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This past Sunday was the fast day of Tisha b’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av, a day of mourning and sadness on the Jewish calendar. On Tisha b’Av, the holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed (twice), and many other calamities for the Jewish people also took place on that day. This year, over a thousand Jews went up to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to mark Tisha b’Av, following clashes between Israeli police and rock-throwing worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque who objected to the Jewish presence on the Temple Mount.

Here’s how Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) described those clashes in a tweet: “Why is Israel attacking Al Aqsa on Eid Al Adha (the holiest day for Muslims)? Why attack people who are literally kneeling down in prayer?”  

There are two problems with her tweet – the people in the mosque were throwing rocks at Jewish worshippers on Tisha b’Av - not praying - and it was not a holy day for Muslims. Eid Al Adha did not start until that evening. Tlaib’s tweet was part of the antisemitic rabble-rousing that described the presence of Jews praying on the Temple Mount as “storming” a Muslim holy site. She was inciting attacks against Jews.

Herb Keinon, at the Jerusalem Post, sets the record straight. Read his analysis here. 

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is a hot topic, after the company announced this week that it will stop selling its products in Judea and Samaria (commonly called the West Bank). Ben & Jerry’s has always been a “woke” company, in keeping with the ideology of its progressive founders. Although the company was bought by Unilever in 2000, Ben & Jerry’s independent board of directors still dictates the company’s “social policy.” In fact, when Unilever hastened to put out a statement saying the brand would continue to sell in Israel, Ben & Jerry’s board was furious, proving that their goal was to boycott Israel altogether. 

Ben & Jerry’s local Israeli licensee, who manufactures and distributes the brand through the region, refused to stop selling Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in East Jerusalem and other Jewish areas that the international board wants to boycott. Ben & Jerry’s announced that they will not renew that licensee’s contract when it expires at the end of the year.  

All of this may cause legal troubles for Ben & Jerry’s – and possible for Unilever – since 33 US states have passed law that restrict government contracting or investing in companies that boycott Israel, as Ron Kampeas writes at JTA: 

[Since the mid-2010s,] 33 states have passed laws or issued executive orders targeting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel… The laws vary in their details, but they all mandate ending state business with any company that observes a boycott of Israel. Some consequences for the company range from disinvestment from state employee pension funds to losing out on contracts at universities and other state-run organizations.

It’s unclear whether Ben & Jerry’s pullout from what it considers to be “occupied” territory will fall under the jurisdiction of these laws, but some experts say there is a good chance it could.

Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser to former [Illinois] Gov. Bruce Rauner, drafted one of the first anti-BDS laws in the nation in 2015… Goldberg said he was taken aback by how little wiggle room Ben & Jerry’s left itself. Conventionally, he said, companies divesting from Israel do not explain why they are taking such action, which gives them more legal cover against anti-BDS laws.

“This is dead to rights because you have a very formal, explicit announcement from Ben & Jerry’s announcing, very clearly, that they are taking a step to inflict harm on an Israeli company,” he said. “There really never has been a clearer case, and so high-profile, for a statement that would violate the BDS laws.”

Further reading: Jonathan Tobin provides insightful background into Ben & Jerry’s social and political history here. 

Immigrants like me have to reject the new America-hatred

Karol Markowicz, who came to the US from the Soviet Union as a child, writes: “It shouldn’t take living under totalitarianism to acknowledge how good we have it in the United States. It shouldn’t be uncomfortable to say that we are the greatest country that ever was. You needn’t have escaped from Communism to know it."

House Republican presses Biden on removal of military equipment from Middle East

A Republican congressman is pressing the Biden administration to brief Congress on its decision to remove US military equipment from the Middle East amid concerns the decision was part of a series of concessions offered to Iran during ongoing nuclear discussions.

Back to '70s inflation? How Biden's spending spree will hurt your wallet

Tyler Goodspeed analyzes this year's swift rise in prices and what it means for American consumers.

Iran’s answer to Biden

Paul Mirengoff at PowerLine agrees with the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board that President Joe Biden is making too many concessions to Iran, even though Iran continues to lie, cheat, and steal - and nearly kidnapped a US-Iranian journalist from American soil.

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