Weekly roundup of world briefs

Netflix renews ‘My Unorthodox Life’ for second season

By Gabe Friedman

(JTA) — Netflix is bringing back “My Unorthodox Life,” the reality series about a formerly Orthodox fashion mogul and her family, the streaming giant announced Monday.

No details about the content of season two or any approximate release date were disclosed.

The series follows Julia Haart, who left the Orthodox community she grew up in in Monsey, New York, to become CEO of the Elite World Group fashion model agency. Over the course of nine episodes, she and her four children wrestle with how to adapt their varying levels of Jewish practice in secular New York City society.

The show sparked a wide array of debates in different Jewish communities and drew some criticism for its portrayal of Orthodox communities as harshly restrictive.

“Before you judge the show, maybe you might want to watch the show?” Haart told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after the series debuted in July. “Because they had the word ‘unorthodox’ in it, people have made a thousand assumptions without actually taking the time to listen to what I actually have to say.”

More than 30 countries stay away from UN anniversary marking Durban conference

By Ron Kampeas

(JTA) — More than 30 countries sat out the United Nations commemoration of the 2001 Durban conference, notorious among Jewish groups for devolving into antisemitism and virulent anti-Israel activism.

“Thank you for your withdrawal from the 20th anniversary event of the UN’s Durban Conference,” Israel’s foreign ministry tweeted on Wednesday as country delegations, already in New York to attend the annual General Assembly, gathered to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Durban.

At least 33 countries boycotted the commemoration, including the United States, Britain, Canada, France, and Australia.

In the end, the day-long commemoration did not refer to Israel and the Palestinians; its focus was on “reparations, racial justice and equality for people of African descent,” according to a United Nations release.

Still, Israel sees the original conference as so tainted by anti-Jewish animus that it urged boycotts of its commemoration.

“The original Durban Conference, a UN-hosted event, became the worst international manifestation of antisemitism since WWII,” the Foreign Ministry said in its tweet.

In his opening remarks, António Gutteres, the U.N. secretary-general, noted a “troubling rise” in antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, and the mistreatment of minority Christians.

Hate crime charges filed in May fight with Jewish diners at LA restaurant

By Ben Sales

(JTA) — Two men involved in a brawl at a Los Angeles restaurant in May, whose viral footage was widely viewed as an example of rising antisemitism during the recent conflict in Israel and Gaza, now face hate crimes and assault charges.

On May 18, the suspects, Xavier Pabon, 30, and Samer Jayylusi, 36, approached a West L.A. sushi restaurant by car as part of a pro-Palestinian protest caravan, announcing “Israel kills children” via a loudspeaker. The cars stopped at a red light near a group of Jewish diners. L.A. County prosecutors accuse the men of then taking part in beating up a diner who swung a metal stanchion at them.

Video of the fight went viral on social media and was seen as symbolic of a spike in antisemitism in the United States surrounding the May conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Multiple Jewish security organizations recorded increases in reports of antisemitic incidents that month.

The men have each been charged with two counts of assault and a hate crime.

“A hate crime is a crime against all of us,” L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement on Tuesday. “My office is committed to doing all we can to make Los Angeles County a place where our diversity is embraced and protected.”

Earlier this year, a lawyer for Pabon, Mark Kleiman, told the Forward that his client was not driven by antisemitism and said he was acting in self-defense.

Eyewitnesses accused the protesters of shouting antisemitic slurs, including asking who was Jewish, which Kleiman denied. The protesters and the diners both accused each other of instigating the fight by throwing glassware.

Kleiman could not immediately be reached for comment.

97-year-old former member of Nazi death squad dies at home in Canada

By Ben Sales

(JTA) — A translator for a Nazi death squad died at home in Ontario at the age of 97, ending a decades-long effort to deport him from Canada for his role in the murders of tens of thousands of Jews.

Helmut Oberlander, who was born in Ukraine in 1924, had long said that he was forced on pain of death at age 17 to become an interpreter for Einsatzkommando 10a, a Nazi unit. The death squad killed nearly 100,000 people, most of them Jews, according to the CBC. Oberlander had not been accused of directly taking part in killing anyone.

In 1954, he emigrated to Canada and hid his activities during the war, eventually raising a family. His Nazi past appears to have been discovered as early as the 1960s. In the mid-1990s, the government began the process of revoking his citizenship, which succeeded after repeated appeals. He was in the midst of deportation hearings when he died on Wednesday.

B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish organization, had fought for years for Oberlander’s deportation.

“The peaceful demise of Helmut Oberlander on Canadian soil is a stain on our national conscience,” Michael Mostyn, B’nai Brith Canada’s CEO, said in a statement. “The fact is that this country slammed its doors on Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis, then allowed some of their tormentors into Canada and failed to deport them.”

Kathryn Hahn’s next Jewish role: Joan Rivers

By Gabe Friedman

(JTA) — Showtime is producing a limited series on the late Jewish comedy legend Joan Rivers, and its lead actress should not come as a surprise.

Kathryn Hahn, the non-Jewish star known for playing a rabbi on the very Jewish series “Transparent” among other Jewish roles, will portray Rivers, who died in 2014 after complications from a surgery.

The series “The Comeback Girl” will focus on the years in the 1980s after Rivers dealt with a string of professional defeats and contemplated suicide. Rivers often referenced her Jewishness in her stand-up comedy and left donations to several Jewish institutions in her will.

Hahn, who grew up Catholic but is married to Jewish actor Ethan Sandler, will also soon appear in “The Shrink Next Door” on Apple TV+, an adaptation of a 2019 reported podcast about a Jewish psychiatrist on the Upper West Side of Manhattan who takes control of the life of one of his Jewish patients.

In 2016, Hahn talked to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about her research for the role of Rabbi Raquel on “Transparent.”

“Playing a rabbi on this show has changed me in so many ways I can’t articulate. It’s perfect timing for me in my life as a mom with two kids and wandering spirituality,” she said at the time.

Ukraine passes law banning antisemitism

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law stating that “antisemitism and its manifestations are banned” in that country.

The law, which passed on Wednesday thanks to a majority of 283 lawmakers out of 450, is unusual in that it also proscribes antisemitic sentiment as illegal. Most countries with laws against antisemitism, such as Germany, France and the Netherlands, criminalize various expressions of antisemitic hatred but not the condition of harboring it.

The Law on Prevention and Counteraction to antisemitism in Ukraine defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, expressed as hatred of Jews.” It lists examples of this, including Holocaust denial and “calling for, concealing or justifying the killing or harm of persons of Jewish origin.”

The law does not mention Israel rhetoric, but Ukraine is a cosignatory to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which defines some anti-Israel speech as antisemitic. The bill also does not address the growing phenomenon in Ukraine of glorifying Nazi collaborators as national heroes. And it does not stipulate punishments for those found guilty of violating the law.

Six lawmakers voted against, 40 abstained and 33 were not present during voting, according to the website of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine parliament. President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish and was elected in 2019, needs to sign the law for it to become effective.

Jewish aide to Ukraine’s president survives assassination attempt

By Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) — A Jewish aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky survived an assassination attempt near Kyiv on Wednesday.

Several shots were fired at the car of Sergey Nachmanovich Shefir, a former television producer whom Zelensky appointed as his top aide. Shefir was not injured but his driver was hit by three bullets in his leg and is being treated in a hospital for non-critical injuries.

Shefir and his brother Boris both worked with Zelensky, who is also Jewish, when they were all part of the show “Servant of the People.” That show starring Zelensky launched his political career, and he was elected president in 2019.

Police are investigating the incident, which they say could be an attempt at intimidation by local oligarchs or the work of Russia, which has had a territorial dispute with Ukraine since 2014.

Zelenskyy, who is now in New York and is preparing to speak at the UN General Assembly, recorded a video message in which he called Shefir a close friend and promised a “strong response.”

Gantz holds call with Austin to discuss how to halt Iran nuclear program

(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz held a call with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday, said Gantz’s office in a statement.

The defense ministers “discussed regional developments, including the need to stop the Iranian nuclear program from advancing and U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan,” added the statement.

“Minister Gantz also thanked Secretary Austin for the continued support of the U.S. administration and the Pentagon for the processes to equip Israel with the means necessary to defend itself and its citizens,” it said.

Gantz conducted a brief but intensive visit this summer to the United States, where he helped secure a restock of $1 billion worth of Iron Dome interceptors, weeks after Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip fought an 11-day conflict that saw Palestinian terror factions firing more than 4,000 rockets at Israeli population centers.

The Iron Dome air-defense system intercepted some 90 percent of projectiles heading into built-up areas, according to Israeli military assessments.

Under an Israeli-American ten-year MOU signed in 2018, the United States contributes $500 million a year towards Israel’s multi-layered defense systems.

Mark Zuckerberg and wife donate $1.3 million to 11 Jewish groups

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are donating $1.3 million to 11 Jewish organizations, eJewish Philanthropy reported, citing a spokesperson for the couple.

The funding comes from the Chan-Zuckerberg family office, not the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI).

According to the report, nine of the organizations receiving funding serve families and young people in the San Francisco Bay Area. The other two are national organizations: OneTable, which helps Jews host Shabbat dinners; and PJ Library, which provides free books to Jewish families.

The recipients include three schools: Contra Costa Jewish Day School in Lafayette, Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School in Palo Alto and the Jewish Community High School of the Bay. Three California summer camps—URJ Camp Newman, Camp Ramah in California and Camp Tawonga—will also receive funds.

The local Jewish Family and Children’s Services and Jewish Community Relations Council, in addition to the Oshman Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, also received support.

The couple’s primary home is in Palo Alto.

“Mark and Priscilla are proud to support the important work each of these organizations does in building communities, education, celebrating traditions and faith, and giving people a voice, especially in fighting antisemitism,” said the spokesperson.

This report first appeared in Israel Hayom.

Bipartisan bill urges EU to designate Hezbollah fully as terrorist organization

(JNS) — A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill on Thursday that calls on the European Union to fully designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

The legislation, introduced by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), seeks to encourage the 27-nation block to designate both its military and political wings as terrorist entities. Currently, the E.U. only includes Hezbollah’s military wing on its list of sanctioned terrorist organizations.

The United States makes no distinction between its branches and includes Hezbollah in its entirety on the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organization List. Several individual E.U. member states also recognize this, including Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Slovenia.

“Hezbollah is a brutal terrorist organization notorious for operating throughout the Middle East,” said Blackburn. “However, it derives both financial support and political legitimacy from every region of the world. The European Union cannot enable terrorists by allowing them to participate in diplomacy.”

The American Jewish Committee, which has long advocated for governments to label Hezbollah as a terrorist group, praised the bill.

“We encourage swift passage of this important bipartisan resolution in the House and Senate. It is past time for the E.U. to do the right thing and correct the fiction of a bifurcated Hezbollah it endorsed nearly a decade ago,” said its CEO David Harris.

“Mistakenly believing it can tame Hezbollah’s behavior, a proposition unsupported by evidence, the E.U. has created ‘military’ and ‘political’ wings within Hezbollah, when, in reality, it is a single, unified terrorist entity,” he added.

AJC said that designating Hezbollah in its entirety would empower European governments to take stronger steps to prevent the group from organizing and fundraising within member countries’ borders. It could also lead to the issuance of arrest warrants against members and active supporters of Hezbollah, the freezing of its assets in Europe and a prohibition of fundraising activities on its behalf.

Abraham Accords nations issue first joint statement at UN

By Ariel Kahana and Dean Shmuel Elmas

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — For the first time since signing the Abraham Accords, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco issued a joint statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Based on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and security, the statement stressed the value of women’s influence on human-rights matters, peace, sustainable development and security, and called on member states to integrate women in peace processes and conflict-prevention.

Ambassador of Bahrain to the U.N. Yusuf Abdulkarim Bucheeri introduced the statement on behalf of the four nations.

“We call upon all member states to strongly commit to ensure that women have a seat at every table, that they are heard and that they can contribute to find solutions and prevent conflict,” he said. “Only then can we have a peaceful and equal society.”

The statement had been endorsed by the U.N.’s University for Peace, and was supported by 52 member states, including Turkey.

This report first appeared in Israel Hayom.