Mineral Leader, Majority Leader

Moshe Kantor: “the Boss”

Majority Leader Eric Cantor

Recently named one of the world’s most influential Jews, Moshe Kantor (b. 1953) serves as president of the European Jewish Congress and World Holocaust Forum. The owner of Akron, one of the world’s largest chemical producers, he is on Forbes’ list of self-made billionaires. Meanwhile, Eric Cantor (b. 1963) is the current House Majority Leader in the U.S. Congress, making him the highest-ranking Jew in American political history. He’s been representing Virginia for over 10 years, and in recent months has pushed a bill to cut all aid to the Palestinian Authority. He is marked as a potential vice-president in next year’s elections. He’s already been shot at.

Words of the Week

If one walnut is removed from a pile, each and every other nut is shaken and disturbed. So too, when a single Jew is in distress, every other Jew is shaken.
– Midrash Shir HaShirim Raba 6:11

This Week in History

July 15, 1834: the Spanish Inquisition is abolished by the Queen Mother Maria Christina. However, practicing Judaism in Spain was still officially forbidden until 1967.