Ben Harris
Henry Kissinger in 2016 (Photo by Jay Godwin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
November 29, 2023, 9:41 pm
Henry Kissinger, influential first Jewish secretary of state, dies at 100
Kissinger’s efforts to end Israel’s Yom Kippur War in 1973 gave birth to the term “shuttle diplomacy.”
By Ben Harris
University of Connecticut sociologist and historian Nechama Tec's 1993 book “Defiance: The Bielski Partisans” was adapted for a 2008 film directed by Edward Zwick. (Jewish Women's Archive)
August 14, 2023, 8:29 pm
Nechama Tec, survivor whose book inspired the film ‘Defiance,’ dies at 92
The Holocaust survivor told the story of the Bielski partisans
By Andrew Silow-Carroll and Ben Harris
Harold Kushner in his office (Photo by Cult Of Maximilian, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
April 29, 2023, 9:24 pm
Rabbi Harold Kushner, best-selling author, dies at 88
"He reached the heart of every human being.”
By Ben Harris and Philissa Cramer
Ed Asner as newspaper editor Lou Grant in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," circa 1975. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
December 23, 2021, 10:14 am
18 noteworthy Jews who died in 2021
These Jewish luminaries left their marks in the realms of art and culture, government, business, philanthropy and beyond.
By Ben Harris and Ron Kampeas
Images of Andres Levine, Ilan Naibryf and Deborah Berezdivin, three of the Jewish victims of the Surfside building collapse, in center among other photographs of those missing posted at a makeshift memorial on the building site in Surfside, Fla., June 26, 2021. (Andrea Sarcos/AFP via Getty Images)
July 2, 2021, 10:58 am
These are the Jewish victims of the Surfside building collapse
The Champlain Towers South building collapse is a national tragedy that has claimed nearly 20 lives so far
By Ben Harris and Shira Hanau
Rabbi Rachel Ain, center, leads the New York-based Sutton Place Synagogue congregation in a Zoom service. (Screenshot via JTA)
April 8, 2021, 2:49 pm
Conservative Jews consider whether to make Zoom prayer permanent
"Sociologically, as soon as you permit television and computers into your Shabbat, Shabbat is gone," said Rabbi Avram Reisner a longtime member of the committee.
By Ben Harris
Rabbi Abraham Twerski (Photo provided by Rabbi Abraham Twerski)
January 31, 2021, 3:33 pm
Abraham Twerski, Hasidic rabbi and psychiatrist has died at 90
The beloved educator, spiritual leader and mental health professional specialized in substance abuse.
By Shira Hanau and Ben Harris
Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, circa 2000. (Photo by John Downing/Getty Images via JTA)
November 7, 2020, 6:57 pm
Jonathan Sacks, former UK chief rabbi, Jewish ‘intellectual giant,’ dies at 72
The rabbi, a prolific author, was among the world’s leading exponents of Orthodox Judaism for a global audience. He was averse to mixing religion and politics.
By Ben Harris, Cnaan Liphshiz and Gabe Friedman
Rabbi Art Green's forthcoming book is a translation of Torah discourses from the 18th-century Rabbi Menahem Nahum of Chernobyl. (Hebrew College via JTA)
October 20, 2020, 11:30 am
Rabbi Art Green (still) believes Chasidic ideas are key to vibrant Jewish future
Green, 79, has worked to craft a Jewish spiritual vocabulary that can speak to modern Jews living in liberal Western societies.
By Ben Harris
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks speaks at a press conference in central London, March 2, 2016. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images via JTA)
October 16, 2020, 10:46 am
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says he is being treated for cancer
Sacks, 72, has been treated for cancer twice before, in his 30s and again in his 50s.
By Ben Harris
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg participates in a discussion during the Library of Congress National Book Festival at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Aug. 31, 2019. (JTA/Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images)
July 17, 2020, 2:48 pm
Ruth Bader Ginsburg says cancer has returned
Her chemotherapy "is yielding positive results," according to the statement released by the Supreme Court.
By Ben Harris
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) listens to Congregation Chabad Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein of Poway, California, speak during a National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC on May 02, 2019. (JTA/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
July 14, 2020, 7:54 pm
Poway Chabad Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein pleads guilty to tax fraud
Goldstein, who lost a finger in the 2019 Poway synagogue shooting, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, July 14 to a tax fraud scheme.
By Ben Harris
A campaign for coronavirus victim Lipa Friedrich on the website Dryveup.com has already raised over $1 million.Screenshot via JTA
May 20, 2020, 12:49 pm
Jewish crowdfunding sites meet their moment
Raise millions of dollars for coronavirus victims
By Ben Harris
A Chanukah celebration draws a packed house at The Kitchen in San Francisco in December. Photo by Q Lam
February 17, 2016, 7:52 pm
Thriving indie Jewish communities join forces to create rabbinic fellowship
By Ben Harris
April 17, 2011, 1:01 am
As Spain builds monuments to its Jewish past, critics question motives
By Ben Harris and JTA
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