Jewish Insider’s “Jacob Kornbluh hit, kicked, called ‘moser’ and ‘Nazi’ as he documents Haredi community protests”

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Jewish journalist assaulted by ultra-Orthodox mob at Brooklyn virus protest
by Staff
October 8, 2020

A prominent Haredi journalist was assaulted on Wednesday while covering his community’s protests against New York coronavirus shutdowns that largely target the city’s Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods. Jacob Kornbluh, a political reporter for Jewish Insider and a member of the ultra-Orthodox community, was chased and repeatedly hit by a large group of demonstrators who apparently blamed him for highlighting community infractions of coronavirus restrictions. Videos posted to social media from the second night of protests showed a large crowd, at first surrounding Korbluh, and chanting “moser,” or “informer.” READ MORE

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In response to communication from CAMERA, MSNBC concurred that a correction was necessary on both points

CAMERA BLOG
MSNBC Corrects on Settlements, Oslo Accords
October 4, 2020

CAMERA’s Israel office Friday (Oct. 2) prompted corrections at MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” after a broadcast contained basic factual errors concerning the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the contents of the Oslo Accords. “The Trump administration has changed geopolitics” in the Middle East, opined MSNBC’s Keir Simmons in the Sept. 28 segment…reporting “Over the past two decades over 600,000 Jewish settlers have built communities in parts of east Jerusalem and the West Bank, land promised to the Palestinians for a future state.” But those disputed lands were not “promised” to a future Palestinian state, not in the Oslo Accords and not anywhere else with authority to make such promises. Nor did the accords even promise a Palestinian state, much less determine its territories. READ MORE

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On the other side of the aisle, Jewish Democratic groups are seeking to push Joe Biden and Kamala Harris over the finish line, especially with virtually all polls, including in swing states, showing Biden ahead of Trump

JNS
For Jewish Republicans, it’s all about ‘Florida, Florida, Florida’
by Jackson Richman
October 9, 2020

With the presidential race entering its final weeks, more attention is being focused on a number of critical swing states that could determine the outcome of the election. This is especially true as most national polls have former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden with a double-digit lead, leaving U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election chances hinging on several states he narrowly won in 2016, despite losing the popular vote. For the Republican Jewish Coalition, which seeks to re-elect Trump and Republicans down-ballot, this means reaching out to Jewish voters in “Florida, Florida, Florida,” the organization’s executive director, Matt Brooks, told JNS. READ MORE

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“Mark Ruffalo is a long time anti-Israel activist whose comments are not grounded in reality”

JEWISH JOURNAL
Mark Ruffalo Accuses Israel and America of ‘Apartheid’
by Aaron Bandler
October 9, 2020

Actor Mark Ruffalo accused both the United States and Israel of apartheid in an October 8 appearance on “The Mehdi Hasan Show” on NBC’s Peacock television streaming service. Host Mehdi Hasan told Ruffalo that he’s one of the few “A-list Hollywood actors that touch Palestinian rights the way that [he does].” Ruffalo responded, “For whatever reason, I have a love of justice, it really means something to me.”… He went on to call American an apartheid nation, arguing that it’s “kind of an apartheid system, there’s the BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] America and there’s the white America. And that’s an injustice.” READ MORE

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Can we listen to all the scientists, not just the ones we agree with?

WALL STREET JOURNAL
Why Won’t the Media Listen to These Scientists?
by James Freeman
October 6, 2020

This week dozens of es­teemed med­ical ex­perts with blue-chip aca­d­e­mic cre­den­tials pub­lished a warn­ing about the de­struc­tive poli­cies adopted to ad­dress Covid-19. Since the Sun­day pub­li­ca­tion of this “Great Bar­ring­ton De­c­la­ra­tion” more than a thou­sand bi­o­log­i­cal sci­en­tists and more than 1,500 med­ical prac­ti­tion­ers have added their names to the pe­ti­tion. Yet it’s been al­most en­tirely ig­nored by the me­dia out­lets that spend much of their days pre­sent­ing them­selves as obe­di­ent to sci­ence. Maybe this is be­cause the ac­com­plished group of sci­en­tists be­hind the de­c­la­ra­tion is re­fus­ing to obey po­lit­i­cal nar­ra­tives. READ MORE

REAL CLEAR POLITICS Michael Barone: Lockdown Enthusiasts’ Risk Aversion Is Producing a More Unequal Society COVID-19 death rate per million is about one-fifth that of the 1957-58 Asian flu and one-third that of the 1968-70 Hong Kong flu. Yet these earlier pandemics had only “evanescent economic consequences” and did not “leave any deep, traumatic traces in memories” of the 350 million people who, like Smil (and me), were 10 or older during both. “Countries did not resort to any mass-scale economic lockdowns, enforce any long-lasting school closures, ban sports events, or cut flight schedules deeply”

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At the NY Times, Bari Weiss out, Peter Beinart in

ALGEMEINER
New York Times Op-Ed Page Gives Peter Beinart a Promotion
by Ira Stoll
October 6, 2020

Peter Beinart, who in July published an op-ed in The New York Times renouncing Zionism and calling for the elimination of the Jewish state of Israel, has joined the paper’s opinion section “as a contributing opinion writer,” Beinart announced on Twitter on Tuesday. Aside from a byline identifier on his column, there was no immediate official announcement from The New York Times, perhaps because in 2020 the announcement of any new white or Jewish male contributing opinion writer, even an anti-Zionist one, would have to be paired or diluted with a dose of more demographically-appropriate hires. READ MORE

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“In unsparing interview, Bandar bin Sultan, an ex-envoy to US and spy chief, says Palestinians took Riyadh’s support for granted, slams ‘reprehensible’ criticism of UAE-Israel deal”

TIMES OF ISRAEL
Saudi prince: Palestinian leaders have been ‘failures’ for 70 years
by Staff
October 6, 2020

Palestinian leaders are “failures” who have consistently missed opportunities for a settlement with Israel and who are aligning themselves with the enemies of Saudi Arabia, the former Saudi ambassador to the US and intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan said in an interview with Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV that aired Monday. “The Palestinian cause is a just cause, but its advocates are failures. The Israeli cause is unjust, but its advocates are successful. That sums up the events of the last 70 or 75 years,” bin Sultan said. READ MORE

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“I can imagine that it feels uncomfortable to see that when one’s name is Googled the first thing that comes up is a Canary Mission profile

ELDER OF ZIYON
Canary Mission isn’t a “blacklist.” It shines a light on what people say and do.
October 6, 2020

At The Intercept, Murtaza Hussain writes about “pro-Israel blacklists”, in an article that blames the Canary Mission for being behind a pro-Israel “cancel culture.” He talks with people who have profiles in the Canary Mission archives and how upset they are about it. But buried deep within the article, he makes an admission about the Canary Mission: Nothing on Awad’s profile, which includes accusations of supporting the Palestinian-led movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel and “demonizing Israel,” indicates that she has ever engaged in illegal activity or even espoused views that could be considered violent, extremist, or anti-Semitic. READ MORE

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“Officials say the worst-hit ZIP codes overlap with large Orthodox Jewish communities in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens and in a couple of nearby counties”

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Some Orthodox Jews bristle at NYC’s response to virus surge
by David Crary and Mariam Fam
October 5, 2020

Amid a new surge of COVID-19 in New York’s Orthodox Jewish communities, many members are reviving health measures that some had abandoned over the summer — social distancing, wearing masks. For many, there’s also a return of anger: They feel the city is singling them out for criticism. The latest blow: an order Monday from Gov. Andrew Cuomo temporarily closing public and private schools in several areas with large Orthodox populations. It will take effect Tuesday. “People are very turned off and very burned out,” said Yosef Hershkop, a Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn who works for a chain of urgent-care centers. “It’s not like we’re the only people in New York getting COVID.” READ MORE

THE FEDERALIST Gov. Andrew Cuomo Used Fake News Against Jews To Justify Lockdown New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo displayed a 2006 image of Jews congregating to single out the religious community when warning that enhanced lockdown measures are likely to come if the gatherings persist. “We know religious institutions have been a problem,” Cuomo said during a Monday press conference.

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AJC to IOC: Iran should be banned from the Olympics “due to its repeated and ongoing violations of basic human rights”

ALGEMEINER
Top US Jewish Group Urges Olympics Ban for Iran Over Execution of Champion Wrestler
by Staff
October 5, 2020

A top American Jewish group is spearheading a petition urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Iran from the upcoming 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo due to its recent execution of a national wrestling champion. Navid Afkari was executed on September 12 for the alleged killing of a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps — which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States — during an anti-regime protest in 2018…Afkari claimed he had been forced to confess under tortureThe petition written by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) is available to sign onlineREAD MORE

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