President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his call for Russia to be allowed to rejoin the Group of Seven industrial nations, saying it’s “more appropriate to have Russia in.”
Trump was speaking with reporters in the Oval Office days before he is set to arrive in France for this weekend’s G-7 summit.
“I guess President Obama, because Putin outsmarted him – President Obama thought it wasn’t a good thing to have Russia in, so he wanted Russia out,” Trump said, referring to his predecessor’s push for a united stand against Russia after it annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region. “But I think it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in.”
He added that “if somebody would make that motion, I would certainly be disposed to think about it very favorably.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who’s running for the Democratic nomination for president, responded to President Trump’s Tuesday remarks that Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats are showing a “lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
“I am a proud Jewish person, and I have no concerns about voting Democratic,” Sanders said to a cheering crowd Tuesday night at a Sioux City, Iowa, rally.
“And in fact, I intend to vote for a Jewish man to become the next president of the United States,” he added.
Sanders’s comments come just hours after Trump told reporters, “I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that he would look into an alleged corruption saga that has reportedly been holding up the construction of a shul in the city of Uman for more than a decade.
Zelensky’s remarks came during a meeting with Duvi Honig, founder and CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, shortly before the president held his first-ever meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials.
The saga began more than 10 years ago, when Israeli businessman Yisrael Elhadad acquired a large parcel of land in Uman, near the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the founder of the Breslov Chassidic movement.

 A 30-year-old suspect in the July 28 synagogue shooting in Miami-Dade County has been arrested, the Miami-Dade Police Department reported on Tuesday night, Local10.com reports.
The gunman, police officers identified as Carlints St. Louis, was in a black Chevrolet Impala when he stopped in front of Young Israel of North Miami Beach and fired his weapon. St. Louis, of Hallandale Beach, is a Hertz Rent A Car employee, and he was arrested at shopping mall in North Miami Beach, according to the arrest form.

The year is 2030.
You’ve arrived at your elderly mother’s home to pay her a visit with your chubby toddler in tow. After several minutes of watching the giggling tot crawl across the carpet, your mom decides she can’t wait any longer – she needs to feel the squishy ball of human jello in her arms.
As she bends over at the waist, her arms outstretched, you panic, suddenly remembering that she has a bad back. Just then, as her body appears ready to topple forward, a mechanical appendage uncoils from beneath her dress and stiffens behind her like a wooden plank, steadying her from a fall.
You quickly relax, wondering how you could’ve been so forgetful.
Your mother has a tail.

The Israeli government wants to see local food retailers use more packaging. On Sunday, Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced it would award one supermarket chain an NIS 9.5 million (approximately $2.6 million) grant, as part of a pilot program that would see food retailers pre-package produce.

Rav Levi Yitzchak (ben Baruch Schneur) Schneerson (1878-1944). Born to the oldest of the seven sons of the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rav Menachem Mendel (the Tzemach Tzedek). He was a devoted chasid of Rav Shalom Dov Ber Schneerson, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe (the Rebbe Rashab). After the Rebbe Rashab passed away, Rav Levi Yitzchak became equally dedicated to his successor, Rav Yosef Yitzchak (the Rebbe Rayatz). Rav Levi Yitzchak and his wife, Rebbitzen Chana had three sons. The oldest, Rav Menachem Mendel, became the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe. Rav Levi Yitzchak was Chief Rabbi of the major Ukrainian city Yekaterinoslav (today called Dniepropetrovsk) until his arrest and exile.

Hamas will escalate hostilities along the Gaza Israel border on Friday, unless Israel allows the transfer of monthly financial aid from Qatar to the Gaza Strip and increases the electricity supply to the coastal enclave by then, a senior Hamas official told Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar on Monday.
According to the Hamas official, Hamas was once again calling on Egyptian, Qatari and U.N. mediators to pressure Israel to implement its ceasefire understandings with the terrorist organization. The matter was urgent, the official said, due to the “seething atmosphere in Gaza,” which could lead to the renewal of “independent acts” and attempts to infiltrate Israel.

Bahrain announced on Monday that it would join the US-led efforts to protect shipping in the Gulf after Iranian aggressive and violent behavior in the area.
Bahrain King Hamad met with US Central Command (CENTCOM) head Gen. Kenneth McKenzie.
“The king confirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s participation in the joint effort to preserve the safety of international maritime navigation and secure international corridors for trade and energy in the region,” the Bahraini News Agency reported.
Some other Middle Eastern states are in talks with the United States to join the coalition in the Gulf with one source, telling The National that it’s seeking more details about the mission.

Trump says Rep. Ilhan Omar is a ‘disaster’ for Jewish people in her district during an angry tirade against the four progressive Congresswomen.
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