Washington Jewish Week

10/10/2025

🎹 Hazzan David Louk, pianist Moshe Elmakias, guest Hazzan Yossi Amiga, Samy Ymar of Magen David Sephardic Congregation and Gil Cohen on the shofar performed at Sephardic Heritage International’s Selihot and Holiday Concert to honor Moroccan Jewish and Israeli musician Rabbi Haim Louk.

Local musicians performed at Sephardic Heritage International’s Selihot and Holiday Concert to honor musician Rabbi Haim Louk.

10/10/2025

The antisemitism that has surged in the wake of the massacre to levels unseen since the 1930s is truly global in scale. There is barely a part of the world that has not been impacted by it, regardless of whether Jews happen to live there or not.

Two years after the monstrous Hamas-led pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, we are faced with opportunity and anxiety in equal measure.

10/10/2025

President Donald Trump says he is planning to head to Israel to mark the ceasefire deal he brokered in the Gaza war.

10/10/2025

☕🫘 Jacob Cooper spent hours researching the Jewish history of coffee, then shared that knowledge with fellow young adults in the nation’s capital. He and his two roommates also host regular home-cooked Shabbat meals for the District’s young Jews. These are just some of the events Cooper coordinates as a resident of Moishe House Arlington.

Jacob Cooper loves being a leader and bringing young Jewish adults together in the nation’s capital through meaningful social events.

10/10/2025

Both Israel and Hamas agreed to the “first phase” of an agreement to end the two-year war in Gaza and bring home the dozens of remaining hostages held since Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas will likely release all 20 of the remaining hostages on Monday or Tuesday and Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza per the deal, according to Trump.

“I think it’s extremely welcome news and it feels like hope is finally within reach,” Alan Ronkin, the regional director of American Jewish Committee Washington, D.C., said.

Many D.C.-area Jewish leaders are “cautiously optimistic” about the peace plan between Israel and Hamas that Trump announced on Wednesday.

10/09/2025

🥙 The kosher restaurant Shouk announced on Sept. 30 that it will close its final two locations, in Rockville and Washington, D.C., in part due to boycotts related to the Israel-Hamas war.

The kosher restaurant Shouk announced that it will close its final two locations, in Rockville and Washington, D.C.

10/09/2025

👩‍🏫 D.C. resident Marla Gamoran noticed that language was a barrier for some Israelis in advancing professionally, so she founded and runs English B’Yachad. The nonprofit organization aims to empower young adults from Israel’s less-advantaged communities to realize their dreams through improved English.

Read more about what inspired Gamoran and what a day in her life as a founding director looks like.

A 1972 trip to Israel changed Marla Gamoran’s life and career trajectory. Since then, she has wanted to give back to the country she knows and loves.

10/09/2025

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the war between Israel and Hamas.

President Trump announces Israel-Hamas deal in a bid to end the ongoing conflict. Learn more about the peace plan here.

10/08/2025

✡️ The message to Jews in the United Kingdom is painful. The country long proud of protecting minority worship has left a small community feeling exposed. Politicians offered condolences; police cited guidelines. But guidance without enforcement is abdication. If the law does not restrain glorification of terror, street intimidation and harassment of visibly Jewish citizens, the law is performative.

The message to the wider diaspora is stark. What surfaced in Manchester mirrors patterns in Paris, Berlin and New York — tolerated defamation, then assaults, then normalized fear. Community resilience cannot substitute for state resolve. Jewish institutions can harden targets; they cannot police squares or platforms where incitement metastasizes.

👉 Read More: https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/editorial-the-machinery-of-paralysis/

10/08/2025

🕍 “Everyone who came to synagogue on Shabbat knew her,” Rabbi Jonah Layman of Shaare Tefila Congregation said. “You couldn’t not know her because of how friendly she was.”

On the cusp of its 75th anniversary, Shaare Tefila Congregation in Olney lost its remaining two charter members in 2025.

10/08/2025

Bari Weiss has been named editor-in-chief of CBS News, a stunning ascent that marks one of the most consequential appointments in American media in recent years.

Bari Weiss named editor-in-chief of CBS News. Discover her rise and the impact of this significant media appointment.

10/08/2025

👀 Check out this week's issue of Washington Jewish Week!

🏫 Berman Hebrew Academy Builds Sephardic Beit Midrash
🌶 DC-Based Hot Sauce Brand, Inspired by RBG, Turns Five
🏕️ Habonim Dror Camp Moshava Prepares to Celebrate 90 Years

Read more: https://dmag.washingtonjewishweek.com/October-9-2025/index.html