International

California Assembly Passes Measure to Hold Social Media Companies Accountable for Online Hate

SACRAMENTO (Press Release) — Following Wednesday’s announcement of his appointment as Chair of the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland Hills) successfully passed bipartisan legislation to regulate social media companies through the California State Assembly. The first-of-its-kind measure, known as the Social Media Transparency and Accountability Act of 2021 — or […]

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USA

Sick bats employ ‘social distancing,’ Israeli study reveals

TEL AVIV (Press Release) — The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced us to expressions like “lockdown,” “isolation,” and “social distancing,” which became part of social conduct all over the world. Now it appears that bats also maintain social distancing which might help prevent the spread of contagious diseases in their colonies. In a new study published

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Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education

Gantz on Gaza: Israel looks for ‘stability and prosperity for everybody’

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — The following are public comments from U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz before their private meeting on Thursday at the White House: SECRETARY BLINKEN: Hello, everyone. It’s a real pleasure to welcome Defense Minister Gantz to the State Department. We had an opportunity

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Middle East, USA

Netanyahu, battling for political life, attacks deal to unseat him

Published by Reuters By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday fought back against an agreement by his political opponents for a government of left-wing, centrist and right-wing parties aimed at unseating him. Netanyahu, facing the prospect of an end to his 12-year run as premier, said on Twitter “all legislators

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Middle East

Biden to meet with UK’s Johnson, Turkey’s Erdogan in overseas trip

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden’s first overseas trip will include meetings with the leaders of Turkey, the United Kingdom and Russia, as well as audiences with a queen and a king, the White House said on Thursday. Biden planned to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on June 10 before attending

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Middle East

Hamas Must Choose: Help Gazans or Forbid Others from Aiding Them

Hamas terrorists might wish to relish their victory over Israel while they can – their cynical public relations victory. For the moment, Israel is an ogre in the eyes of the world, Hamas is champion of the Palestinians. However, Hamas soon could replace Israel as villain of a drama that is much of its own making.  [Bruce S. Ticker]

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Bruce Ticker, Middle East, USA

A Survivor’s Trek Through Europe and the U.S.

In this memoir, nonagenarian Michael G. Kesler tells how as a teenager, he escaped both forced service in the Soviet Army and the Nazi invasion of his Polish home town by hopping trains with his older sister Luba eastward to the Soviet Asian republics where they both found productive work. [Donald H. Harrison]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Travel and Food

Ron Grossman: Antisemitic attacks show people believe all Jews think alike

Published by Chicago Tribune It matters not which group is in the crosshairs, prejudice inevitably rests on the adjective “all.” Currently Jews are targeted. In the wake of the deadly exchange of missiles between Israel and Hamas, synagogues have been vandalized in Phoenix and Chicago. In Times Square, a man wearing a kippah, the distinctive

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USA

80 Years Later, Could the Farhud Happen Again?

The world has just marked the 80th anniversary of the Farhud, the Arab–Nazi pogrom against Jews in Baghdad and Basra on June 1-2, 1941. The term Arab–Nazi is completely correct, not because these Arabs were merely fascist in mind and deed, but because they actually identified with Germany’s Nazi Party. Some of the rioters wore swastikas; more than a few actually marched in the Nuremberg torchlight parades. Farhud means “violent dispossession.” [Edwin Black]

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Edwin Black, International, Middle East

Isaac Herzog Elected as Israel’s 11th President

Isaac Herzog, former Minister, Chairman of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition, was elected by the Knesset (parliament) to serve as Israel’s 11th President.  Herzog currently serves as the Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel. Herzog was elected with the support of 87 out of the 120 Members of Knesset and his tenure will begin on July 9th. [News Release from office of Isaac Herzog]

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Jewish History, Middle East