Hillel International’s CEO expressed concern over the Trump administration’s plans to deport pro-Palestinian students and freeze federal funding to schools over campus antisemitism.

The statement from Hillel, the largest organization focused on Jewish students, is especially notable because the organization has often been at the forefront of calling out campus antisemitism and supporting pro-Israel students. Pro-Palestinian groups have targeted Hillel chapters or called on universities to cut ties with them in a number of instances. 

Trump has sought to deport a string of campus activists in the name of protecting Jews. But Hillel CEO Adam Lehman said in a written address that the arrests — which have sparked a national controversy — could unfairly affect Jewish students and fuel antisemitism.

“For those expressing concerns over how current actions — such as deportations and withholding of grants for university research — are being implemented, we share those concerns,” he wrote. 

Lehman wrote that he remained steadfastly opposed to campus antisemitism. He said that Hillel had documented a spike in campus antisemitism that has continued into this year, including hundreds of instances of antisemitic vandalism or threats of violence. He wrote, “First, for those who may be discounting and dismissing campus antisemitism as a real issue, we unfortunately know otherwise.”

But he called for due process for those accused of wrongdoing, and worried that Jewish students could bear the blame for Trump’s campus crackdown. He wrote:

For the benefit of Jewish students and all students, we believe it is essential that students, faculty, and staff violating laws and campus codes of conduct be held accountable for those destructive actions. At the same time, we also believe that due process for those accused of wrongdoing is essential — whether through mandated protections in legal settings or consistent, fair, and responsive disciplinary procedures at the university level.

We also share concerns over ways in which actions to combat campus antisemitism can actually fuel further antisemitism, feeding into longstanding tropes about outsized Jewish influence, and leading some people to unfairly hold Jewish students and faculty responsible for actions the government or others are choosing to pursue. 

The administration’s recent actions, which have included a string of detainments of international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests and funding freezes at universities, have largely cited investigations into campus antisemitism as their impetus. While a broad range of Jewish groups have condemned the views and actions of the pro-Palestinian protesters, many opposed the efforts to deport them, or called for those detained to be afforded due process.

Lehman included a link in his address to an op-ed published yesterday by a former student president of Harvard Hillel who expressed disappointment over the administration’s recent threats to $9 billion in federal funding at the university. Trump has also frozen hundreds of millions of dollars of funding at Columbia and Princeton Universities.

“Despite my deep disappointment with many of my peers’ recent behavior, blanket federal funding cuts will inevitably fail to solve our University’s problems,” wrote senior Jacob M. Miller.

Lehman wrote that addressing antisemitism on campus necessitated a “multi-faceted” approach that went beyond legal moves by the administration: “While legal actions have a role to play, they are by no means a cure-all,” he wrote. 

The United States will impose 17% tariffs on goods imported from Israel under a sweeping new tariffs system that President Donald Trump unveiled on Wednesday.

The tariffs on Israeli goods are less than some Trump rolled out but greater than the 10% baseline that he is assessing on all imported products. They fall into the “reciprocal tariffs” bucket and represent half of the 33% tariffs that Israel has until now assessed on some U.S. goods. Many imports from the United States have not been taxed under a 1985 free-trade agreement.

Attempting to avert Trump’s targeting, the Israeli government on Tuesday abolished all tariffs on U.S. goods. It was not immediately clear whether Trump would adjust the tariffs on Israeli goods as a result, as he did for other countries that previously eliminated tariffs on U.S. goods under Trump’s trade pressure.

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the decision on X, owner and Trump’s governing partner Elon Musk tweeted a two-emoji response: the American and Israeli flags, side by side.

The decision could raise prices on consumer goods including kosher food and Judaica that are produced in Israel. Israel is also a major exporter of technology, precious stones and medical supplies, sending products valued at more than $22 billion to the United States in 2024.

Trump argues that the tariffs are needed to reclaim money and respect that other countries have taken from the United States. His critics, including most mainstream economists, say they will wreak havoc on the global economy and translate largely into higher prices for U.S. consumers.

More than 100,000 people in New York City speak Yiddish. And if any of them were listening to Brad Lander on Wednesday, they may have wanted to cover their ears.

That’s because Lander, the city comptroller and a candidate for mayor, decided to clap back at a diss from Andrew Cuomo with a curse of his own — in Yiddish.

“A beyzer gzar zol er af dir kumen,” Lander, who is Jewish, said at a press conference.

It’s a phrase that translates literally to “May an evil decree come upon him.” But in the words of one Brooklyn political reporter, the rough translation is a little more colorful: “Get the f— out of here.”

Lander added, “Andrew Cuomo doesn’t get to tell me how to be Jewish.”

Lander was responding to a recent speech in which Cuomo addressed antisemitism — and hinted that some of his opponents, including Lander, were part of the problem.

“It’s very simple: anti-Zionism is antisemitism,” Cuomo said in his speech Tuesday at West Side Institutional Synagogue. He proceeded to accuse some of his rivals of fitting the bill, and claimed that Lander divested city funds from Israel — which Lander has denied.

The speech was the latest of several instances in which Cuomo, the frontrunner in New York’s crowded Democratic primary, has focused his campaign on Israel and antisemitism — which he called “the toughest issue that is facing the city of New York.” Among other things, Cuomo called for a ban on masks at protests and to more forcefully prosecute hate crimes.

The emphasis dates back to the aftermath of his 2021 resignation as governor, as he faced allegations of sexual harassment.

Cuomo has fiercely contested the allegations in court, but a recent profile in New York magazine said that he, a Catholic, performed a Jewish ritual to seek private atonement — casting his sins into the water, akin to the Rosh Hashanah practice of Tashlich.

“At one point, he said, he wrote down his sins on a piece of paper and tossed it into the waters off the Hamptons, where he was staying with his sister,” the article said.

Cuomo had sparked controversy among haredi Orthodox New Yorkers as governor for instituting measures to fight COVID-19 that, some felt, unfairly targeted haredi neighborhoods. He was also accused of allegedly saying “these people and their f—ing tree houses” while campaigning in a haredi neighborhood during Sukkot — a claim he denies.

But Cuomo has tried to cozy up to the Jewish community as 2025 approached. Back in the Hamptons last year, he kicked off a project fighting antisemitism, and even joined the legal team for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he faces charges of war crimes in the International Criminal Court.

Lander isn’t the only candidate who took flak from Cuomo in the synagogue speech. The ex-governor also condemned Zohran Mamdani, who has voiced support for the movement to boycott Israel. (Mamdani was also recently dubbed “DANGEROUS MAM” by the front page of the New York Post, which told its readers to “stop the anti-Israel forces” standing behind him.)

So will Cuomo’s bid to portray himself as the Big Apple’s “Shabbos goy” carry him to victory? Ruminating on his political fortunes to New York magazine, Cuomo reached for another Yiddish adage: “Men plan and God laughs.”

A Jewish Princeton senior and U.S. Army veteran accused of assaulting the school’s head of campus security during a pro-Palestinian protest last year has been found not guilty.

A New Jersey judge delivered the verdict Tuesday, the same day that Princeton’s president announced the school’s federal funding had been frozen by the Trump administration amid investigations into campus antisemitism.

Last April, David Piegaro, who self-describes as a “pro-Israel ‘citizen journalist,’” was attempting to film a sit-in on the campus when he had an altercation with Kenneth Strother Jr., the assistant vice president for public safety. Piegaro said he was not a part of the protests or counter-protests on Princeton’s campus, according to The New York Times.

Piegaro was attempting to follow Strother and two other people into a building adjacent to the sit-in when Strother blocked him from entry.

He proceeded to record the group and asked for Strother’s identity. In the recording of the incident, Piegaro says “don’t touch me” before the video cuts out, according to the Times.

Details over the ensuing altercation remain unclear. Strother asserted that Piegaro resisted arrest and Piegaro said he was the victim of assault, but the incident resulted in Piegaro falling down the steps of the building, where he was then arrested, according to the Times.

“The defendant, in my opinion, showed poor judgment in a tense moment, but it does not rise to the level of criminal recklessness,” said Judge John F. McCarthy III while issuing the verdict.

Following his arrest, Piegaro was barred from the campus for two weeks, a period during which he stayed with the director of Princeton’s Chabad House for a few days.

“In that environment, speaking specifically to the events of that day, when you have a whole host of public safety officers, administrators — I think doing their best — it’s not surprising that mistakes would get made,” Rabbi Eitan Webb told the Times.

Piegaro was arrested alongside 13 student protestors the day of the sit-in, making him one of 3,100 people arrested last spring surrounding pro-Palestinian protests on campuses across the country, according to the Times. The trials for the other students on trespassing charges are set for June.

Most recently, a number of international students have been detained or threatened to be deported by the Trump administration over their alleged involvement in pro Palestinian protests, including students at Tufts and Columbia Universities.

Not one but many interconnected scandals involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are roiling the country right now.

They span everything from Israel’s courts to its intelligence agencies to suspicions of a Qatari plot. Police have questioned Netanyahu, two of his aides have been arrested and protests against him are still filling the streets. This week, the editor of the Jerusalem Post was also brought in for questioning.

And that’s beside ongoing debates over the Gaza war and the hostages held by Hamas.

Israeli news is often hectic and confusing. But if this week feels especially dizzying to you, you’re not alone. Yesterday, the banner headline on one of Israel’s most-read papers blared, simply, “National Vertigo.”

What are these scandals? Are they interconnected? What do they mean for the war and the hostages in Gaza? Will Netanyahu keep his job? And what does Lindsey Graham have to do with all of this?

We explain it all here.

Why is Netanyahu’s office being investigated over Qatar?

The scandal lighting up Israel, more than any other, is known locally as “Qatar-gate.” (Yes, that’s what it’s called in Hebrew, too). The short version of the story goes something like this:

Eli Feldstein was hired after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack as a spokesman for Netanyahu. At the very same time, allegedly, Fedstein was also being paid to represent the Qatari government — a longtime funder of Hamas — and to push Qatari messaging to Israeli journalists.

The man who oversaw Feldstein, longtime Netanyahu adviser Yonatan Urich, faces similar allegations. This week, another accusation surfaced: that Urich sent Qatari talking points as statements from Netanyahu’s office.

Both Feldstein and Urich have been arrested, and the investigation’s net has ensnared more people: Jay Footlik, a former Democratic adviser, reportedly arranged the Qatari payments to Feldstein.

On Tuesday, it emerged that Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Zvika Klein was also being questioned under caution in the probe. Klein visited Qatar one year ago at the country’s invitation and spoke with senior officials there; he wrote that his trip there “reveals a nation striving for a larger purpose on the world stage.”

Israeli media had reported that Feldstein invited Klein to Qatar. In February, Klein denied that claim in a post on X, writing, “The truth is I have never met Feldstein” and that he spoke with Feldstein on the phone only following the Qatar visit.

He added, “The Qatari government is the one that contacted us, the Jerusalem Post — because they knew that we’re a balanced and influential publication that is read both among government officials and influential American Jews — as do many other countries, and we have no need for intermediaries.

One day earlier, Netanyahu himself was questioned. He has denied wrongdoing and said the investigation is politically motivated.

Isn’t Netanyahu embroiled in a lot of allegations? Why is this one blowing up?

Yes, Netanyahu has been on trial for corruption for years, in a series of cases that once scandalized Israel but have received relatively less attention recently in the country’s media and protests.

The Qatar scandal is different.

Qatar has funded Hamas and hosts Hamas’ leadership, who continued to use it as a home base after the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Qatar is also one of the countries mediating negotiations over the Israeli hostages Hamas is holding.

All of that makes Qatar something of an adversary to Israel — and key to the Israeli national interest. While some Israeli politicians have praised Qatar as a go-between, others have condemned it as a sponsor of terror.

It’s also far from the first example of Qatar using its billions to burnish its image internationally — whether by funding American universities, inviting their satellite campuses to its own soil, or hosting the World Cup in 2022. Those initiatives have invited scrutiny and criticism — and played into one of Qatar’s long-standing aims: For years, the oil-rich Gulf state has sought to establish itself as an indispensable bridge-builder and mediator in a fraught and violent region.

“Qatari money is like fingerprints that appear when an ultraviolet light turns on,” the Israeli journalist Matti Friedman wrote this week. He added, “But few suspected that the ultraviolet light would turn up a new fingerprint — in Israel itself.”

The concern is that if the prime minister’s aides are secretly working for the country that houses Hamas’ leaders, that may not bode well for Israeli security. Another twist: Amit Hadad, the lawyer representing Urich, also has another client: Netanyahu.

Will the investigation implicate Netanyahu? What’s he saying about it?

The prime minister has not been charged in Qatar-gate, but he was brought in for hours of questioning on Monday.

As in his corruption cases, the prime minister is denying any wrongdoing — and isn’t holding back. In a video on Monday, he called Feldstein and Urich “hostages” — a loaded term in Israel.

He claimed that the entire investigation is a ploy to take down his government.

“After an hour, they were out of questions,” he said of the police. “I said, ‘Show me materials, show me something.’ They had nothing to show. I was astounded. I knew this was a politically motivated investigation, but I didn’t understand to what extent. And they’re holding Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, simply, as hostages.”

The comment raised eyebrows in Israel. “He knows no bottom,” tweeted liberal activist Yaya Fink, one of the prime minister’s longtime critics. “The only hostages are our 59 brothers and sisters who are abandoned in Hamas captivity.”

What does this have to do with Netanyahu firing the intelligence chief?

It depends who you ask. When Netanyahu announced two weeks ago that he would fire Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, he said it was because he had “a continuing lack of confidence” in him — not because of the Qatar probe.

It is true that Netanyahu and Bar have reportedly clashed time and time again over the hostage negotiations. But given the timing of the decision, shortly after news of the Qatar investigation broke, Netanyahu’s critics alleged an ulterior motive.

“Netanyahu is firing Ronen Bar for only one reason — the ‘Qatar-gate’ investigation,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on the same day as Netanyahu’s announcement. “For a year and a half, he saw no reason to fire him, but only when the investigation into Qatar’s infiltration of Netanyahu’s office and the funds transferred to his closest aides began did he suddenly feel an urgency to fire him immediately.”

A chunk of Israelis at large are sympathetic to that claim: Although Bar, who was in his position on Oct. 7, 2023, is unpopular, a poll found that about half of respondents say Netanyahu fired Bar over “Qatar-gate” — not because of his job performance. About a third said the decision was a result of Oct. 7.

The Supreme Court has frozen the termination until a hearing next week out of fear that the move was illegal. That fear succeeded an opinion by Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara — whom Netanyahu’s government is also pushing to fire.

Will Netanyahu obey the court?

That’s the question on everyone’s mind — and it depends in part on whether the court upholds the firing or strikes it down. But in the meantime, Netanyahu insists that he has the right to choose his own officials — and he’s forging ahead, with mixed results.

On Monday, he announced that Eli Sharvit, a vice admiral in Israel’s navy, would be the next Shin Bet chief. The appointment earned praise even from some Netanyahu critics, who praised Sharvit’s professionalism.

But then, one day later, Netanyahu flipped, and pulled Sharvit’s nomination. That about-face came after Netanyahu allies protested that Sharvit had opposed another Netanyahu effort — his quest to weaken the judiciary.

This is also where Lindsey Graham comes in. The Republican senator also objected to Sharvit — because the navy man recently wrote an op-ed, in Hebrew, criticizing President Donald Trump’s climate policy.

“While it is undeniably true that America has no better friend than Israel, the appointment of Eli Sharvit to be the new leader of the Shin Bet is beyond problematic,” Graham wrote. “There has never been a better supporter for the State of Israel than President Trump. The statements made by Eli Sharvit about President Trump and his policies will create unnecessary stress at a critical time.”

Netanyahu announced Wednesday that the Shin Bet’s deputy head would be its interim leader.

Is that why Israelis are protesting?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is yes — and they’re protesting other things, too.

Protesters massing outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence have highlighted the Qatar scandal and opposed the firing of Bar. They’re also protesting other Netanyahu decisions that, they say, endanger Israel.

Antigovernment protests have been taking place for years in Israel for a variety of reasons, but they escalated two weeks ago when Netanyahu decided to end the ceasefire in Gaza and resume the war against Hamas, which recently intensified. Netanyahu said the new offensive is necessary to depose the terror group from Gaza. Protesters say it promises more war that will only endanger the hostages — instead of negotiating to bring them home.

Days later, another issue animated the protesters: A renewed, successful legislative push to enact a piece of Netanyahu’s long-desired judicial overhaul. Last week, the government passed a bill increasing politicians’ influence in selecting Supreme Court judges. Proponents of the move say it will make the court more responsive to the country. Opponents say it will politicize a previously professional system.

Whatever the issue at hand, the protests have been far from calm. The police, who are controlled by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have clashed with protesters. On Monday, two policemen were filmed grabbing left-wing lawmaker Naama Lazimi by the arms and manhandling her at a protest as she screamed.

Will Netanyahu survive this scandal?

For now, yes. Despite the demonstrations, his parliamentary majority looks solid — and as long as he has a majority, he can stay in office. His government just passed a budget, which enables it to last until the next election, which is set to take place in late 2026.

Netanyahu is not popular: 70% of Israelis want him to resign, either right now or after the war ends. Most surveys show he’d lose a close election if one were held today. But his poll numbers have improved since Oct. 7, and he’s escaped from political peril many times before.

Still, challengers are girding themselves. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a former ally who was key to unseating Netanyahu in 2021, just announced that he was reentering politics.

Israel launched an offensive late Tuesday to seize “broad areas” of the Gaza Strip, signaling a prolonged military presence there.

The announcement by Defense Minister Israel Katz came as international outrage is mounting over the war. This week, United Nations officials said they discovered a “mass grave” with the bodies of 15 aid workers killed by Israel. Israel said the deaths occurred in a strike on terrorists using emergency vehicles.

The operation in southern Gaza began about two weeks after Israel ended a ceasefire with Hamas and resumed its war to defeat the terror group. Katz said it is meant to “crush and cleanse the area of terrorists and terror infrastructure, and to seize broad territories that will be added to Israel’s security zones in order to protect our combat forces and towns.”

Katz also said that the offensive is “first and foremost” meant to free all of the 59 hostages who remain in Gaza. The IDF’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, told troops on Wednesday, “The only thing that can stop us from advancing is the release of our hostages.”

In a statement Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops were taking a new area called the Morag Corridor, adding it to the Philadelphi Corridor that Israel has held for nearly a year.

“We are now dividing the strip and increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” he said in a statement. “And as long as they do not give them to us, the pressure will increase until they do.”

Polls show that a majority of Israelis want the war to end with a deal to release the 59 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, 24 of whom are thought to be alive. The recent ceasefire, which lasted two months, saw dozens freed in exchange for a larger number of Palestinian security prisoners.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents many of the hostages’ relatives, condemned the new offensive.

“Was a decision made to sacrifice the hostages for ‘seizing territory?’” the group said in a statement. “Instead of releasing the hostages in an agreement and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more soldiers to Gaza, to fight in the same places they’ve fought time and again.”

For some on the right, the announcement of the new offensive may offer a suggestion that Israel intends to conquer and hold additional land in Gaza for potential non-military purposes. Since the beginning of the war with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, the Israeli far right has called on Israel to occupy the territory and reestablish settlements that were evacuated two decades ago. The Israeli government has repeatedly ruled out resettling the enclave.

International officials are also Israel’s military renewed campaign. Volker Türk, the U.N. human rights chief, said in a statement that Israel had attacked aid workers. U.N. officials described a “mass grave” that contained the remains of 15 aid workers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, the United Nations and Palestinian civil defense, a Gaza governmental body. One more aid worker’s body is still missing.

“I condemn the attack by the Israeli army on a medical and emergency convoy on 23 March resulting in the killing of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian workers in Gaza,” Türk said. “The subsequent discovery of their bodies eight days later in Rafah, buried near their clearly marked destroyed vehicles, is deeply disturbing.”

The United Nations says hundreds of aid workers have been killed in the war. In one incident last year that drew broad attention, Israel apologized for what it said was an unintentional strike that killed seven workers for World Central Kitchen.

Israel is contesting this week’s allegations, saying that the vehicles had advanced “suspiciously” toward IDF troops without prior coordination and that Hamas operatives were among the bodies recovered.

“It’s truly not surprising that terrorists are once again exploiting medical facilities and equipment for their activities,” said IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani on X. “When terrorists act in an active combat zone, we will do whatever it takes to protect our civilians and troops.”

Asked about whether the U.S. Department of State would investigate, a spokesperson said at a press briefing on Monday, “The use of civilians or civilian objects to shield or impede military operations is itself a violation of international humanitarian law, and of course we expect all parties on the ground to comply with international humanitarian law.”

On Wednesday, fighting was ongoing. Evacuation orders had already been issued by the time of Katz’s announcement, and Palestinian radio reported that the area around Rafah, in southern Gaza, had almost emptied, according to Reuters.

History is powerful, and there’s no better evidence than the attempt to erase it.

As a historian and as CEO of the Jewish Women’s Archive, I’ve staked my career on a theory of change that insists that the stories we tell about the past and the present determine our futures. That’s why I am alarmed — but not surprised — that the Trump administration has made it a priority to wipe mentions of women, transpeople and people of color from sites that celebrate their contributions to American history and society.

In an executive order, Donald Trump says he is “restoring truth and sanity to American history” by cracking down on the Smithsonian and other institutions that have sought to complicate and diversify the stories they tell in recent years.

It’s clear to me that doing so is a key element of Donald Trump’s strategy to undermine the resources Americans have to resist his policies, for when we are deprived of a history that reflects the diverse leaders who made change in the past, our capacity to make change today is diminished.

Of course, the contributions of women and other marginalized people can’t be erased from history with an executive order prohibiting certain words or terms. It’s an absurd notion, the delusion of a narcissist convinced of his own absolute power to determine reality. But it is nevertheless an act of violence, one that works hand in hand with the sowing of disinformation that is Trump’s trademark and the undermining of expertise that drives the work of DOGE.

One of the many lessons history teaches us is that when people’s stories are obliterated, their rights are not far behind. It is instructive, resonant, and, frankly, terrifying, to recall that the first Nazi book burning took place in 1933 at the Institute of Sexual Science in Berlin, founded by the Jewish LGBTQ pioneer Magnus Hirshfeld. Or that Emma Goldman’s magazine, Mother Earth, was banned two years before her U.S. citizenship was revoked and she was deported.

Those who fight for survival understand implicitly that their stories are a key tool of resistance. This understanding is why Miriam Novitch smuggled underground publications in Occupied France during World War II and devoted her later years to collecting testimonies and artwork for the Ghetto Fighters’ House collection. It is why South African Fanny Klenerman ran a bookshop to foster anti-apartheid activism. It is why civil rights activists in the United States, including many Jews like Vicki Gabriner, created Freedom Schools in American communities in the South.

I wrote this in the waning days of Women’s History Month 2025. While focusing on a marginalized group for one month doesn’t correct history’s incompleteness, ideally it makes us more attuned to the absences in our narratives during the rest of the year and helps us notice other voices that are missing. Hearing others’ stories helps us build empathy and recognize our common humanity. It is a much-needed bulwark against polarization and distrust. This is how movements like feminism have inspired further liberation beyond their initial focus.

My own work at JWA is not changing now that the calendar has turned to April, but many institutions will no doubt relax their efforts to highlight women’s stories and lift up their voices. This year, it’s more urgent than ever that we take the message of Women’s History Month to heart and redouble our commitment to documenting and amplifying the stories that are being erased. It’s actually simple: Seek out and highlight the stories of those groups who are being erased. Notice who you’re quoting, inviting to speak, talking about, and hiring, and center those who are being sidelined elsewhere. We make choices every day about which voices to amplify. Be intentional in your choices.

Above all, don’t forget that we are all history makers. Together we have the power to create a different story than the one unfolding around us today.

When Shoshana Polakoff was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019 at the age of 37, her life was suddenly turned upside down. With three young children at home and intense chemotherapy on the horizon, she felt overwhelmed.

As Polakoff learned more about the road ahead, she realized that in addition to questions about her health and treatment, she also had concerns about how to navigate her situation as a religiously observant Jew. For example, some women who undergo breast reconstruction surgery use tattooing to recreate nipples, while traditional interpretations of Jewish law generally prohibit tattoos.

Seeking guidance, Polakoff reached out to Sharsheret, a Jewish nonprofit organization that supports women affected by breast or ovarian cancer.

“I didn’t know who Sharsheret was or what they did, but the first social worker I spoke with helped comfort me,” Polakoff recalled. “We talked about what to expect next and how cancer might intersect with being Jewish while undergoing treatment. After I got off the phone with her, I felt much more comfortable.”

Polakoff’s treatment spanned nearly a year, during which Sharsheret provided continual support. She worked with a team that understood the complexities of Jewish life and religious law. She also consulted with a female religious adviser, known as a yoetzet halachah, to address concerns like how chemotherapy might affect her practice of periodic immersion in a mikvah ritual bath.

After her cancer went into remission, Polakoff became an ambassador for Sharsheret, sharing her experiences to help others. Recently, she began speaking to participants in Sharsheret’s Global Health Leadership Training Institute. Launched in January 2022 with support from Micah Philanthropies, the program trains Jewish communal advisers to guide women through cancer treatment and beyond with cultural and religious sensitivity. 

“Those in leadership roles within the Jewish community who provide counsel to others require unique training to offer appropriate guidance during the cancer treatment process,” said Melissa Rosen, Sharsheret’s director of training and education. “The Global Health Leadership Training Institute empowers these leaders to support their communities with understanding and without judgment.” 

Founded in 2001, Sharsheret has helped more than 275,000 women, families, healthcare professionals, and community leaders with free services, education and support. The Training Institute’s first cohort partnered with Nishmat – The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women in Israel—to train 44 women worldwide. The curriculum, developed by Sharsheret’s experts and Nishmat’s religious advisers, addressed medical, halachic and emotional issues.

“Participation in Sharsheret’s program enhanced my understanding of medical and psychological issues women face when confronting a cancer diagnosis,” said Hindy Feder, a yoetzet halachah at Nishmat. “It also allowed me to delve into complex halachic questions relevant to these cases and deliver advice with sensitivity.”

Since its inception, the program has expanded to include institutions like Hadar, Yeshivat Maharat, Neshama: the Association of Jewish Chaplains, the Orthodox Union Women’s Initiative, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, the Academy for Jewish Religion, the Women’s Rabbinic Network and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. The trainings, typically four to 10 hours, introduce participants to cancer’s intersection with Jewish life and provide tools for creating supportive communities.

One recurring issue is tattooing, used in radiation therapy and sometimes breast reconstruction. 

“This can be both a halachic and a cultural issue,” Rosen said. “One woman, unaware tattoos were part of her treatment, literally jumped off the table and ran out of the room when she heard about it. An adviser could have helped her process the information and address any halachic questions beforehand.”

The Sharsheret program trains rabbis, female religious advisers, teachers, mikvah attendants and other religious leaders. Participants stay connected through WhatsApp groups and have access to educational materials and online resources. Each cohort is designed to meet the specific needs of the community it represents, so each cohort is different.

“Ideally, culture or religion shouldn’t be an obstacle,” Polakoff said. “A good adviser can help shoulder the burden for a woman going through this, providing knowledge and sensitivity for a deeply personal journey. The ability to focus on treatment and recovery without worrying about non-medical needs is an incredible gift.”

Ann Pava, president of Micah Philanthropies, emphasized Sharsheret’s innovative approach. 

“We’ve seen firsthand the impact that training workshops have had on the women being trained — and on those who benefit from the extraordinary care they provide,” Pava said.

If you’re interested in convening a group of community leaders to participate in the training program, please contact Sharsheret’s director of training and education, Melissa Rosen, at mrosen@sharsheret.org.

As Sen. Cory Booker broke the record for the longest Senate speech and made clear he was going for 25 hours, Jewish social media lit up with jokes.

“This is the closest Cory Booker will get to experiencing Yom Kippur,” tweeted Sami Sage, the co-founder of Betches Media, in one representative post.

As Jews do on Yom Kippur, Booker fasted during his entire Senate speech, consuming only a few sips of water. He also apologized for his and his party’s errors that allowed Donald Trump to retake the presidency. And with the help of his Democratic colleagues, he also echoed the Yom Kippur experience of stretching out prayer so that it fills all of the time until the Jewish holiday ends — also after 25 hours, coincidentally.

Or perhaps there was no coincidence. Booker spent part of last Yom Kippur at IKAR, the nondenominational Los Angeles congregation founded by Rabbi Sharon Brous, who herself has delivered noted sermons in defense of democracy. There, he offered his own rendition of the Prayer for Our Country that included lines he repeated from the Senate floor.

We reached out to Brous to hear what she made of Booker’s speech on Monday and Tuesday, which Booker concluded with a call to make “good trouble” in opposing the aggressive conservative agenda of the Trump administration. (He also made several Jewish allusions.)

Here’s what she said.

Senator Booker spoke at IKAR this past Yom Kippur morning— it was 6 minutes of straight fire. Now it’s clear that he could have easily taken us all the way through Neilah without so much as a bathroom break!

In all seriousness, to preach for 25 hours requires not only fierce passion and preternatural endurance, but a true sense of purpose. The physical feat is impressive, but it’s not the point. We’d do well to consider why Sen. Booker felt such prophetic urgency in issuing this call in this moment. Rav Kook wrote that when the heart callouses to cruelty, we must, periodically, suspend the normal. May we all find the fortitude to break through the inertia and hopelessness of our time and take a stand for our democracy and for our shared future.

You can see Booker’s complete speech at IKAR from last October below.

Four years ago, Naftali Bennett was the first person in more than a decade to unseat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Now, he looks like he’ll try to do it again.

Bennett, who served as prime minister for about a year from mid-2021 to mid-2022, ended his three-year hiatus from public office by registering a new political party on Tuesday. It doesn’t have members or even a name (for now, it’s “Bennett 2026”), but Bennett’s return to politics has been buzzed about for months, and he’s expected to pose a serious challenge to the unpopular yet formidable prime minister.

Bennett, a former tech entrepreneur born of American immigrants to Israel, has been one of the driving forces of this era of Israeli politics — and one of the most controversial. A religious Zionist who wears a small knit kippa, he entered politics on the hardline, pro-settler right, serving for years as a senior partner in successive Netanyahu governments in a variety of cabinet roles. He has been a longtime vocal opponent of Palestinian statehood.

But he and Netanyahu had a reportedly acrimonious relationship for years — Bennett was once his aide — and in 2021 he rebelled. That June, he joined an unlikely coalition with a group of centrist and left-wing parties, plus an Arab-Israeli faction, to cobble together a bare majority in Knesset, ousting Netanyahu’s Likud Party from power for the first time since 2009. Although Bennett’s party was not the largest, his defection from the right earned him the role of prime minister.

That maneuver earned him overwhelming and lasting ire on the right, and his government fell apart. By the end of 2022, Netanyahu was back in power. Bennett, who made millions in tech before running for office, said he was taking a break from politics.

Since then, and especially since the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, Bennett has depicted himself as more of a centrist compromiser who has the good of Israel’s diverse electorate in mind. He hopes to appeal to people on the center and left — as well as disaffected right-wingers. And he’s long positioned himself, religiously and culturally, as a bridge-builder, a modern Orthodox man who married a secular wife and whose life spans much of Israel’s Jewish spectrum.

Bennett has not publicly commented on his return but it is hardly a surprise. For months, polls have been including a theoretical Bennett party in election surveys — and they’ve shown him performing well, even though its unclear what exactly the party would stand for or who his deputies might be.

Centrist Yair Lapid, who partnered with him in 2021 and now serves as leader of the parliamentary opposition, praised his return. So did centrist Benny Gantz. Netanyahu’s allies mocked him.

But one thing is clear: The race is on.