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☆ Sam Zell, billionaire real estate investor, dies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

He had a golden touch with real estate, and got his start managing apartment buildings as a college student. His father was a wholesale jeweler who dabbled successfully in real estate investment and the stock market. His first successes in real estate came while he was a student at the University of Michigan. After the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, Zell went on a buying spree of real estate properties. He also encouraged institutional investors to pool their money for commercial real estate in the early '90s when it was on the outs.

The price surpasses the $30.8 million paid in 1994 for Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester manuscript, Sotheby's said. The document offers a critical link bridging Jewish oral tradition to the modern Hebrew Bible. The auctioneer said the Codex Sassoon had been dated to either the late 9th or early 10th century on both scientific and paleographic grounds and contains almost the entirety of the Bible. The Hebrew Bible contains 24 separate books organized into three parts — the Pentateuch, the Prophets, and the Writings. Starting with the book of Genesis and ending with Chronicles, the Hebrew Bible is foundational to Judaism, as well as Christianity and Islam.

☆ Oldest Nearly Complete Hebrew Bible Sells for $38.1 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jennifer Schuessler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The oldest near-complete Hebrew Bible sold at Sotheby’s for $38.1 million on Wednesday, one of the highest prices for a book or historical document ever sold at auction. The volume, known as the Codex Sassoon, includes all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, minus about eight leaves, including the first 10 chapters of Genesis. Researchers have dated it to the late ninth or early 10th century, making it the oldest near-complete Hebrew Bible known to exist. Speculation had percolated for months over who might have the desire — and deep pockets — to acquire the Bible, which carried an estimate of $30 million to $50 million. The Codex Sassoon will be donated to the museum (previously known as the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora) and be part of the core exhibition.

☆ ‘Maimonides’ Review: The Greatest Jewish Thinker, in Brief
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Adam Kirsch | Alberto Manguel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Moses Maimonides on a 1953 Israeli stamp. Photo: AlamyThe 12th-century sage regularly described as the greatest Jewish thinker of all time leads a double life for posterity. To this day, students in yeshivas turn to the Rambam’s magnum opus, the comprehensive legal code known as the Mishneh Torah, in navigating the complexities of Jewish law. In this context, the book that matters is the “Guide for the Perplexed,” the philosophical treatise Maimonides wrote in Arabic around the year 1190. The “Guide,” too, speaks the language of Judaism, but the questions it addresses aren’t practical and legal, as in the Mishneh Torah, but speculative and metaphysical.

☆ I'm a Gen Zer who was unprepared for life after college. Here are 5 things I wish I knew before graduation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Rachel Bernstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

She had no idea what to expect from post-grad life other than what she saw in movies and heavily-edited Insta posts. Making older friends, traveling solo, and making the best of an "in between" job have helped her navigate the past year. These days, I don't think that I'm an expert on post-grad life. But as I talked to them more, I slowly found the value in making friends older than myself. A solo trip can be transformative.

☆ Palestinian reporter breaks barriers by reporting in Hebrew on Israeli TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Hadas Gold | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

He is one of the few Palestinian reporters who report in Hebrew, on Israeli TV. Maswadeh is not the first or the only Palestinian reporter on Israeli TV – there are several on the Arab affairs beat. “I was born in East Jerusalem to a Palestinian family, to a Palestinian culture. “We were there looking at the TV – Israeli TV – and saw, you know, the smokes and people screaming and I didn’t know what’s happening, I didn’t speak Hebrew. “I get threats from both sides [Palestinian and Israeli], but it was mainly from Palestinians who don’t like the fact that I work for Israeli TV,” he added.

☆ 100-year-old sisters share 4 tips for staying mentally sharp as you age—and they don't say crossword puzzles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Ester Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

And I'd say, 'Because I'm old?' Sweedler, who lives in a retirement home in Connecticut, is proud of the way she's retained her faculties: "I don't talk like an old lady." It probably helps that she doesn't think of herself that way: "I don't feel that I'm old," says Sweedler, who turned 103 in December. "I don't feel old, that's the truth." ConnectBoth Hodes and Sweedler wax rhapsodic about the importance of family and especially a good marriage: "There's nothing better," Sweedler declares.

☆ Fact Check-Supposed Yuval Noah Harari ‘free will’ quote not on behalf of UN or WEF
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The graphic attributes the quotation “The era of free will is over” to Harari and has been shared by users across Twitter (here), Facebook (here) and Instagram (here). Interactions with the post suggest that users perceived the statement to have been made on behalf of the international organizations. However, the quotation itself is unverified and Yuval Noah Harari does not hold any official position with the UN or the WEF. Reuters has previously addressed the narrative that Harari represents the WEF or “globalist” views in general, and has debunked statements attributed to Harari in that context (here). There is no evidence that Yuval Noah Harari represents the UN or WEF, or that he made the statement about free will attributed to him.

[1/4] Demonstrators protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Britain, in London, Britain March 24, 2023. Netanyahu invited Sunak for an official visit to Israel, the Israeli statement said. 'WE'RE HERE TO PROTEST'In London protesters wanted to talk about Netanyahu's move on the judiciary, which has caused fear at home and abroad for the country's democratic checks and balances. "We're here to protest against Netanyahu, to protest against his attacks on democracy," said Amnon Cohn, who described himself as an Israeli living in London since 2005. "We are more determined than Bibi is," said Liron Rosiner Reshef, an Israeli-born protester in London, using a popular nickname for Netanyahu.

☆ Israeli protesters paint 'red line' leading to Supreme Court after Netanyahu spurns compromise
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, March 16 (Reuters) - Jerusalem woke on Thursday to the sight of a long red line painted by protesters along roads leading to Israel's Supreme Court, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a compromise deal for his government's planned judicial overhaul. Drone footage showed a small group of people in protective suits spraying a wide red stripe along mostly deserted roads leading from a police and magistrate's compound up to the Supreme Court in central Jerusalem. A slogan stencilled in red onto the road in Hebrew, Arabic and English by the side of the road read: "Drawing the line." The hard-right government's drive to limit Supreme Court powers while increasing its own power in selecting judges has caused alarm in Israel and abroad about the country's democratic checks and balances as protests have swelled for weeks. His nationalist-religious coalition says the Supreme Court too often overreaches and intervenes in political matters it has no mandate to rule on.

☆ Israel FinMin says immediate liquidity risk averted after SVB collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, March 14 (Reuters) - Israel's Finance Ministry said on Tuesday that a panel formed to assess the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) determined that the immediate liquidity risk has been averted. The ministry in a statement cited a decision by U.S. authorities to back accounts - even those uninsured - at the bank, which has been an important lender for Israeli technology companies. "Israel's economy is strong and relatively easy to manage in times of crisis," Smotrich said. Smotrich was in the United States for Sunday's Israel Bonds conference. Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Additional reporting by Henriette Chacar; Editing by Steven Scheer and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in flashpoint West Bank town
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Ali Sawafta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Palestinian Omar Khalifa, 27, points to the bullet hole in his car, which was attached by Israeli settlers while he was in it with his family, in Huwara, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Raneen SawaftaHUWARA, March 7 (Reuters) - Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in the West Bank village of Huwara overnight on Monday, the scene of a violent rampage last week by dozens of settlers seeking revenge for the shooting of two Israelis sitting in their car at a nearby checkpoint. Huwara, a Palestinian village near a major road junction where settlers and Palestinians have frequently clashed, has become the latest flashpoint between after months of worsening violence in the occupied West Bank. Other footage appeared to show Israeli soldiers dancing together with Jewish settlers in the town on what was the Jewish festival of Purim. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken overnight reiterated calls for both sides to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank and the violence is also expected to be raised by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when he visits this week.

☆ Check out the Codex Sassoon. It's the oldest, most complete Hebrew bible, and it's set to be sold by Sotheby's for $30 to $50 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

It's known as the Codex Sassoon — named after its former owner, David Solomon Sassoon, a collector who amassed a significant collection of Judaica and Hebraica manuscripts in the 20th century. ED JONES / Contributor/Getty ImagesWhat's most notable about the Codex Sassoon is that it's in mint condition. The book is missing a handful of pages — twelve full leaves to be exact — which also makes it the oldest, and most complete copy of the Hebrew bible to exist, according to Sotheby's.

The Codex Sassoon, dating from the late 9th or early 10th century, sold for $38.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York on Wednesday. It is believed to be the earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible. The Codex Sassoon fell short of its high estimate of $50 million, however. A rare findThe Codex Sassoon is believed to be the very first codex, or manuscript in book form, of the Hebrew Bible. Top image: A woman examines the centuries-old Hebrew Bible.

☆ World's oldest Hebrew Bible could fetch up to $50 million at auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Aleksandra Michalska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The world's oldest and most complete Hebrew Bible will go on display in London next week before an auction in May where it could sell for up to $50 million, Sotheby's said on Wednesday. Billionaire investor Kenneth Griffin set the record in 2021 when he paid $43.2 million at a Sotheby's auction for a first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution. The document offers a critical link bridging Jewish oral tradition to the modern Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible contains 24 separate books organized into three parts — the Pentateuch, the Prophets and the Writings. Starting with the book of Genesis and ending with Chronicles, the Hebrew Bible is foundational to Judaism, as well as Christianity and Islam.

☆ World's oldest Hebrew Bible could fetch $50 million at auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Images of the Codex Sassoon, which Sotheby's will auction in May. A Hebrew Bible that's more than 1,000 years old could sell for up to $50 million at auction this spring, which would make it the most valuable historical document ever auctioned. The sales estimate for the Bible is between $30 million to $50 million. In 2021, hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin paid $43.2 million for a first edition copy of the U.S. Constitution at a Sotheby's auction. In 1994 Bill Gates paid $30.8 million for the Codex Leicester, a collection of scientific writings that contains drawings by Leonardo da Vinci.

☆ Jerusalem Christians say they feel growing harassment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Ammar Awad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Ammar AwadJERUSALEM, Feb 13 (Reuters) - For several weeks, members of the small Christian community in Jerusalem's Old City say they have felt under pressure from what they say is growing harassment and intimidation from violent Jewish ultranationalists. The church stands at the place where Christ is held to have taken the cross after being condemned to death by crucifixion. "In the past two months, I would say, since the beginning of the new government, attacks like this are becoming very, very usual," said Miran Krikorian, a restaurant owner in the Old City. Israeli police say they have stepped up patrols around Christian sites in Jerusalem as churches report abuse by Jews following the swearing-in of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government. The cramped warren of alleyways that makes up the Old City surrounds some of the holiest sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims, and the local communities have long developed ways of living together.

☆ Former Israeli prime minister rebuts claim, boosted by Russia, that the US blocked a Ukraine peace agreement: 'It's unsure there was any deal to be made'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Talia Lakritz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett discussed his efforts to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia. But Bennett has clarified that no such deal existed — and said talks broke down because of apparent Russian war crimes. "Bombshell: Former Israeli prime minister says that Western leaders blocked #Ukraine & #Russia peace deal," Ivan Katchanovski, a Canadian political science professor, wrote on Twitter. At the time, Zelenskyy himself noted that the Israeli prime minister was "trying to find a way of holding talks," a fact for which "we are grateful." In the interview, Bennett himself notes that it was not the US, France, or Germany that put an end to any peace talks.

☆ Cyber firm Wiz moving funds out of Israel due to judicial plans -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Israelis working in the hi-tech sector hold signs with the Hebrew words "No democracy, no hi-tech" as they demonstrate against proposed judicial reforms by Israel's new right-wing government in Tel Aviv, Israel January 24, 2023. The source, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Wiz, a unicorn with a value of some $6 billion, has concerns about growing uncertainty in the Israeli market in light of the proposed changes. Wiz declined to comment on the transfer of money out of Israel which was initially reported by Channel 12 news. The proposed judicial overhaul, which has yet to be written into law, would tighten political control over judicial appointments and limit the Supreme Court's powers to overturn government decisions or Knesset laws. On Monday, Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron told lawmakers that institutional independence was vital for Israel's sovereign credit rating.

☆ I run 25 blogs that bring in $130,000 a month in revenue. Here’s how my husband and I set up our company.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Ellen Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She started in 2000 and for years made $3,000 a month — now she makes $130,000 in revenue monthly. Insider has verified her business revenue with documentation. The considerations for choosing domain names have changed so much over the last 20 years, but I went after four-letter domains in the beginning. It was a different time back in the early 2000s — many decent domain names were still available, so I didn't have to spend a lot of money to get them. While top-tier domain names can be harder to come by now, there are still plenty of good-enough options available.

☆ Israeli judicial reform legislation won't be halted, justice minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JERUSALEM, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Israel's justice minister said on Sunday he would not freeze "for even a minute" the legislative process for proposed judicial reforms that have drawn widespread condemnation both domestically and globally. Israel's Justice Minister Yariv Levin's comments to Hebrew media's Channel 13 followed a statement earlier in the day from Israeli president Isaac Herzog, calling for the process to be temporarily halted. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the reforms are needed to curb overreach by judges. Critics say the proposed changes will politicize the judiciary and compromise its independence, foster corruption and harm Israel's legal protection abroad and its economy. The Israeli president, who was appointed and not elected, has previously called for all sides of the debate to defuse the tension and try to reach a common understanding.

☆ Incoming Democratic Congressman says he'll be sworn in on a first-edition Superman comic, underneath the US Constitution
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An incoming Democratic lawmaker says he'll be sworn in on a first-edition Superman comic. Robert Garcia said he'd also use his citizenship certificate and a photo of his late parents, under the Constitution. Garcia is an avid comic books fan, frequently tweeting about his preference for DC over Marvel. Congressman-elect Robert Garcia, of California's 42nd District, tweeted an image of items he plans to be sworn in on. Being sworn in on a comic book would not be Garcia's only significant first.

☆ Moscow's exiled chief rabbi says Jews could be scapegoated for hardships caused by the war in Ukraine and should leave while they can
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The chief rabbi of Moscow left Russia earlier this year in protest over its invasion of Ukraine. Pinchas Goldschmidt told The Guardian that Jews should leave Russia while they can. "This is why I believe the best option for Russian Jews is to leave," he said. Goldschmidt resigned from his post as Moscow's chief rabbi earlier this year, after refusing to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. After leaving the country, Goldschmidt said in a statement that he was leaving the Russian Jewish community "in distress," according to The Times of Israel.

☆ U.N. asks World Court to give opinion on Israel's occupation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ammar AwadUNITED NATIONS, Dec 30 (Reuters) - The 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Friday asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to give an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - areas the Palestinians want for a state - in a 1967 war. The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the top U.N. court dealing with disputes between states. The request for a court opinion on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories was made in a resolution adopted by the General Assembly with 87 votes in favor. Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicized U.N. is completely illegitimate," Israel's U.N.

President Joe Biden is expected to issue a strong condemnation of emboldened antisemitism in the U.S. and around the world during a Hanukkah reception at the White House on Monday. The president will deliver remarks at the event, which he is hosting with first lady Jill Biden, following blessing and a menorah lighting, a White House official said. In his remarks, Biden will forcefully argue that silence is complicity amid rising antisemitic attacks and emphasize that all forms of hate, antisemitism and violence have no place in America, the official said. The Bidens are also expected to mark a new tradition by adding the first menorah to the White House collection. Last week, Biden formed a new interagency group to develop a national strategy to combat antisemitism.

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