World News in Brief

JTA

“The evidence is clear enough. The worst cases of anti-Semitism in our party have included Holocaust denial, crude Jewish-banker stereotypes, conspiracy theories blaming Israel for 9/11, or every war on the Rothschild family, and even one member who appeared to believe that Hitler had been misunderstood,” Corbyn said in an email to party members announcing the launch of an educational website on anti-Semitism.

The website, titled “No place for anti-Semitism,” says that “Anti-Semitism has no place in our party. Hatred towards Jewish people has no place in our society.”

Corbyn said in the email that the party would “produce educational materials on a number of specific forms of racism and bigotry. Our first materials are on anti-Semitism, recognising that anti-Jewish bigotry has reared its head in our movement.”

Many British Jews believe that Corbyn, who has long associated with Palestinian radicals and in at least one case, a Holocaust denier, is anti-Semitic, and that he is responsible for a hostile environment in a party that for more than a century was a natural home for Jews.

More than a dozen legislators have resigned under Corbyn, and the party is facing an official probe by the government’s Equality and Human Rights Commission over its handling of anti-Semitism complaints.

Rabbi calls homosexuality ‘wild lust’

The Sephardi chief rabbi of Jerusalem said gay people could not be religious Jews, and called homosexuality “a wild lust that needs to be overcome”.

Rabbi Shlomo Amar made the remarks last week during a sermon. A video of some of his comments was published on Monday by the Israeli public broadcaster Kan.

“There are people who call themselves religious who also [have fallen] into that trap,” he said, according to The Times of Israel. “They aren’t religious. It would be better if they cast off their kippah and Shabbat [observance], and showed their true faces.”

The rabbi also referred to homosexuality as “a wild lust that needs to be overcome, and it can be overcome”.

Three groups representing religious LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer questioning) Jews – Bat-Kol, Havruta, and the Gay Religious Community – criticised his remarks in a joint statement on Tuesday, according to The Times of Israel.

“Rabbi Amar, with your harsh comments, you called on our families to vomit us out of our homes and from our communities,” the organisations said.

Trump congratulates Netanyahu on service

United States President Donald Trump has congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on becoming the longest serving prime minister in Israeli history.

“Under your leadership, Israel has become a technology powerhouse and a world class economy,” Trump tweeted on 21 July, a day after Netanyahu reached the milestone by surpassing David Ben-Gurion’s total of 4 875 days in office. “Most importantly, you have led Israel with a commitment to the values of democracy, freedom, and equal opportunity that both our nations cherish and share!”

Netanyahu thanked Trump in a tweet an hour later, which also lauded the relationship between the US and Israel. “I’m honoured to have the opportunity to work with you. Under your leadership, we’ve made the alliance between our two remarkable countries stronger than ever. I know there’s more to come.”

By 20 July, Netanyahu had served 4 876 days from 1996 to 1999, and from March 2009 to the present. He faces a new election on 17 September, and possible indictment in three different corruption cases the following month.

Canadian Jewish groups spar over election

Canada’s two main Jewish groups are at odds over a lawsuit on whether it’s OK to hold a national election on a Jewish holiday.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the official Canadian Jewish advocacy group, says there are enough alternative measures to accommodate Canada’s 75 000 orthodox Jews who can’t cast their ballots on 21 October, which is both Shemini Atzeret and election day.

But B’nai Brith Canada, which was granted intervener status in a lawsuit launched by Toronto Conservative Party candidate Chani Aryeh-Bain and voter Ira Walfish, said that because of the end-of-Sukkot holiday, Jews will have significantly fewer hours to vote at advance polls than others. Of the four advance polling days, three are on other Jewish holidays or Shabbat.

“At its heart, this is a case of what it means to count in Canadian society,” said Colin Feasby of B’nai Brith. “Holding the federal election on a date where a religious minority cannot vote by reason of their beliefs sends a message to the community that it doesn’t count.”

Since 2007, Canadian law has mandated that national elections be held on the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year following the previous election.

Rockstar praises Lubavitcher Rebbe

Rockstar Perry Farrell, born Peretz Bernstein, has rediscovered Judaism. So much so, that he has a book of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s teachings with him on tour.

That’s just one detail from a recent op-ed written by the 60-year-old Jane’s Addiction singer in Tablet marking the 25th anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the influential leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

The essay, published on 14 July, touches on the history of Farrell’s Jewish identity, from getting kicked out of Hebrew school as a child for “making trouble” to finding Jewish spirituality while struggling with drug addiction. During the latter period, Farrell discovered the work and teachings of Schneerson, whom Farrell calls a “modern prophet”.

“The rebbe’s teachings help bring about a change of consciousness and a transformation in daily living. They inspire me in my life as an artist,” Farrell wrote.