Your daily spiel for Monday, July 25

Olympic bronze medalist Shahar Zubari FACEBOOK PHOTO
Israeli Olympic bronze medalist Shahar Zubari FACEBOOK PHOTO

Your Daily Spiel is The CJN’s daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world. Sign up to receive it in your inbox by clicking here.


Regret buying ad space in that newspaper? Ontario politicians are vowing to never again do business with an Arabic-language newspaper based out of London that recently ran an article titled, “The Question Which Everyone Ignores: Why Did Hitler Kill the Jews?” It all goes downhill from there. The article asserts that the figure of six million Jewish Holocaust victims is based on “Jewish propaganda” and even deems the Jews responsible (somehow) for both homosexuality and pornography.

Trump’s most unlikely endorser. Barack Obama hasn’t shied away from supporting presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for president, but an affinity for the democratic party apparently doesn’t run in the family. In a recent interview, Obama’s half-brother Malik said he plans on voting for Donald Trump. “I like Trump because he speaks from the heart,” Malik Obama told the New York Post from his home in the rural village of Kogelo. “Make America Great Again is a great slogan. I would like to meet him.” Naturally, it didn’t take long for Trump to go to Twitter to brag about his newest and most unlikely endorser.

Propaganda vile enough to have made Hitler proud. A former U.S. congresswoman has come to the conclusion that Israel – not terrorists, but Israel – is behind the attacks that recently transpired in Nice and Munich. And how pray tell did she arrive at such a thought? Because a German photographer who is married to a former Israeli politician took photos following both tragedies. For someone known to share conspiracy theories, even this seems like a bit of a stretch, no?

In other news about people who hate Israel, a German university is under fire after reports claim one of its academic courses teaches students that Israel harvests Palestinian organs and is responsible for “genocide.” After complaints were made by a student in the class, the dean of the faculty of Social Work and Health dismissed her claims as simply being “oversensitive.”

What should Austria do with Hitler’s birthplace? Residents in the town of Braunau are trying to figure out what to do with the Braunau am Inn, where Klara Hitler gave birth to Adolf in 1889. A new proposal from the Interior Ministry suggests tearing it down, but others believe it would be destroying a landmark with historical value that should be preserved. “You can’t wipe out history by destroying it,” says the building’s proprietor Klaus Wolfgruber.

Israel’s largest-ever Olympic delegation. While most news stories concerning the forthcoming Rio Olympics involve athletes refusing to attend, Israel is sending its largest-ever delegation, with some 51 athletes set to compete in 17 sports, including Israel’s first Olympic competitors in golf, triathlon and mountain biking. Let’s just hope they stay safe and avoid dangerous areas and/or contracting viruses. For more on Israel’s historic delegation, click here.

A true gesture of solidarity. After it became apparent that Jacob Steinmetz followed the laws of the Sabbath and only walked to his Brooklyn team’s baseball games, his teammates decided they too would walk to the game on Shabbat in a wonderful gesture of solidarity. “It’s really nice that they go out of their way. It makes me feel they really want me there. They understand why I have to walk [on Shabbat], and they’re offering to help,” the 12-year-old, whose family is religious, says.

What do Justin Bieber and Lil Dicky have in common? Well, officially, they’re both signed by Jewish marketing guru Scooter Braun. Dicky, perhaps the most Jewish rapper of all time – at least, that’s what I took from my meeting with him in Toronto last year – shared the news with his followers earlier this month. It’s the latest step the star has taken during his path to success; if Braun’s work with stars like Bieber is any indication, a lot more people are about to learn about this goofy, hard-working Philadelphia rapper.

Shout out @scooterbraun for believing in me – I’m bout to work him like a dog

A photo posted by Lil Dicky (@lildickygram) on

 


Sign up to receive Your Daily Spiel in your inbox every day by clicking here. Send ideas and news items to [email protected].