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A Jewish governor needed a Hebrew Bible to be sworn in. Jewish educators came to his rescue.
(JTA) — A conference of Jewish educators became first responders of sorts when Colorado Gov. Jared Polis had an emergency: The Jewish Democrat was about to be sworn in for a second term and he couldn’t find his Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible.
It ended well — “when looking for a Tanakh, there’s never one too far away,” a Polis spokeswoman said later — but for a while it was fraught. With 30 minutes to swearing-in, folks attending Tuesday’s inauguration for Polis, Colorado’s first Jewish governor, put out frantic calls to Denver’s Jewish community.
David Foster, a politically involved lawyer attending the swearing-in, texted Emily Hyatt, the associate rabbi at the city’s Temple Emanuel, where Foster’s father, Steven, is rabbi emeritus. Hyatt was lunching at a Jewish deli, Zaidy’s, with the Temple’s cantor, Elizabeth Sacks.
It occurred to Hyatt that there was a hotel packed with Tanakh-toting folks just two blocks from the Capitol, where Polis was to be sworn in. She texted Avi Halzel, who heads the Denver Jewish Day School and who was attending the annual national conference of Prizmah, a network of Jewish day schools.
Halzel approached Paul Bernstein, the Prizmah CEO, who immediately went into process-of-elimination calculations: Who at the conference was present at the hotel over Shabbat? (Those conference-goers were likelier to have the entire Hebrew Bible, which is necessary for Shabbat services, than those who attended only on weekdays.)
“We quietly went around some of the participants who might have a Tanakh,” Bernstein said in an interview.
Halzel realized a more obvious answer lay in the vendor at the Mesorah Publications booth. Halzel secured a Tanakh (the Stone edition) from the vendor.
“I figured, what what is the fastest way I can get a hold of a Tanakh?” Halzel said in an interview. Walking over to the booth, Halzel wondered if he could adequately explain the dilemma to the vendor in time to get the bible to the governor. “He immediately just smiled at me,” Halzel said. “I mean, it’s the kind of story that’s too crazy to not be true. And so he just turned around, grabbed a Tanakh, and handed it to me.”
“I dashed to my car, drove to the Capitol building, got clearance from security, and finally delivered the Tanakh to a member of the Governor’s staff–just seconds before he was sworn into office,” Halzel said in a post on the Denver Jewish Day School Instagram feed.
“We are so grateful that Avi was able to get hold of a copy of the Tanakh from Mesorah Publications, which was among the exhibitors at the Prizmah Conference, and deliver it quickly to the Capitol,” Bernstein said.
In a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Polis invoked the ancient Jewish encomium about Jews coming together for one another.
“In the excitement of this important day, it became clear that when looking for a Tanakh, there’s never one too far away,” a spokeswoman said. “Gov. Polis was honored to be sworn in with a Tanach that truly represented the Jewish value of ‘Klal Yisrael Aravim Ze La Ze,’ each person is responsible for one another — the Jewish community lent a helping hand at this historic moment.”
The swearing-in reflected the firsts Polis brought to his home state: In addition to being its first Jewish governor, he is also its first openly gay governor. His Jewish husband, Marlon Reis, stood by his side, holding the Tanakh; Polis’s mother, a poet, Susan Polis Schutz, read poetry. Two local gay men’s choruses provided music, and Rabbi Tirzah Firestone of Congregation Neveh Kodesh delivered the benediction.
Also being sworn in were two Jewish Democrats who won reelection to statewide office: Phil Weiser, the attorney general, and Jena Griswold, the secretary of state.
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Some Tankers Cross Strait of Hormuz Before Shots Fired, Ship-Tracking Data Shows
A satellite image shows the ship movement at the Strait of Hormuz on April 17, 2026, in Space. EUROPEAN UNION/COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2/Handout via REUTERS
More than a dozen tankers, including three sanctioned vessels, passed through the Strait of Hormuz after a 50-day blockade was lifted on Friday, shipping data showed, before Iran reimposed restrictions on Saturday and fired at some vessels.
Reopening the strait is key for Gulf producers to resume full oil and gas supplies to the world, and end what the International Energy Agency has called the worst-ever supply disruption.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday Iran had agreed to open the strait, while Iranian officials said they wanted the US to fully lift its blockade of Iranian tankers.
Western shipping companies cautiously welcomed the announcements but said more clarity was needed, including on the presence of sea mines, before their vessels could transit.
IRAN RESUMES RESTRICTIONS
The ships that passed through the strait on Friday and Saturday via Iranian waters south of Larak island were mainly older, non-Western-owned vessels and included four sanctioned ships, according to ship-tracking data.
Iran arranged passage for a limited number of oil tankers and commercial ships following prior agreements in negotiations, a spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said.
Other ships have been seen approaching the strait and turning back as Iran said it would maintain strict controls as long as the US continues its blockade of Iranian ports.
The UK Navy reported on Saturday that Iranian gunboats fired at some ships attempting to cross the strait.
Some merchant vessels received radio messages from Iran’s navy saying the strait was shut again and that no ships were allowed to pass, shipping sources said on Saturday.
Ship-tracking data showed five vessels loaded with liquefied natural gas from Ras Laffan in Qatar approaching the strait on Saturday morning.
No LNG cargoes have transited the waterway since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.
Hundreds of ships have been stuck in the Gulf since the conflict started and Tehran closed the strait, forcing Gulf oil and gas producers to sharply cut production.
Top producers such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq and Kuwait say they need steady tanker flows and unrestricted passage through the strait to resume normal export operations.
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Trump Greenlights Russian Oil to Ease Strain on Global Markets After War with Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, DC, US, March 27, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
i24 News – The Trump administration has authorized a 30-day emergency waiver allowing the maritime purchase of Russian oil, reversing a hardline stance in an effort to stabilize skyrocketing global energy prices.
The Treasury Department announced Friday that the license for crude and petroleum products will remain in effect until May 16, 2026, responding to intense pressure from international partners struggling with the fallout of the war with Iran.
This policy pivot comes as a surprise after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested earlier this week that no further exemptions would be granted:
“As negotiations with Iran accelerate, the administration seeks to ensure oil availability for those who need it most. We must prevent a total price collapse for consumers while the geopolitical situation remains volatile.”
Ensuring global oil availability is paramount for the US as over 80 energy facilities in the Middle East have been damaged by recent war with Iran. With the November midterm elections approaching, record-high fuel prices at the pump remain a primary vulnerability for the Republican party. By allowing Russian oil back into the maritime flow, the administration hopes to neutralize “pain at the pump” before voters head to the polls.
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UK: Islamist Group Claims to Attack Israeli Embassy with ‘Drones Carrying Radioactive, Carcinogenic Materials’
A UK man has been arrested for allegedly threatening a group of Jews while wielding an ax on Rosh Hashanah. Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons.
i24 News – British police officers in protective clothing were seen investigating a “security incident” near the Israeli embassy in London on Friday, after a jihadist group put out a video showing it launching two drones allegedly carrying radioactive and carcinogenic materials toward the embassy.
“There is an increased police presence in Kensington Gardens and officers are assessing a number of discarded items. As a precaution, some of the officers who have been deployed are wearing protective clothing. We recognize this may concern local residents and the wider public,” police said in a statement.
“Counter Terrorism Policing London are aware of a video shared online overnight in which a group claims to have targeted the nearby embassy of Israel with drones carrying dangerous substances,” the statement further read. “While we can confirm that the embassy has not been attacked, we are carrying out urgent inquiries to determine the authenticity of the video and to identify any potential link between it and the items discarded in Kensington Gardens.”
The incident comes amid a steep hike in antisemitic attacks in Britain targeting Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions.
The group that released the video was identified as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, a shadowy entity with suspected ties to Iran. It has already claimed seven attacks against Jewish institutions, including an arson attack in London where four ambulances owned by the Hatzolah charity were torched.