Weekly roundup of world briefs

After criticism, Taylor Swift adds Orthodox-friendly dates to her upcoming tour

By Caleb Guedes-Reed

(JTA) — “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” isn’t just the name of a track on Taylor Swift’s newest album — the phrase describes the way many of the pop star’s Jewish fans were feeling after she released the dates for her upcoming tour.

This week, Shabbat-observant Swifties voiced their disappointment with the dates, which were all slated for during or just after the end of the Jewish Sabbath, on Friday or Saturday nights. (There was one scheduled for April 2, a Sunday, in Arlington, Texas.)

In response, Swift added eight more shows to the U.S. leg of her tour on Friday, all on weeknights, in cities such as Philadelphia, Seattle and Los Angeles. Many applauded the additions.

As antisemitism spikes following Elon Musk takeover, ADL calls for Twitter ad boycottSwift’s “Midnights” album sold over a million copies in its first week, and she is now tied with Barbra Streisand as the female artist with the most albums to top the Billboard chart. The singer will take the Jewish Haim sisters, who feature in the music video for Swift’s song “Bejeweled,” along for part of the tour.

Naftali Bennett to resign, leave politics

(JNS) — Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will resign in the coming days, and has informed Prime Minister Yair Lapid of his decision, according to a statement from his office.

Bennett, who did not run in Tuesday’s elections, cited as the reason the decisive victory in the national vote by opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-religious bloc.

Lapid had agreed to not make any sensitive political decisions prior to the establishment of the next government, the statement said.

In a subsequent Facebook post on Nov. 4, Bennett, who in June 2021 defected from the right in order to lead a center-left coalition as part of a power-sharing agreement with Lapid, encouraged Israelis to “try even harder so that we can live here together.”

“We must all respect the results and pray for the success of the government, its leaders, ministers and advisers. Its success is our success,” he said.

“To my friends in the center-left bloc: these results are not the end of the country,” he added.

In a Sept. 14 post, which he pinned to the top of his Facebook and Twitter accounts, Bennett described his decision to abandon his right-wing base and join forces with center-left, far-left and Islamist parties as the “best and most Zionist decision in my life.”

Jewish Agency chairman presents plan to strengthen ties with world Jewry

(JNS) — IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, chairman of the executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel, on Sunday presented his new plan to build stronger connections between Israelis and world Jewry.

Addressing hundreds of Diaspora Jewish leaders from around the world in a meeting in Israel with the organization’s Board of Governors, Almog said his plan will deepen connections between Israel and world Jewry through “joint activities.”

These include building ties between Israeli and Jewish students studying in Israel, connecting young Jews throughout the world with Israel’s high-tech sector and linking Israeli families living abroad with Jewish families in their areas.

“The flagship program that we will promote together focuses on strengthening connections between us; to deepen Israel’s relationship with every Jew, every Jewish family and every Jewish community around the world. We must not lose any of them,” Almog said in a statement put out by the Jewish Agency.

Almog said that young Israeli emissaries will be given an expanded role amid rising antisemitism and the anti-Israel efforts of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

He noted that thousands of Israelis living abroad could take part in the plan, from former IDF officers to academics.

Almog also said that The Jewish Agency will work with the Israeli government to recognize Diaspora Jewish communities in official Israeli state ceremonies.

The plan will also help those who’ve already immigrated to Israel through cooperation with cities, government ministries, and businesses.

Volunteer programs to “adopt” new immigrant families and help immigrants learn Hebrew were also mentioned.

Jewish prayer on Temple Mount ‘will lead to violence’

(JNS) — Mansour Abbas, the leader of Israel’s Islamist Ra’am Party, has expressed concern that the country’s incoming coalition will change the status quo arrangement on the Temple Mount, a move he said would lead to violence.

In an interview with Channel 12 on Thursday, Abbas said he was “worried” that opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu’s prospective coalition, expected to consist of his Likud Party, the Religious Zionism Party, Shas and United Torah Judaism, would move to allow Jewish prayer on the Mount.

“Let’s not be naive. When you’re talking about the most sensitive subject, which is the holy sites…people’s minds stop working and religious feelings take over. We’ve seen how many rounds of escalation [of violence] were sparked by provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said.

Israel guarantees the freedom of Muslims to worship at the site, while denying the same right to Jews, who are only permitted to visit the Temple Mount under police guard during restricted hours, and are not allowed to pray there openly.

Ra’am played a central role in the outgoing Bennett-Lapid government, marking the first time an Arab party has joined a Israeli governing coalition.

Bahrain committed to advancing ties with Israel after ‘always expected’ Netanyahu win

(JNS) Bahrain will continue to build bilateral ties with Israel following last week’s general election in the Jewish state, a top Bahraini official said on Saturday.

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-religious bloc secured victory in the elections, with 64 out of 120 Knesset seats.

“We have an agreement with Israel, part of the Abraham Accords, and we will stick to our agreement and we expect it to continue in the same line and continue building our partnership together,” said Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, according to Reuters.

The diplomatic adviser to the Sunni Muslim country’s king added that Netanyahu’s victory was “normal and always expected,” adding, “We will want to make an example and succeed together and face all the threats,” in an apparent reference to shared concerns over Iran.

Netanyahu was prime minister when Israel in 2020 normalized ties with several Arab states, including Bahrain, under pacts brokered by the Trump administration.

The comments out of Manama come just days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that his country’s rapprochement with Israel would continue irrespective of the outcome of Tuesday’s vote. Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati also stressed that the U.S. would ensure the recent maritime border deal between Jerusalem and Beirut remains in force, regardless of the election results.

Israel-designated terror group representative calls for destruction of US, EU in Brussels

(JNS) — Not only Israel, but also the United States, Canada and the European Union must be conquered, a top representative of an Israel-designated terror group said at a recent event in Brussels.

“Defeating Israel means defeating the United States. Defeating Israel means defeating Canada. These settlements [that] exist on the back of the indigenous people and the black people,” said Mohammed Khatib, the E.U. coordinator for the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

He made the comments at a rally outside of the E.U. Parliament during the Oct. 29 “March for Return and Liberation,” planned by the Masar Badil, or Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement.

“Defeating Israel means defeating this colonial institution [the E.U. legislature]. It means payback for all Africans … second and third generations [who] are in Brussels. We’ve built this city and we still face fascism and racism. So, we will say no to this not only in Palestine [sic], but here in Europe, there in the United States and in all Arab countries,” Khatib added.

One in three Israeli Covid-19 patients suffer ‘long Covid’ symptoms

By Abigail Klein Leichman

(Israel21c via JNS) — A study published by researchers from Israel’s Maccabi Healthcare Services HMO has found that long Covid–lingering symptoms after recovery from Covid-19–affects one in three people.

In September 2021, the researchers asked 2,755 subjects (819 who had Covid-19 one to six months previously and 936 who did not) for details about their demographic status, medical history, Covid-related variables and the presence of long-Covid symptoms.

About 34.6% of participants reported not returning to their baseline health condition for around five months after the acute illness has passed.

The most prevalent long Covid symptoms among those who had been infected were decreased smell sensation (35.1%), decreased taste sensation (25.2%), memory disturbances (36.9%), shortness of breath (24.2% and joint stiffness (33%).

The study results identified risk factors for long Covid including female gender, symptomatic Covid-19, overweight or obesity and lipid imbalances such as high cholesterol.

“Long COVID may significantly impact human health in years to come, and surveys to date estimate that 80% of patients will develop at least one symptom following SARS-CoV-2 infection,” wrote the research team headed by Limor Adler, who also is a faculty member at Tel Aviv University’s medical school.

“Primary healthcare practitioners and healthcare providers can expect long-COVID to be a significant source of healthcare demands in the coming months and perhaps years.”

This article first appeared in Israel21c.

Energean announces new gas discovery off Israeli coast

(JNS) — Energean plc announced on Monday the discovery of a commercially viable deposit of natural gas, containing an estimated 13 billion cubic meters (bcm), at its Zeus-01 drilling site located off Israel’s coast, the company said in a statement.

A post-well analysis of the find is currently being conducted.

The statement added that an audit of Energean’s adjacent Athena field had upgraded reserves by 3bcm to 14.75bcm, following post-well studies of drilling data.

“The results from the Zeus well and the Athena post-well analysis provide Energean with additional confidence about the volumes and commerciality of the Olympus area, and the company is now progressing its field development plan,” said the statement.

The “Olympus area” is located between the Karish and Tanin fields in Israel’s exclusive economic zone.

For his part, Energean CEO Mathios Rigas said: “Following the start of production from our Karish reservoir last week, I am pleased that our drilling program, which has now delivered five successful wells from five, continues to deliver value, ensuring security of supply and energy competition across the region.

“We are evaluating a number of potential commercialization options for the Olympus area that leverage both new and our existing unique [Mediterranean Sea]-based infrastructure, and we expect to commit to a development concept in [the first quarter of] 2023,” Rigas continued.

The British-Greek hydrocarbon exploration and production company announced in late October that it had begun extracting natural gas from Karish, located off the coast of Haifa. At the time, Energean described the development as a significant milestone in promoting a vision of a competitive Israeli gas market and increasing the country’s energy security and independence.

A day later, Israeli and Lebanese leaders formalized a United States-mediated agreement that demarcates the maritime border between the two enemy states.

Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter places second in New York marathon

(JNS) — Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter placed second in the New York City Marathon on Sunday.

She came only seven seconds behind the winner with a time of two hours, 23 minutes and 30 seconds.

Salpeter, 33, was in the lead for the last few miles, but was overtaken by Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi, for whom it was a debut race. Salpeter is also originally from Kenya.

Reigning world champion Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia came in nine seconds behind Salpter with a time of 2:23:39.

Roughly 50,000 runners from 91 countries competed in the marathon. This year’s event was the first since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 held without restrictions, with spectators allowed to watch the competition close to the course.

Salpeter has won several marathons in her career, including the Tokyo Marathon in 2020, the Florence Marathon in 2018 and the Prague Marathon in 2019. In August, Salpeter won bronze in the 10,000 meters at the European Championship.

In July she won bronze at the U.S. World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. It was Israel’s fourth medal in the World Athletics Championships, and the first by a runner.

It was a redemption for Salpeter, who was among the leaders in the Tokyo Olympics Marathon in 2021 with only three miles to go when she had to pull back when she was seized with cramps. She finished in 66th place in that race.

Iranians deface Soleimani posters and statues, shout ‘Death to Khamenei!’

(JNS) — Iranian protesters have been vandalizing posters and statutes of General Qasem Soleimani, the IRGC Qods Force commander slain by an American drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, in January 2020.

The demonstrators have also been shouting: “Death to [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei!”

The videos in the clip below were uploaded between Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 to various Twitter and Telegram accounts and put together by MEMRI.

Meanwhile on Sunday, hard-line Iranian legislators demanded that the judiciary crack down on the perpetrators of the unrest throughout the country as the regime struggles to quell the largest display of dissent in years.

“We ask the judiciary to deal decisively with the perpetrators of these crimes and with all those who assisted in the crimes and provoked rioters,” state media quoted 227 lawmakers from Iran’s 290-seat parliament as saying.

As of Saturday, 318 protesters, including 49 children, had been killed in the unrest, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. It was also revealed that 38 members of the security forces had been killed.

ADL, BBYO youth group initiative to help youth tackle antisemitism

(JNS) — The Anti-Defamation League and BBYO (formerly known as the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization) have formed a partnership to provide students in the United States and internationally with the skills they need to respond to Jew-hatred.

“Surveys have shown that Jewish students increasingly are experiencing antisemitism at home, in their communities and online at frightening levels,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “We need to prepare Jewish students to be able to understand the drivers of modern antisemitism and the ways by which they can respond safely and effectively when hate manifests in their lives.”

As part of their collaboration, the ADL will train teenage members of BBYO on how to understand and respond to antisemitism. The two organizations will also open a joint incident-reporting site for teens to report acts of antisemitism and bias.

Additionally, experts from both groups will create a resource for parents and educators to use when initiating discussions on antisemitism and hate, while being mindful of the mental-health challenges facing teens today.

Matthew Grossman, CEO of BBYO, said, “As Jewish teens around the world face increased antisemitic harassment and hate speech in their schools, communities and on social media platforms, having the tools to understand and respond to antisemitism is vital. 

“BBYO has a long history of supporting young people in the fight against hate in all forms, and as antisemitism grows and its sources evolve, this partnership with ADL is an ideal way for us to continue supporting our teens as they navigate the tides of intolerance,” he continued.

BBYO, a pluralistic youth group, has some 70,000 members and 725 chapters in 60 countries.