Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 1, 2017

What does that control look like? First, it means that the prayer area is divided into a mens and womens section; the womens section is far smaller. The partition that divides the two is seven feet high and modesty regulations, enforced by security guards and ushers paid by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation and controlled by the Western Wall rabbi, are medieval. Women are given rags to cover their pants, and sleeves to cover their elbows. The same guards expect women to pray silently so that their voices dont send men on the other side into a sexual frenzy.

The National Menorah, where Hanukkah candles are lit in a televised ceremony (like a Christmas tree lighting) stands at the mens section. Only men can light it. Women, be they politicians or Supreme Court Justices, are forbidden to do so. When Tzipi Livni was Minister of Justice (2013-2015), she was sent to light the candles elsewhere.

The fact that this is the religious reality for women in a country that prides itself on being a bastion of liberal ideals in an illiberal neighborhood is unacceptable. Its also an untenable situation for a country that is the homeland of the Jewish people. The Jewish people come in all different religious stripes, and American Jews, critically, are overwhelmingly non-Orthodox: Only one in 10 is Orthodox. For the majority of Jews to feel at home in the Jewish homeland, they cant feel like they are invisible or worse, punished for praying according to their custom.

All of this is the reason Women of the Wall, the Reform and Conservative movements, and the Jewish Federations of North America entered into negotiations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus representatives beginning in May 2013. The process was painstaking and demanded sacrifices from both sides, but ultimately we struck an agreement that the Western Wall rabbi signed off on.

The agreement called for an egalitarian prayer plaza, south of the traditional prayer area, in a place called Robinsons Arch. Here, families would be able to worship together, girls could read from the Torah for their bat mitzvah and women wouldnt be forced to pray quietly. The agreement also called for an independent governing body to oversee this egalitarian prayer plaza, with its own regulations, budget and policies.

The greatness of this agreement was that it didnt take anything away from anyone. It created an entirely new space, keeping the status quo at the current mens and womens sections.

The government of Israel approved the agreement by a 15-5 vote on Jan. 31, 2016. But in the 17 months since, it had taken no steps to implement it, despite a petition by Women of the Wall and others to the High Court. Roughly three weeks ago, the justices patience ran out and they refused to grant the government another extension on implementation. On Sunday, June 25, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who initiated and approved this agreement, succumbed to political pressure by ultra-Orthodox members of his coalition and called a quick, unscheduled vote. The ministers who voted for the deal 17 months ago now voted to repeal it. This from a prime minister who stood before a room of American Jewish leaders in November 2015 and promised: I will always ensure that all Jews can feel at home in Israel, Reform Jews, Conservative Jews, Orthodox Jews and that his government would ensure that the Western Wall will be a source of unity for the Jewish people, not a point of division.

Mr. Netanyahus broken promise is a disgrace and a betrayal of Israelis committed to religious liberty; of diaspora Jews who are being told that they dont matter to the Jewish state; and of Judaism itself, which insists on loving your neighbor as you would love yourself.

This betrayal put me in mind of the first time I was arrested and led to the police station, which has been there since the early 1800s under Turkish rule and, later, under the British. There is a plaque on the wall there commemorating the bravery of a Jewish boy who dared to defy the British by sounding the shofar on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. I felt a deep sense of kinship with that boy, who was arrested and led to the same place years before me for the same type of crime: worshiping according to our faith. But he was rising up against a foreign regime. Im a woman fighting against her coreligionists and her government.

I wont ever give up. It is thanks to generations of relentless women that I can wear pants, vote, drive a car and lead an organization. I want my daughter and the next generation of girls to stand on my shoulders as I stand on those of the women that came before me. I want what is forbidden for me to be most natural for them: to pray out loud.

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Jewish Women vs. the Jewish State - New York Times

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Posted By simmons on July 1, 2017

The Anti-Defamation Leagues Southeast Region awarded its Stuart Lewengrub Torch of Liberty Award on Thursday, June 22, to Atlanta Public Schools and Superintendent Meria Carstarphen at the annual Torch of Liberty Corporate Breakfast.

This award recognizes the incredible work that Atlanta Public Schools has done over the past two years to implement ADLs No Place for Hate program throughout the entire school district, said Shelley Rose, the ADL interim regional director.

The ADL offers No Place for Hate free to schools to rally them around the goal of creating a welcoming community committed to stopping all forms of bias and bullying. In 2012, as the Austin Independent School Districts superintendent, Carstarphen announced plans to bring the program to the entire district.

She brought that commitment to Atlanta when she became the superintendent in July 2014, and in 2015, Atlanta Public Schools introduced the initiative systemwide. The school system has seen progress in addressing and preventing bullying and cyber bullying and educating about all forms of hatred.

The No Place for Hate initiative provides our district with a clear framework to fight bias, bullying and hatred, leading to long-term solutions for creating and maintaining a positive climate, Carstarphen said. We are sending a clear message that hate, bullying and disrespect have no place in our schools. We want our schools to be places where students, staff and families feel safe, welcomed and respected.

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ADL Honors Atlanta Schools - Atlanta Jewish Times

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Posted By admin on June 30, 2017

Such modern day humanitarians have played misery with unparalleled cynicism and cruelty, exploiting needs to advance the disappearance of a people.

It is often that Palestine, and those who have defended its peoples right to sit themselves sovereign on the land which they inherited from their forefathers and their fathers before that have limited their calls for justice to the denunciation of Zionism, thus failing to see that other parties have had a hand in that genocide we all seldom attest to.

RELATED: Hezbollah Leader Blasts Israelis, 'Weak' Saudis on Al-Quds Day

If Palestinians remain a hot topic of discussion, mainstream media has yet to frame this struggle within its true parameters: that of a people robbed of their national identity, their history, their tradition, their religious freedom, and more importantly, their rights to a dignified future away from oppression.

It needs to be said that Palestine is not a symbol of anti-semitism!

Palestines existence does in no way, shape or form equate to the negation of Judaism!

Those arguing against Palestine are really making the case of its disappearance.

The truth of this conflict lies beyond any and all religious or political spats. The truth of this conflict lies in this blood mighty men choose to shed so that empires could be risen and ambitions fed.

Palestine, we should realize, is where fascism came to reinvent itself a grand enemy of democratic pluralism and freedom at a time when new systems of governance were being formulated away from western imperialism. Beyond that, one may posit that Palestine has become together a neo-fascist project and a blueprint for future genocides.

In his address to Parliament on Al-Quds Day, Irans Parliament Chairman, Ali Larijani, referred to Israel as the source of all terrorism in the world, pointing to the ideological construct beyond the political agenda.

Zionism, we ought now to grasp, exists beyond Palestine. The Middle Eastern country was but the first victim of a vengeful ideology which seeks to bow men to its will.

In the same vein, Zionism has had many expressions to its hatred not all linked to Judaism, but rather the political reality it has worked to manifest in the Greater Middle East.

What do I mean? Simply that Zionism is not a Jewish monopoly, it is a way of thinking anchored in supremacism and exclusionism, not a religion. Whereas Judaism exists as a faith, a belief system inspired by Zionism came to claim the religion to justify its intolerance while calling it holy.

RELATED: 'Ongoing and Loathful': Bolivia Condemns Israeli Settlements

Zionism cannot be fully understood if divorced from its other expression: Wahhabism. Just like Israels military occupation of Palestine cannot be divorced from attempts by Saudi Arabia to occupy Palestines civil space by laying siege to its non-governmental organizations.

I will quote here the work of Vanessa Beeley, an investigative journalist whose courage and dedication have permitted for the rise a new narrative one weaved around the idea that Freedom is a natural and inalienable right to our human condition.

We live in a world governed by propaganda where the majority of media mouthpieces are gagged by those who own them and only permitted to release information that serves the narrative of the ruling elite or imperialist powers, Beeley said.

So what does the machine create? It creates a power for good in its own image. It creates the non-government organizations and the not-for-profit industrial complex to give us the illusion, not only of this power for good, but of our own empowerment, our own stakeholding in reducing the misery being inflicted upon humanity.

In Palestine, this has manifested in a covert campaign for control of civil development.

Beyond Israeli pointed guns and barbwires extends another shadow, one just as nefarious and insidious since it has precluded Palestinians from asserting themselves outside the narrative of occupation. Worse still, Saudi Arabias philanthropy in Palestine has more often than not been tied to hyper-radicalisation, or as you may prefer to call it, wahhabization.

There is a pattern here that should not escape us. Saudi Arabias humanitarian efforts are not motivated by an imperious need to offer relief to the victims of Israels brutality, but rather a mean to assert financial dependency to buy loyalties and indoctrinate communities.

RELATED: Will New Saudi Crown Prince Usher in Open KSA-Israeli Alliance?

Beeley argues that when the soft power missionary complex is in the same hands as the hard power industrial/military complexthey are two sides of the same coin, overtly opposing and covertly combining to achieve imperialist aims in any given target region or nation. The NGO complex is the most insidious tool of empire and arguably the most damaging.

Such modern day humanitarians have played misery with unparalleled cynicism and cruelty, exploiting needs to advance, promote and accelerate the disappearance of a people.

Palestine is no longer Zionism and Wahhabisms only war theater. Others have fallen prey to such hunger. Many others still stand to fall should we fail to reframe conflicts within the reality of a system we refuse to formulate for fear of facing it.

Imperialism is really but the branding behind which neo-fascists have come to hide.

The real game, the only game that has been played and continues to be played, is that of socio-political enslavement and sovereign erosion.

Again, Palestine sits together a cautionary tale and the tip of the iceberg. It is what lays below, what we wish not to see, that should command our attention.

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Exposing Saudi Arabia's 'Humanitarianism' in Palestine - teleSUR English

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Posted By admin on June 30, 2017

Idaho Statesman

Passionate beliefs, civility can coexist Idaho Statesman The Talmud recounts the resolution of their disputes as follows: A Divine Voice announced: '[The views of] both are the words of the living God, but the law is in agreement with the rulings of the school of Hillel.' Since, however, 'both are the words ...

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Passionate beliefs, civility can coexist - Idaho Statesman

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Posted By admin on June 30, 2017

Overview

The haftarah for the portion of Balak is the only one taken from the book of Micah. Micah was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, and lived about a hundred and thirty years before the destruction of the first Temple. His prophecies are similar to Isaiahs, in that he foresees the destruction and the terrible exile, but also carries prophecies of redemption and rebuilding. In his rebuke, Micah particularly calls out the people for their failings in the realm of social justice.

The reading begins with prophecies regarding the time of Moshiach. The remnant of the Jewish people at the time will be compared to dew and rain: just as these cannot be hoped for from the hand of man, so too will the Jews not cast their lot with any human power, only with Gd. According to many commentaries, this is a reference to the time following the war of Gog and Magog: the Jews at the time will be subdued and weakened, and will have no one to turn to other than to Gd Himself.

Following this, however, the Jews will have a meteoric rise. They will rule at will over their enemies, just as a lion does over the animals in the field. The enemies of the Jews will be obliterated, and what will follow will be a time of peace and tranquility. Weapons, chariots or fortified cities will not be necessary anymore. Spiritually, the people will also experience a revival. Gdliness will be open and revealed, hence there will be no temptation for seeking witchcraft and foreign powers in the form of idolatry.

After this uplifting prophecy, the verses take a change of tone. Micah, on behalf of Gd, begins to contend with the people. Listen now to what Gd says, Micah calls. Gd is aggravated. The Jews seemed to totally forget the kindness Gd had showed them throughout their history. He had taken them out of slavery in Egypt, provided for them, and given them magnificent leaders. Moses gave the Jews the Torah, Aaron atoned for them in the Sanctuary, and Miriam was given the gift and ability of leading the women. In particular, the prophet invokes the story of this weeks Parshah, when Gd subverted the curses of Balaam and turned them into blessings. Although the Jews had sinned right afterwards with the daughters of Midian, Gd still kept His word and brought them to the promised land. Now, a great number of Jews had just walked away from Gd and His Torah. What wrong did I do to you! the prophet thunders in the name of His creator.

As if speaking on behalf of the people, the prophet proceeds to pose their probable answer. He wants to bring out a point, and does so in an ingenious way.

The response of the people is posed as their backing down in the face of their great Gd. But in doing so, they demonstrate their unfortunate spiritual state, one on par with the contemporary pagans whose culture they had so mindlessly imbibed. If Gd was grieved, then they obviously had to do more for Him. But what might that be? Thousands of rams? Rivers of oil? Their very own children as sacrifices? Just what does He want?

Indeed, they were barking up the wrong tree. The true Gd is not bought off and appeased with gifts and donations, however lavish they may be. He has told you, O man, what is good: what does Gd require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your Gd. That is what He wants.

The injunction to walk humbly with your Gd has been one of the hallmarks of character that Jews have aspired to for all time. The Talmud understands this instruction to be particularly pertinent when performing two mitzvot: providing for the needs of a funeral, and helping with the needs of a wedding. Now, these are mitzvot that are almost impossible to conceal from others: there are usually several people involved with these endeavors, and at least some of them will usually know where the assistance is coming from. What the verse is telling us is that even in such a case, care should be taken that the mitzvah be done in a discreet manner. The Talmud concludes: If this is the case with mitzvot that are usually done in the open, how much more so does this apply to deeds which are usually done discreetly.

The Talmud records an aphorism that the sage Abayei was accustomed to say: A person should always be artful in piety. Chassidic thought interprets this artfulness to lie in the quest that ones own piety not be noticed at all by others. Many stories are told of great sagesas well as ordinary peoplewho took great measures in concealing their true virtues, and who, if these were discovered, were greatly distressed. There is nothing more beautiful than modesty, states the Midrash.

It is important to note, however, a caveat about this virtue. Often the yetzer hara (evil inclination) will push a person in the direction of doing something that on the face of things is pious, but in the long run will be counterproductive. In this case, opting to conceal ones own mitzvot can have a negative effect in the following ways:

1. People often lead their lives by the example of others. When it comes to a mitzvah cause, people often look towards others and see whether, or to what degree, they should participate. Choosing to remain absent from the public eye may very well weaken others view of the importance of this cause. This applies especially to a person who is respected in his or her community. The more influence a person has, the more they have to be careful that their actions should not have a negative effect on their peers.

2. The yetzer hara is a master at his work. Going off the right path begins one step at a time. Human nature is that we feel accountable to others; but if we choose to keep private what we do, then we may have no one whom we feel we have to answer to. Any good resolve which is kept away from the knowledge of others will be highly susceptible to losing momentum, and eventually to total disappearance. On the other hand, if a person is accustomed to doing mitzvot publicly, he can be held to account by his friends and peers.

In this day and age, we suffer from spiritual weakness. Humility is a virtue; but as with all virtues, it must find its rightful place.

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Balak Haftarah Companion - Chabad.org

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Posted By admin on June 30, 2017

Jewish families across South Florida who aren't affiliated with a synagogue have the opportunity to give their children a traditional bar or bat mitzvah through Temple Beth El of Hollywood's Accelerated Prep Program.

The inclusive APP is considered a no-strings attached course offered to Jewish families who do not want to join a synagogue but do want to have the bar or bat mitzvah for their child. This program is designed as a fast track one where teens learn to read Hebrew in order to read their Torah portion and lead the service.

Temple Beth El's Rabbi Allan Tuffs and Cantor Manny Silver tutor children one-on-one and custom tailor the program to fit each child's needs as individual classes are 30 minutes each week and can be taken through Skype or Facetime if needed. The families will also have the opportunity to have their child's service officiated by both Tuffs and Silver in the synagogue's sanctuary.

Tuffs said that since this program started almost two years ago, they've had close to 20 children from all over South Florida who have participated in it.

"What we want to do, and what we try to do, is to give these children an authentic, meaningful bar or bat mitzvah experience with the hope that this will be the beginning of a growing relationship with the Jewish tradition," Tuffs noted.

One family that has benefited from this program is the Rauh family from Sunrise. Sherry and Christian Rauh's 13-year-old son Julian recently had his bar mitzvah through the program. While Sherry is Jewish, Christian is not, so Julian was given a choice to have a traditional bar mitzvah, and he chose to do so. As the Rauhs are not members of a synagogue, Sherry noted that the program "was an absolute perfect fit for what we needed."

"It gave Julian the opportunity to learn Hebrew in less than a year and have a traditional bar mitzvah."

With the Rauhs living in Sunrise, traveling to the synagogue in Hollywood would've proven extremely time consuming for them especially with the rush hour traffic, so Julian did most of his bar mitzvah training with the cantor through Skype.

"I was a little bit apprehensive as to whether he could really learn Hebrew over Skype, but it actually turned out to be fantastic," Sherry said. "It worked perfectly well. He was able to use the books he had at home and recite all the lessons he was learning with the cantor via Skype and that was a huge help for us considering it would've been an hour to drive to the temple and back every week."

Julian enjoyed this experience.

"I never really studied Hebrew before, so it was a really great program. The cantor was really great. He really helped me and I learned what I needed to know in a year."

Julian said his bar mitzvah ceremony at the synagogue was "really great."

"I never really experienced anything like that before and it was a really awesome experience. Doing what I've been studying for a long time was really a satisfying feeling."

Sherry said regarding her son's bar mitzvah ceremony, "It was very much a traditional bar mitzvah but very welcoming to the parts of our family that are not Jewish and it exceeded my expectations."

Another local family that has used the program are the Sickers from North Miami. The Sickers were not members of any synagogue when their son Ethan studied through this program and had his bar mitzvah at Temple Beth El more than a year ago.

Ethan's mother Erin Sicker called it an "amazing" program.

"I recommend it totally," she said. "First of all, Cantor Manny is absolutely wonderful. We met with him and that was the end of that. Ethan absolutely connected with him. It was a wonderful, wonderful experience."

Silver said, "My goal is to make this a positive experience for the children and that they come out of this experience with a sense of pride of who they are and a sense of accomplishment. I would say we're very successful in that."

Visit templebethelhollywood.org/barbat-mitzvah-academy/ or call the synagogue at 954-920-8225 for more information.

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Synagogue offers bar/bat mitzvah program for unaffiliated families - Sun Sentinel

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Posted By admin on June 30, 2017

(JTA) Women who read aloud from the Torah at a synagogue in Marseille were subjected to threats and insults by congregants after local rabbis condemned the event.

The dozens of threats and insults, made on social networks and in emails, started coming in Saturday night after the group of half a dozen women read the Torah at the Fleg Jewish Center that morning, the French community centers president,Raymond Arouch, and director, Martine Yana, wrote in a statement Monday.

The threats were of all kinds of assaults and were intolerable, Arouch and Yana said in the statement, which neither identified the women nor contained examples of the abuse. They said the synagogue at the community center was nondenominational and open to all Jewish streams, including Reform Jews, who worship in an egalitarian manner. However, men and women were seated separately inside the synagogue during the reading, organizers said.

The incident prompted passionate statements from supporters and critics of the womens actions, which some Orthodox Jews believe contradicts what they perceive as a prohibition on the vocalization of Torah portions by women at synagogue. The news site JForum called the fallout of the incident a scandal in an article Thursday.

The reading of the weekly portion by a woman in the framework of a religious ceremony is not permitted in the Halakha, the chief rabbi of Marseille, Reuven Ohana, wrote in a statement Thursday upon hearing of the womens plan to stage a public reading on Saturday. We ask the people involved not to offend the sensibilities of the public, added the rabbi in a letter co-signed by two other spiritual leaders from the rabbis from the city.

The rabbis wrote they are disturbed and terribly perturbed and furious over the event.

But the rabbinical intervention prompted a pushback from some Jews in Marseille, which is home to Frances second largest Jewish community of approximately 80,000 members and overwhelmingly Sephardic and Orthodox.

Have you applied any measures benefiting women in synagogue? Liliane Vana, a prominent member of the community and a Talmud scholar, wrote on Friday in an open letter addressed to the rabbis. For girls during their bar mitzvah? Anything?

She accused the rabbis of remaining silent on injustices involving chained women wives who are unable to obtain a Jewish divorce because their husbands refuse.

Vana added that she, too, is disturbed and terribly perturbed and furious by the rabbis reaction.

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Women Torah readers at French synagogue threatened, insulted - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By admin on June 30, 2017

ManyAtlanta synagogues have closed the doors on their gift shopsin recent years, and some remaining vendors are struggling to maintain their hold on customers.

The one at Sinai closed, the AA (Ahavath Achim Synagogue) shop closed, Shearith Israel, they all closed. Its crazy, said Sheila Schwartz, who manages the store at Congregation Beth Shalom. The Temple, Atlantas largest congregation, briefly tried a self-service Judaica shop in partnership with ModernTribe after turning its store into a coffee lounge.

The remaining shul stores offer options for simcha shopping to members and nonmembers alike.

Our biggest challenge is getting people into the shop. We are not exactly a destination. They have to know about us, and unless you belong to our synagogue, you dont, she said in a telephone interview. Getting our name out is very difficult. There are a lot of people who are unaffiliated and might want something, but they dont know we exist.

Schwartz has run the Beth Shalom location for 15 years and laments the advent of online shopping for cutting into her business, but she doesnt use the Beth Shalom website for commerce. We dont sell anything (online). None of us is that computer-literate. If someone wants to do that for us, wed love it. Were just a lot of little old ladies who volunteer and work very hard.

She said one advantage of a brick-and-mortar Judaica store is that shoppers can see and touch the merchandise.She touted the wide array of tallitot she has available, as well as items usually found only in Israel, where she goes frequently on buying trips.

My children live in Israel. I go there twice a year, and while there, I shop, and I bring things back in my suitcase so I dont have to pay any shipping,Schwartz said. Ive been to a shofar factory, which was a very interesting experience. Been to Tel Aviv, Jaffa; its fun. I get lost a lot. My husband drives, and we have adventures trying to find where we want to go.

Calling a synagogue gift shop a unique animal, Schwartz said its a mitzvah to shop there instead of going to a place where theyre in it for the profit. We do it as a fundraiser for the synagogue. You get points in heaven if you shop with us.

A key element in this type of retail operation is a dedicated group of volunteers, Schwartz said, and that point was echoed by Illyse Sheaffer, Temple Kol Emeths Sisterhood president.

It is the volunteers that make and/or break the gift shop, Sheaffer said. Volunteerism has declined in areas like this, but we continue to pursue the best we can. We too have been faced with the decision to keep the gift shop open or close it in recent months. It is the persistence and passion of some very special people that are ensuring us keeping our shop open.

Money raised by sales at the TKE Sisterhood storego toward provisions for Habitat for Humanity and the Zaban Paradies Center shelter, donations to Jewish youth groups, and the synagogues High Holiday campaign, among other endeavors.

Beth Shaloms Schwartz said she doesnt know why those other synagogue shops closed. Maybe they couldnt get enough volunteers; maybe there was not enough business. They all have their reasons, but we just keep going.

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Synagogue Stores Struggle to Stay Open - Atlanta Jewish Times

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Posted By richards on June 30, 2017

Lets redefine Jewish. Lets make it bigger, broader and more inclusive.

That was my biggest takeaway from the annual PJ Library conference in Reisterstown,Md., that I attended in April with Jennifer Cohen, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlandos director of Outreach and Engagement.

The conference was set at the Pearlman Institute, which is a Jewish farm/conference center with Hebrew signage everywhere and super-yummy, healthy, farm-to-table food. Pearlman and PJ made me feel like I was being hugged by a Jewish grandmother the whole time.

So whats the value of being more inclusive? Its the key to bringing Judaism into the now and into the future. It means being friendlier, more open and more ready to receive those who are intermarried or who are Jewish by choice. Single moms? Sure. Interracial couples? Yes. Those who had a bad Jewish experience in childhood? Let us heal you. Why? Because if we want to keep our culture and traditions alive, we need people to pass it on tolots of people.

Am I proud to be Jewish? Absolutely, and apparently Im not alone. In the latest PJ Library national survey, 99 percent of respondents said they are proud of their Jewish heritage, too! Ive been through a lot in my life, and the Jewish community has helped me stay strong. However, I must admit, I didnt even really know how to be Jewish before I had children. Thats the beauty of PJ Library: It doesnt just teach the children the joys, honors and responsibilities of being Jewish; it teaches the parents.

Free booksthats where it all begins. Just free Jewish books. PJ Library sends more than 170,000 books every month to families all over the world. They arent religious tales but rather moral ones.

Mitzvahs! Thats the core of being Jewish to me: community and mitzvahs. If our heart is pure and our community is healthy, being Jewish will become more and more of an honor for us all.

Once the kids and parents love the books, its time to build the community. Jennifer Cohen is doing that right here in Greater Orlando for the Federation with her warm, cozy, crafty PJ Library/Shalom Families events, which are all about bringing families together.

So lets embrace inclusiveness! I am so proud of how strong we all are. We have seen so much ugliness and still we are standing. Lets stand even stronger and leave not one child or parent who wants to be Jewish feeling alone or unwanted. We want you. You are Jewish, and we are proud.

Fiona Anavi is the volunteer co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlandos Shalom Families committee.

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New and improved Jewish tradition - Heritage Florida Jewish News - Heritage Florida Jewish News

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Posted By simmons on June 30, 2017

The USA delegation entering Ramat Gan Stadium at the 2013 Maccabiah opening ceremony.

During the 20th Maccabiah Games next month, about 7,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries will descend upon the Holy Land to join 2,500 Israeli athletes in the Olympic-style competition.

Held every four years, the Jewish multi-sport competition is the world's third-largest sporting event. From July 4-18, the Maccabiah Games will have the added significance of coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the reunification of this year's host city, Jerusalem.

"Fifty years after unification, we have finally returned the Maccabiah to its rightful place, Jerusalem-the capital of Israel," Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told reporters Tuesday.

Tamir Goodman, an entrepreneur and motivational speaker who gained fame during his high school basketball career in 1999, whenSports Illustrated magazinenicknamed him the "Jewish Jordan," noted that some of the most successful Jewish athletes are "deeply rooted" in their spiritual connection to Judaism or their connection to Israel. Goodman, who in his playing days was known for balancing a busy secular game schedule with his observance of Orthodox rituals, was given the honor of lighting the torch at the opening ceremonies of the 2001 Maccabiah Games in Atlanta.

"It's very exciting that this year's athletes will be able to showcase their skills in Jerusalem, especially now during the 50th reunification year," Goodman told JNS.org. "Hopefully the experience will further their connection to Israel and their Jewish identity, and also enhance their skill level."

Basketball player and coach Larry Brown, swimmers Jason Lezak and Mark Spitz, and gymnast Mitch Gaylord are among the many Jewish athletes who have competed in the Maccabiah Games before going on to achieve fame in the broader international sports arena.

A mix of modern-day Israeli and international Jewish sports stars will compete in the 2017 games and participate in the opening ceremonies, including Israeli Olympic judo bronze medalists Ori Sasson and Yarden Gerbi, Israeli Paralympics rower Moran Samuel, Israeli rhythmic gymnast Neta Rivkin, Israeli NBA star Omri Casspi, American Olympic gold medalist swimmer Anthony Ervin, and French Olympic gold medalist swimmer Fabien Gilot.

Commenting on the significance of diaspora Jews' participation in the Maccabiah Games alongside Israeli athletes, Jeffrey Gurock, a professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva University, told JNS.org, "In the 1930s, when the Jews were vulnerable, the Maccabiah provided an opportunity for Jewish athletes to project strength and pride to the world."

"Today it is no less important for American Jewish sportspeople to affirm through participation in these games their solidarity with a strong Israel, even as the Jewish state faces foes in so many world arenas," Gurock added.

During the 2017 games, contestants will compete in 43 different sports in the categories of Youth, Open, Masters and Paralympics. In the host city, some 3,000 athletes will participate in 14 sports at Jerusalem's Pais Arena and other venues. Additional competitions will be held at 68 sports complexes throughout Israel.

Soccer is the largest contest in the Maccabiah Games, with more than 1,400 athletes from 20 countries participating. In addition to the athletes, as many as 20,000 international fans are expected to attend the games, injecting around $100 million into Israel's economy.

"I am ecstatic that on the 50th year of the unification of Jerusalem, we are opening the biggest Maccabiah yet," Amir Peled, chairman of the Maccabiah Games, told JNS.org. "The Maccabiah is the essence of the values I believe in: Zionism, Judaism, brotherhood, peoplehood and sports. The Maccabiah is the one place that Jews from all over the world can come together and bond, and there's no better place to do so than Jerusalem."

Yossi Sharabi, director general of the Israeli Ministry of Culture and Sport, said the athletic competition "strengthens the connection between the Jewish communities around the world."

He told JNS.org, "It is only natural that in the 50th year of the reunification of Jerusalem, a significant milestone for the Jews of the world wherever they are, the celebrations will be united and will take place in the city of Jerusalem."

Excerpt from:

International Jewish athletes 'return' to Jerusalem for 20th Maccabiah Games - Heritage Florida Jewish News

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