This week in power: Rand Paul, Cuccinelli, Argentine soccer, Kapparot ban

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

Paul's standing
“Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), after tentative steps to reach out to the pro-Israel community including a trip to Israel, has now infuriated Christian and Jewish leaders alike,” ” target=”_blank”>asked Robert Wenzel at the Economic Policy Journal blog. “Isolationism may have taken root among some Tea Partiers, but it will be a hard sell for Paul to convince Evangelicals that he can be trusted to defend the U.S. against Islamists and to maintain an alliance with Israel that he has never been that enthusiastic about,” ” target=”_blank”>see or ” target=”_blank”>mused Jonathan Chait at New York magazine. “Oddly enough, the point of the event was for Cuccinelli to stand alongside far-right radio host Mark Levin. If anyone was going to say something outrageous and offensive, one would probably expect it to be Levin,” ” target=”_blank”>macaca moment.”

Compound blocked
Israeli troops took hold of the al-Aqsa mosque compound on Wednesday and stood in the way of Palestinian worshipers from accessing the area, ” target=”_blank”>expelled senior Fatah official Azzam Ahmed from the Temple Mount compound. “Had he told us that he was coming, we would have provided him with security and prevented the embarrassing incident,” one activist said.

Racist chants
The Argentine Football Association’s Disciplinary Court was ” target=”_blank”>face similar problems, enforcing decorum in the stands during matches.

Chickens protected
The California Department of Food and Agriculture ” target=”_blank”>not the only area cracking down either. Defenders of the practice say that there's no fear of hurting the chickens. “The birds don't mind at all– or if they do, no more than your dog minds having its paws inspected. To be blunt,  in exchange for us putting up with their chicken poop, they have to put up with our bullshit.  The key is no chickens are harmed in the marking of this teshuva, or repentence,”