Weekly roundup of world briefs

Jewish population of Greater New York reaches 1.4 million

(JNS) — Almost 1.4 million people in the Greater New York Area identified as Jewish in 2023, according to a study by UJA-Federation of New York.

The Jewish Community Study of New York 2023 covers the five boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island), as well as Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties.

UJA said the eight-county New York area continues to be home to the greatest concentration of Jews in the United States, adding that the area has experienced “broad stability” in the number of Jewish adults and children for the past three decades.

Some 20 percent of New York Jews identified with the Reform movement, 19 percent said that they were Orthodox, 15 percent considered themselves Conservative Jews, and 47 percent did not identify with any Jewish religious denomination.

According to the UJA study, 37 percent of married couples involving Jews in the New York area are in a relationship with someone outside the Jewish people.

In 2023, an estimated 13,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors lived in the eight-county area, 92 percent of them lived in New York City. The largest number of survivors live in Brooklyn, accounting for 65 percent of the total.

“The 2023 Jewish Community Study of New York offers a comprehensive snapshot of our community,” said UJA CEO Eric S. Goldstein. “Particularly in this challenging moment, these insights will help guide funding decisions so we can reach people where they are and ensure the strength of our Jewish community and the institutions serving them.”

Bipartisan House bill supports stronger US-Israel healthcare ties

(JNS) — A new House bill, which goes by the “MIRACLE” Medical Technology Act—for “maximizing Israel-U.S. research advancement and collaborative leadership in emerging” medical tech—aims to strengthen U.S. and Israeli healthcare ties.

“Similar to the United States, Israel is a leading hub for new and innovative health-related technology,” said Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), who introduced the bill.

The congressman led the bipartisan legislation with Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) and Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) “to help foster and build stronger ties in health care between the United States and our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel,” he said.

The bill promotes U.S. and Israeli research and development, “innovation hubs to accelerate the development and commercialization of new and emerging health technologies” and protects health intellectual property for biologicals that the two nations share.

It also addresses hospital cybersecurity, telemedicine infrastructure, programs to prevent diseases and training, and establishes a “U.S. Israel Health Care Collaboration Center,” per Buchanan’s office.

“At a time when Israel is under attack, it is critical that potential medical breakthroughs are not stifled,” Miller-Meeks said.

Soto said that as a world leader, Washington must “welcome opportunities to improve our development of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and other solutions such as early-stage clinical trials.”

AIPAC, the Combat Antisemitism Movement, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Federations of North America supported the legislation.

North Carolina House passes ‘Shalom Act’ to codify IHRA definition

(JNS) — In a 105-4 vote, the North Carolina House passed House Bill 942, known as the “Shalom Act,” which would make the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism the state’s guidelines in assessing hate crimes.

The legislation’s sponsor, House Speaker Tim Moore, said in a statement on May 8 following the vote: “I am encouraged by the bipartisan support the bill received today in the House.”

During a press conference before the vote, Moore said, “while I believe roughly 2 percent of our population is Jewish, we have seen an inordinate amount of antisemitism—behavior, attacks, vandalism, you name it, physical assaults—and enough is enough.”

After an affirmative vote in the state Senate, the bill will require the signature of Gov. Roy Cooper.

“While we as Americans have the right to free speech, hate of any kind has no place in our communities. We cannot address antisemitism if we cannot define it,” said bill co-sponsor Rep. Erin Paré.

Rabbi Yerachmiel Altman of Jacksonville, N.C., described how many people seem to misunderstand the recent surge of antisemitism nationwide. “This is probably going to be the most controversial thing I could say,” Altman said. “I don’t think it’s rising; I think it’s coming out of the closet. I don’t think it’s new.”

Judea and Samaria Arabs sound siren to mark ‘catastrophe’ of Israel’s founding

(JNS) — Towns under the control of the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria played a siren on Wednesday afternoon to mark 76 years since the “disaster” of Israel’s re-establishment.

“Arabs in the area will sound a siren at 12:00 to mark the day of the establishment of the State of Israel. The siren may be heard in [Israeli] towns,” the Binyamin Regional Council, which has jurisdiction over large parts of southern Samaria, wrote in a message to residents.

A similar notice was sent to Israelis in the Mount Hebron region of Judea, according to Hakol HaYehudi reporter Elchanan Groner.

The Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news agency said the alarm ushered in 76 seconds of silence “in various Palestinian cities.”

While the Jewish state celebrated its independence on Tuesday in accordance with the Hebrew calendar, Palestinians on May 15 mark “Nakba” (“Catastrophe”) Day to mourn Israel’s establishment in 1948.

The Hatsofot forum for soldiers’ wives in Judea and Samaria on Wednesday morning sent an urgent appeal to the Israel Defense Forces and other officials, demanding that the sirens be prevented from sounding.

Security officials have been preparing for an uptick in terrorism and riots across Judea and Samaria on Wednesday, with tensions already high since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks and the ensuing war.

Ahead of the “Nakba” commemoration, “The Reservists-Generation of Victory” Telegram group called on IDF reservists to volunteer for guard duty at communities and farms in Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley, the Galilee and the Negev, Kipa News reported on Sunday.

Judea and Samaria saw a dramatic rise in Palestinian terrorist attacks in 2023 compared to the previous year, with shootings reaching their highest level since the Second Intifada of 2000-05, according to IDF data.

Between Oct. 7 and Jan. 15, Rescuers Without Borders first responders recorded more than 2,600 Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis in Judea and Samaria, including 760 cases of rock-throwing, 551 fire bombings, 12 attempted or successful stabbings and nine vehicular assaults.

Princeton students get hungry, end hunger strike

By Miri Weissman

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Students at Princeton University protesting Israel’s war with Hamas terrorists in Gaza have terminated their initial “hunger strike wave” after just 10 days, citing health concerns.

The Princeton Divest Now group, which has been urging the prestigious New Jersey institution to divest from America’s Middle Eastern ally due to the civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip, announced the end of the first strike phase.

“Due to health concerns of the 13 strikers who fasted for 10 days, the first hunger strike wave ended, and the second wave has begun,” the group stated in an Instagram post. “In the tradition of rotary strikes, seven new strikers are indefinitely fasting for a free Palestine.”

Princeton University students—who are voluntarily participating in a self-imposed hunger strike—are “literally shaking and immunocompromised” because the University is ignoring their demands.

The decision to halt the first “strike wave” comes after participants had vowed not to consume food or drink “until our demands are met.”

In a May 3 post, the group declared, “Participants will abstain from all food and drink (except water) until our demands are met. We commit our bodies to the liberation of Palestine. Princeton, hear us now! We will not be moved!”

The demands outlined were: “Meet with students to discuss their demands for disclosure, divestment and a full academic and cultural boycott of Israel; grant complete amnesty from all criminal and disciplinary charges for participants of the peaceful sit-in. Reverse all campus bans and evictions of students.”

While the student protesters endured a 10-day strike, Princeton faculty also participated in a 24-hour hunger strike that commenced on Friday morning and concluded on Saturday.

“Our daylong solidarity fast is meant to emphasize the efforts of our students who are undertaking this strike, putting their bodies on the line to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza and the West Bank, who are being subjected to a forced famine and a genocidal assault by the state of Israel,” a faculty member stated at a press conference on Friday.

The brevity of the faculty’s 24-hour strike drew mockery on social media, with many likening it to intermittent fasting, a dietary trend involving extended periods without food.

Originally published by Israel Hayom.

Victim of Hezbollah missile attack named

(JNS) — The name of the civilian killed by Tuesday’s Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack on the border kibbutz of Adamit was released for publication on Wednesday.

Elad Fingerhut, a 38-year-old father of three from Matzuva, a kibbutz located west of Adamit, was killed while trying to help Israel Defense Forces troops wounded in the missile attack, the Itamar Yeshivah said of its graduate.

As he came to the injured soldiers’ rescue, Hezbollah terrorists launched a second missile assault from Lebanon, scoring a direct hit on Fingerhut.

The Israeli military confirmed on Tuesday evening that one soldier was moderately wounded and four others were lightly hurt in the attack, which took place as the Jewish state celebrated Independence Day.

Hezbollah has carried out near-daily attacks on northern Israel since joining the war against the Jewish state in support of Hamas following the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre of some 1,200 people on Oct. 7.

Hezbollah has killed nine Israeli civilians, one foreign worker and 14 IDF soldiers since it began its current round of attacks.

Israel has threatened a major military offensive in Southern Lebanon to push the Iran-backed terrorist organization north of the Litani River—some 18 miles from the border—unless a diplomatic solution is found.

Efforts to calm tensions, including those of the United States and France, have been unsuccessful. On Sunday, a French official denied reports from last week that Hezbollah had rejected a ceasefire proposal.

“The report is inaccurate and wrong. There are no negotiations. Hezbollah refuses to negotiate while the war in Gaza is going on,” the official said.