What's New in Jewish News This Week

duda • August 8, 2025

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.

CEO Announcement

May 4, 2026
After a four-month, intensive search, we are thrilled to announce that the JCA’s new Chief Executive Officer will be Susan Cohen, presently of London, England. After growing up in Massachusetts, Susan has spent the last 30 years of her career in Italy and the UK, with extensive senior leadership experience in the nonprofit and Jewish communal sectors. We were immediately struck by Susan’s relevant professional experience, but also her thoughtfulness, steady leadership style, clear sense of compassion, and her deep and enduring ties to Jewish life in Maine. Her father was born in Portland and raised in South Portland, and her grandparents were active members of the local Jewish community, where Susan enjoyed visiting regularly throughout her childhood. When considering this opportunity, Susan shared: “The JCA’s mission, especially its commitment to radical inclusivity and cultivating a thriving Jewish community, resonates deeply with me. I am inspired by the JCA’s growth, vibrant programming, and role as a convener across a diverse and expanding population. Uniting people across synagogues, agencies, and the broader community has been a defining feature of my leadership. I would be honored to help lead the organization into its next phase.” In addition to regularly visiting her family in Portland and Bangor as a child, Susan attended Bowdoin College for a year–and volunteered at the Hebrew School at Beth Israel Congregation in Bath!–before finishing her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University. She went on to receive a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University, and then moved to Europe for international work opportunities. Susan raised her three adult children in London, and is now ready to make the move back to New England to be closer to her parents in the Boston area. We are confident that Susan’s meaningful experience in Jewish communal and social service nonprofit organizations will have a significant positive impact on the entire JCA community. As Executive Director (Chief Executive) of Six Point Foundation, she led a Jewish grantmaking organization supporting Holocaust survivors from inception through successful spend out, building partnerships across the Jewish communal landscape and designing initiatives with long-term impact. She then worked as a member of the senior leadership team at Nightingale Hammerson, a 350-person Jewish eldercare organization based in London. She is currently a senior leader at Oxfam, a global confederation of over 20 independent organizations working in 70+ countries to fight inequality and end poverty through humanitarian aid, long-term development, and campaigns. Throughout these roles, she has exhibited strategic and empathetic leadership, organizational excellence, keen financial oversight, and a deep commitment to inclusion and community building. The JCA Board of Directors would like to thank the Search Committee for all the time, energy, and professionalism that they brought to this process. We’re indebted to Rachael Alfond and Stefanie Levenson, who have been volunteering so generously as Acting Co-Directors during this transition, as well as the entire JCA staff for their ongoing commitment and hard work. We also want to thank JCC Association and our search consultant, Steve Engel, for their incredible support and guidance. Susan will take the next few months to wrap things up in London and make the big move to Maine, starting as CEO of the JCA in early August. We are all excited about welcoming her to our community this summer and to the work ahead under her leadership. Stay tuned for opportunities to meet Susan and help her settle into her new role and life here in the coming months!

2026 Mitzvah Day

April 22, 2026
On behalf of the entire team at the JCA, thank you to everyone who participated in the second annual JCA Mitzvah Day! This year, 87 volunteers gave back across 8 service sites, making a meaningful impact in our community. We are truly grateful to all who took the time to be part of this special day. We hope you’ll stay connected with us as we offer a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout the year.  Thank you for being part of this shared effort of Tikkun Olam—repairing our world, one act at a time. Your presence and energy made a real difference.

2026 Volunteer Newsletter

March 17, 2026
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