Israel Philharmonic Orchestra hires assistant of former Putin confidante
April 17, 2023 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
A former personal assistant of a confidante of Russian President Vladimir Putin is the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s new head of artistic operations. Read more
Yad Vashem-sponsored symphony celebrates Japanese diplomat who saved Jews during the Holocaust
March 10, 2023 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
Samurai warriors live by the moral code bushido, or “way of the warrior.” Read more
One year into the war, the displacement, physically and emotionally, of Ukrainian Jews
February 26, 2023 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
The term “displaced persons” doesn’t always adequately capture how much of a geographical impact wars have. Read more
Gene Simmons of Kiss fame to unveil mural of Polish Catholic Holocaust hero
February 23, 2023 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
Artists 4 Israel is expanding its series of murals honouring Righteous Among the Nations. It’s doing so with a “kiss” this time. Read more
Yad Vashem unveils ‘The Book of Names’ at the United Nations
January 27, 2023 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
It’s a book filled with the names of 4.8 million murder victims. The blank pages at the end, though, are especially haunting. Read more
Israeli and PA envoys hurl accusations at Security Council
January 20, 2023 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
The Israeli and Palestinian Authority ambassadors to the United Nations slung barbs at each other in a fiery debate on Wednesday at the U.N. Security Council. Read more
Israel’s UN envoy mocks meeting over Ben-Gvir’s ‘uneventful’ Temple Mount visit
January 8, 2023 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said he was “overjoyed” when he heard that the U.N. Security Council was holding an emergency meeting Thursday over the “quiet, orderly, uneventful” visit of an Israeli government minister to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Read more
A conversation with Ron Dermer provides a blueprint for Israel’s strategy
January 2, 2023 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer was sworn in Thursday as strategic affairs minister. Read more
Concert featuring Holocaust songs to perform at Carnegie Hall
December 27, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
The day Elie Wiesel died, composer and music producer, Ira Antelis, said something came over him. Read more
The White House met with Jewish leaders to discuss antisemitism. Now what?
December 9, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
Wednesday’s high-profile White House roundtable on antisemitism garnered plenty of headlines. Now, according to those present, the real work starts. Read more
UN Middle East envoy says the region reaching a ‘boiling point’
November 30, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “reaching a boiling point,” given a surge in violence in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the United Nations point man in Jerusalem warned on Monday. Read more
Jewish social media influencer makes a Holocaust documentary for a new generation
November 9, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
At a moment of sharply rising anti-Semitism, a Jewish social media star known for her dance videos is getting deadly serious. Read more
Australia is one of UN states coming to Israel’s defence in face of latest Commission of Inquiry report
October 30, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
A number of United Nations member states came to Israel’s defence on Thursday as a controversial U.N. Commission of Inquiry presented its second report to the body. Read more
UN Security Council hails Lapid’s ‘two-state’ commitment, questions Israeli counterterrorism ops
September 30, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
As the United Nations Security Council met on Wednesday, a recurrent theme emerged. Council members lauded Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s support for a two-state solution while simultaneously expressing concern over growing instability in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Read more
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra returns to America to play Carnegie Hall
September 11, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) is preparing for a tour of the United States under the leadership of its history-making conductor, Israeli-born Lahav Shani. Read more
Report: UN refugee agency accepted $50 million from US-designated terrorist group
September 7, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
The U.N. agency responsible for assisting refugees globally has accepted $50 million in donations from a U.S.-designated terror organization, according to a report from a pro-Israel advocacy group. Read more
Just outside Warsaw Ghetto, Ukrainian refugee children strive for a sense of normalcy
July 31, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
It was the summer of 2006, during the Second Lebanon War. Ilana Baird, a refugee from the Soviet Union, fled Haifa with her family and relocated to Jerusalem, where she was finishing her rabbinical studies. Read more
Israel’s UN ambassador urges Security Council to put its microscope away
July 31, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations had a blunt message for the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday. Read more
UN Committee Against Torture to review Palestinian Authority’s record
July 19, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
The United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) will, for the first time, hone in on the actions of the Palestinian Authority. Read more
UN’s point man on religious freedom has released his plan for combating anti-Semitism
July 7, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed presented a historic report in 2019 on global anti-Semitism as a human rights concern. Read more
UN’s anti-Israel special rapporteur again excuses Palestinian violence
June 23, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
The new U.N. Special Rapporteur on Palestinian issues has justified violence against Israelis for the second time in her short stint. Read more
Israelis get approval to head to Qatar for World Cup
June 10, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
Add another Gulf destination has opened to Israeli citizens, at least for a month. Read more
New State Department anti-Semitism envoy Lipstadt delivers first address
May 27, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
Giving her first address as the U.S. State Department’s new special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt told a gathering in New York City that she insisted on ending her oath of office with “so help me G-d.” Lipstadt will need every bit of support she can get, she said. Read more
Was an American drug-terror operation against Hezbollah halted to advance the Iran nuclear deal?
May 22, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
It’s a story few listened to the first time. It’s coming around again at a critical juncture. Read more
How do Putin and Zelensky get the Holocaust so wrong?
May 20, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
It’s a piece of the Holocaust that even scholars misunderstand, or neglect altogether. And it’s a story unknown even to the descendants of a quarter-million Holocaust survivors. Read more
Groups back International Legal Forum report blasting anti-Israel UN inquiry
May 19, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
A coalition of 25 pro-Israel organizations from around the world has signed on to an International Legal Forum (ILF) report castigating the U.N. Commission of Inquiry against Israel as “singularly unprecedented, unjust and completely lacking in impartiality or any legal basis.” Read more
Nazi weapons site is to be filled with the sounds of Jewish-composed music
May 15, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
He and his family escaped the Nazis. His music will now be played where Hitler’s regime tested its weapons. Read more
A talk with God about the Holocaust
May 1, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
For some, the issue never fades from memory. Menachem Rosensaft was born in 1948 in Bergen-Belsen, a Nazi concentration camp turned into a displaced persons camp after the war. Read more
Israeli diplomats work feverishly to tend to those affected by Ukraine crisis
March 29, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
In an area of the world where being a Jew once meant peril, it now can save your life. Read more
At latest UN Security Council session, Israel faces continued scrutiny, despite coming under increasing terror attacks
March 24, 2022 by Mike Wagenheim - JNS
By the time the meeting was over, four Israelis were dead, as part of a growing spate of terror attacks that has the capacity to help light the region ablaze. Read more