nation / world
Biden the First President to Appear at Maccabiah Games
Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to attend the Maccabiah Games, known
also as the Jewish Olympics, on July 14, JTA reported.

The audience at the opening ceremony of the 21st games showered Biden with
affection as thousands cheered “Joe” repeatedly and shouted things like, “We
love you, Mr. President” at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. Biden, flanked by Israeli
Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, waved a baseball
cap emblazoned with the letters USA for several minutes as the crowd cheered.

Biden, who wrapped up the Israel leg of his four-day visit to the Middle East,
showed up at a bulletproof glass box installed for him there just before the
announcers welcomed in the American delegation of athletes.

Organizers claim that the event is the third-largest sports gathering in the
world, with 10,000 athletes from 60 countries.

But in a timing mishap, he appeared to leave before the U.S. delegation
appeared. Biden and the Israeli leaders then returned to the bullet-proof glass box
to wave to the American delegation, who responded to him by bouncing up and
down and blowing kisses in his direction.

Barcelona Gets World’s First Michelin-starred Kosher Restaurant
The typical menu at Xerta, a Barcelona restaurant that earned a coveted star from
the Michelin Guide, reads like an haute-cuisine treyf banquet: non-kosher dishes
such as lobster, squid and oysters, JTA reported.

Yet the restaurant has become a hot spot for Barcelona’s small number of
kosher-keeping Jews. That’s because with a little advance notice, Xerta will
prepare food according to Jewish dietary laws in a separate kitchen, under the
supervision of a local Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi.

The restaurant pursued kosher certification, which makes Xerta the only
Michelin-starred kosher restaurant in the world, largely to attract Barcelona’s
rising numbers of Jewish visitors.

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Ashes of Around 8,000 Nazi Victims Found in Mass Grave in Poland
The burnt remains of approximately 8,000 victims of the Nazis were unearthed
in a mass grave outside the town of Działdowo, the Polish Institute of National
Remembrance announced on July 13, JTA reported.

It is believed that the victims were killed in 1939, and most were likely members
of the Polish political elite, according to IPN head investigator Tomasz Jankowski.

During the spring of 1944, in an attempt to hide the extent of their crimes,
Nazis ordered Jewish prisoners of the Soldau concentration camp, where Jews and
non-Jewish Poles were imprisoned, to dig up and burn the bodies.

The estimate of 8,000 victims was based on the weight of the remains, a grue-
some tally of more than 17 tons.

The camp outside Działdowo, which was renamed Soldau during the German
occupation of Poland, was part of the Nazi plan to eliminate Jews, political oppo-
nents and members of the Polish intelligentsia.

Experts believe that approximately 30,000 people were killed at Soldau, but
the true number has never been determined. A search is ongoing to determine if
there are more mass graves in the area.

Hold Onto Your Hummus: Global Chickpea Supply Could Drop 20%
Lovers of hummus and falafel beware: Data shows that global supplies of chickpeas,
the main ingredient for both dishes, may dip up to 20% this year, JTA reported.

A combination of Russia’s war in Ukraine, poor weather and transportation
issues is leading to the shortage, which is predicted to increase prices and make
cheap hummus harder to come by, Reuters reported.

Farmers in the United States, the fourth-largest chickpea exporter in the world,
planted less of the legume this year due to less than ideal weather conditions in
the spring.

Russia is also a top chickpea producer. Global sanctions have interrupted the
country’s global chickpea exports. JE
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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