The new Temple of Solomon… in Sao Paulo

From Brazilian billionaires to a different kind of debate – we’ve got it all here in our round-up of world Jewish news – dated 11 Aug.

Argentina

Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim performed a free outdoor ‘peace concert’ in Argentina, where he grew up, with an orchestra featuring Israeli and Arab musicians. ‘The musicians have relatives on both sides, killing each other, but despite this they have not cancelled their participation,’ he said. ‘This is a gesture for peace.’

United States

Organisers of the new ‘Naughty Jewish Boys Calendar,’ in which American Jewish men pose with little or no clothing, say interest in the project has had interest from both men and women. With two versions in production – regular and extra-naughty – those behind the idea say what started as a joke quickly ‘went viral’.

Thailand

Three Jewish boys competing in the World Debating Championships in Thailand have received threats after posting a photo of themselves wearing the Palestinian headscarf, the keffiyeh. The students, from South Africa, said it was ‘to show our opposition to the human rights violations against the people of Palestine.’

Brazil

A Brazilian billionaire preacher has inaugurated a $300 million Sao Paulo church (pictured, right) designed to replicate the Temple of Solomon. The 11-story building is twice the size of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue and is complete with stone from Israel, huge indoor menorahs and a helipad for its founder, Edir Macedo.

South Africa

A Chasidic rabbi accused of sexually abusing girls in Israel has escaped arrest in Johannesburg and Orthodox bundled him into a backroom as police moved in on a prayer meeting. Rabbi Eliezer Berland, the leader of Breslov’s Shuvu Banim sect, fled Israel two years ago and has been on the run ever since.

United States

A 5ft 10in Jewish woman with purple hair who converted from Catholicism has won a $20,000 cookery competition with a pork dish, despite being unable to try it. Tanya Solomon, known in San Francisco as the ‘kosher queen,’ first became interested in Judaism and kashrut after working as a nanny for a Jewish family.