This week in power: Iran, Protester, Gibson, Drake

A roundup of the most talked about political and global stories in the Jewish world this week:

Iran lingers
Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, ” title=”http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=266611″ target=”_blank”>suggested that Iran must be stopped in this generation. Tension continues to escalate as the world watches.

Soldier dismissed
Israel dismissed “on moral grounds” an officer who was the unwanted star of a YouTube video in which he struck an unarmed Danish activist with his gun, ” title=”http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1840023/pg1″ target=”_blank”>some on internet message boards defended the soldier’s actions. Israel ” title=”http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/fyi/new-generation-needs-to-revitalize-liberalism-zionism-147421795.html” target=”_blank”>said Donald Benham in the Winnepeg Free Press. “For liberal Jews such as Beinart, what is happening now is the worst of all possible worlds.” Some praised him for his stance. “Peter Beinart should be commended for a valiant and courageous project, continuing to do what he and many of us have been doing for the past twenty years,” ” title=”http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-crisis-of-peter-beinart/” target=”_blank”>he wrote.

Gibson’s back…or not
Remember that Judah Maccabee movie that Mel Gibson was working on? It might be tabled, ” title=”http://www.chicagonow.com/publius-forum/2012/04/suddenly-the-actor-is-a-reason-condemn-a-movie/” target=”_blank”>asked Warner Todd Huston at Chicago Now. “Separating from the entertainment the real-life actions of a moviemaker is exactly what the left claims is a desirable trait in a movie fan. Yet here they are condemning a movie precisely because of who is involved with it.” If they decide to go in a new direction, ” title=”http://www.mtv.ca/news/article.jhtml?id=41563″ target=”_blank”>as an MTV blogger put it. It even includes real footage for his fans to revel in. “While I am not yet ready to add Drake to my Jewish celebrity role model list, Drake is playing his role in the orchestra. Now it’s up to the rest of us in the Jewish community to do our part,” ” title=”http://www.timesofisrael.com/drake-video-sacred-or-profane/” target=”_blank”>said the synagogue president who lent his bimah for the fiasco. “Temple Israel does not adopt, condone, or sponsor any aspect of the Drake video, and was not involved in its production.”