Thursday, March 13, 2025
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
As ICE arrests Mahmoud Khalil, some Jews ask if this is the fight they signed up for
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-845680
The campus pro-Palestinian protests that erupted after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks united many Jewish students, parents and “defense” groups in a national fight against antisemitism, intimidation and the disruption of university life.
But as the Trump administration has taken up the cause with gusto — most recently arresting, detaining and threatening to deport a Columbia University graduate and green card holder who led some of the most disruptive protests — some Jews are asking: Is this the fight we signed up for?
Republicans to Trump: Maybe rethink the whole tariff thing, please?
The whole Republican Party seems to be in wait-and-see mode, its members not wanting to own the tariffs themselves but also not wanting to directly undercut the president. The idea seems to be that Trump can be prevailed upon to back off if the worst does come to pass.
How Do You Like the Trade War Now?
Trump is furious that Canada won’t take his tariffs lying down.
President Trump wanted a trade war with the world, and Americans are getting it, good and hard. Stock prices continued to decline on Tuesday amid the latest Canada-U.S. tariff tit-for-tat. By the end of the day the two sides were talking about a temporary truce, but who knows which side of the tariff bed Mr. Trump will wake up on Wednesday?
North Americans awakened Monday to the news that Ontario premier Doug Ford said he was raising the price of his province’s electricity exports to the U.S. by 25% in response to Mr. Trump’s on-and-off 25% tariffs on Canada. That’s a hit to consumers in the U.S. Midwest and Northeast.
Trump’s Economic Messaging Is Spooking Some of His Own Advisers
President Trump’s stop-and-start trade policy and uneven economic messaging have rattled some of his own allies, triggering a flood of calls from business executives, concerns from Republican lawmakers and tension in the White House.
Senior officials, including White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, have received panicked calls from chief executives and lobbyists, who have urged the administration to calm jittery markets by outlining a more predictable tariff agenda, according to people familiar with the discussions. Many in the business community have abandoned efforts to get the president to reverse course on trade, instead pleading with the White House for clarity on his approach, the people said.
Writer who wanted to ‘ram a knife down Jews’ throats’ acquitted by Belgian court
Jewish groups around the world condemn the ruling, which branded the writing legitimate free expression, saying it sets a dangerous precedent for condoning future antisemitism
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Readership of Blog is mostly in Hong Kong and Singapore - Why?
Hong Kong 238
Singapore 191
United States 62
United Kingdom 29
Israel 18
France 16
Germany 11
Slovenia 7
Türkiye 6
Sweden 4
Romania 3
Other 150
“Ha’Rotzeh Lichanek, Hitaleh B’Ilan Gadol”: Notes on some Literary forgeries of Jewish works in the the Late Modern Period (1756-1965)
The classic source regarding literary forgeries in Jewish writing is that of the Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 112a:“Rabbi Akiva commanded Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai to do five matters when Rabbi Akiva was imprisoned […] if you wish to strangle yourself, hang yourself on a tall tree.
“This proverb means that if one wants others to accept what he has to say, he should attribute his statement to a great man.”
The Forged Yerushalmi: A 20th-Century Controversy
https://www.yu.edu/news/the-forged-yerushalmi-a-20th-century-controversy
The discussion revolved around one of the most famous recent forgeries of a sacred Judaic text. In January 1907, Shlomo Yehuda Algazi-Friedländer published in Hungary what he claimed were the long-lost tractates of Seder Kodashim of the Jerusalem Talmud, garnering praise in rabbinic circles for bringing this material to light. However, according to Rabbi Oberlander, just six months later, three articles had appeared that dissected the document and declared it a forgery. Rabbi Oberlander, a scholar who has written previously on the history of Jewish forgeries, shared evidence from Talmudic research and forensic science (for instance, proofs that the paper on which the document was written had been artificially aged) to show how Friedländer's manuscript had been thoroughly discredited by 1913. Rabbi Oberlander demonstrated how factors such as the state of the relations between the Jews in Hungary and places like Poland and Galicia and the process of buying, selling and distributing Jewish documents at the time impacted Friedlander's ability to pass the forgery off as genuine. Stereotypes about national culture and willful self-deception also played a role in making it possible for a person of questionable Talmudic skills but a gift for trickery to succeed in convincing others that he had indeed found the missing tractates. But for what purpose? Rabbi Oberlander made several guesses as to Friedländer's motives, but the one that seemed most probable to him was that Friedländer, in his odd way, was an artist. “Just as a painter must paint, a forger must forge - it was how Friedländer best expressed himself.” In addition to writing about Jewish forgeries, Rabbi Oberlander has also published works on the application of halacha to contemporary society and Jewish liturgy and customs. The event was supported by a grant in memory of Mr. Zoltan Erenyi z”l.
Forgery and the Halakhic Process
https://seforimblog.com/2007/08/marc-b-shapiro-forgery-and-halakhic-2/?print=print
Getting back to R. Moshe, as is well known, he ruled that the Commentary of R. Yehudah he-Hasid was a forgery, as he could not imagine that a rishon would acknowledge that there were some post-Mosaic passages in the Torah.[3] Only after my book appeared did Rabbi Naor tell me that the comment I quoted above in the name of R. Fisher was stated precisely with reference to R. Moshe’s positon on this issue. After R. Moshe banned R. Yehudah he-Hasid’s Commentary, R. Fisher commented that R. Moshe assumes that R. Yehudah he-Hasid has to accept the Rambam’s Principles, but in truth there were many disagreements with the Rambam, and R. Yehudah he-Hasid’s position on Mosaic authorship is one of them.
US Shunned by European Allies for Top Security Summit
https://www.newsweek.com/us-shunned-european-allies-top-security-summit-2042802
The U.S. has been shunned by European allies after it was not invited to a top security summit that more than 30 nations are attending in France on Tuesday, an unidentified French official told the Associated Press.
The security summit in Europe comes as concerns have risen regarding President Donald Trump's alienation of European allies because of rising tensions with Ukraine over peace negotiations with Russia.
The lack of a U.S. invitation could suggest that Europe and other Ukrainian allies no longer have confidence that Washington can effectively mediate negotiations and achieve peace between Moscow and Kyiv.
No Pain, No Gain? Trump Adopts New Zen-Like Approach to Stock Market Swings
https://www.newsweek.com/stock-market-volatility-recession-donald-trump-2042507
In President Donald Trump's first term, he often defined his presidency by the stock market's performance, using it as a barometer of economic success. But as market volatility surges and investor concerns that the president's policies are careening the economy toward a recession this time around, Trump is adopting a new stance—one that emphasizes long-term resilience over immediate gains.
"It takes a little time," he told Fox News in a weekend interview, responding to the sharp selloff that has rattled Wall Street since his return to office. "We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing."
So far at least, Wall Street isn't buying what the president is selling.
The Art of the Deal concede everything before negotiations
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/10/marco-rubio-ukraine-concessions-end-russia-war-00223082
Ukraine must give up some of the territory seized by Russia since 2014 for any agreement to end the war, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday as he headed to Saudi Arabia for peace talks.
Rubio said concessions are “the only way” to end the full-scale invasion that Russia launched in February 2022 that has killed nearly a million people on both sides in the largest war in Europe since World War II.
Rubio hinted that aid could start flowing again depending on the outcome of the upcoming talks, saying the U.S. “could have good news to announce on that front.”
“All of that came about because we felt that they were not committed to any sort of peace process or not interested in negotiations,” he said. “If that changes, then obviously our posture can change.”