Chelsea Bland
A second group of members of Congress is criticizing the Justice Department over its stance in a Supreme Court case regarding the Guelph Treasure, a collection of more than 80 pieces of medieval art purchased from Jews by the Nazis in 1935.
Six congressional Democrats, led by Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Grace Meng (D-NY) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA), signed on to a letter rebuking U.S. Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall for filing a brief in support of German calls for the case to be dismissed.
Lorie Shaull/Wikipedia
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison defended his decision to honor former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin during a speech on Tuesday at an Americans for Peace Now virtual event commemorating the 25th anniversary of Rabin’s assassination.
Ellison, who became the first Muslim elected to Congress in 2006, faced pressure from pro-Palestinian activists to cancel his participation. The event made national headlines last month after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) backed out of appearing at the event.
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Even as Joe Biden appears to maintain a steady advantage over President Donald Trump in the lead-up to the November 3 election, pollsters, pundits, partisans and political prognosticators seem hesitant to make any firm predictions about which candidate will come out on top. The memory of 2016, when Trump pulled off his upset win over Hillary Clinton — embarrassing the legions of forecasters who hadn’t envisioned such a scenario — is perhaps too fresh.
But Dave Wasserman, the Cook Political Report’s estimable elections guru, is willing to venture that this cycle is different. The editor has established himself as one of the most trusted sources in political journalism thanks to his fastidious forecasts and dramatic Twitter projections — always issued with his famous catchphrase, “I’ve seen enough.” Four years ago, he correctly envisioned a scenario in which Trump could win the White House while losing the popular vote.
His expert analysis now leads him to speculate that Biden is undeniably in a strong position with just two weeks remaining until the election, and he isn’t wringing his hands about it.
Kjetil Ree
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is raising concerns over efforts by the German government to petition the Supreme Court to dismiss a case involving property purchased from Jews by the Nazis in 1935.
In a strongly worded letter to German Ambassador to the U.S. Emily Haber, members of Congress expressed concern about Berlin’s petition to the Supreme Court in relation to more than half of the famed Guelph Treasure, a collection of more than 80 pieces of medieval art. The German government has argued that it cannot be sued under U.S. law over the pieces, sold in 1935 by a collective of Jewish art dealers to Nazi agents, and now displayed in a German museum.
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio met in person with Jewish community leaders at Gracie Mansion on Monday evening to discuss measures taken to stop the spread of coronavirus in areas of Brooklyn and Queens with large Jewish populations — and to press for a “positive reset” in relations, the mayor told Jewish Insider on Tuesday.
“It was a very moving meeting, a very productive meeting with a group of leaders from Brooklyn and Queens, some of whom I’ve known very, very well for as much as 20 years, and a very honest meeting,” de Blasio told JI during his daily briefing from City Hall. “I think what the meeting really helped me to appreciate is that so many people in the community have suffered and they need to know that we as the city government understand their suffering, understand the difficulties that the community has gone through, understand the fears that people have — rightfully — of discrimination, and that we need to hear each other more and understand each other more.”
American Zionist Movement
Delegates selected for the World Zionist Congress earlier this year will attend the first-ever virtual World Zionist Congress, beginning Tuesday and running through Thursday.
The 38th global forum was originally scheduled to be held in Jerusalem, following the selection of the body’s 521 elected delegates. Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, the sessions and debates will instead be conducted online, limiting much of the socializing and networking that surrounds the Congress.
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A new project from philanthropist Charles Bronfman and philanthropy advisor Jeffrey Solomon is aiming to educate Israelis about the role and significance of diaspora Jewry — and bring Israeli and North American Jews closer together. The two men have assembled a team of leading funders and influencers to guide the endeavor, called Enter: The Jewish Peoplehood Alliance, which is slated to kick off its first program in January.
Enter’s advisory committee is co-chaired by Dan Shapiro, a U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama who is now a distinguished visiting fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, and former Likud Justice Minister Dan Meridor. Partners in funding the endeavor, who each have a representative on its advisory committee, include the Koret Foundation, the Diane & Guilford Glazer Foundation, the Nadav Fund and the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, Solomon told Jewish Insider.
Michael Brochstein/AP
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) assured members of the Orthodox Jewish community on Monday that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden would be a “true trusted ally” who would use his long-standing relationships and credibility amongst world players to “always stand by Israel. Cardin was speaking as a campaign surrogate at a virtual candidate forum hosted by the Orthodox Union, one of two events hosted by the group this week featuring representatives from the presidential campaigns.
A poll, conducted for the American Jewish Committee between September 9 and October 4 with a margin of error of ±4.2%, showed Jewish voters — by a margin of 75-22 — favor Biden over President Donald Trump in the presidential race. The survey, however, showed Trump earning the support of 75% of Orthodox Jews, with Biden receiving only 18%.