By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
We encourage our readers to follow the provided links to other publications or news services for items of interest.
INTERNATIONAL
Jewish News Syndicate: More than 200 cultural and public figures have signed a petition urging Israel to release convicted terrorist Marwan Barghouti from prison. Among Jews signing the petition are singer Paul Simon and journalist Peter Beinart.
*
Reuters: Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said before Hamas disarms, a credible Palestinian civil administration and a vetted, trained police force need to be in place in Gaza.
*
The Jerusalem Post: Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said Saturday that “negotiations on consolidating the U.S. backed truce in the war in Gaza are at a ‘critical’ moment, with mediators seeking to move peace talks from Phase One to Phase Two.
*
The Times of Israel: Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Israel’s President Isaac Herzog that his nation “firmly stand at Israel’s side, especially since the horrific attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023. … We still consider this friendship a miracle. So shortly after the Shoah, to be able to establish diplomatic relations and further continue to deepen and foster our friendship is very special and important to us indeed.”
*
Israel Hayom: Sources say U.S. President Donald Trump is putting pressure on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to begin implementing Phase 2 of the Gaza peace plan, even before the body of the last known hostage, Ran Gvili, is turned over to Israel.
*
Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief and Knesset member, criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointment of Roman Gofman as head of the Mossad, Israel’s spy agency. He wrote on social media: “Senior officials are being appointed by the ‘commander in chief’ seemingly as a reward for loyalty and alignment with his approach, at the expense of experience, professionalism, and national considerations.” Gofman spent his career in the IDF. He has no prior experience with the Mossad.
*
The Algemeiner: Denmark has unveiled an $18 million program to combat rising antisemitism by boosting security for Jewish institutions, combating online hate, and introducing programs for children and young people.
*
Associated Press: Russia launched 653 drones and 51 missiles Friday night and early Saturday morning, with Ukraine shooting down 585 drones and 30 missiles, Ukrainian sources reported. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said energy facilities were the main targets of the attacks.
*
NATIONAL
New York Times: U.S. District Court Judge Rodney Smith ordered the unsealing of documents accumulated by a Florida grand jury in its probe of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, since deceased. The documents will be redacted to protect the identities of victims.
*
The Forward: The architectural firm of Shalom Baranes, who was a child when his family immigrated from Libya to the United States, has been selected by President Donald Trump to replace McCrery Architects on the ongoing White House ballroom project. Baranes once wrote an OpEd urging Trump to keep America’s door open for refugees.
*
Miami Herald: Mayor Daniella Levine Cava of Miami, Florida, resisting President Trump’s plan to sell oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico, which he calls the Gulf of America, said “Miami-Dade’s economy, environment and way of life all depend on the health of our coastlines and our oceans … Oil drilling has no place off Florida’s shores.”
STATE & LOCAL
City News Service: U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) and San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer are among politicians and environmentalists organizing to oppose President Donald Trump’s plans to sell oil leases off the California coast.
*
Jewish Telegraphic Agency: Award-winning architect Frank Gehry, who changed his name from Ephraim Owen Goldberg because his wife Berta worried about antisemitism, died in Los Angeles at the age of 96. He was the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, and the Jerusalem Prize for Arts and Letters, among other awards.
*
San Diego Union-Tribune: In an opinion piece in Saturday’s edition, Mark Powell, a realtor who is a former member of the County Board of Education, said one way to increase the availability of housing, is to make the same low-interest mortgage available to a homeowner seeking to buy a new home. “Older adults could downsize. Families could move into better-suited homes. Employees could take jobs without fearing skyrocketing payments. And first-time home-buyers would finally have options as more homes hit the market.”
*
Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World