November 29, 2012 | 5:21 am

This week in power: Ceasefire aftermath, Barak retires, Hungary list, Soccer hooligans

Posted by Danny Groner

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Peace this week
After last week's ceasefire in the Middle East, all is quiet on the Israel front after eight days of Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense against Gaza. In total, more than 1,500 rockets were sent toward Israel, and Israel said it shot back at more than 1,000 targets. "At the end of the day, a government or entity that wants to survive must meet its people’s psychological and tangible needs," said Jonathan Adelman in The Christian Science Monitor. "These confrontations only leave it more impoverished and keep it from taking the road to peace and global integration." How's it bode for the future? "The ceasefire can make us optimistic for a day but if we are realistic, we know that next week, next month or next year the peace will be broken again," said an Aurora Advertiser editorial.

Barak steps aside
Longtime politician and former prime minister Ehud Barak announced this week that he'll retire in January after the elections. "I want to dedicate more time to my family. I feel I have exhausted dealing with political life, which has never been a passion of mine, and I feel there is room to allow other people to serve in senior roles in Israel," Barak said. His legacy is mixed, said Eitan Haber at YNetNews: "From being the darling of the Israeli nation, with tens of thousands of people cheering for him at Rabin Square after he won the elections, Barak's status within Israeli politics gradually declined until it reached its current level. Politics may not miss Barak, but security will." Others were impressed with how he handled himself in recent years. "His alliance with Netanyahu over the past four years has been surprisingly strong, considering their divergent political leanings," said Dan Ephron at The Daily Beast. Barak has left the door open to be defense minister, some have noted...

Merkel's backing
German Chancellor Angela Merkel renewed her pledge to stand with Jews inside her country and for Israel's right to self-defense, according to reports. During the recent attacks, Merkel stated that it was Israel's duty to protect its citizens from rocket attacks. "Germany also has that right," she added. But not everyone is on board with that sentiment. "Berlin's popular BZ newspaper published a graphic of Berlin as though it were within range of rockets from Gaza," reported Deutsche Welle.

"Lists of Jews"
A Hungarian politician pushed his government to come up with a list of Jews who pose a "national security risk" which stirred debate as it brought back uncomfortable feelings tied to the Holocaust. Marton Gyongyosi, a leader the Jobbik party, insisted that they needed the list after the way Israel infiltrated Gaza. He half-heartedly apologized for the remarks, but many remain concerned. "Rhetoric like this in a country where more than half a million Jews were killed during the Holocaust are obviously disturbing. But what makes this more interesting than just another 'European far-right politician says offensive thing' story, is that Jobbik's old-fashioned anti-Semitism puts it at odds with the direction other European far-right groups are heading," said Foreign Policy's Joshua Keating.

Soccer threats
At European soccer matches of late, instances of overt anti-Semitism in the stands are on the rise, which has many people worried. So far, security has kept these individuals at bay, tossing them or banning them in other cases. “The days of English football crowds making mass monkey noises are thankfully gone, but massed anti-Semitic chanting about Hitler and gassing was clearly heard yesterday from a loud section of West Ham fans,” a community spokesperson told JTA. “We have heard such abuse against Spurs before and it risks seriously compromising the work against racism at all levels of the game.” Authorities are continuing to monitor the situation and are poised to act when it's called for.

November 22, 2012 | 3:39 am

This week in power: Israel intensifies, Prospect for peace, GOP future, Thanksgiving message

Posted by Danny Groner

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Israeli operation
Israel and Hamas have engaged in rocket attacks over the past week that has some worried that the fighting could escalate into all-out war. Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system has been able to intercept a large number of the rockets, but more have been landing in Israel of late which has caused panic. Then, on Wednesday, a bomb took out a bus in Tel Aviv. "Unfortunately, Hamas is not rational. It targets Israeli civilians while hiding behind its own," said Michael Oren in The New York Times. "Israel will not allow its citizens' lives to be endangered. The international community must call on the Palestinian leadership in the Gaza Strip to take the same approach with its own people," added Danny Ayalon in The Guardian. A ceasefire announced later on Wednesday left some hopeful that the violence would end.

Is peace possible?
The bus bombing came amid talks led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which only further damaged the possibility of the two sides hashing out a longterm resolution. "With that mindset among Hamas's backers, it's hard to be optimistic about the prospects for a sustainable truce. That is why Israel must pin Hamas down to an enforceable deal -- a genuine, durable peace grounded in reality, not the fantasy world of Hamas and its apologists," said an Australian editorial. And it's on Israel to start the process, said a Miami Herald editorial: "Israel would have to commit to genuine talks over the West Bank to provide Palestinians there the hope of a better life and offer a model that the people of Gaza can strive for. The United States can do its part by dragging both sides to the negotiating table. None of this is likely to happen unless the people of Gaza renounce the leadership of Hamas. By now they must surely realize that as long as they live under the rule of terrorists, they will never have a better future."

Murdoch tweet
Rupert Murdoch made headlines with a tweet over the weekend that adminished the "Jewish-owned press" for their coverage of the Israel situation. In an apology, Murdoch said "I should have stuck to the substance of the issue and not bring in irrelevant and incorrect ethnic matters." Was Murdoch so out of line? "He’s packed a remarkable amount of idiocy and nastiness into 140 characters. It will take a lot more space than that to dig himself out," said Peter Beinart at The Daily Beast. Some say it's expected with his personality. "Murdoch forthrightly speaks his mind and that's refreshing and unusual. It's a useful data-point to consider when consuming news produced by his employees," said Dan Murphy said in The Christian Science Monitor. "Twitter, free of his minders, offers a direct line to who he is," agreed Michael Wolff at The Guardian.

What's next for GOP?
Now that the election dust has settled, the Republican party is forced to reassess its values and mission as it looks ahead to 2016. One of the areas that pundits say they should consider is the Jewish vote, and their standing with Jews in America. "The GOP’s problem goes beyond candidate quality and can be summed up in a single question: What do they have to offer?" asked Jamelle Bouie in The American Prospect. "Clearly, the Republican party is in desperate need of realignment," said Gary Younge at GulfNews.com. "Today, six of the nine Supreme Court justices are Catholic (the other three are Jewish) and the Republican nomination was a contest between a Catholic (Rick Santorum) and a Mormon (Romney). The Catholic won the evangelicals; the Mormon won the Catholics." It's time to accept that "demography is not destiny."

Thankful for
"Thanksgiving is my least favorite meal of the year. The problem with the holiday is that it’s difficult to feel thankful when you’re slumped on the couch in a food coma after the meal," said Elana Horwich in the Jewish Journal. In fact, the Thanksgiving story and the Jewish tradition share many commonalities. Rabbi Laura Baum shared some insights in a Huffington Post article: "So, as we sit at our Thanksgiving tables this Thursday, and our Hanukkah tables in a few weeks, let us remember the celebration is not just about one snapshot in time that we seek to re-create. On Thanksgiving, we are free to replace the turkey with tofurkey, or the sugary pumpkin pie with a crust-less, Splenda concoction. We've welcomed a third football game to the holiday, not just watching the Lions' game and the Cowboys' game. There are many ways to be authentic."

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November 15, 2012 | 3:24 am

This week in power: Election aftermath, IDF tweets, Rocket attacks, Jewish jocks

Posted by Danny Groner

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Obama's vote
How's the President wind up doing on Jewish support? Not bad. In 2008, he won 78 percent of all Jewish voters, with this year dipping a bit to 69 percent. The drop showed that Romney was able to sway some voters his way, but also demonstrated that Obama was able to keep people's fears and worries in check. "It is time to bury long-held myths around the Jewish vote and for the media and political pundits to stop hyperventilating over the tiniest movement within this 2 percent of the electorate," said Jeremy Ben Ami in The New York Times. And there's no better time for the President to reassure Jews that this is the start of a beautiful friendship, said Douglas Bloomfield in the Jewish Journal. "That starts with an early trip to Israel to reassure voters in person of his continuing 'unshakeable commitment to Israel’s security,' his determination to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions and his readiness to help Israelis and Palestinians make peace when they are ready. It should be an opportunity for him also to share his vision of the Middle East and America's role in it over the next four years."

A Twitter war?
Israel killed a military commander of Hamas in an air strike on Wednesday and stood firm behind its atatcks, according to reports. But what really got people fired up was the way the IDF announced the news -- via Twitter. And the tweets didn't seem to stop all day long. "The social media and real-life assaults are ongoing and more than a bit startling, combining the strong declarations of war with the immediacy and promotional aspects of the Internet, using lingo such as 'in case you missed it' and memelike photos designed for maximum virality," said New York Magazine's Joe Coscarelli. "This is truly war in real time. We've watched war "live" before, but not like this: There are no commercial breaks, no talking heads, no ticker tape running at the time. It is as unending and infinite and microsecond by microsecond as the speaker wants it to be, limited only by Twitter's current technical limits," added Matt Buchanan at Buzzfeed.

Days of rockets
Israeli's attack this week followed several days of rocket attacks fired in the region. "Israel is literally surrounded by enemies, armed and funded by Iran, and sworn to its destruction," as Right Side News put it. "How many more civilians must be injured or killed, how many children must die before Israel realizes that it may have to put its military in harm’s way rather than its civilians?" asked Gadi Adelman in The Jerusalem Post. There's still hope to quell the Syrian uprising, said Paul Iddon at Digital Journal. "Calculated resolve and realistic encompassing outlooks are what is needed by the states of the region to nip such a catastrophic quake in the bud and alleviate the worsening of an already bleak and dire situation."

General Assembly meets
This week the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations in North America met in Baltimore without any theatrics. Some said it was more an opportunity for networking than to settle unresolved issues within the Jewish community. Elie Wiesel and Natan Sharansky were the keynote speakers at the event, and some argued that the assembly would be better off with some younger guests. "Because we’ve grown up in the age of Uzi’s and M16’s, battles like Wiesel’s and Sharansky’s—over the bare fact of Jewish survival—don’t resonate for us the way they do for our parents," said Sigal Samuel at The Daily Beast.

New book
"What Franklin Foer and I learned in the course of editing 'Jewish Jocks' is that sports, too, is a realm in which Jewish innovations ended up influencing everyone else. The no-look passes and backdoor cuts of basketball trace their lineage to turn-of-the-century New York City, where smaller Jews devised ingenious strategems to defeat squads representing more physically endowed ethnicities," wrote editor Marc Tracy about his new book. "With so much variance in substance and style, it's hard to pick a single standout," said Sam Allard in The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Othrs agreed that the book surprises in good ways. It "becomes clear that this book isn’t just about an athletic race. It’s also about the human race," said Bloomberg's David M. Shribman.

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November 8, 2012 | 4:20 am

This week in power: Election fallout, Jews and Sandy, Iran worries, Microsoft deal

Posted by Danny Groner

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Obama wins
Barack Obama was reelected on Tuesday night thanks in part to the Jewish vote, though it was reportedly lower than 2008 numbers. He won in spite of what The Jewish Daily Forward reported about Romney's campaign: "Jewish Republicans have conducted their largest ever mobilization of activists and of funds, arguing that Obama, now poised to enter his second term in the White House, would maintain an unfriendly attitude toward Israel." Others felt that Obama had it in the bag. "That more Jews felt comfortable with President Obama is not such a big surprise. No one really expected it to go any other way. It was also quite obvious that Obama will not win as strongly with Jewish voters as he did four years ago," said Shmuel Rosner in the Jewish Journal. How this reelection will affect the United States's relationship with Israel is anyone's guess.

Sandy sets down
After a massive hurricane rocked the Eastern seaboard last week, volunteers stepped up to help the victims get back on their feet and get basic supplies. Among those who volunteered were several Jewish groups and organizations. As people tried to get back on their feet, some rabbis took the opportunity to attach to the storm to outrageous meanings. For others, it opened up a difficult decision about where to give money and resources when there are so many causes to choose from already.

New wave of attacks
Israel has been facing rocket attacks that have some growing more concerned. "Israel has been fortunate to suffer few fatalities so far from the Gaza attacks. Some of that owes to Israel's deployment of the Iron Dome air defense system, which recently intercepted eight rockets aimed at larger Israeli cities. But no defensive system is perfect and at some point a Palestinian barrage may take a large toll in lives, forcing Israel to respond in a major way," said a Wall Street Journal editorial. What happens next, wondered Elliott Abrams at the Council on Foreign Relations. "The collapse of the PA is not in our interest—nor in Israel’s, as surely the Israelis must recognize and as Israeli security agencies do fully realize. For the Israelis to take retaliatory steps that make their own situation worse cannot be a sensible reaction to the Palestinian move."

What about Iran?
"The road could be very rocky, and war with Iran and the continued viability of a two-state solution hang in the balance," said Ali Gharib at The Daily Beast the day after Obama's win. The topic is particularly on people's minds now that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday stood by his comments that Israel would be willing to attack the Iranian nuclear program without U.S. support. "With Obama’s relection, the Likud and Netanyahu are no doubt somewhat unhappy," said Joseph Puder at Front Page Mag. Stay tuned for the next chapter of this ongoing and tumultuous affair.

Shalom, Microsoft
Silicon Valley meet Jordan River Valley. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was in Israel this week for the ThinkNext conference drawing in members of the high-tech start-up scene. At the event, 15 companies showed off their innovations, and all in attendance got some wisdom from a series of guest speakers on technology. Still, some weren't impressed by the slow pace that Microsoft took to embrace its foreign audience. "It’s unclear why it has taken so long for the Xbox 360 to appear in the Middle East, but we can only hope that Israel won’t be waiting another seven years before the next Xbox launches," said Lauren Varley at Geek.com. "Whatever the reason behind the console’s belated appearance in Israel, gamers there can finally get an officially sanctioned dose of Xbox excitement this month. For everyone else, it can probably be taken as a sign that Microsoft still sees plenty of life in its long-serving games machine yet," said Martin Bryant at The Next Web.

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November 1, 2012 | 3:41 am

This week in power: Sandy aftermath, Election forecast, Government merger, Mindy walkout

Posted by Danny Groner

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Hurricane Sandy
The Eastern seaboard got walloped by Sandy early this week resulting in tremendous amounts of damage, and some reports of synagogues being decimated by the powerful storm. "The greater New York area, home to the largest population of Jews in North America, took a harsh hit as severe winds and flooding toppled trees, triggered electrical fires and flooded public transportation systems. The result: mass evacuations of apartments and dormitories, widespread school closings and damaged homes and community institutions," reported JTA. Through it all, though, there were also some stories of hope and courageand brotherhood. Others took the opportunity to consider what impact Sandy would have on the upcoming election...

VOTE!
The long road to the White House will reach its due ending on Tuesday with the arrival of the presidential election. "When I was filling out my absentee ballot, with every circle I filled in I was not actively thinking about my Jewish identity but I know that my politics and my Judaism do go hand in hand, consciously or subconsciously," said Sarah Brammer-Shlay at MinnPost. "Let each of us make sure to vote his or her conscience and may we all feel passionately about the privilege that we have to vote in a democratic country and about the views we hold on the candidates running for election, but let us remain united as people who love each other and respect each other regardless of our differences," added Rabbi Haskel Lookstein in The Jewish Week. Which way will you go?

Unexpected merger
"Last week’s surprise announcement that Netanyahu’s Likud Party and Avigdor Lieberman’s nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party would merge their candidate slates — but not their parties — in the upcoming election offers some signs that the smart money is on the right-wingers," reported JTA. What's it mean, asked Karl Vick at Time Magazine: "Even if Likud and Israel Beiteinu gather fewer total votes as a single list than they might have separately, the amount will surely be more than the Likud would have gained alone, and hence all but assures Netanyahu will emerge from the election atop the faction with the largest number of seats in the Knesset, likely assuring he will return as prime minister." Others looked more into the future when making their assessments. "The fusion of Bibi and Lieberman may promise Netanyahu another term, but it does not solve the problems that afflict Israeli society," said Yacov Ben Efrat in +972Mag.

A poll and a correction
The AP released a poll this week that seemed to suggest that 18 percent of Americans believed President Obama is Jewish. But they later corrected that to say that the results got mixed up, and that less than 1 percent of Jews believed that to be true. "Although the poll was in error, it is not unreasonable that some might assume Obama is Jewish. He does, after all, share a name with Israel’s Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak. And he did celebrate Hanukkah at the White House last December," said Howard Portnoy at The Examiner.

Mindy's empty seat
Brooklyn's favorite young candidate, Mindy Meyer, made local headlines this week when she was a no-show to face off with her opponent on The Jewish Channel. Meyer said she was busy with midterms. "The Jewish Channel gave the Meyer campaign every opportunity to try to schedule the debate to accommodate the candidate, but never received any communication from the Meyer campaign indicating a time at which she could or would appear," said anchor Steven I. Weiss. Democrat incumbent Kevin Parker did participate, "alongside an empty chair, Clint Eastwood-style," according to reports. "There was also a reality-television film crew, but not for Meyer, exactly — the show focuses on the catering company working the event," said New York Magazine's Joe Coscarelli. When will Mindy defend herself? Stay tuned.

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October 25, 2012 | 3:55 am

This week in power: Final debate, Iran talks, Racist tweets, Jewish Mum

Posted by Danny Groner

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Debate summary
"As anyone could have predicted, Israel was mentioned a lot," said Gal Beckerman at The Jewish Daily Forward. And why shouldn't it: Israel is a central issue for many Jewish voters across the country. But the question remains as to which candidate will better serve the Jewish people with his presidency. None of the theatrics will ultimately matter, warned Shibley Teihami at Brookings. "All of this adds up to a show that is particularly hard to take seriously for many voters, and which is puzzling to audiences around the world, especially in the Middle East. But most have come to expect that there is in the end little correlation between what is said in the heat of political campaigns, and what presidents in fact do when elected." Not so, argued Efraim Halevy in The New York Times. In the past, the "Republican White House acted in a cold and determined manner, with no regard for Israel’s national pride, strategic interests or sensitivities. That’s food for thought in October 2012."

Iran takes centerstage
But the real issues at play at the debate and on people's minds is the question of whether Iran will develop a nuclear bomb in the coming years. The topic of sanctions and what each candidate proposes to do about Iran came up and drove more questions than revelations. It was particularly relevant after The New York Times reported last weekend that Obama had initiated talks with the Iranians over the issue. The newspaper stood behind its story despite pushback from the Obama administration.

Rocket attacks
Israel's Negev was under fire on Wednesday after Gazans shot over 80 rockets at them in a 24-hour period, according to reports. Meanwhile, Sudan accused Israel of launching an airstrike that caused an explosion at a factory, resulting in two deaths. As the violence escalates, people are worrying more. "I'm angry that there is someone out there who does not know me and has never met me, yet still wants to kill me -- for no other reason than being Israeli," said Arsen Ostrovsky at The Huffington Post.

Tweets too far
After some Jewish groups protested, Twitter removed last week several tweets that were "labeled with the #UnBonJuif (#AGoodJew) hashtag," and "contained anti-Semitic jokes and pictures from the Holocaust," reported Mashable. It was a popular hashtag on the site at the time. This is just the latest move that the social-networking site has made to police its site and to keep it clean from hate groups. Some, like the ADL's Abraham Foxman, are relieved: Twitter was “fast becoming the Internet’s distribution platform of choice for bigots who use it to get their messages of hate out in 140 characters or less," he said.

Controversial show
A British show called "Jewish Mum of the Year" has sparked outrage over its depictions of Jewish mothers as they prepare for their sons' Bar Mitzvahs. "Whatever its merits as television and flaws as representation, the problem for the programme’s makers might not be the reaction from Jews but the country at-large," said The Jewish Daily Forward's Liam Hoare. Still, "I remain slightly curious, the aforementioned cultural differences, to see what an American audience would make of this bizarre British reality show." If the British reviews are any indication, American audiences would hate it, too. Not everyone thinks it's worth making a fuss over this show, though. "The danger in these shows lies not in how people view British Jews but how we regard ourselves," said Natalie Samuel at The Jewish Chronicle.

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October 18, 2012 | 3:38 am

This week in power: Second debate, Fightfight averted, Silverman spat, Jewish Grindr

Posted by Danny Groner

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Debate #2
"Jewiest debate ever," declared Gal Beckerman at The Jewish Dialy Forward, reflecting on the second presidential debate on Tuesday. "Thankfully the next debate is in Boca Raton, which is a relief, because I was worried only middle aged Jews would get a chance to make their voices heard this election cycle." How are the candidates holding up? "A president prepared to hypnotize so many Jews into promoting his campaign might have done better to invite back to the Oval Office the prime minister of the country they claim to be looking out for," said Ruth R. Wisse in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. But he still has his supporters: "our president is a man of vision and strong character, integrity and faith. His values are Jewish values. They’re American values. We need his values in the White House for four more years," said the "Rabbis for Obama" in The Jewish Week. Just a few weeks left before the election, can Romney convince them otherwise?

How's Israel factor in?
The pundits say that Romney stressed his major campaign points during the second debate, which includes his standing behind Israel. And then there's the issue of the meddling Israeli prime minister. "If Netanyahu's gamble doesn't pay off he's going to have to deal with a White House that already does not hold him in high regard and where his clumsy meddling in U.S. politics has done much damage to his influence in Washington, and that is bad for Israel," said Douglas Bloomfield at The Jewish Week. Some, like The Jewish Journal's Shmuel Rosner, are more critical. "Romney hasn’t yet done anything tangible for Israel other than make it harder for the country to remain a bipartisan cause – while Obama has a proven record of support that can’t be refuted."

Sherman vs. Berman
Rep. Brad Sherman and Rep. Howard Berman got into it at a debate last Thursday in California, but despite what some of media coverage implied no punches were actually thrown. Though it seemed possible, according to reports. "In an exceptionally heated moment near the end of a debate, Sherman placed his right arm around Berman’s shoulder and shouted at his senior colleague, 'Howard, you want to get into this?'" It centers on California’s 30th congressional race where the campaign has only grown more heated. “Howard’s kind of a small guy and Brad was right in his face grabbing him,” a Berman spokesman told the L.A. Daily News.

Letter to Silverman
Rabbi Yaakov Rosenblatt penned an open letter in The Jewish Week criticizing comedian Sarah Silverman for her vile comments about Mitt Romney and the election. In his letter, Rosenblatt argues that if Silverman had better values, and pursued a husband and kids, she wouldn't be as angry about her stake in life. Others have pointed out the contributions that Silverman has made to both the American people and to the Jewish community. "Just because you disagree with someone’s politics doesn’t mean you know their character, or have the right to demean it," said Rob Eshman in The Jewish Journal. Moreoever, Rosenblatt's letter sends the wrong message about Judaism and its tenets, argued a Heeb blogger. "It’s an absolutism of authenticity  in which orthodoxy is the sole model of a Jewish life. Any deviation, and you’re automatically in stark contrast to, what is in effect, Zero-Sum Judaism." That's not what we stand for.

How Jews meet Jews
Having a hard time finding a match? Look no further than a new iPhone app called Yenta. Similar to the popular app Grindr, this one brings Jews together. In its first month, 10,000 people reportedly signed up. "Considering it's free and easy to use, we'd be shocked if that number didn't go up soon—and hey, if it happens to encourage anyone to get unkosher and roll around in the proverbial bacon, that's all the better," said Ben Yakas at Gothamist. "However, seeing as how it’s been 20 minutes since I downloaded Yenta, and no one’s so much as offered me a bite of their knish, I’ll stick to striking out with the Jewesses the old-fashioned way: At synagogue," said a Heeb blogger.

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October 11, 2012 | 3:42 am

This week in power: Debate fallout, Drones, Subway ads, Shyne

Posted by Danny Groner

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Post-debate polling
"Mitt Romney came prepared to last night’s debate. Not only in terms of the facts and figures of his own programs and agenda, but in terms of how to deal with the many different ways in which his opponent, President Barack Obama, would try to distort them," said The Jewish Press's Tori Yanover last week. Could this be the turning point for the challenger? "While the NJDC has argued that it is Romney who is out of touch with Jewish voters, the RJC has begun a campaign to convince Jewish voters that it is president Obama who is out of touch," reported Jewocity. Not so fast, warned The Philadelphia Jewish Voice publisher. "For American Jews, there is a sharp contrast between the mendacious statements made by Romney and the strongly-supported policies of the Obama Administration, and it's clearer than ever that the more Jews get to know Romney, the less they like him."

Who sent that drone?
Israeli officials are trying to determine who sent a drone into its airspace over the weekend. They shot it down. It made its way over the Mediterranean Sea and the Gaza Strip before entering Israel, according to reports. Many people speculate that it was sent by Iran, but there hasn't been any confirmation at this point. In response to the drone, Israel has deployed a missile defense battery. "Today Israel is the world leader in exporting drones and drone technology abroad," a Times of Israel blogger pointed out. Whatever the case may be, Israel will assuredly get to the bottom of it.

Controversial subway ads
As soon as new ads went up in big cities, the call for them to come down began. The anti-jihad banners were placed in subway stations on Monday by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, led by conservative blogger Pamela Geller. They proclaim, "In any way between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad." Geller did have her supporters, sort of: "AFDI’s anti-jihad ad might be distasteful to some. But it is precisely when a message is controversial that true freedom of expression is tested," said a Jerusalem Post editorial. Others weren't so forgiving. "I am struck by the juxtaposition of these ad campaigns with the Jewish holiday season. Geller's ads went up just before Yom Kippur--a cruel irony, as this is the holiday of reconciliation," Rabbi Jill Jacobs told The Huffington Post.

Hungary attack
A Hungarian nationalist online radio station defended the recent assault of a Jewish community leader in Budapest. Andras Kerenyi was attacked but thankfully his injuried did not require medical treatment, according to reports. Two men were apprehended. “Predictably and unfortunately, the good attackers were captured very quickly,” the radio station reported. If the attack didn't scare the local Jews enough, thise response only adds more fear.

Shyne's rant
Rick Ross's new album "The Black Bar Mitzvah" has rubbed some people the wrong way, including fellow rapper, Shyne. Shyne took to Twitter to defend the legitimacy of his Jewish faith. "First they criticize me for being a Jew, now they're favorite fake rapper is having a black bar mitzva? GTFOH," Shyne wrote. "I definitely love Rick, don't get me wrong, but this mixtape didn't capture the essence of a classic Jewish Bar Mitzvah. Maybe next time Rick should stay away from a Bar Mitzvah and try his hand at a Quinceañera, for his Mexican constituents. I heard those are WAY more turnt up anyway," said Brittany Lewis at GlobalGrind.

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