By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
NATIONAL
President Trump on Wednesday night signed into law the bill requiring the Department of Justice to release its Epstein files, setting into motion a 30-day time limit for compliance. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said some documents may be redacted to protect the victims of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In his announcement, Trump stated: “Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING victories.”
Last week, the President urged Bondi to investigate high-profile Democrats’ relationships to Epstein, including President Bill Clinton and his former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who also is a past president of Harvard University.
Harvard announced it is launching an investigation into Summers, who still teaches courses in economics there. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) demanded that Harvard sever all ties with Summers.
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Chabad Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun’s nomination to serve as U.S. special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism testified Wednesday to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He told the committee, which has yet to schedule a vote, “Together with bipartisan support, we must educate the world to respect one another. Lofty goals, perhaps, but a lesson that I learned from the Grand Rabbi of Lubavitch as well as from my grandparents and my parents is to do my best to impact and make the world a better place. We do this by building bridges through education and dialogue. We must learn from the past to protect and educate the living.”
In advance of the committee’s hearing, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, co-chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and 17 Democratic colleagues sent a letter to the committee opposing Kaploun’s confirmation, arguing that in his support for President Trump’s reelection and a politically conservative agenda, he was too partisan. Other Jewish letter signers were Democratic Reps. Becca Balint of Vermont, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois.
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Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum, applauded the decision by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations. “This is vindication,” he said. “For years, MEF has documented how CAIR—founded by convicted Hamas financier Ghassan Elashi, who is serving 65 years in federal prison—masquerades as a civil rights organization while maintaining its terror support infrastructure. Governor Abbott just shattered that façade with the force of law.”
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The Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA) has an in-depth feature about hard-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) and the softening attitude of some Jewish Democrats about her.
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Jessica Tisch, the Jewish Police Commissioner of New York City, has agreed to continue in that post under Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, an anti-Israel Muslim. In an email sent Wednesday to New York City police department, Tisch commented: “Now, do the Mayor-elect and I agree on everything? No, we don’t. But in speaking with him, it’s clear that we share broad and crucial priorities: the importance of public safety, the need to continue driving down crime, and the need to maintain stability and order across the department. We also agree that you deserve the city’s respect and support.”
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Pastor John Hagee, founder of the 10-million-strong Christians United for Israel (CUFI) has an op-ed in the Washington Reporter condemning antisemitic right-wingers who are “attacking Israel and her people.”
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STATE AND LOCAL
Environmental activist and philanthropist Tom Steyer, whose father is Jewish and whose mother is Episcopalian, declared his candidacy for governor of California in next year’s election. Having donated $12 million to the successful Yes on Proposition 50 campaign this year (redistricting five congressional seats), he was the largest contributor to the Democratic effort.
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California State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has introduced legislation enabling people to file lawsuits against law enforcement officers who violate their constitutional rights, CalMatters has reported. The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn another piece of Wiener legislation prohibiting law enforcement officers, including ICE agents, from wearing masks.
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State Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) has endorsed Democrat Shannon Ross, running in a neighboring district. She is a parttime longshoreman in neighboring San Pedro and serves on the LA County Beach Commission.
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Under a proposal worked up by San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, County Supervisors approved on a 4-1 vote Tuesday a plan to have the San Diego Foundation cover $18 million in costs of social programs previously paid by county government. The county will allocate $5 million to the non-profit San Diego Foundation under the plan, meaning the net financial benefit to county government will be $13 million. The San Diego Foundation, meanwhile, will depend on grants from charities including the Prebys Foundation and Price Philanthropies. Lawson-Remer said the Foundation will fund safety net programs of non-profits dealing with seniors, food access, behavioral health, and homelessness.
INTERNATIONAL
President Trump, in his White House meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he believes Israel and Saudi Arabia are “at a level where they should get top of the line” F-35 fighter jets, according to a story in the Jewish Insider.
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Brian Romick, president and CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, said on Wednesday “any substantial upgrade in the U.S. -Saudi relationship – including access to advance U.S. defense systems—must be tied to meaningful measurable progress toward Saudi-Israel normalization. The Abraham Accords remain a landmark diplomatic achievement. Expanding them—especially by advancing Saudi-Israeli normalization—must be central to U.S. policy…”
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Shoshana Bryen, senior director of the Jewish Policy Center in Washington, D.C., writes “Without a military presence determined to uproot and destroy Hamas in whatever manner the military deems necessary, ‘peace plans’ and ‘ceasefires’ are simply wishes and, with due respect to Yogi Berra, ‘Déjà vu all over again.’”
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced plans to travel to Ankara, Turkiye, to confer with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about collaborating on establishing a just peace with Russia. There were unconfirmed reports that American peace envoy Steve Witkoff would join the talks.
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Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected a U.S. proposal to carry out strikes on Mexican soil against drug cartels, saying on Tuesday that “we operate on our own territory, that we do not accept any intervention by a foreign government.” She said that Mexico and the U.S. can collaborate on the drug problem with the U.S. sharing any information it has.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.
Wonderful reports, Don. Thank you.