VOTE FOR ERIK — Kansas City native Erik Claster hopes to be the first Israeli dog sled participant. He is vying to compete in Fjällräven Polar, an Iditarod-type competition in the Scandinavian Artic.
Fjällräven Polar is an approximately 300-kilometer-long winter adventure across the arctic tundra. The participants will steer a dog sled all the way from Signaldalen, Norway, to the forests around Jukkasjärvi, Swedish Lappland.
About half of the participants will be selected by vote via the internet, where they have posted applications — including Claster — and are competing by country for places. The remaining participants will be selected by Fjällräven, a Swedish company that develops products to make it easier for people to enjoy nature.
The 36-year-old Claster now lives in the West Bank town of Efrat, where, as you can imagine, there is no dog sledding. He is quoted in the Times of Israel saying he’s “always had a penchant for adventure and crazy ideas.” Voting only takes place on Facebook. Go to http://polar.fjallraven.com/contestant/?id=950 or search Fjällräven Polar and you should be able to get to the voting site. Voting ends Dec. 15.
JEWISH SCREENWRITER’S FILM TO DEBUT ON NETFLIX — Are you a science fiction fan? If so, you’ll want to catch “Spectral,” a film debuting on Netflix tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 9. The film is based on a story by Ian Fried, the nephew of Ed and Sandi Fried, and Nic Mathieu. Mathieu also directs it. The Legendary Pictures-produced action sci-fi film stars James Badge Dale, Emily Mortimer and Bruce Greenwood. It’s about a brilliant DARPA scientist embarking on a deadly mission with a Special Ops team of Delta Force soldiers into a battle-scarred, war-torn city, where mysterious phantom aggressors code-named Spectral have been causing inexplicable civilian deaths.
MISCONCEPTION TO OPEN HIP HOP SHOW — Conscious hip hop lyricists MissConception and Kosha Dillz will be performing at 8 p.m. Friday night, Dec. 9, at The Riot Room. Sara Glass, aka: MissConception is a local Kansas City rapper and spoken word poet, and will be opening the show that features a slew of talented hip hop artists, including Kosha Dillz. Kosha Dillz is an international Jewish rapper based out of LA, with witty slick rhymes and catchy phrases. Both have performed together before in Kansas City. Other lyricists on the lineup include headliner Kool Keith and supporting artists Mad Marlon, FAROUT, KB & CoolLad of BluntRap and DJ support from NMEZEE. The show is for 21-plus and tickets are $12 if you buy them beforehand. Contact Sara Glass for tickets at: or by phone at 913-634-6572.
ONLINE PETITION CALLS ON TRUMP TO MOVE U.S. EMBASSY TO JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Orthodox Union has started an online petition calling on President-elect Donald Trump to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
The move would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s “chosen capital,” the O.U. petition on Change.org says. It also notes that June 2017 will mark the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.
Trump pledged during the 2016 campaign to move the embassy to Jerusalem.
On Monday morning, the petition by the umbrella group for Orthodox synagogues and organizations had more than 1,200 signers out of a goal of 1,500.
“Early in your presidency will be a fitting, if overdue, time for you, President-Elect Donald Trump, to relocate the American embassy in Israel to the capital of the Jewish state,” the petition to be sent to Trump concludes.
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama signed a waiver to prevent moving the embassy to Jerusalem. It was the eighth time that Obama signed the waiver, which must be renewed every six months.
Congress passed a law in 1995 mandating the move of the embassy to Jerusalem, but allowed the president to exercise a waiver, citing the national security interests of the United States. Obama’s predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton also signed the waiver.