This week in power: New congress, Jerusalem fight, Chanukah message, Punk Jews

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

Familiar faces leaving
“The Jewish religion is the third most represented denomination in Congress, trailing behind the Protestants and the Catholics, but since 2008, the numbers of Jews serving have been declining,” ” target=”_blank”>one pundit told JTA. “They are being replaced by a post-1967 generation who know not a threatened Israel, a vulnerable Israel — who know a muscular Israel.” One representative many ” target=”_blank”>took to the Wall Street Journal with an op-ed this week that stated: “Jerusalem has been and forever will be the heart and soul of the Jewish people. It is also the united and undivided capital of the state of Israel. The Jewish people and the Jewish state have a bumpy road ahead. We appreciate the support of our friends, and only through continued bold leadership at home—leadership willing to stand up to pressure from foreign capitals—will we get through this challenging time.” It came after weeks of criticism of Israel over how it was handling settlements in East Jerusalem. Their plan “threatens to box Palestinians who live in East Jerusalem, which they hope to make their capital, into a sealed-off enclave, impeding connections to the rest of the fledgling state of Palestine and bisecting the northern and southern halves,” ” target=”_blank”>sent an e-mail to their members recently in support of “the recent vote by the United Nations to upgrade the status of Palestinians living on the West Bank to a 'non-member observer state.” Once word got out, some wondered whether rabbis should be taken such a strong outward stance on this heated issue. “My rabbinic colleagues across our nation share diverse positions on the Arab-Israeli struggle.  I respect this diversity because we are nearly all unified by our profound devotion to the Jewish state, the Israel Defense Force, and all of its citizens,” ” target=”_blank”>said Hilary Leila Krieger in a New York Times editorial. “The brutality of the region has leached into Israel and is reflected in the ongoing disaster of the occupation. Israel ought to fix it, now. That, to me, is the true meaning of Hanukkah,” ” target=”_blank”>said some Huffington Post bloggers.

What punks
A new documentary called “Punk Jews” is ” target=”_blank”>New Yorker article about the filmmakers. Some have taken an inspiring message from the film. “The temple in Jerusalem had been defiled by Hellenists, who tried, as many have before and after them, to eliminate the Jewish people through dominance and assimilation. The rededication of the temple was a punk act; we were fighting for our homes, our lifestyle and our beliefs,”