Your Daily Spiel is The CJN‘s daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world
CANADA
Jewish groups have published an open letter to Canadian minister of immigration John McCallum, urging that Canada deport 92-year-old Helmut Oberlander, a former member of a notorious Nazi killing squad. Oberlander, who twice lost his citizenship and regained it through appeals, is again fighting to maintain his citizenship. According to CIJA CEO Shimon Fogel, he gained entrance into Canada illegally after failing to disclose his past.
A former member of the chassidic community has opened up about coming out as transgender, and leaving the fold. Abby Stein says the decision, while difficult, is the best one she’s ever made.
After a disgruntled former ISIS member handed over documents revealing some 22,000 fighters who claim to be part of the terrorist group, news reports indicate that at least half a dozen names on the list belong to Canadians. A spokesperson for the RCMP said that they are not “in a position to offer any information on this subject” at the time.
UNITED STATES
Following similar measures either passed or introduced by Florida, Indiana, California, Colorado, and others, the Virginia House of Delegates has passed a resolution condemning the BDS movement against Israel, passed by a vote of 85-5 with nine abstentions. The resolution reaffirms Virgina’s “support for the State of Israel” and opposes “all attempts to economically and politically isolate Israel within the international arena.”
A 26-year-old homeless man has been arrested over suspicion of stabbing at least three people in New York over the last month, including an Orthodox Jew in Crown Heights. The ADL, which referred to the attack as an “apparent targeted act of hate,” lauded the NYPD for the arrest.
ISRAEL
According to a UN watchdog, the United Nations Human Rights Council has tapped a vehemently anti-Israel professor to be its investigator into human rights violations in the Palestinian territories. “By recommending Penny Green to investigate a country that she seeks to bomb and boycott, the UN makes a mockery of its own selection criteria of objectivity and impartiality,” said Hillel Neuer, UN WATCH’s executive director. A quick examination of Green’s Twitter feed reveals her obvious contempt for the Jewish state.
Support BDS against Israel – best way to resist this criminal government: Five Things That Netanyahu Actually Said https://t.co/BpF3bSBGB5
— Penny Green (@pennyjgreen) October 23, 2015
An Israeli Holocaust survivor is officially the world’s oldest man, the Guinness Book of World Records has confirmed. Yisrael Kristal, 112, was born in Poland and survived through both world wars and the Holocaust. After being liberated from Auschwitz, Kristal moved to Israel, where he’s resided for the last six decades.
A new poll shows that most Israelis support Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States, noting, however, that they believe controversial Republican front-runner Donald Trump would better serve Israel’s interests. Out of 601 people surveyed (including 103 Arabs and 498 Jews) 38 per cent said they support Hillary, while 23 per cent support Trump.
After a controversial survey claimed that almost half of all Israeli Jews want Arabs expelled from the country, a Mideast expert has questioned the poll’s integrity. “One in two Jewish citizens — seriously?” asks Nathan Jeffay. “This is off the chart compared to past surveys on similar topics. What, exactly, were people asked?”
WORLD
A groundbreaking study by European professor Luigi Pascali claims that European cities that were tolerant toward Jews during the Renaissance period are still reaping the financial benefits today. “I argue that cities, in which the local Jewish community in 1500 caused an early development of the banking sector, have more banks today and, because of this, are more developed today,” Pascali said.
Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs recently organized an event in Johannesburg, South Africa to combat misinformation about Israel and promote dialogue. Here’s a scene:
Wonderful support for Israel right now in Johannesburg, South Africa where our StandWithUs delegation of Israelis from all different backgrounds are on the ground encouraging dialogue and combatting misinformation this week. Thank you South Africa!
Posted by StandWithUs on Friday, March 11, 2016
CULTURE
While sources have yet to confirm this, reports claim that the new Spiderman reboot (you knew it was coming after Spidey made a cameo in that new Captain America trailer) has an awesome working title: Summer of George. Will the new Peter Parker be influenced by George Costanza and the minds of Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld? I hope so.
Following several comparisons of Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, the latter (portrayed by an enthusiastic Sarah Silverman) stopped by Late Night with Conan O’Brien last night to discuss her contempt for the Donald. Hilarious.
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