The Weekly Dispatch

Weekly dispatches to keep you up-to-date on the biggest stories in the Jewish world.

DISPATCH ONE: VIOLENCE AT THE ADAS TORAH SYNAGOGUE

The Story: Anti-Zionist protesters blocked entrance to a synagogue in the heavily Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood of LA on Sunday. The protesters clashed with Jewish counter-protesters and the police were slow to do much of anything, leading to scrutiny on the LAPD. Though this chaos was obviously initiated by the anti-Zionist protesters, it is impossible to tell from videos of the clashes who threw the first punch, making this a story where each side can accuse the other of thuggery. More info here.

The Takeaway: As synagogues in Europe steadily began transforming into fortresses to protect against antisemitic violence, Jews in America were unafraid. Synagogues remained safe places. In less than a decade, it seems that this has changed. Since 2018, we have witnessed the Tree of Life shooting, the Poway shooting, the Colleyville hostage crisis, and now this.

Question: Do you think protests should be allowed outside of houses of worship? Does it matter if the event being held inside isn’t a religious service? Answer in the comments.

DISPATCH TWO: A NEW REPORT ON FAMINE IN GAZA

The Story: There’s a new report from the UN-affiliated IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.

According to the Times of Israel, the important takeaway from the report is that “there is currently no famine in Gaza,” despite having predicted previously “that a full-blown famine would break out in the territory between March and July 2024.”

According to more mainstream sources, the important takeaway is that there is still a “high risk of famine.”

The Takeaway: Depending where you encounter this story, you will either think that the panic about famine was overblown, or that the situation has never been worse. The truth is in the middle. More aid is getting into Gaza than before, but distribution issues remain a problem and food insecurity in the strip will not stop being a problem until the war is over.