By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
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INTERNATIONAL
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued this apology in a speech highlighted by the New York Post. “I’m sorry for what the Jewish community and our nation as a whole has experienced. The government will work every day to protect Jewish Australians, to protect the fundamental right as Australians that they have to be proud of who they are, to practice their faith, to educate their children and to engage in Australian society in the fullest way possible.”
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Ministers in Israel’s government approved a bill establishing a commission of inquiry into the events leading up to the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, according to The Times of Israel. Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara said the legislation, scheduled for a Knesset vote on Wednesday, Dec. 24, “politicizes the commission, creates a commission for which there is a real concern that political considerations will override the professional considerations essential to investigating the truth, whose investigative powers are not appropriate for such a panel in the absence of a senior judge at its head, and whose mechanism is cumbersome and will thwart the ability to investigate the truth and draw objective conclusions” Representatives of the bereaved families protested the proposed legislation, calling for the establishment of “an impartial state commission of inquiry.
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(Photo: Wikipedia)
King Charles III of the United Kingdom has made a donation of an unannounced amount to World Jewish Relief’s relief efforts in Ukraine. Charles, in his previous capacity as the Prince of Wales, opened in 2008 the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow, Poland, which assists Ukrainian refugees. Paul Anticoni, CEO of World Jewish Relief, commented: “We are profoundly grateful to His Majesty and to the King Charles III Charitable Fund for this generous contribution, and for His Majesty’s unwavering support as our Patron. His longstanding commitment to our mission continues to inspire all of us at World Jewish Relief. As the crisis in Ukraine deepens and millions continue to suffer, we remain steadfast in our determination to bring hope and practical assistance to those in need. Donations like this are vital as they enable us to provide lifesaving and transformative support precisely where it is needed most.”
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NATIONAL
Ted Deutch, national CEO of the American Jewish Committee, calls for Jewish organizations to unite around a campaign to provide security for the overall Jewish community, Jewish Insider reports.
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Actor Mandy Patinkin at his home led New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in lighting the Chanukah Menorah on the eighth night of the holiday on Sunday. Patinkin then sang the shehecheyanu prayer because “this is a new beginning that we in this family are incredibly grateful for; this city is grateful for; the world is grateful for; the world is grateful for.” Fox News videoed the occasion.
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Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, issued a statement on Monday that was critical of Mamdani’s appointees to New York City posts. He said: “No one should be surprised by the ADL’s report that revealed over 20% of Zohran Mamdani’s transition team members hold extremist views and have ties with notoriously antisemitic organizations. Mamdani is drawing a false distinction between antisemitism and criticizing the Israeli government. He is in no position to draw such a distinction when he will not even recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, which is antisemitic in of itself. If a large portion of the Arab world can recognize the Jewish state of Israel, so can he. You cannot stop antisemitism while being part of the problem.”
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Fairfield University, which is a Jesuit Catholic institution of higher learning, announces that it has been gifted with the second iteration of the She Wouldn’t Take Off Her Boots sculpture by Victoria Milstein, for which an historic photograph served as a model. Having seen the original sculpture in Greensboro, North Carolina, Paul Burger, wanted to see it replicated in his hometown of Fairfield, Connecticut. That led to the creation of the Shoah Memorial Fairfield, Connecticut organization that commissioned Milstein to recreate the sculpture memorializing an event that occurred Dec. 15, 1941 in Latvia, when Nazi German and Latvian forces were machine-gunning Jews who they forced to undress prior to their executions. Frume Purve refused to remove her boots, setting an example for the Epstein family: Sorella, Roza, Mia-Malka, and Emma. They were subsequently executed, but their insistence on dying with dignity has inspired generations of women who have heard their story. The sculpture will arrive at the campus sometime in 2026 and the university’s museum director Carey Mack Weber, says “we are looking forward to sharing the educational opportunities this artwork brings with all our communities—on campus, across Connecticut, and beyond.”
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STATE & LOCAL
Lisa Katz, the chief government affairs officer of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), on Monday urged the Richmond, California, City Council to censure Mayor Eduardo Martinez for posting on social media a conspiracy theory that the Bondi Beach massacre of 15 people was a “false flag” operation by Israeli agents to promote sympathy for the Jewish state. “Mayors have a civic duty to fight hate, not incite it,” she said. “When an elected leader amplified conspiracies that deny Jewish victimhood or blame Jews for atrocities committed against them, it is not ‘commentary’ but rather a modern repackaging of classic tropes that have long fueled violence targeting Jews. That conduct is incompatible with public trust and makes Mayor Martinez unfit to hold office.” After a public backlash, Martinez removed the post
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California’s two U.S. Senators, Democrats Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, wrote to Howard Lutnick and Brooke Rollins, respectively the Secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture, to complain about cutbacks in their two departments. The letter, dated Dec. 22, said, in part: “We are gravely concerned that diminished services within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture pose unnecessary risks to California lives and property and harm the state’s ability to prepare for dangerous storms and floods and to provide essential water. We write to ask you to reconsider these reductions for the safety and well-being of Californians, and the many Americans that depend on timely weather and water services and forecasting.”
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Rachel Solov has been appointed Assistant District Attorney by San Diego County D.A. Summer Stephan, it was announced Monday. She succeeds in the number two spot Dwain Woodley, who has retired. Solov started her prosecutorial role in 1999 and has worked across numerous divisions in the DA’s Office including Superior Court, Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking, the North County branch, East County branch, Case Issuing, and the Collaborative Justice Division. Throughout her career Solov has prosecuted misdemeanors and felonies, sexual assault, sexually violent predators, stalking, threat, and homicide cases. “Having spent my career as a prosecutor, I am committed to using my experience to advance public safety, support victims of crime, and ensure justice is pursued fairly and thoughtfully,” she said.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World