This week in power: Eilat shooting, Glenn Beck, Obama’s choice, Facebook

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

Eilat shooting and counter-attacks
A terrorist ” title=”http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/08/the-bus-to-eilat.html”>said Ruth Margalit at The New Yorker. “Now, after a period of relative calm, marked by Israelis’ newfound preoccupation with domestic and social concerns, there is a frightening sense yet again that the quiet was only an illusion.” Only further clouding the issue, ” title=”http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/18/2365414/hoping-for-winds-of-mideast-peace.html”>warned Frida Ghitis in the Miami Herald, as Palestinians seek their independence. “It’s a depressing and dangerous scenario, but it’s worth remembering that three years ago peace seemed within reach. In this era of unexpected changes, the wind could shift again.”

Glenn Beck’s rally
Glenn Beck hosted his much-publicized rally in Jerusalem on Wednesday with ” title=”http://forward.com/articles/141673/”>said Noam Sheizaf in The Jewish Daily Forward. ” Beck claims to stand by Israel but his views are similar to a small, extreme minority in this country.” But not everyone sees him that way. Beck’s “activism has shown up one of the greatest Jewish failures of our time: our crisis in identity and definition,” ” title=”http://blogs.news.sky.com/middleeastblog/Post:3f7f885a-46c1-46b6-a326-291d8342d5ec”>against him.

Obama picks Forman
The president ” title=”http://www.thejewishweek.com/blogs/political_insider/obamas_jewish_voice_speaks”>warned Douglas Bloomfield at The Jewish Week. And heading into election season, the issue of Israel is only becoming ever more ” title=”http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html”>New York Times op-ed that suggested the U.S. should heavily tax the wealthiest American citizens. “What do rich Jews think of Buffett’s analysis and his proposed solution?” ” title=”http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/08/rich-jews-for-tax-hikes”>responded an editor at the Future of Capitalism.

Facebook’s handling of Holocaust denial
A group is ” title=”http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/18/facebook-s-holocaust-denial-hate-speech-problem.html”>noted Lloyd Grove at The Daily Beast, who investigated how widespread the Holocaust hate speech is on the social-networking site. And, to no one’s surprise, he found a lot of it. What do we make of this?