Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on March 1, 2017

A vandalized headstone at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia on Monday.

Mark Makela/Getty Images

There was a lot of discussion, while Donald Trump was running for president, about just how destructive his administration could really be. Would he follow through on his radical policy plans and continue to behave at all times like a peevish, cruel child, or would he govern via popular, inoffensive centrism and try to act in an at least somewhat more dignified fashion? After his first month in office, my colleague Michelle Goldberg wrote that the Trump administration's cruel and unconstitutional attack on Muslim immigrants and his personal debasement of various norms of public integrity and decency were, in fact, as bad a worst-case scenario as could have been imagined. The ensuing week has seen the situation deteriorate further.

1. An Indian engineer in Kansas was shot and killed by a white man who reportedly shouted "get out of my country!" and may have believed he was shooting at a Middle Eastern immigrant.

2. Hundreds of headstones have been desecrated at Jewish cemeteries in St. Louis and Philadelphia while a wave of bomb threats triggered evacuations of Jewish community centers, schools, and day cares across the country. It's the fourth national outbreak of anti-Jewish bomb threats that's taken place this year.

3. Old recordings of a prominent, Nazi-fetishizing "alt-right" figure named Milo Yiannopouloswhose career has long been supported by Trump's top adviser, Steve Bannon, and whom Trump has tweeted about approvinglyresurfaced in which Yiannopoulos defends the right of adults to sexually abuse 13-year-olds. Breitbart.comthe publication for which Yiannopoulos worked, and on which he published an infamous column praising several white supremacistswas on Monday given an exclusive interview in the Oval Office.

4. Customs agents met a domestic flight from San Francisco to New York at an airport gate and demanded identification from every passenger in what was allegedly a search for an undocumented individual (who was not located).

5. Individuals including a children's book author who writes about tolerance, a historian who has written about Nazi collaborators in France, and Muhammad Ali's son Muhammad Ali Jr. have given public accounts of being detained and aggressively questioned by border agents despite (in Ali's case) being a native-born citizen and (in the other two cases) traveling on valid visas.

6. The Trump administration apparently distributed a press release to the conspiracy site InfoWars, which has asserted that the Sandy Hook massacre never took place and Israel helped plan 9/11. The administration also seemingly confirmed that Trump and InfoWars proprietor Alex Jones occasionally speak on the phone.

Do you feel sick? I feel sick.

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We Are Living in the Second Chapter of the Worst-Case Scenario - Slate Magazine (blog)

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Posted By admin on March 1, 2017

On Sunday, former NBA player and now Israeli basketball star Amare Stoudemire, was awarded Israels Martin Luther King Jr. Award, given to individuals who embody the spirit and ideals of Dr. King.

I am truly honored to be receiving this amazing award, said Stoudemire, who signed a two-year contract with Israels Hapoel Jerusalem club last year. In a video to his Instagram followers, Stoudemire stood against the night skyline of Jerusalem and described the award as honoring my courage to be an Israelite and also to be able to work and talk about equality to all nations.

Every Black History Month, the Jewish National Fund, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the State of Israel give out this award to individuals who promote diversity and tolerance, a press release read.

Amare Stoudemire paints with children in Chicago last year as part of his In The Paint series, which combines sports and art activities.

Stoudemire runs the Amare and Alexis Stoudemire Foundation with his wife, Alexis which supports at-risk youth around the world, according to the foundationss website.

In Israel, Stoudemire is continuing his philanthropic work. He hosted a basketball peace camp this summer, which drew participants from a range of distinct Israeli communities, including Palestinians, Hebrew Israelites and Ethiopian Jews. Stoudemire also hosted another childrens camp at the Israel Museum, part of an annual series called In The Paint, which joins together basketball and art activities.

Israeli officials lauded Stoudemire.

Stoudemire has again set an example that sportsmanship supersedes nationality, ethnicity, or religious affiliation, said Russell F. Robinson, CEO of Jewish National Fund-USA. Robinson said that all of these qualities are welcome in Israel, a country he called a beacon of democracy in an otherwise turbulent part of the world.

Amare Stoudemire has spearheaded many initiatives that empower the less fortunate and advance important principles like tolerance, peace, creativity and healthy living, said Dani Dayan, Consul General of Israel in New York.

Past recipients of Israels MLK Award have included former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, the author Toni Morrison, entrepreneur Russell Simmons and Harry Belafonte.

When Stoudemire signed his deal with Hapoel in early August moving to Jerusalem with his entire family his spiritual and professional paths converged.

Stoudemire has been on a years long journey into religion and heritage, a path that has fascinated, and at times bewildered, American Jews and Israelis. He is not Jewish, as some continue to report, but a Hebrew Israelite meaning he views the Torah as an ancestral record of African Americans, and sees the land of Israel as part of his heritage.

Stoudemire poses in an Instagram photo, wearing a fur and a piece of jewelry modeled on the priestly breastplate of ancient Israelites.

Stoudemire maintains close ties with the Hebrew Israelites of Dimona, and even executive produced a documentary film about that community. Stoudemire regularly peppers his social media with biblical quotes.

If your ancestors were brought to America, or any other part of the world by slave ship, you are from the ancient tribe of the Hebrew Israelites, Stoudemire said in a February 2016 YouTube video alongside a Hebrew Israelite pastor in Chicago. This is black history, this is true black history.

Despite the praise from Israeli officials, since the move to Jerusalem Stoudemire has faced some adversity.

The Stoudemires 12-year-old son, Deuce, was barred from playing games with Hapoel Jerusalems youth team because he is not an Israeli citizen. Deuce was invited to play baseball instead.

Stoudemire has also clashed with Israeli basketball referees on a number of occasions, even taking to social media to rail against the officials. I have witnessed the worst officiating in the world of basketball, Stoudemire wrote on Instagram. Way to discourage other top players from coming to play in Israel.

Email Sam Kestenbaum at kestenbaum@forward.com and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

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NBA Star Amar'e Stoudemire Awarded MLK Prize in Jerusalem - Forward

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Posted By simmons on March 1, 2017

At least 86 Jewish organizations in the United States have received threats since Jan. 1, 2017, according to authorities. South Florida is no exception. Just this Monday, a bomb threat forced the evacuation of a Jewish Community Center in Davie. A synagogue in Miami Beach was desecratedover the weekend and several cars in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood were marked with swastikas.

WLRN spoke withYael Hershfield, Florida's interim regional director of the Anti Defamation League, who expressed his concerns about the increase infrequency of these anti-Semitic incidents.

Florida's interim regional director of the Anti Defamation League, Yael Hershfield, discusses the increase this year in anti-Semitic acts.

HERSHFIELD: The Anti-Defamation League is disheartened that the Jewish community continues to be the target of hate crimes and hateful incidents. There has been a rash of bomb threats since the beginning of the year. We're talking 90-plus bomb threats to Jewish institutions [and] two cemeteries that have been desecrated. It's devastating and it's hurtful, and that is not the only place where hate was expressed against the Jewish community. We have seen vandalism of personal property. There were the cars in Miami Beach, a car here in Boca Raton, at schools. We see this increased presence of the symbol of hate against the Jewish community. Its history cannot be denied.

WLRN: Would you say that there's been an uptick in the last couple of months? Can you compare it to any other time in recent years?

What we're seeing is an increased frequency. I don't think the Jewish community has experienced this in a while. We know these bomb threats have been hoaxes. It's still very disruptive to the Jewish community.

What do you say to families, especially young people, about what they see, whether they see it in the news or online or up close?

I think parents can be prepared to talk to their children about hate and how hate manifests itself in our society. But in the same token, talk about the good people in our community, law enforcement, the leaders of the community that are doing all that they can to keep them safe and to look around and see that the Jewish communities have been prepared, have protocols in place to assist in the evacuations.

So while it is disruptive, on the other hand people need to remember that the Jewish community is organized in that we are constantly reminding them about the security protocols that need to be in place.

At what point does security have to increase at schools or community centers within the Jewish community?

I think that the Anti-Defamation League message has always been that security needs to be a mindset. It has to be something that is constantly being explored, how improved procedures have to be practiced. This is not a one time deal. This is something that unfortunately Jewish communities are all very familiar with and needs to be implemented and be viewed every day 24/7.

I am confident that right now those conversations have been happening and that law enforcement is ready to assist any Jewish institution to review their plans and how to improve them.

Monday we saw Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz show a bit of emotion and anger in the efforts to try to catch the folks involved in this. What's your response to what you've been hearing from lawmakers and law enforcement? Are you satisfied that they are doing everything possible?

There's always room for improvement. I know the president, from a few days ago, expressed his disgust with the anti-Semitic incidents and condemned it. But we want to see words matched with action.

There are many different things that could be done to address the situation. For example, the FBI has determined that the bomb threats passed the threshold of civil rights violation. So the Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has it within its power to really open a full investigation and allocate the resources behind it so that we can catch the perpetrators.

We would also like to see a high level Cabinet task force address this incident as well as other hate crimes. And again, Attorney General Sessions has the capability of combining such a task force under the direction of the White House, bring in the Department Of Justice, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and really look at what needs to be done to address this matter.

We're also talking about the fact that there are still five states around the country that don't have hate crime statutes on their law books. Just last week the FBI made an arrest of a man in South Carolina; that man could not be charged under South Carolina statutes with a hate crime because they don't have one. Every single state in the nation should have a hate crimes bill on their books right now.

And lastly, the ADL has been training law enforcement on how to recognize and investigate hate crimes. More of such training needs to be in place so that the community can feel safe and know that law enforcement is responsive to this kind of incident.

I think that when we stand as a community and we denounce hate wherever we see it we stay stronger. We need to show moral leadership from all corners of our society to condemn anti-Semitism and all crimes of bigotry. And when we do that we will push those bigots, those hateful individuals, to the corner, and that's our hope.

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"It's Devastating And Hurtful:" Anti-Defamation League Raise Concerns About Anti-Semitic Threats - WLRN

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Posted By admin on March 1, 2017

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The threat came in over the telephone around 4:19 p.m. Monday and resulted in a sweep of offices and nearby buildings.

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According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Two dozen San Francisco police officers [arrived] on the scene once the threat was reported. They evacuated a Wells Fargo bank branch, a 7-11, a CVS and a Walgreens, then searched them all for explosive devices.

No explosives were found.

The bomb threat against the SF ADL was one of 28 called into Jewish community centers and schools in 17 states on Monday. ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt said, One threat or evacuation is one too many, and yet weve now seen more than 20 incidents in a single day not just to ADL, but to childrens schools and community centers and more than 90 incidents since the start of this year.

Greenblatt added, The level of threats and incidents is astounding, and must not stand. We will do everything in our power to combat this wave of anti-Semitism.

SF ADL directorVlad Khaykin noted that he has seen a rising threat level duringthe past few weeks. He said that there had been 50 bomb threats to Jewish community centers in 2017 and 90 threats against Jewish institutions.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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San Francisco Market Street Reopens Following Anti-Defamation League Bomb Threat - Breitbart News

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Posted By simmons on March 1, 2017

SCARSDALE, N.Y. Many Jewish groups have taken a stand against President Donald J. Trumps immigration ban, but one, the Anti-Defamation League has taken it a step further, says Scarsdale attorney John Harris.

Harris is the primary author of an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief that was filed on behalf of the ADL with the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, in New York in early February.

In it, the ADL lays outs its reasons for supporting the attorneys general for the states of Washington and Minnesota in their challenge of Trumps policies on immigrants and refugees.

Harris is a partner with the Manhattan law firm of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.Trump, a real estate mogul and former reality TV star, maintains a home in Bedford.

The ADLs CEO, Jonathan A. Greenblatt, said the brief urges the court to block enforcement of the order on the basis that it would almost certainly cause irreparable harm to countless people.

When America has closed its doors and allowed its core values to be compromised, the country later looked back in shame, Greenblatt said.

Harris said the brief strays a bit from the usual by citing history and social sciences rather than leaning heavily on the law, and legal cases.

The brief traces Americas history as a nation dedicated to ideals of equality, liberty, and justice, noting that throughout U.S. history, and often with respect to immigration, its ideals have been tested.

Our country is at its best when it honors its commitments to its core values, said Harris, who chairs the ADLs Legal Affairs Committee. This nation has been and should be a beacon of hope for refugees from war-torn countries and for victims of persecution. Many of these refugees have contributed immeasurably to the fabric of America.

In instances where the country strayed from its core principals, it has had to apologize to individuals and their descendants who had suffered, and posthumously to those who have tragically lost their lives as a result, said Greenblatt, adding: This case reminds us to fulfill the promise of learning from our mistakes.

The ADL brief points to three specific examples of where America stumbled:

In each of these incidents, Harris said, we wound up succumbing to fear and prejudice.

Enforcing the executive orders banning immigrants from seven Muslim countries and refugees from war-torn places such as Syriameans that the nation again risks sacrificing its core values, Greenblatt said.

It would be a sacrifice, he concluded, that history has repeatedly proven has profound consequences both to the persons who suffer as a result and to the still-vibrant vision of the shining city on the hill.

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC prepared the brief on behalf of ADL and the law firm Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, LLP served as local counsel in the 9th Circuit.

Harris areas of expertise are litigation, securities fraud and white collar defense and legal ethics and professional responsibility.

He has spent more than 25 years representing clients in high-stakes civil matters and white collar criminal cases.

Harris chairs the Professional Responsibility Committee of the New York City Bar Association and is a former member of the New York City Bars Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics. He also is a mediator for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice, and bigotry.

Trump, who owns the $19.5 million Seven Springs estate in Bedford, also owns Trump National Golf Club Hudson Valley in Stormville and Trump National Westchester in Briarcliff Manor. The Trump name also adorns Trump Tower At City Center in White Plains, Trump Plaza in New Rochelle, Trump Park Residences in Yorktown and the Donald J. Trump State Park on the Westchester/Putnam border.

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Scarsdale Attorney Files Amicus Brief for ADL Challenging Trump Travel Ban - Scarsdale Daily Voice

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Posted By richards on February 28, 2017

HAMDEN >> U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., will be the guest speaker Friday as the honoree at this years Robert E. Goldburg Peace and Justice Service, held by Congregation Mishkan Israel.

Rabbi Herbert Brockman said of Murphy, We want to honor him as he honors us his insistence on justice and concern for all the people in Connecticut is exemplary and we believe reflects the best of our values as a people and as a nation.

The service is named for a former rabbi of Mishkan Israel, who launched the annual service in 1967. Past speakers have included Harrison Salisbury, Robert Jay Lifton, Daniel Ellsberg, Julian Bond and the Rev. William Sloane Coffin. Goldburg retired in 1982.

The service at the synagogue at 785 Ridge Road will begin at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend. For more information, call 203-288-3877.

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Murphy to speak at Hamden synagogue's peace and justice service - New Haven Register

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Posted By richards on February 28, 2017

(JTA) In an escalation of the internal feud dividing Lithuanian Jews, the Chabad movements senior emissary to the country was banned from the capital citys main synagogue.

Rabbi Sholem Ber Krinsky, who has lived in Vilnius for 22 years, was informed in an email Monday from the chairman of the Vilnius Jewish Religious Community that he could notset foot inside the Vilnius Choral Synagogue until he commits in writing to follow the synagogues rules and order.

The move follows a brief period of reconciliation following reports inNovember that guards hired by the community prevented Krinsky from entering the same synagogue.

You do not pay attention to my oral and written request to comply with the orders and rules ofour synagogue, Shmuel Levin, the community chairman, wrote in theemail to Krinsky, which the website Defending History about Lituanian Jewry published Monday.

As of Tuesday, Levin said, youre being banned from entering the synagogue for breaking its rules, namely showing disrespect to the rabbi of the synagogue.

The email did not specify how Krinsky is accused of breaking the establishments rules.

According to the account on Defending History, the move is connected to a service on Friday in wich a community member said publicly that community bosses gave orders that Krinsky should not be allowed to approach the synagogues bimah, or pulpit.

Krinsky was involved in a similar dispute in 2004, when afistfightbroke out in the synagogue between hissupporters and those of Chaim Burshtein, who was hired by the community. The dispute in Vilnius was one of several that unfolded during those years in Eastern Europe between emissaries of Chabad and non-Chabad rabbis.

Chabad critics oppose what they see as the movements fundamentalism or believe the work of Chabad rabbis in their communities is needlessly dividing congregations that are barely large enough to function. However, in recent years public expressions of this sentiment have subsided, leading to greater cooperation and better relations amongcongregations.

Burshtein and Krinskyeventuallyreached a modus vivendi.

But the Jewish Community of Lithuania, or LZB,firedBurshtein in 2015 amid hisobjectionsto the governments plan to build on an area thatused to be a Jewish cemetery. He accused Faina Kukliansky, the communitys president, of excessive authoritarianism an allegation she has denied.

Some 6,000 Jews live in Lithuania, a country thathad nearly250,000 Jews before the Holocaust.

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Chabad rabbi banned from Lithuania's main synagogue | Jewish ... - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By richards on February 28, 2017

Its a cooperative building project, like a barn-raising, that gets artists Rick and Laura Brown to bring together more than 300 students and building professionals from 16 countries over 10 years in Sanok, Poland.

Together, theyre reconstructing the Gwozdziec Synagogue, with its elaborate roof and painted ceiling one of many 18th-century wooden Jewish houses of worship destroyed or desecrated during the Holocaust.

The exhaustive and detailed work logging, hewing, sawing and carving, as well as building and re-creating the synagogues ornate, colorful murals are captured in the film Raise the Roof, to be shown Saturday at 7:30 as part of Temple Israels Embracing Diversity Film Feastival.

The film showing, which is free and open to the public, will be preceded by a 6:30 nosh and chat.

The dedication in restoring by hand the magnificent structure using old tools and techniques to revive Gwozdziecs history, culture and science reflects the work of Temple Israels Cultural Programs Committee to build not only the Greenfield synagogues community, but the greater Greenfield community as well, says an organizer of this second festival presentation.

Temple Israel, with an internal Israel Dialogue Project, a refugee resettlement effort and a new program to build a sustainable-neighborhood community, in December launched what Culture Programs spokesman Daniel Yalowitz called an inclusive kind of a film series for the wider community to view films that really told a story about inclusiveness, the challenges to inclusiveness, what does diversity mean, what are the conflicts embedded in diversity, the struggles and also the joys of bringing people together.

We wanted to bring anyone whos interested together, first for a social hour of connection, with refreshments, the film showing, and then a discussion afterwards based on themes and issues brought up, so that people can really focus on listening to one another, hearing different points of view and perspectives and bringing the larger community to look at what diversity means and how we talk about it ourselves, at a time when there are all kinds of splinter groups and so on.

Yalowitz added, We want people to feel comfortable and safe talking about diversity in all of its aspects, both the comfortable and safe aspects and the challenging and difficult ones, where conflict comes up.

That was certainly the case in Poland, which prior to World War II was home to 3.5 million Jews, more than 90 percent of whom perished in the Holocaust.

Poland is a country where many folks have history and heritage, said Yalowitz, speaking for not only the Jewish community but also Franklin County as a whole. We want to take time on one evening to really remember that and bring it forward. The meta-story were going for is what does it really take to build a community, to come together to raise a building?

The film focuses on the metaphor of the Gwozdziec synagogues reconstruction, with a magnificent roof that was unveiled in 2014 as the centerpiece of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.

We selected this film because of its beauty, poignancy and relevance to so many in the Greater Greenfield community with roots in Poland, says a flier for the event, to which the Rev. Stanley Askamit of Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church and church members have been invited, in particular. Its message and visuals are potent reminders for us today, of our need to live in peace, of the importance of building and maintaining our communities and our need to remain open to one another.

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Film 'feastival' features Polish synagogue's rebuilding - The Recorder

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Posted By richards on February 28, 2017

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Posted By richards on February 28, 2017

Israel Hayom

Tuesday February 28, 2017 Israel Hayom The first-ever Prime Minister's Prize for the Study of Sephardic and Oriental Jewry was awarded to three recipients on Monday. The 150,000 shekels ($41,000) in prize money was divided among Levana Zamir, Dr. Moshe Gavra from Bar-Ilan University's ...

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Tuesday February 28, 2017 - Israel Hayom

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