Aaron Keyak, longtime Jewish political organizer, to head Biden’s Jewish outreach

By Philissa Cramer

(JTA) — With four months to Election Day, Joe Biden’s presidential campaign now boasts a staffer dedicated to mobilizing Jewish voters.

Aaron Keyak, who has already been working on Biden’s campaign, is filling the role, first advertised late last month. Jewish Insider was the first to report Keyak’s appointment on Friday.

Keyak is a longtime Democratic political strategist whose work has included leading a Jewish outreach effort for Barack Obama’s successful 2012 reelection bid; cofounding Bluelight Strategies, a consulting group; and briefly heading the National Jewish Democratic Council, the lobbying group that essentially folded because of lawsuits from political adversaries.

In his new role, Keyak “will build and manage a national outreach program to support the political objectives of the campaign,” according to the job posting, which is no longer online.

Last year, Keyak made the case in a Jewish Telegraphic Agency op-ed that President Donald Trump should bring on a White House Jewish liaison — a position, he wrote, that existed for more than four decades before Trump entered office.

“Even when the Jewish liaison wasn’t able to change the position of their boss, a nuanced and full understanding of the Jewish community is essential to advising the most powerful person on earth,” Keyak wrote.

Israelis demonstrate against country’s response to economic crisis as COVID-19 cases mount

By Philissa Cramer

(JTA) — Days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conceded that Israel had reopened “too soon,” thousands of Israelis protested the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in a dramatic rally in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square.

The protesters called for swifter aid to people who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. About 850,000 Israelis have lost their jobs, swelling the unemployment rate to 21%.

Netanyahu announced an aid package for individuals and businesses last week, including a one-time $2,700 payment to self-employed workers who have not previously been eligible for unemployment benefits.

But the protesters said more was needed to get Israelis through the crisis. Many wore shirts or carried signs with pictures of bread to symbolize the basic needs that they said are not being met by the government’s response.

Ten thousand people participated in the rally, and 20 were arrested, Haaretz reported. The rally had been authorized for 1,800 people — the square’s capacity if strict social distancing is observed. Pictures show protesters wearing masks but crammed shoulder to shoulder, days after the country reinstated strict limitations on public gatherings in a bid to head off a rapidly mounting second wave of infections.

The country registered more than 1,300 new cases on Saturday, slightly fewer than Friday’s record high. The total was more than in Germany, Spain and Italy combined, which together have more than 13 times Israel’s population, and four times the total number of Israelis who had been diagnosed with the virus when the country first imposed a stay-at-home order in mid-March.

Ilhan Omar endorsed by Nancy Pelosi while a primary challenger attracts support from pro-Israel givers

By Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lent her considerable weight to the reelection bid of Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has faced allegations of invoking anti-Semitism.

Meanwhile, an opponent in the Democrat primary who has attracted the support of pro-Israel givers nationwide has outraised Omar by millions of dollars.

“Ilhan is a valued and important Member of our Caucus,” Pelosi said Tuesday in a statement. “In her first term, Ilhan has already established herself as a leader on a host of issues — from child nutrition to housing to U.S.-Africa relations.”

Pelosi was among Democrats in 2019 who joined in criticizing Omar for a number of statements about pro-Israel influence that were seen as anti-Semitic. Omar apologized for some but not all of the statements.

Antone Melton-Meaux, one of four challengers to Omar in the Aug. 11 primary, has fundraised nationally in part by rebuking Omar for her Israel policies. Omar is one of two Democrats in the House who back the boycott Israel movement.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Tuesday that Melton-Meaux had raised $3.2 million in the last quarter while Omar had brought in $472,000.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized for suspected infection

By Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been hospitalized with a suspected infection.

A Supreme Court statement said Ginsburg, 87, “is resting comfortably and will stay in the hospital for a few days to receive intravenous antibiotic treatment.”

Ginsburg was hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Tuesday after “experiencing fever and chills,” the statement said.

“She underwent an endoscopic procedure at Johns Hopkins this afternoon to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August,” it said.

Ginsburg, who has survived multiple bouts of cancer, is one of three Jewish justices on the court and leads its liberal wing.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority leader in the Senate, has said he will not hesitate to push through a replacement nominated by President Donald Trump should she die or step down, no matter how close to the election.

Orthodox Jewish man says he was beaten in Brooklyn by 3 men after he responded to their anti-Semitic slurs

By Marcy Oster

(JTA) — An Orthodox Jewish man in Brooklyn said he was beaten by three young men who had yelled anti-Semitic slurs at him.

His finger was broken and he needed stitches to his face following the attack on Saturday afternoon, WCBS-TV reported.

The alleged victim, 51, was walking home when the attackers, aged 18-20, shouted the slurs from their car. After the victim responded, the men got out of the car, pushed the victim to the ground and punched him repeatedly, according to the report.

The 911 emergency service received a call reporting an assault on the Brooklyn street where the man said the attack occurred.

The New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating.

4 Jewish teens robbed at Baltimore mall say they were targeted for their religion

By Marcy Oster

(JTA) — Four Jewish teens who were robbed while leaving a Baltimore mall said the knife-wielding attacker targeted them for their religious observance.

The teens said their shopping bags, cellphones and wallets were taken outside the Towson Town Center, the Baltimore Sun reported, citing the Baltimore County police.

Each teen told investigators separately that they felt targeted for their religious beliefs, the report said, citing police spokeswoman Jennifer Peach.

The assailant told the teen that they were “dirty Jews” and stole one of their kippahs, police told the newspaper.

Surveillance cameras filmed the incident.

Synagogues closed again in California following new statewide restrictions

By Marcy Oster

(JTA) — Synagogues in California have been shut down again following statewide restrictions announced by the governor with cases of the coronavirus there continuing to rise.

The order issued Monday closes all indoor dining, bars, zoos and museums throughout the state, as well as gyms, houses of worship, hair salons, malls and other businesses in 29 counties that are home to some 80 percent of Californians, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The closures by Gov. Gavin Newsom come a month after the state said that restaurants, retail stores, bars, religious services and gyms could reopen with modifications in certain counties.

Over a dozen Orthodox synagogues in Los Angeles signed a letter in May saying they would stay closed an additional two weeks after the state permits gatherings of 10 or more.

There have been more than 7,000 deaths from the coronavirus in California, which has averaged 8,211 new cases a day of COVID-19 in the last week, the Times reported Monday. The previous week, the average was 7,876.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner announced Monday that district schools would open the new term with classes held online.

Federal judge rejects $19 million settlement with Harvey Weinstein accusers

(JTA) — A federal judge has rejected a $19 million settlement for women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct.

District aJudge Alvin Hellerstein in New York objected to several aspects of the class-action settlement agreed upon about two weeks ago, Variety reported. Tuesday’s ruling noted specifically how the agreement handles the claims of women who did not come forward for the lawsuit and the millions of dollars that Weinstein and his company will pay out in attorneys’ fees.

Hellerstein believes the women had such varying experiences with Weinstein that the case is not appropriate as a class action, according to Variety.

“The idea that Harvey Weinstein can get a defense fund ahead of the claimants is obnoxious,” he said at the hearing, according to reports. “The idea you can regulate the claims of people not in the settlement — I can’t subscribe to that.”

The settlement would have used money paid out by the Weinstein Company’s insurance company to establish funds for class-action claimants, individual plaintiffs, the company’s creditors, and defense attorneys working for Weinstein and his firm’s officers and directors.

Three of the plaintiffs in the class-action suit had objected to the settlement.

Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault in February in New York and sentenced to 23 years in prison. He still faces charges in a separate case in Los Angeles.

A new ‘Dirty Dancing’ film could be in the works

By Marcy Oster

(JTA) — Jennifer Grey, the Jewish actress who starred in the original “Dirty Dancing” film, is collaborating with Lionsgate on an untitled dance movie in which she will star and executive produce, Deadline first reported Tuesday.

Lionsgate holds distribution rights to the original “Dirty Dancing” films, which include the 2004 prequel “Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights.” The company has not commented on the project.

Grey, the daughter of actor Joel Grey, has in recent years starred in the Amazon comedy “Red Oaks” and won the 11th season of “Dancing With the Stars.”

Two synagogues vandalized on same day in Sarasota, Florida

By Marcy Oster

(JTA) — Two Reform synagogues in Sarasota, Florida, were vandalized with swastikas and other unspecified hateful messages.

The incidents at Temple Sinai and Temple Emanu-El reportedly took place early on Wednesday morning, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported.

The Temple Sinai campus was extensively vandalized, including many walls made of porous Jerusalem stone, making the removal of the messages difficult. It is the second time that Temple Emanu El has been attacked in the last four months. In April, swastikas were spray painted on the doors of the synagogue.

The Sarasota Sheriff’s office told the newspaper that a man was seen on surveillance video on the grounds of Temple Emanu-El at around 2 a.m. Video shows the same man on the grounds of Temple Sinai later on the same morning.

The two temples issued a joint letter on Wednesday to their memberships to inform them of the vandalism.

“We will be ever vigilant in looking after the safety and security of our members and our children. But we will not allow hate to distract us from the holy work that defines our temple missions,” the letter said.

Southern Poverty Law Center identifies Stephen Miller as an extremist

By Ben Sales

(JTA) — The Southern Poverty Law Center has added White House adviser Stephen Miller to its Extremist Files, a database of extremists that includes former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and Nation of Islam head Louis Farrakhan.

Miller, who helps design much of the administration’s immigration policy, was one of the architects of several of Trump’s most inflammatory measures, including the 2018 family separation policy at the southern border and the 2017 travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. More recently, he has pushed for stricter limits on immigration during the COVID-19 era.

A 2019 investigation by the civil rights group also found that Miller, who is Jewish, promoted white nationalist content to staff members at the right-wing news site Breitbart in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election.

Rapper Ice Cube slams Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for calling out anti-Semitic social media posts

By Marcy Oster

(JTA) — Rapper Ice Cube slammed NBA legend and columnist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for calling him out in a piece taking celebrities to task for posting anti-Semitic statements on social media.

Abdul-Jabbar’s latest column in The Hollywood Reporter named Ice Cube among various figures from the entertainment world he cited for perpetuating anti-Semitic canards.

“Shame on the Hollywood Reporter who obviously gave my brother Kareem 30 pieces of silver to cut us down without even a phone call,” the rapper tweeted.

The reference to “30 pieces of silver” is a nod to Judas, the disciple said to have betrayed Jesus.

“Just when you thought @icecube could not get any more Antisemitic …” international human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky tweeted in response.

Abdul-Jabbar’s column noted a series of tweets Ice Cube had posted in early June, including a mural some have called anti-Semitic and images associated with conspiracy theories against Jews.

On June 30, the rapper’s attorneys filed a cease-and-desist order against journalists Charles Nash of Mediaite and Marlow Stern of the Daily Beast for publishing “outrageously false unverified, and disparaging allegations regarding Ice Cube,” whose given name is O’Shea Jackson. Above the letter he wrote, “Don’t play with me. This is just phase one.”

The letter, sent from a Los Angeles law firm, specifically refers to “the ridiculous, false accusation that Ice Cube ordered his ‘entourage to beat up a rabbi,’ was sued for it, and that he is anti-Semitic.”

Last month, the Daily Beast published an article by Stern titled “Ice Cube’s long, disturbing history of anti-Semitism.” In an article published days later on the Mediaite website, Nash repeated the claims, citing the Daily Beast article.

18 Jewish groups want US to pressure Jordan to extradite Sbarro pizzeria bomber

By Marcy Oster

(JTA) — Eighteen major American Jewish organizations have called on the U.S. government to pressure Jordan’s King Abdullah II to extradite the woman who helped carry out a 2001 bombing in Israel that left two Americans dead.

Ahlam Tamimi facilitated the bombing of the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem that killed 15 people, including Malki Roth, 15, and Judy Greenbaum, 31. Tamimi is wanted to stand trial in the United States on charges of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against American nationals.

The statement, signed by a mix of right-wing and centrist organizations, called on the government “to hold the Kingdom of Jordan accountable to its commitments under its extradition treaty with the United States and bring all pressure to bear, including, but not limited to, recent government legislation significantly impacting U.S. financial aid to Jordan.”

The United States has sought Tamimi’s extradition for years, but the law allowing the State Department to leverage aid to demand extradition did not go into effect until late last year.

Tamimi was sentenced to life in Israel but released in a prisoner exchange for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011. She has since become something of a celebrity in Jordan.

Roth’s parents have led an effort to make Tamimi face U.S. charges under American laws that allow the prosecution of terrorists who have harmed Americans overseas.