Baltimore Jewish Home - 8-19-21

Page 24

B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

AUGUST 19, 2021

24

The Week In News intentionally or as the result of arson, we don’t yet know. We will continue investigating and the moment we have findings, we will bring them to them to the relevant parties,” Simchi said.

Fireman officer Nissim Twito concurred, saying that we are “absolutely talking about something man-made.” He added, “The investigation is being conducted together with Israel Police and the forensic lab and so on, and when we have the conclusions, we will update.” The fire began blazing on Sunday, and has so far consumed some 5,000 acres of forest, in an event similar in scale to the 2010 Mount Carmel disaster. Among the localities where residents were forced to evacuate are Givat Yearim, Tzova, Ein Rafa, Ein Nakuba, Sho’eva, the Eitanim psychiatric hospital, Shoresh, and Har Eitan. In addition, the Metzuda Winery was completely destroyed, with damages expected to range between 7-8 million shekel ($2,166,633-2,476,152).

Full Diplomatic Relations with Morocco Soon

morning after inaugurating Israel’s Liaison Office during his historic trip to Rabat, Morocco. He added that Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita is expected to arrive in Israel for the opening of a Tel Aviv embassy in October or early November. Present at the inauguration ceremony were Welfare Minister Meir Cohen (Blue and White), Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee head MK Ram Ben Barak (Yesh Atid), and Charge D’affaires David Govrin. Morocco was represented at the ceremony by Deputy Foreign Minister Mohcine Jazouli. In a statement, Lapid said, “This historic visit is a continuation of the longstanding friendship and deep roots and traditions that the Jewish community in Morocco, and the large community of Israelis with origins in Morocco, have.” Thursday’s ceremony followed a Wednesday evening meeting between Bourita and Lapid, during which three cooperation agreements were signed on the issues of political consultation; culture, youth, and sports; and air service between the two countries.

Judge: Keep “Remain in Mexico” Policy

the current administration acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when it chose to end the program. In addition, the administration violated procedural laws and failed to see “several of the main benefits” of the policy. The program was suspended on U.S. President Joe Biden’s first day in office and formally ended in June. Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling follows a lawsuit brought forward by Texas and Missouri. In his ruling, the judge agreed that the two states were being harmed by Biden’s decision, since migrants allowed to remain in the U.S. would use the country’s healthcare system, send their children to U.S. schools, and apply for driver’s licenses. The judge had stayed his decision for one week in order to give the administration time to appeal. In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “It is critical that intending migrants understand clearly that they will be turned back if they enter the United States illegally and do not have a basis for relief under our laws.”

SCOTUS Tackles Evictions The Supreme Court granted a request from a group of New York landlords to block part of the state’s eviction moratorium. The moratorium was set to expire August 31. In an unsigned order, the court said it blocked a part of the moratorium allowing a tenant to “self-certify financial hardship,” thereby precluding a landlord from contesting the certification and denying the landlord a hearing.

ing teaching that ordinarily ‘no man can be a judge in his own case’ consistent with the Due Process Clause.” The ruling noted that another part of the moratorium would remain in place, allowing courts to consider a pandemic-related hardship partially by assessing a tenant’s income prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissented, highlighting the fact that the law was set to expire in “less than three weeks.” According to Breyer, “The New York Legislature is responsible for responding to a grave and unpredictable public health crisis” and “must combat the spread of a virulent disease, mitigate the financial suffering caused by business closures, and minimize the number of unnecessary evictions.” The landlords’ attorney, Randy Mastro, responded, “On behalf of New York’s small landlords, we are extremely grateful to the Supreme Court for reaffirming that, ‘even in a pandemic, the Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten.’” New York Attorney General Letitia James noted that the moratorium was set to expire at the end of August and emphasized that “in the meantime, New York is in the process of distributing billions of dollars of congressionally appropriated rental-assistance benefits to landlords and their tenants, which will render many eviction proceedings unnecessary.” According to her, blocking the moratorium “would disrupt the State’s fragile and ongoing recovery from the pandemic by abruptly inundating the courts with eviction proceedings before they are fully equipped to resume such actions.”

No Homeless Near Schools? Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday announced that Israel and Morocco would upgrade to a full diplomatic relationship within two months. “Within two months, full embassies will be open — in Israel and in Rabat,” Lapid asserted on Thursday

A federal judge on Friday ordered the Biden administration to reinstate former U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy. According to the judge, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk,

According to the court, the moratorium “violates the Court’s longstand-

Los Angeles City Councilman Joe


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.