Scientist Challenges David Sinclair’s Best-Selling Book on Aging

 https://www.nad.com/news/charles-brenner-critiques-david-sinclairs-best-selling-book-on-aging

Pointing out two questions on the back cover of Lifespan, Brenner answers them. The first is “is aging a disease?” Brenner’s answer is that aging is a risk factor for many diseases, but aging is not a disease itself. He follows by saying that the most powerful genetic mutations to extend lifespan in animal models have been in genes that control growth, establishing that growth and development are intricately linked with aging, suggesting that aging is inevitable. 

“Is aging treatable?” Yes, says Brenner, in the sense that genes can be modified to change the rate of aging. He says, however, that it is easier to accelerate aging — by doing things like smoking or becoming overweight — than it is to slow aging. He then comments on well-known studies showing that caloric restriction (consuming fewer calories) extends the lifespan of mice. These studies suggest that fasting can treat aging, but Brenner disagrees with their framing, saying, “Caloric restriction extends animal lifespan when compared to caged animals with constant access to food. However, it is more accurate to say that unrestricted access to food is a life-shortening condition that is unlike conditions in the wild to which animals are adapted.” 

A Science-Based Review of the World’s Best-Selling Book on Aging

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9669175/

Members of the general public and investment community have caught the longevity bug and appear to believe that major breakthroughs have been made in extending human lifespan

Lifespan, a book by Harvard scientist David Sinclair, has become an influential source of misinformation on longevity, featuring counterfactual claims about longevity genes being conserved between yeast and humans, the existence of supposed activators of these genes, and claimed successful age reversal in mice based on partial reprogramming

The book has popularized a stack of drugs and supplements with significant potential to harm the general public

The reviewer suggests that scientists and physicians emphasize to the general public that aging is known to be a highly polygenic developmental process and that the most important things that people can do to age better are to maintain high physical and mental activity

IDF rejects ‘baseless’ claim it dug mass graves at Gaza hospital; analysts also doubt charge

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-rejects-baseless-claim-it-dug-mass-graves-at-gaza-hospital-analysts-also-doubt-charge/

Hamas officials in Gaza claimed on Saturday to discover a mass grave with more than 200 bodies at a hospital in Khan Younis that was recently the target of a military raid.

The officials claimed the dead were buried in a mass grave by Israeli forces, but evidence suggested this claim was false, with the bodies having previously been buried at that same location by Palestinians amid the fighting between Israeli forces and terror operatives in the area.

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday rejected Hamas’s allegation as “baseless.”

It said forces searching for Israeli hostages had examined bodies previously buried by Palestinians near Nasser Hospital and had returned the bodies to where they were buried after they were examined.

It has been documented that Palestinians buried their dead at the hospital grounds both before and while Israeli troops operated in the area.

Trump Is Flat-Out Lying About Having the ‘Most Secure Border in History’ as President

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-is-flat-out-lying-about-having-the-most-secure-border-in-history-as-president

In a Jan. 8, 2019, address to the nation, Trump described the border under his watch as a “crisis,” and pleaded with Congress to pass most of the exact same proposals that were in the bipartisan border bill in the Senate that was negotiated by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) with Democrats earlier this year, but ultimately rejected by Republicans.

Dershowitz: Trump 'can call me crazy American Jew,' but he may vote for Biden

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syzzmdqxc 

Dershowitz said that, despite his criticism of the current president, he may vote for Biden in the November elections and rejected Trump's description of any Jew that would vote for the president as crazy. "If he wants to call me a crazy American Jew, that's fine," he concluded.

Terrorist who murdered Jewish shepherd is arrested

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/388892

On Sunday night, the ISA, Israel Police, and IDF arrested Ahmad Dawabshe, the terrorist who murdered Binyamin Achimeir, a Jewish shepherd, in a bloody and brutal terror attack last week.

How to Wish "Happy Passover"

 https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/3584633/jewish/How-to-Wish-Happy-Passover.htm#:~:text=But%20what%20to%20say%3F,sah-MAY-ach).

The traditional Ashkenazic greeting is “gut yom tov” (with “u” as in “put”). “Yom tov,” which literally means “good day” in Hebrew, denotes a holiday. In Yiddish, it is normally mangled into something that sounds more like “YON-tiff.” Thus, the greeting can sound like “gut YON-tiff” or even “gutJONtiff.” (Translated into English, the “gut yom tov” greeting is strangely redundant, meaning “good good day.”)

Sephardic Jews prefer the biblical term for a festival, “chag.” Thus, when wishing someone a joyous festival, they say “chag same’ach” (pronounced CHAG sah-MAY-ach). This greeting has its roots in the Torah, where forms of these two words are used in the commandment to rejoice on the festivals.1

Now, not all holidays are considered equal. The intermediate festival days of lesser sanctity, when many of the work restrictions are relaxed, are called Chol Hamoed. On those days, the traditional Ashkenazic greeting is “gut mo’ed” (or “gut MOY-ed”), and Sephardim say “mo’adim l’simchah,” to which some respond “chagim u’zemanim l’sason.” (As before, the Sephardic salutation has liturgical roots; these phrases are lifted straight from the holiday kiddush.)

If you want to greet someone, but are not sure what to say, just let the other person greet you first, and then repeat the greeting. Works every time.

Lastly, have you ever wondered what to wish people after Passover has ended? The traditional Yiddish Post-Passover greeting is for “a gezuntn zumer,” a healthy summer.

NYC Mayor on Columbia protests: 'We will not be a city of lawlessness'

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-798189

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he is “horrified and disgusted” with the antisemitism being spewed at and around Columbia University’s campus, according to a statement from the mayor’s office on Sunday night. 

Adams said he condemns the hate speech heard during the protests such as a woman who yelled ‘We are Hamas’ and another woman who held a sign with an arrow pointing to Jewish students stating ‘Al-Qasam’s Next Targets.’

Adams said supporting an organization that threatens to kill Jews is “sickening and despicable.”

‘Antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous’: White House responds to chaos at Columbia

 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/21/chaos-columbia-jewish-moskowitz-santos-white-house-00153545

“Silence is complicity,” Biden’s statement read. “Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous — and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.”

Biden denounces antisemitism in Passover message: Reprehensible and dangerous

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/388878

“My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad. My Administration is working around the clock to free the hostages, and we will not rest until we bring them home. We are also working to establish an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza as a part of a deal that releases the hostages and delivers desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. We will continue to work toward a two-state solution that provides equal security, prosperity, and enduring peace for Israelis and Palestinians. And we are leading international efforts to ensure Israel can defend itself against Iran and its proxies, including by directing the U.S. military to help defend Israel against Iran’s unprecedented attacks last weekend.”

Infected houses never happened?

 The Netziv notes that we have the famous statement of the Rashby that houses were infected as a present from G-d to reveal the hidden treasures and we have the contrary statement from his son that there never was an infected house

He concludes that this halacha is actually concerned with describing the proper foundation of a Jewish home, the Caanites were merchants who as a class are prone to lashon harah, slander etc etc - as opposed to farmers. So their houses were built on immoral foundation also on idolatry. The halacha advises removing (when possible) the moral decay and replacing it with a holy foundation. However sometimes the structure needs to be totally replaced. That is why only a cohen can decided whether the infection is impure and not a talmid chachom

Interestingly the Rambam also says it is a miraculous sign indicating spiritual impurity

Number of people seeking conversion to Judaism surges amid Gaza war

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sknsriqgc?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=internal

In the aftermath of these developments, a notable number of Israelis, including a substantial portion of the roughly 560,000 "unaffiliated" people in the country, reported feeling a deeper affinity to their Jewish heritage and traditions. A significant segment of this secular population, who identify as Jews but aren't recognized as such by Halacha, initiated a conversion process.

Israel aghast as US said poised to sanction IDF unit with history of abuses

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-aghast-as-us-said-poised-to-sanction-notorious-idf-unit-netanyahu-a-moral-low/

Centrist war cabinet minister Benny Gantz joined the criticism, saying the infantry unit was “an integral part of the IDF” and was bound by military and international law. He added that Israel has “strong and independent” courts capable of dealing with alleged violations.

“We have great respect for our American friends, but imposing sanctions on the unit is a dangerous precedent and sends the wrong message to our shared enemies at a time of war,” Gantz said, while pledging to “take action so this decision does not pass.”

The US is expected to announce sanctions against IDF unit for human rights abuses

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-798035

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to announce sanctions against the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion in the next few days, according to three American sources.  

The sanctions are a result of human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank. 

This will be the first time that the United States government has imposed sanctions on an Israeli military unit for its activities in the West Bank.