By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
We encourage our readers to follow the links below to the stories that attract their interest.
INTERNATIONAL
Australia’s Prime Minister attended a ceremony in Sydney’s Great Synagogue memorializing the 15 people slain in the attack on the first night of Chanukah. All 15 have now been identified as Matilda, 10, and adults Edith Brutman, Dan Elkayam, Boris Gurman, Sofia Gurman, Alex Kleytman, Rabbi Yaakov Levitan, Peter Meagher, Reuven Morrison, Marika Pogany, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Adam Smyth, Tania Tretiak, Boris Tetleroyd, and Tibor Weitzen.
Another tribute to the victims was a mass paddle-out, attracting thousands of people on Bondi Beach and in the water. Police have detained seven men with “ideological connections” to the two ISIS-influenced gunmen alleged to have carried out the attack, and a national gun buy back program is contemplated in the aftermath of the mass shooting, Haaretz reports.
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The European Council, which sets the political direction for the European Union, has reaffirmed its dedication to fighting antisemitism, winning praise from the World Jewish Congress. The WJC commended “the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU and all heads of state and government for ensuring that the Conclusions affirm the urgent need to counter antisemitism. Having a dedicated paragraph condemning all forms of anti-Jewish hatred and calling on member states to intensify their follow-up to the 15 October 2024 Council Declaration on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life is particularly important. It demonstrates that Europe’s leaders not only recognize the seriousness of the threats facing Jewish communities, but also expect concrete, coordinated action from their governments to address them with increased speed.”
NATIONAL
CBS News reports that the Senate unanimously confirmed Admiral Kevin Lunday as Coast Guard commandant after Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) lifted the hold she had placed on consideration of his nomination. Rosen had been angered when the Coast Guard downgraded swastikas and nooses from “hate symbols” to “potentially divisive.” Lunday assured concerned Jewish groups that the new policy would be reversed, but apparently someone didn’t get the order or was too slow responding to it. After renewed assurances that the Coast Guard still considers swastikas and nooses (reminders of the lynchings of African Americans) to be hate symbols, the vote on Lunday’s appointment was allowed to proceed.
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Jaimie H. Krass, president and CEO of Keshet, a Jewish support group for the LGBTQ+ community, decried the narrow passage in the House of Representatives (but so far not the U.S. Senate) criminalizing gender transition treatments for minors. Offenders would face 10 years in federal prison. She also denounced rules subsequently proposed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to withdraw federal funding for any medical facility that provides such care. She pledged to the trans community, “You are not alone. We are with you. We will always fight for and alongside you.” She urged leaders of the Jewish community to sign a pledge affirming the rights of trans, nonbinary and intersex people.
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A Wider Bridge, a nonprofit organization promoting acceptance of Jewish and Israeli gay rights groups within the overall LGBTQ community, will disband at the end of 2025, its board chair Daniel Hernandez has announced, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Hernandez said in a statement: “After 15 years, A Wider Bridge has made the difficult decision to wind down our operations. The organization has been weathering difficult financial realities despite efforts to secure sustainable funding.”
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Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) eulogized Norman Podhoretz, who died Dec. 16 at 95, this way: “… Perhaps rarest of all are men like Norman Podhoretz, who change history with mere words. And what words they were. Norman was not only the long-time legendary editor and soul of COMMENTARY, but also a prolific author of a dozen books, hundreds of essays, articles, and columns, and no telling how many speeches. He could turn out 10,000 words of elegant, sparkling, cogent prose seemingly at a moment’s notice while identifying for his readers the deeper meaning of the day’s news. Norman was also an original neoconservative, and proud to be so…”
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Conservative commentators Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson clashed at a Turning Point gathering on Thursday night. Shapiro, speaking about three hours prior to Carlson, criticized the former Fox News commentator and current podcaster for uncritically interviewing neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes and Hitler apologist Darryl Cooper, Jewish Insider reported. When Carlson’s turn at the podium came, he said, “I watched it. I laughed.”
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Democratic U.S. Senators Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Jacky Rosen of Hawaii, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Adam Schiff of California, and Ron Wyden of Oregon joined with lead co-sponsor Alex Padilla of California in a letter to two Cabinet secretaries condemning the transfer of the Office of English Language Acquisition from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor.
Those senators and 19 other Senate colleagues wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Education Secretary Linda McMahon: “We are outraged by the continued attacks the Trump Administration has undertaken on English learners, including the recent scattering of some of the Department of Education’s core responsibilities across several agencies that lack the expertise, staff, and capacity to protect student rights or support student learning. Even as your Departments take away tools for educators to better serve English learners, the law is clear: all students acquiring English as a second language have the right to an education.”
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STATE & LOCAL
The San Diego City Council’s two Jewish members – Dr. Jennifer Campbell and Sean Elo-Rivera – joined Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert in filming a 30-second public service announcement regarding public safety. Von Wilpert leads it off, saying “Happy holidays everybody. While this is a time of joy and celebration, we also need to stay alert. If you see something suspicious, report it so we can all stay safe this holiday season.” Then Campbell says “Many are worried about the increased violence in the world. If you see something concerning, trust your gut. Don’t assume someone else will call 911.” Elo-Rivera wraps up the message, saying “What impacts one community impacts us all. Love for our neighbors means looking out and stepping up when something doesn’t feel right. That care, through action, is how we protect each other.”
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The Democratic contingent of San Diego County’s representatives in Congress – Mike Levin, Sara Jacobs, Scott Peters, and Juan Vargas—have signed a proclamation congratulating reporter Ken Stone and his photographer wife Chris Stone on their retirement after 50-year careers, the last 11 of which were spent with The Times of San Diego. Drafted and presented on Dec. 17 by Levin in his Carlsbad office, the proclamation’s final paragraph read: “through their strong partnership, the Stones contributions to local journalism has been vital for fostering civic engagement and lifting the voices of San Diegans.”
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The San Diego Union-Tribune, in its Thursday and Friday editions, ran 14 stories of specific Jewish interest:
Thursday:
Page 1 — “Nick Reiner appears in court in parents’ slayings” – On Wednesday, Dec. 17, the accused murderer of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, appeared with attorney Alan Jackson and waived his right to a speedy arraignment. That procedure, in which he will formally plead “guilty” or “not guilty” is now scheduled for Jan. 7.
Page 2- “Maxwell asks judge for release”—Ghislaine Maxwell petitioned a federal judge in Manhattan to set aside her sex trafficking conviction and free her from a 20-year prison sentence. She was the girlfriend and associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Page 3 — “Suspected Australia gunman faces 59 charges” – Naveed Akram is charged with the murders of 15 victims at the Bondi Beach Chanukah celebration, committing a terrorist act, and the attempted murders of those people wounded in the mass shooting.
Page 3 — “Netanyahu Oks $35B export deal with Egypt” – Natural gas field off Israel’s Mediterranean coast will be delivered to Egypt over the next 15 years by Chevron, a partner with Israel. The announcement was made Dec. 17 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy Minister Eli Cohen.
Page 4 — “Smith details investigations into Trump” – Jack Smith, the Justice Department’s former special counsel [during President Biden’s administration] testified to a closed-door meeting of the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation of then-former President Trump that led to since abandoned criminal charges. Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member of the committee, commented that if Smith had been allowed to testify publicly “it would have been absolutely devastating to the president and all the president’s men involved in the insurrectionary activities” at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Page 9 – Larry and David Ellison, who control Paramount, were accused by Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav of misleading the public in their hostile takeover bid for control of the movie studio and related businesses. While Paramount said it has “full backstop” from the billionaire Ellison family, Warner Bros. said “it does not and never has.”
Friday
Page 2 – “Brown shooting suspect found dead” –Brown University President Christina Paxson said that Claudio Neves Valente, the alleged shooter who killed two students and wounded nine others in a rampage earlier this month, was enrolled in Brown’s graduate physics program in Fall 2,000 and Spring 2001 before dropping out. Valente’s body was found Thursday in a storage facility he had rented in New Hampshire.
Page 3 – “Australia moves to crack down on hate speech” – Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said they planned legislation to crack down on hate speech and those who spread hate” in the wake of 15 people being slain by terrorists at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
Page 3 – “Witkoff to host new round of Gaza talks” – Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff was scheduled to meet in Miami on Friday with representatives of Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey with an eye toward moving Israel and Hamas to Phase 2 of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
Page 3 – “Parking Ticket Sparks Clashes in Jerusalem” – Haredim injured 13 Israeli police officers after police tried to write a parking ticket. One protester was arrested, prompting hundreds more to come out fighting. Police responded with stun grenades, water cannons and batons.
Page 3 – “EU Oks $106B loan for Ukraine” – Responding to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plea for a quick decision to keep Ukraine’s economy afloat in his country’s war with Russia, the European Union voted to provide 90 billion euros over the next two years, EU president Antonio Costa announced on social media.
Page 6 – “Lawmakers request review of Lutnick’s possible conflicts” – Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a billionaire, handed off to his two oldest sons his interests in a network of companies that members of Congress led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) suspect may be profiting from Lutnick’s promotion of Artificial Intelligence. They asked Acting Inspector General Duane Townsend to investigate issues raised last month by The New York Times.
Page 6 – “Coast Guard deletes noose, swastika entry from manual” – (see story in this column’s “National” section)
Page 6 – “House Democrats release more pictures from Epstein’s estate” – Jeffrey Epstein was pictured with prominent people in non-compromising situations as well as of Epstein with young women or girls with their faces blacked out.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World