H eadlines
NEWSBRIEFS Jewish Mayor of Anchorage Resigns After
Sexting Affair with Television Anchor
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz
resigned on Oct. 12 after admitting to a sexting affair
with a local news anchor who falsely accused him of
pedophilia and left a voice message with anti-Semitic
epithets, JTA reported.

Berkowitz’s affair became public on Oct. 9
when the anchor, Maria Athens, posted a video to
Facebook, accusing him of pedophilia. That same day,
she posted two photos to Facebook that she claimed
were of Berkowitz’s bare buttocks and left Berkowitz
a voicemail in which she used anti-Semitic language
and threatened to kill him and his wife.

Athens said she planned to air a story about the
allegation, but got into a physical altercation with her
boss and was arrested for assault, the Anchorage Daily
News reported. Both police and the FBI said there was
no evidence that Berkowitz engaged in criminal activity.

“I apologize to the people of Anchorage for a major
lapse in judgment I made several years ago when I
had a consensual, inappropriate messaging relation-
ship with reporter Maria Athens,” Berkowitz said in
a statement. “I’m embarrassed and ashamed for the
hurt I’ve caused my family and our community. I take
responsibility for my actions.”
RBG to Get Statue in Brooklyn
The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
will be memorialized via a statue in her native
Brooklyn, New York, JTA reported.

“Her legacy as a jurist, professor, lawyer and
scholar will endure for generations, and we are
honored to erect a permanent statue in memory of
Justice Ginsburg,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
said. “Lord knows she deserves it.”
The New York Times reported there will be several
other initiatives to honor Ginsburg, including a
bronze statue set for 2021 at a Brooklyn development.

The city named a municipal building in Brooklyn for
Ginsburg in September.

Jewish Economist Wins Nobel Prize
Jewish American economist Paul Milgrom won the
Nobel Prize in economics along with fellow econo-
mist Robert Wilson for their work in auction theory,
JTA reported.

Milgrom, 72, earned a Ph.D. in economics from
Stanford University in 1979; he is now the university’s
Shirley and Leonard Ely Jr. Professor of Humanities
and Sciences. Wilson was his thesis adviser.

Milgrom and Wilson “used their insights to design
new auction formats for goods and services that are
difficult to sell in a traditional way, such as radio frequen-
cies. Their discoveries have benefitted sellers, buyers and
taxpayers around the world,” the committee said.

Milgrom joins scientist Harvey Alter, who shared
the prize in medicine, and poet Louise Glück, who won
the prize in literature, as Nobel laureates this year.

Poland to End Kosher Meat Exports in 2025
The Polish senate passed a law Oct. 14 that will end
its $1.8 billion kosher and halal meat export industry
in 2025, although religious communities will still be
able to slaughter meat without prior stunning if the
meat is not for export, JTA reported.

There are about 20,000 Jews and a similar number
of Muslims in Poland, and most of its kosher and
halal slaughterhouses produce meat for export. Critics
contend that killing animals without stunning them
is cruel, while proponents argue that it is relatively
painless. The law was changed a bit compared to the law
introduced last month in the government’s lower
house; that version was originally intended to go
into effect in 2022. Farmers and meat producer
unions sought to have the law postponed because of
economic issues created by the pandemic. l
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H eadlines
ISRAELBRIEFS Israel, Bahrain Establish Formal Relations
ISRAEL AND BAHRAIN AGREED Oct. 18 to
establish formal diplomatic relations, the Associated
Press reported.

The United States brokered the relationship,
making Bahrain the fourth Arab state to normalize
ties with Israel. U.S. and Israeli officials visited
Bahrain to forge the agreement.

With the agreement in place, the countries can
open embassies and exchange ambassadors in the
months ahead.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates partici-
pated in a September White House ceremony where
UAE formally established ties, but Bahrain’s agree-
ment at that point was less detailed.

“Today we made the first formal step in
bringing closer ties between the countries,” said
Meir Ben-Shabbat, who is Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s national security adviser. “We were
accepted with open arms, with warmth and cordiality.”
“It was indeed an historic visit, to start opening
relations between both countries, to have fruitful
bilateral relations in both fields,” said Bahrain’s
foreign minister, Abdullatif al-Zayani, at the signing
ceremony. Bahrain joins UAE, Egypt and Jordan as Arab
states with diplomatic treaties with Israel.

Israel’s Oldest Man Dies at 117
Shlomo Sulayman, who claimed to be Israel’s oldest
man, died Oct. 11 at 117, JTA reported.

Sulayman, who his family says was born in 1903,
emigrated from Yemen to Israel with his wife and
four children in 1949. Two other children were born
in Israel. Sulayman served in the Israel Defense
Forces and worked in agriculture. His wife died
several years ago at the age of 94.

Grandson Gil Radia said Sulayman was living on
his own and his mind was clear until the end.

“Until the pandemic, he would go to the synagogue,
even at the age of 116. He was a very modest man,
which is why everyone loved him. But I guess the
isolation at home contributed to his health deterio-
rating,” Radia said.

Israel Becomes 24th Nation to Top 300K
Confirmed COVID-19 Cases
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 topped
300,000 on Oct. 15, making Israel the nation’s 24th
country to reach that mark, Ynet reported.

Israel is the only country in that group with less
than 10 million residents.

The nation’s Health Ministry said the death toll
since the start of the pandemic was 2,128. There are
38,355 people battling coronavirus, with 713 patients
in serious condition, including 247 connected to
ventilators. The contagion rate of the 37,487 tests conducted on
Oct. 15 was 4.2%.

The nation’s coronavirus cabinet did vote to allow
small business that don’t involve public interaction to
reopen, as well as kindergartens, takeout food service
and beaches.

Tik Tok Removes Lehava’s Channel
Video-sharing social network Tik Tok removed the
channel of far-right Israeli group Lehava, JTA reported.

Lehava opposes Jewish-Arab coexistence and gay
relationships. It is led by Benzi Gopstein; he was banned
from Israeli elections last year while head of the right-
wing Jewish Power party because of anti-Arab statements
that were considered an incitement to racism.

At first, Tik Tok removed three Lehava videos.

It later removed the channel entirely after fielding
complaints about the content.

Lehava previously was banned from social media
networks Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Gopstein complained about Tik Tok’s decision.

“You can find every evil on Tik Tok, but somebody
who talks a little about Judaism and about not assimi-
lating — this, Tik Tok decided to close,” Gopstein said. l
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