The culmination of Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday that marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, is ordinarily a joyous occasion for Salt Lake City’s Congregation Kol Ami.

But this year, in light of the large-scale terrorist attack by the militant group Hamas on Israel on Saturday, the mood at Sunday morning’s service was solemn.

“This year, because of what happened in Israel, it was already a more somber occasion, less festive than usual. We didn’t feel like celebrating with what occurred. And then this threat came in during the service,” said Rabbi Samuel Spector, referring to an anonymous bomb threat he received by email Sunday morning that forced an evacuation.

The threat was a hoax but it compounded the anguish of Kol Ami’s congregation, already mourning the mass loss of life in Israel resulting from the terrorist attack waged by air, sea and on land.

“So this really is for Israelis, a day that will live in infamy, and their equivalent of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor,” Rabbi Spector said.

At least 900 Israelis have been killed and more than 2,600 wounded since the start of the assault on Saturday, the Israeli Government Press Office said Monday on its social media pages.

Utah voters: Impeachment political, but justified

House Republicans have been investigating the president's son since they took control of the House earlier this year and held the first hearing for the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his family’s foreign business dealings a week ago.

While public perception of the impeachment inquiry tends to break down along party lines, Utah voters have a more nuanced perspective.

A majority say they believe the impeachment inquiry is political but also say they think both the president and his son, Hunter Biden, benefitted from the family’s foreign business dealings. That’s according to the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll.

The poll shows that 56% of Utah voters say they support the impeachment inquiry, 32% say they oppose the inquiry and 5% say they don’t know.

Meanwhile, 58% say the inquiry is politically motivated, 31% say that it isn’t and 11% say they don’t know.

Among Democrat voters, almost 9 in 10 say the inquiry is politically motivated. Surprisingly, almost 50% of GOP respondents agree. 

Read more about what Utah voters think about Hunter Biden and his business dealings. 

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