Turkey Says No

Normalization with Israel Unless Borders Open

JNS.org–New Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday that there is no hope of his country “normalizing” ties with Israel unless the Jewish state ends the blockade of the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported. Davutoglu made his comments during an address to Turkish parliamentary deputies. Israel-Turkey relations have been frayed since the May 2010 flotilla that tried to break the Gaza blockade. Militants attacked Israeli soldiers who boarded the vessel, prompting clashes in which nine Turkish citizens were killed.

Eric Cantor Appointed Investment Banker

Eric Cantor, former Republican congressman for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, and the majority whip, who aspired to be Speaker of the House, was elected to the board of directors of the global investment bank, Moelis & Company. Cantor will be based in New York office and will open an office in Washington. Cantor, who was the sole Jewish Republican in Congress, was the most senior Jewish lawmaker in U.S. history. He was defeated in his local primary by college professor, David Brat, a Tea Party candidate. Cantor will be getting $3.5 million as his starting salary. New York Magazine asked an investment banker if he qualifies to be managing director of an investment bank. The banker said it’s not what he knows about banking, it’s who he knows in the system and how to make it work for his employers. Quipped Jon Stewart, who noted that Cantor was a huge supporter of Wall Street’s point of view, “It’s not what he’s going to do, he’s being paid for what he’s already done.”

Russia to Deport Chabad Emissary in Omsk

JNS.org–Russian authorities are deporting Rabbi Asher Krichevsky, the Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in the southern Siberian city of Omsk since 2001. According to reports, Krichevsky has also recently been subjected to fines and warnings regarding unhygienic food storage practices at a kosher grocery store operating under his authority. Local news organizations reported that the reason for the rabbi’s deportation is an accusation of spying for Israel, but Russian authorities have not confirmed that claim. In a separate incident in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk–the scene of an ongoing conflict between pro-Ukrainians, pro-Russian rebels, and the Russian government–a Jewish man was killed on Friday. George (Eliyahu) Zilberbord, 47, was shot when retaliating against rebels who were trying to rob his neighbors’ house, the Ukrainian Jewish Committee and the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine said, according to the Jerusalem Post.