This week in power: Tent City, Debt deal, Norway aftermath, Alan Gross

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

The politics of Tent City
It’s perhaps strange to see a protest in Israel fueled by economic issues,and not political ones. But that’s the case for the quarter-million Israelis protesting the high cost of housing. “Now, it is focusing on the economy and society, it does not distinguish between right and left, it addresses broad interests, not specific ones,” ” title=”http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-oz-israel-tents-protests-20110809,0,3113566.story” target=”_blank”>said Amos Oz in the Los Angeles Times. “The heart of this protest is the affront and outrage over the government’s indifference to the people’s suffering, the double standard against the working population and the destruction of social solidarity.” And they could have real ” title=”http://forward.com/articles/140878/” target=”_blank”>reported The Jewish Daily Forward, how they will continue to fund hospitals, nursing homes, and other services after federal cuts. We don’t yet know where the cuts will come, but they could hit anywhere from “elderly care to environmental issues to democracy promotion overseas,” ” title=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dovid-efune/jews-debt-bill_b_917804.html” target=”_blank”>said Dovid Efune at The Huffington Post. But let’s hold firm, ” title=”http://www.newsinenglish.no/2011/08/08/calls-to-tackle-racism-after-attacks/” target=”_blank”>debate goes on over racism and multiculturalism inside the country and in greater Europe. “All of the Western European racist and fascist parties have moved away from using overt racism to win greater support. Instead they concentrate on issues such as nation and identity, ” title=”http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20110807rp.html” target=”_blank”>The Japan Times. “Merkel, Sarkozy, Cameron, the Tea Party in the U.S. and similar intolerant and confrontationalist pressure groups in the Western world are all coming from the same place: a gross misunderstanding of what makes up their own identity today.” Which is why we must not make this exclusively about Anders Behring Breivik’s mentality, ” title=”http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-06/news/29859324_1_havana-ruling-tiny-jewish-community” target=”_blank”>according to reports. It means Alan Gross, a Jewish 62-year-old Maryland native, has no more chances at freedom through the courts system. “Only in Cuba would this otherwise benign act be characterized as subversion and the hapless individual caught in a trap labeled a spy,” ” title=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/alan-gross-castro-and-obama/2011/03/29/gIQAFuXg0I_blog.html” target=”_blank”>The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin criticized Obama over the ruling: “As with the economy, Obama’s weakness and lack of realism in foreign policy reveal how underqualified and inept the president is. There is just so much Congress can do in the realm of foreign affairs.” Obama must negotiate a way out, ” title=”http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/calamity+Orthodox+Jews+little+known+holiday+time+sombre+reflection/5224037/story.html?cid=megadrop_story” target=”_blank”>said the Ottawa Citizen. With calls for ” title=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-rachel-kahntroster/stories-of-loss-and-chaos_b_918150.html” target=”_blank”>said Rachel Kahn-Troster at The Huffington Post. “Even the official story is still open. As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, may we have the wisdom to hear other, competing stories with hearts of chesed.” Lessons of the past still resonate,