By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
INTERNATIONAL
A petition calling for Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s dismissal has been signed by in excess of 700 faculty members at Israeli universities and colleges. The precipitating incident was Smotrich calling for the government to “run over” Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, whom he described as a “violent, ruthless megalomaniac.”
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Dubi Weissenstern, CEO of ZAKA, said the civilian first responders’ organization, in 2025 handled more than 7,000 cases in Israel and around the world, “carrying out its core mission of Kavod Hameit (honoring the dead) and providing clarity and closure to families facing sudden and traumatic loss.” He stated that ZAKA deployed to “over a dozen terror attacks, more than 2,300 traffic accidents including the recovery of 160 fatalities and over 500 Chesed Shel Emet (charity of truth) operations involving work accidents, drownings, and other unnatural deaths…”
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Daniel Sokatch, the CEO of the New Israel Fund, stated in an end-of-the-year fundraising appeal: “We need you on our side—the side of those who oppose violence, believe in universal human rights, and won’t stop fighting for peace and democracy. This means we don’t look away when extremists in Israel’s government restrict humanitarian aid to Gaza, crack down on civil rights, or try to entrench policies of Jewish supremacy. Instead, we rise to the occasion by raising millions of dollars for food, shelter, and other essential services for civilians in Gaza. We bolster organizations like Standing Together (Omdim Beyachad-Naqef Ma’an) and Zazim–Community that mobilize Jewish and Arab citizens to fight for democracy together. …”
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NATIONAL
The Department of Justice has 5.2 million unreleased documents pertaining to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, now deceased, according to media reports. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says the DOJ is hiring extra attorneys to read the documents and redact information that could be used to identify the underage victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme.
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Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-San Diego) in a fundraising appeal, stated: “Today, we read story after story in newspapers across the country about women who are dying because of Trump’s abortion bans. We see innocent people being disappeared and families being ripped apart by masked ICE agents making unannounced raids in our communities. We walk by military troops deployed in our cities, patrolling our streets. We all know that we have to keep taking action to defend our democracy and push back against this reckless and cruel administration. But it’s not just fighting against Trump and his MAGA extremists. It’s fighting for what we believe in, too. The fundamental American values of freedom and equality…”
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Rabbi Julius Berman, 90, died on Tuesday, Dec. 30. Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Orthodox Union, listed some of Berman’s accomplishments, in the notification of Berman’s death. He had been a president of the Orthodox Union; chairman of the OU Kashrus Commission; founding chairman of the OU Press; founder of Yachad, an outreach organization for Jews with developmental disabilities; president of the International Conference of Jewish Material Claims against Germany; chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; board chairman of the Rabbi Isac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University, and president of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), said 2026 can be the year when Democrats “flip the House of Representatives from red to blue and potentially win back the Senate, which will provide an essential check on Donald Trump and MAGA’s autocratic policy agenda that has already hurt so many and eroded our democracy.”
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The Republican Jewish Coalition and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s political action arm have endorsed freshman Congressman Randy Fine for reelection, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. On the other hand, Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, says “The most extreme voices are exploiting legitimate fears about rising antisemitism and Islamophobia to pit Jewish and Muslim communities against each other. Yet our safety is inextricably linked to each other’s and to the strength of our multifaith, multiracial democracy.” At issue are some of the statements Fine has made about Muslims, including “It’s time for a Muslim travel ban, radical deportations of all mainstream Muslim legal and illegal immigrants, and citizenship revocations wherever possible. Mainstream Muslims have declared war on us. The least we can do is kick them the hell out of America.”
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STATE & LOCAL
David Bocarsly, executive director of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC), hailed a ruling in federal court on Wednesday upholding the constitutionality of AB 715, California’s law attempting to end antisemitism in the public schools. “Today’s ruling is a powerful affirmation that protecting students from harassment is not only lawful – it is essential. AB 715 ensures that California schools are places of learning, not intimidation. We are deeply grateful to California Attorney General Rob Bonta for forcefully defending this law and for making clear that it respects free speech while holding schools accountable for keeping Jewish students safe. The ruling follows the filing of JPAC’s amicus brief defending AB 715 against constitutional challenge, submitted by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and led by partners Alex Weingarten and Matthew Gurvitz and Former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Thirty-one Jewish organizations across California signed onto the JPAC brief.” Ted Deutch, national CEO of the American Jewish Committee, commented: “Judge [Noël] Wise’s ruling affirms that constitutional law aligns with common sense. Public schools need to be welcoming to all, including Jews, and must not be used as platforms for teachers to express individual political views. Bias and discrimination that can lead to outright antisemitism has no place in California – or any – classrooms.”
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World