This week in power: Ron Paul, Israeli policy, Beit Shemesh, TV station

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

Ron Paul under fire
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is getting support from ” title=”http://www.jewishjournal.com/rosnersdomain/item/jewish_voters_and_the_ron_paul_effect_20111223/” target=”_blank”>said Shmuel Rosner in the Jewish Journal. The bottom line is that “A great year for Paul might even give President Obama a chance to do better than he did in 2008 with Jewish voters.” But Paul could be good for Jews for the same reason he could be good for all Americans, ” title=”http://www.thejewishweek.com/blogs/political_insider/ron_paul_doesnt_hate_jews_just_israel_ex_aide” target=”_blank”>said Douglas Bloomfield in The Jewish Week.

Controversial firing
The Truman National Security Project let go former AIPAC spokesman Josh Block after he attacked several progressives. “Block had sent out an email to a neoconservative listserv in which he said, referring to writers at the Center for American Progress and Media Matters, ‘These are the words of anti-Semites, not Democratic political players.’ That was further than Block had gone publicly and it was a particularly serious charge; he also urged journalists on the listerv to ‘amplify’ the attacks,” ” title=”http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/12/progressives-and-israel” target=”_blank”>back and ” title=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/27/naama-margolese_n_1170655.html” target=”_blank”>taken this week by the story of 8-year-old Naama Margolese who says that on her way to school in Beit Shemesh she has encountered ultra-Orthodox extremists who have spat on her. “When I walk to school in the morning I used to get a tummy ache because I was so scared … that they were going to stand and start yelling and spitting,” she told the Associated Press. “They were scary. They don’t want us to go to the school.” “Underneath the clothes, they are no different from any other group of testosterone-poisoned bullies, weak and mean of spirit, wary of exposure, hiding unspeakable urges behind terrible acts,” ” title=”http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/blogs.detail/display/742/The-problem-with-fanatics–8-year-old-Israeli-girl-jeered-at-by-ultra-Orthodox-Jews-on-her-way-to-school.html” target=”_blank”>said Andrea Johnson in the Minot Daily News.

TV station’s last legs?
Israel Channel 10 is “fighting for its life,” ” title=”http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/12/ny_times_to_the_rescue_of_a_netanyahu_foe.html” target=”_blank”>sees it differently, though: This is part of an “all-out New York Times campaign against conservative, right-of-center institutions – whether in the U.S. or in Israel.  For example, since Rupert Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal and turned it into a successful competitor to the Times, the Sulzbergers have gone after him, milking every jot and tittle of a hacking scandal at a Murdoch-owned British tabloid.  There’s still plenty of pugnacity in the Old Lady.” He continued: “The left, including the Times, is determined to retain command of cultural and media agendas.  It’s ready to use every trick of the trade against right-leaning actors – whether it’s Murdoch in the New York press wars or Netanyahu allies when they push back against Israel’s dominant left.”

Hottest Jewish women
Complex.com unveiled this week its ” title=”http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/148668/” target=”_blank”>said Naomi Zeveloff at The Jewish Daily Forward. “By discarding old stereotypes and simultaneously setting Jewish women apart, Complex.com is telling men to pay attention to Jewish women just because they’re Jewish.” Yet some were pleased with the list anyway. “Although there are some converts, there’s a smorgasbord of hotness in that list,”