By Donald H. Harrison in San Diego
INTERNATIONAL
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded innocent in the New York federal court of Judge Alvin Hellerstein to charges of drug and arms trafficking. Attorney Barry Pollack represented Maduro at the arraignment. The next court date was set for March 17.
The indictment accused Maduro of seizing power illegally in Venezuela and facilitating the exportation of thousands of tons of cocaine in the United States. The U.S. position is that Maduro and Flores are criminal defendants, who should be treated as routinely as other drug dealers. The Maduros contend they are the rightful President and First Lady of the sovereign nation of Venezuela, who were illegally kidnapped, and should be considered as prisoners of war. Judge Hellerstein said that argument could be made as the Maduros’ cases proceed.
Maduro asked for permission to take notes in the courtroom and to keep them inviolate, which Hellerstein said was Maduro’s right.
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NATIONAL
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, cofounder of the Jewish Federation of Annapolis & the Chesapeake, noted that today, Jan. 5, marks the 200th anniversary of Maryland’s “Jew Bill,” by which Maryland in 1826 repealed its law requiring public office holders to affirm a Christian declaration of faith. She said: “This historic legislation affirmed a core American principle: public service should be open to all, regardless of faith. It paved the way for Jewish Marylanders to participate fully in democracy and helped set an enduring example of religious liberty for the nation.”
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Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich reminded readers of his Substack column that tomorrow, Jan. 6, marks the fifth anniversary of “the most shameful day in history,” which he said was the attack on the U.S. Capitol incited by Donald J. Trump, “the traitor who refused to accept the election results.” Seventeen U.S. Senators, all Democrats, have signed up so far to speak in Senate chambers about the occasion, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
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STATE & LOCAL
Hillel at San Diego State reported that an individual whose repeated harassment caused it to take out a restraining order entered the grounds of the Melvin Garb Hillel Center and left an unidentified package on Monday, Jan. 5. Police were called in and the individual was arrested. Police are investigating, and Hillel has increased its security measures, Karen Parry, CEO of Hillel of San Diego, reported.
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State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has introduced legislation to enable Californians to sue federal agents who violate their constitutional rights. CalMatters reported that Wiener told a news conference that the federal administration “is attempting to wield unchecked power to illegally kidnap and deport people, to punish the administration’s political opponents using government resources, to freeze university funding and to fire thousands of federal workers en masse.”
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World