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New York Dispatch Heir Challenges Sale of Long-Lost Klimt, Alleging Shoah-Era Theft Was Concealed A legal battle has erupted over a Gustav Klimt masterpiece valued at approximately $100 million, with the last known blood descendant of the family that originally owned the painting accusing a Vienna auction house of disguising the work's identity in order to sell it rather than return it to its rightful heirs. Patricia Leahy, an American descendant of the prominent Austrian Jewish Lieser...

A nation cannot claim to welcome Jews while criminalising one of the oldest and most fundamental commandments of Judaism

by Ram ben Ze'ev A Language Abandoned Is a Covenant Forgotten It is a strange and unsettling reality that institutions once rooted in Torah now find themselves speaking a language that is no longer their own. Words that carried the weight of revelation, memory, and identity are quietly replaced—not by necessity, but by convenience. And with each substitution, something far deeper than vocabulary is lost. When an organisation replaces תהלים (Tehillim – Psalms) with a foreign term, or שמות...

by Ram ben Ze’ev A Nation of Promises, A People Alone Another day. Another knife. Another Jew bleeding on a London pavement—this time in Golders Green. Two Jewish men, walking, doing nothing more provocative than existing, were targeted by a man already known to police, already marked by violence, already allowed to remain within a system that endlessly promises vigilance and delivers nothing of substance. And so the cycle repeats. Statements are issued. Condemnations are read. Cameras roll....

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Price of Misalignment: Memory, War, and the Illusion of Strength Today, Israel stands still. At the sound of the siren, the nation pauses in collective remembrance for those who were killed—soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces whose lives ended in battle. The numbers are heavy: 25,644 since 1860, leaving behind tens of thousands of bereaved families. Yet numbers, as vast as they are, do not capture truth. Words do. We say “fallen soldiers,” as though they stumbled. But...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal זצ״ל There are moments in Jewish history when a voice emerges that cannot be ignored. Not because it is new, but because it reveals what was always present in the Torah yet left unheeded . Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal זצ״ל was such a voice—a Rav who did not merely teach, but who transformed his own understanding in the face of reality, and in doing so, called כלל ישראל (Klal Yisrael – the collective of Israel) to account. Rabbi Teichtal was...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Shoah, Nissan, and the Memory the Nations Impose There are moments in the life of our people when silence is appropriate, and there are moments when it is necessary to speak with clarity. I was not going to write on the day itself, because the day—יום הזכרון לשואה ולגבורה (Yom HaZikaron LaShoah VeLaGevurah – Day of Remembrance for the Shoah and the Heroism)—deserves dignity, not distraction. But there are times when remaining silent serves no purpose, and this is one of them....

by Ram ben Ze’ev The United Nations and the Politics of Historical Guilt The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade to be the “gravest crime against humanity.” While the horrors of slavery are undeniable and no moral person today would defend such a practice, the resolution itself reveals more about the modern political agenda of the United Nations than it does about historical reality. Before the vote, the United States...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Addiction to Outrage and the Strengthening of Evil We are living in an age where people increasingly feel compelled to involve themselves in events that have no direct bearing on their lives, no capacity for meaningful influence, and no avenue for repair or responsibility. A tragedy occurs on the other side of the world and, within minutes, countless individuals absorb it emotionally, comment upon it, argue about it, repost it, and carry it with them as though it were...

by Ram ben Ze’ev When Words Are Corrupted, Meaning Is Lost Language is not a cosmetic choice in Judaism. Language is the vessel of truth. The Torah does not merely describe reality; it creates it. G-D spoke, and the world came into being. When we alter the words, we alter the world they shape. Today, our message is in crisis, not because Jews have forgotten how to speak, but because we have grown careless about what we speak. Even within Jewish publishing houses, educational institutions,...

by Ram ben Ze’ev Zahwa Arafat There is a great myth that has been sold to the world for decades – that a so-called Palestinian national identity, rooted in ancient history, culture, and land, has always existed and that this identity was somehow stolen. This myth did not develop organically. It was crafted, marketed, packaged, and distributed as propaganda by one Egyptian-born man: Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini, later known by the more famous alias, Yasser...

By Ram ben Ze’ev Zionism Is Not a Threat — It Is the Foundation It was during his speech at the Knesset that President Donald Trump uttered the extraordinary words ( Transcript ): “...the people of Israel have never given up from the threats of Zionism, from all sorts of threats...” — President Donald Trump Trump's statement , in context, was (speaking about G-D): "And He still writes hope into the hearts of His children all over the world. And that is why even after 3000 years of pain and...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Repeated Error of Assimilation Judaism teaches that words have power. Speech can wound, heal, elevate, or destroy. That is why our sages warn against לשון הרע (lashon hara – evil speech), the misuse of words to belittle or harm. This prohibition applies even to words that are true, if their purpose is to shame or diminish another Jew. But guarding against lashon hara does not mean we must remain silent when Torah itself is distorted. On the contrary, the Torah obliges us...

by Ram ben Ze’ev The Bitter Reality: Nearly Two Years On From 7 October Nearly two years on from the atrocities of 7 October 2023, Israel is being forced to confront a grim and painful truth. Our countrymen and women who were seized that day were not hostages in the sense of being bargaining pawns alive and awaiting release. Many were murdered outright, their bodies taken into Gaza to be exploited for propaganda and political extortion. The case of Ilan Weiss—murdered defending Kibbutz Be’eri...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Gandhi’s Error: Why Non-Violence Alone is a Betrayal of Life Mahatma Gandhi is often remembered as the prophet of peace, the great teacher of non-violence. Yet a closer look reveals that his philosophy, applied absolutely, was not only naïve but destructive. Gandhi advised Jews facing Nazi annihilation to offer themselves up willingly, even to the extent of being “thrown into the sea” without resistance. He called Hitler “my friend” in his letters, hoping to appeal to some...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Marked or Remembered? A Jewish Teaching on Tattoos, Piercings, and Body Modification In a generation obsessed with self-expression, the body has become a canvas for identity. From tattoos etched permanently into the skin to piercings and ornamental jewellery adorning every part of the human form, the pursuit of individuality often overlooks a question of greater weight: what does the Torah say about these markings? What is the view of חכמי ישראל (Chakhmei Yisrael – the Sages...

by Ram ben Ze'ev How Public Talk of Terror Strengthens Our Enemies In times of terror and tragedy, good people often struggle to know how to respond. The natural instinct — particularly in an age of relentless media and instant communication — is to speak: to share, to bear witness, to denounce evil aloud. Yet in doing so, many unintentionally serve the very purposes of those who commit such heinous acts. This truth must be confronted, particularly by those who seek to live in accordance with...

by Ram ben Ze’ev It’s Time for Israel to Leave Eurovision — For Good Let’s start with the obvious: Israel is not in Europe. Not geographically, not politically, not culturally. We are the People of Israel, living in the Land of Israel — not just another member of some continental club whose lines were drawn without us in mind. And yet, year after year, we dress ourselves up and board the plane to participate in a song contest that has long since revealed its true nature — not a celebration of...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Why We Must Reject the Word ‘Holocaust’ to Describe the Shoah Words matter. They are vessels of meaning, identity, and memory. And when the Jewish People speak of the extermination of six million of our brothers and sisters — along with the attempted erasure of our nation, our Torah, and our soul — we must choose our words with care and sanctity. The nations call it the Holocaust, a word of Greek origin meaning completely burnt (from ὁλόκαυστος: holos, whole + kaustos,...

by Ram ben Ze'ev The Tragic Consequence of Assimilation: When We Let the Nations Define Us Assimilation has consequences. Not only in how we dress, eat, or celebrate—but in how we speak, and even more dangerously, in how we think. The Holy One, Blessed is He, commands us in ספר ויקרא (Sefer Vayikra – Leviticus) 19:2: דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה אלקיכם “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Yisrael, and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the L-RD...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Kahane Was Right: The Time for Jewish Strength is Now The horrors of 7 October 2023 are burned into the collective memory of Am Yisrael. And now, the murders of Shira Babis and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir—strangled by Arab terrorists in Gaza—have once again shattered the illusion that coexistence is possible. These are not isolated incidents. They are the continuation of an unbroken campaign of terror against the Jewish people, one that began long before the modern...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Chabad After the Rebbe: Growth at the Cost of Vision? Since the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in 1994, Chabad-Lubavitch has continued to expand globally, establishing a vast network of shluchim (emissaries) who bring Torah and mitzvot to Jewish communities across the world. This growth is a testament to the Rebbe’s profound vision of reaching every Jew, regardless of location or background. However, with such expansion come challenges, and...

by Rabbi Jeremy Rosen The anniversary of Hillel Kook’s death was this week. A Jewish Walter Mitty and a colorful, complex, dual...

by Rabbi Jeremy Rosen Next Monday we will observe our Yom HaShoah. We may hear the cliché “Never Again” and realize it means nothing to...

by Ram ben Ze'ev Munich Agreement: Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Neville Chamberlain (From left) Italian leader Benito Mussolini, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, a German interpreter, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain meeting in Munich, September 29, 1938. Over the past seven and a half decades, the State of Israel has encountered numerous challenges and complex geopolitical realities, with none more serious than the atrocities its citizens suffered three weeks ago....

by Ram ben Ze'ev Resolving the Gaza Conflict The Israeli-Arab conflict, particularly the violence originating from Gaza, has persisted for decades, resulting in the murder of many thousands of innocent Jews. Most recently, on 7th October 2023, exactly 50 years after the start of the Yom Kippur War, thousands of Arab terrorists in Gaza launched an unprovoked attack against Israel, resulting in the loss of more than 1,400 innocent Israeli lives (השם יקום דמם) and severe injuries to over 4,000...

by Ram ben Ze'ev A Jewish woman prays during the evacuation of Gush Katif in 2005. (photo credit: ILLUSTRATIVE/RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS) In 2005, 21 Jewish communities in Gaza were unilaterally dismantled , and the Israelis residing there were forcefully evacuated by the IDF, some at gunpoint. The proposal to evict the Israelis was put forth in 2003 by the then Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, and was subsequently endorsed by the government in June 2004. It received approval from the Knesset in...

by Rabbi Jeremy Rosen Those of us who are loyal to tradition are now into a period of mourning called the Omer. It’s a time of mourning....

As part of the Yom HaShoah commemoration, the concert will remember the Kitchener Camp in Kent which saved the lives of 4,000 Jewish refugee men On Thursday 28 April 2022, a special concert to evoke memories of the Kitchener Camp will take place at London’s Wigmore Hall as part of this year’s Yom HaShoah commemoration. The Kitchener Camp opened in Sandwich, Kent, in January 1939, and saved the lives of 4,000 Jewish refugee men from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. Many of these...

On April 29, 2022, NY State Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick (D-38th) will present a Proclamation declaring that day to be #EndJewHatred...

by Anthony Stefano My 12-year-old daughter Jenny woke me at 7 am Sunday morning by pouncing on me like she was still a three year old. My...

by Mar­tin Bodek Every eon has its eras; every era its peri­ods; every peri­od has its epochs; every epoch has its ages. Out­side of what...

British Ambassador to Italy, Jill Morris, hosts a workshop on how to combat rising intolerance and antisemitism On 27th February, British...