More than 75 American and Israeli Orthodox rabbis signed a letter on Tuesday in support of the LGBTQ community in response to a letter last week signed by about 200 Orthodox Israeli rabbis that called the community “perverts” and an “organization of abominations.” Signatures are still coming in. Organizers plan to officially present the letter today at the Jerusalem Pride parade.

Cantor Philip Sherman, an associate cantor at Congregation Shearith Israel in New York, appeared in an episode of the Netflix series Orange is the New Black, a show about a female prison. He played a judge presiding over a trial, which differed from his typical role  as a rabbi or cantor in about 15 other TV series, commercials and movies.

Nobio Ltd., an Israeli startup, developed particles that when infused into a surface kill germs as they land on it. The technology will help fight bacterial infectious diseases, which account for 15 per cent of deaths worldwide.

Jewish advocacy groups are again raising concerns that new Canadian funding for Palestinians must come with sufficient oversight so that money is not channelled to terrorists. The renewed concerns came following a July 29 announcement from International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau who said that Canada will contribute over $50 million to support Palestinians’ humanitarian needs.