Rosh Hashanah is a time when we reflect on the past year and contemplate the ways in which we have grown, the mistakes we have made, and the opportunities we have yet to seize. As we engage in this sacred process of self-reflection, may we find the strength and courage to make amends, to learn from our experiences, and to grow into our best selves. As we welcome the new year 5786, we do so carrying the weight and wisdom of a year that has tested us in profound ways. This has been a time when our hearts have been stretched between grief and resilience, between fear and hope, between isolation and the deep human need for connection. We have witnessed antisemitism rise in our own communities here in Maine and beyond. We have seen violence and suffering that has shaken us to our core. We have grappled with complex questions about identity, safety, and belonging that have no easy answers. Many of us have felt the particular loneliness that comes from feeling misunderstood or unseen in our pain. Yet here we are, together. We continue to show up for one another. We continue to choose connection over isolation, dialogue over silence, and hope over despair—even when those choices feel impossibly difficult. Together, thanks to the hard work of our tremendously talented development team and the spirit of generosity and cooperation that is a hallmark of our community, the JCA has directly improved the lives of thousands of people locally and globally in the past year. We provided almost $400,000 in allocations to care for the most vulnerable among us, educate our children, strengthen Jewish identities locally, support Jews globally, and foster a thriving Jewish life. We distributed 259,050 diapers, 2,250 diaper wipe packs, and 43,248 menstrual pads through our diaper bank. We are starting a BBYO chapter to foster community and support Jewish identity among our local teens. We resettled 110 refugees from 9 different countries. We provided local school children with 510 pairs of boots through our Winter Warmth Drive. We greatly strengthened our antisemitic response protocol, developing a statewide incident response form and building key relationships with local, state, and national partners. We held our first Mitzvah Day, with 60 volunteers at 7 project sites, and subsequently created a mitzvah corps that comes together monthly to do volunteer work around the Portland area. We brought disparate voices together in dialogue to work toward shared understanding. And held space for our community to come together, to spread joy, to share pain, to remember, to hope for a brighter future, and to work to build a better world. The shofar calls us not to forget this year's trials, but to carry their lessons forward. It reminds us that we are part of an ancient story of perseverance, that we belong to a people who have always found ways to build meaning from brokenness, to plant seeds of justice even in the hardest ground. Every generation has faced its darkness and chosen to kindle light anyway. This is our moment to be ancestors to the future. Each conversation that builds understanding, each time we choose action over inaction and courage over fear—these become the foundation for the world we want our children to inherit. We plant trees whose shade we may never sit in, but whose shelter will comfort generations to come. As we stand at this threshold between years, we acknowledge what we've lost and what we've learned. We commit to continuing the sacred work of repairing our world—tikkun olam—knowing that this work is never finished, never perfect, but always necessary. We do this work not because we are certain of the outcome, but because hope is more than passive waiting—it is active faith in our ability to create change. Too often we are quick to call out the changes other people need to make, and shy away from taking account of the work we need to do internally. Our tradition emphasizes the critical principle of Kol Israel – that each Jew is responsible, one for the other. We can all benefit from reflection on the changes and repairs we need to make as individuals, looking inward before casting outward. We can also all benefit by affording others a little more grace to learn and grow and change, focusing more on building up instead of tearing down, of uniting rather than dividing. Given the host of ills in the world, it’s more important than ever that we stand together to confront the challenges we face as a community, as a nation, as a people, as human beings. May this new year bring healing to our community and our world. May we find strength in our traditions and in each other. And may we remember that even in the darkest times, we are never truly alone. Shanah Tovah u'Metukah. Leslie Kirby, Chief Executive Officer Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine 🍎🍯🍏

Did you know that there is a connection between Jews and the Tutsi people of Rwanda and Burundi? One member of Portland’s community, Paul Niyonizigiye, who immigrated from Burundi (a country in Africa), is passionately keeping that connection alive. While Paul’s faith is Unitarian Universalism, he donates regularly to Jewish causes, including the World Jewish Congress and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and considers himself both to be an ally of the Jewish people and a supporter of Israel. “If I see Jewish people in the community, I see my brother or sister, even if I don’t know them,” Paul tells me during a recent visit to the JCA. Tutsi people and Jewish people have many similar customs , including not eating pork or mixing meat and milk, and some historians believe this points to a shared historical origin. Paul himself believes that Tutsis are descended from Ethiopian Jews who settled in the region millennia ago. But the connection between the Tutsi people and Jewish people doesn’t stop at mysteriously similar traditions or shared ancestry. Our modern histories are marred by tragedy: Tutsis were the primary victims of the Rwandan genocide, where 800,000 people were killed in 100 days. Many Tutsis after the genocide have looked towards Israel, and more broadly Jews, as an example of how to survive a horror and rebuild afterwards. In fact, while the blight of antisemitism spreads again throughout the world, many Rwandans and Tutsis continue to hold a positive perception of Jews, Israel, and the Jewish religion. We consider Paul a friend of the JCA, and we look forward to continuing to build with him and the Tutsi community in Maine. I interviewed Paul about his connection to the Jewish people, his thoughts on Israel, and his message to our community.

In Fall 2021, the JCA was thrilled to become a HIAS affiliate in refugee resettlement work. Over the last four years, this area of our organization has expanded more than we ever could have imagined: our Refugee Resettlement & Newcomer Services (RRNS) staff grew to 18 dedicated individuals, welcoming a total of 571 people from 24 countries to Maine. This work includes meeting newcomers at the airport, getting them settled into temporary and then permanent housing, providing stipends for essential expenses like groceries and rent, and helping them adjust to life in the United States through cultural orientations, assistance with medical appointments, enrolling children in school, employment searches, and so much more. Under the federal resettlement program, refugees are entitled to up to five years of services after their arrival. And so, it is with deep devastation and disappointment that we share a very difficult decision made by the JCA’s Board of Directors to pause federally-funded refugee work at the end of the federal fiscal year, on Sept. 30, 2025. The JCA Board, with input from staff, has spent many hours discussing our RRNS program over the last year. We pushed ahead more than once, taking financial risks for the organization to continue providing vital services. We’ve done this because we value this work as part of our mission and Jewish values. We respect and honor the time and energy the RRNS staff has put into their work for the last four years. And we recognize the significant needs of the RRNS clients as they continue to settle into their new homes in Maine. However, in the current political climate with massive grant cuts and unexpected changes to programs and decisions, it is not viable for us to take on further, substantial financial risks to run this program. The JCA is many things and provides such an array of valuable and important services and programs to so many different people. We cannot knowingly agree to put the organization in financial jeopardy for the sake of one program or service area, no matter how much we value it. Over the last couple of months, our focus has been on helping both RRNS clients and staff be in the best position possible when September 30 arrives. In addition to the services we have continued to offer clients, we have been supporting staff as they look for their next roles and balance their ongoing work with their own well-being. We’re truly sorry and heartbroken to be in this position. And yet, in hard times, we are always amazed by our wonderful community. Through the incredible generosity of a small group of transformational donors, the modest bright light we can share today is that we will be able to fund three RRNS staff positions privately in the next year. This will allow the JCA to continue to offer intensive case management services to many of the clients in continued need of care, as well as group programming. One position will include a caseload of clients who are experiencing significant barriers to self-sufficiency and need additional case management support to gain independence. Another position will offer case management to our most vulnerable Ukrainian clients, and the third position will directly serve our most vulnerable Afghan clients. We will also continue to identify ways we may be able to serve this population through other JFS programming in the months and years ahead. The Board and leadership of the JCA are so proud and forever grateful for the incredible, selfless, and humanistic work of the RRNS staff, especially over these tumultuous past 10 months. We very much hope that one day the JCA can open our doors to this work more fully again, when the funding streams and federal partnerships required are more stable and welcoming of refugee populations. Please join us in gratitude for our departing staff, and support new Mainers in any way you are able.

The JCA’s First Annual Jewish-Asian Friendship Dinner was a resounding success! On August 21, a sold-out crowd of 150 people representing both the Jewish and Asian communities gathered at the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. We began the night by blessing a “red onion curry challah” specially created by John Rudoy from Exile Bakery for the event. We then recognized all the organizations present: the Maine Jewish Museum, Chinese-American Friendship Association of Maine, Watt Samaki Buddhist Temple, Khmer Maine, the Maine Asian-American Community Center, and the Filipino-American Samahan of Maine.

Important Note: The following articles do not represent an official position of the JCA, and are deliberately intended to mirror the wide range of diverse perspectives within Southern Maine’s Jewish community. Our goal is to deliver interesting news, reliable sources, and important perspectives on major Jewish issues. In IDF-controlled Rafah, an armed clan’s school plants seeds of a Hamas-free future (The Times of Israel) - The Palestinian Abu Shabab gang claims to have carved out an area where it is providing electricity, medical care and education for thousands of displaced Gazans under IDF protection. The school eschews Palestinian Authority textbooks previously prevalent in Gaza, with teachers apparently recruited from among displaced Palestinians living in a part of Gaza controlled by the Israel Defense Forces and appears to educate pupils along progressive ideas of pluralism and tolerance. “We want to create a generation of learners, not terrorists,” said Mohammed, a senior member of Abu Shabab’s forces, in a phone interview with The Times of Israel. Both initiatives appear to address longstanding Israeli concerns regarding Palestinian education, which critics say includes content that incites against Israelis and Jews, perpetuating narratives that fuel distrust and conflict rather than coexistence. After decades of conflict, Armenia-Azerbaijan peace plan gives Caucasus Jews new hope (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) - Two former Soviet republics that have been sworn enemies ever since the breakup of the USSR are suddenly on the verge of making peace. Since even before their independence in 1991, predominantly Christian, landlocked Armenia and mostly Muslim, oil-rich Azerbaijan have fought many wars over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and accused each other of human rights abuses, ethnic cleansing — even genocide. But now, their leaders say they have decided to bury the hatchet — and Jews in both countries could benefit. Israel opens new embassy in Zambia, once home to a historic Jewish community (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) - Israel has opened an embassy in Zambia, more than half a century after it was shuttered following the Yom Kippur war and as the African nation’s Jewish population has dwindled to near zero. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Zambian Foreign Minister Mulambo Haimbe opened the embassy together on Wednesday. “It’s an honor to be in Lusaka for the opening of Israel’s embassy,” Sa’ar tweeted, adding that the two countries were “enhancing our partnership in agriculture, health and much more.” 80 Modern Orthodox rabbis call for ‘moral clarity’ in the face of Gaza humanitarian crisis (The Times of Israel) - Dozens of Orthodox rabbis have issued “A Call for Moral Clarity, Responsibility, and a Jewish Orthodox Response in the Face of the Gaza Humanitarian Crisis,” in an addition to a recent cascade of open letters from Jewish voices responding to a hunger crisis in the Palestinian enclave nearly two years into the Israel-Hamas war. Unlike some of the other letters, the new letter stresses condemnation of Hamas and does not call for Israel to end the war in Gaza. Instead, the rabbis write, “Hamas’s sins and crimes do not relieve the government of Israel of its obligations to make whatever efforts are necessary to prevent mass starvation." The Orthodox rabbis also lament the ascendance of extremist voices in Israel, the hardening of sentiments about Palestinians, and the explosion of settler violence in the West Bank — which they refer to using the Hebrew name for the region that conveys a historic Jewish connection to the land. “Hamas’s sins and crimes do not relieve the government of Israel of its obligations to make whatever efforts are necessary to prevent mass starvation,” the rabbis write. Israel Claims UN’s Gaza Famine Declaration Based on ‘Biased and False’ Hamas Report (The Media Line) - Israel has rejected a global classification of famine in northern Gaza, accusing the international monitoring body behind the assessment of using flawed data sourced in part from Hamas-affiliated individuals and organizations. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system (IPC), a widely used global hunger monitor, declared on Thursday that famine is occurring in the Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City, and warned that conditions are deteriorating rapidly across the territory. The declaration prompted a sharp rebuke from the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a unit of Israel’s Defense Ministry that oversees humanitarian efforts in Gaza. In a counter-report, COGAT said the IPC’s findings were “biased and false” and accused the organization of relying on “severe methodological flaws.” Massachusetts Man Who Threatened to Kill Members of Jewish Community and Bomb Synagogues Sentenced to Prison (Reuters) - A Massachusetts man was sentenced on August 14 to more than two years in prison after he threatened to bomb synagogues and kill Jewish children in a series of calls he placed to two local houses of worship and the Israeli consulate in Boston after Israel and Hamas went to war in 2023. John Reardon, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston to 26 months in custody after pleading guilty in November to charges related to what prosecutors said were dozens of violent and antisemitic calls and voicemails he placed to Jewish institutions beginning on October 7, 2023.

Hundreds of Rabbis Demand Israel Stop ‘Using Starvation as a Weapon of War’ - ( The Times of Israel ) Hundreds of rabbis in the US and worldwide, including many rabbis here in Maine, have signed a letter calling for Israel to stop using starvation as a “weapon of war,” bring home the hostages, and end the fighting in Gaza. The letter, posted on July 25 and featuring the names of several leading rabbis across denominations, said the “Jewish People face a grave moral crisis…[even as] we recognize, and many of us endure, the huge challenges the State of Israel relentlessly confronts, surrounded for so long by enemies and facing existential threats from many quarters.” The signatories also said they “unequivocally support” Israel’s battle against Hamas and Hezbollah and understand the IDF’s policy of protecting its soldiers’ lives. “But we cannot condone the mass killings of civilians, including a great many women, children and elderly, or the use of starvation as a weapon of war,” the letter stated. Palestinian Leader Condemns Hamas for Contributing to Hunger Crisis - “Producing mass death from hunger is Hamas’ final play,” Palestinian activist Ahmed Foud Al-Khatib writes in a piece for The Atlantic that both criticizes Hamas for deliberately manufacturing a famine against Gazans and calls upon the Israeli government to flood Gaza with food, in order to lessen the terrorist group’s influence. Al-Khatib states that "if the hunger crisis and humanitarian issues are addressed, Hamas can no longer use the suffering of Gazans to generate an international outcry or use the resultant leverage to end the war on its own terms." German Media Investigation Exposes Staged and Out-of-Context Photographs of Civilian Suffering in Gaza - A new investigation by German media outlets Süddeutsche Zeitung and BILD reveals that prominent Gaza-based photographers have been staging photos of Gazan civilians for propaganda efforts. While acknowledging the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the investigation found that photographers, including Anas Zayed Fteiah, were selectively staging images to “depict chaos and destruction” in order to serve Hamas’s propaganda wing and influence public opinion. One of Fteiah’s photos, depicting starving Gazan women and children desperately brandishing pots and pans to receive food, was published on the cover of the August 1 edition of TIME Magazine. Süddeutsche Zeitung ran a photograph of Fteiah taking the picture, revealing that the pots and pans were held out for the purposes of the photograph, not to receive food. Other photos from the same location showed adult males calmly receiving food. Israel's Security Cabinet Approves Plan for Israeli Military to Temporarily Take Over Gaza City - ( CBS ) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced early Friday morning local time that Israel's Security Cabinet had approved a plan for the Israeli military to take over Gaza City. In a statement, Netanyahu's office said the Israel Defense Forces would prepare to take over Gaza City while providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population outside of combat zones. According to Netanyahu's office, the cabinet adopted five principles for ending the war: the disarmament of Hamas, the return of all hostages both living and dead, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli security control over the Gaza Strip, and the establishment of an alternative civilian government in Gaza that is not led by Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. 19 Former Israel Defense Chiefs Demand End to Gaza War - ( The Times of Israel ) More than a dozen former senior Israeli security officials issued a joint video message Sunday, August 3, with a call to end the war in Gaza, arguing that Israel has racked up more losses than victories and that the fighting has dragged on for political reasons rather than strategic military need. Among those backing the clip were former prime minister and IDF chief Ehud Barak and former IDF chiefs of staff Moshe Ya’alon and Dan Halutz. The group says that Netanyahu is avoiding agreeing on a permanent end to the war and the return of the 50 hostages still in captivity in order to preserve his coalition, which relies on far-right parties who insist on continuing the war. Israeli and American Assessments Agree Tehran’s Infrastructure to Finish a Bomb Is Shattered - ( The Washington Post ) Now that the rhetorical debris has settled from Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, there is growing evidence that Iran’s nuclear program suffered such severe damage that it will be neutered for at least a year, and probably far longer. “Iran is no longer a threshold nuclear state,” one well-informed Israeli source says. This account supports claims by both the Trump administration and Israel that the Iran campaign achieved its objectives. Jewish Community Remains Most-Targeted Religious Group in FBI’s 2024 Hate Crime Report - ( Security Community Network ) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released its 2024 Hate Crime Report , confirming the Jewish community remains the most targeted religious group in the United States. The report documents 1,938 anti‑Jewish hate crimes, representing 69 percent of all religiously motivated incidents, up from 67 percent in 2023. Among these incidents were terroristic plots, assault, vandalism, harassment, burglary, false bomb threats, and swatting. The FBI’s report carries added significance in the years following the 07 October Hamas attacks, as anti-Jewish related crimes continue to reach all‑time highs.

On July 1, the JCA’s Board of Directors notified staff that they had made the gut-wrenching decision to pause Federally funded HIAS/RRNS work at the end of September 2025. Our current Federal administration does not support refugee resettlement and is defunding the programs that have made it possible. Sarah discussed how working with refugee clients supports Jewish values and highlighted the “incredible, selfless and humanistic work of the RRNS staff.” We would like to take this opportunity to honor the story of volunteers’ participation in the RRNS program and address the impact of the program's pause on our volunteer community. In January 2022, when JCA began its partnership with HIAS to resettle refugees in Maine, we did not fully comprehend the scope of the endeavor we took on and found ourselves struggling to organize, manage, and administer the demands of the program. The resettlement process, beginning as the planes touched down at the Portland Jetport, was determined by Federal mandates, including required programs that had to be offered within specific timeframes. During this time, we turned to our volunteer community to assist our HIAS staff in a variety of impactful roles in the efforts to welcome these families to Maine. Volunteers did everything from helping to find suitable housing, picking up clients as they arrived, assisting them into temporary housing, preparing permanent housing, which included sourcing and moving furniture, cleaning, and transporting clients to their new homes. Volunteers also helped clients adjust to a culture very different from their own by assisting with grocery shopping and cultural orientation groups. Due to the nature of the work, there was often very little lead time. Emails alerting volunteers to various needs often occurring within that same week, and invariably, people would show up to help. When housing was no longer available in the Portland area, volunteers drove to Lewiston, Auburn, and Waterville to help clients with their moving and settling process. Volunteers’ passion, dedication, flexibility, and commitment were vital to the program’s success. Words like “amazing,” “awesome,” and “wonderful” can’t adequately capture the quality of our volunteers’ efforts on behalf of the JCA to carry forth its mission or on behalf of the refugees whom the program has served. People put their heart and soul into this endeavor in response to JCA embracing such a massive undertaking and in response to the refugees’ situations in their home countries and the courage and bravery they demonstrated in emigrating. And not surprisingly, many volunteers developed strong relationships with the refugee clients they served. The abrupt end to this funding and JCA’s struggles to provide as many services to as many people as possible since then have caused a type of emotional whiplash amongst the volunteer community. People have experienced many feelings, including shock, confusion, sadness, anger, and disappointment. It felt to many of the volunteers that the program was just starting to solidify. Services were being evaluated and improved. Communication was enhanced. In other words, just as the program was coming into its own, it was suddenly ground to a halt. It is painful for all of us to be in this current situation. However, JCA is hopeful that attitudes toward refugees will change in the future and that we will once again be able to help people from ravaged countries start new lives here. We all know that despite the prevailing environment, steadfast dedication can change the world, and JCA remains committed to providing what services we can. We will be forever grateful for our volunteers’ efforts in support of those goals. Please feel free to reach out to Adam if you have questions or want to talk about the end of the RRNS program.

America’s Largest Teacher’s Union Rejects Proposal to Ban ADL Materials In a positive development, the US’ largest teacher’s union, the National Education Association (NEA), has rejected a member-approved proposal to sever ties with the Anti-Defamation League. Just two weeks ago, NEA—which is also the teacher’s union of Maine—voted to cut all ties with the ADL: banning all their lessons on antisemitism, Holocaust education, and Jewish-American history. According to the rejected proposal, the “NEA will not use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), such as its curricular materials or its statistics…NEA will not participate in ADL programs or publicize ADL professional development offerings.” This was an incredibly disconcerting development. While the ADL does not represent the views of the entire Jewish community, and has been a target of criticism by some, it has also put decades of work into Jewish-American education and funded widely respected curricula that are acclaimed for their effectiveness in progressive, right-leaning, and centrist spaces (such as Project Shema). Banning the ADL would eradicate a pillar of Jewish-American education and handicap the American Jewish community’s ability to fight rising antisemitism in schools. We here at Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine joined 378 other Jewish organizations in a joint letter to the NEA’s Executive Committee, strongly urging them to veto the resolution. We have heard that this letter, which showed in overwhelming force the American Jewish community’s condemnation of this proposal, was a direct factor in the proposal getting vetoed. We are grateful to our friends at the Jewish Federations for North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs as they coordinated a national response. You can read the communal letter with our organization’s name on it here , and learn more about the situation on Axios . Hundreds of Druze Cross the Israeli Border Into Syria to Defend their Brethren What is often missed in the Israel discussion is the fact that for many religious minorities in the Middle East, Israel is the single biggest guarantor of their security. This applies to our friends in the Bahá’í Faith, whose holy sites in Iran were razed to the ground and now only exist in Israel, as well as to our Druze allies. While the Druze (a secretive offshoot of Islam) only make up 1% of Israel’s population, Druze men have proudly served in the Israel Defense Forces in disproportionately high numbers since the nation’s founding in 1948. Many have risen to positions of command. Far too many have fallen in battle—and their sacrifice has forged a “blood covenant” with the Israeli people. Right now, Druze are being massacred in Syria: babies are being slaughtered, men are being humiliated via having their mustaches (a sign of honor) shaved off, women are being raped and killed. This past week, following days of fighting across southern Syria between the local Druze population and Bedouin militias backed by Syrian government forces, hundreds of Israeli Druzes stormed the border into Syria to aid their compatriots. They are currently petitioning the Israeli government to do more to help the Druzes in Syria (and Israel is responding—7 days ago, they bombed the Syrian Defense Ministry). This is a developing situation, but you can read a recent update on The Jerusalem Post . We’d like to send our prayers and support to the Druze community—as well as all innocent souls in the Middle East who are suffering from the ramifications of war. Five Hebron Sheikhs Break Away from Palestinian Authority and Call for Peace With Israel This month, five leading Hebron sheikhs, headed by Sheikh Wadee’ al‑Jaabari, asked Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat to let Hebron break from the Palestinian Authority and form an “Emirate of Hebron” that would fully recognize Israel as the Jewish state and join the Abraham Accords.The clan leaders have pledged zero tolerance for terror and proposed a joint economic zone that could employ tens of thousands of Palestinians inside Israel. The initiative has drawn cautious interest in Jerusalem, underscoring mounting frustration with the Palestinian Authority among many West Bank Palestinians. If it moves forward, Hebron could become the first Palestinian‑led experiment in clan‑based self‑rule and economic partnership under the wider Abraham Accords umbrella. Could this be a radical solution to bringing about peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict? Read more at The Times of Israel. The Largest Reconstructionist Synagogue Is Set to Cut Ties With the Denomination Over Israel Tensions The largest synagogue in Judaism’s Reconstructionist movement is moving to cut ties with its denominational body over what its leaders describe as a failure to confront hostility to Israel among affiliated rabbis and rabbinical students. The rupture is emblematic of a wider debate among American Jews about Zionism and the boundaries of legitimate criticism of Israel. In a letter, the synagogue’s leaders cited concerns over the rabbinical college’s ordination of students who hold anti-Zionist views, as well as tolerating a “hostile” atmosphere toward Zionism on campus. The congregation — whose membership numbers around 900 families — is now asking congregants to vote in favor of a bylaws change that would finalize the disaffiliation. Read more at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency .

Nation’s Largest Teacher’s Union Votes to Sever Ties with ADL, JCA Responds This month, the US’s largest teacher’s union, the National Education Association (NEA)—which is also the teacher’s union of Maine—voted to cut all ties with the ADL: banning their lessons on antisemitism, Holocaust education, and Jewish-American history. According to the proposal, the “NEA will not use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), such as its curricular materials or its statistics…NEA will not participate in ADL programs or publicize ADL professional development offerings.” This vote will now head to the Executive Committee of the NEA for final approval. This is an incredibly disconcerting development. While the ADL does not represent the views of the entire Jewish community, it has built widely respected anti-bias and Holocaust education curricula that are acclaimed for their effectiveness in progressive, centrist, and right-leaning spaces. Banning the ADL will eradicate a pillar of Jewish-American education and handicap the American Jewish community’s ability to fight rising antisemitism in schools. We here at Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine joined 378 other Jewish organizations last week in a joint letter to the NEA’s Executive Committee, strongly urging them to veto this resolution. Along with our friends at the Jewish Federations of North America and Jewish Council for Public Affairs, we are closely monitoring this situation so we can best support Jewish parents and educators in Maine. You can read the communal letter with our organization’s name on it here , and learn more about the situation on Axios . New Polish Plaques Deny Complicity With Nazis When Jews gathered this week for the anniversary of a World War II massacre in the Polish town of Jedwabne, they saw a new installation—one that denied a historical consensus about the grievous events that unfolded there. At the same time, a far-right lawmaker interrupted the memorial gathering — and triggered a police investigation by calling the gas chambers at Auschwitz “fake.” Thursday marked 84 years since the crimes in Jedwabne, a town of less than 2,000 people northeast of Warsaw. In 1941, local residents killed hundreds of their Jewish neighbors, most of them in a barn where they were burned alive. An official investigation by Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance confirmed in 2002 that the murder was carried out by Poles. But Jedwabne has become a flashpoint in Polish politics, with some far-right politicians claiming it was Germans who perpetrated the massacre and characterizing research on Polish complicity as part of an effort to slander their nation. Read more about this disturbing controversy at the Jewish Telegraphic Agency . Five Hebron Sheikhs Break Away from Palestinian Authority and Call for Peace With Israel Five leading Hebron sheikhs, headed by Sheikh Wadee’ al‑Jaabari, have asked Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat to let Hebron break from the Palestinian Authority and form an “Emirate of Hebron” that would fully recognize Israel as the Jewish state and join the Abraham Accords. The clan leaders have pledged zero tolerance for terror and proposed a joint economic zone that could employ tens of thousands of Palestinians inside Israel. The initiative has drawn cautious interest in Jerusalem, underscoring mounting frustration with the Palestinian Authority among many West Bank Palestinians. If it moves forward, Hebron could become the first Palestinian‑led experiment in clan‑based self‑rule and economic partnership under the wider Abraham Accords umbrella. Read more at The Times of Israel.