A Foiled Synagogue Poison Plot
A Pennsylvania man planned to inject ricin into food at synagogues, feds say.
A Pennsylvania man allegedly plotted to poison synagogue food with ricin or cyanide. Jonathan Hunter Kramer, 21, pledged allegiance to ISIS on a recorded video, federal prosecutors say, and wrote online that he wanted to inject poison into food, preferably at synagogues. Agents arrested him at a hotel with a rifle and ammunition; investigators found 30 knives at his home. 1
Ed Sheeran says pulling Macklemore from his tour "was not my call." Robert Kraft's team blocked the rapper from MetLife Stadium after his pro-Palestinian remarks there; Sheeran said he's "appalled by the conflict" but didn't order the move. Three opening acts have now quit in protest, one accusing the "zionist lobby" of silencing artists. 2
A third of Israelis call West Bank settler rioters "terrorists," a new poll finds. The Jewish People Policy Institute found 33% used that label for the Qusra attackers; just 5% expressed support. It splits by politics: 63% on the left, 3% on the right. 3
Noah Wyle won his second straight Emmy for playing one of TV's most Jewish doctors. Wyle took Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for The Pitt, playing Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, and the show repeated as Outstanding Drama Series too. Robby recites the Shema in a season-one low point, and a season-two episode Wyle wrote worked through the trauma of the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting, with the character openly wrestling with whether he still believes. "This is all I've ever wanted to do, and this is the only club I've ever wanted to join," Wyle said backstage. 4
Today is 5 Tishrei, deep in the Aseret Yemei Teshuva, the Ten Days of Repentance that culminate in Yom Kippur, five days from now. Jewish tradition holds this stretch is when the year's verdict gets sealed. 56
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