Canada/U.S.: Three panelists debating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Toronto agreed that it’s not too late for a two-state solution, students in Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Quebec learned about Jewish children their own age who were killed during the Holocaust, and two Montreal rabbis are in the news, one for planning a meeting with Pope Francis to discuss furthering Arab-Jewish ties, the other for crafting a prenup agreement he believes is both halachically compliant and legal.
In denouncing anti-Muslim bias, President Obama said today, “We have to understand an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths.”
In an interview with Algemeiner, leaders of a student group at Columbia University, where a pro-BDS campaign has been launched, said it’s “considered cool to oppose Zionism.” Even professors are afraid that supporting Israel would “jeopardize their careers,” they said.
Israel: Two 13-year-old girls stabbed an Israeli security guard today, admitting that they “came to kill Jews,” the Jewish teens who killed 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir in 2014 were sentenced today, Israel’s foreign ministry slammed CBS for publishing a very misleading headline, an Israeli soccer player is promoting Pope Francis’ “soccer for peace” match, P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas hosted the families of terrorists who killed Israeli-Jews, and an Israeli tank Hamas claims to have captured has turned out to be fake.
Hamas paraded yesterday a “captured, rebuilt Israeli tank”. FYI, tanks aren’t made of wood and don’t run on wheels. pic.twitter.com/cP1e8KFjAJ
— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) February 1, 2016
In an interview with the Times of Israel, Women of the Wall leader Anat Hoffman discusses the pros and cons of the new egalitarian prayer section at the Kotel, Israel has announced it’s developing an Iron Dome-like system to detect terror tunnels and also clamping down on Europeans illegally building in the West Bank, Israelis and Palestinians are finding common ground (or liquid) through olive oil, and a new Facebook page called Israeli Lives Matter is gaining momentum, memorializing Israeli victims of terrorist attacks.
World: Australia’s Labor Party is looking to ban members from participating in Jewish-sponsored trips to Israel, anti-Semitic attacks in the U.K. have dropped by 22 per cent, and Italy has emerged as perhaps the least anti-Semitic country in Europe.
Business: Facebook is turning 12 today, and in celebration, is offering videos of you and your friends (check out your newsfeed for yours), and the Jewish owners behind Ben and Jerry’s are introducing the company’s first-ever dairy-free ice cream flavours.
Health: An Israeli expert offers his expertise on the Zika virus, separating fact from fiction.
Sports: Rabbis from Denver and Charlotte have placed a wager on Sunday’s Super Bowl event in a bid to promote donations to charity.
Culture: Vulture recently released a compilation of 100 jokes that shaped modern comedy. Turns out at least half of them were created by Jews. Bernie Sanders has admitted what we’ve long suspected: that he and Larry David are the same person:
Bernie Sanders: “I am Larry David.” #DemTownHall pic.twitter.com/NINZNg2p2L — PolicyMic (@PolicyMic) February 4, 2016
In other Bernie news, a video of him playing a rabbi (Rabbi Manny Shevitz) in a 90’s film is going viral:
So the visuals from that weird Coldplay and Beyonce video were apparently made in Israel….
Because you’ve all been wondering, BuzzFeed has the skinny on who legendary Jewish porn star Ron Jeremy will be voting for.
In other Super Bowl news, Jewish comedic heavyweights Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Amy Schumer have teamed up for a Bud Light commercial:
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