Former Pittsburgher and Squirrel Hill resident Howard Singer came in from his home in California, bringing along with him an auto with possibly the most historical significance in the whole Grand Prix - a 1954 Ford Customline that was raced in that year's Pan-American Road Race (or the Carrera Panamerica) in Mexico. The car was sponsored by Argentinian dictator Juan Peron. Not a bad addition to any collection. Check out an interview with Singer below, done by the folks at the Grand Prix, and check out our extensive coverage in this week's Chronicle.

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Here's a little bit of good news, According to a Gallup Poll, support for Israel is at a near-record high among Americans, flotillas notwithstanding. Read all about it in the JTA item.

Tablet has a very introspective look at Jack Tytell, a West Bank settler, and accused terrorist. Tytell, according to the story, has already confessed to two murders and is reportedly linked to many other crimes. What drove him to it? Read on.

That's all for this week. Until next.

“It is outrageous that Mr. Gross, who was clearly not engaged in espionage or inappropriate activities would be imprisoned for more than seven months with no charge. He was in Cuba as a US Agency for International Development subcontractor working on a U.S. government program to help the local Jewish community stay in contact with each other and with similar groups abroad. We have been approaching intermediaries to urge Mr. Gross’ immediate release. We hope Ambassador Nunez Mosquera will meet with us and convey our concerns about Mr. Gross’ improper imprisonment and his failing health to the Cuban government,” said Conference of Presidents Chairman Alan Solow and Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has repeatedly called upon Cuba to release Gross, stating that his continued detention is harming U.S.-Cuba relations. Solow and Hoenlein voiced appreciation for the work of the Administration and the State Department to secure Mr. Gross’ release and expressed hope that Cuba will recognize that “Mr. Gross is not a man who is motivated by politics, nor by any agenda other than providing humanitarian support to people in need.”

In a detailed statement posted to his Web site Thursday, Specter expressed disappointment, sometimes outright frustration, with noncommittal answers Kagan gave during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiiciary Committee.

"On balance, Kagan did little to move the nomination hearings from the stylized "farce" (her own word) they have become into a discussion of substantive issues that reveal something of the nominee's judicial philosophy and predilections," Specter says in this prepared statement. "It may be understandable that she said little after White House coaching and the continuing success of stonewalling nominees. But it is regrettable. Some indication of her judicial philosophy may be gleaned by her self-classification as a "progressive" and her acknowledged admiration for Justice Thurgood Marshall. That suggests she would uphold congressional fact-finding resulting in remedial legislation and protect individual rights in the congressional-executive battles."

Even so, "The best protection of those values may come from the public's understanding through television of the court's tremendous power in deciding the nation's critical questions. In addition to her intellect, academic and professional qualifications, Kagan did just enough to win my vote by her answers that television would be good for the country and the court, and by identifying Justice Marshall as her role model."

But now, we can see Israel's earliest days — arguably the most important event in recent Jewish history — in color. In 1947, an American named Fred Monosson arrived in Israel with a brand new color movie camera. The film he shot of newborn Israel went unknown until recently, when his son discovered a reel stored and forgotten in the attic. There is currently no other color film known to exist from the era.

Check out some clips below; you just may be able to stop thinking in black and white.

CNN Senior Correspondant and Middle East Editor Octavia Nasr was fired this week after issuing a Twitter post that called Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, a founder of Hezbollah, a "giant." The tweet came following Fadlallah's death last weekend. Fadlallah was derided in Jewish circles for supporting terrorist attacks in Israel and being a staunch Holocaust denier.

Nasr followed up with clarifying that she did not support Fadlallah's role as part of Hezbollah, but rather his bold views concerning women's rights in the Middle East.

"I used the words 'respect' and 'sad' because to me, as a Middle Eastern woman, Fadlallah took a contrarian and pioneering stand among Shia clerics on woman's rights. He called for the abolition of the tribal system of 'honor killing.' He called the practice primitive and non-productive. He warned Muslim men that abuse of women was against Islam," wrote Nasr.

The clarification proved too late, as she was let go by CNN.

With this firing paired with Helen Thomas' ended career, it seems people are touchier than ever about talking of contentious Middle East issues.

In an interview he granted to six Israeli correspondents Wednesday, Abbas warned that progress in peace negotiations with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is moving too slowly. "I too have a fragile coalition and a million more internal problems than Netanyahu," he said. Whether you like or hate Abbas, this is a story worth reading.

Something else that's worth reading is an open letter actor Jon Voight recently sent to President Obama in which he harshly criticizes the president for what Voight perceives as his lack of support for Israel. He also takes him to task for his position on Arizona's controversial illegal immigrant statute, which is about to take effect.

Remember the story about Mosab Yousef, the son of a high-ranking Hamas official, who recently revealed he spied for Israel. Well, it appears Yousef is getting closer to winning asylum in the United States. The Los Angeles Jewish Journal has the story — more good reading by a very good newspaper.

Finally, if you're an anti-Semite (we'll, you're probably not if you're reading this blog), but on the slight chance that you are, it would be a big mistake to terrorize Jews in Amsterdam.

The AP just reported that officials in the Dutch capital are considering using decoy Jews to catch anti-Semites in the act of harassing its Jewish residents. The decoys would be undercover Amsterdam police officers, wearing skullcaps, who would proceed to arrest the astonished terrorizers, adding an interesting new wrinkle to the fight against racism.

City officials have yet to approve the idea, but the plan already has the support of the acting mayor of Amsterdam as well as a prominent politician of Moroccan descent who reportedly said, "I'll act as a decoy Jew myself if necessary."

Happy Fourth of July to everyone. Like all countries, ours isn't perfect, but for 234 years, it has been an inspiring experiment in what mankind can achieve. And Jews have known freedom here, the likes of which we have rarely experienced anywhere else. There's something to be thankful for this Shabbat.