Scarlett Johansson condemned a viral AI-generated video that used her likeness and those of other Jewish celebrities to depict them giving the middle finger to Kanye West. “I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism,” she said, but warned, “We must call out the misuse of A.I., no matter the messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.” (People Magazine)

Deborah Lipstadt, whom President Joe Biden named the U.S. State Department’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, will step down. President Donald J. Trump has not yet named a successor to Lipstadt, one of the world’s foremost scholars of the Holocaust and antisemitism. “She brought expertise, gravitas, and determination to the role,” said Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. In as related item, an ADL global survey found that 46 percent of the world’s adults harbor antisemitic attitudes, prompting Greenblatt’s assessment that “antisemitism is nothing short of a global emergency.”

President Trump reportedly is eyeing  Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, former Democratic Assemblyman Dov Hikind, and social media influencer Lizzy Savetsky.

Robert Spitzer of Mercer Island, WA, was elected president of B’nai B’rith International by the organization’s International Board of Governors. Spitzer immediately begins a three-year term, leading the world’s oldest and most widely known Jewish humanitarian, human rights and advocacy organizations.

As president, Spitzer plans to enhance grassroots engagement and continue to address rising antisemitism and the organization’s support for Israel.

U.S. Senate Democrats have re-elected Chuck Schumer, currently the highest ranking Jew in the history of American politics, to be their leader when they become the minority party in the upcoming Trump administration.

Sara Funaro was elected the mayor of Florence, Italy, and has been serving in the position since June 2024. She is the first woman and first Jew to serve in the role.

Funaro campaigned under the slogan “Florence in the plural – Many ideas, one city.” Her 89-page platform focused on fostering equality, security, sustainability and welfare, including proposals such as a minimum wage for city employees, keeping public daycares and elementary schools open until 6:30 p.m. to help parents, stationing police in a public park with high crime rates, and increasing the number of affordable apartments in the city.

President-elect Donald Trump has announced the appointment of two prominent Jewish allies to major positions in his incoming administration.

Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman elected to serve New York’s 1^st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2023, has been named to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. He has vowed to remove barriers to fossil fuel production, advocate for U.S. energy dominance, and explore the development of artificial intelligence within the EPA’s operations.

          Stephen Miller is to become deputy chief of staff. In the first Trump administration, Miller played a pivotal role in shaping Trump’s immigration policies, and is expected to continue his hardline approach for deportations and immigration restrictions.

In a related move, Mike Huckabee, a Southern Baptist pastor and former Arkansas governor, has been named by Mr. Trump as the next ambassador to Israel. Mr. Huckabee, who is not Jewish, backed the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and has worked to fight attempts by the BDS movement to isolate Israel.