It’ll be tough for Trump to dig his way out of this one

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/12/economy/recession-tariff-trump/index.html

With his chaotic trade policy, President Donald Trump is digging himself into an economic and political hole so deep, it may prove impossible to climb out.

On Wednesday morning, just after markets spent a day reeling from Trump’s on-again-off-again threat to levy extraordinary energy, steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and to destroy the country’s auto industry, Trump placed tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported from every country around the world, a policy that could drive up prices on a broad range of consumer and industrial goods for Americans. Europe immediately retaliated, adding pressure on a variety of American industries.

Wall Street has grown nervous about the damage Trump’s policies could inflict on America’s still-strong but increasingly wobbly economy. Stocks have plunged, with the Nasdaq falling into correction (a decline of 10% from its recent high) and the S&P 500 flirting with that inauspicious territory.

Canadian PM demands Israel supply electricity to Gaza, Hamas celebrates Trump's Gaza backtrack

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/2025-03-13/live-updates-845843

US President Donald Trump said that no one would be "expelled" from Gaza ahead of his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday at the White House.

"No one is expelling anyone from Gaza," Trump said in the statement alongside Martin.

Trump also called the minority leader of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, "a Palestinian" during his meeting with Martin.

Court orders anti-Israel Columbia activist facing deportation to remain in detention

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/columbia-activist-facing-deportation-to-remain-in-detention-after-1st-court-hearing/

Hundreds protest in support of Mahmoud Khalil outside New York court amid furious backlash against Trump administration crackdown

Khalil has not been charged with a crime. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that Khalil was detained for deportation due to support for the Hamas terror group. Khalil attended a protest last week at Barnard College, a Columbia affiliate, during which activists handed out pamphlets from the “Hamas media office.”

Gabbard reconsiders appointment of critic of Israel’s war in Gaza

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/405290

Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, decided against appointing a critic of Israel’s war in Gaza to a key position responsible for managing presidential briefings, after the proposed appointment caused concern within President Trump's coalition, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Daniel Davis, a senior fellow at a Washington think tank known for his skepticism about US military intervention overseas, had been under consideration for the role of deputy director for mission integration. This influential position oversees the President’s Daily Brief, a critical collection of intelligence assessments provided to the White House and top policymakers.

The news of the potential appointment led to backlash from right-wing figures. A senior administration official confirmed to The New York Times that Gabbard reconsidered her decision after the criticism, a sentiment echoed by other officials.

Before the appointment was rescinded, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned it, calling Davis' potential role “extremely dangerous.” In a social media post, the ADL accused Davis of downplaying the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and undermining American support for Israel.

‘She’s either tragically uniformed, or lying’: Nicolle on Karoline Leavitt’s responses to tariffs

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?

House Republicans literally alter time to avoid responsibility for Trump wrecking the economy

Republicans to Trump: Maybe rethink the whole tariff thing, please?

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/11/gopers-trump-maybe-rethink-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?

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-doug-ford-trade-war-ba0c6147?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

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

 https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-economy-comments-tariffs-recession-team-reaction-f5c24248?mod=hp_lead_pos1

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

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/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

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)

 https://seforimblog.com/2022/11/harotzeh-lichanek-hitaleh-bilan-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.