Local officials and University of Delaware leaders are condemning the arson at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life and affirming their support for the Jewish community. “It is heartbreaking to learn the fire at the Chabad Center was set intentionally,” Mayor Jerry Clifton said. “This is a sickening act of hostility that threatens the safety and security of our inclusive, welcoming neighborhoods. My thoughts are with the Jewish community and those affected by this tragedy.”…The blaze broke out just after 11 p.m. Tuesday at the Chabad Center, located at 262 S. College Ave. READ MORE
…The RNC, on the other hand, had a much more hearty offering on hand. It had no actors, singers, comedians, billionaires, academics, or former presidents present to offer perfectly polished paeans to character. Instead, it had people of faith affirming the singular importance of safeguarding the freedom of religion; immigrants affirming the notion, not controversial until very recently, that an American citizenship was an exceptional honor, not a universal right; blue-collar workers affirming the all-American reliance on small businesses, not tech behemoths; law enforcement officials affirming the foundational truth that, in America, when we disagree, we talk things over, not burn things down…READ MORE
CHICAGO TRIBUNE Professor Charles Lipson: Trump’s speech: What worked, what didn’tAnother striking feature of the speech — indeed the whole GOP convention — was its emphasis on everyday Black families. The Republicans featured numerous African American speakers, some outlining how they had been helped by specific policies, such as criminal justice reform, others talking about Trump’s personal interest in them and their lives.
JERUSALEM POST Mishpacha Magazine Editor Binyamin Rose: Orthodox Jews tend to support Donald TrumpOnly 6% of voters who cast ballots for Barack Obama in 2008 voted for Donald Trump in 2016. I’m one of them. Political affiliation played no role in my decision. I’m a registered Democrat who often votes Republican. I was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family in North Jersey…This year poses a fresh dilemma.
Join the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for a moving experience with special guests, inspiring stories, and important messages about the institution’s role in these difficult times. 2020 Risa K. Lambert CHICAGO VIRTUAL EVENT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, NOON CDT
Featured Speaker: R. DEREK BLACK was raised in a prominent White Supremacist family and spent his teenage years helping his father expand the world’s first online racial hate community, Stormfront. He will discuss why he renounced the White Supremacist movement and philosophy he was raised in, and his current work at the University of Chicago exploring the medieval and early modern origins of race, racist ideologies, and antisemitic beliefs.
Honoree: MALLY ZOBERMAN RUTKOFF, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, understood the need to connect with others who shared her family’s history. Mally served as the first chair of the Children of Survivors group in Chicago and launched the National Children of Survivors trips to Washington, DC. Her children are following in their mother’s footsteps as active members of the Museum’s Next Generation. This year, we honor Mally for the extraordinary leadership she has demonstrated for the Museum and throughout the community.
The man who was killed in a suspected terror attack Wednesday afternoon has been identified as 39-year-old Rabbi Shai Ohayon of Petah Tikva. A relative of the victim said he was “a perfect husband, a perfect father and a perfect son-in-law. His wife at home cannot process it, she is in shock. It is incomprehensible.” He said that Ohayon would teach Torah lessons in Sha’ar Ephraim, where the family lived until two years ago. “Everyone would come to hear his lessons. He knew how to get to everyone during his lessons. It’s a heavy loss.”…Ohayon is survived by his wife and four children – aged 4, 9, 11, and 13. READ MORE
The Islamic Republic of Iran is entering the late rounds of an increasingly desperate fight to stave off economic collapse amid President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign. To land a 12th-round economic knockout, it’s time for Mr. Trump to throw one more punch: Blacklist the entire Iranian financial industry. While the U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran and many other Iranian financial institutions—and forced their disconnection from the Swift financial messaging network—at least 14 Iranian banks remain open for business with foreign customers. These banks are Tehran’s financial lifeline. READ MORE
One of the greatest successes of the “Abraham Accords”—the nascent diplomatic relations deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel—is just the name itself. The name implicitly indicates that the agreement is between descendants of the children of Abraham—Arabs and Jews—and for Israel, this is a crucial identification in its quest for normalization in the Middle East. Having lost hope of military victory, anti-Israel forces are conducting a narrative war against Israel. They seek to erase the intellectual foundations of Zionism, which assert that Israel is the ancient home of the Jewish nation, who have had two commonwealths on this same land, and to which Jews have an unbroken historical and spiritual connection. READ MORE
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo departed Israel Tuesday morning and made history as he took off on the first official direct flight from Israel to Sudan. Pompeo was in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz following the announcement earlier this month about the normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. He will fly to Sudan and then visit Bahrain and UAE. Pompeo’s trip is part of a US effort to recruit additional countries which will normalize ties with Israel. READ MORE
ALGEMEINER Israel, UAE Defense Ministers Hold First-Ever Phone Call, Herald Security Cooperation The Israeli and UAE defense ministers on Tuesday held their first publicly-acknowledged phone call since their countries’ recent agreement to normalize ties, officials said, heralding possible security cooperation.
Top aides to presidential candidate Joe Biden have apologised to Arab and Muslim Democrats over an attack on Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour by the campaign, in an effort to quell anger over the controversy. In a private call with dozens of prominent activists on Sunday, Ashley Allison, national coalitions director for the Biden campaign, said she was “sorry” for the comments that a campaign spokesman made against Sarsour. Top foreign policy adviser Tony Blinken also expressed “regret” over the incident during the virtual meeting. READ MORE
JNS Biden can’t have it both ways on Sarsour and anti-Semitism All presidents should listen to all faith and ethnic groups. But an open door to extremists and anti-Semites like Sarsour and CAIR gives the lie to Blinken’s previous statements about Israel and not tolerating anti-Semitism. Put simply, if Linda Sarsour is on your team, if her feelings are important to you and you say you want to include her in future discussions, you can’t also claim you are opposed to anti-Semitism.
…Most recently, condemning the historic normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Erdoğan said that “because we stand by Palestine,” he is considering withdrawing Turkey’s ambassador from the UAE. “I gave instructions to my foreign minister… We may suspend diplomatic relations [with the UAE] or recall our ambassador to Abu Dhabi,” Erdoğan added. If he does so, Turkey will be the only country in the region that has no diplomatic relations with Armenia and Cyprus, and no ambassadorial-level relations with Syria, Israel, Egypt and the UAE. READ MORE
Amar’e Stoudemire has officially finished his conversion to Judaism. The former NBA star, who received Israeli citizenship in March 2019 while playing professional basketball there, announced Wednesday in a post on Instagram that his conversion to Judaism was complete. Stoudemire said in the post that he had his final meeting with the beit din, or rabbinical court, and visited the mikvah, or ritual bath…The 6-10 forward played for the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns among other teams in a 16-year NBA career, during which he was named Rookie of the Year and made six All-Star teams. READ MORE
ArchitectGuy on Israel 