In the News This Week

duda • May 9, 2025

Check Out What's Going on In the World

A New Pope, Leo XIV, Has Been Elected – On May 8, white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling to the jubilant crowd outside that a new Pope had been elected. Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XI, is the first American pontiff in history. We here at the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine warmly congratulate our Catholic friends and neighbors on this exciting new development. In the international Jewish community, observers have noted that Pope Leo XIV studied under a pioneer of Catholic-Jewish dialogue in Chicago, and are hopeful he continues to build on the interfaith groundwork of recent Popes. You can read the official congratulatory message of the Jewish Federations of North America here.

38% of American Jews Believe in the Afterlife, Study Finds - Only 38% of American Jews believe in an afterlife, a new study by the Pew Research Center has found. By contrast, 83% of US Christians and 58% of Israeli Jews report believing in an afterlife. Unlike the vast majority of Christian denominations, Judaism has no single doctrine about what happens after death—though the idea that the dead will be resurrected by God in a future Messianic age of is a core tenet of Orthodox Judaism (this is also why in Jewish cemeteries, graves are often oriented with their feet facing Jerusalem). The same study also found that 49% of American Jews and 62% of Israeli Jews perform religious fasts, including the central observance of Yom Kippur.

Self-identified “Jew Hater” Charged With Multiple Hate Crimes in New York City - The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that Tarek Bazrouk, 20, has been arrested and charged with hate crimes in connection with three separate incidents over the course of the past year. In one incident, Bazrouk allegedly wore the green headband associated with Hamas and lunged at a group of pro-Israel protesters, kicking one in the stomach. In another, he stole an Israeli flag from a Jewish Columbia student, punched him in the face, and hurled antisemitic slurs at him. Text messages on his phone allegedly show him identifying as a “Jew hater” and labelling Jewish people as “worthless,” and that he was happy to learn his relatives were part of Hamas. Bazrouk is charged with three counts of committing hate crimes, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. In a statement by the Justice Department on Bazrouk’s indictments, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon stated that “The Civil Rights Division will continue to relentlessly pursue allegations of antisemitic violence and will not stop until justice is served for the victims and their families.”

Suspect Indicted For Making Terror Threats Against New York Synagogue - A suspect has been indicted for making terror threats against a New York synagogue, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced this week. Luis Ramirez, 23, from Utah, was arrested in February after making threats against Central Synagogue in Manhattan. Ramirez allegedly posted threats on X on February 14, including, “The Jews killed me in my past life if you try to kill me again today in NYC when I pull up to Shabbat I will kill you first.” Hours later, police in New Jersey arrested Ramirez as he drove toward the Lincoln Tunnel to New York. Ramirez has been charged with multiple felonies of making terroristic threats.

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National Diaper Need Awareness Week 2026

September 15, 2026

The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine Marks National Diaper Need Awareness Week, Celebrating Community Support for Maine Families As Maine recognizes National Diaper Need Awareness Week, September 14–20, Michael Klahr Jewish Family Services (KJFS) at the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine (JCA) is highlighting the ongoing challenge of diaper need and the extraordinary network of volunteers, donors, funders, and community partners who make the KJFS Diaper Bank possible. Across the country, one in two families with young children struggles to afford enough diapers to keep their children clean, dry, and healthy. Diapers are a basic necessity, but they are also an economic issue for families: many childcare and early education programs require parents to provide an adequate supply of diapers, meaning diaper need can create another barrier to parents’ ability to work. Here in Maine, the KJFS Diaper Bank works to ensure that families throughout the state have access to this essential resource. As an essential component of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, KJFS approaches this work in the spirit of Jewish values—the belief that caring for our neighbors and helping people meet their most basic needs is a responsibility we share. The Diaper Bank puts those values into action by serving families of all backgrounds throughout Maine. In 2025, the JCA distributed 290,050 diapers to an average of 965 children each distribution month. Currently, the Diaper Bank serves clients in Lewiston, Gray, Raymond, Mechanic Falls, Brunswick, Saco, Biddeford, Gorham, Windham, Standish, Buxton, Steep Falls, Scarborough, South Portland, Portland, and Westbrook. As we continue to see the impacts of inflation, diapers continue to be a barrier for families, and without clean diapers, babies are exposed to potential health risks and toxic stress, and mothers are at risk for increased maternal depression. In a letter recognizing National Diaper Need Awareness Week, Maine Governor Janet Mills thanked the state’s diaper banks, staff, volunteers, and donors for their service and specifically recognized the JCA among the trusted community-based organizations working to distribute diapers to families throughout Maine. “We thank Governor Mills for recognizing the work of so many across our community to address diaper need,” said Susan Cohen, CEO of the JCA. “Jewish tradition reminds us that we are responsible for one another, and that caring for our neighbors is both an obligation and an expression of our deepest values. Through this work, we seek to ensure that every family has the dignity, resources, and opportunity they need to thrive.” The work of the KJFS Diaper Bank is only possible because of the community behind it. In 2025, the Diaper Bank had over 80 volunteers, including 50 individual volunteers as well as many corporate and student volunteer groups who donated over 700 volunteer hours. Volunteers help receive, organize, package, deliver, and prepare diapers for distribution, while individuals, businesses, foundations, government partners, and community organizations provide the financial and material resources needed to keep shelves stocked. Margaret Mailander, Director of Michael Klahr Jewish Family Services shares that "addressing the immediate diaper need is important and as the National Diaper Bank Network has made clear through their research, diaper need is a systemic issue caused by economic and social systems and therefore requires our collective support to find solutions that are structural." During National Diaper Need Awareness Week, KJFS encourages Mainers to learn more about diaper need, organize diaper drives, volunteer, and support the continued availability of diapers for families throughout the state. Please donate to the Jewish Family Services Diaper Bank at Diaper Bank . About Michael Klahr Jewish Family Services KJFS is the social services department of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, providing programs and resources that support individuals and families and strengthen communities throughout Maine. Guided by Jewish values and open to people of all backgrounds, KJFS works to meet immediate needs while fostering dignity, connection, and well-being. About the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine The Jewish Community Alliance (JCA) is a central hub for Jewish life, education, and community support. We provide meaningful programs, essential services, and opportunities to connect. Rooted in Jewish values, history, and our connection to Israel, the JCA cultivates and sustains a welcoming and thriving Jewish community in Maine and strives to build a better world for all.

A Call for Peace and Responsible Rhetoric

July 31, 2026

A Call for Peace & Responsible Rhetoric

Remembering, Rebuilding, and Resilience: JCRC Hosts Eugene Damlich

July 15, 2026

Last week, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine welcomed Eugene Damlich, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, for a special lunch and community dialogue. Eugene shared the story of losing his family, surviving unimaginable violence, and rebuilding his life in the years that followed. The only surviving child in a family of five children, Eugene later immigrated to the United States, where, as an adult, he found love and belonging with a Jewish-American family. The gathering was not simply a testimony program, but a genuine exchange between communities. Eugene asked participants how the Jewish community has preserved Holocaust memory while helping survivors and their descendants live with hope, dignity, and purpose. He also invited discussion about forgiveness, justice, healing, and the responsibility to transmit memory across generations. Several people at the table were children of Holocaust survivors—one JCRC member, Anna Wrobel, shared that her mother was also the sole survivor of her family—profoundly relating to Eugene in a way that few others can. In preparation for the lunch, the JCRC held its first movie night, where participants watched Sometimes in April, a 2005 historical drama about the Rwandan Genocide. Last week’s lunch also built upon the JCRC’s participation in this year’s Kwibuka, which annually commemorates the Rwandan Genocide; JCRC members walked in the memorial procession, and a post-Kwibuaka gathering for Maine’s Tutsi community was held at the JCA. We are deeply grateful to Eugene for sharing his testimony, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen the relationship between Maine’s Jewish and Tutsi communities.