Isaac Herzog, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, has been busy writing letters to the heads of state in various European countries to protest the ban on kosher slaughter recently enacted by Belgium and upheld by the European Court of Justice. [Donald H. Harrison]
Herzog asks European leaders to defend kosher slaughter Read More »
Jewish Religion, Middle East, USA
Mayim Bialik kicks off the new year as the lead in the new Fox comedy “Call Me Kat,” which is based on the BBC sitcom “Miranda.” “We’re doing an American version, which means more of an American sensibility, so we’ve adjusted it around my quirks and my personality,” said Bialik. “‘Call Me Kat’ is about
MIAMI — Miami Congresswoman-elect María Elvira Salazar will be unable to attend a Sunday ceremony in Washington to swear in members of the new Congress after learning she has COVID-19 during an emergency trip to the hospital, her office announced Thursday morning. Salazar, a Republican who last month defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala in
Freshman Miami congresswoman-elect to miss DC swearing-in ceremony due to COVID-19 Read More »
USA
My grandchildren, who have grown up in a secular environment in Israel, find it odd that I, their (hopefully) broad-minded grandmother, should have gone to a secondary school for girls. In Israel, it is only those segments of the population which adhere to ancient tenets of gender identification that maintain gender-segregated schools for their offspring. In England, where I grew up, the situation was similar but the ideas behind it were different. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Education for Girls in Britain and Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education
Pat Toomey could not get elected as a senator for Illinois, our sixth most populous state, but since 2010 he was narrowly elected to two terms in Pennsylvania amid low turnout in Philadelphia for each election. One can draw a straight line between his re-election in 2016, possibly on Donald Trump’s coattails and his late December proposal to shut off a safety valve to salvage state and municipal budgets such as those in his home state. And mine. [Bruce S. Ticker]
Toomey typifies Unrepresentative Senate Read More »
Bruce Ticker, USA
ATLANTA — Senate candidate Jon Ossoff’s closing TV argument is a call to action centered on Black voters’ struggles with injustice and the coronavirus pandemic as he makes his final pitch in the last week of the runoff campaign. The 30-second spot, “We the people,” includes flashbacks to the stories of five Black Georgians his
Every time we near the end of one year and the start of another, I take time to reflect and look back on what we’ve gone through and achieved together. And honestly, I can’t think of another year in my life that compares to 2020. The year started with our efforts to hold President Trump accountable for wrongdoing, to send a message that no one — not even the President of the United States — is above the law. [Adam Schiff]
Schiff on 2020: Impeachment, COVID-19, Biden Victory Read More »
USA
Following are Jewish programs of interest to lay and academic audiences that may be accessed via the Internet, January 3rrd through 9th. They are listed in Pacific Standard Time. [Laurie Baron, Ph.D]
Streaming Jewish Programs (January 3-9, 2021) Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lawrence Baron, Science, Medicine, & Education, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA
British lawmakers have approved the post-Brexit trade deal in British Parliament, paving the way for it to become law. Members of Parliament for the House of Commons voted 521 to 73 – a majority of 448 – on Wednesday to support the post-Brexit trade deal agreed by negotiators from London and Brussels on Christmas Eve.
British lawmakers vote through post-Brexit trade bill Read More »
International
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) plans to block an effort to override President Donald Trump‘s veto of a defense bill unless the Senate holds a vote on providing a direct payment of $2,000 to Americans. Sanders cannot ultimately stop the veto override vote, but he can delay it until New Year’s Day, making things more difficult
Bernie Sanders To Delay Defense Veto Override In Bid For $2,000 Stimulus Checks Read More »
USA
The United States flew strategic bombers over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday for the second time this month, a show of force meant to deter Iran from attacking American or allied targets in the Middle East. One senior U.S. military officer said the flight by two Air Force B-52 bombers was in response to signals
US bomber mission over Persian Gulf aimed at cautioning Iran Read More »
Middle East, USA
Washington (AFP) – President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated Kathleen Hicks to be deputy secretary of defense, making her the first woman to hold the number two position in the Pentagon if she is confirmed by the Senate. Hicks, who is heading Biden’s transition team at the Pentagon, served in the Defense Department under former
Biden nominates first female deputy defense secretary Read More »
USA
Legendary New York public relations guru Howard Rubenstein, whose A-list clients ran the gamut from Rupert Murdoch to George Steinbrenner to President Donald Trump, died Tuesday at the age of 88. Rubenstein, who famously founded his agency in 1954 at the kitchen table in his parents’ outer borough home, “passed away after … what can
Howard Rubenstein, legendary public relations figure, dies at age 88 Read More »
USA
ATLANTA — President Donald Trump demanded that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp resign because he refused his demand to illegally overturn election results, his harshest rebuke yet of his fellow Republican days before crucial Georgia runoff votes for control of the U.S. Senate. The president’s attack on Kemp, calling him an “obstructionist who refuses to admit
As runoff nears, Trump complicates GOP case by demanding that Kemp resign Read More »
USA