news obituary
Music legend Dolly Parton on stage at the Grand Ole Opry during a live broadcast in Nashville, Tenn., on April 23, 2005. (Credit: U.S. Department of Defense photo by Tech. Sgt. Cherie A. Thurlby, U.S. Air Force/Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
August 26, 2026, 9:46 am
Music legend Dolly Parton, country singer and songwriter, dies at 80
President Donald Trump announced that he would lower the American flag nationwide for one week in honor of the star of sound and stage.
By JNS
In a five decade career, Jack Ukeles offered policy research, planning and management for a range of secular and Jewish non-profits. (Courtesy)
August 12, 2026, 8:42 pm
Jack Ukeles, who used data and idealism to shape Jewish communal life, dies at 89
The longtime Jewish communal researcher and consultant conducted influential population studies, advised major organizations and mentored generations of Jewish professionals.
By Gary Rosenblatt
Sen. Lindsey Graham (L) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu (R) in Jerusalem on April 17, 2023. (GPO/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
July 12, 2026, 12:01 pm
Lindsey Graham, pro-Israel Republican senator, dies suddenly at 71
Graham’s last visit to Israel was in February, just before the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
By JTA Staff
Clive Davis (r) with Aretha Franklin at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, April 19, 2017. (Clint Spaulding/Penske Media via Getty Images)
June 23, 2026, 5:36 pm
Clive Davis, influential Jewish rock-and-roll executive, dies at 94
He signed Bruce Springsteen and Aretha Franklin – and allegedly used company money to pay for his son’s bar mitzvah.
By Andrew Lapin
Alan Greenspan testifies before the House Financial Services Committee, Feb. 19, 2015. (Wikimedia Commons)
June 23, 2026, 5:29 pm
Alan Greenspan, longtime Fed chairman, dies at 100
The free markets champion did not play up nor try to hide his Jewish background, although both Jews and their enemies took notice.
By Ron Kampeas
> Pioneering kinetic artist Yaacov Agam receiving the Israel Prize from Education Minister Yoav Kisch on April 20, 2026 at the Yaacov Agam Museum of Art (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)
June 21, 2026, 4:17 pm
Israeli kinetic art pioneer Yaacov Agam dead at 98
Agam was awarded the Israel Prize for Visual Arts in April
By JNS Staff
Barney Frank speaks during PFLAG National's Love Takes Justice event at AFT Headquarters on Nov. 18, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for PFLAG)
May 20, 2026, 11:08 am
Barney Frank’s final warning on Israel: ‘America’s effort should be to support the opposition to Netanyahu’
Frank served in Congress for 32 years until his retirement in 2013.
By Ron Kampeas
Former Representative Eliot Engel speaks at the Anti-Defamation League's National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. on June 4, 2019. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
April 13, 2026, 12:35 pm
Eliot Engel, longtime NY congressman, dies at 79
The Jewish politician served for more than three decades in Congress and became a leading pro-Israel voice before losing his 2021 primary amid shifting Democratic views on Israel.
By Grace Gilson
Rev. Jesse Jackson at the United Nations for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, at the U.N. Office at Geneva, on March 21, 2012. (Credit: U.S. Mission to the United Nations in G (eneva/Eric Bridiers)
February 17, 2026, 3:49 pm
Jesse Jackson, American civil-rights leader and activist, dies at 84
“Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him,” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote.
By Mike Wagenheim
Josef Veselsky recieves an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2016. (Trinity College Dublin/Facebook)
January 5, 2026, 4:24 pm
Josef Veselsky, Holocaust survivor and Ireland’s oldest man, dies at 107
Veselsky joined the resistance in Czechoslovakia during World War II; his family was murdered.
By Grace Gilson
Eva Schloss MBE, step-sister of Anne Frank and Honorary President of the Anne Frank Trust UK and Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, meet during a reception to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, Jan. 20, 2022, in London. (Chris Jackson - Pool/Getty Images)
January 5, 2026, 1:59 pm
Eva Schloss, Holocaust survivor and posthumous stepsister to Anne Frank, dies at 96
She became one of England’s most prominent survivors.
By Philissa Cramer
Prominent Jewish communal leader Rabbi Julius Berman dies at 90. (Yeshiva University)
December 31, 2025, 3:57 pm
Julius Berman, Orthodox rabbi whose influence spanned secular and observant institutions, dies at 90
Over his career, Berman led some of the largest Jewish organizations in the United States.
By Grace Gilson
Rob Reiner attends the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival at the Beacon Theatre on April 27, 2019 in New York City. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
December 15, 2025, 2:16 pm
Rob Reiner, iconic Jewish director and actor, found dead with wife Michele in their home
The Reiners’ son Nick was arrested in connection to their deaths.
By Andrew Lapin
Frank Gehry speaks during the MOCA Gala 2025 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA on May 31, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Presley Ann/Getty Images for The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA))
December 8, 2025, 3:18 pm
Frank Gehry, renowned architect who began life as Frank Goldberg, dies at 96
“There’s a curiosity built into the [Jewish] culture,” said Gehry in 2018. “I grew up under that. My grandfather read Talmud to me.”
New York City Police Department Chaplain Rabbi Alvin Kass seen giving the invocation at the State of the City Address at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Symphony Space in New York City, Jan. 10, 2019. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
October 30, 2025, 12:52 pm
Rabbi Alvin Kass, longest-serving NYPD chaplain famed for 9/11 response, dies at 89
Kass once disarmed a hostage-taker with pastrami sandwiches from the Carnegie Deli.
By Philissa Cramer
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