Need to Know for Aug. 21

August 21, 2018 JMORE Staff

A view of the head offices of SodaStream, an Israeli maker in the city of Lod, southeast of Tel Aviv. (Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images)

Temple Oheb Shalom, Baltimore Co. Executive candidates, the search for police commissioner and SodaStream

Rabbi Fink suspended for ethics violations

According to a statement released to the media on Aug. 20, the board of directors of Temple Oheb Shalom learned on Aug. 17, that the Ethics Committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis voted to suspend the congregation’s spiritual leader Rabbi Steven M. Fink for “multiple violations of its ethics code.” CCAR initiated an investigation of the rabbi in May following “an improper incident of a sexual nature that may have occurred a number of years ago involving Rabbi Fink and a then teenager, who was a minor at the time,” according to a letter sent to congregants by the board of Oheb Shalom. Following the vote by CCAR, the synagogue’s media statement said “Temple Oheb Shalom takes seriously the CCAR’s findings and decision to suspend Rabbi Fink from the CCAR. We have said from the beginning that we would await the conclusion of that process to determine next steps and our Board will convene in the coming days for that purpose.”

Baltimore County Executive candidates: John “Johnny O” Olszewski Jr. (left) and Alfred W. Redmer Jr. (Handout photos)

Catching Up with Candidates for Baltimore County Executive

In Baltimore County, registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1. But Alfred W. Redmer Jr., the Republican nominee for county executive, is hopeful that he can connect with voters of all parties and backgrounds, and follow the lead of his GOP ally, Gov. Larry Hogan. Redmer serves as Maryland insurance commissioner in the Hogan administration and is a former state delegate, representing the 8th District. If elected, Redmer, 62, would become the first Republican Baltimore County executive since Roger B. Hayden, who served in that position from 1990-1994. Meanwhile, his rival, Democratic candidate John A. Olszewski Jr., is a former classroom teacher, member of the House of Delegates (6th District) and software executive. Olszewski, 35, known around the county as “Johnny O,” espouses progressive policies that are similar to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous. Currently, the interim Baltimore County Executive is Donald I. Mohler, who is serving in that capacity due to the sudden death last May of Baltimore County Executive Kevin B. Kamenetz.

Baltimore needs a new police commissioner

Baltimore’s alleged leaders search once again for a police commissioner to guide the city out of its homicidal wilderness. The weekend’s body count is three dead, eight injured. In the modern parlance, this is known as a slow weekend, Michael Olesker writes. The next police commissioner will be the city’s third in three years. The next person killed in the city will be the 29th this month, the seventh in the past week, the 186th this year. And homicides are only a piece of the problem. Leadership comes from the top, but disgrace comes from many sources, including a newly-circulated viral video showing a city cop fracturing a man’s jaw and ribs. This follows convictions of eight members of the Gun Trace Task Force on racketeering charges, and Justice Department charges of routine discriminatory and unconstitutional policing. And all of this is only part of the problem. As the city reviews a reported 20 applicants from around the country to fill the vacated commissioner’s job here, this department has fallen into a funk. It’s been there since the death of Freddie Gray and the street outrage that followed. There are police who still believe the department got a bad rap in that case, that police work isn’t patty-cake, and that their efforts are overly scrutinized and easily penalized. The next commissioner will have to deal with all of the routine police business that comes with the job. But there’s an emotional element at play here, too. How do you convince several thousand officers that their work is vital, that they aren’t — as many believe — routinely guilty until proven innocent?

White House fires staffer who hobnobbed with white nationalists

The White House has fired a policy aide and speechwriter with ties to white nationalists after reporters began asking questions about his employment. According to CNN, Darren Beattie, a former professor and immigration hardliner, was fired after reporter Andrew Kaczynski asked about his attendance at the 2016 H.L. Mencken Club Conference at which he delivered a speech. White nationalist figures such as Richard Spencer, John Derbyshire and Robert Weissberg frequently attend the Mencken Club Conference. “In 2016 I attended the Mencken conference in question and delivered a stand-alone, academic talk titled ‘The Intelligentsia and the Right.’ I said nothing objectionable and stand by my remarks completely,” Beattie told CNN. “It was the honor of my life to serve in the Trump Administration. I love President Trump, who is a fearless American hero, and continue to support him 100 percent. I have no further comment.”

PepsiCo to acquire Israel’s SodaStream for $3.2B

PepsiCo will acquire the Israeli home soda maker manufacturer SodaStream for $3.2 billion, the soft drink giant said Aug. 20. PepsiCo plans to maintain the Israeli company’s current base of operations in the Negev. SodaStream will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary. The American multinational agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of SodaStream International Ltd. for $144 per share. “PepsiCo and SodaStream are an inspired match,” PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said in a statement. SodaStream, which manufactures home carbonation machines that work with its own line of soda flavorings, has long been a target of advocates of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel because it was based in the West Bank. In October 2014, SodaStream announced it would close its Mishor Adumim industrial park factory and move to southern Israel in the face of international pressure from the BDS movement, which seeks to hurt Israel’s economy over its policies toward the Palestinians. The movement claimed that SodaStream discriminated against Palestinian workers and paid some less than Israeli workers.

Scarlett Johansson, Gal Gadot, Mila Kunis make Forbes’ list

Scarlett Johansson had a great year, and the numbers prove it. The Jewish star is the highest-paid actress of 2018, according to Forbes. She earned a pretax amount of $40.5 million between June 2017 and June 2018, according to the report released on Aug. 16. Johansson, who has a Jewish mother, did not make the Forbes list last year, but she ranked third in 2016. This past year she starred in films such as “Avengers: Infinity War” and the indie flick “Isle of Dogs.” The Forbes list includes off-screen earnings, such as money earned through advertising campaigns, in its numbers. Mila Kunis, also Jewish, placed sixth on the list with earnings of $16 million. Last year, Kunis placed at number five in the Forbes ranking. Israeli star Gal Gadot was the first newcomer on the list, named the 10th-highest-paid with $10 million in earnings. Gadot’s role as Wonder Woman has rocketed her to fame and acclaim around the world. Other (non-Jewish) actresses on the list include Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lawrence and Reese Witherspoon.–JTA

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