One of the enduring puzzles of biblical is zoology is the identity of the “tahash hides” that were used as coverings for the Tabernacle. One ancient opinion is that these were simply dyed goatskins, but most others assume the tahash was specific animal, identified variously as a gigantic multicolored unicorn, a badger, a dolphin, or an exotic species of weasel. Another theory is that it is a seal. Now a rare and endangered species, the Mediterranean monk seal can still be found on Israel’s coast. Etgar Lefkowitz describes a recent sighting:

The marine mammal, named Maya, was observed near Rosh Hanikra close to the border with Lebanon. First seen in Israel in 2010, Maya has returned to the country at least five times since. . . . Last year, another monk seal, affectionately named Yulia, became something of a celebrity in Israel after repeatedly visiting the beach in Tel Aviv.

In October, a young Mauritanian national murdered an Orthodox Jewish man on his way to synagogue in Chicago. This alone should be sufficient sign of the rising dangers of anti-Semitism. Nathan Diament explains how the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act (AAA) can, if passed, make American Jews safer:

We were off to a promising start when the AAA sailed through the House of Representatives in the spring by a generous vote of 320 to 91, and 30 senators from both sides of the aisle jumped to sponsor the Senate version. Then the bill ground to a halt.

Fearful of antagonizing their left-wing activist base and putting vulnerable senators on the record, especially right before the November election, Democrats delayed bringing the AAA to the Senate floor for a vote. Now, the election is over, but the political games continue.

You can’t combat anti-Semitism if you can’t—or won’t—define it. Modern anti-Semites hide their hate behind virulent anti-Zionism. . . . The Anti-Semitism Awareness Act targets this loophole by codifying that the Department of Education must use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism in its application of Title VI.