A Streamer's Warning to American Jews

Democrats scrambled to distance from Hasan Piker after he floated violence against Jews. On an Aug. 20 livestream, the streamer backing Abdul El-Sayed's Senate bid warned American Jews talking about Israel that "someone's going to come around and take action," and called Israel "Jewish ISIS." El-Sayed responded Monday, citing his "commitment to Jewish safety." Rabbi Asher Lopatin said that's not an apology. ¹

Masked settlers attacked activists and an AFP journalist fencing off a Palestinian village, and nobody got arrested. Tuesday in Jannatah, near Bethlehem, assailants in tzitzit hit people with clubs, pepper spray and stones, injuring five, smashing four cars, per Rabbis for Human Rights. Soldiers couldn't break it up; police arrived hours later. The backstory → ²

Montreal's city council backed off calling Israel an "apartheid" state committing "genocide." The original motion, from opposition party Projet Montréal, demanded cutting ties with Israel. After pressure from B'nai Brith Canada, councillors stripped that language and passed a motion Monday, 54 to 6. ³

Mah jongg is having a teen moment. The tile game that was your bubbe's Tuesday-night ritual is turning up at summer camp and college. Camp Harlam ran six or seven tables of teenagers at once this summer, says associate director Ellie Tepper Schulman. Modern Mahjong's Facebook group now tops 100,000 members, up from an audience co-founder Donna Kassman says used to skew 60-plus. Tufts rising senior Talia Rosen picked it up bonding with older adults at her JCC; 19-year-old Louisa Gordon said once she started playing with friends, "we couldn't stop." The pitch, per players: no phones, no politics. ⁴

It's 13 Elul, and this week's parsha is Ki Tavo: the first-fruits ceremony farmers once brought to the Temple, followed by Moses laying out, at length, exactly what blessings and curses await. ⁵⁶