By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
INTERNATIONAL
President Donald J. Trump, in a phone call with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, invited him to visit the White House soon, Ha’aretz reported. The two leaders discussed disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu’s office said. On Truth Social, Trump called upon Israel to “maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous state.”
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The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reports that in a video address to the nation, explaining his request to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog for a preemptive pardon, Netanyahu said: “I am certain, as are many others in the nation, that an immediate end to the trial would greatly help lower the flames and promote broad reconciliation—something our country desperately needs.” The Prime Minister also said, “President Trump called for an immediate end to the trial so that, together with him, I could advance even more vigorously the vital interests shared by Israel and the United States, within a time window that may never return.”
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The Jerusalem Post quoted President Herzog as saying “It is clear to me that the issue of the pardon is shaking many people in the country; it will be handled in the best possible way. I will consider only the good of the state.”
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Moshe Phillips, national chairman of Americans for a Safe Israel, has issued a press release that argues against including Turkish forces in the international peacekeeping force now being assembled for Gaza. He said Turkiye has a “documented history of providing Hamas with a safe haven, political support, financial aid, and material assistance.”
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Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) reported Pope Leo’s call for a two-state solution did not go over well with Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir nor with Israel’s Opposition Leader Yair Lapid. Ben-Gvir said a two-state solution goes against the Torah, and Lapid said the Pope is interfering with “an Israeli-Palestinian” problem.
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The Times of Israel reports that Likud MK Yuli Edelstein told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that a proposed bill regulating Haredi draft exemptions does not foster recruitment of the 12,000 ultra-Orthodox personnel the IDF says are needed for national security. Likud MK Dan Illouz likewise told the committee that without revisions “the law won’t be good enough, and it won’t bring the change we need in Israel, both from a security and from a social perspective.”
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Controversy has erupted over the legality of U.S. military strikes on Venezuelan boats allegedly ferrying narcotics to the United States. The Washington Post reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a verbal order to kill survivors of one such attack in September – an order, if true, “rises to the level of a war crime,” according to televised interviews with Democratic Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia and Mark Kelly of Arizona. On Monday, Dec. 1, The San Diego Union-Tribune carried a report on Page A4 by The New York Times that U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has called for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to release “the full, unedited tapes of the strikes so the American people can see for themselves.”
NATIONAL
Jewish Insider reports that U.S. Sen Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) married Alexis Lewis in the nation’s capital over the weekend. Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz was one of the officiants. .. In another item, the daily website publicized The Einstein Conspiracy by former Congressman Steve Israel (D-New York). It’s a novel about Nazis targeting physicist Albert Einstein to preclude him from assisting the U.S. build an atomic bomb.
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U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind.-Vermont) has endorsed Democratic Utah State Sen. Nate Blouin in his congressional race. Blouin, in a press release, said he advocates a “progressive” agenda to “pass Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and codify Roe. We will protect our public lands, end the attacks on Gaza, and lower the costs of housing, energy, and higher education by taxing billionaires.”
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STATE & LOCAL
David Bocarsly, CEO of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, and Debi Graboff, chair of the JPAC board, have issued a legislative scorecard for legislation enacted or proposed in 2025, including AB 715, the first-in-the-nation bill to counteract antisemitism in the state’s K-12 schools.
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The Jewish News of Northern California, or the “J” for short, recently published an interview with Rita Semel who celebrated her 104th birthday. In the late 1980s, Semel served as the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area. During her tenure there she and a Catholic priest, Father Eugene Boyle, co-founded the San Francisco Interfaith Council. In the interview, Semel stated, “When you think about it, what’s the reason for being anything—Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim – is to make the world a better place. That’s something we all want to do.”
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The San Diego County Democratic Party has endorsed San Diego Unified School District board member Shana Hazan for reelection. Present and past Jewish elected officials endorsing Hazan include Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego), former members of Congress Susan Davis and Lynn Schenk; San Diego City Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera. Hazan previously served as Chief Philanthropy Officer for Jewish Family Service of San Diego.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.