Need to Know for Sept. 7

Hurricane Irma, Facebook, National Cathedral and a rhythmic gymnast

Cars trapped in floodwater near the I-10 freeway leading into Houston after Hurricane Harvey caused heavy flooding in the city, Aug. 27, 2017. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel to Help Houston

Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry is advancing a plan to send $1 million in emergency aid to Houston’s flood-hit Jewish community. In announcing the plan Sept. 4, Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett called it an “unprecedented” opportunity for Israel to repay world Jewry, which has helped the Jewish state in times of need. “The Jewish State is measured by its response when our brothers around the world are in crisis,” Bennett said in a statement. “For years the Jewish communities stood by Israel when it needed their help; now it is our turn to stand by Houston’s Jewish community.” Bennett’s office said the plan would be finalized in “the next few days” and presented for Cabinet approval first thing next week. The money would be transferred through Israel’s consulate in Houston and would go toward repairing and rebuilding local schools, synagogues and Jewish community centers damaged by tropical storm Harvey. Houston’s Jewish community was particularly hard hit. The local Jewish Federation last week said 71 percent of the city’s more than 60,000 Jews, including 12,000 seniors, live in areas that were flooded. Israeli groups last week joined local Jewish institutions on the ground. The Israeli humanitarian group IsrAID rushed to Texas to provide supplies, remove debris and lead stress relief and recreational activities. United Hatzalah, a volunteer emergency service, sent its psychological first aid unit. –JTA

Also see: Jewish students, Chabad rabbis and a kosher salami company pitch in to help Houston

Floridians in Tampa filling sandbags to prepare for Hurricane Irma, Sept. 5, 2017. (Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

Irma Approaches Florida

The Category 5 hurricane has winds at about 180 mph and is one of the most powerful Atlantic storms ever recorded. On Sept. 6, the storm hit Barbuda, leveling the island. Irma is expected to hit South Florida and the Keys by Sept. 10. Florida is under a state of emergency and Miami-Dade County has ordered a coastal evacuation. According to CNN, Irma has killed 9 people so far and there are 56,000 Puerto Ricans currently without running water.

Read: Miami-Dade orders coastal evacuation as Hurricane Irma threatens

Also see: Bubbe Lives in the Path of Hurricane Irma. Now What?

Sorry, not Sorry

A Jewish deli owner in suburban Chicago has come under fire for a High Holidays catering menu that featured a cartoon of a Trump-like figure giving the Nazi salute. The menu, protesting the “alt-right,” was posted on the Max’s Deli Facebook page on Aug. 23. The cartoon figure wears a military uniform, a Nazi swastika armband and a T-shirt that reads “I’m With Alt-Right.” The figure’s blonde hair is evocative of President Donald Trump.
A post accompanying the menu reads: “Here’s a hard question: what do they really mean by Alt-Right? I’ll tell you what they really mean … Nazi.” Deli owner Greg Morelli posted an apology on Sept.1. Morelli, who owns the Highland Park diner with his brother, told the Chicago Tribune that his business was flooded with calls after the image made the rounds on Facebook and in the media, and that his family is “done with him.” He said he hopes the incident will not force the deli to close down. Morelli also posted menus on Facebook in recent days featuring a Statue of Liberty wearing a T-shirt reading “I’m With Kaepernick” in support of Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who remains a free agent following his public protest of the national anthem. Another features Moses wearing a T-shirt reading “I’m With Charlottesville.” – JTA

Fake News at Facebook

Facebook has turned over its data on ads bought by a Russian company during the 2016 election to special counsel Robert Mueller, Reuters reported on Sept. 6. The tech company gave Mueller’s team copies of the ads as well as the identities of the ads’ buyers, a source told Reuters. The handover of information comes after Facebook revealed earlier on Sept. 6 that thousands of ads posted on the site over the past two years were linked to fake Facebook accounts based out of Russia.

One Window Closes…

“The New York Times” is reporting that officials at Washington National Cathedral will remove two stained-glass windows that pay tribute to the Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, a decision reached after two years of discussion and made more urgent by the recent racially tinged violence in Charlottesville, Va. Church leaders voted on Sept. 5 in an “overwhelming majority” to remove the windows and announced the decision on Sept. 6 in a letter, concluding that the windows “tell an incomplete and misleading account of our history.” The two 4-by-6-foot windows were donated in 1953 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and a private donor, but were not noticed by current church leaders until 2015. Scaffolding went up on Sept. 5 at the cathedral, the site of state funerals and memorial services for several presidents and the second largest church building in the country, after the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. Removal of the windows will begin today; they will be cleaned, conserved, stored and potentially moved to another part of the church to be used in an educational setting unaffiliated with worship.

Read: National Cathedral to Remove Windows Honoring Confederate Generals

All-Around Champ

Rhythmic gymnast Linoy Ashram (top photo) became the first Israeli to win a medal in the all-around competition in the sport’s world championships. Ashram, 18, ascended the podium in Pesaro, Italy, on Sept. 1 to accept a bronze medal. Russian identical twins Dina and Arina Averina took the gold and silver medals. The events at the competition are hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. Ashram also won a bronze medal in the ribbon final Aug. 31. Ashram acknowledged that she has three years of hard work ahead of her until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Ashram won five gold medals in the rhythmic gymnastics competition during the summer’s Maccabiah Games in Israel for Jewish athletes.–JTA

Top photo: Linoy Ashram of Israel performing the ribbon exercise at the 35th Rhythmic Gymnastic World Championship in Pesaro, Italy, Aug. 30, 2017. (Dario Ventre/KONTROLAB /LightRocket via Getty Images)