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This synagogue calls itself 'anti-Zionist.' Here's what that means in practice

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This synagogue calls itself 'anti-Zionist.' Here's what that means in practice

Sholom Sandalow reads from the Torah as Rabbi Brant Rosen watches on a Saturday morning Shabbat service with Tzedek Chicago, an anti-Zionist congregation.

Yonat Shimron


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Yonat Shimron

CHICAGO — Friday night Shabbat services at Tzedek Chicago have all the hallmarks of a typical service, with candle lighting and a rousing rendition of Lecha Dodi, a key hymn welcoming the Sabbath.

But this service also leads with a prayer for the people of Gaza, composed by Rabbi Brant Rosen: “In this moment of ceasefire,” a congregant reads, “let us remain steadfast in our solidarity with the people of Gaza who have resisted the relentless violence of genocide with bottomless wells of courage and resilience.”

For Rosen, solidarity with Palestinians has become a core Jewish value. He founded Tzedek Chicago — the word “tzedek” means “justice” in Hebrew — after breaking with the Zionism of his upbringing. For Rosen, the break came after a 2008 incursion by Israel on Gaza in which he felt that Israel was committing war crimes against the Palestinian people.

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During a recent Shabbat meal, he talked about founding Tzedek as intentionally non Zionist.

“You know, in the very first sermon for the high holidays that I gave, I said that we have very clear core values and we’re very clear about what we stand for. And we’re not for everyone. And that’s okay. We actually stand for very specific values.”

Three people raise their glasses while sitting at a table full of food.

Rabbi Brant Rosen (center) raises a glass of wine at a Friday night Shabbat dinner.

Yonat Shimron


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A minority among Jews

Three years ago, Tzedek Chicago became explicitly anti-Zionist — meaning it does not support a Jewish nation-state.

That view is at odds with the vast majority of American Jews. According to a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center, 80% of American Jews say caring about Israel is an important or essential part of what being Jewish means to them.

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Most American Jewish congregations say a prayer for the State of Israel every Shabbat. Some proudly display the Israeli flag in their sanctuaries. They raise money to support Israel — more than $850 million since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas — according to the Jewish Federations of North America.

To these congregations, support for Israel is almost a religious tenet of American Judaism. Those who reject that tenet risk being cast out. Tzedek Chicago’s members talked about relatives who will no longer speak to them, of being fired or having to quit under pressure from previous jobs at Jewish organizations. Rosen himself was kicked off of the Chicago Board of Rabbis.

Fealty to Israel is ingrained in American Jewish culture.

“The narrative is that the world tried to kill us and Israel saved us — and it’s existential,” said Rosen. “And it’s not just a political issue. It’s not just an opinion. It’s life itself.”

Marjorie Feld, a historian at Babson College, just outside of Boston, explained the roots of that idea.

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“A lot of American Jews live with that very sacred space inside of them for Holocaust consciousness,” Feld said. “And then a lot of those same people tie it to the necessity of unqualified support for Israel.”

But the war in Gaza, in which 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gazan officials, has led more American Jews to challenge that loyalty and to seek out places like Tzedek. Since the start of the war in Gaza, Tzedek has nearly doubled in size, to 430 households, many of them tuning in by Zoom from all over the world. It also meets once a month in person and offers weekly Torah study and a popular children’s program.

Palestinian rights as a Jewish value

Rosen estimates there are now some 30 other anti-Zionist congregations or prayer groups around the country. To them, basic equality and human rights are fundamentally Jewish.

“When it comes to Israel-Palestine, Jewish rights and Jewish life should be no more important or sacrosanct than Palestinian rights and Palestinian life,” Rosen said, “I get that from the Torah, and I get that from just being a human being of conscience.”

That message is especially appealing to younger Jews. Polls have shown a nearly 35 – 45 percentage point drop in support for Israel among Americans born after 1980 — highlighting a big generational divide.

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Owen Howard is a 23-year-old graduate student at DePaul University who has been attending Shabbat services at Tzedek since September.

“We need to be able to decide for ourselves and not have that pushed down on us in a repressive way that we’re ostracized from the rest of Jewish society because we dared to question,” said Howard who is also president of DePaul’s Jews 4 Justice student group.

Children place gold stickers on a hand drawn map on a posterboard.

Children place stickers on a map showing where their ancestors are from at Tzedek Chicago’s Sunday family program.

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Communal resistance

Maya Schenwar, a Chicago based writer and editor, has been a member of Tzedek since it started 10 years ago. She now brings her son to the children’s program.

“For a while I felt like there was no congregation that I could belong to, where I could come and be my full self and feel dedicated to social justice, including solidarity with Palestine,” said Schenwar, 42. “When Tzedek began I felt like, OK, this is a place where I can actually live the Judaism that feels like who I want to be in the world.”

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For Rosen and his congregation, being anti-Zionist means practicing a Judaism that is committed to a universalist vision of reconciliation and liberation.

This Shabbat, Rosen gave a short sermon on the importance of breathing freely, both for oneself and for others.

“The first step toward resistance and meeting the challenge of this political moment, I believe, is just taking a breath, learning how to breathe,” he said. “And then the answers will come. The relationships will be built. We will know where we need to be.”

The American Jewish community must now decide whether there is a place at the table for these new anti-Zionist spaces.

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Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

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Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links

Former president Bill Clinton is scheduled to give deposition Friday to a congressional committee investigating his links to Jeffrey Epstein, one day after Hillary Clinton testified before the committee and called the proceedings “partisan political theatre” and “an insult to the American people”.

During remarks before the House oversight committee, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, insisted on Thursday that she had never met Epstein.

The former Democratic president, however, flew on Epstein’s private jet several times in the early 2000s but said he never visited his island.

Clinton, who engaged in an extramarital affair while president and has been accused of sexual misconduct by three women, also appears in a photo from the recently released files, in a hot tub with Epstein and a woman whose identity is redacted.

Clinton has denied the sexual misconduct claims and was not charged with any crimes. He also has not been accused of any wrongdoing connected to Epstein.

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Epstein visited the White House at least 17 times during the early years of Clinton’s presidency, according to White House visitor records cited in news reports. Clinton said he cut ties with him around 2005, before the disgraced financier, who died from suicide in 2019, pleaded guilty to solicitation of a minor in Florida.

The House committee subpoenaed the Clintons in August. They initially refused to testify but agreed after Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt.

The Clintons asked for their depositions to be held publicly, with the former president stating that to do so behind closed doors would amount to a “kangaroo court”.

“Let’s stop the games + do this the right way: in a public hearing,” Clinton said on X earlier this month.

The committee’s chair, James Comer, did not grant their request, and the proceedings will be conducted behind closed doors with video to be released later.

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On Thursday, Hillary Clinton’s proceedings were briefly halted after representative Lauren Boebert leaked an image of Clinton testifying.

During the full day deposition, Clinton said she had no information about Epstein and did not recall ever meeting him.

Before the deposition, Comer said it would be a long interview and that one with Bill Clinton would be “even longer”.

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Read Judge Schiltz’s Order

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Read Judge Schiltz’s Order

CASE 0:26-cv-00107-PJS-DLM

Doc. 12-1 Filed 02/26/26

Page 5 of 17

and to file a status update by 11:00 am on January 20. ECF No. 5. Respondents never provided a bond hearing and did not release Petitioner until January 21, ECF Nos. 10, 12, after failing to file an update, ECF No. 9. Further, Respondents released Petitioner subject to conditions despite the Court’s release order not providing for conditions. ECF Nos. 5, 12–13.

Abdi W. v. Trump, et al., Case No. 26-CV-00208 (KMM/SGE)

On January 21, 2026, the Court ordered Respondents, within 3 days, to either (a) complete Petitioner’s inspection and examination and file a notice confirming completion, or (b) release Petitioner immediately in Minnesota and confirm the date, time, and location of release. ECF No. 7. No notice was ever filed. The Court emailed counsel on January 27, 2026, at 10:39 am. No response was provided.

Adriana M.Y.M. v. David Easterwood, et al., Case No. 26-CV-213 (JWB/JFD)

On January 24, 2026, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and ordered Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release, or anticipated release, within 48 hours. ECF No. 12. Respondent was not released until January 30, and Respondents never disclosed the time of release, instead describing it as “early this morning.” ECF No. 16.

Estefany J.S. v. Bondi, Case No. 26-CV-216 (JWB/SGE)

On January 13, 2026, at 10:59 am, the Court ordered Respondents to file a letter by 4:00 pm confirming Petitioner’s current location. ECF No. 8. After receiving no response, the Court ordered Respondents, at 5:11 pm, to immediately confirm Petitioner’s location and, by noon on January 14, file a memorandum explaining their failure to comply with the initial order. ECF No. 9. Respondents did not file the memorandum, requiring the Court to issue another order. ECF No. 12. On January 15, the Court ordered immediate release in Minnesota and required Respondents to confirm the time, date, and location of release within 48 hours. ECF No. 18. On January 20, having received no confirmation, the Court ordered Respondents to comply immediately. ECF No. 21. Respondents informed the Court that Petitioner was released in Minnesota on January 17, but did not specify the time. ECF No. 22.

5

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Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

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Chicagoans pay respects to Jesse Jackson as cross-country memorial services begin

James Hickman holds a photo montage of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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CHICAGO — A line of mourners streamed through a Chicago auditorium Thursday to pay final respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. as cross-country memorial services began in the city the late civil rights leader called home.

The protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate will lie in repose for two days at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition before events in Washington, D.C., and South Carolina, where he was born.

Family members wiped away tears as the casket was brought into the stately brick building. Flowers lined the sidewalks where people waiting to enter watched a large screen playing video excerpts of Jackson’s notable speeches. Some raised their fists in solidarity.

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The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

The casket with the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives before a public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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Inside, Jackson’s children, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Rev. Al Sharpton were among those who stood by the open casket to shake hands and hug those coming to view the body of Jackson, dressed in a suit and blue shirt and tie.

“The challenge for us is that we’ve got to make sure that all he lived for was not in vain,” Sharpton told reporters. “Dr. King’s dream and Jesse Jackson’s mission now falls on our shoulders. We’ve got to stand up and keep it going.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks as Jesse Jackson Jr. listens after the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

Nam Y. Huh/AP


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Jackson died last week at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak in his later years.

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Remembrances have already poured in from around the globe, and several U.S. states, including Minnesota, Iowa and North Carolina, are flying flags at half-staff in his honor.

But perhaps nowhere has his death been felt as strongly as in the nation’s third-largest city, where Jackson lived for decades and raised his six children, including a son who is a congressman.

Bouquets have been left outside the family’s Tudor-style home on the city’s South Side for days. Public schools have offered condolences, and city trains have used digital screens to display Jackson’s portrait and his well-known mantra, “I am Somebody!”

People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

People wait to enter the security checkpoint for the public visitation for the Rev. Jesse Jackson at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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His causes, both in the United States and abroad, were countless: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, job opportunities, education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

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“We honor him, and his hard-earned legacy as a freedom fighter, philosopher, and faithful shepherd of his family and community here in Chicago,” the mayor said in a statement.

Next week, Jackson will lie in honor at the South Carolina Statehouse, followed by public services. According to Rainbow PUSH’s agenda, Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to deliver remarks; however, the governor’s office said Thursday that his participation wasn’t yet confirmed. Jackson spent his childhood and started his activism in South Carolina.

Details on services in Washington have not yet been made public. However, he will not lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda after a request for the commemoration was denied by the House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.

The two weeks of events will wrap up next week with a large celebration of life gathering at a Chicago megachurch and finally, homegoing services at the headquarters of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Family members said the services will be open to all.

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“Our family is overwhelmed and overjoyed by the amazing amount of support being offered by common, ordinary people who our father’s life has come into contact with,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said before the services began. “This is a unique opportunity to lay down some of the political rhetoric and to lay down some of the division that deeply divides our country and to reflect upon a man who brought people together.”

The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

The family of the Rev. Jesse Jackson arrives as Yusep Jackson wipes his eyes before public visitation at Rainbow/PUSH Coalition in Chicago on Thursday.

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The services included prayers from some of the city’s most well-known religious leaders, including Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. Mourners of all ages — from toddlers in strollers to elderly people in wheelchairs — came to pay respects.

Video clips of his appearances at news conferences, the campaign trail and even “Sesame Street” also played inside the auditorium.

Claudette Redic, a retiree who lives in Chicago, said her family has respected Jackson, from backing his presidential ambitions to her son getting a scholarship from a program Jackson championed.

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“We have generations of support,” she said. “I’m hoping we continue.”

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