Germany’s president has appealed to the organizers of this year’s documenta fifteen art show to do more to tackle the antisemitism allegations surrounding the event. The show, which takes place every five years in the German city of Kassel and is considered a major event in the international art calendar, is curated this year by the Indonesian group Ruangrupa. The group was accused of inviting organizations from developing countries who support a boycott of Israel because of the country’s treatment of Palestinians. Speaking Saturday at the show’s official opening, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said “there are limits” to what artists can do when they address political issues.

Management consultancy Global HPO's 106-page report suggests racial discrimination, bullying within human rights charity, Jewish News reports

Chabad Rav of the United Arab Emirates Rav Levi Duchman celebrated his engagement this week to Léa Hadad of Brussels. The l’chaim took place on Monday at the Jewish Children’s Museum in Crown Heights. Rav Duchman has served as a Rav in the UAE since 2015 and prior to that served as a Chabad Rav in Casablanca, Morocco. The Jewish community in the UAE is very excited for the matchmaking celebration of @RabbiUae Rabbi Levi Duchman with his bride Leah Hadad This is a moment in the life for the wonderful community. With an excited and loving heart, wishing for many good years

Venice’s Jewish ghetto is considered the first in Europe and one of the first in the world, and a new effort is underway to preserve its 16th-century synagogues for the Jews who have remained and tourists who pass through. For nearly two years, restorers have been peeling away paint and discovering the original foundations of three of the ghetto’s synagogues, which are considered the only Renaissance synagogues still in use, art historian David Landau said. Landau is spearheading the fundraising effort to restore the synagogues and nearby buildings both for Venice’s small Jewish community, which numbers around 450 people, and for tourists who can visit them on a guided tour through the Jewish Museum of Venice.

As Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro visited Iran over the weekend, a Venezuelan-owned cargo plane was detained by Argentine authorities at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires for alleged ties with Iran’s IRGC Quds Force, the London-based opposition website Iran International reported on Sunday morning. “The government detained in Ezeiza [Airport in Buenos Aires] a Venezuelan plane sanctioned by the United States and withheld the passport of five Iranian crew members,” Aníbal Fernández, Argentina’s security minister, tweeted on Saturday. Fernández’s tweet followed a leak from a local news website about the incident. The Emtrasur Cargo Boeing 747 was previously operated by Iran’s Mahan Airlines and has been sanctioned by the US since 2008 for its links to Iran’s Quds Force.

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com A woman who is in the process of a divorce had explained to her husband that her lawyer had told her that she should lie and say that her husband had physically abused her in order to gain an advantage in terms of custody and child support. The lawyer is ostensibly an observant Jew who is well-regarded in the community in which he resides. This example begs a number of questions:  How often do people lie?  Why do they lie? To whom do they lie? And most importantly, what can we do to make sure we and our children don’t fall victim to it as well?

Yediot Achranot on Tuesday revealed the drama behind the departure of the Chief Rabbi of Moscow HaRav Pinchas Goldschmidt from Moscow shortly after the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. When HaRav Goldschmidt, who also serves as the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, arrived in Israel three months ago, there were already rumors flying that he fled Moscow due to the war. However, at the time, HaRav Goldschmidt issued an official statement saying that he was in Israel in order to tend to his ailing father. But at the same time, he said that he doesn’t know when he’ll be returning to Russia.

“The Jewish community in Russia as we knew it at the beginning of 2022 will never be the same,” one of the leaders of the Russian Jewish community recently told The Jerusalem Post. “It is so fragile, it’s literally crumbling apart.” According to the report, this leader is literally afraid for his life, speaking to the Post reporter from a secret apartment in central Israel. Although there was no one else in the room, he continued his comments in a whisper: “In the past two months, Putin has closed access to all independent press outlets. He’s tried to turn Russia into North Korea.” “All of the young professionals have left Russia, there’s a huge migration of hi-tech employees to other countries in enormous numbers.

Every Saturday, in secluded beach villas, hotel banquet halls and luxury apartment towers across Dubai, Jews arrive to worship at some of the world’s most hidden synagogues even as the United Arab Emirates encourages the dramatic growth and openness of its Jewish community. Plans to build a permanent sanctuary for Dubai’s fast-expanding congregation have sputtered to a standstill, Jewish leaders say. The new community is running up against hurdles that religious groups long have grappled with in this federation, where the state’s official religion of Islam is closely monitored, non-Muslim practice is controlled and religious buildings are limited.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr apologized to the Rav of Berlin Rabbi Yehudah Teichtal for the anti-Semitic incident last week in which all visibly Jewish passengers were banned from their connecting flight due to several Jews who refused to wear a mask. All the Jews in that specific group were banned but even worse was that even Jews traveling independently of that group were banned – over 130 Jews. “We apologize for what happened,” Spohr told Rabbi Teichtal via a 30-minute zoom conversation on Wednesday night. “This is not in line with our rules of communication and behavior.” “Antisemitism has no place in Lufthansa. What happened should not have happened. Our company represents a connection between people, cultures, and nations.