Beit Shemesh synagogue demolished - with Torah scroll still inside

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/311146

The haredi community in Beit Shemesh has slammed the city's municipality for demolishing a synagogue while the Torah scroll was still inside it, Kikar Hashabbat reported.

According to the residents, the municipal workers did not even bother to remove the holy books before demolishing the synagogue.

The synagogue, housed in a caravan built four years ago, serves the community of "Hanikhei Hayeshivot" in Ramah C. Early on Tuesday morning, municipal workers arrived at the site and completely demolished it.

‘Breakthrough’ Infections Do Not Mean COVID Vaccines Are Failing

 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/breakthrough-infections-do-not-mean-covid-vaccines-are-failing/

Endless news cycles and viral social media warn of “breakthrough infections” in people already vaccinated for COVID-19. These reports leave the mistaken impression that protections afforded by the vaccines are not working—and they can fuel reticence among the millions of people in the U.S. who have yet to get a shot. But such infections are not only known to occur after COVID vaccination. They frequently happen following inoculation against influenza, measles and many other diseases.

Pro-Israel Democrat Shontel Brown Defeats Progressive Nina Turner in Ohio Democratic Primary

 https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-pro-israel-democrat-brown-defeats-progressiveturner-in-ohio-democratic-primary-1.10080266

 Voters in Ohio's solidly blue 11th district opted for Brown, a pro-Israel leader in the Ohio party apparatus with strong ties to the Democratic establishment, over Turner, an outspoken progressive who came to national prominence as a Bernie Sanders surrogate. 

Brown thanked her "Jewish brothers and sisters" during her victory remarks, adding how her 2018 trip to Israel gave her insight into the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Nina Turner Learns the Hard Way That Democrats Like Joe Biden

 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/08/nina-turner-learns-the-hard-way-that-democrats-like-biden.html

 Turner lost a special primary election for Congress in Cleveland on Tuesday to rival Shontel Brown, a county councilwoman, by a margin of 50-45 percent. The seat was vacated when Marcia Fudge resigned from Congress to become Biden’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. It seemed like a lock for Turner, a former state senator who raised the most money and went on TV the earliest. But then the campaign turned into an intra-Democratic proxy fight between the party’s left wing and “normie Democrats.”

Palestinian-American convicted of deadly West Bank terror attack

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-american-convicted-for-deadly-west-bank-terror-attack/

 A military court on Tuesday convicted a Palestinian man with US citizenship of murder, for shooting dead a Jewish student in the West Bank.

The court “convicted the terrorist Muntasir Shalabi, based on his confession, of the crime of intentional manslaughter — equivalent to the offense of murder,” the Israel Defense Forces said.

In addition, Shalabi was convicted of “several counts of attempted intentional manslaughter, and possession of a weapon and obstruction of justice,” according to a military statement.

בית שמש: העירייה הרסה בית כנסת עם ספר התורה בפנים

 https://www.kikar.co.il/398162.html

בית הכנסת של קהילת חניכי הישיבות בעיר בית שמש נהרס בשעת בוקר מוקדמת על ידי העירייה, וזאת יותר מארבע שנים להקמת המקום • המתפללים זועמים: ר   התורה היה בפנים

President Biden Calls on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Resign After Sexual Harassment Report

 https://time.com/6087311/andrew-cuomo-resign-sexual-harassment-biden/

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced mounting pressure Tuesday to resign, including from President Joe Biden and other onetime Democratic allies, after an investigation found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers.

“I think he should resign,” Biden told reporters Tuesday, echoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York’s U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, all Democrats.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, state attorney general report says

 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/03/politics/andrew-cuomo-new-york-report/index.html

 The New York attorney general's investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo found that Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday.

The office found that Cuomo harassed current and former state employees, as well as a number of women outside of state government, James said, as the office released a lengthy report on the investigation.

James said Tuesday that her investigation found that Cuomo engaged in "unwelcome and nonconsensual touching," and made comments of a "suggestive" sexual nature. James said that the conduct created a "hostile work environment for women."

Cuomo's conduct violated multiple federal and state laws, James said.

Capitol riots: Did Trump's words at rally incite violence?

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55640437

 On 6 January, thousands of Trump supporters gathered at a "Save America" rally organised to challenge the result of last November's presidential election.

They listened as Mr Trump spoke to them on the National Mall, near the White House in Washington DC.

In a 70-minute address, Mr Trump exhorted them to march on Congress where politicians had met to certify Democrat Joe Biden's win. The attack began moments after he took the applause.

Those words have now played a central part in his second impeachment, which lawmakers voted in favour of last month.

So what did he say? Here are five key quotes, followed by some legal analysis from Professor Garrett Epps of the University of Baltimore.

Donald Trump is the accelerant

https://www.vox.com/21506029/trump-violence-tweets-racist-hate-speech 

 A comprehensive timeline of Trump encouraging hate groups and political violence.

Following 'Post' op-ed, CNN apologizes to Dore Gold for misquote

 https://www.jpost.com/international/following-op-ed-in-the-jerusalem-post-cnn-apologizes-to-dore-gold-675605

"On last week's show, I asked King Abdullah about the concept that there would be no stand-alone Palestine state in the future that but instead his nation, Jordan, would become the de-facto Palestine state," said Zakaria "I said the idea had been recently mentioned by long time Israeli diplomat, Dore Gold. I was wrong. Many have talked about that concept, but not ambassador Gold. I apologize for that error."

Less than 1% of fully vaccinated people experience a breakthrough Covid-19 infection, analysis finds

 https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-vaccine-updates-08-02-21/h_4258aa07cbf2206435b5f84328ddab33

 Less than 1% of fully vaccinated people experienced a breakthrough infection, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of official state data.

The federal government only reports data on breakthrough infections that result in hospitalization or death.

According to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 0.004% of people who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 experienced a breakthrough case resulting in hospitalization, and less than 0.001% have died from the disease. That’s about 6,600 severe breakthrough cases out of more than 163 million fully vaccinated people.

But the KFF analysis shows that breakthrough infections of any kind are also extremely rare.

Fact check: Kamala Harris said she supports protests, not ‘riots’, in Late Show clip

 https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-kamala-harris-late-show-rio-idUSKBN27E34P

 Social media users have been sharing a video of Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris saying that anti-racism protests will not and should not stop, claiming that it shows she supports Black Lives Matter riots.

Harris condemned violent protests on Aug. 27 after multiple nights of looting and two violent deaths.

She said, “It’s no wonder people are taking to the streets and I support them. We must always defend peaceful protest and peaceful protestors. We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence, including the shooter who was arrested for murder. And make no mistake, we will not let these vigilantes and extremists derail the path to justice.”  ( here )

Did Kamala Harris Bail Out ‘Violent Rioters’ During George Floyd Protests?

 https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/harris-protesters-bail/

Claim

During protests over the police in-custody death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, Kamala Harris donated money to a Minnesota nonprofit that helped protesters who were arrested get out of jail and break more laws. 

 

What's True

Harris expressed support for a nonprofit called the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF), which pays criminal bail and immigration bonds, and encouraged her supporters to donate to it during the protests over Floyd's death in the summer of 2020.

What's False

However, Harris did not donate money to the nonprofit before, after, or during the protests, according to its records. Additionally, no evidence shows people who received bail or bond assistance from MFF for arrests during the demonstrations committed more crimes after their initial detainment.