By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — News developments on Monday, April 10, found Jewish officials playing important roles at the international, national and local levels.
International
The U.S. State Department formally asserted on Monday that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich had been “wrongfully detained” by Russia. The decision now puts the issue into the hands of the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger D. Carstens. Meanwhile, Russia had not permitted a U.S. consular official to visit with Gershkovich, notwithstanding the Geneva Convention requirement that it do so.
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Federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan will preside over a civil trial April 25 in which writer E. Jean Carroll contends that Donald Trump raped her in 1996 and later defamed her. Kaplan ordered the parties to notify him by April 20 whether they plan to attend the trial in person. Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, who is not related to the judge, said her client plans to attend the trial every day. Trump did not immediately respond concerning his plans.
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Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has been assigned the ticklish tasks of assessing the diplomatic damage and reassuring U.S. allies in the wake of the leaks of classified documents from the Pentagon dealing with developments in Ukraine, South Korea, and Israel. One of the intelligence documents suggested that senior officials in the Mossad, Israel’s equivalent to the CIA, were encouraging staff members and citizens to protest the controversial judicial reforms sought by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mossad officials denied this, calling the report “mendacious and without any foundation whatsoever.”
National
In the wake of the mass shooting on Monday at Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, that left five dead, including the shooter, and nine others wounded or injured, Louisville Metro Mayor Craig Greenberg called on city residents to wrap the victims and their families in a warm embrace of love. Having himself been the subject of a failed assassination attempt in 2022, Greenberg said that he knows from personal experience that such emotional support will be needed. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, he recommended that victims and their families in the days to come “be with loved ones, embrace yourself with love, talk to a therapist … take care of yourself physically and mentally.” He said he still is taking medications prescribed after he narrowly missed being killed by a would-be assassin. The automatic rifle-wielding shooter in Monday’s bank attack was identified by acting police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel as 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, described as a disgruntled employee who live-streamed his attack. Killed were the bank’s senior vice president Tommy Elliott, 63, whom Greenberg and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear both described as a personal friend; Jim Tutt Jr., 64; Juliana Farmer, 57, and Josh Barrick. Among the wounded was rookie police officer Nicholas Wilt, 26, who had graduated from Louisville’s Police Academy on March 31. He suffered a bullet wound to the head. Following surgery on Monday at the University of Louisville Hospital, he was described as being in critical but stable condition.
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Jim Shulman, Nashville, Tennessee’s vice mayor and president of the Nashville Metropolitan Council, was never in doubt that Justin Jones would be reappointed by the council to the Tennessee House of Representatives after he was expelled by that body for using a bullhorn during a protest in favor of enacting stricter gun laws. Before the unanimous 36-0 vote on Monday, April 10, to appoint Jones as his own interim successor until an election for the seat can be held, Shulman told news media: “We’ve heard loud and clear from people in Nashville, across the state of Tennessee and across the country that .. these two gentlemen need to be sent back immediately to the Tennessee statehouse.” Expelled from the statehouse along with Jones was Justin Pearson, a Memphis Democrat, whose case is expected to be taken up Wednesday by the Shelby County Commission.
San Diego County
County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and her three active colleagues on the Board of Supervisors – Chair Nora Vargas, Joel Anderson, and Jim Desmond – have scheduled an emergency meeting today (Tuesday) to consider a “No Confidence” measure concerning Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, who is accused of sexual harassing Grecia Figueroa while she worked for the Metropolitan Transit System. Fletcher resigned as chair of the MTS board, a position to which he had been appointed by the County Board of Supervisors. The proposed resolution is intended to pressure Fletcher to quit his job as a Supervisor. The Board does not have power to remove a colleague. That can be done only by a recall election. Fletcher, currently undergoing treatment out of state for PTSD and alcohol abuse, has said he will resign May 15th when his treatment is concluded. Even though he won’t be attending any meetings until then, he still will draw a salary.
In Memoriam
Actor Michael Lerner, who received an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor in 1991 for his role as Jack Lipnick in Barton Fink, died on Saturday, April 8, at age 81. His nephew Sam Lerner, who plays Geoff Schwartz on television’s The Goldbergs, said his uncle was a mentor and an inspiration for his acting career.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com