Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on August 17, 2017

The Jewish community in Charlottesvillehired armed security to protectits synagogue for the first timeafterlocal police declined to provide a guard for the site despite hundreds of white supremacists congregating on the town over the weekend fora rally that resulted in the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer.

Alan Zimmerman, president of the Congregation Beth Israel in the Virginia town, wrote a blog postpublished on Monday evening following the violent scenes on Saturday that resulted in a car-ramming attackthat took place just 200 feet from the place of worship.

He described the fearhe felt in the presence of white supremacists, who rallied aroundanti-Semitic slogans, as 40 members of the community prayed in the synagogue, withoutsupport from the local authorities.

The police departmentpromised to provide an observer near the building but Zimmerman says it was not kept by the force leaving the congregation vulnerable to assault as they worshipped.

For half an hour, three men dressed in fatigues and armed with semi-automatic rifles stood across the street from the temple, he wrote. Had they tried to enter, I dont know what I could have done to stop them, but I couldnt take my eyes off them, either.

Not only did armed protesters stand across from the synagogue, but neo-Nazis paraded past the building, shouting anti-Semitic slogans, a horrible reminder ofNazi Germanys persecution and mass slaughterof European Jews.

Several times, parades of Nazis passed our building, shouting, 'There's the synagogue!'followed by chants of 'Sieg Heil'and other anti-Semitic language. Some carried flags with swastikas and other Nazi symbols, Zimmerman wrote.

This was before James Alex Fields Jr.plowed his car into protesters in the town, leaving a scene of carnage that has sparked outrage across the United States, and the wider western world.

The Jewish community has faced more incidents of hate crimes since the ascension of Donald Trump to the Oval Office. Jewish community centers have received bomb threatsmany of which turned out to be from a Jewish man based in IsraelJewish cemeteries have been desecrated and Trump himself has failed on several occasions to single out the white supremacists for censure, blaming violence on both sides, in reference to anti-racist protesters trying to stop Saturday'swhite supremacist march.

Zimmerman said that the threat was not only on the ground but online too. He learned that Nazi websites had posted a call to burn the synagogue after which the communityleaders took the precautionary step of removing our Torahs, including a Holocaust scroll, from the premises.

Zimmerman told the Jewish worshippersthat it would be better if they exited the synagogue by the back entrance, and to go in groups to protect each other.

This is 2017 in the United States of America, he wrote.

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Charlottesville Cops Refused to Protect Synagogue - Yahoo News

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Posted By simmons on August 17, 2017

The Nazis burned and looted the synagogue but it was the Russians who knocked it down as they set out to eradicate Jewish memories in Lithuania after WWII.

An international team of archaeologists has unearthed the remains of ritual baths at the Great Synagogue in Vilna, which had been burned and ransacked by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and was finally pulled down once and for all by the Russians in 1965 as they set out to eradicate all memory of the Jews in Lithuania.

How long Jews lived in Lithuania is hard to know. The earliest records note their presence from the 8th century C.E., though they could have arrived centuries before, as Jews scattered through the diaspora after the disastrous Bar Kokhba Revolt in ancient Israel. In any case, like numerous other European nations, Lithuania had a checkered relationship with the Jews, sometimes embracing them with warmth, at other times expelling the whole population, for instance in the year 1495. They were allowed back in after eight years, but relations between the Lithuanian powers that be and the Jewish population had soured, and would remain strained (and worse).

The vast Great Synagogue of Vilna itself was completed in 1633, over a century after the Jews were let back into Lithuania. It was built on the site of an older synagogue, which in turn had been built on the remains of an even older Jewish prayer house.

First the Lithuanian authorities of this early modern period had to let the Jews build a house of worship from stone. Since it was so large and grand, yet was forbidden by law to pass the height of churches in the city, much of the Grand Synagogue was built below ground. Seen from the street, the synagogue seemed three stories tall but inside it stretched the equivalent of five stories, all grandly decorated, according to records.

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany occupied Lithuania.

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"During the liquidation of the Small Ghetto, [in October 1941], the Great Synagogue was burned and then ransacked," Dr. Jon Seligman of the Israel Antiquities Authority, leader of the research team, told Haaretz. It was 308 years after its construction.

Yet, as World War II ended, the shell of the synagogue still stood. Even though it was burnt out and its furnishings were gone, it could have been restored, he says.

It was not to be. "In the 1950s, the Lithuanian Soviet government decided to destroy the synagogue and the whole the area around it," Seligman mourns. The synagogue compound had included schools (no less than 12 batei midrash, one run by the Gaon of Vilna), a library, kosher meat stalls and the mikves.

Grasshoppers and amphibia

The excavation was based on a late 19th-century architectural plan found in the municipal archive of Vilna, for the community to restore the ancient bathhouse. That plan had the bathhouse with two main stories, a number of rooms, and a service wing. But the archaeologists found just two mikvas and do not know if there were more.

"Only two are marked on the plan," Seligman says. A sign that there may have been more is that they two are much smaller than the archaeologists had expected, he adds.

We don't know what the mikvas' building looked like. We do have a description of the mikve experience at the Great Synagogue, from a Yiddish tour guide. As delivered by Seligman: "The walls were covered with black mold and there were grasshoppers running around. Frogs croaking in the corner. It does not sound like it was a very nice place to visit."

The Jews of Vilna were wiped out during the Holocaust. Of the original 130 synagogues in Vilna, only one remained standing after World War II and the subsequent Russian policy (at the time) to wipe out the memory of the Jewish people, Seligman says: "They destroyed all standing Jewish monuments. They also destroyed the cemeteries, using the tombstones as building materials."

This Soviet destruction was not unique to Vilna: it was a common feature in that area any synagogues that had survived the war were demolished, or repurposed, for instance as storerooms, Seligman says.

On the site that had housed the Great Synagogue, the Lithuanians have built a school that stands there to this very day. And the Jews of Lithuania continue to worship at the one synagogue left standing. No others have been built.

The excavation of the mikvas was led by Seligman, with Mantas Daubaras of the Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Organization and Prof. Richard Freund of Hartford University.

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Great Synagogue of Vilna's Jewish Ritual Baths, Destroyed in Holocaust, Found by Archaeologists - Haaretz

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Posted By richards on August 17, 2017

By Brooke Constance White

An appellate court in Massachusetts recently overturned a U.S. District Court ruling about who ultimately owns the oldest synagogue in America.

The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston issued a decision on Aug. 2 that the Touro Synagogue building in Newport is owned by New York City-based Shearith Israel rather than Jeshuat Israel, the congregation that has been worshiping there for more than 100 years.

In the 21-page decision, Justice David H. Souter, a retired associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, stated that, according to a lease dating back to 1903, Congregation Shearith Israel owns the building, fixtures and land located at 85 Touro St. in Newport.

As previously reported by Newport This Week, the case opened in 2012 after Touros Congregation Jeshuat Israel began experiencing financial difficulties and sought to sell one of two pairs of 18th-century silver ceremonial bells, called rimonim. Proceeds were to be put in an irrevocable endowment, with the interest maintaining the synagogue and ensuring the continuation of services.

The Newport congregation worked with Christies Auction House to find a buyer and accepted a $7.4 million offer from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Once the New York congregation discovered the plan to sell the rimonim, it objected, claiming ownership of the property and thus the rimonim. A lawsuit filed by the Newport congregation followed.

The two congregations are interwoven in many ways, dating back to the early 1800s, when most Jews left Newport fearing persecution stemming from the American Revolution. The synagogue closed, and the ownership and management of the property, building and contents transferred to the New York congregation.

When Jews re-established worship in Newport in the late 1800s, the New York congregation sent the contents back, including the bells recently at issue. The Newport congregation signed a lease in 1903 to rent the synagogue from the New York congregation for a nominal sum of $1 per year, and that arrangement played into the controversy.

A 2001 agreement made among three parties, the Newport congregation, a supportive organization known as the Society of Friends of Touro Synagogue, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, describes the Newport congregation as having "possession of the site through a lease with Congregation Shearith Israel as owner, confirming that the Newport congregation had no legal claim beyond that of a holdover tenant under the terms of the 1903 lease, as formally renewed in 1908.

According to Souters ruling, however, although there was an allusion to personal property in [the Newport congregations] obligations to the other two parties to protect and conserve the related collections in its ownership, possession or control, no object was mentioned as being within any of the three categories, and nothing can be inferred from this provision about the ownership of the rimonim.

Louis Solomon, attorney for the New York congregation, said his client is gratified that the appeals court looked at the case so thoroughly and ended up correcting the district courts previous ruling.

Now were hoping that these two congregations can put this behind them because there is so much more that we have in common than apart, Solomon said in a phone interview after the ruling. We want to move forward harmoniously and we have been waiting to hear from the Newport congregation. Weve offered up several olive branches of peace.

According to Solomon, the Newport congregation wants to ask for an extension to continue litigation, which is their right as a litigant, but will simply delay the process.

We need to experience healing now, he said. Its been five years and we need to get back to the business of serving Jews and people of faith in America.

Until the Newport congregation sued for ownership, Solomon said the New York congregation sought to preserve the Touro Synagogue as an active house of worship. With the new ruling, it will continue in that role.

Attorney Gary P. Naftalis, counsel for Congregation Jeshuat Israel, said his client is disappointed in the ruling and will be petitioning for a rehearing.

We remain committed to preserving Touro Synagogue, the oldest synagogue and the cradle of religious liberty in the United States, as a place of public worship for Jews and to safeguarding the rights of Jeshuat Israel, the Congregation that has prayed at and protected Touro for over a century, Naftalis said in an email to Newport This Week.

Visit newportthisweek.com to read more background on the dispute.

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Court Rules on Touro Synagogue Ownership - Newport This Week

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Posted By richards on August 17, 2017

Email a copy of "Barcelona Synagogue, Jewish Institutions Protectively Shuttered Following Terrorist Atrocity" to a friend

Barcelona police vehicles rush to the site of Thursdays terror attack. Photo: Screenshot.

Barcelonas main synagogue will be closedfor a minimum of24 hours following Thursdaysdeadly terrorist attack in the city, in which at least thirteen people were murdered and upwards of 100wounded.

Barcelona Rabbi Meir Bar Chen said that all community institutions had been closed in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity. Bar Chen confirmed that this was not a terrorist attack directed against Jews, following initial reports that a kosher restaurant on the Las Ramblasthoroughfare along the path of the terrorists van had been their primary target.

In an interview with The Algemeiner on Thursday, a prominent Catalan journalist highlighted the vulnerabilities facingthe Spanish authorities in confronting terrorism both regionally and nationally, as more details of the attack poured in.

Measures against terrorism have been implemented, but there has been little cooperation between state and regional authorities, especially with the separatist issue in the frame, Borja Vilallonga editor-in-chief of the influential Catalan weekly El Temps told The Algemeiner on Thursday afternoon.

August 17, 2017 3:30 pm

On October 1, voters in Catalonia will go to the polls in a referendum on whether to secede from Spain a recent announcement from the Catalan government that the region could declare independence within 48 hours of the result has deepened already high tensions with the central government in Madrid.

Vilallonga said, Imams and communities develop without any kind of state surveillance, even though different terrorist groups have been arrested many times in the Barcelona area, and a number of attacks averted.

As a result, Vilallonga argued, the Catalan police are technically prepared to respond to terrorism, but are ill-informed on the intelligence side. The Catalan police cannot access Europol files, he cited as an example, referring to the Europe-wide law enforcement agency. Butit is the Catalan police who arein charge of patrolling public areas in Barcelona like the site of the attack today.

In the wake of the attack, local media reported that the van used had been rented by a Muslim individual, as intelligence analysts noted that that suspects social media feeds which have now been taken down contained Islamist propaganda. The Sunni terrorist group ISIS has since claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Amaq news agency.

Vilallonga observed thatgovernment agencies have little control over the different branches of Islam in Barcelona despite reports of radicalization going back years.

We dont really know what Muslims in Barcelona think, or how extremist Salafi currents infiltrate them, Vilallonga said.

Approximately 1.2 Muslims live in Spain, with at least 400,000 in Catalonia. Around 100 Spanish Muslims are reported to have joined ISIS terrorists inIraq and Syria.

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Barcelona Synagogue, Jewish Institutions Protectively Shuttered Following Terrorist Atrocity - Algemeiner

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Posted By simmons on August 17, 2017

During the glorious Shabbat Nachamu 5777, when Rav Shlomo Amar joined us at Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck, I had the opportunity to discuss a wide variety of halachic issues with him. Among the issues we discussed was the necessity of a Sephardic couple using the Sephardic text for their ketuba.

A leading American Sephardic rav had told me that the only crucial difference between an Ashkenazic and Sephardic ketuba is the term midOraita (from the Torah) which appears in an Ashkenazic ketuba for a brides first marriage and should not appear in a Sephardic ketuba (Teshuvot Yabia Omer 3 Even HaEzer 12). Ashkenazic Jews since the time of the Rishonim have incorporated the word midOraita in their ketubot describing the base amount (ikar ketuba) due to the bride from the Torah.

Ashkenazic Rishonim such as Tosafot (Ketubot 10a s.v. Amar Rav Nachman) and the Rosh (Ketubot 1:19) have struggled to explain this phenomenon in light of the Gemara (Yevamot 89a, Ketubot 10a and 11a) that explicitly states that the ketuba is a rabbinic enactment designed and intended to prevent impulsive divorce. Rabbeinu Tam explains that Ashkenazim follow the opinion of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel who argues that the ketuba is of Torah origin (Ketubot 110b). The Rosh explains that the phrase dchazi lichi midOraita (that the Torah entitles you) refers to the value of the coins to be used in case of collection of the ketuba. It is teaching that the payment must be made in higher-value coins (i.e., kesef tzuri and not kesef medina) used in payment of Torah-level obligations (such as pidyon haben).

Hacham Ovadia, on the other hand, insisted that however the Ashkenazim explain their usage of the term midOraita in the ketuba, the Sephardim Rishonim such as the Ramban did not include this word in the ketuba. Thus, Hacham Ovadia insists that the word midOraita has no place in the ketuba text of a Sephardic couple. Accordingly, the American Sephardic rabbi told me that as long as the word midOraita is removed, the remainder of the Ashkenazic ketuba is acceptable for Sephardic Jews. There are also significant differences in the spellings of names and transliteration of foreign words such as the location of the wedding (if it occurs outside of Israel). In addition, the Sephardic custom is for the chatan to sign the ketubahin addition to the witnesses.

I presented this insight to Rav Amar, who strongly disagreed. He noted three additional reasons why a full Sephardic text is necessary for a Sephardic couple. First, a Sephardic text includes, toward the beginning, the phrase anan sahadi, we are witnesses, a phrase that does not appear in the Ashkenazic version. Rav Amar notes that the Sephardic text is much more reasonable, noting that the witnesses are the voice of the ketuba. The ketuba in essence is the witnesses account of how they witnessed the groom accept with a kinyan the obligations set forth in the ketuba. In order to indicate this, the ketuba should state anan sahadi toward the outset of the document.

A second advantage is the set amount mentioned in the Ashkenazic ketuba for the tosefet ketuba (added amount of the ketuba) and nedunya (bridal dowry) for a first marriage is 200 zekukim kesef. Rav Amar notes the wide range of opinions of the contemporary equivalents of this monetary sum (Rav Yonah Reiss summarizes the views at http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/KETUBAH.pdf).

By contrast, Sephardic ketubot do not have set amount for the tosefet ketuba and nedunya. Instead, each couple decides the amount using a realistic amount appropriate for them. I noted the prevalent problem of exaggerated amounts and heated arguments that emerge regarding the designated amount. Rav Amar responded that this is among the responsibilities of the officiating rabbi to guide the couple to use a reasonable amount. He noted that Hacham Ovadia typically would advise couples to use the amount of $52,000, which is a reasonable amount for an Israeli couple, and that the Hebrew word ben (son) is the numerical equivalent of 52.

A third advantage is based on the fact that, essentially, the cherem dRabbeinu Gershom, the 10th-century ban on polygamy, is not binding on Sephardim. Rav Ovadia Yosef (Teshuvot Yabia Omer 5: E.H. 1) notes that either Sephardim never accepted it or have accepted the opinion (presented as authoritative by Rav Yosef Karo in the Shulchan Aruch E.H. 1:10) that the cherem expired at the end of the fifth millennium from Creation (i.e., 1240 C.E.). Instead, Sephardim accept upon themselves in the ketuba not to marry more than one wife. Accordingly, if Sephardim utilize an Ashkenazic text, the husband has failed to accept upon himself the cherem!

Accordingly, Rav Amar insists that Sephardic Jews should use the Sephardic ketuba text rather than merely omitting the word midOraita from the Ashkenazic text. We look forward to continuing, beezrat Hashem, in the coming weeks to present more of the rich and manifold lessons gleaned from Rav Amar during the wonderful weekend he recently spent in Teaneck.

By Rabbi Haim Jachter

Rabbi Haim Jachter is the spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck. He also serves as a Rebbe at Torah Academy of Bergen County and a Dayan on the Beth Din of Elizabeth.

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Rav Shlomo Amar: Sephardic Couples Should Use a Sephardic Ketuba - Jewish Link of New Jersey

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Posted By admin on August 17, 2017

The 1st Edition of theAMERICAN SEPHARDI MUSIC FESTIVALAugust 24, 27 & 28, 2017at the Center for Jewish History, New York.

Dynamic and diverse performances by world-class artists will be heard at the first American Sephardi Music Festival.Hosted by the American Sephardi Federation and directed by David Serero, the Festival will take place on three days: August 24th, 27th and 28th 2017 at The Center for the Jewish History (15 W. 16th St., New York City).

August 24th:

7pm: GERARD EDERY Three Religions, Three Faiths

9pm: FRANCOISE ATLAN An Intimate Evening of Andalusian and Sephardi music

August 27th:

1pm: SARAH AROESTELadino Music Transformed from Yesterday to Today

3pm: GERARD EDERYTreasures of World Song

5pm: NASHAZArabic Jazz Ensemble

7pm: ADAM MAALOUF and the Future Tribe Where the Ancient meets the Modern

9pm: STEVEN CHERA and the Bob Kaye TrioA Sephardi on Jazz!

August 28th:

7pm: ITAMAR BOROCHOV Jazz between Middle Eastern Traditions

8:45pm: DAVID SERERO A Sephardi on Opera!

Tickets are from $20 to $40.

$20 of the $40 ticket is a tax-deductible donation to further ASF's mission to preserve and promote the rich mosaic culture of Greater Sephardic Communities.

Tickets: http://www.AmericanSephardiMusicFestival.com

http://www.brownpapertickets.com or 1.800.838.3006

All the concerts will take place at the Center for Jewish History located at 15 West 16th St. (between 6th and 5th), New York 10011.

The Mission of this festival is to bring talents from all over the world who showcase the Sephardic music from yesterday but with a modern touch. Im very proud to bring this variety of Sephardi music presented from pure the Sephardic songs performance, to the mix of Arabic and jazz, Jazz in a Sephardi style, to Sephardic influence in Opera. Thats the way I love doing and presenting Classics! said Serero, who selected the artists to be part of this unique Music Festival.

David has brought together world-class performers to showcase the vibrant variety of Sephardi sounds, ranging from Andalusian ballads and Ladino love songs to Israeli maqamim. ASF is proud to host this festival and hopes it will join the New York Sephardic Film Festival as a major, annual cultural event, said Jason Guberman-P.Executive Director of the American Sephardi Federation.

The American Sephardi Federation, based at the landmark Center for Jewish History, preserves and promotes the history, traditions, and rich mosaic culture of Greater Sephardic communities as an integral part of the Jewish experience. ASF hosts high-profile cultural events and exhibitions, produces widely-read online (Sephardi World Weekly, Sephardi Ideas Monthly) and print (The Sephardi Report) publications, supports research, scholarship, and the National Sephardic Library, and represents the Sephardi voice in diplomatic and Jewish communal affairs as a member of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and World Jewish Congress.

Please visit us at http://www.americansephardi.org.

Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/americansephardifederation

About the Artists:

DAVID SERERO Artistic Director / Producer

Show on August 28th at 8:45pm: A Sephardi on Opera!(Followed by the Wine & Cheese Closing Party).

French opera star and actor David Serero has performed over 1,200 concerts worldwide, recorded over 20 albums and played in more than 100 films and TV series. His repertoire ranges from Opera, Musicals, and World Music. He enjoys bringing his Sephardic origins in Classics. Last season, he starred as Shylock and Othellos title role both adapted in a Sephardi style. Upcoming roles are Cyrano (Rostands Cyrano of Bergerac) in April 2018 and Don Giovanni (Mozarts opera) in June 2018. Among his various recorded albums, he has released Sephardi, an album of Sephardi music and recently Baritone Opera Arias. http://www.davidserero.comTICKETS: August28DavidSerero.bpt.me or 1.800.838.3006

GERARD EDERY: August 24th 7pm: Three Religions, Three Faiths & August 27th 3pm: Treasures of World Song.

Gerard Edery received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Recognized as a leading musical folklorist and a master singer and guitarist, Gerard Edery has at his command a remarkable range of ethnic folk styles and traditions from around the world. He has been honored with the Sephardic Musical Heritage Award and is the recipient of a Meet the Composer grant for his original songs. Highlights of Ederys extensive performing career have included performances at Zankel Hall (Carnegie Hall), Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Florence Gould Hall, and The United Nations in both New York City and Geneva, Victoria Hall in Geneva, The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Royce Hall in L.A., The Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, the Fez International Festival of Sacred Music in Morocco, the Festival Cervantino in Mexico, the Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam, the Vilnius International Folk Festival, the Pax Sacred Music Festival and the Klaipeda Concert Series (with chamber orchestra) in Lithuania; in Poland at the International Folk Music Festival, the Zachor Music Festival in Bialystock and at the Warsaw Music Academy, among others. In addition to his busy concert schedule, he has released 17 CDs on the Sefarad Records label as well as the acclaimed Sephardic Songbook. http://www.gerardedery.com

Gerard Edery, a master of Sephardic song...- New York Times.TICKETS: August24GerardEdery.bpt.me and August27GerardEdery.bpt.me

FRANCOISE ATLAN: August 24th 9pm Intimate performance of Andalusian and Sephardic Songs

Invited by international major scenes such as the Carnegie Hall in New York, the International Festival of Mexico, the La Monnaie Theater of Brussels, the Sacred Music Festival of Fes, the South of Arles and the Opera Festival, Franoise Atlan has signed many successful collaborations with great musicians and ensembles, and recorded several critically acclaimed recordings - Diapason d Or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, FFFF Tlrama, Grand Prix de lAcadmie Charles Cros among others.An artist with a double culture, endowed with a vocal expression, a style and a unique technique, her Judeo-Berber roots naturally led her to become passionate about the Mediterranean vocal heritage, in particular the Judaeo-Spanish and Judeo-Arab traditions, while pursuing her career as a lyric singer.

Ms. Atlans songs - in Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish and the Sephardic language Ladino - followed the diaspora of Jews expelled from Andalusia in the 15th century. They were about earthly and divine love, alluding to the mystical Jewish Kabbalah tradition. Ms. Atlan sang them with refined passion connecting the limpid elegance of Renaissance song with the elaborate ornaments of Middle Eastern music. New York Times (by John Pareles)

Ms. Atlans vocal style was a matter of combinations. Instead of following current theories that medieval vocal production may have been earthier than modern singing, and perhaps a bit reedy, Ms. Atlan produced the lustrous, velvety soprano tone that todays audiences admire. In a way, she offered the best of both worlds: complete fluidity in the musics exotically winding, intricately melismatic lines, along with an entirely contemporary suppleness in both phrasing and dynamics. The New York Times (by Allan Kozzin).TICKETS: FrancoiseAtlan.bpt.me or 1.800.838.3006

SARAH AROESTE: August 27th1pm Ladino Music Transformed from Yesterday to Today.

International Ladino singer/songwriter Sarah Aroeste weaves stories from her personal family history, together with song, in this multi-media interactive presentation. Using sound clips, videos, and live music, Aroeste will give a taste of how her work is pushing the Ladino envelope today. Aroeste demonstrates with her unique linguistic interpretations, modern technologies, and contemporary musical arrangements how Ladino music and culture is developing and still has a vibrant life ahead.

International Ladino singer Sarah Aroeste travels the globe fusing both original and traditional Judeo-Spanish folk songs with her unique blend of rock, pop, and jazz. Drawing upon her family roots from Greece and Macedonia (via Medieval Spain), Aroeste works tirelessly to bring Ladino music back to life for a new generation. Aroeste has released four Ladino recordings: A la Una: In the Beginning (2003), Puertas (2007), Gracia (2012), and Ora de Despertar (2016), the first ever all-original Ladino children album and animated cartoon series. She will be releasing Together/Endjuntos. The first bilingual Ladino/English holiday album, to come this fall 2017. In 2014 Aroeste won the Sephardic prize at the International Jewish Music Festival in Amsterdam, and in 2015 she represented the USA in the International Sephardic Music Festival in Cordoba, Spain.

NPR has featured Aroeste as one of the most boundary-pushing Latin artists today, and she has garnered wide critical acclaim for her efforts to help revitalize a tradition by introducing Ladino music to wider audiences. Visit http://www.saraharoeste.com for more information.TICKETS: SarahAroeste.bpt.me or 1.800.838.3006

NASHAZ: August 27th 5pm Arabic Jazz Ensemble

Nashazis an expression of Brian Prunkas lifelong devotion to both Arabicmusic and jazz.Through his oud playing,improvisations and compositions, Brian findscommon threads and naturalsympathies between the disparate traditions of jazz and the maqam music of themiddle east and North Africa, resulting in an organic newsound: melodic andspirited, ranging from wistful contemplation to kinetic intensity.

Prior to moving to Brooklyn in 2003,Brian Prunkawas living and performingin New Orleans, where he spent his musically formative years honing his musicalskills immersed in the jazzcommunity. Always drawn to a wide range of musicwithout regard to boundaries, national or otherwise, when fate introduced himto the oud he had an instant and profound connection with thisstoriedinstrument. A chance conversation led him to study with his mentor, therenowned virtuoso Simon Shaheen, who was impressed enough by his sincerepassion for Arabic music to invitePrunka to perform with him on tour. Hefounded Nashaz to bring together his love of jazz and Arabic music.

He has performed throughout the U.S. and internationally with Simon Shaheen,Michael Bates, Ravish Momin, the New York Arabic Orchestra, the Vancouver InternationalOrchestra, Zikrayat,the Near East River Ensemble, and others.Other members of Nashaz joining in this concert will be Matt Darriau on clarinet and saxophone (Paradox Trio, Klezmatics), Kenny Warren on trumpet (Slavic Soul Part, Sway Machinery), John Murchison on bass (Zikrayat, Ensemble Fanaa), and Dan Kurfirst on percussion.TICKETS: Nashazensemble.bpt.me or 1.800.838.3006

ADAM MAALOUF and the FUTURE TRIBE: August 27th 7pm - Where the Ancient meets the Modern

As a specialist in pantam (handpan), cello, & percussion from around the world, Adam's unique interpretation of World Music is channeled through genre-bending compositions for solo and ensembles.

"Future Tribe" is an ensemble of global instrumentalists that take listeners somewhere new. The Tribe's music is found where the modern meets the ancient, where the Pantam (or handpan) meets ancient or traditional styles of music from around the globe. Pantam is the name of the "flying saucer" instrument invented in year 2000, and the word stems from the combination of the Pan from Trinidad, and the Ghatam (clay pot drum) from South India. Maalouf's music is presented with a range of traditional musicians playing Indian Tabla, Arabic Vocal, Bansuri Flute, Middle Eastern Percussion, Guitar, Trumpet, Turkish Oud and Nay.TICKETS: AdamMaalouf.bpt.me or 1.800.838.3006

STEVEN CHERA: August 27th 9pm A Sephardi on Jazz Music

Steven Chera comes to you LIVE at the Center of Jewish History singing classics with a fresh, new, jazzy sound of tunes from his most recent album, The Classic Standards - Volume 1. Known for performing American songbook classics while adding his crooner touch, Chera has captivated audiences nationwide for over two decades. Chera's newest album comprises all tracks performed by his inspirational icon, Frank Sinatra.

With the help of legendary Sear Sound Studios in NYC, Grammy nominated engineer Jack Mason, Producer & Creative Director AJ Molaee, pianist and Music Director Bob Kaye (prominently affiliated with Buddy Rich and Dizzy Gillespie), The Classic Standards Volume 1 intermixes a collection of the Great American Songbook, classic standards from the early part of the 20th century.TICKETS: StevenChera.bpt.me or 1.800.838.3006

ITAMAR BOROCHOV: August 28th 7pm Jazz between Middle Eastern traditions

Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter & composer Itamar Borochov connects lower Manhattan to North Africa, modern Israel and ancient Bukhara, celebrating traces of the divine that he finds in elegant sophistication, Middle Eastern tradition and downhome blues.

Israeli-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter & composer Itamar Borochov connects lower Manhattan to North Africa, modern Israel and ancient Bukhara, celebrating traces of the divine that he finds in elegant sophistication, Middle Eastern tradition and downhome blues. Borochov brings a unique sound with him wherever he goes. Deeply immersed in the jazz tradition, Borochovs search for his personal roots resulted in an ever-expanding love for Arab and Pan-African musical sensibilities a natural palette for a trumpeter-composer raised in Jaffa, an integrated Muslim-Jewish-Christian city.

After working with such legendary artists as Curtis Fuller and Candido Camero, and having served as arranger and co-producer for acclaimed world music sensation Yemen Blues, Borochov set out on his own path. His critically acclaimed debut recording Outset (2014) was included in the New York City Jazz Records Best of 2014 List, and his forthcoming album Boomerang was chosen as "revelation of the month" on Jazz Magazine. Audiences worldwide are falling for his enchanting sound and virtuosic expression.TICKETS: ItamarBorochov.bpt.me or 1.800.838.3006

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The American Sephardi Music Festival - NY Blueprint

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Posted By richards on August 17, 2017

Kevin Myers apologised and said he had no career left and that his reputation was in tatters. Photograph: Eric Luke / The Irish Times

The head of an organisation that campaigns against censorship has said she is happy to have former columnist Kevin Myers - fired recently over offensive comments about women and Jewish people - to moderate a lecture she will deliver in Limerick next month.

Chief executive of Index on Censorship Jodie Ginsberg, who is of Jewish heritage, will deliver one of six lectures in the autumn series presented by the Limerick Civic Trust in conjunction with the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick.

She is the only woman among the six speakers in the series.

A female professor emeritus at UL has described the decision to invite Myers to moderate Ginsbergs lecture as a provocative, calculated move by the organisers to get an audience.

Ginsberg told The Irish Times she was aware Myers had been asked to moderate.

In an email, she said she was happy for him to do so.

I wouldnt be much of a free speech advocate if I refused to debate with someone whose views I disagree with, she said.

I am a feminist of Jewish heritage: I find much of what Myers has written deeply offensive. Rather than giving him the opportunity to repeat these views, I see the Limerick talk as an opportunity to air mine.

Ginsberg said that, as someone who had moderated many events, she was curious that anyone should think that acting as a moderator gave someone a platform for airing their views.

If Myers is any kind of decent moderator, his job will be to give a platform to my view not his, she said.

She also said it was obviously ludicrous that in 2017 Limerick Civic Trust only had one female speaker in the line-up.

Hopefully the fact that national media is now drawing attention to this will mean its not ever repeated, she said.

The Sunday Times published an apology following the publication of Myerss column on July 30th, in which he made offensive comments about Jewish people and women, suggesting that presenters Vanessa Feltz and Claudia Winkleman were well paid by the BBC because they were Jewish.

The newspaper also fired him as a columnist and he subsequently apologised and said he had no career left and that his reputation was in tatters.

David OBrien, chief executive of Limerick Civic Trust, told the Limerick Leader this week he had not read Myerss widely criticised article, entitled Sorry, ladies equal pay has to be earned. He said the lectures were about encouraging debate and having opposing views.

Pat OConnor, Prof Emeritus at University of Limerick, whose work has a focus on gender issues, told the newspaper she hoped the talk isnt a call to legitimise the views of other unreconstructed misogynists.

Its not an acceptable position to say everyone is entitled to free speech if it stirs up hatred against any one group. Its not an uncontested right, Prof OConnor said.

I have no time for political correctness. I think if the heart is right, the lip can be forgiven. But it seems to be giving a platform to Kevin Myers, and legitimising opinions that many people found offensive.

Index on Censorship is a non-profit organisation that campaigns for and defends free expression worldwide. It publishes a magazine with work by censored writers and artists.

The opening lecture in the series is on September 14th and the series continues on Thursday evenings until October 19th. Ginsbergs lecture is on September 28th.

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Anti-censorship campaigner 'happy' to have Kevin Myers moderate talk - Irish Times

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Posted By richards on August 17, 2017

By Kevin Barrett on March 8, 2017

By Kevin Barrett, Veterans Today Editor

In what amounts to a ringing endorsement of the claims of Holocaust revisionists, Amazon.com has apparently concluded that their books cannot be effectively refuted and therefore must be banned.

M.S. King, author ofThe Bad War, has been notified that his book has beenbannedfrom Amazon. The explanation:

Were contacting you regarding the following book: The Bad War: The Truth NEVER Taught About World War II. During our review process, we found that this content is in violation of our content guidelines. As a result, we cannot offer this book for sale.

Amazon did not explain precisely which guidelines had been violated, nor did it cite specific passages. Therefore the violations claim is an obvious lie. The real reason Kings book and otherswere banned is that Jewish-Zionist pressure groups have mounted a campaign (timed to accompany the cemetery desecration PR stunt?) aimed atmaking Holocaust revisionism books unavailable. Obviously they believe the revisionists claims are irrefutable and have convinced Amazon that such is the case.

Are the same peoplewho are knocking over headstones in cemeteries also pressuring Amazon to remove holocaust revisionismbooks? That would certainly fit their standard problem-reaction-solution methodology.

After MS King emailed me about the suppression of his book, I searched Amazon to see if the handful of holocaust revisionism titles Im familiar with were still there. (Disclaimer: I have only read a few books on this subject and am not a revisionist, just an open-minded truth-seekerand defender offreedom of inquiry.)

So which books have been taken down?

Thomas Daltons Debating the Holocaust: A New Look at Both Sides is by far the best book I have read on the Holocaust controversy. It is thorough, precise, well-documented, and lays out a convincing prima facia case that holocaust revisionism needs to be taken seriously. Scholarly, dispassionate, and utterly lacking in anything that could remotely be called hate or bigotry, Debating the Holocaust is no longer available on Amazon. And that is an outrage.

Nick Kollerstroms Breaking the Spell is also missing in action from Amazon.com.A History of Science Ph.D. with a specialty in chemistry, Dr. Kollerstrom was summarily fired, with no reason given, from University College of London after he published a scholarly article critiquing the evidence for mass execution cyanide gas chambers in the Nazi camps. His book Breaking the Spelllays out his conclusions including his explanation of how the rumor of mass gassings was initiated by British war propagandists in 1942, thensnowballed as the Nazis applied copious amounts of Zyklon-B in minature gas chambers to the clothing and bedding of inmates to kill lice and stem that summers typhusoutbreak.

So now Kollerstrom has not only been fired for voicing heretical views, but he cant even offer them in book form to the mass reading public.

Another revisionist Ive read, though not extensively, is Dr. Robert Faurisson. A convert to Islam, Faurisson is wildly popular in Morocco, where his books were recommended to me by academic colleagues there during my year of Fulbright-sponsored Ph.D. research in 1999-2000.

Has Faurissons Amazon catalogue been tampered with? I cant tell; butthere certainlyis a shocking paucity of affordable Faurisson offerings there. The only volumeof his available for less than $40 is the 1981 Journal of Historical Review v.2 n.4 he co-edited with Phillip Beck. The bulk of his work is currently unavailable.

How about Germar Rudolf, who (like Faurisson) has actually been imprisoned for his scholarly efforts on this controversial subject? Im not really familiar with his work, but I understand that he is considered one of the most serious scholars in the revisionism field. Are his booksstill on Amazon? Apparently they are.But for how long?

Update: Rudolfs books arein fact being removed see below

Another very strong pro-holocaust-revisionism voice still up on Amazon is Gerard Menuhin, whose Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil is now selling for $90. Its a passionate, eye-opening book, capable of upsetting mainstream readers preconceptions about a whole range of issues.

Listen to my radio interview with Gerard Menuhin.

And how about David Irving, who is considered a revisionist by Hollywood but not by most actual revisionists? Irvings supposed masterpiece, Hitlers War, is still available for $80. (Apparently there is a market for these disreputable and dangerous books.)

The above list covers the revisionists I know anything about.

How about those who argue against them?

Michael Shermer and Alex Grobmans Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It? is available for less than five dollars. Unfortunately for anyone who cares about rational arguments and empirical evidence, Denying History is clearly inferior to Thomas Daltons Debating the Holocaust, which is no longer available on Amazon at any price.

Deborah Lipstadts Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory, possibly the best-known anti-revisionism book, is also the most shockingly vapid. Lipstadt makes little effort to argue her case on its merits, but instead spends virtually the entire 304 pages lobbing hysterical ad-hominem arguments. The only sane reaction to Lipstadts unbelievably lame volume is: If this is the best the anti-revisionists can do, no wonder they have to try to get revisionists books banned! You can get a used copy for less than two dollars and fifty cents.

So here is the takeaway:

Attention, Amazon shoppers! You can still buy bad and mediocre books arguing that holocaust revisionists are wrong but you are not permitted to buy better books (including at least one very good book, Daltons Debating the Holocaust) that might lead you to the opposite conclusion.

Dear Dr. Barrett:

In your latest article, which I read with interest and gratitude, you write about a handful of revisionist books. Well, what an understatement. While Castle Hill Publishers might be the biggest fish in the revisionist teapot, were by far not the only ones publishing books in that field. But from our program alone, the following 68 titles were banned on March 6. Use the links provided to see for yourself.

Interestingly, if you look at the list of banned books, you might be astonished to find among them books which arent even dealing with the Holocaust as such:

The first two deal with Jewish emigration from the Third Reich prior to the war. It is based on mainstream sources and does not touch upon the extermination issue. The third deals with Jewish fundraising campaigns during and after the FIRST World War, and does therefore already for chronological reason not deal with the Jewish Holocaust of the SECOND World War. The last two books are highly esoteric studies of the organization, responsibilities and activities of the Central Construction Office at Auschwitz, which was in charge of building and maintaining the camps infrastructure. It is based on original wartime archival material and is not dealing with extermination claims of Auschwitz at all. The book has even been cited as a source by mainstream historians.

The sweeping mass ban enforced within hours, and the senseless aimlessness and random nature with which it was implemented, clearly show that these books were not pulled because their content was checked and found impermissible, but because someone (probably Yad Vashem) had sent them a list of items to ban, and Amazon simply complied by checking off all the items on that list.

Best regards

Germar Rudolf Production Manager

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Jeff Bezos, Amazon endorse holocaust denial! (UPDATED ...

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Posted By admin on August 17, 2017

Speaking in an interview on Israeli television, white nationalist Richard Spencer Wednesday said Jews were overrepresented when challenged on antisemitism, adding Jews and Israelis should respect him despite his supremacist views.

Spencer, who has previously courted Israeli media,despite engaging in Holocaust denial and refusing to condemn Hitler, made the remarks while speaking to Israeli state broadcasterChannel 2.

Read More:Why Israel Is Spending $800 Million on a Hidden New Wall

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The alt-right figurehead was initially questioned on the weekends deadly clashes between white supremacist protesters and anti-fascist demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia. Spencer refrained from discussing James Alex Fields Jr., thewhite nationalist who standsaccused of deliberately plowing his car into the group of counter protesters and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. We actually dont know if it was murder yet, Spencer said, adding that he was waiting for all the facts of the case to emerge.

Spencer, who was present at the rally in Charlottesville in protest of the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. was asked aboutthe anti-Jewish slogans shouted during the demonstration. He said the popularity of Donald Trump and the rally in Virginia was the reaction of the maligned white majority.

ALEXANDRIA, VA - AUGUST 14: White nationalist Richard Spencer speaks to select media in his office space on August 14, 2017 Tasos Katopodis/Getty Image

Lets be honest, Spencer said, when asked whether such slogans constitute anti-Semitism, according to Haaretz. Jews are vastly overrepresented in what you could call the establishment, that is, Ivy League educated people who really determine policy, and white people are being dispossessed from this country."

The Channel 2 anchor questioned how Jews should react to these kinds of statements. You are speaking now with a Jewish journalist, most of our viewers are Jews. How should I feel? he asked.

As an Israeli citizen, someone who understands your identity, who has a sense of nationhood and peoplehood, and the history and experience of the Jewish people, you should respect someone like me, who has analogue feelings about whites, Spencer said.

You could say that I am a white Zionistin the sense that I care about my people, I want us to have a secure homeland for us and ourselves. Just like you want a secure homeland in Israel, he added.

On occasion, Spencer has attempted to ingratiate himself to the Israeli right by calling for an alliance with Jews and in December telling Haaretz that he would respect moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

However, he has faced a backlash particularly for his comments on the Holocaust. In December he praised Donald Trumps controversial Holocaust Day remembrance speech which prompted criticism for failing to mention Jews or anti-Semitism. Spencer called it the de-Judification of the Holocaust.

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Richard Spencer Demands Respect On Israeli TV, says Jews are 'Overrepresented' - Newsweek

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Posted By simmons on August 17, 2017

Dear UF President Kent Fuchs,

I currently live and work as a global health specialist in Rwanda, a country that is all too familiar with how hate speech related to ethnicity can spark mass violence. In 1994, America stood by as one million Rwandans were murdered by violence sparked by genocide ideology. Together with my Rwandan colleagues, I have been watching the political situation in the U.S. unfold. A few days ago, I spoke with a colleague about the act of domestic terrorism that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, I am proud to tell him students of color at my university and their accomplices made sure that a domestic terrorist who incited violence in Charlottesville would not speak at my alma mater. I am proud to tell him that you, President Fuchs, chose to stand beside your students.

I graduated from UFs College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2013. During my time at UF, I had the honor of serving as an Inter-Residence Hall Association representative, a Gatorship staffer, a student ambassador for LGBTQ Affairs and a Florida Cicerone. I stood next to former UF President Bernie Machen as he attended the March Against Hate, which we organized in 2012 when a UF Levin College of Law professor found the word "f-----" scratched into his driver-side door. That same year, "n-----" was written on a petition demanding justice during a rally for Trayvon Martin at UF. Two years prior, a doctoral student, Kofi Adu-Brempong, was shot in the head by police at his home in Corry Village, and a swastika was spray-painted on a Jewish fraternity house at Vanderbilt University.

These incidents, when they happen at UF and other universities, are rarely followed-up by consequences for perpetrators because free speech is interpreted to mean a lack of consequences for ones actions, rather than protection from arrest.

Public displays of aggression are echoed by micro-aggressions that students and faculty who belong to marginalized groups experience across campus. I recall a LGBTQ Affairs campaign in 2013 during which we posted signs across campus that displayed anonymous secrets. For example, one read, Here is where I kissed a girl for the first time. Next to Matherly Hall, another read, Here is where some men in a pickup truck drove by and screamed f----- at my girlfriend. I remember one that I wrote that read, Here is where I came out to my favorite professor. She made me feel loved and accepted me immediately. I posted it in Turlington Hall. It was torn down the same day.

In the years since Ive graduated, Ive watched with horror as hate continues to find a platform on our campus. Every year the same group comes to inflict psychological violence against students whose reproductive rights are called to question by horrific blown-up images of mutilated fetuses. This year, a man wearing a swastika armband casually biked across our campus during Jewish American Heritage Month. In recent months, a battle for the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures and the Institute for Black Culture has played out with students of color excluded from conversations that should prioritize their voices.

Students of color had to occupy a closed-door meeting and launch a campaign to participate in the preservation of their cultural institutes. So I was upset when UF entertained the idea of allowing Richard Spencer, a white supremacist, to incite hatred and violence against people of color on our campus. Considering our history though, I was not surprised.

Here in Rwanda, people gather every April to commemorate the genocide against the Tutsi. Rwandans commit and recommit to fighting against genocide ideology and violent extremism across the world. As a global citizen who appreciates the yearly reminder that it is our duty to protect our world against genocide, I hope youjoin me in committing to doing more to encourage our fellow Gators who have never been discriminated against based on religion or ethnicity to reflect on what men who use the same rhetoric as Richard Spencer have meant for people of color, for religious minorities, for our Student Body.

This is not the last time you will be asked to take decisive action to protect students of color the work is ongoing. So when you doubt the validity or feasibility of the radical demands made by student groups who are fighting for fair treatment of students from marginalized backgrounds, I encourage you to remember the decision you just made in the broader context of human history. Go look at the lynching tree that still stands on Bo Diddley Community Plaza. Look at the genocide memorials in Rwanda and around the world. Remember what happens when men in positions of power, given the opportunity to protect black people, choose to do nothing.

Today, you decided it was your duty to protect students from violence. I thank you for that. Moving forward, I hope this sparks a larger commitment to listening to students of color and more action to eradicate white supremacy on our campus and beyond. There is so much left to be done.

Sincerely,

Joanna

Joanna Galaris is a UF alumna.

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Letter to the Editor: A step in the right direction - The Independent Florida Alligator

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