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☆ Wild transcripts show Rudy Giuliani made lewd comments to his rape accuser, insulted Jewish mens' genitals, and accused Matt Damon of being gay
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

These are my tits," Giuliani told Dunphy on March 12, 2019, according to one transcript filed as a court exhibit. "I want to own you, officially," Giuliani told Dunphy according to a March 4, 2019 transcript, punctuated by her affirmative response. "I can't think about you or I get hard," Giuliani told Dunphy, according to the transcript. We've had this like, affair for two years and I'm friendly with her husband," Giuliani told Dunphy, according to the transcript. According to other transcripts, Giuliani claimed Jewish men have small penises compared to Italians (Giuliani is Italian) and complained about Jewish religious holidays.

Persons: Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani, Noelle Dunphy, Donald Trump, Dunphy, Mr, Maria Ryan, Justin Kelton, Dunphy's, Giuliani didn't, sapiosexuality, Trump, Kelton, Alex Wong, Ryan, We've, Ryan couldn't, Bob, Michael Bloomberg, Matt Damon, Damon Organizations: Service, New, FBI, Bloomberg Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York, Italian, Egypt

CNN —Remnants of Munich’s main synagogue, which was demolished by the Nazis in June 1938, have resurfaced – much to the amazement of the city’s Jewish community. Construction workers in the southern German city made the discovery while working on the renovation of a weir on the Isar river. Bernhard Purin, head of Munich’s Jewish museum, told CNN that he was surprised to hear the news the following day. Rubble from Munich's main synagogue was discovered at a weir on the Isar river. “The demolition of the main synagogue on Hitler’s orders marked the beginning of exclusion, persecution and destruction.

Persons: Bernhard Purin, “, ”, Mordechai Bernstein, Purin, Leonhard Moll, Charlotte Knobloch, Hitler, ” Katrin Habenschaden Organizations: CNN, Jewish Museum Locations: Munich, Germany, Austria, Jewish Museum Munich, Upper Bavaria, Nazi

☆ Orthodox Men Dominate Mayor Adams’s New Jewish Advisory Council
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Dana Rubinstein | More About Dana Rubinstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Schumer declined to comment. The dispute comes just a week after Mr. Adams got into a verbal altercation with a Jewish housing activist whose family fled the Holocaust, and whom Mr. Adams compared to a plantation owner. Many of the Jewish leaders now criticizing him are of a progressive bent, and Mr. Adams is not popular with progressives. A City Hall spokeswoman noted that within Orthodox ranks, there is a great deal of diversity — there are both modern Orthodox, and Jews associated with the Lubavitch movement, for example. “This esteemed council comprises a diverse assembly of Jewish men and women hailing from various religious and cultural backgrounds, including Chabad, Conservative, Hasidic, nondenominational, Modern Orthodox, Reform, Sephardic, and Yeshiva Orthodox affiliations,” said the spokeswoman for the mayor.

Persons: Beth Elohim, Chuck Schumer, Nadler, Ruth Messinger, David Saperstein, Schumer, Adams, ” Organizations: Jewish World Service, Manhattan, Hall, Lubavitch, Conservative, Yeshiva Orthodox Locations: Brooklyn, Manhattan, New York

Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi CNN —Textbooks in Saudi Arabia have been changing. On Israel and the Palestinians, IMPACT-se found moderation, but not yet full acceptance of Israel. “Some in Israel want to see normalization with Saudi so badly that any interaction about Israel will be framed as something positive towards normalization,” he said. In Saudi Arabia, support for normalization stood at 5%. But Podeh and the other experts all agreed: public perceptions of Israel will be shaped by much more than textbooks.

Persons: ”, Mira Al Hussein, Kristin Diwan, Islam Aziz Alghashian, ” Alghashian, Israel, “, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Elie Podeh, “ It’s, ” Podeh, It’s, Diwan Organizations: Abu Dhabi CNN, Monitoring, School Education, IMPACT, Zionism, United, United Arab Emirates ’, University of Edinburgh, ISIS, Muslim Brotherhood, CNN, Saudi Center, International Communication, Ministry, Education, Gulf States Institute, Saudi, Abraham Accords, Arab Center Washington DC, Department of Islamic, Eastern, Hebrew University Locations: Jerusalem, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, United States, Israel, London, Saudi, Palestine, United Arab, Scotland, “, al Qaeda, Washington

☆ Miriam Margolyes poses nude for British Vogue
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Tim Walker/VogueActor Bella Ramsey, the youngest of those featured, expanded on their experience coming out as non-binary earlier this year. Discovery)Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes came out as a lesbian in 1966. The July issue of British Vogue is available via digital download and on newsstands from June 20. Tim Walker/VogueStill, the actor, who posed nude for the magazine, said she remained proud of her identity and her community. “I think gay people are very lucky, because we are not conventional, we are a group slightly apart,” she said.

Persons: Janelle Monáe, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma D’Arcy, Rina Sawayama, Bella Ramsey, Tim Walker, “ I’ve, ”, “, ’ ” Ramsey, HBO Max, Harry Potter, Miriam Margolyes, Pomona, Margolyes, Vogue Organizations: CNN, British Vogue, HBO, Warner Bros, Vogue, Pomona Sprout Locations: British

☆ The oldest, most complete Hebrew Bible that went missing for 600 years sells for a record $38 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An ancient Hebrew Bible has just sold at Sotheby's auction house in New York for $38 million. The ancient text, written in around 900 AD, is the most complete early copy of the Hebrew Bible. Hence, the auction house says the nearly 800-page Codex Sassoon is "definitively the most significant early biblical manuscript in private hands." It includes 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, divided into the Torah, or "Pentateuch," the Nevi'im, or "prophets," and the Ketuvim, or "writings." The Hebrew Bible is the basis for what Christians call the Old Testament.

An official in Netanyahu's office played down concerns, saying: "The prime minister along with the finance minister intend to pass a responsible budget in the coming weeks that will serve all Israelis. "The finance clerks don't understand Haredim," ultra-Orthodox lawmaker Yizhak Pindrus told Kan radio. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the funds would fix years of injustice toward the Haredim, whose children often are packed into derelict classrooms. Government figures already forecast Israel's economic growth will ease in 2023 from 6.5% in 2022 to about 2.7% and down from the 3% forecast in January. "Netanyahu has sold Israel's economy and our children's future in order to stay in power," said opposition leader Yair Lapid.

☆ ‘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.

[1/5] The destroyed Habib-i Najjar Mosque is pictured in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Antakya, Turkey February 16, 2023. "What we learn from our elders is that Hatay witnessed seven earthquakes in its history but it was reborn from its ashes. PAINTINGS OF THE SAINTSThe bell tower lies on its side, with clothes placed on top for earthquake victims to take. Among the victims of the Feb. 6 earthquake were Saul Cenudioglu, leader of the Jewish community in Antakya, and his wife, Tuna Cenudioglu. The rabbi said he came to Antakya after the earthquakes to check on the Jewish community and take them to Istanbul.

☆ Protesters "fight for Israel's soul" as parliament readies judicial overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Polls have found that most Israelis want the reforms slowed to allow for dialogue with critics - or shelved altogether. Ahead of the afternoon reading, protesters posted online videos of themselves trying to prevent lawmakers from Netanyahu's coalition leaving for the Knesset. "Demonstrators who talk about democracy are themselves bringing about the end of democracy when they deny elected delegates the fundamental right in a democracy - to vote," Netanyahu said in a statement. Opposition leader Yair Lapid tweeted that demonstrations would mount "in the fight for the soul of the nation". Israel's head of state, President Isaac Herzog, has repeatedly urged the government and opposition to hold compromise talks.

☆ A rabbi used ChatGPT to write a sermon. He said his congregation's reaction made him 'deathly afraid' — but that it won't put him out of work just yet.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rabbi Joshua Franklin told ChatGPT to write him a 1,000-word sermon about intimacy and vulnerability. Franklin told his congregation he was "deathly afraid" when applause broke out after his sermon. Franklin told the AP that ChatGPT is "really great at sounding intelligent," but lacks empathy. "Now, you're clapping — I'm deathly afraid," Franklin told his congregation when they applauded after the sermon. Franklin told the Associated Press that the ChatGPT sermon was based on a portion of the Torah about intimacy and vulnerability.

Click to unmute A global city needs a global soundtrack, and in New York, you can find nearly anything you want. Over the past several months, we followed several New York musical scenes that reflect the city’s creative soul, thriving in community centers, local bars and public parks. The sight of a new generation encouraged Mr. Joseph, who sees the band as preserving traditional culture in the modern city. It becomes part of you.” New York itself is as much a player as any musician, transforming traditional tunes into something new. The people who embraced Mateo and his mother when they moved from Boston to New York in 2016 now consoled her.

☆ UAE museum unveils Torah scroll that survived the Holocaust in tolerance push
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Bushra Shakhshir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Visitors attend an event commemorating the Holocaust, in which a 16th century Torah scroll that survived the Holocaust was officially unveiled, at Crossroad of Civilizations Museum, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 28, 2023. Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori, founder of the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai's historic district, said the display, unveiled for International Holocaust Remembrance Day would help combat "big denial" of the Holocaust in the region. The scroll is on permanent loan to the museum from the Memorial Scrolls Trust, which looks after more than 1,000 Czech scrolls saved from the Holocaust and later sent to London. "I lived in the Arab world when I was young, and the term Holocaust does not exist ... Reporting by Bushra Shakhshir and Abdel Hadi Ramahi; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ New Israel Finance Minister Smotrich promises fiscal responsibility
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Bezalel Smotrich took over as Israel's finance minister on Sunday, pledging fiscal responsibility and a boost to competition while working to tackle high living costs at a time of elevated inflation and slowing global economic growth. "Israel will be an island of stability and responsibility," the 42-year old Smotrich, head of the far-right pro-settler Religious Zionism party, told Reuters after the ceremony at the finance ministry. He added that Israel would take all necessary steps to support economic stability and be the "safest place" to invest. Incoming economy minister Nir Barkat said he intends to ease the "unbearable load" on businesses in Israel, declaring a "war on regulation", which he called "a cancer on the economy". New tourism minister Haim Katz promised to promote tourism in the occupied West Bank.

☆ Factbox: Top ministers in Israel's new religious-nationalist cabinet
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

JERUSALEM, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has unveiled his new government that includes religious and nationalist parties. In the past, he has agitated against Israel's Arab minority citizens, condemned LGBT activists and called the justice system too liberal. NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER ITAMAR BEN-GVIRA West Bank settler who heads the far-right Jewish Power party, Ben-Gvir secured an expanded cabinet ministry in charge of police. His appointment to the new Netanyahu government has been challenged in Israel's Supreme Court given his conviction for tax fraud - without prison time - last year. Shas, along with another ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism, has long raised concerns among secular liberals by demanding welfare benefits and military draft exemptions for its constituents.

☆ New Israel finance minister says to keep free-market policies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Incoming Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a broad free-market policy on Wednesday, an apparent effort to allay fears he would be guided by Jewish biblical principles. "I will pursue a broad free-market policy," he wrote. Smotrich said he would be inspired by U.S. right-to-work laws and pursue similar measures to reduce union control in Israel’s labour force. His "traditionalist bloc" in Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition had been "vilified" by U.S. media, he said. The $1.3 trillion fund's executive board this month had decided to exclude Israeli security and analytics software provider Cognyte Software Ltd (CGNT.O) from its portfolio citing human rights concerns.

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

☆ Donald Trump failed to mention dinner he had with 'racist antisemites' but still got standing ovations from conference of Orthodox Jews: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former President Donald Trump spoke at a conference of Orthodox Jews on Friday. Conference attendees responded with multiple standing ovations, according to AP. Trump failed to mention a dinner in November with Ye and Nick Fuentes, who have both spewed antisemitic hate. Attendees of the annual President's Conference of Torah Umesorah at Trump's National Doral resort in Miami, Florida, responded to his remarks with several standing ovations, according to AP. During his address to the Orthodox Jewish conference, Trump referencing his past remarks on antisemitism from his own 2019 State of the Union address led to standing ovations, according to AP.

☆ Israeli lawmaker tables bill to limit banks raising mortgage rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The head of Israel's powerful parliamentary finance committee submitted a bill on Monday that would limit banks' ability to raise mortgage rates after central bank interest rate increases. The Bank of Israel has raised its benchmark interest rate by 3.15 percentage points to 3.25% since April, with more hikes likely. Monthly mortgage repayments have soared by more than 1,000 shekels ($291), with high inflation an additional factor. The aggressive interest rate increases are aimed at countering inflation that has topped 5%, exacerbating already high costs of living. He said any legislation to get around the higher rates would create risks for banks.

☆ Israel's next finance minister brings religion to the front of economic strategy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Israel's incoming finance minister has said his economic strategy will be infused with religious beliefs laid out in the Torah, predicting that this would help the country prosper. Bezalel Smotrich, head of the far-right Religious Zionism party, said that as finance minister he would delve deep into the inner workings of the economy. Smotrich was tapped by prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu to serve as finance minister for two years. At the same time, only about half of ultra-Orthodox men work, according to government data. Israel's central bank has said this is a drain on the economy and has recommended incentives to draw more ultra-Orthodox men into the workforce.

☆ Israeli finance panel chief suggests law to shield mortgages from rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File PhotoJERUSALEM, Nov 28 (Reuters) - The head of the Israeli parliament's powerful finance committee on Monday criticized a wave of central bank interest hikes and said he would propose legislation to minimise their impact on mortgage holders. In a bid to fight rising inflation, the Bank of Israel last week raised its benchmark interest rate (ILINR=ECI) by a half-point to an 11-year high of 3.25%. It was the sixth increase in an aggressive monetary tightening cycle that has taken the rate from 0.1% in April. Gafni said his committee, which controls the government's purse strings, would not interfere in monetary policy decisions by Israel's independent central bank. Speaking to the committee, Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron defended the rate hikes, pointing to an inflation rate of 5.1%.

☆ Fact Check-Photo does not show Israeli currency from 1968 predicting 9/11 attacks
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An image being shared online shows an Israeli commemorative medal from 1967 featuring a plane, tank and the Torah, not an old Israeli shekel coin that depicts the 9/11 attacks, as some are claiming online. Examples can be seen (here) and (here) with the text: “1968 Israeli ‘shekel. It is described as the “French Israeli Six Day War commemorative medal” and is dated 1967. The designs for the World Trade Center were revealed to the public in January 1964 and construction began in August 1968 (www.wtc.com/about/history). The image shows a commemorative medal from 1967 depicting a plane, tank and the Torah.

The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., June 26, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File PhotoSept 22 (Reuters) - An LGBT student group has agreed to hold off on forcing Yeshiva University to formally recognize it while the Jewish school in New York City appeals a judge's order requiring it to do so - an action the institution said would violate its religious values. Yeshiva last week halted all student club activities after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block New York state court judge Lynn Kotler's June order requiring the university to recognize the Y.U. The university is appealing Kotler's finding that it is subject to a city anti-discrimination law. The Modern Orthodox Jewish university, based in Manhattan, has roughly 6,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs.

☆ Yeshiva University halts all student club activity amid high court LGBTQ ruling
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK — Yeshiva University has abruptly suspended student club activity in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this week that ordered the school to recognize — for now — an LGBTQ student group. The disagreement among the justices appears to be mostly about procedure, with the majority writing in a brief unsigned order that Yeshiva should return to state court to seek quick review and temporary relief while the case continues. If it gets neither from state courts, the school can return to the Supreme Court, the majority wrote. A New York state court sided with the student group and ordered the university to recognize the club immediately. The matter remains on appeal in the state court system, but judges there refused to put the order on hold in the meantime.

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