• Following a French magazine’s publication of a new crop of cartoons that controversially depict the Islamic prophet Mohammad, 20 French embassies and schools have been temporarily closed. Last week’s protests have spread to Afghanistan and Pakistan. [Haaretz]
• Separate explosions, which reportedly targeted the power supplies of Iran’s two main uranium enrichment facilities, took place earlier this week. Iranian officials have called it an act of sabotage. [NYT]
• In Yediot, Gilad Shalit writes movingly about his first Rosh Hashanah since being released from captivity and some of the reactions that Israelis have when they encounter him. [YNet]
• Toby Axelrod writes on the meaning of the ordination of four new rabbis in Germany, an event that took place just before Rosh Hashanah in Cologne, the city where a court banned circumcision. [JTA]
• A video featuring controversial remarks by presidential candidate Mitt Romney that cast doubt on the viability of a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli Conflict has gone viral, setting off a wave of criticism. [NYT]
Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.