Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on June 20, 2020

IF ANYONE thought the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn would see an end to the witch hunt of left Labour members, the evidence of the last few months shows the opposite is happening. If anything, it is actually intensifying.

That is why earlier this week I relaunched the Left Legal Fighting Fund (LLFF). It was originally established last December with legal costs I won from the Labour Party after the High Court ruled my suspension from the party was unlawful.

I took this legal action because there had been a clear abuse of process by an obviously biased bureaucracy. But I was only able to take this action thanks to the incredible solidarity of grassroots members from all over the country.

Sadly, the same cannot be said of most parliamentary colleagues, who simply acquiesced and would not confront the concocted anti-semitism crisis.

Although I secured a judicial victory, legal action is prohibitively expensive, which means most people who are pursued by these pitiless smear merchants have no means of defending themselves.

By contrast, those responsible for this political persecution of anti-racist socialists and pro-Palestinian campaigners are backed by powerful vested interests, who reject socialism and oppose an ethical, anti-imperialist foreign policy.

I was singled out for three reasons in particular.My forthright and uncompromising campaign to democratise the Labour Party, my outspoken opposition to the weaponisation of anti-semitism and my unequivocal support for the Palestinian people.

But my case was just the tip of the iceberg.Many other grassroots activists have also had their lives turned upside down by this despicable witch-hunt.

But this intolerable inquisition is by no means confined to the Labour Party.And the impact can be much worse than simply being thrown out of a political party.People affected have had death threats, experienced mental ill health, suffered significant reputational damage and a significant number have lost employment opportunities, some have even been sacked and threatened with bankruptcy.

Sir Keir Starmer says he supports the ideology of zionism without qualification, even though UN resolution 3379, that was passed in 1975, holds thatZionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.He is not only out of step with most grassroots Labour supporters, he has misread the zeitgeist in the country at large and the growing political consciousness being driven by the Black Lives Matter campaign.

The need for socialism grows ever stronger, but the political situation on both sides of the Atlantic means that the prospects for electoral socialism have dimmed.

Ossified old guard political party establishments in Labour and the US Democrats have stood in the way of the transformation that millions of people know we need.

Both the Corbyn and Sanders movements were struck down by the forces of reaction.

We warned that if they prevented our inevitable revolution, we would have to take to the streets.The cold-blooded murder of George Floyd has stirred righteous anger in hundreds of millions of people around the world.

And just as in the 1960s, the movement for black liberation has proven to be at the vanguard of an epochal shift in world history. The future we failed to win at the ballot box, our black brothers and sisters are leading us to on the streets.

The liberation of working-class peoples from capitalism and the liberation of our black and brown comrades from racial oppression do not merely intersect they are one struggle.

This was something the Black Panther Party recognised. We cannot have one without the other. One of the Panthers leaders, the inspirational Fred Hampton, said: Were going to fight racismwith solidarity [and] were going to fight capitalismwith socialism.

At only 21 years of age, Fred was deemed too dangerous by the US authorities because he was uniting communities in opposition to capitalism.For that he was assassinated by Chicago police and FBI officers as he slept in his bed during a pre-dawn raid on his apartment.

Subjugation, exploitation, racism and enslavement underpinned capitalism from the outset.

The monuments to slavery that we are toppling are also monuments to capitalism, an inherently exploitative system reliant on hierarchies of oppression and lust for empire-building. The wealth of this nation was built on the backs of slaves and sepoys.

As well as calling for socialism and racial justice here, we also need to demand that Britain takes its knee off the necks of the people of Yemen, Syria, Libya, Venezuela, Iran and others.

To achieve Fred Hamptons vision, we will need to fight on all fronts. The demand for change is being led by street protests, leaving Sir Keir Starmer and his Labour Party allies playing catch up with cringeworthy photo opps.

But while he defends the racist, apartheid state of Israel, he will not be taken seriously as someone who will stand up for black and Muslim communities in particular or working-class people in general.

That is why we need to build a new grassroots resistance movement, grow and expand our own media outlets like the Morning Star, nurture a battle-ready street movement with coherent demands and cultivate new parliamentary leaders.

We also have to be prepared to use the legal system to defend activists from McCarthyite tactics.

Over the coming weeks, we will also be working with some of the best human rights lawyers in the country to arrange teach-ins and legal support for protesters attending the Black Lives Matter rallies.

In particular in London, where the Metropolitan Police and Territorial Support Group have been unlawfully harassing and detaining protesters as well as using kettling tactics to acquire intelligence and intimidate activists.

So, the demands on the LLFF are potentially enormous which is why we need financial and practical support.Please donate if you can afford to on a one-off or regular basis.If you are a solicitor or barrister with the relevant expertise and willing to offer pro bono assistance, please get in touch.

If you cant donate at the moment but support our work, sign up to our mailing list and spread the word.If you have been suspended or expelled by the Labour Party or harassed by the police while on a Black Lives Matter protest in recent weeks, we also want to hear from you. Contact us here: https://campaignforchris.nationbuilder.com/fightingfund

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Following the defeats of Corbyn and Sanders, leadership of the socialist movement shifts to the streets - Morning Star Online

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Posted By admin on June 20, 2020

VOICES

We are all playing horrified, but we knew it was there all along, George Floyds last breath has just but spat it out for us to grapple with. Unless it is painted or consciously burnt, this skeleton will never be black enough to match this pitch-dark cupboard of despair.

The ghost of anti-racism protests we now see all over the world are an alarming wake-up call that reminds us that this attitude of postponing the confrontation of white supremacy is a tickling but ticking time bomb of hope.

Just when we all thought that the next world war will be fought over water, it seems that racism (which has become more pandemic than the Covid-19 coronavirus) has jumped the queue again.

The typical reaction to plaster over the cracks of the skull or delay real action on the part of perpetrators is also beginning to rear its ugly head.

In the UK, for instance, Boris Johnson recently announced a cross-governmental commission to look at all areas of inequality between blacks and whites. The Labour Party, in its progressive touch with issues of race, is suspicious and dismissive of this action as it lacks detail and clear timelines.

READ:Whiteness squeezes the breath out of black people

The Labour Party is correct because these reviews and useless commissions in the UK and elsewhere in the West are not new. As soon as the protestors are pacified the reviews paperwork is filed in the shelves and no real outcomes to reverse the racial inequality damage become visible.

In a recent webinar hosted by the Kgodiso Sechaba Foundation of SA, Professor Horace Campbell from the Syracuse University in the US instructively reminded us that in order to practically confront the global issues of racism today, we must perhaps go back to the 2001 Durban 1 World Conference Against Racism, its subsequent follow up conferences and why we all turned our backs on implementing the resolutions.

The context must be remembered that for Durban 1, South Africa was chosen because it was a beacon of hope for the global anti-racism struggle after the liberation movement had relatively defeated apartheid politically in 1994. We emphasise that this was just relative political defeat because apartheid capitalism was certainly never defeated economically. And even the political project has not been completed, in South Africa or anywhere else in the world hitherto.

This is evidenced by the fact that the commanding heights of the world economy is still in the hands of whites. It is for this reason that an innocent black man can be falsely accused and killed for allegedly using a counterfeit dollar bill, buying goods he needs to survive. It is therefore not a coincidence that 10 of the richest people in the world today from Jeff Bezos to Larry Page are white, when black business people (no matter how hard they enterprise) are at the bottom rung of the global wealth list in general.

It is important to also remember that in Durban 1 on September 3 2001 there was a threat by both the US and Israel to boycott the session evidenced by a conditional withdrawal. The protest withdrawal was based on agitation by these two racist countries that Zionism was being equated to racism in the proposed declaration of the conference.

Denying their obvious atrocities against humanity has always been their political method. Who in the world does not know that Zionism, as practiced by Israel, is a philosophy based on a racial supremacist orientation? This was a typical case of the US and its Israel ally hiding behind a political broomstick when it comes to their obvious racist policies.

Conditions which forced the UN General Assembly on November 10 1975 to adopt the resolution that declared Zionism a form of racial discrimination just like it did with apartheid on the December 16 1966, still prevail. Today Israel is advanced in its old plans for the de jure annexation of parts of the West Bank in the occupied territories of Palestine which the US (now led by racist Donald Trump) still condones.

This action by Israel is a white skeleton that not only violates international law but smacks of a racist attack on the people of Palestine and their struggle for self-determination. The US and Israel have always been partners in the crime of racist practice, teaching each other and defending their acts of racism as a tact-team.

When Israel gets attacked on international platforms for its racist offensive against the people of Palestine, the US is its first line of defence. This is why Israel always returns the favour when the US is called out for racially abusing African-Americans.

Timothy Guzman reminds us that the knee on neck tactic used on Floyd and other blacks in the US is a training product of US police by the Israeli police who have successfully used this for many years on innocent Palestinians.

It is for this reason that the US has never taken the question of tackling global racism seriously. Over and above its Zionism declaration protest at the Durban conference, the Americans had sent a low level delegation to Durban. The US delegation was led by former secretary of state in Colin Powell as part of their window dressing tactic of deliberately delegating a moderate but powerless black man to represent them on issues that the white supremacist government of the US could not confront face to face.

This is despite the fact that most countries were represented by their heads of state as a sign of their seriousness in tackling this global challenge of racism. Such that what is happening in Minneapolis this year is not a coincidence of history, but a mere exposure of what the US has always refused to confront.

The US at this point in history was a bully hegemon or a sole superpower in global affairs, if it did not have the appetite to implement the 2001 Durban conference resolutions, no other country would easily succeed in this regard. The US dominated the discourse in multilateral platforms, which were meant to implement these resolutions through their member states.

Instead its economic diplomacy of cohesion focused on the global preponderance agenda which is in kilter with the racist American dream. A dream that was at loggerheads with that of Martin Luther King, who wanted the sons of former slaves to share a table of brotherhood with the sons of former slave owners.

Unfortunately China, as a new and emerging superpower in the fresh multipolar world that we live in today which shows signs of dwindling US power, cannot be trusted to fight the anti-racist project on behalf of blacks in general and Africans in particular. The Chinese too have been caught dancing with the white skeleton of racism in their own country and beyond.

READ:Is a revolution an elusive project?

This means that the AU must take charge and lead this fight both in the UN and other global multilateral institutions to ensure that the progressive resolutions of the 2001 Durban conference are revisited with a concrete action plan.

As we pick up the scattered pieces of the white skeleton that fell out of the black cupboard in the environment of US hegemony, let us also remember those who joined this shrinking superpower to protest against such text being included in the declaration of the Durban conference back in 2001.

The likes of Canada and Australia still owe black people an explanation about their internal racist practices. What is their reaction or lack of reaction to the recent global protests that sprung in response to the activities in Minneapolis? The call by private citizens for change of conduct by the police is certainly just a plaster over the cracks, qualitative real change of policy and tangible redress measures are required.

As the AU crafts its action plan, it must know its potential allies and potential rivals in this regard. Nobody must be shocked when the spies of the US or Israel (and their other allies) will be deployed to deal with us.

They will chase us in one way or the other for raising these views because they certainly put an onion finger on the eye of conscience in their ongoing denialism about their policies of race hate. This must however, not instil fear in us, we must seize the moment to fight until real action is taken by the perpetrators to reverse the damages caused by racism in all its manifestations in global affairs.

The US has been trying to hide it, but the whole white skeleton of racism is now out of the black cupboard for the whole world to see. We are all playing horrified, but we knew it was there all along. George Floyds last breath has just but spat it out for us to grapple with. Unless it is painted or consciously burnt, this skeleton will never be black enough to match this pitch-dark cupboard of despair.

Thatho wa Magogodi is a writer, poet and activist

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Posted By admin on June 20, 2020

The Center for Modern Dance Education will present a New World mini-danceathon showcasing its students 2 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, June 20, on Facebook.

The Hackensack-based school offers dance classes for all ages and abilities. Though its facility has been closed, it has continued to provide free instruction online. The mini-danceathon will spotlight works by current Zoom class participants as well as selected CMDE performances from the past.

For information, call 201-342-2989 or email info@cmde.org.

***

Here is a rundown of the status of events at arts and entertainment venues and other recreational destinations throughout the state:

ATLANTIC COUNTY

Atlantic City casinos remain closed, but Gov. Murphy implied they could reopen by July 4 weekend.

Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City has postponed events through Aug. 28, including its June 20 Lit in AC show, which has been moved to March 2021. Visit boardwalkhall.com/events.

The Stockton University Performing Arts Center on the Galloway campus has emptied its schedule of events until further notice. For more information, contact 609-652-9000 or visit stocktonpac.org.

BERGEN COUNTY

Events have been canceled or postponed at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford through Aug. 18. As of June 17, the only non-sports event still on the summer schedule is the Aug. 19 Lady Gaga Chromatica Ball tour stop. For information, visit metlifestadium.com.

State Fair Meadowlands has pushed back its fair dates, originally scheduled from June 25 to July 12, to July 23-Aug. 9.

Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood has canceled, postponed or rescheduled shows through July 30. For information, visit bergenpac.org or call 201-227-1030.

The Hackensack Performing Arts Center in Hackensack has canceled events until the Teaneck New Theatres scheduled Aug. 21-23 run of Almost, Maine, For more information, visit hacpac.org.

The Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck has canceled its live events and has been offering various online art, film and music posts. Visit puffinculturalforum.org or call 201-836-3499 for updates.

The Belskie Museum of Art and Science in Closter is closed until further notice. Visit belskiemuseum.com or call 201-768-0286.

The Mahwah Museum is closed until further notice. Visit mahwahmuseum.org or call 201-512-0099.

BURLINGTON COUNTY

The Roebling Museum in Florence has suspended all public programming until further notice. Visit roeblingmuseum.org.

CAMDEN COUNTY

BB&T Pavilion in Camden canceled its summer concert schedule. Visit livenation.com for details.

The Battleship New Jersey has reopened for tours.

The Adventure Aquarium in Camden has suspended operations but still holds out hopes of reopening this month. Visit adventureaquarium.com or call 844-474-3474.

The Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood has postponed or rescheduled concert dates through the summer. The next planned event is the rescheduled Indigo Girls concert Oct. 2. For information, visit scottishriteauditorium.com or call 856-858-1000.

The New Jersey Renaissance Faire, held yearly at Liberty Lake in Bordentown, has canceled the 2020 edition and is planning to try again May 22 to June 6, 2021.

CAPE MAY COUNTY

The Barefoot County Music Fest planned for June 19-21 in Wildwood has been put off until 2021. The three-day party was to be headlined by Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton and Dan and Shay.

The recently renamed Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) formerly Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities has canceled or postponed all public programming until further notice.

The Wildwoods National Marbles Tournament scheduled for June 22-25 has been canceled.

The Cape May County Park and Zoo have reopened.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY

The Landis Theater in Vineland is closed through July 24, when it hopes to reopen its doors for a concert by Back in Black, an AC/DC tribute band. Visit thelandistheater.com for updates.

The Levoy Theatre in Millville has rescheduled or postponed its slate of shows through at least Aug. 7. Visit levoy.net or call 856-327-6400.

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The Wheaton Arts and Culture Center and the Museum of American Glass in Millville have suspended public programming until further notice. Keep tabs at wheatonarts.org or call 856-825-6800.

The Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts in Millville has closed until further notice. It has converted Isolation to an ongoing online exhibit, to be updated as entries are received. Call 856-327-4500 or visit rrcarts.com.

ESSEX COUNTY

Turtle Back Zoo at the Essex County South Mountain Recreation Complex in West Orange has opened. Tickets must be purchased in advance and social-distancing and sanitizing procedures have been put in place.

The Prudential Center in Newark has closed its facilities, offices, the Grammy Museum Experience and the RJWBarnabas Health Hockey House. The June 27 A.R. Rahman show has been postponed to a date to be determined. Next concert on the schedule is the Aug. 29 Mega Mezcla show. For questions, email guestservices@prucenter.com. For up-to-date information, visit http://www.prucenter.com or http://www.newjerseydevils.com.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark has suspended all performances until September. It is posting weekly DJ dance parties and other virtual events and will have three live Zoom shows with mentalist Max Major on June 26-28. For information call 888-466-5722 or visit njpac.org.

South Orange Performing Arts Center has halted all shows through Aug. 13. For information, call 973-313-2787, email boxoffice@sopacnow.org or visit sopacnow.org.

Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn postponed its world premiere production of The Wanderer until April 2021. It aims to open its season Oct. 7 with Clue. Visit papermill.org or email boxoffice@papermill.org.

Wellmont Theater in Montclair has postponed all shows on its schedule through Aug. 11. For information visit wellmonttheater.com or call 973-783-9500.

Outpost in the Burbs, based at the First Congregational Church in Montclair, has postponed all concerts through Sept. 10. It is hosting twice-weekly online concerts. Visit outpostintheburgs.org.

The Newark Museum of Art is closed until further notice but mounting various online activities. Visit newarkmuseumart.org or call 973-596-6550.

The Montclair Art Museum is closed until further notice. For updates, visit montclairartmuseum.org or check social media pages.

The Jewish Museum of New Jersey in Newark has canceled its Reinventing Eve exhibit and is closed to the public. Visit jewishmuseumnj.org.

The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Montclair is shut until further notice. Look for updates at yogiberramuseum.org.

The Nutley Museum has canceled all events through the summer. Call 973-667-1528 or visit nutleyhistoricalsociety.org.

GLOUCESTER COUNTY

Broadway Theatre of Pitman has postponed its planned July 10 opening of Matilda the Musical to Nov. 28. Next event on its schedule is the Sept. 11 opening of An American in Paris. Call 856-384-8381 or visit thebroadwaytheatre.org.

The Heritage Glass Museum in Glassboro will be closed until further notice. Contact heritageglassmuseum.com or call 856-881-7468.

HUDSON COUNTY

The Liberty Science Center in Jersey City is closed until further notice. Visit lsc.org or call 201-200-1000.

HUNTERDON COUNTY

The New Jersey Lottery Festival of Ballooning in Association with PNC Bank (formerly QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning) has been rescheduled from late July to Oct. 16-18 at Solberg Airport in Readington. For information, visit http://www.balloonfestival.com.

Music Mountain Theatre in Lambertville has put its productions on hold until further notice. It has a two-part online Demystifying Oscar program on Oscar Hammerstein with his grandson, William Hammerstein, scheduled for June 20 and 27. Visit musicmountaintheatre.org for more information.

The Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton is closed until further notice but has posted three virtual exhibits online: Explorations in Felt in collaboration with Fiber Art Network; Yael Eisner Member Highlight and Young Arts Showcase. Visit hunterdonartmuseum.org.

The Red Mill Museum Village will be closed until further notice. The May 17 Wheels for the Wheel car show has been moved to July 26. Visit theredmill.org.

The ACME Screening Room in Lambertville is closed but has made virtual screening of films available online. A $12 ticket makes the selected film available for five days. It also is initiating Carpool Cinema outdoor screenings Saturday, June 20. Visit acmescreeningroom.org/upcoming-events.

The Good News Home for Women in Flemington has canceled its September Harvest Festival and Craft Fair for 2020.

MERCER COUNTY

McCarter Theatre in Princeton has suspended all performances, classes and other events through June and is working on its 2020-21 season, slated to open Sept. 12 with Dreaming Zenzile, a new musical based on the life of South African singer Miriam Makeba. For information, visit mccarter.org or call 609-258-2787.

The Trenton Downtown Association has postponed its free 10-concert Levitt AMP Trenton Music Series at Mill Hill Park, which was scheduled to begin June 25. For information, call 609-393-8998 or email info@trenton-downtown.com.

Passage Theatre at the Mill Hill Playhouse in Trenton has canceled its production of Mother (and Me) and is working on its 2020-21 season lineup. Look online at passagetheatre.org.

The New Jersey State Museum in Trenton is closed until further notice. Visit state.nj.us/state/museum.

The 1719 William Trent House Museum in Trenton has suspended operations until further notice. For information visit williamtrenthouse.org or call 609-989-0087.

Old Barracks Museum in Trenton is closed until further notice but has opened an online exhibit titled When Women Vote: The Old Barracks and the Anti-Suffrage Movement. For more information visit barracks.org/whenwomenvote.

The next scheduled entertainment event for CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton is the June 27 Iconic 2020 Bollywood show. For information visit cureinsurancearena.com.

The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie is closed until further notice, postponing the opening of Ellarslie Open 37 until the fall. It has posted the digital online exhibit The Ellarslie Not-Quite-Open: The Art of Sheltering in Place. Visit ellarslie.org.

Artworks has moved the annual Art All Night at Roebling Wire Works in Trenton from June 20-21 to Aug. 15-16. Visit artworkstrenton.org.

The Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton is closed until further notice. For information, visit groundsforsculpture.org or call 609-586-0616.

All Princeton University public events are suspended and the Princeton University Art Museum is closed until further notice. Visit Princeton.edu for updates.

Kelsey Theatre on the Mercer County Community College campus in West Windsor has postponed the rest of its schedule through July. Visit kelsey.mccc.edu for more.

All live events at 1867 Sanctuary in Ewing have been postponed until further notice. For information visit 1867sanctuary.org.

Rider University Arts has canceled on- and off-campus Westminster Choir College and Rider events through Nov. 21. Visit rider.edu/arts.

Morven Museum and Garden in Princeton grounds are open to the public with social distancing precautions. Visit morven.org.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick has canceled or postponed programming through mid-August. Next date on its schedule is the Aug. 29 Golden Oldies Spectacular concert. Menopause the Musical is available for online streaming through June. For more information, visit stnj.org or call 732-246-7469.

Crossroads Theatre Company in New Brunswick had pushed back its spring opening for Freedom Rider to Sept. 10, but has now put it on hold until further notice. Visit crossroadstheatrecompany.org or call 732-545-8100.

George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick has shifted its spring performances of A Walk on the Moon to next season. Contact 732-246-7717 or georgestplayhouse.org.

The Avenel Performing Arts Center in Avenel has postponed performances through July 16, rescheduling shows to later dates. Contact 732-314-0500 or avenelarts.com.

East Jersey Old Town Village and the Cornelius Low House Museum in Piscataway are closed until further notice. For updates, text CULTURE to 56512.

MONMOUTH COUNTY

PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel pretty much has wiped out its summer slate of concerts. The only shows still on sale as of June 19 were Hall and Oates, Aug. 27; and 5 Seconds of Summer, Sept. 5. Visit livenation.com for details.

Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank has postponed performances through July 17. It will host a drive-in outdoor concert with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes 6 p.m. Saturday, July 11, at Monmouth Park. Visit thebasie.org for updates.

Historic Allaire Village in Farmingdale will reopen 11 a.m. Saturday, June 27.

Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal has suspended all productions through Aug. 4. For information call 732-531-9106 or visit axelrodartscenter.com.

The Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan has postponed shows through at least Aug. 6. Visit algonquinarts.org for updates.

Monmouth University Center for the Arts in West Long Branch has postponed scheduled events through this season. It will be streaming back productions from the Metropolitan Opera Live and National Theatre Live series. Visit monmouth.edu/mca for updates.

The Asbury Park Boardwalk has closed venues along the Asbury Park waterfront, which include The Stone Pony, Wonder Bar, Convention Hall and Paramount Theatre. For information, visit apboardwalk.com. The Stone Pony has thrown the tarp over its entire Summer 2020 SummerStage season.

Two River Theater in Red Bank has suspended all performances through June and is crafting its 2020/21 season. Look online at tworivertheater.org for updated information.

The Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County has suspended all programming until further notice. Visit jhmomc.org.

The Monmouth Museum in Lincroft is closed until further notice. Visit monmouthmuseum.org or call 732-224-1995.

MORRIS COUNTY

Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown has canceled or postponed performances through Aug 3. It will host a June 25 drive-in concert with John Ginty and Friends at Fosterfields Living History Farm. For information, call 973-539-8008 or visit mayoarts.org.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey plans to announce new production dates for its 2020 season in the coming weeks. It also has canceled its planned Outdoor Stage production of Much Ado About Nothing. Visit shakespearenj.org.

The Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival scheduled for Aug. 15 has been muted for 2020. It is scheduled to return Aug. 21, 2021.

The 37th Morris Arts Giralda Music and Arts Festival scheduled for June 28 in Madison has been canceled.

The Morris Museum in Morristown and its Bickford Theater will be closed until further notice. The Dissonance exhibit has been adapted for online. For information, call 973-971-3700 or visit morrismuseum.org.

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Coronavirus in N.J.: What concerts, festivals and shows have been rescheduled, canceled. (June 19, 2020) - NJ.com

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Posted By admin on June 19, 2020

Washington, Jun 19 (AP) Facebook has removed a campaign ad by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence that featured an upside-down red triangle, a symbol once used by Nazis to designate political prisoners, communists and others in concentration camps.The company said in a statement Thursday that the ads violated our policy against organised hate." A Facebook executive who testified at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday said the company does not permit symbols of hateful ideology unless they're put up with context or condemnation. In a situation where we don't see either of those, we don't allow it on the platform and we remove it. That's what we saw in this case with this ad, and anywhere that that symbol is used, we would take the same action," said Nathaniel Gleicher, the company's head of security policy.The Trump campaign spent more than $10,000 on the ads, which began running on Wednesday and targeted men and women of all ages across the U.S., though primarily in Texas, California and Florida.In a statement, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said the inverted red triangle was a symbol used by antifa so it was included in an ad about antifa. He said the symbol is not in the Anti-Defamation League's database of symbols of hate. The Trump campaign also argued that the symbol is an emoji.But it is ironic that it took a Trump ad to force the media to implicitly concede that Antifa is a hate group," he added.Antifa is an umbrella term for leftist militants bound more by belief than organizational structure. Trump has blamed antifa for the violence that erupted during some of the recent protests, but federal law enforcement officials have offered little evidence of this.The ADL disputed that the red triangle was commonly used as an antifa symbol. The organization said the triangle was not in its database because it is a historical symbol and the database includes only those symbols used by modern-day extremists and white supremacists.Whether aware of the history or meaning, for the Trump campaign to use a symbol one which is practically identical to that used by the Nazi regime to classify political prisoners in concentration camps to attack his opponents is offensive and deeply troubling, ADL chief executive officer Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.The action comes as Facebook and other technology companies face persistent criticism, particularly from Democrats, about whether they are doing enough to police the spread of disinformation and tweets and posts from Trump perceived as inflammatory.Those questions arose during Thursday's hearing when a Twitter representative was asked why the company flagged but did not remove tweets from the president, including one that raised the prospect of shooting looters during the recent unrest in American cities. Facebook, too, was asked why it did not remove a doctored video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., last year that appeared to show her slurring her words.If we simply take a piece of content like this down, it doesn't go away, Gleicher said. It will exist elsewhere on the internet. People who are looking for it will still find it. With Thursday's hearing focused on the spread of disinformation tied to the 2020 election, the companies said they had not yet seen the same sort of concerted foreign influence campaigns like the one four years ago, when a Russian troll farm sowed discord online by playing up divisive social issues.But that suggests the threat has evolved rather than diminished, said the executives, who pointed out that media companies controlled by the state were directly and openly engaging online on American social issues to affect public opinion. China, for instance, has likened allegations of police brutality in the U.S. to the criticism it faced for its aggressive treatment of protesters in Hong Kong last year.Preventing disinformation ahead of the election is a significant challenge in a country facing potentially dramatic changes in how people vote, with expected widespread use of mail-in ballots creating openings to cast doubt on the results and even spread false information.Facebook said Thursday that it is working to help Americans vote by mail, including by notifying users about how to request ballots and whether the date of their state's election has changed.The Vote By Mail notification connects Facebook users to information about how to request a ballot. It is targeted to voters in states where no excuse is needed to vote by mail or where fears of the coronavirus are accepted as a universal excuse.Providing that accurate information is one of the best ways to mitigate those kinds of threats, Gleicher said.(AP) AMSAMS

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Posted By admin on June 19, 2020

The murder of George Floyd has sparked outrage and protests across the country, creating new attention to the challenges faced by black Americans and a resurgence of the exhortation that black lives matter. As is often and admirably the case, many American Jews have championed the call to social justice, but there has also been a nagging concern that in identifying with the larger Black Lives Matter movement, American Jews are compromising their Zionism.

While the principle that black lives matter is as important as ever, the coalition of groups that comprise the Movement for Black Lives includes a statement in its platform calling Israel an apartheid state and accusing it of being complicit in the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people. Given this inflammatory language, some Jews and Jewish groups are wary of affiliating with a movement that is open in its anti-Israel stance, and see Black Lives Matter as the latest example of Jews being unwelcome in progressive circles unless they denounce Israel and Zionism as the price of entry.

This stance is understandable. It is also a mistake.

One of the markers of American Judaism is that it is a distinctly American project. This means that American Jews are part of a larger tradition of Jews and Judaism, but are a unique subset that represents the most successful Jewish diaspora in history. That success is partially because American Jews are so well integrated into larger American society and culture, to the point that we are all familiar with the oxymoronic and largely American concept of Judeo-Christian civilization. Both the American component and the Jewish component are critical for American Jewish identity, and it means being responsive to larger American societal concerns.

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Michael Koplow

In this instance, the quest for justice and equity irrespective of race or skin color is not only a core American value, but also an unquestionably Jewish value. Taken together, that creates a strong argument for American Jews to take up the Black Lives Matter banner as a movement. It does not mean that Israel is not important to American Jews and that we should not wear our Zionism proudly on our sleeves. But if we take the American part of our identities seriously, Israel is an important priority that has to be balanced against others as well.

What makes the balancing test here easier is that in standing up for black lives, American Jews are not being called to sacrifice one core priority in service of another. While there is anti-Israel sentiment, anti-Zionism and even anti-Semitism to be found in Black Lives Matter groups, Israel is ancillary to their focus at best. The central cause is justice and equity for a group of Americans living 6,000 miles away from Israel and with no connection whatsoever to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, irrespective of the intersectional argument made in the Movement for Black Lives platform. Identifying with this cause does not actually require checking or compromising ones Zionism. In asserting that black lives matter, there is no implication that Israel is to blame or that this is in some way inconsistent with support for Israel or Zionism.

Furthermore, if we as American Jews start creating ideological purity litmus tests for solidarity with other minority groups, it will inevitably boomerang on us. Following violent attacks on American Jews, our expectation as a community is that we will be supported by other Americans who also abhor anti-Semitism. If the standard was that solidarity with Jews under assault could only come if those Jews were anti-Zionist, for instance, or only voted Democratic, we would reject that as an absurd distraction and a dangerous standard to impose. And in fact, after shootings such as those at the Tree of Life synagogue and Poway (California) Chabad, many groups and individuals who are outspoken in their anti-Zionism stood in solidarity with American Jews, setting ideological purity tests aside. We rightly recoil at those who make lists of good Jews and bad Jews based on our relation to Israel, and we should not in this moment engage in similar behavior.

Identity is not singular, and ideological and values-based commitments do not have to be zero-sum. Discomfort with anti-Zionism in the Movement for Black Lives platform is natural, but we should not allow this discomfort to outweigh everything else. The question is not whether our pro-Israel identity should be discounted it certainly should not but whether that part of our identity will be subsumed by standing up for black lives and all that it entails. In this fraught moment, it is clear that pursuing justice means standing with black Americans and pushing back against systemic racism. Doing so meets our need to be both Jewish and American, and it also does not have to compromise our Zionism and support for Israel. Just as Jewish law considers a dish with a 60-to-1 ratio of kosher to non-kosher food to be unequivocally kosher, there is no question that we should view Black Lives Matter in similar terms.

Michael Koplow is policy director at the Israel Policy Forum. His column appears monthly.

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Why Zionists Should Stand with Black Lives Matter - Jewish Week

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Posted By admin on June 19, 2020

The annexation drama seems to be imploding. Less than two weeks before the target date, it appears that what will be left of the confetti thrown in the air after Donald Trumps plan was unveiled in Washington is some declarative or symbolic scrap. As usual with Benjamin Netanyahu, theres a lot of noise but little action (without making light of the noises potential to do harm).

The argument over annexation is happening exclusively within the right. The main dispute tearing the settlers apart these days is over the price the Americans seek to exact from Israel for applying sovereignty to any land in the territories, even an abandoned sand dune. The hard-line school, represented by the chairman of the Yesha Council of settlements, David Elhayani, describes Trumps deal of the century as nothing less than a partition plan in which a Palestinian state a red flag to rightists is the ultimate goal. This faction is currently busy stressing out and nurturing its own anxieties, framing the plan as an existential danger to Israel, no less.

LISTEN: How Netanyahu could fudge annexation, hoodwink Gantz and cling on to power

Ironically, some of its members are suddenly quoting Yitzhak Rabin, the man who signed the Oslo Accords, claiming that he vehemently rejected the establishment of any kind of Palestinian state. Thats how much they view Netanyahu as a non-rightist.

The moderate school, represented by people like Efrat Mayor Oded Revivi, accepts Netanyahus explanation that applying sovereignty only requires launching negotiations, which the Palestinians are so far refusing to participate in, without any substantive Israeli commitments, and certainly not to a Palestinian state. So Israel that is, the settlements can only gain by adopting Trumps plan.

This is the classic position adopted by Mapai, Israels first ruling party, and it also suits Netanyahus character. He has always favored buying maximum time with minimum action.

On Wednesday, Meretz MK Yair Golan, one of the great hopes of the shrunken Zionist left, announced that he would support annexation as long as Israel announces that is separating from the Palestinians. Support for the plan minus explosive provisions that in any case will never be implemented, like transferring Israeli Arabs in the Triangle region to the Palestinian Authority thus effectively stretches from Likuds Yariv Levin on the right through Kahol Lavans Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi all the way to Golan on the left.

And here we come to the main reason why the left is almost completely absent from the debate over annexation, aside from the moral stance espoused by a few: The two-state solution, a dead donkey that was buried in the margins of Israelis consciousness during the second intifada, is now being given artificial respiration by Netanyahu.

If you adopt the position of the settlers hard-line school, which actually sounds logical given what the Americans are saying, then Netanyahu is closer to his 2009 speech at Bar-Ilan University, in which he first supported a Palestinian state, than to the law to legalize illegal settlement outposts to the extent that he takes any action at all, rather than choosing his preferred option of doing nothing, in the style of Yitzhak Shamir.

The Zionist left has a fairly limited range in which to oppose to the plan, which is based on trafficking in centimeters and rhetoric. The real left-wing opposition to Trumps plan, which indeed oppresses and humiliates the Palestinians, comes from the radical lefts ideological big bang, which proposes a new game board and an alternative geography.

The radical left proposes a new game that uproots Jewish superiority from every centimeter between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and alters the character of the Jewish state even within the 1948 lines. The ideas Jewish supporters generally come from the heart of economic and class privilege, and it seems unlikely they would actually want to live in a country that probably wont resemble their romantic fantasies.

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But at least this is a distinctive, coherent position. And it offers a true mirror image of the ideological rights foundational principle making Jewish superiority a value and a goal by dint of divine right.

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The Zionist left is dormant as West Bank annexation nears - Haaretz

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Posted By admin on June 19, 2020

The first Oslo Accords were signed on August 20, 1993, and the second on October 5, 1995, just one month before prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995.Throughout this entire period, beginning with the signing of the first Oslo Accords and ending with the bullets that hit Rabin in the back, a public campaign against the agreement was being waged. The agreement signed by Rabins government was naturally identified with him, even though Shimon Peres claimed justifiably that he, too, was an influential player in the process that led to the signing of the agreement.The target of the attacks, threats, incitement and hatred was first and foremost Rabin. Other groups took part in the public campaign of incitement against Rabin. The settlers were, of course, one of the most extreme and violent components of this hunting spree, but many groups took part in it. Right-wing supporters, including from the Likud Party, of which I was a member at the time, were in a large part responsible for this incitement and the dissemination of antagonistic remarks against Rabin.But there was one man who stood at the forefront of this campaign: Benjamin Netanyahu. At the time, he was the leader of the opposition, and was a very serious candidate who was hoping to defeat Rabin in elections that were scheduled to take place in 1997, four years after the election that had empowered Rabin to serve his second term as prime minister.Netanyahu participated in the marches, protests and mass rallies in which people called for the abrogation of the Oslo Accords. These events overflowed with people spouting inciteful allegations that translated into calls for the murder of the prime minister.In March 1994, a massive rally was held in Raanana, in which Benjamin Netanyahu participated. Activists held signs that read Israel is in danger, Rabin is killing Zionism and Rabin is burying Zionism. Someone was even seen carrying a rope in the shape of a noose.At about the same time, a demonstration was held near the Laromme Hotel in Jerusalem. In his speech there that evening, Netanyahu said: This lowly murderer (meaning Yasser Arafat) is being raised up by the current Israeli government, which is enabling him in their blindness to carry out the first stage of his plan: destroying the State of Israel. Netanyahu hushed the protesters who were calling Rabin a traitor, telling them to refrain from using such language. (By the way, Netanyahu continued speaking about Arafat, saying how he wished for the destruction of Israel, yet not long after, he could be seen at a meeting at the White House shaking his hand warmly and saying, Ive found a friend.)DURING THE protest that took place on the day the second Oslo Accords were signed, protesters called out, Rabin is Arafats dog and Death to Rabin. In addition, protesters were holding posters with a picture of Rabin dressed as a Nazi SS officer. All of this took place with the participation of Netanyahu.Netanyahu was not the only one who took part in this incitement, though he is the one who was carried upon the shoulders of the protesters who called for the assassination of Rabin. Moshe Feiglin, one of Netanyahus political partners, who was recently promised to be made a minister, said back then: Hitler also rose to power through democratic elections. Rabin is the Judenrat who helped the Jews climb onto the trains.Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is also a familiar guest at the house on Balfour Street, and who is one of the current prime ministers favorite buddies, took part in the violent attack on the car used by Rabin, who happened not to be inside of it during the attack. Ben-Gvir snatched the hood ornament off the front of the car, and the next day during the protest in front of the Prime Ministers Residence in Jerusalem, said, Just as we got to the emblem of his car, we will get to the Rabin. Ben-Gvir was arrested, and then immediately released. He headed the Otzma Yehudit list in the most recent election, and engaged in lengthy talks with Netanyahu regarding possible opportunities for cooperation.We must tell things as they are: Of course, its clear that Netanyahu was not responsible for Rabins murder. He wasnt involved in the plot to kill him and had no connection whatsoever to the murderer or to people who encouraged him to murder Rabin.On the other hand, no one contributed more seriously or directly to the atmosphere of hatred, incitement and shedding of Rabins blood than Netanyahu. He was the one who first and foremost led the largest opposition party, which numbered 32 seats, and gave legitimacy to hotheaded radicals and zealots who directly called for the killing of the prime minister. Netanyahu was present and participated as the keynote speaker at these events.I wouldnt repeat all this, except that Netanyahu himself reminds us of those days by using the same techniques of incitement, sectarianism, undermining the legitimacy of anyone who disagrees with him, and calling his opponents including elected officials who are members of Knesset and people who hold important public positions collaborators with people who wish to destroy the State of Israel.Up until just a few months ago, Netanyahu blamed Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi for collaborating with people who want to bring about the destruction of the State of Israel. IN THE MEANTIME, Gantz and Ashkenazi have been granted temporary legitimacy, but as is common with Netanyahu, this legitimacy will dissipate the day the government they created together falls apart, at which point all the partners will not go back to being rivals or opponents, but enemies who want to destroy our country.Theres no escaping the fact that Netanyahu has no borders, just as the State of Israel has no borders. Netanyahu does not want Israel to have borders, because he declares that hes going to annex territories that are not part of our country. Annexing this area will come with stiff security, political, economic, social and international prices. Most importantly, we may have to pay this price with our own blood, as well as the blood of our children and our neighbors who need to be citizens of a Palestinian state that will someday be established. In the meantime, the blood of too many is being shed.The growing incitement that is spreading is now primarily being aimed against those who are considered the current enemies of Netanyahu, his son and the gang that supports him, including members of the state attorney-generals office and Israeli judges, in particular Supreme Court justices. Soon, judges of the Jerusalem District Court, where Netanyahu will be on trial, will find themselves the target of incitement, insults and threats.This is not going to end well. There just isnt any other option. When a former police chief and Shin Bet hero is accused of framing the prime minister of a severe criminal offense together with the attorney-general by the prime minister inside the Jerusalem courthouse, its impossible not to see the direction things are going. Its also difficult to miss the influence they are having on an atmosphere that might result in murderous violence against those who are being blamed.When Supreme Court judges receive letters that explicitly threaten their lives, this is not the result of an hallucination or casual passion of the sender. The person creating the atmosphere that leads to the use of such threats is the prime minister and the people who assist him. These assistants who oftentimes persuade him to carry out these actions include his son and a whole host of public figures, ministers and members of Knesset. They do not hesitate to direct savage language at people who in the past have, and in the near future will be expected to play an important role in the prime ministers trial.In the midst of this separatist turmoil, the prime minister promised that he would decide by July 1 on the partial annexation of the West Bank, and a status change of Jewish communities.THERE IS NO doubt that such a provocative move could lead the entire Middle East into a whirlwind of violence and terrorist activity carried out by Palestinians in the West Bank, and perhaps even in Jerusalem and other Israeli cities. Unilateral annexation will cross a red line that will lead to a political campaign led by moderate Arab nations, some of which strongly desire friendly relations with a peace-loving Israel. But if you listen to what their spokespeople are saying explicitly and directly, they will distance themselves from Israel if it takes steps that can lead the entire region into a vortex that will end in bloodshed.And not only Arab countries will object. All of Europe will rise up against Israel, and most of America will join in on the condemnation of Israel. They will call Israel an oppressive regime that tramples the rights of another people, oppresses them and denies them self determination.Is it possible that Netanyahu does not understand what he might be leading the State of Israel into? I am convinced that he knows, and that he understands and fears the consequences of such a step. Thats why, in my opinion, I think hell end up making some bombastic declaration, with all the bells and whistles. That will cause us serious damage, and might even lead to acts of terrorism, however, I doubt that anything will progress to a more advanced stage that will actually change facts on the ground.So, if it is so clear, then why is Netanyahu letting himself get dragged into this mess? What does he gain? Whats so urgent now that justifies all this damaging chaos Netanyahus dragging us into?Netanyahus agenda is not our agenda. Netanyahu is managing this campaign in order to divert our attention from the real problem thats plaguing him: his own personal destiny, as well as his and his familys future. In this regard, everything is kosher, every move is justified, no price too high.The only problem is, this behavior is bringing us back to the days in which incitement, insults and threats ended in murder.The same thing could happen this time around. Netanyahu will never admit that he has a hand in the creating of this evil atmosphere, in which someone will think they are justified in harming a public defender or a judge. When it happens this time and were much closer to such an occurrence than some might think the prime minister wont be able to say that he wasnt forewarned.Hes been warned and he should have learned from previous experiences. He knew that incitement could end with the shooting of a gun, in the placing of a bomb, or even with an assassination. In the meantime, he continues with his days as if none of this has any importance, as long as he continues to reside on Balfour Street.The writer was the 12th prime minister of Israel.

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Olmert to 'Post': Netanyahu's incitement could once again lead to murder - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on June 19, 2020

WASHINGTON (JTA) It would seem that most of us agree, left and right, that Black lives matter and that policing reform is long overdue. But there are fissures and fractures under the surface, arguments over the solutions and the candidates most capable of leading us to a better day.

Squeezed in the middle: the political center. At a time of uncertainty and turmoil, the center is battling flailing even to hold its place.

Here are some snapshots from that battle.

The Democratic primary race between Rep. Eliot Engel, the Jewish 16-term incumbent in New Yorks 16th District, and Jamaal Bowman, an African-American educator who is new to politics, is emblematic of the establishment vs. insurgency battle that has preoccupied the party since the 2016 primaries.

The lists of endorsements offer a pretty clear picture of the story: Engel has the likes of Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer and Jim Clyburn, while Bowman has Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren.

As the dust begins to settle with the election less than a week away, on June 23, Engel appears to be in big trouble following a series of mishaps. This week, a poll by the Bowman campaign showed the neophyte candidate leading Engel 41-31%, with 27% undecided.

The campaign has become testy in ways that underscore the left vs. establishment narrative: Bowman has weaponized Engels home in Maryland, and the congressman staying there during much of the coronavirus pandemic. Engel, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has said that as a leader of the caucus, he needed to be near the Capitol for the crises that arise nonstop.

The Democratic Majority for Israel is running ads in the district, which includes the Bronx and parts of suburban Westchester County, showing that Bowman has faced multiple actions for not paying taxes. Bowman, who as a result of the ads paid $2,000 in outstanding levies, responded by calling the attack ugly.

Frankly, we need more members of Congress who know what its like to be in debt and struggle to pay bills, especially at a time like this, Bowman said.

Then theres the Israel issue (of interest to the folks who read this newsletter, but from what I hear isnt resonating in the district): Engel has been a pro-Israel stalwart for decades, a regular at AIPAC and, until recently, at organizations to its right as well, including the Zionist Organization of America and Christians United for Israel. Bowman has said that he would consider conditioning aid to Israel on its behavior, but he has also stressed that Israel has a right to security.

All this has happened at a time of national tension over police brutality and racism, and it would be easy to cast Bowman vs. Engel as a sign of the times: an anti-establishment young African-American taking on a denizen of the aging white establishment. But its more complicated.

Engel has garnered the endorsements of much of the Congressional Black Caucus, including senior leaders who are now seeking police reforms, among them Clyburn of South Carolina, Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Maxine Waters of California. He also has the endorsements of figures who have been at the forefront of efforts to combat Trump, including Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers.

In their endorsements, the black lawmakers emphasize Engels role in helping to pass civil rights legislation. But this line in Waters statement sticks out: We absolutely need to return his experience and deep commitment to Congress particularly now as we fight to take back the White House.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who also has endorsed Engel, sees 2018 as a lesson in how to win back the White House: Maintain the center.

Sanders in his endorsement said Bowman would spearhead change for the working class.

Jamaal understands that low-income families are locked out of opportunity and a decent life due to a system that is rigged to benefit the wealthy, he said. In Congress he will lead the fight for investing in our public schools, ending mass incarceration, and addressing the housing crisis.

The Black-Jewish Congressional Caucus held a public meeting last week to address the current moment. It was mostly a friendly affair, but if you stayed the entire 90 minutes, a striking difference in tone emerged over the degree to which policing was responsible for the turmoil and not between African-Americans and Jews, or even between tyros and establishment figures, but among avatars of the establishment.

Jason Isaacson, the chief policy and political officer of the American Jewish Committee, which convened the caucus last year, was plainly in the bad apples camp, which maintains that the entire police establishment should not be indicted by the actions of a few. He decried a minority that stains the honor of the many men and women in blue who serve our country and described police institutions as essential.

Isaacson said the AJC would not support the whole defunding of the police.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., a co-chairwoman of the caucus and a former chairwoman of the Democratic Party, depicted a policing problem that runs much deeper than a minority of wrongdoers.

The systematic brutality that has been part of Americas justice system for hundreds of years must be eliminated, she said.

The tonal difference is not surprising: The AJC operates in a nonpartisan reality, reconciling donors and activists belonging to both parties. Wasserman Schultz splits her time between Congress Democratic caucus and South Florida, with its minority-heavy districts.

Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., another co-chairwoman of the caucus, started the session by saying This is the time for the Jewish community to stand with Black America, the times have found us.

How one stands with Black America is not yet clear to the Jewish establishment. Wasserman Schultz and the AJC need to chat.

Another emerging difference between the Democratic establishment, including its Jewish leaders, and outside Jewish groups is the stated plans of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex parts of the West Bank.

Four leading Democrats, including two AIPAC stalwarts, Ted Deutch of Florida and Brad Schneider of Illinois, are seeking co-signers on a letter to Israels leaders that would warn against annexation while reaffirming the U.S.-Israel relationship.

The idea was to avoid the divisiveness of a Senate letter that warned of repercussions to the U.S.-Israel relationship. But the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has come out emphatically against the letter, saying it violates traditions of not openly criticizing Israel and does not sufficiently fault the Palestinians.

A two-state outcome has been a sine qua non of Democratic support for Israel for two decades. AIPACs posture does not give its best friends in the Democratic caucus much room to maneuver. Schneider and Deutch and AIPAC need to chat.

The boardwalks may be shuttered, but the Republican establishment, and the Jewish Republicans who are close to it, are busy playing whac-a-mole. Just weeks after the Republican Jewish Coalition joined the party leadership in keeping white supremacist-aligned Rep. Steve King of Iowa from winning a primary, they have to contend with the rise of the right in primaries in Virginia and Georgia.

Rep. Denver Riggleman, a first-termer from Virginia who was emerging as a pro-Israel leader last year he sought a review of federal funding for Georgetown University because of allegations of anti-Israel bias lost a primary largely because he would not apologize for officiating at a same-sex wedding.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, meanwhile, finished first by a considerable margin in a congressional district in northwest Georgia. She has dabbled in anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, in addition to saying Islam promotes pedophilia and that Muslims should not serve in government, and calling Black people slaves to the Democratic Party.

Greene fell short of the 50% needed to avoid a runoff and the partys leadership is already speaking out against her. The RJC fundraised for Riggleman and, I hear, may soon pronounce on Greene.

Lightning Bolton: Trumps former national security adviser is about to release a book with the thesis that the president runs his foreign policy as a reelection shop, seeking quid pro quos not only from Ukraine but also China. Bolton may have made himself radioactive: Trump is indicating he may prosecute him for the book, and Democrats are furious that he saved the revelations for a $2 million payday and not for testimony during the impeachment.

Bolton once had more friends: In the early 1990s, he spearheaded the effort to have the United Nations trash its Zionism is Racism resolution. So in 2006, Jewish organizations came out with rare on-the-record endorsements of Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. Itll be interesting if any of the same players speak up now.

The Bolton situation has also precipitated the strangest bedfellows moment in a 2020 packed with them: On Thursday, Trump retweeted a slam on Bolton by Max Blumenthal, who has made a career of reviling U.S. foreign policy, including under Trump. He is the son of Sid Blumenthal, Hillary Clintons most dogged attack dog, but he also rejects Israels existence as a Jewish state. So Trump wasnt exactly retweeting a friend.

Vindman vindictiveness: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the Jewish officer who testified during the impeachment trial, may not be promoted to colonel because Trump is still furious with him, The Washington Post reports.

China angina: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo uses an AJC forum to give Israel grief over its commercial ties with China.

ICC I see you: The Trump administration warned the International Criminal Court that it will face sanctions for prosecuting Americans or Israelis. Very much on board is Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, a Jewish Democrat and a Navy veteran. This is yet another example of the international communitys disproportional attacks on Israel, and I look forward to working with the Administration to end these discriminatory campaigns, she said.

National Security Advisor John Bolton answers journalists questions after his meeting with Belarus president in Minsk, Aug. 29, 2019. (Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images)

That Zionism is Racism resolution that Bolton helped nix? It plays a role in a 1975 Supreme Court decision that the Trump administration apparently will cite in its bid to have social media giants like Twitter be more compliant with what Trump sees as ending bias. Its a little circuitous, but Garrett Epps, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Baltimore, explains it at The Atlantic.

A House Judiciary Committee debate on policing and Black lives took an odd turn on Wednesday when Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., was explaining why he dreads an encounter between his son and police. Matthew Gaetz of Florida interjected to say that Republicans have Black children, too which, OK but that devolved into Gaetz protesting what he took as Richmonds attack on Gaetzs love for his own Black children. Except Gaetz is white, unmarried and childless.

Matthew Gertz, a Jewish writer for the liberal Media Matters watchdog who is often mistaken on Twitter for Gaetz, had enough.

Share your thoughts on The Tell, or suggest a topic for us. Connect with Ron Kampeas on Twitter at @kampeasor email him atthetell@jta.org.

The Tell is a weekly roundup of the latest Jewish political news from Ron Kampeas, the Jewish Telegraphic Agencys Washington Bureau Chief.Sign up hereto receive The Tell in your inbox on Thursday evenings.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

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The political center battles to keep its place in a time of turmoil - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By admin on June 19, 2020

Rhetorical opposition to Israels annexation plans has gained a rather futile momentum. The clearest example of this came at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva from Adalah, Al-Haw, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Womens Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, and Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights. These human rights organisations stated that annexation, Will normalise Israels colonial project and will amount to apartheid via the continued expansion and construction of settlements, displacement and dispossession of Palestinians, and demographic manipulation.

Another statement by 47 independent experts appointed by the UN warned that the Security Council can no longer criticise the plan without implementing punitive measures. The lessons from the past are clear: Criticism without consequences will neither forestall annexation nor end the occupation.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Al-Maliki, meanwhile, welcomed the statement which simply stated the obvious. According to Wafa news agency, Al-Maliki expressed gratitude for highlighting the US role in encouraging the occupation authority to commit crimes, including illegal plans to annex more lands, and granting the occupation and its officials immunity and impunity.

READ: Netanyahu promisedto never recognise Palestine state, Likud MK says

Does we still need Israels colonial intent to be clarified? Does the UN need clarification about international law violations which its own charters and conventions clearly prohibit?

Al-Malikis approach, like that of other PA officials, is to acquiesce to a purportedly novel narrative regarding violations that date back to the initial Zionist colonisation of Palestinian land. Annexation will normalise colonialism, yet colonialism is constantly normalised by statements and organisations which fail to acknowledge that Israel is a colonial state.

It is thus essential for Israeli colonialism to be recognised as such before anything can really be effective against it. Annexation is simply the latest step in a colonial process which the UN has supported wilfully since 1947, six months before the Nakba. Speaking out about annexation now while still failing to hold Israel accountable for the whole colonial process simply allows the colonial state to act with even more impunity.

Furthermore, Israel has taken many steps to ensure the normalisation of the latest annexation, especially among Arab and Gulf states, and to fragment any remaining support for the Palestinian cause. Within the international community, Israels bogus security narrative has long served to justify its violations of international law.

READ: Israel, US failed to reach agreement on annexation

On the verge of losing yet more territory, the PA is applauding statements of the blindingly obvious; it has no plan to counter the rhetoric that aids Israeli annexation. Al-Maliki has called for international responsibility, even while the international community demonstrates its allegiance to Israel. The UNs prohibition of annexation, Al-Maliki added, is proof that the process incites wars and destabilisation. Yet, the PA must accept that the international community is not preventing Israel from annexing over 30 per cent of the occupied West Bank; it is merely standing idly by, and the PA, of course, is just another helpless spectator.

In two weeks, Israels theft of Palestinian land will become more aggressive. Within the UN, diplomats, officials and human rights representatives will point out yet again that annexation is against international law.

The world has had ample time to mobilise against Israeli colonialism, yet it chooses not to. All the UN has done is reinforce its historical concessions to Zionism and expose the fact that the PAs recourse to the international organisation is nothing other than capitulation to Israels plans.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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As annexation looms, the PA and international community plan is more futile rhetoric - Middle East Monitor

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Posted By admin on June 19, 2020

(JTA) About 15 years ago, a large synagogue in Northern California installed a set of windows in the religious school engraved with the names of some 175 prominent Jews, from biblical figures to famous actors.

One of them, sandwiched between Zionist leader Vladimir Jabotinsky and former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, was Judah Benjamin, the most prominent Jewish official in the Confederacy. Benjamin, who enslaved 140 people on a Louisiana sugar plantation, served variously as the Confederate attorney general, secretary of war and secretary of state.

The inclusion of Benjamins name on the wall didnt arouse much protest until 2013, about eight years after the installation at Peninsula Temple Sholom, a Reform congregation in Burlingame. That was when a congregant named Howard Wettan listened to a podcast about the Civil War as his daughter attended Hebrew school in the building.

I connected the dots, Wettan said. I saw the name once more and said theres something really wrong with that.

Wettan launched a years-long campaign that coincided with a national reckoning over Confederate monuments and eventually persuaded the synagogue to grapple with the names significance. Benjamins name is now covered in tape and will be replaced, along with two other names, later this year.

The first handful of times I noticed it, I wasnt sensitized, Wettan said. It was just an historical artifact and I didnt place a lot of meaning behind it.

Wettans complaint brought a version of a much larger debate over national historical memory to a synagogue far from the former Confederate States.

Across the country, Confederate monuments have drawn challenges for years from people who say they glorify those who enslaved Black people and fought against the United States. Defenders of the monuments, including some white Southerners, have argued that the monuments are necessary to teach about a painful moment in American history.

But the statues that memorialize those leaders were largely erected long after the Confederacy was defeated, many in the 20th century in support of white supremacy at a time when Southern governments were fighting to maintain legal racial segregation.

A poll released Wednesday shows that a majority of Americans favor taking down those monuments. Protesters over the past few weeks have pulled down monuments on their own, as others did during demonstrations in years past.

Peninsula Temple Sholom did not put Benjamins name on the window to glorify white supremacy. The idea was to include names of significant figures from all corners of Jewish history, according to the synagogues chief community officer.

I believe the original intention was to create a wall that was somewhat educational, Karen Wisialowski said. It hasnt really served that purpose.

Wisialowski added: Having names of folks on our wall to a viewer would feel as if these were people that we were admiring and expressing pride in, and ultimately thats why we decided to take the names down.

The window in Peninsula Temple Sholoms religious school bearing Benjamins name. The name, at left, has been taped over. (Courtesy of Peninsula Temple Sholom)

Relatively few memorials to Benjamin exist as opposed to, say, the plethora of monuments to Jefferson Davis or Robert E. Lee. But Peninsula Temple Sholom is not alone in Jewish history when it comes to honoring the Confederacys most senior Jewish official.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, according to Jewish historian Shari Rabin, there was a general American tendency to paper over the worst aspects of the Confederacy, as well as a general interest in the war. Jews of that time, she said, celebrated Benjamin in that context, including by publishing a childrens book about him.

In the decades after the Civil War, there was a general celebration of service, and Jews want to write themselves into that history, said Rabin, a professor of Jewish studies at Oberlin College. Theres a history of Southern Jews and also American Jews more broadly using Judah Benjamin as a way to show Jewish contributions and to make a claim to Jewish belonging.

Benjamins role as a leader of a white supremacist rebellion was the main problem with that approach, Rabin said, but it wasnt the only one for specifically Jewish memorials. Benjamins opponents tarred him for his Judaism, but he never really embraced being a Jew. He married a Catholic woman, raised his kids Catholic and was not involved in Jewish institutions. He fled to the United Kingdom after the war.

By the time of the Civil War, he was pretty far removed from organized Jewish life or personal Jewish commitment, Rabin said. The people who were calling Benjamin a Jew were the people who didnt like him.

At first, Peninsula Temple Sholom responded to Wettans complaint by doubling down on the wall as a teaching tool. Wettan would come to religious school classes and teach the students about Benjamin and the Civil War. But after the August 2017 far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which was sparked by the removal of a Lee statue, Wettan again asked the synagogue to erase Benjamins name.

After some back-and-forth, Wettan requested at a synagogue board meeting in December 2018 that the name be removed. In the end, a task force was formed to address the issue, and Benjamins name was covered up with tape. Some months later, the synagogue began the process of contracting an artist to replace the name.

There was a lot of concern about how weve got names literally etched in glass and someone who we think is perfectly fine on the list today we might not think is fine on the list tomorrow, Wisialowski said. Should we pull the whole wall down? Should we pull them down and recognize that we might need to make changes in the future as well, if issues come to light that are counter to our values as an organization?

In the end, the congregation opted to keep the wall but replace three windows bearing what they deemed to be problematic names at a cost of approximately $7,500. Along with Benjamin, the congregation is removing the names of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, a prominent Jewish musician who died in 1994, and the actor Dustin Hoffman. Both Hoffman and Carlebach have been accused of harassment and assault by several women, in Carlebachs case posthumously.

The congregation has taken the new windows as an opportunity to include more womens names. The names will be replaced by those of the biblical figure Deborah, the prominent Jewish musician Debbie Friedman and Regina Jonas, the first woman to be ordained as a rabbi.

(Asked whether the windows also included the name of Woody Allen, the filmmaker accused of child sexual abuse, Wisialowski said, Amazingly, no.)

If an issue pops up again, if lots of issues pop up again, then we will have to also handle them based on our values, which are really, really clear about the kind of organization we want to be and the kind of message that we want to put into the world about the importance of individuals and social justice and equality, she said.

Looking back, Wettan says the years-long process gave the congregation an opportunity to articulate its values and come to a deliberate decision. It also showed him, he said, how fraught it can be to deal with historical memory and an engraved memorial.

Its easy for someone in Northern California to look at the South and say thats them, not us, he said. Its hard to change. To change, you cant be afraid to acknowledge that maybe you didnt get something right the first time.

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A California synagogue memorialized Judah Benjamin, the Confederacy's most prominent Jew. Here's how that changed. - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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