before the case advances further.

“All the words of politicians about the importance of Jewish life in Europe mean nothing if they do not act immediately to stop this injustice,” they wrote. “We urge them and the Belgian Government to stop this madness. Circumcision is not a crime.”

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US, Israel blast decision by Belgian prosecutors to file criminal charges against three men who performed circumcisions for members of the Jewish community without medical certification.

By World Israel News Staff

Belgian prosecutors have filed criminal charges against three Jewish mohalim (ritual circumcisers) from Antwerp, accusing them of performing circumcisions without recognized medical certification.

The case has drawn sharp criticism from Israel and the United States, where officials say Belgian authorities are effectively threatening Jewish religious practice.

The charges follow police raids last year in Antwerp’s Jewish Quarter, where authorities searched homes and seized circumcision instruments as part of an investigation into alleged illegal circumcisions. Belgian law requires circumcisions to be performed by licensed medical professionals.

Belgian authorities have also raised concerns over metzitzah b’peh, a traditional post-circumcision practice used in some Orthodox communities, citing the risk of disease transmission to infants.

Reports at the time said the investigation began after a complaint from within the Jewish community.

The indictment could prevent mohalim without recognized Belgian medical credentials from performing ritual circumcisions in the country without risking criminal prosecution.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the charges Wednesday, saying ritual circumcision is central to Jewish life.

“Brit Mila is the cornerstone of Jewish faith,” Sa’ar said. “Many countries in Europe and around the world have created legal frameworks to facilitate the brit and Jewish religion freedom in their countries. I call upon the Belgian government to act immediately and to find a solution.”

US Ambassador to Belgium Bill White also denounced the indictment in a statement on X.

“This is a shameful stain on Belgium,” White wrote. “The prosecution of these religious figures (mohels), one of whom is American, is WRONG and won’t be tolerated.”

White said the Trump administration “condemns this judicial action” and accused Belgium’s government of failing to create a legal framework for Jewish circumcisers.

“For the sake of Belgium’s reputation in the world, I hope the Belgian government will act now,” he said.

The case had already triggered a diplomatic dispute earlier this year after White publicly accused Belgian authorities of antisemitism over the investigation. Belgium summoned him for a formal rebuke.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot rejected White’s accusation at the time.

“Any suggestion that Belgium is antisemitic is false, offensive and unacceptable,” Prévot said, according to AP. He said Belgian law permits ritual circumcision when carried out by a qualified physician under health and safety standards.

Jewish groups have argued that Belgium should create a religious exemption or certification pathway for trained mohalim, as other countries have done.

The dispute comes amid broader tensions between Belgian authorities and Jewish religious groups. Belgium has also restricted kosher slaughter in much of the country, a policy critics say has already limited Jewish religious life.

The post Belgium takes aim at traditional Jewish circumcision with wave of indictments appeared first on World Israel News.

Sirens sound in northern Israel as Lebanon ceasefire collapses, prompting Education Ministry to cancel classes in frontier towns.

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has canceled this year’s mass Lag B’Omer celebration at Mount Meron, amid renewed fire from Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and tighter Home Front Command restrictions in northern Israel.

The annual event, scheduled for May 5, will not be held in its usual format outside the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, where large crowds traditionally gather for bonfires, prayers and celebrations.

The decision followed new Home Front Command limits capping gatherings at 1,500 people in communities near the Lebanese frontier, as well as in Meron, Bar Yochai, Or HaGanuz and Safsufa. The restrictions took effect Sunday night and were set to remain in force until Monday evening.

The Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu made the decision after several security assessments.

“After several security assessments were held by the prime minister, and in light of the Home Front Command’s updated defense policy beginning April 26, 2026, the prime minister instructed that the events marking the celebration of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at Meron will not take place this year in a mass-participation format but only in a symbolic format,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the decision was driven by concern over the fragile ceasefire with Lebanon, Meron’s proximity to the border, rocket fire toward the area and the difficulty of quickly evacuating large numbers of people.

The decision to cancel the traditional Mount Meron Lag B’Omer celebration came hours before sirens sounded in northern Israel on Monday morning, amid a suspected drone infiltration from Lebanon.

The IDF said a suspected Hezbollah drone triggered sirens in the Western Galilee and that additional alerts in the area were later determined to be false alarms.

The Confrontation Line Communities Forum said local leaders would take their own precautions, including halting schools and transportation in threatened communities.

“Despite declarations of a ceasefire, the reality on the ground proves that security along the confrontation line has not been restored, and fire toward our communities continues, including UAVs and sirens today,” the forum said.

Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council and chairman of the forum, said northern communities would not wait for the government to act.

“Our children’s blood is not cheap, and we will not wait for a disaster to make life-saving decisions,” he said.

The cancellation drew pushback from officials involved in organizing the event.

United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush questioned why the event was being canceled after preparations were nearly complete.

“It is impossible not to give the public even hope,” Porush said.

Yossi Deitsch, the official in charge of the Meron celebration, warned that many worshippers may try to reach the site regardless of the restrictions.

“Last Shabbat there were 10,000 people in Meron, and suddenly on Lag B’Omer you limit it to 1,000?” he said. “People will walk dozens of kilometers to reach Meron at any cost.”

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In November, the court gave the state 45 days to show it had taken greater steps to punish ultra-Orthodox men refusing draft orders.

By World Israel News Staff

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish draft dodgers account for less than half of the total number of Israelis who received draft notices but failed to appear at induction centers, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 14 on Sunday.

The figures were based on a briefing presented to government ministers, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during deliberations Sunday on proposed sanctions for draft dodgers.

During Sunday’s hearing, government ministers mulled economic sanctions for those refusing draft orders, with the aim of equalizing measures against draft dodgers, regardless of what sector they are affiliated with.

Since 2024, the government has struggled to meet draft quotas imposed by the Supreme Court on the ultra-Orthodox community, with large numbers of yeshiva students – who until now were eligible for annual deferments – simply refusing to respond to draft notices.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has pushed for tougher sanctions on ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers and has petitioned the Supreme Court to force the state to adopt her proposals, accusing the government of ignoring the court’s previous rulings.

In November, the court gave the state 45 days to show it had taken greater steps to punish ultra-Orthodox men refusing draft orders.

Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, however, have accused the government of selective enforcement of draft laws, singling out the ultra-Orthodox for punishment while large numbers of other Israelis also fail to appear at induction offices without similar sanctions.

According to the Defense Ministry figures presented to ministers on Sunday, there are some 90,000 draft-eligible citizens, ages 18 to 29, who have failed to appear at induction centers despite receiving draft notices. Of those, approximately 45% are members of the ultra-Orthodox community.

The figures do not include most of Israel’s Arab population, the vast majority of which is not eligible for the draft.

At the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu called for the establishment of a ministerial team to work with the IDF’s Manpower Directorate to examine how the issue should be handled, the Channel 14 report said.  The team’s conclusions will be presented to Netanyahu within 30 days.

The post Most IDF draft dodgers not from ultra-Orthodox community – report appeared first on World Israel News.

Some rabbis in Israel tout possible collapse of the Iranian regime as fulfillment of Talmudic predictions heralding a coming messianic era.

By World Israel News Staff

A prominent Israeli rabbi has penned a new prayer calling for the collapse of the Iranian regime and wishing protection for dissident protesters.

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief rabbi of Safed (Tzfat) in northern Israel and son of the late Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Mordechai Eliyahu, recently published a biblical-style prayer giving thanks for God granting strength to “strike our enemies,” referring to the Iranian government.

One of the most prominent rabbinic figures in the Religious Zionist community, Rabbi Eliyahu wrote of Iran’s leadership: “Rise up, Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered,” adding in the prayer a request to “destroy the leaders of Iran.”

The prayer implores God to shield “the people rising up against” the Iranian regime and expresses hope for a bloodless coup in which Iran’s security personnel “help, rather than fight” the protesters.

Rabbi Eliyahu published the prayer on his social media accounts and organized a prayer gathering for women, led by his daughter, Rachel Bazak, for recitation of the prayer.

According to a report by The Jerusalem Post, other Orthodox rabbis in Israel have claimed the unrest in Iran is part of the fulfillment of a Talmudic prediction that “Persia will fall into the hands of Rome.” (Megillah 11a).

Some members of the Chabad movement have interpreted the prediction and the current events unfolding in Iran as signs of a nearing messianic redemption.

At least 544 people have been confirmed dead during the government crackdown on the protests, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Sunday, amid estimates by dissidents that the actual death toll could be in the thousands.

The Iranian government shut off internet access across the country Thursday evening, with the blackout ongoing, limiting digital communications to dissidents with access to the wireless Starlink network.

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Britain’s national broadcaster faces criticism after it aired a feature focusing on the Kindertransport evacuation of Jewish children that did not mention Jews.

By World Israel News Staff

Britain’s national broadcaster issued a clarification this week after the outlet faced criticism for airing a Christmas special on the Holocaust-era evacuation of Jewish children from Europe that removed all references to Jews.

On December 26, the BBC show The Repair Shop aired a special segment devoted to the Kindertransport, the evacuation of some 10,000 children, nearly all of them Jewish, from Nazi-controlled territory in 1938 and 1939.

The segment centered on a 19th-century cello that had been damaged by the Nazis, and was brought to Britain aboard a Kindertransport convoy.

Shortly before the convoy’s departure, Nazi guards smashed the cello, which remained damaged until it was repaired for the segment.

Critics pointed out, however, that nowhere in the segment was it mentioned that the children evacuated to Britain during the Kindertransport were Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, or that the owner of the cello, Martin Landau, who fled to Britain at age 14, was Jewish.

Despite 16 minutes of the hour-long program being dedicated to the cello’s history and the context of the Kindertransport, the BBC segment made no mention of Jews, and reportedly purged a reference to the word “Jew” made by actress Helen Mirren, who presented the cello to the show’s repair team.

According to a report by the London-based Jewish Chronicle, Mirren’s reference to Jews was edited out of the aired version of the segment.

Amid a backlash over the omission of any reference to Jews, the BBC issued a clarification to the episode’s iPlayer page, noting that “the Kindertransport was the organized evacuation of approximately 10,000 children, the majority of whom were Jewish.”

Despite this, however, the BBC‘s official website still does not note the Jewish nature of the story or Landau’s Jewish heritage.

The post BBC apologizes for purging Holocaust story of references to Jews appeared first on World Israel News.

Hundreds enlist in IDF’s ultra-Orthodox combat units on Sunday – part of a growing trend among young ultra-Orthodox men toward service in combat units.

By World Israel News Staff

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox young men on Sunday enlisted in IDF combat units created for the ultra-Orthodox sector, as groups assisting religious soldiers report a rise in the number of ultra-Orthodox recruits in combat roles.

The new enlistees gathered at the IDF’s Tel HaShomer induction center in central Israel, which held a recruitment event for incoming ultra-Orthodox soldiers.

The recruits will be assigned to ultra-Orthodox combat companies and battalions, including Netzah Yehuda Battalion in the Kfir Brigade, the Hetz company in the Paratroopers Brigade, the Hashmonaim Brigade, the Avnet company within the Border Police, the Negev Platoon (also known as the Defenders of the Negev Company), as well as advanced technological tracks also geared for ultra-Orthodox soldiers.

The Netzah Yehuda Association, which supports ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the IDF, reported a “notable increase” in the number of new inductees joining combat units.

“Officials involved in oversight and command note that the current enlistment figures reflect a clear trend of growing willingness to integrate into combat and operational service, as part of a sense of responsibility, mission, and contribution to the country’s security,” the group said.

The father of one new inductee to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion said he was thrilled over his son’s decision to join a combat unit.

“I’m over the moon. We have a son in yeshiva and we’re happy and proud of him, and we have a son who is enlisting and we’re happy and proud of him — this is his calling,” said the father.

The Tayeri family, who came to accompany their son enlisting in the Avnet company of the Border Police, also expressed support for their son serving in a combat role.

“We are proud of him for taking the initiative and paving his own path. He is a modest and sensitive young man; we wish him success in everything he does. His father and mother are with him and proud of him.”

Yossi Levi, CEO of the Shomer Israel Association, an umbrella group representing all the ultra-Orthodox tracks in the IDF, said that the number of ultra-Orthodox recruits is on the rise, both generally and in combat units.

“We are seeing in the current enlistment a significant rise in the choice of combat tracks, alongside growth in the overall number of recruits. Ultra-Orthodox young men today understand that it is possible to combine meaningful service, combat, and contribution to Israel’s security while fully preserving ultra-Orthodox identity.”

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“Without the Maccabees, there’d be no Judeo-Christian civilization” – Israel’s prime minister draws parallel between ancient Jewish uprising and modern Israel’s conflict with Iran and Iranian proxies.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared Israel’s seven-front war against Iran and Iranian-proxies since October 7, 2023 to the Hasmonean uprising by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Greek Empire, arguing that both were crucial for Western civilization.

Netanyahu spoke at a candle-lighting ceremony at the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem Monday night that featured IDF soldiers, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, and Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, chief rabbi of the Western Wall.

During the ceremony, Netanyahu said that had the Maccabees’ uprising failed, the Judeo-Christian tradition, which became the basis of Western civilization, would never have become the cultural force it is today.

“We were fighting our battle, but we were also fighting the battle of civilization, because our civilization is based on the Judeo-Christian tradition,” said Netanyahu.

“And if the Maccabees had failed, there’d be no Judaism. There would be no Judeo-Christian civilization. There would be no Huckabees. There would be no United States.

“There wouldn’t be the civilization of freedom,” he continued. “The respect for our common traditions, our common values – all of that would not happen if it weren’t for those five brave brothers. They actually made the whole difference.”

Netanyahu drew a direct parallel between the Hasmonean uprising and Israel’s conflict with Iran and Iranian proxies over the past two years.

“We are fighting today the battle that the Maccabees fought. They fought for the survival of the Jewish people and the Jewish faith against an enemy that wanted to extinguish us, wipe us out from the face of the earth.”

“That spirit animates these brave soldiers who are here today and their comrades who are fighting in Gaza or in Lebanon or Iran –wherever is necessary– to not only preserve the Jewish nation and the Jewish state, but to preserve civilization against the barbarians.

“The barbarians are out there. They did a horrible thing to us on October 7; they’ll never do it again. But they’re doing it against Jews in Sydney and Jews elsewhere in America and elsewhere. This is our common battle against the barbarians.”

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Two years of war have pushed Israeli Jews to the right, new study finds, alongside a trend toward greater observance of religious traditions.

By World Israel News Staff

More than two years of war on multiple fronts has been marked by shifts in political self-identification among Israeli Jews, a new study has found, along with changes in religiosity.

This week, the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) released a report on religious observance and political identity in Israel since October 7, 2023, noting a marked rightward shift among Israeli Jews, and an increase in the percentage of Israelis – both Jews and Arabs – who said they engaged in religious practices.

While the study said the political and religious shifts were noticeable among the general population, they were strongest among the 18-24 age cohort.

Among both Israeli Jews and Arabs, more respondents in the JPPI survey said they felt their faith in God has increased rather than decreased since October 2023. More than a quarter (28%) of Jews and 37% of Arabs said their faith had increased since 2023, compared to 9% of Jews and 4% of Arabs who said that it had declined.

Jews in the 18-24 age cohort were more likely to say their faith in God had increased, with 35% testifying to an increase in faith.

Nearly half (49%) said they believe that their friends and relatives have increased their faith to some degree, while just 9% said that the level of religiosity of those around them had declined since 2023.

When limited to Jews under 25, the percentage who said the religiosity of those around them had increased rose to 58%.

Overall, 27% of Israelis said their observance of religious tradition has increased over the past two years, while 33% of Jews under 25 said the same, along with 23% of Arab Israelis of all ages.

Nearly a third (31%) of Israeli Jews say they are praying now more than they did before the war, with 20% saying they read the Bible or Psalms more frequently, 10% who said they attend synagogue prayers more frequently, 9% who lay phylacteries (tefillin) more often, and 9% who said they intentionally dress more modestly.

Among Jews under 25, 38% said they were praying more often since the war, with 26% reading the Bible more frequently, 14% attending synagogue more often, and a similar percent saying they dressed more modestly.

Politically, a significant shift among Israeli Jews of all ages was observed, with the percentage of respondents who self-identified as “hard right” rising from 11% before the war to 19%, while the percentage who described themselves as “right-wing” rose from 24% to 28%.

The rise was driven primarily by a rightward shift among respondents who had previously described themselves as centrist or center-right.

There was also a movement to the right among those who had previously identified as being left-wing. Half of those who identified as “left” or “hard left” reported some degree of movement towars the right, along with 43% of those who identified before the war as centrists and 49% of those who had previously identified as center-left.

“The data reflects what we sensed on the ground: many in Israel — especially among the young — feel that the war has connected them more deeply to tradition and to Jewish identity,” said JPPI CEO Dr. Shuki Friedman.

“Not necessarily in a halachic way, but in ways that are more salient in their lives and across the public sphere. When Sasson Shaulov’s hit song Tamid Ohev Oti ([God] Always Loves Me) — a religious song by a rabbi — gets tens of millions of plays on YouTube, it captures the spirit of the moment.”

“Alongside this, Israelis, especially young people, have shifted to the right. Israel after the war is more traditional and more right-leaning. At this stage, it is impossible to know whether this is a passing trend, or a deeper and longer-term change.”

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Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Center recovers the names of 5 million of the 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, with plans to identify another 250,000 victims.

By World Israel News Staff

Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, has identified five million of the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust — a milestone reached after roughly seven decades of painstaking research.

As the number of Holocaust survivors continues to decline, Yad Vashem officials say the effort to preserve names and memories has taken on new urgency, ensuring that future generations will still have access to personal testimonies and records.

“Reaching five million names is both a milestone and a reminder of our unfinished obligation,” said Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan.

“Behind each name is a life that mattered – a child who never grew up, a parent who never came home, a voice that was silenced forever. It is our moral duty to ensure that every victim is remembered so that no one will be left behind in the darkness of anonymity.”

Despite the progress, however, some one million victims remain unidentified.

Many of those names may never be known, though Yad Vashem researchers hope that modern technologies — including artificial intelligence and machine learning — will help uncover more details.

By digitally analyzing hundreds of millions of archival documents once too vast to process manually, experts say as many as 250,000 additional names could still be recovered.

The recovered names are preserved in Yad Vashem’s Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names, available online in six languages.

The database uses advanced algorithms to cross-reference name and place variants, assembling hundreds of thousands of detailed “personal files” from archival material that document both the lives and the fates of individual victims.

The global name-recovery project relies on collaboration with Jewish communities, archives, genealogical organizations, and research institutions worldwide.

A key component has been the Pages of Testimony—single-page memorials submitted by survivors, relatives, and friends honoring those who were killed. To date, more than 2.8 million names have been recorded through these pages, submitted in more than 20 languages.

“The Pages of Testimony are symbolic headstones,” said Dr. Alexander Avram, director of the Hall of Names and the Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names.

“Most of the victims of the Holocaust were left without graves, without traces – remembered now only through the Pages of Testimony that bear their names. Each had a life and a story, as real and precious as any other. The Nazis aimed not only to murder them, but to erase their existence, and by identifying five million names, we are restoring their human identities and ensuring that their memory endures.”

Historical records have also played a vital role in expanding the database.

Yad Vashem’s researchers continue to examine personal letters, diaries, Nazi documents, deportation lists, census data, and postwar legal files related to Nazi war crimes. Less conventional sources have included inscriptions on tombstones in Jewish cemeteries and memorial plaques in synagogues, each helping to fill small but critical gaps in the collective record of Jewish life destroyed during the Holocaust.

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Dr. Titus Kennedy says new findings in Jordan align with the biblical story of fire raining from heaven.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

New findings in excavations in Jordan near the Dead Sea show evidence of destruction from above that matches the Bible’s description of the erasure of Sodom and Gomorrah, according to archaeologist Dr. Titus Kennedy.

In a podcast called “Digging for Truth,” Kennedy, a field archaeologist with the Discovery Institute, said that of the five cities mentioned in Genesis as located in the Jordan Valley in a single grouping, including the two infamous sinful cities, one called Zoar was never lost to history.

It is named in many ancient documents, and its location is known, said Kennedy, who headed the excavations in the area of ancient Zoar, located on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. It is therefore a “geographic anchor” point for the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, he added.

According to the biblical story, when angels came to save Lot, Abraham’s nephew, from Sodom, he escaped to Zoar that same day. Archaeologists searching for Sodom would have a limited amount of ground to cover in search of it.

For years, the leading candidate for Sodom has been Bab edh-Dhra, an Early Bronze Age city on the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea, which is within a day’s walk of Zoar.

Kennedy said that mass charnel houses, where the dead were buried above ground instead of being interred in caves, have recently been found there, showing evidence of fires that started from their roofs and spread downward.

“This hints that the destruction came from above and was not deliberately set from within the tombs,” he said. This would accord with the biblical account of fire and brimstone raining down from heaven.

There is also a cave nearby that, according to ancient Christian Byzantine tradition, was the hiding place to which Lot and his two daughters chose to flee arriving in Zoar because he was afraid the city would also be destroyed, although the angels had promised he would be safe there.

The cave contained pottery from the Early Bronze Age period, so “it fits the correct time as a cave in use during the life of Lot…. We can’t say for sure that it’s the place, but it certainly fits things as far as the geography and the chronology and the tradition,” he said.

About 20 kilometers south of Bab edh-Dhra is the site of Numeira, which has tentatively been identified as Gomorrah. There, Kennedy said, human skeletons were discovered beneath a collapsed tower.

“We don’t usually find complete skeletons just lying around in excavation sites from this period,” Kennedy said, because it was customary to bury the dead in sealed tombs.

This could indicate that a sudden catastrophe occurred, with people dying where they stood, much as famously happened in Pompeii with the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Two other nearby sites, Pipa and Hanazir, which could be the last of the five-city grouping, also showed signs of sudden destruction and fire, Kennedy said.

Another possible candidate for Sodom is Tall el-Hammam, a Middle Bronze Age city northeast of the Dead Sea, which researchers believe was annihilated by the impact of a meteor, based on the composition of the site’s 1.5-meter-thick carbon- and-ash-rich destruction layer.

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An IDF amputee was seen raising his prosthetic leg in the air in a moving act of defiance and faith.

By Hezy Laing

Sometimes it’s hard to fathom the incredible courage of IDF soldiers.

In a powerful display of resilience and faith, several IDF soldiers who lost their legs during the 2023–2025 war were seen participating in Simchat Torah celebrations across Israel.

Despite their injuries sustained during the October 7 Hamas attacks and subsequent battles in Gaza, these soldiers embraced the spirit of the holiday, dancing and rejoicing to mark the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle.

More than 5,500 IDF soldiers were wounded during the war. Hundreds of them lost limbs, with several dozen losing multiple limbs.

One particularly moving story was shared by Rabbi Areyah Kaltmann, who described an amputee soldier who insisted on dancing during the celebrations.

“The very act of rising—of moving forward, of declaring joy in the face of devastation—is an example of profound defiance, faith and healing”.

The soldier, who lost his leg in combat, joined others in a circle dance, embodying the holiday’s theme of spiritual triumph.

Despite severe injuries, IDF Capt. (res.) Rabbi Liraz Zeira, a Chabad emissary and reservist in the Paratrooper Brigade, also took part in the celebrations.

He was critically injured in September 2025 when he stepped on a land mine while preparing an outpost for Yom Kippur in southern Syria.

The explosion resulted in the loss of both his legs, and he was airlifted to Rambam Hospital in Haifa for emergency treatment.

Rabbi Zeira is well known in Jerusalem’s Nachlaot neighborhood and has served as a Chabad emissary on college campuses.

Despite his injuries, Rabbi Zeira made a deeply moving appearance during the Simchat Torah celebrations at the Assaf Harofeh Hospital, where he is undergoing rehabilitation.

His presence was a source of inspiration to patients, staff, and visitors, symbolizing the enduring spirit of Israel’s wounded warriors and the strength of religious devotion even in the face of profound physical trauma.

Meanwhile, students from the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva in Givat Shmuel, near Tel Aviv, arrived last night at Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital, where some of the returned hostages and war-wounded are being treated.

There they danced and celebrated with soldiers in wheelchairs in a spirit of hope, unity, and joy.

At the Western Wall, a special prayer gathering was held where wounded soldiers and civilians came together to express gratitude for their survival and pray for the recovery of their comrades.

The event was attended by Israel’s Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef and Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites.

But perhaps the most incredible of all was the huge Israeli celebration at the site of the Nova Festival massacre.

There, an IDF amputee was seen raising his prosthetic leg in the air in a moving act of defiance and faith.

The site of mass death was transformed into a powerful testament to renewed life.

These celebrations were not only acts of religious devotion but also moments of national healing.

In synagogues across the country, rabbis acknowledged the pain of the past year while encouraging communities to find strength in unity and tradition.

The presence of wounded soldiers—some still undergoing rehabilitation—served as a living testament to the enduring spirit of the Israeli people.

Their participation in Simchat Torah 2025 reminded many that even in the aftermath of tragedy, joy and hope can still flourish.

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