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August 22-28, 2025 • Re’eh • 28 Av 5785 • Vol. 24, No. 27
43 New Yorkers among 225 aboard 65th Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah charter By Ed Weintrob As the wheels under Nefesh B’Nefesh’s 65th aliyah charter flight rose from a JFK runway on Tuesday afternoon, the olim onboard cheered their journey home. “Israel wants you, Israel needs you, Israel’s waiting to welcome you,” NBN Executive Director Yehoshua Fass told the 225 olim — including 43 from New York — before boarding. “Israel needs your optimism, your idealism and your chizuk.” “Your decision will set in motion a new legacy for your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren,” he said. He congratulated the olim for making the decision to “be part of this incredible move.” The flight was the first charter ar-
ranged by NBN since the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion. It carried 45 families, 125 children and 10 singles. The continued flow of olim to the Jewish state, personified by the NBN charter, “shows the enemies of Israel they cannot put us down,” Fass said. In addition to New Yorkers, homeward bound passengers hailed from ten states and Ontario. As the olim arrive in Israel, The Jewish Star’s coverage will continue in its next edition.
The olim preparing to board a Nefesh B’Nefesh ElAl charter flight at JFK on Tuesday were bursting with happy anticipation. Pictured from left: The Mermelsteins from Kew Gardens Hills (Alexander and Ilana and their three children); The Frenkels from Woodmere (Ilan and Sarah); The Wertentheils from West Hempstead (Sruli and Atara with their two children), and The Cymbalistas of Cedarhurst (Ariel and Rachel) with blue and white shirts proclaiming on the back, “The Cymbalistas are finally coming home.” Ed Weintrob, The Jewish Star
Jew-hate spreads thru ‘denial disease’ Outlandish and truth-defying, the sweep of Jew-hate today is breathtaking
THANE ROSENBAUM Distinguished University Professor Touro College
T
Antisemitism in Russia led to the mass expulsion of Jews in a Podolian village. Antique illustration, 1882, via Adobe
he hatred of Jews, from time immemorial to the outlandish way it has resurfaced globally today, is truly breathtaking. What on earth could this infinitesimal population of Jews, and their tiny ancestral homeland, Israel, have possibly done to inspire such universally unflinching contempt? Many of the original justifications for why Jews are to be despised above all others — why hating them is so justly deserved — have been debunked by the absurdity of those blood libels and the upsurge of a (relatively)
enlightened public. No, Jews did not kill Jesus; and no, they don’t murder Christian children to improve the taste of Passover matzoh. As for having horns and tails, no one has ever seen a Jew with such anatomical features. More stubbornly historical tropes require Olympian suspensions of disbelief. You don’t need to be a savant to recognize that levers that “control the world” are not being pulled by Jews. Would Israelis and the Diaspora be this perpetually miserable if they were in possession of such powers? Here’s one obvious example: the yellow fever of yellow journalism practiced daily against the Jewish state. Only a diehard conspiracist believes that Jews actually control the major news outlets. See ‘Denial disease’ supercharges on page 2