Need to Know for Aug. 23

Shining a light on Baltimore, retail on Pratt Street, Sheldon Adelson donations

Streetlight — A streetlight on E. 27th Street. Photo by Eli Pousson/Baltimore Heritage, via Flickr.

B’More Bright

Mayor Catherine Pugh’s long-touted plan to upgrade the lights of Baltimore’s streets moved forward Aug. 22, with the mayor and other officials approving a $3.5 million agreement with Baltimore Gas and Electric to install 6,000 new LED lights across the city,. According to Baltimore Fishbowl. In addition to those thousands of new luminaries, BGE will be tasked with upgrading 34,150 existing streetlights that still utilize high-intensity discharge bulbs, subbing those out for LEDs. The program, dubbed B’More Bright, will “provide brighter, more targeted light at a much lower cost” than the current streetlights, and help “brighten dark areas and provide better lighting for residents” living in those places, said Kathy Dominick, spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation, which is managing the project.

More retail coming to Pratt Street

“Pratt Street Annex” is the tentative name of a freestanding, two-story shopping pavilion that would rise at 10 E. Pratt St. near the base of the Transamerica Tower, one of Baltimore’s tallest buildings, according to Baltimore Fishbowl. A development team led by Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) showed preliminary plans to a city design review panel that called for a 30,000-square-foot pavilion to be built on the north side of Pratt Street, between Charles and Light streets in the Inner Harbor. No tenants have been named for the project yet, but COPT executive Tom Kelly said the team is looking for “either a single tenant or a multiple-tenant mix” to occupy space there. He said the developers are seeking restaurants and “amenity retail” tenants that appeal both to office workers in the area and people living downtown.

Trump Says Israel Will Have to Pay a ‘High Price’ for Embassy Move

Donald Trump raised consternation on Aug. 21 when he said Israel will have to pay a “high price” in negotiations with the Palestinians once the White House unveils its Middle East peace plan. Addressing supporters during a rally in West Virginia Aug. 21, Trump praised himself for moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying that it “should have been done years ago” and that his decision to do so would help facilitate a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians because it took the issue of Jerusalem “off the table.” Trump continued: “And you know what, in the negotiation Israel will have to pay a higher price because they won a very big thing but I took it off the table.” The Palestinians “could never get past the fact of Jerusalem becoming the capital but they will get something very good next, because it’s their turn next.” The president’s remarks caused consternation in Jerusalem, forcing National Security Advisor John Bolton, who was there for discussions related to Iran, to qualify his boss’ remarks. Speaking to reporters at the King David Hotel on Aug. 22, he denied that that the embassy move was part of a “quid pro quo,” stating that “as a deal-maker, as a bargainer, he would expect, you would expect, I would expect that the Palestinians would say ‘okay, great. So, we didn’t get that one and now we want something else. And we’ll see how it goes.’”

Trump names Jewish security expert to senior intelligence post

President Donald Trump chose a Jewish national security expert as the deputy chairwoman of the intelligence advisory board. Samantha Ravich is well known in the pro-Israel national security community. She was named to the board, which helps shape intelligence policy, on Aug. 21. Ravich, a former deputy national security adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, is a senior adviser to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an influential hawkish pro-Israel think tank. She is also a senior adviser to the Chertoff Group, founded by Michael Chertoff, a Homeland Security secretary in the George W. Bush administration. She has worked with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. One of her specialties is combating extremists. She has also worked with the pro-Israel community helping to raise money for Israel Bonds. Ravich does not require confirmation. Also Aug. 21, Jeffrey Gunter, a dermatologist from Los Angeles, was nominated as the ambassador to Iceland. Gunter, a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. –JTA

Sheldon Adelson gives $25M to Republican-aligned group

Casino mogul and Jewish megadonor Sheldon Adelson gave $25 million to a Republican-aligned political action committee last month in an effort to stave off expected Democratic gains in the upcoming midterm elections. According to a Federal Election Commission filing cited by Politico, the money was more than half the total funds raised by the Senate Leadership Fund in 2018. In May, Adelson donated $30 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a PAC aligned with the Republicans in the House of Representatives, in order to help the House keep its GOP majority. The donation is three times as large as the amount he gave in 2016. He also donated thousands of dollars to the campaigns of five Republican candidates who opposed the Iran nuclear deal: Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock, California Rep. Mimi Walters, Utah Rep. Mia Love and the hopeful in Nevada’s 4th District, Cresent Hardy. Heller, Hardy and Comstock had previously received contributions from Adelson, while Love and Walters were beneficiaries for the first time. Adelson, a major giver to Jewish and pro-Israel causes, was among the biggest givers to President Donald Trump’s campaign and his inauguration.–JTA

India floods — Indian residents cross floodwaters in Kerala, Aug. 20, 2018. (Atul Loke/Getty Images)

Jewish community in India mostly unaffected by deadly floods

The Jewish community in Kerala has largely escaped harm from the deadly floods in the southern Indian state, one member of the community told JTA. More than 350 people have been killed and over 1 million have been displaced by the floods, which started in June and are the worst the state has experienced in a century. But the small Jewish community is mostly unaffected, said Ofera Elias, who lives in the city of Ernakulam. The community has about 26 members, most of whom reside in areas that were not flooded, Elias, 56, told JTA on Aug. 21. Two members’ houses were flooded; the families found shelter elsewhere. However, Elias said he was not sure of the fate of the one functioning synagogues because the floods had prevented her and her husband from going there. She said three synagogues that are no longer used by the community for religious services have experienced flooding. Kerala is home to a historic Jewish community, but most members left for Israel starting in the early 1950s. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee joined with the Jewish community of India in providing food and clothing to people affected by the floods. The aid will be provided through its partner organization, the All-India Disaster Mitigation Institute. —JTA

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