Culture and Society
Original reporting, features and analysis on culture and society.
The Apple TV drama combines espionage, family conflict and psychological suspense in a gripping story about how far a mother will go to save her daughter.
“There is nothing he hasn’t won, nothing he hasn’t achieved, nothing he hasn’t proven and yet at 100, he continues to surprise and thrill us,” said actor Josh Gad, who produced the long-awaited “Spaceballs” sequel with Brooks.
Hundreds of mahjong players gathered at the Museum of Jewish Heritage this weekend to celebrate a game that has connected generations of American Jews for nearly a century.
Tradition presents solutions for a world in chaos.
In world politics as in law, only truth can be exculpatory.
“Even the promotional poster we received from the organizers was different and contained no Nazi symbols or extremist imagery,” the club’s board of directors told JNS.
One can stand with one’s people or against them.
“Rise up and kill him first” is a doctrine of preemption, not holy war.
How two ancient civilizations are transforming a rediscovered bond into an epochal partnership.
Answering bad questions is weakening Jewish advocacy. Better questions are our strongest weapon.
A message to a movement that forgot there is such a thing as just war.
“A museum that purports to tell stories about history does not get to change history,” Mark Berlin stated.
The Apple TV drama combines espionage, family conflict and psychological suspense in a gripping story about how far a mother will go to save her daughter.
“There is nothing he hasn’t won, nothing he hasn’t achieved, nothing he hasn’t proven and yet at 100, he continues to surprise and thrill us,” said actor Josh Gad, who produced the long-awaited “Spaceballs” sequel with Brooks.
Hundreds of mahjong players gathered at the Museum of Jewish Heritage this weekend to celebrate a game that has connected generations of American Jews for nearly a century.
The “Kfar Bikartem” initiative offers guided hikes, culinary experiences, host-family visits and heritage tours aimed at boosting tourism and supporting local communities.
Los Angeles-born Rachel Lester tells JNS that winning global public opinion requires more effective storytelling, diverse voices and discipline on social media.
“Even the promotional poster we received from the organizers was different and contained no Nazi symbols or extremist imagery,” the club’s board of directors told JNS.
“A museum that purports to tell stories about history does not get to change history,” Mark Berlin stated.
“Episodes 7 and 8 include content, sights and sounds that may be difficult to watch,” the producers of the award-winning show stated.
Agam was awarded the Israel Prize for Visual Arts in April.
“When you have something saying you can’t go to someone who uses divination, or a witch, or consults spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer, that means this is something people were doing,” Eddy Portnoy, the curator, told JNS.
Irvin Ungar recounts his mission to restore the American Jewish artist to his rightful place in history.
Yishay Ishi Ron’s book, “The Girl Who Rode the White Lion,” is based on a true story of a family that hid Jews in a circus during the Holocaust.
What began as a military failure has become a catalyst for one of the biggest transformations in the country’s technology ecosystem in decades.
Partnerships that include Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Syria “pose a tangible strategic threat to our national security,” Miri Regev writes.
In an increasingly challenging fundraising climate, Israeli companies developing long-term solutions can receive aid from the state.
Netanyahu hails the region for its resilience during the war, calls it “the southern pearl of the State of Israel.”
The facility, mainly used by budget airlines, had been shut for four months due to reduced traffic during the war with Iran.
From plants to jewelry, immigrant entrepreneurs showcase their dreams as they build new lives in Israel.
A U.S. official said that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched a drone at a merchant vessel after Tehran warned against transiting via new routes.
The Jewish state’s “success in overcoming national challenges offers practical solutions” to many of the continent’s needs, Haim Taib tells the JNS Policy Conference.
“Our victory will be to see more families, more children, and more citizens choosing to build their homes in the north,” the president said.
“Iran will administer the strait,” Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said.
From trade partners to strategic allies: Israel-India alliance to only strengthen, say JNS panelists
“What started a little more than 30 years ago as basic relations of seller and buyer has evolved dramatically to the highest level,” said former Israeli Ambassador to India Ron Malka.
“He was a giant of a man who helped shape the U.S. economy for decades under presidents of both parties but was always honest in acknowledging his mistakes,” his widow Andrea Mitchell told NBC.
A €2.5 million European Research Council grant will fund an international effort led by the University of Groningen and the Israel Antiquities Authority to trace where the ancient manuscripts came from.
Jewish institutional credibility is the method, and Jewish institutions are the point of entry.
“My sense is that John wanted to retire with the confidence that, in the absence of the first generation of Catholic and Jewish leaders who lay the foundation of friendship, these relations would grow and thrive,” the scholar Malka Simkovich told JNS.
The demonstration caused heavy traffic, including a chain accident on Highway 1 in which a pregnant woman was moderately injured.
Banning brit milah would prevent Jewish life from flourishing in Europe, said Katharina von Schnurbein.
According to the Pew Research Center, 64% of religiously unaffiliated people who participated in a recent study favored student-led group prayer in public schools.
The defendants want the courts to declare their activities not to be hateful or bigoted, precisely because they are.
Sruly Meyer said he didn’t know what to expect, but figured that he could take the heat.
“The challenges facing American Jewry are also very profound,” Rabbi Menachem Genack told JNS. “The risk of rapid assimilation. The level of antisemitism that we’re seeing. The security challenges facing the State of Israel.”
“The light in his eyes, his love for the people of Israel, and his call never to despair continue to illuminate our path to this day.”
Zionism is the persistence that freed us from tyranny, motivated the formation of our nation-state, and propels us to continue surviving and spreading Jewish innovation to benefit the world.
In an increasingly challenging fundraising climate, Israeli companies developing long-term solutions can receive aid from the state.
The study achieved 82.8% accuracy using AI analysis of eye blood vessels, offering a potential alternative to blood tests.
The former manager of Green Technology Investments allegedly shared confidential information and software with an associate connected to a competing company in Taiwan.
Rapid, tech-driven strikes killed Tehran’s top commanders in seconds and secured air superiority in hours, the Rafael chair and former minister said.
JNS Summit confronts the global war on Jews and finding the tech to fight back.
“Our goal was to create a treatment that works with the brain, not against it,” said professor Tawfeeq Shekh-Ahmed of the School of Pharmacy at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The blind spot could leave less time to prepare for increasingly dangerous heat events.
The future of Israel’s defense array includes AI training systems, battlefield health monitoring devices and advanced water purification solutions.
The system is intended to provide rapid, ready-to-use interception without complex preparation.
“Our goal is clear: to establish Israel as a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence,” Netanyahu said.
The Israeli carrier said broadband will be rolled out gradually beginning in 2027.
The area is no longer just Israel’s frontline of defense. Armed with world-class innovation, those working and living in this region are rebuilding the future.
The Fedayeen Football League plans to hold the game in the heart of the city’s World Cup activities, wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian, Iranian and Lebanese flags, to call for FIFA to expel Israel.
The shooting guard, 22, is the son of legendary Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball star Derrick Sharp.
Cape Verde winger nets in 61st minute moments after subbing on, earning a 2-2 draw in a group match against Uruguay and praise from Israel.
Seattle Parks and Recreation said the Fedayeen Football League did not obtain required permits for matches at Cal Anderson Park and Green Lake Park, adding that the department does not review event marketing materials submitted by permit applicants.
Never Say Never (NSN) team rider Nadav Raisberg speaks with JNS after securing the points classification at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and winning the Israeli road race championship.
Governing body tells JNS it would welcome a symbolic match with a Palestinian team as FIFA weighs staging it at a U.S. youth tournament in September.
The Trump administration has refused entry to a handful of delegates.
The Oct. 4 match will move from Dublin without fans after protests and security concerns.
There is no quarry too large or small that the Gulf state is not interested in purchasing. To be sanguine about all this is suicidal.
Moshe Lion praised the Jerusalem native as “a source of pride for the capital and all of Israel, citing her determination, perseverance and pursuit of excellence.”
“Sports should bring communities together, not celebrate martyrdom,” Regina Sassoon Friedland of the American Jewish Committee told JNS about the Fedayeen Football League.
Judges are set to rule on replaying the opener, leaving the Hapoel Tel Aviv–Jerusalem semifinal in limbo before Game 3.
Officials say nearly 45,000 foreign workers are in Israel illegally, while criminal brokers charge up to $27,000 per worker and enforcement agencies struggle to keep pace.
New statistics highlight both environmental progress and persistent challenges as Israel marks World Environment Day.
Ahead of the holiday, President Isaac Herzog celebrates the country’s farmers, who provide Israelis “with all the bounty of the land.”
Israeli winemakers hope the designation will boost tourism and encourage the opening of new wineries.
Last year, demand for dairy products rose 63% in the period leading up to Shavuot.
Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Tekuma Authority will invest $24 million.
KKL–JNF says that its decision to stop support for some of the agricultural holdings has nothing to do with where they’re located in relation to the ‘Green Line.’
“When we talk about irrigation or plants, we see that this common language can overcome many political difficulties,” Tomer Malchi told JNS.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar congratulated his newly appointed counterpart, as the two diplomats discussed the situation of both countries.
Michael Lotem finished a three-year tour as envoy to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and the Seychelles in August 2025.
The assessment calls for the return of Palestinian Authority governance and efforts to “advance a durable political settlement based on the two-state solution.”
Michael Lotem has previously served as Israel’s ambassador to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and the Seychelles.
Sruly Meyer said he didn’t know what to expect, but figured that he could take the heat.
“The challenges facing American Jewry are also very profound,” Rabbi Menachem Genack told JNS. “The risk of rapid assimilation. The level of antisemitism that we’re seeing. The security challenges facing the State of Israel.”
Nearly every second cucumber from P.A. farms is contaminated with “extremely high” levels of toxicants.
“We took another step to eventually obtain a cut that will look like a steak, feel like a steak, taste like a steak, and contain exactly the same components found in a steak,” researcher says.
“The Michelin star proves that talent and dedication will be recognized for what they truly are,” Michael Werzberger, an investor in Mutra, told JNS.
The world’s largest Federation plans to distribute the Israeli snack favorite at the Israel Day on Fifth parade in Manhattan on May 31.
The luxury hotel’s popular venue combines panoramic views, Mediterranean cuisine and innovative cocktails with a Mexican twist.
“I’m not scared. I’m never scared,” the shop owner, Hila Ashkenazi, told JNS. “I was in the Israeli army, teaching self-defense. They should be scared of me.”
After months of war and uncertainty, a popular spring festival brought Israelis back to the north.
Emphasis was placed on sweets “to provide troops with a real holiday atmosphere.”
Israeli winemakers hope the designation will boost tourism and encourage the opening of new wineries.
From Basque-style creations to classic Israeli dairy cakes, a seven-stop tasting tour showcased the capital’s growing cheesecake culture ahead of the holiday.
A €2.5 million European Research Council grant will fund an international effort led by the University of Groningen and the Israel Antiquities Authority to trace where the ancient manuscripts came from.
A Bar-Ilan University researcher argues that a cultic stone found at Tel Eton could provide archaeological proof of religious change in Judah during the First Temple period.
“In the last 30 years, nothing on this scale, at this level of preservation, has been found. The excitement is tremendous,” said excavation director Avishag Reiss.
Researchers say traces of repeated fire use deep inside South Africa’s Wonderwerk Cave suggest early human ancestors were harnessing naturally occurring fires far earlier than previously confirmed.
Archaeologists excavating at Ancient Shiloh uncovered three well-preserved Middle Bronze Age storage jars, days before the site’s annual wine festival.
“Here, we have the possibility of excavating the remains of this culture in a single layer.”
According to the NGO, Palestinian Authority works have harmed four adjacent plots at Khirbet Farsin.
Historical truths backed up by ancient artifacts are now pitted against a lethal echo chamber.
Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said: “After years in which sites were neglected or looted, Israel is making historical corrections.”
“There are very few peoples whose capital today is the same as it was 3,000 years ago,” the Israeli prime minister noted.
The discovery near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel has left researchers puzzled about its purpose and age.
The coins were allegedly looted from archaeological sites in Israel and smuggled to the United States.
Along with a group of intellectual activists, she founded Americans For a Safe Israel.
Agam was awarded the Israel Prize for Visual Arts in April.
The prolific writer of 450 books passed away at her Massachusetts home surrounded by family.
The eldest daughter of King Maha Vajiralongkorn died at age 47 after a prolonged illness.
The longtime American TV host inspired millions around the world through decades of accessible home workouts and remained deeply devoted to his Jewish roots and Israel.
The Israeli singer “crossed generations, communities and sectors, becoming an inseparable part of the soundtrack of our lives,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said.
Yitzhak Ben-Hebron escaped Arab riots as a child and later returned to rebuild the Jewish community in the holy city.
The late Jewish representative from Massachusetts “approached Israel as a liberal Zionist: engaged, critical and deeply committed,” William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents, told JNS.
The responsibility now falls on us and future generations to carry out the research, craft the messages and build the alliances that will overcome this current, terrible moment.
His greatness was not that he chose between the fire and the light. It was that he spent his life carrying both.
While leading the ADL for three decades, he epitomized many of the best things about the community he defended. But Jewish liberalism’s failures cloud his legacy.
“Abe believed that hearts could change,” said Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue.