Jewish Telegraphic Agency

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s warning this week that Jewish life in his country “is no longer safe” reflects concerns voiced by some Jews in Berlin. They are alarmed by the success of the left-wing socialist Left Party in Sunday’s municipal election, which coincides with the rising power of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in several state elections this month. Leaving the Left in charge of the country’s capital would be “like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse,” Berlin Jewish Community President Gideon Joffe said in an email press statement this week. The Party “bears a special responsibility for the consequences” of tolerating Islamic extremism, left-wing antisemitism and what German authorities call “clan crime,” organized criminal activity involving extended-family networks in the capital, said Joffe, who represents some 9,000 registered Jewish community members, out of an estimated 30,000 Jews in the nation’s capital. Full story here: https://www.jta.org/2026/09/23/global/merz-warns-that-jews-are-not-safe-in-germany-as-voters-choose-parties-linked-to-antisemitism

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A Jewish public school teacher and pro-Palestinian advocate in Philadelphia has admitted to fabricating Palestinian, Tunisian and Black heritage to her colleagues for years, in a case that some online commenters are dubbing “the Palestinian Rachel Dolezal.” Hannah Gann posted confessions and apologies to social media this week, following confrontations from local pro-Palestinian groups she had worked with. In her apologies, she identified herself as “a white woman with significant privilege and wealth” who has “no Palestinian or Tunisian heritage.” A Jewish Telegraphic Agency request for comment to Gann was not immediately returned. Two local activist groups Gann had been involved with, Philly Educators for Palestine and Racial Justice Organizing Committee, said in their own statement that Gann was also “of Jewish heritage and [part of] an Israeli settler family.” They further accused Gann of falsely claiming to be Black at various points, until they confronted her about her background days ago. Full story here: https://www.jta.org/2026/09/23/united-states/a-jewish-teacher-in-philadelphia-pretended-to-be-palestinian-for-years

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Pop star Ed Sheeran expressed sympathy for “centuries of Jewish pain” while calling what is happening in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustifiable” at a largely solo performance before about 50,000 people at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. It was the tour’s first stop since Macklemore was dropped following pro-Palestinian remarks and the display of images from the Gaza war during his opening set. “I’ve tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music and shows to be about unity not division, about humanity not politics,” he said in a speech before the music began. “But this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore. What happened in Israel at a … music festival on Oct. 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate,” he added. Full story here: https://www.jta.org/2026/09/20/united-states/ed-sheeran-expresses-sympathy-for-both-jews-and-palestinians-at-first-tour-stop-since-macklemore-was-dropped

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Doug Warren, 56, was attending Kol Nidre services at the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville, Ontario on the eve of Yom Kippur on Sunday. Prayers were just about to begin when he heard the gunshots. “The rabbi had just started to call us into the sanctuary. We were stepping inside, and we heard this loud bang, and we all stopped,” Warren, a member of the congregation, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “It sounded like someone was banging the window or the door.” It was a 29-year-old former Canadian soldier exchanging gunfire with a police officer stationed outside the synagogue. The shooter, Sean Ward 29, of Quinte West, Ontario., died from his wounds on Tuesday. The officer, Const. Jeff Smith, a 13-year veteran of the force, remains in the hospital in critical condition. Full story here: https://www.jta.org/2026/09/23/global/ontario-jewish-community-saddened-but-not-shocked-by-shootout-outside-synagogue

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State prosecutors are preparing to drop charges against five current and former Stanford University students accused of felony vandalism during the 2024 occupation of the university president’s office in protest against the war in Gaza. Each of them will be required to complete 100 hours of community service and pay a combined $52,000 in restitution to the university as part of a deal reached on Sept. 21 with California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office. The AG’s office confirmed that the restitution has been paid. In addition this week, the University of Washington in Seattle is preparing to dismiss charges in a similar case. According to the student newspaper, local prosecutors have reportedly entered agreements with all 33 defendants charged with first-degree criminal trespass stemming from a 2025 Gaza protest that also occupied a campus building. The initial charges were filed in March, but prosecutors agreed to drop them if the defendants complete community service and commit no new legal violations. Full story here: https://www.jta.org/2026/09/23/united-states/stanford-gaza-protesters-avoid-felony-charges-in-community-service-deal

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Nazi salutes. A swastika flag. Fights in the stands. They were all part of the scene at a recent combat sports event in Orlando that pitted an Israeli Jew against an avowed racist with SS bolts tattooed on his chest — and ended with the latter mocking his defeated foe as “a short little f–king Jew prick.” The condemnation that followed the Aug. 29 event was aimed in a number of directions: at Paul Miller, the fighter who performed the Hitler salute after his win; at the attendees who returned the salute and displayed the Nazi flag; and at the Kia Center, the city-owned arena best known as the home of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, which hosted the fight night. Politicians were shocked by the display and wrote statements condemning the event — but the Nazi symbols were nothing new for Duel, the online cryptocurrency casino behind the promotion. Founded last year and billing itself as “the first casino that gives a f–k,” Duel has used Nazi symbols and racist language in its gambling programming. And its owner, Ossi Ketola, a Finnish high-stakes poker player, is himself a self-described First Amendment absolutist with his own history of racially charged comments. He celebrated his free speech devotion just one week after the Orlando event, in a social media post featuring a photo of himself with Donald Trump Jr. Full story here: https://www.jta.org/2026/09/22/united-states/nazi-imagery-nothing-new-for-crypto-casino-behind-orlando-fight-with-swastika-flags-and-hitler-salutes

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