Weekly roundup of world briefs

Biden names Marc Stanley, prominent Texas Jewish Democrat, as envoy to Argentina

By Ron Kampeas

(JTA) — President Joe Biden has nominated Marc Stanley, a longtime leader among Jewish Democrats who is active in both Texas politics and Israel lobbying, to be the ambassador to Argentina.

In the role, he will play a role as the U.S. government, along with American Jewish groups, continue to press Argentine authorities to pursue accountability for the attack on the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, which killed 85 people and injured hundreds. Iran and Hezbollah are believed to be responsible for the attack; an Argentinian man charged with preparing a van of explosives was acquitted last year.

Stanley, a prodigious fundraiser, is well known among Texas Democrats. He is a former president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and was chairman of the Texas Public Finance Authority.

In the nomination announcement Friday, the White House noted that Stanley, a trial lawyer, was a member of the council of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and has been honored with the Tikkun Olam award of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the umbrella body for Jewish policy groups.

Stanley is currently a board member of the Israel Policy Forum, an advocacy group advancing the two-state outcome, and was for a long period the chairman of the National Jewish Democratic Council, the predecessor to today’s Jewish Democratic Council of America.

NJDC went under in part because the late Sheldon Adelson sued the group for linking in an online posting to an article that alleged that Adelson turned a blind eye to prostitution in casinos he owned in China. Adelson was a major giver to Republican and pro–Israel causes.

Courts dismissed Adelson’s lawsuit, and Stanley and the NJDC countersued. A judge in 2019 ordered Adelson to pay damages.

Citing new quarantine rules, Birthright cancels remaining summer trips to Israel

By Ron Kampeas

(JTA) — Birthright, the program that brings young Jews to Israel for free, is canceling its remaining 42 trips this summer because of new Israeli rules that require Americans arriving in Israel to quarantine for a week.

The tours last just 10 days — although participants may stay longer on their own — and most participants are American.

Participants whose trips are canceled may sign up for new trips, said Haaretz, which first reported the cancellation on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says there is a “very high level” of COVID-19 in Israel, and that even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants.

“We anticipate that the seven-day quarantine rule will be temporary, and we look forward to resuming trips as soon as possible,” the newspaper quoted a Birthright spokesman as saying.

Birthright resumed travel in May following a 14-month hiatus.

Sue Bird, the Jewish basketball superstar, wins 5th gold medal in 5 Olympic outings

By Emily Burack

(JTA) — In their fifth Olympic appearance, Sue Bird and teammate Diana Taurasi made history: They won their fifth gold medal, the only basketball players — men’s or women’s — ever to achieve that feat.

Bird and Taurasi helped the U.S. women’s basketball win their seventh consecutive gold medal, defeating Japan 90-75 on Sunday, the last day of the Tokyo Olympics.

Bird, who served as the Team USA flag bearer in the opening ceremony and also holds Israeli citizenship in a basketball-motivated decision, is one of the most decorated Jewish athletes of all time. In addition to the five Olympic golds, she has played on four championship WNBA teams and is a 12-time WNBA All-Star.

Bird, 40, became the oldest basketball player to win gold. She said in a post-game interview that this Olympics would be her last. (Taurasi, on the other hand, said she’s looking forward to Paris 2024.)

“The best comparison is college since you know it’s the end,” Bird said. “Now I always have a wonderful feeling and a great taste in my mouth my senior year. That’s how it is with USA Basketball.”

Trevor Noah takes aim at Ted Cruz’s love for ‘chutzpah.’ Cruz retorts in Yiddish, too.

By Shira Hanau

(JTA) — Ted Cruz has “chutzpah” — on the tip of his tongue.

The Republican Texas senator’s frequent use of the Yiddish word for gumption caught the ear of Trevor Noah, host of “The Daily Show,” the nightly comedic take on the news. On Thursday night, Noah’s show aired a compilation of clips of Cruz using the word in various contexts — from explaining its meaning to Fox News hosts to accusing President Joe Biden of having too much of it.

Noah even pulled in a clip of Jewish comedian Larry David at the end, telling Cruz, too impolitely to republish, it was enough already. The segment was the popular show’s “Moment of Zen” for the night.

On Friday, Cruz extended his Yiddish language showdown with Noah, shooting back with a different, and dare we say, chutzpadik, Yiddish word:

Israel’s consul general in LA strategizes with Christian leaders to fight anti-Semitism

(JNS) — Hillel Newman, Israel’s Consul General to Los Angeles, convened a meeting last week with a dozen influential pastors from across Southern California to address the rise in anti-Semitism and to strengthen ties with the Christian community.

“We stand with our Christian brothers and sisters and appreciate their standing in solidarity with the State of Israel; this relationship exemplifies the importance of building bridges and acting in unity,” Newman said in a statement. “Pastors, as spiritual community leaders, serve as role models to many people who struggle with hate and discrimination. Our task is to strengthen the voices of moderation against radicalism.”

The Aug. 4 meeting, held at Newman’s residence in Los Angeles, included a discussion on how the Christian and Jewish communities can stand together against hate crimes and anti-Semitism, and how the Israeli Consulate can serve as a resource for Christian communities regarding current events and Israeli tourism.

The gathering included prominent Christian leaders from as far north as Bakersfield and as far south as San Diego.

The group decided to meet on a regular basis and invite additional pastors and community leaders to join in this effort.

Gymnast Linoy Ashram wins Israel’s 3rd Olympic gold medal, over a Russian appeal

By Shira Hanau

(JTA) — Linoy Ashram won the gold medal in the rhythmic gymnastics contest at the Tokyo Olympics Saturday, narrowly beating out her Russian competitor to become the first Israeli woman to win an Olympic gold medal. The medal was Israel’s second gold at the Tokyo games and third in any Olympic contest.

Ashram’s winning score, just .15 of a point over that of her Russian competitor, Dina Averina, prompted an appeal and cries of “injustice” in a tweet from the Russian Olympic Committee. Ashram’s victory broke Russia’s two-decade Olympic gold-medal streak in the individual rhythmic gymnastics contest.

“I can’t spot any obvious mistake that I did,” Averina said of her routine. “I was pretty consistent and clean compared to Linoy who lost the apparatus.”

The Russian team appealed the scoring in the contest, which consists of gymnastic routines using props including balls, ribbons, and hoops. The appeals, which failed to overturn the result, included the ribbon routine in which Ashram dropped her ribbon but still finished with the winning score.

“It’s what I dreamed of for all my life,” Ashram said of her win. “It’s an amazing feeling to stand in this place, at this time, on the podium and in first place.”

The Israel Defense Forces, in which Ashram served, celebrated her win with a tweet that, in keeping with the army’s rules, referred to the gymnast by her rank and first name only.

Israel to name Michael Herzog, the president’s brother and a longtime adviser to peace negotiators, as US ambassador

By Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Michael Herzog, a brigadier general who has a longtime relationship with an influential Washington think tank, will be the next ambassador to the United States, according to Israeli media reports.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid have settled on Herzog, the brother of President Isaac Herzog, for the role, The Jerusalem Post first reported Thursday. Other Israeli media confirmed the pick.

Herzog, the son of the late Chaim Herzog, who also served as president, was the head of strategic planning for the Israel Defense Forces and  an adviser to multiple peace negotiating teams since the 1990s.

Since 2004 he has been a fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which has close relations with Republican and Democratic administrations as well as with successive Israeli governments. He is currently an international fellow living in Israel.

One of Herzog’s most influential works, a 2006 analysis discounting the likelihood of moderating Hamas, was written for the institute.

Herzog would succeed Gilad Erdan, who will retain his other posting as ambassador to the United Nations.

Report: Iran deal increased ‘extremism and hatred,’ says top Bahraini official

(JNS) — A senior Bahraini official criticized the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal on Sunday, saying it had “fueled crises across the Middle East.”

Speaking during a press briefing in Jerusalem, Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s undersecretary for international relations, said that his country had hoped the JCPOA “would open up a new page for Iran and the region,” Ynet reported.

Instead, “It has increased the number of refugees that have fled into Europe. It has caused more instigation of extremism and hatred in many different regions across the Middle East,” he said. “I did not see a single positive thing coming out of this agreement.”

Al Khalifa referred to Iran’s attempts to destabilize Bahrain, where a Sunni royal family rules over a Shi’ite Muslim majority (Iran is a Shi’ite Muslim country). Iran, he said, supports extremists and engages in drug, weapons and explosives smuggling and blamed the Islamic Republic for the deaths of dozens of Bahraini civilians and security personnel.

The Gulf states have conveyed their concerns regarding the region to the Biden administration, he added.

“The nuclear deal focused only on the nuclear issue, but ignored other issues that troubled the region,” said Al Khalifa. “When you look at the crises in the Middle East, you can see Iran’s fingerprints everywhere. Unfortunately, the agreement did not address Iran’s aggressive behavior and its ballistic-missile program.”

Al Khalifa, who is responsible for relations with Israel at the Bahraini Foreign Ministry, arrived in Israel on Sunday for a four-day working visit. This is his third visit to Israel, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Al Khalifa met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday, and is scheduled also to meet with the prime minister and foreign minister.

Eric Holtz quits as Team Israel’s baseball manager after 4 years at the helm and a disappointing Olympics

By Marc Brodsky

(JTA) — Eric Holtz, the manager for Israel’s national baseball team over the past four years, has stepped down from his post.

Team Israel failed to medal in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, finishing fifth with a squad of nearly all Americans, including former major league All-Star Ian Kinsler. Some had predicted that Israel, making its Olympics debut, would finish in the top 3 of the six-team field.

Team Israel was also forced to apologize after a video of its players breaking a bed at the Olympics went viral on TikTok.

Holtz, 55, informed Jordy Alter, the president of the Israel Association of Baseball, and Team Israel’s general manager, Peter Kurz, of his decision earlier this week, Israel Baseball said in a statement.

“Israel Baseball thanks Holtz for his hard work in advancing the game during his tenure with the national team and wishes him much success in his future endeavors,” the statement said.

Guided by Holtz, Israel earned its historic Olympics berth by winning the Africa/Europe Qualifying Event in September 2019, emerging from the second tier of European baseball along the way.

A former player-coach in Israeli professional baseball, he was an assistant on the Team USA that won the gold medal in baseball at the 2013 Maccabiah Games and the head coach of the Under-18 U.S. club that took gold at the ’17 Maccabiah