Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on March 5, 2017

For Brazilian-born Aleksandra Lavor Serbim, lighting the Shabbat candles, abstaining from eating pork, and marking the new Jewish month was part and parcel of being raised in a Christian home. That was until her discovery as a young anthropology student that her family customs werent Christian at all, but rooted in Judaism.

Last week, during a visit to Israel, surrounded by 18 other Brazilians with similar backgrounds, Lavor Serbim shared her story with The Jerusalem Post at the Brazilian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv.

The group is in Israel for a fortnight at the initiative of the Netanya Academic Colleges Institute for Sefardi Anousim Studies, sponsored by the Diaspora Affairs Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The term Anousim refers to Jews who were forcibly converted to Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition.

Lavor Serbims maternal female ancestor, some 15 generations back, was burned at the stake during the Inquisition. Eighteen relatives from her maternal grandfathers side perished during the Holocaust. However, she discovered this family history long after her connection with Judaism began.

Like many anousim, Lavor Serbim felt an emotional attachment to Judaism years prior to uncovering her roots. Its like finding out something you knew inside belonged to you already, she explains.

She recalls how she used to cry when she heard stories about Israel or when she listened to Jewish songs, but there was no clear explanation for her emotions. I had a very strong attraction to these Jewish issues, she told the Post.

The topic she chose to concentrate on for her graduate thesis was Shabbat, and this week she launched her book on the subject at the Brazilian Cultural Center.

Shabbat was the main accusation against New Christians during the time of the inquisitions the first reason for people to be burned, she says, emphasizing the links between the Jewish day of rest and her familys history. Shabbat was the strongest sign that neighbors could see, to denounce their neighbors.

Lavor Serbim proudly refers to herself as a Marrano, a term reserved for those Jews who were forced to convert, yet continued to practice Judaism in secret. Though the Spanish word also means pig, those who self-identify as Marranos see the term as a symbol of resistance.

Lavor Serbim has continued to study and has sought out other people who were doing the same. The more I studied, the more I felt I was part of this Marrano family, she says.

Fabio Fonseca e Emerson Pessoa Ferreira found more than a sense of family through the reconnection with their Jewish heritage they found themselves to be cousins. Both had reached out to Prof. Avraham Gross of Ben-Gurion University, who also works at the Netanya institute. They told him about their Jewish roots and asked what they could do to strengthen that part of their identity.

[Gross] told me I was not alone and that he knew people in Brazil who had the same trajectory, Pessoa Ferreira says. The professor introduced the pair, who became friends; but only years later following DNA tests, did they discover that they were related. Upon seeing Fonsecas name on his DNA test, Pessoa Ferreira didnt believe it was the same person, but this week in Israel, Fonseca revealed to him that it was. The pair sat together at the Brazilian Cultural Center, relating their stories to the Post, both wearing kippot.

Pessoa Ferreiras reconnection with his Jewish heritage began as early as the age of eight. The great majority of us first feel the love... we feel Jewish first, he said, echoing Lavor Serbims previous comments. I developed very strong, good feelings about everything Jewish and Israel-related. I looked at pictures of Jerusalem and desired one day to be at the Western Wall.

At 18, he said, he wanted to serve in the IDF. I was a Jew in my mind, he says, though he had not yet learned the reason why.

One day I read an article about Jews that were converted centuries ago and went to live in the region where Im from, so I saw thats probably the reason why I love the Jewish people.

Researching his familys history, he discovered Jewish practices among his ancestors. He notes that in Florenia, a city near his home, until the 1980s people stopped working from sundown on Friday and Saturday was considered holier than Sunday. Lots of families have the same roots its something awakening in many people... first you feel something and then you go to look for it, he says.

Pessoa Ferreira hopes to move to Israel in a few years, noting that his daughter spent a year here and already acts like a native Israeli. He acknowledges that he must convert first, in order to qualify for the Right of Return.

But some, like Fonseca, find the idea that they need to convert insulting to their history. I cannot forget the history of my family... you cannot make me more Jewish than I am, he says.

A solution to this problem is to complete a process called teshuva, to undergo the same process as conversion but under the heading of returning to Judaism, in recognition of the familys history of endangering their lives and martyrdom for their Jewish faith. This option requires further cooperation with Israel and the Chief Rabbinate in order to gain more widespread recognition.

Its not the process itself but the word convert which bothers some of them [the anousim], Gross explains.

They also rely on a longstanding halachic lenient, welcoming attitude, accepting anousim back to Judaism as returnees and not as converts, adds Gross.

Recognition as a group and building stronger connections with Israel was one of the chief purposes of this visit, during which participants have met with politicians, MKs, rabbis and academics.

The message of this trip is unity, Gross tells the Post.

He explains that although the anousim communities in Brazil have become more organized over the years, they are not yet entirely stable, because there is not clear leadership for every group.

He hopes the bonds built among the 19 participants of this trip will advance this issue, with the vision that they might establish a federation back home in Brazil.

The Institute for Sefardi and Anousim Studies is set to launch a website aimed at furthering that goal.

AnousimComLine seeks to help anousim find others like them and to build bridges between them. The Hispanic population is important to Israel, Gross adds, alluding to the contribution of pro-Israel Latin American groups in the fight against efforts to delegitimize the country.

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Posted By simmons on March 5, 2017

Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari, of Kol Tzedek synagogue, stood amidst the broken tombstones at Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Philadelphia last Sunday,shocked and saddened by what he saw. It was the second of at least threegrave sites desecrated in recent weeks. In the last month, nearly 100 Jewish community centers across the country received bomb threats.

On Friday, law enforcement officials said they had arrested a man in St. Louis in connection with a number of the phone threats. Gov. Andrew Cuoma has asked State Police to investigate the destruction of headstones in a Jewish cemetery in Rochester, New York as a possiblehate crime. Meanwhile swastikas have been showing up on city streets, campuses and communities.

It was heartbreaking in many ways, Fornari said. It was stunningly devastating to see the piles of broken tombstones, echoing back to our history.

Fornari stood in vigil for hours, along with other Jewish community members and others of Muslim, Quaker and Christian faiths who were there in solidarity. The presence of non-Jewish supporters, who helped to pick up the gravestones, provided a glimmer of hope. Amidst the rise in anti-Semitic acts, interfaith coordination and cooperation between different nonprofits and networkshas arisen as aclear path for Jewish groups and individuals to fight hate.

After all, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are two heads of the same monster hate. Jewish and Muslim congregations and organizations, in concert with African American organizations, immigrant rights groups and others that advocate for minority communities, are finding that working together is the best way to stand up to hate.

Amidst the grave stones, Fornari met Tarek El-Messidi, director of Celebrate Mercy, a nonprofit that produces webcasts and videos on the life of Muhammad.He arrived at the cemetary, luggage in hand. El-Messidi had been on his way to the airport when he heard of the vandalism. He turned straight around to come to the cemetery.

It was just an incredible act of solidarity,"Fornari said. He stayed all afternoon and into the evening.

El-Messidi, with Linda Sarsour of the organizing network MPower Change, started a campaign to raise funds for repairs to the cemetery.Now, hes working with Fornari to createan ongoing fund that supports solidarity across faiths. Were just beginning to dream up how our communities can support each other, Fornari said. Solidarity happens when we truly show up for one another.

Nationally, the Council on American-Islamic Relationsalso has risen to the forefront, including by offeringa reward for information on who is responsible for bomb threats against Jewish community centers. When the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery was desecrated in Missouri on February 20, the local CAIR chapter worked with the Jewish community to clean up the damage.

Bigots arent brain surgeons, said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesperson for CAIRs national office. They tend to hate everybody. Whether its Muslims or Jews or African Americans or Hispanics. You name it, they hate it. Unfortunately in the recent year and months, weve seen a tremendous uptick in the level of anti-Muslim bigotry, but [also] bigotry targeting a number of minority communities.

Interfaith coalitions are not a radically new concept. Jewish Voice for Peace has been building relationships with Muslim, African American and immigrant groups for two decades.

Rabbi Alissa Wise, deputy director of JVP, says the organization has since 9/11 been working with CAIR and other Muslim-led organizations on the damaging impacts of Islamophobia. Weve been building for a long time and have always seen the ways that they are mutually enforcing, she said.

"This moment is an opportunity to deepen these relationships, Wise said. A lot of people now in the Jewish community are scrambling to develop the relationship with the Muslim community."

Besides Jewish-Muslim solidarity, M. Dove Kent, who recently left her position as executive director of Jews for Racial & Economic Justice in New York City, says working with other allies, such as African American and immigrant communities, is vitally important. Kent has been working over two decades on building communities around police brutality, and anti-Black and anti-Muslim racism.

"Its a blessing to be able to rely on those relationships, she said.

With ally groups, JREF has been doing training for bystanders who witnesspolice brutality,which focus on de-escalation, as well as creating hate-free zones as a method for community defense.

Now were in the next chapter of that work, Kent said. We know that whiteness is about power and not about skin tone. What we are seeing in this moment is the conditions of the Jewish communitys relationship to whiteness are coming to the fore.

While white Jews may benefit from white privilege, they are still targeted by white supremacy, she said.

Minnesota wastargeted with two bomb threats against Jewish community centers, on in St. Paul and one ina suburb of Minneapolis, in addition a number of incidents of swastika graffiti on homes, crushed in the snow, and on the campus of the University of Minnesota. On March 2, the nonprofit organization Jewish Community Action organized a rally that featured many of the partners that JCA has developed relationships with, including the local CAIR chapter, the NAACP, Neighborhoods Organization for Change, and Mesa Latina, an immigrant rights group.

I think what were seeing in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Minneapolis... there are local communities just having each others backs in fundamental, material ways, Kent said. Thats the direction we need to be going.Local organizing is so deeply important. We need both to build power and to keep our neighbors safe.

Vic Rosenthal, the outgoing executive director of Jewish Community Action, says the rally was not just about responding to the rise in anti-Semitism, but also about connecting those hateful acts with Islamophobia,xenophobia and racism. Its all connected, he said. To gather and not acknowledge that connection would be a mistake.

In his remarks, Michael Waldman, of the St. Paul Jewish community center, said that bomb threats and the desecration of cemeteries is outrageous and offensive, the real story is the way that the friends and neighbors of the center came together to show support. We choose to say no to the intent of a phone call and yes to an inclusive community, he said.

Jaylani Hussein, directorof CAIR's Minnesota chapter, said at the rally that it is time to dust up those old boots and march again. The Jewish community knows that if we hear of hate incidents,they are not anomalous."

Wintana Melekin, an organizer for Neighborhoods Organization for Change, told the story of how she texted Carin Mrotz, incoming executive director of Jewish Community Action, when she learned that a swastika had been painted on a garage door in North Minneapolis at the end of 2016. Melekin immigrated to the United States from Sudan when she was 3 years old, and is a Black Catholicof Eritrean heritage.

When I saw on Facebook that someone drew a poorly made swastika, the first thing I did was text herand said, Lets paint over it. If our organizing isnt intersectional, it isnt organizing, she said.

Members of Jewish Community Actionshowed to protest the killing of African American teenager Jamar Clark. They also supported Neighborhoods Organization for Change and the greater Black Lives Matter movement when a gunman openedfireon protesters. JCA showed up for us, and we show up for JCA, Melekinsaid.

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Posted By richards on March 4, 2017

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)-After threats on Jewish institutions around the county,terror is very real formany Jews in the U.S. There were31 threats against Jewish Community Centers and day schools just on Monday.

But fear hasnt stopped the Congregation Children of Israel from reaching out to their neighbors. If anything, these threats have encouraged it.

Jews celebrate Shabbat, or the Sabbath, every Friday evening.

But this weeks Shabbat was special. Hundreds of synagogues across the the U.S. And Canada celebrated Shabbat across America

Weopen the gates to everyone. Jews, and non-Jews, said Rabbi Shai Beloosesky ofCongregation Children of Israel.

Congregation Children of Israel invites non-members to Shabbat Across America every year. This year, they hosted several local Christian leaders and members of the Keys Grove Baptist Church.

This year, [has] got something, a taste, becaues what happened in the last three, four weeks, Beloosesky said. And it came, and suddenly, we got so many support from reverend[s]here in town.

Serviceslike this show that threats against Jewish institutions have backfired in some ways theyre actually bringing the community closer together.

Very, very important that we come together because when you look at all this that is going on the world today, that shows a separation, said Rev. Rickey G. Dent of Keys Grove Baptist Church. But today, tonight as we come together for Shabbat service, thats bringing everybody together regardless of your religion.

Beloosesky says he is grateful for the support in a difficult time, and he would gladly do the same for other faith groups.

If its against Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindu, whateverbecause in my perspective, we have to respect any belief. Any human kind, he said.

He says at the end of the day, were more alike than differnt

We are human beings, he said. And we believe in thesame thing, but we are walking it another way.

The service was followed by a dinner at the synagogue, which everyone was also welcome to join.

The FBI and Justice Departments civil right division continue to investigate the threats against Jewish Community Centers and Schools.

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Posted By richards on March 4, 2017

HAMDEN >> Rabbi Herbert Brockman of Congregation Mishkan Israel said Friday the late Rabbi Robert Goldburgs legacy was that of social justice, having aligned himself with several progressive causes and justice-minded activists, such as Martin Luther King Jr.

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, the honoree at Fridays Shabbat service at Congregation Mishkan Israels Robert E. Goldburg Peace and Justice Service, addressed those attending on his own outlook on peace and justice in 2017 as a Democratic senator in a time when Republicans control the presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives.

I choose to remain optimistic in what is a deeply troubling time for many of us, Murphy said.

The senator told the congregation that he believes in America, progress is often made in big leaps forward two steps ahead and almost routinely one step back. He said this retrenching is historical to the nation, and the true test of progress comes from recovering from that step backwards.

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I think that is the moment we are in today, he said.

Like Brockman, Murphy reminded the congregation that it has its roots in social justice and wrapping hands and arms around the disenfranchised and dispossessed.

Murphy answered approximately 10 questions from audience members, all of whom expressed fears and concerns about the future under President Donald Trump.

One man, who said he was sitting shiva a part of the mourning process in the Jewish tradition for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked what Murphy believed was the best possible outcome for the environment in the next four years.

Its incredibly important we stay within the Paris Agreement, Murphy said. The signal to the world community we are staying in that agreement is incredibly important, and right now there is a fight within the administration.

When asked about reliable news sources, Murphy indicated he gets most of his news from the microblogging site Twitter.

I follow the mainstream news, but I also follow outlets on the left and outlets on the right, he said. Im getting a pretty good idea of all the different spins.

Similar to recent public statements by his colleague from Connecticut, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Murphy said he believes the best work being done now is at a truly grass-roots level.

I love that much of this activity is organic, he said. If I had a wishlist, it would be for more student activism.

Murphy said he believes students are already plugged in, but young people have historically led on American social movements.

We need to convince high school students, college students, people in their 20s that theyre going to regret not speaking up and marching 20 to 30 years from now, he said.

As for what Murphy wouldnt do in the pursuit of justice, he said, would be to adopt the same tactics as Republicans did for the last four years after being critical of then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnells attempts to defeat former President Barack Obama.

Murphy said repeating the Republican attitude toward Obama would lead to a downward spiral of constant retribution.

As for his views on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, Murphy kept some distance.

I have not made a decision on Judge Gorsuch, he said. Im very worried about some of the things Ive heard from him and I dont want him bringing politics onto the bench.

Outside of the prayer service, Murphy told reporters that in light of a rash of threats on Jewish synagogues and community centers, those locations have often been among the most hospitable to others. When asked, Murphy said Trumps chief strategist Stephen Bannon made a living making money off hate speech as former executive chairman of Breitbart News, which has given a platform to hate speech, and is not an A-level adviser.

Trump himself condemned the recent anti-Semitic behavior at the beginning of his Feb. 28 address to Congress, although he hours earlier implied bomb threats and graveyard vandalism were being done by political enemies to make him look bad.

His words were important. They were strong, Murphy said. But he has to be consistent.

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Posted By richards on March 4, 2017

Palm Beach Synagogue will honor resident Bill Langfan retired businessman and World War II veteran to mark his 95th birthday on Saturday. Services start at 9 a.m. followed by a noon luncheon and 12:30 p.m. celebration.

Mr. Langfan is a pillar of tremendous strength within our community, said Rabbi Moshe Scheiner. He has exemplified the virtues of loving kindness and generosity, and community and family and friendship.

At 95, he is a role model and example to all of us on how one can be engaged, building a lasting, living legacy that will impact the lives of many others for generations to come.

Cantor Zev Mller of New York will lead the services and Israeli scholar Mordecai Kedar, an assistant professor at Bar-llan University, will talk about the shared values and principles that have forged a great relationship between the United States and Israel, something which Mr. Langfan has devoted his life toward strengthening, said Scheiner.

Langfan will read from the Torah he donated to Palm Beach Synagogue in 2009 in his parents memory. Hes also given Torahs to Temple Beth El, Temple Emanu-El of Palm Beach and Temple Aitz Chaim of West Palm Beach, all local synagogues hes attended.

Langfans donations toward youth education connect teens to their heritage, history and culture and build leadership. This month, he again will sponsor synagogue teens to attend the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, D.C., so they can become more engaged with issues that unite the United States and Israel. He also sponsors students attending from local temples Beth El and Emanu-El and Chabad of Clinton, N.Y., serving Hamilton University.

He lectures and writes about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, sometimes with son Mark, who uses maps to illustrate Israels importance to the United States and Europe. His website is williamklangfan.com.

During the war, he served in the Battle of the Bulge and was in the first group of liberators at the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945.

His three children followed his footsteps and earned law degrees. One of his six grandchildren is attending his alma mater Cornell University, where a moot court competition is named for him, one of his several permanent endowments.

Langfan was the youngest of five growing up and treated royally, he said. He was the first one in his family to attend college and law school.

Family from Washington, D.C., and New York will attend Langfans birthday tribute at the temple and a party at The Chesterfield.

His birthday wish is for people to seek the facts, he said. If you know the facts, and you make a judgment, you are entitled to convey your opinion. But have facts, dont just rely on what you hear or read.

Of the synagogue tribute, he said: They are asking me to tell a joke they havent heard before. Thats a little difficult. Good jokes are hard to find.

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Music at Bethesda-by-the-Sea James Guyer, organist and choirmaster at St. Boniface Episcopal Church in Sarasota, will play a recital at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Evensong with the Bethesda Choir will follow at 4 p.m. All are welcome.

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Festive Food, music and speakers will highlight a Womens League Shabbaton weekend March 17 and 18 at Temple Emanu-El. It will kick off with a dinner at 5:45 p.m. March 17, followed by 7:30 p.m. services.

The next day, Temple Beth Sholom Teen Choir of Greenwich, Conn., directed by Cantor Asa Fradkin, will sing traditional songs during the 9:15 a.m. service.

Carol Simon of Tampa, president of the National Womens League of Conservative Judaism, will address both services.

Mickey Feldberg, a former Womens League president, called Simon charming, vivacious, and she has dedicated much of her adult life to Womens League.

In addition, Womens League president Rhea Zukerman will honor the board for its yearlong programming.

All are welcome. RSVP for dinner by March 13 by calling 832-0804.

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Pre-Purim event The Palm Beach Jewish Womens Circle gathering at 7 p.m. Monday at The Chabad House will feature tastings of hamantaschen (three-cornered cookies or pastry that resemble Hamans three-cornered hat in the Purim story) and guest speaker Sorele Brownstein. Born and raised in Milan, Italy, Brownstein will share insights into Jewish heroines of the past. She co-directs Chabad of Davis , Calif., with husband Rabbi Shmaryahu Brownstein.

Sorele Brownstein, the author of The Gilded Cage: Queen Esthers Untold Story, will also have a book signing and sale.

The women will prepare hamantaschen and gift packages before the Purim holiday, which runs from sundown March 11 to nightfall March 12.

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Purim drama Purim Puppet Theater led by Rabbi G of the Chabad Youth Network will take place at The Society of the Four Arts Childrens Library for ages 3 to 12. Children also can bake and take home hamantashen at the event, set for 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

The third in the Daled Arts series is presented by The Chabad House in cooperation with The Friedman CJEs PJ Library. Email hindel@palmbeachjewish.com or register at palmbeachjewish.com/daledarts.

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Posted By richards on March 4, 2017

Flagstaffs Reform Synagogue, Congregation Lev Shalom, recently installed Rabbi Mindie Jo Snyder.

We are thrilled that Rabbi Snyder has joined Congregation Lev Shalom as our spiritual leader, says David Miggins, the congregational president. This is the first time that our congregation will have a resident rabbi, and Rabbi Snyder will be the first woman rabbi to live in Flagstaff.

Snyder completed her rabbinical studies at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, with additional inter-religious specialization at Bayan Claremont and Claremont School of Theology. Her Ph.D. dissertation is in progress at the European Graduate School in Switzerland. She also holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh,Penn., and Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass.

Snyder brings more than 30 years of experience in arts, health and human services, and is an award-winning artist, designer, therapist and community organizer.

Since coming to Flagstaff, she helped found Coconino United Religious Leaders Association, an interfaith clergy group, and has organized workshops about LGBT inclusion as well as Islam in the US. She is a member of the Phoenix Board of Rabbis and an on-call Jewish Chaplain at Flagstaff Medical Center.

Congregation Lev Shalom holds twice-monthly services, provides religious school instruction for the young, preparation for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, adult education programs, support with life-cycle events, holiday observance, social gatherings and a Jewish cemetery.

For more information about Congregation Lev Shalom, visit http://www.heichalbaoranim.org.

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Posted By richards on March 4, 2017

EGYPTIAN WORKERS carry out restoration work at a synagogue in Cairo.. (photo credit:REUTERS)

For many centuries Sephardi thinking, culture and law dominated the Jewish world. While kudos must be given to Rabbenu Gershom, Rashi and the Tosafot in the Ashkenazi world, there is no doubt that Judaism would have been impoverished without the genius, creativity and leadership of Judah Halevi and Moses ben Maimon. In addition, the foundational code of Jewish law the Shulchan Aruch was the work of 1492 exile Joseph Karo and it was only later that Rabbi Moses Isserles in Krakow wrote an Ashkenazi gloss on the Sephardi code of the law. Ashkenaz was central, but Sepharad was dominant.

But this dynamic began to change dramatically as we enter the modern period. All of the modern denominations of Judaism from Reform to ultra-Orthodox were founded in Central Europe, Hassidism struck roots in Ukraine and Poland, Jews were granted emancipation beginning in France in 1790 and both the Socialist Bund and various forms of Zionism were the creation of the Russian Pale of Settlement. The Jews of Spain, Portugal and North Africa as well as all Jews from Arab and Islamic lands seemed to have disappeared from the radar of Jewish history. This eclipse is shocking. Has it been overstated? While some historians would point to the exile of Jews from Spain in 1492 as the beginning of the end, the reality is that great Sephardi creativity continued to be a hallmark of Jewish civilization in the early modern period, in those years between the realities of Jewish autonomy in the medieval world and the revolutions of modernity. An outstanding example of Sephardi fortitude in the face of traumatic exile was the community of Safed. In the 16th century this town boasted the greatest Jewish mystical minds as well as brilliant business acumen as a textile and clothing manufacture center. Exile did not weaken Sephardi Jewry but stimulated roots of genius and creativity. Rabbi Isaac Lurias Kabbalah was both traditional and iconoclastic in ways that are barely imagined today. Sephardi thought was still supreme.

Another culprit that is accused of causing the Sephardi eclipse is the Shabbetai Zevi failed messianic movement of the mid-17th century. There was apocalypse in the air and Jews were not immune to an unbalanced young man from Izmir in the Ottoman Empire who claimed to be Gershom Scholems Mystical Messiah. When the Sultan heard of Shabbetais plans to seize power from the overlords of the Land of Israel, he arrested Shabbetai and gave him the choice of conversion to Islam or death.

For the most part, Shabbetais embrace of Islam ended the movement of messianic redemption, from Poland to Yemen. Indeed, perhaps this was the moment in the Jewish world when the Jewish masses ignored the warnings of their rabbi and thus weakened rabbinic authority. Since the source of the movement was the greatest Islamic empire and since that Ottoman empire was facing a true decline until it was known in the early 20th century as The Sick Man of Europe perhaps that heralded the Sephardic eclipse in the face of Ashkenaz.

Or likely, the Sephardi eclipse is overstated. Ladino language and culture flourished in cities like Salonika, where there was a thriving Jewish press and very active Zionist organizations. In North Africa the French Alliance promoted advanced education and prepared its Jewish students for life in the real world. If we go to Istanbul, we have the leadership of the Hakham Bashi in Jewish religious life and thriving synagogues and institutions.

Beyond the Sephardi world, going into other Arab and Islamic lands, there is aliya of Jews to Israel from Yemen long before the mass exodus with the creation of the Jewish state. There is also a thriving business, political and middle class in Iraq.

Once the Zionist movement became a reality life did worsen for Jews in Arab and Islamic lands even though they had always been humiliated institutionally via the dhimmi status but the achievements of the non-Ashkenazi world were considerable although not foundational. That there has been a crossover between the two worlds can be seen in Shas a Sephardic protest movement basically founded and inspired by Mitnagdim. With the founding of the State of Israel, perhaps the Sephardi eclipse is ending.

With half the Jewish population of the State of Israel descended from Jews of the Sephardi and Mizrahi worlds, one wonders if the Askenazi hold on Jewish destiny will diminish. Only time will tell.

We are moving into a new phase of history.

The author is a rabbi and spiritual leader of Congregation Anshei Sholom in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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Editor's Notes: Israelis have reason for concern ahead of future war

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Posted By richards on March 4, 2017

Joseph Cedar, Israels most celebrated film director, returns to our screens next week with his new movie Norman, starring Richard Gere, Steve Buscemi, Lior Ashkenazi, Charlotte Gainsborg and Michael Sheen.

The Times of Israel is hosting the films first Jerusalem screening on Monday, three days before the official premiere.

Cedar will attend the screening, and will be interviewed live on stage by Times of Israels Ops&Blogs editor Miriam Herschlag.

Cedar, a native New Yorker who emigrated to Israel at age six, has received two Academy Award foreign film nominations and an armful of trophies, including awards from the Cannes and Berlin film festivals and the Israel Film Academy.

A scene from the Joseph Cedar movie Norman (Courtesy)

Norman is his first film set outside the Middle East, although Israel features prominently in a character played by Lior Ashkenazi, who rises to become the Israeli prime minister.

Ashkenazi, one of Israels finest actors, also starred in Cedars Oscar-nominated comedy Footnote.

Norman (Courtesy)

Richard Gere plays Norman Oppenheimer, a would-be operator who lives a lonely life in the margins of New York City power and money, dreaming up financial schemes that never come to fruition. Norman strives to be everyones friend, but his incessant networking leads him nowhere.

Desperate for someone willing to pay attention to him, Norman sets his sights on Micha Eshel (Ashkenazi), a charismatic Israeli politician alone in New York at a low point in his career. Sensing Eshels vulnerability, Norman reaches out with a gift of a very expensive pair of shoes. Eshel is deeply touched. When he becomes prime minister three years later, he remembers.

Joseph Cedar (Courtesy)

With this connection to the leader of a major nation, Norman is suddenly awash in the respect he has always craved. Flush with his newfound feeling of success, Norman attempts to use Eshels name to leverage his biggest-ever deal: a tortuous series of transactions linking Eshel to Normans nephew (Michael Sheen), a rabbi (Steve Buscemi), a mogul (Harris Yulin), his assistant (Dan Stevens) and a treasury official from the Ivory Coast. But the kaleidoscopic plans soon go awry, creating the potential for an international catastrophe.

Variety says the film is as gnarled and back-stabbing as anything on House of Cards, and notes that Geres acting just keeps getting better.

Judge for yourself and meet Joseph Cedar next Monday at Cinema City in Jerusalem.

Booking Information:

Monday, March 6; Exclusive Times of Israel preview

NORMAN starring Richard Gere

Director Joseph Cedar talks to Miriam Herschlag

7:45 p.m., Cinema City, Jerusalem BOOK HERE

To join our priority booking list and for advance news of all future events, send an email with the word Subscribe to: events@timesofisrael.com

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Times of Israel to host Joseph Cedar at first Jerusalem screening of 'Norman' - The Times of Israel

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Posted By richards on March 4, 2017

Responses against the recently published article, "Jewish identity in a pickle"

Response to Jewish identity in a pickle, written by IJV McGill

Upon reading this article, I was struck by the factual inaccuracy, slander and perversion of Jewish identity that the authors employed to further their agenda as members of Independent Jewish Voices, an organization who criticizes Israeli state policy through a de-legitimization of the Jewish connection to Israel.

De-legitimizing this connection is factually inaccurate. The authors cite the Jewish people as diasporic, however they fail to mention that the reason the Jews constitute a diaspora is because they originate from the kingdom of Judah (what is now Israel/Palestine). Failing to acknowledge this fact is an attempt to pervert history. Jews are a Semitic people indigenous to the Levant and this is non-contestable.

Zionism was not a radical idea invented by Herzl, as the authors claim. The central tenets of Zionism, which encompasses the notion that Jews should be able to return to the land they have been expelled from since 740 BCE, has always been present in the Jewish consciousness. Of course, not all Jews believe this. However, decrying Herzl as a colonial oppressor ignores the fact that many Jews very much wanted to seek refuge in their ancestral homeland, due to their persecution across Eastern Europe and in the Middle East.

The article chooses to associate Zionism with elite Ashkenazi colonialists. Claiming that Ashkenazi Jews are privileged (which perpetuates an anti-Semitic stereotype that has existed since the 1800s) ignores the diversity of Ashkenazi Jewish experiences and invalidates the authors attempt to create an inclusive space for all Jews. Being a Zionist does not mean supporting Israeli state policy. Many Israelis are Zionists who share a plurality of political views, and are constantly mobilizing in protest of unjust Israeli state policies. I would encourage the IJV to inform themselves before they make sweeping claims that generalizes an entire ethno-religious identity.

Rachel Coburn

On IJVs Rant: So Many Words, So Little Substance

I write in response to the recent McGill Daily feature, Judaism in a Pickle, penned by three students who proudly flaunted their anti-Zionism yet lacked the courage to do so using their real names, instead hiding under pseudonyms.

The facts and anecdotes in the article range from the mendacious to the absurd. Thus, the commentary itself commits historical error by marginalizing the leadership and contribution of Eastern-European-Jews to the Zionist project, despite the fact that Israels first four Prime Ministers (one a woman) came from the Russian Empire. Meanwhile, a story of rejecting Israeli pickles is offered as some courageous sign of moral development and gusty rebellion.

IJV complains that its views are ignored and marginalized. The organized Jewish community has every legal and moral right to reject views that directly conflict with, indeed threaten, its members and values. As Rabbi Reuven Poupko succinctly put it, You dont invite butchers to a vegetarians convention.

An entity that affirms everything ultimately affirms nothing.

IJV is entitled to its views, repugnant as I and many others find them. It is not entitled to impose them on the many others, myself included, who utterly reject them and for whom their Jewish heritage and identity and love for the land, people, and State of Israel are indivisible.

I wish to highlight the fact that in its approximately four-thousand word discourse, IJV did not see it necessary or even warranted to deploy any words to condemn the nakedly inciteful and violent tweet that Sadikov published.

Sometimes it is the words that arent stated that speak the loudest.

Michael A. (Mikie) Schwartz, Third Year Student, McGill University Faculty of Law

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Letters to the Editor The McGill Daily - The McGill Daily (blog)

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Posted By richards on March 4, 2017

JEFF MARTIN, Associated Press

ATLANTA Amid a surge of bomb threats and vandalism at Jewish institutions nationwide, members of Atlanta's Jewish community have felt a familiar wave of apprehension about what may come next.

Because all of that, and worse, has happened in the city before.

Six decades ago, during the turmoil of the civil rights era, 50 sticks of dynamite blasted a ragged hole in Atlanta's largest synagogue. A generation earlier, in 1915, Jewish businessman Leo Frank was lynched during a wave of anti-Semitism.

Some fear that history is once again arcing toward the viperous climate that set the stage for the earlier violence.

"It's heartbreaking to see the attacks and threats and desecration of Jewish cemeteries in recent days," said playwright Jimmy Maize, whose play "The Temple Bombing" is on stage this month at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre. "I have to say that writing this play feels too much like history repeating itself."

His play, which addresses anti-Semitism, fear and courage through the drama of the 1958 explosion, was inspired by a book by Atlanta author Melissa Fay Greene.

"We learned over several decades the power of hate speech," Greene said. "It can lead to people being harmed and killed."

This past weekend, more than 100 headstones were discovered toppled or damaged at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia. In New York, a Rochester cemetery was targeted this week in the latest in a string of anti-Semitic incidents around the county. Cemetery officials said Thursday at least a dozen grave markers were desecrated.

In Indiana, an apparent gunshot fired into a synagogue Tuesday has drawn the attention of the FBI. And Jewish community centers and schools in several states also have been targets of recent bomb scares.

Atlanta has played a prominent role in American Jewish life since the late 1800s. Jewish immigrants began some of its most successful businesses, according to the Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

Atlanta was at the forefront of the new, industrial South, and many of its factories were Jewish-owned, said Jeremy Katz, archives director at Atlanta's William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.

Jewish businessmen gained respect and became community leaders. But their success also led to anti-Semitism from Southerners who felt left behind by the changing economy, said Stuart Rockoff, the former historian for the Institute of Southern Jewish Life.

"There was this push and pull, and it was kind of a powder keg that ignited with the Leo Frank case," Katz said. "Before the Frank case, Jews were fairly accepted in the community because social lines were drawn by color of skin rather than religion, so Jews really flourished in the South."

Everything changed on a spring day in 1913, when 13-year-old factory worker Mary Phagan was found strangled in the cellar of Atlanta's National Pencil Company. Frank, the factory's manager, was arrested and put on trial. As newspaper articles inflamed anti-Semitic passions in and around Atlanta, he was convicted and sentenced to death.

Georgia Gov. John Slaton, convinced Frank was innocent, commuted his sentence to life in prison. In August 1915, a mob snatched Frank from the state prison in Milledgeville and drove him to Marietta, where Phagan had lived, and hanged him from an oak tree.

"The Leo Frank case showed that Jews were not immune from that type of violence and discrimination," Rockoff said.

In the following years, many Jews didn't speak of the Frank case.

But by the late 1940s, Rabbi Jacob Rothschild at The Temple in Atlanta had begun speaking out against racial injustice in Atlanta, said his son, William Rothschild. Some believe that made the synagogue a target for extremists.

The bomb exploded about 3:30 a.m. Oct. 12, 1958. A few hours later, during Sunday morning classes, "there would have been hundreds of children in the building," said Peter Berg, now senior rabbi at The Temple. But the children hadn't yet arrived, and no one was injured.

"I remember feeling emptiness," recalls Carol Zaban Cooper of Atlanta, who was 14 when her synagogue was bombed, and went on to become active with the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. "I felt hollow, numb."

Alfred Uhry, author of the play and movie "Driving Miss Daisy," attended The Temple as a child and had just moved to New York when it was bombed. He recalls the horror of seeing a photo of the destruction in The New York Times.

"It showed a side of the building blown off, and I had gone to Sunday school there," Uhry said.

A bombing suspect's first trial ended with a hung jury and the second with an acquittal.

Atlanta Mayor William Hartsfield said "every political rabble-rouser is the godfather of these cross burners and dynamiters who sneak about in the dark and give a bad name to the South."

Atlanta Constitution editor Ralph McGill called it a harvest of hate. One day after the blast he wrote, "It is the harvest of defiance of courts and the encouragement of citizens to defy law on the part of many southern politicians."

"To be sure, none said go bomb a Jewish temple or a school," he added in the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial. "But let it be understood that when leadership in high places in any degree fails to support constituted authority, it opens the gate to all those who wish to take law into their own hands."

Racial hatred put everyone in danger, McGill wrote.

"When the wolves of hate are loosed on one people, then no one is safe."

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In Atlanta, anti-Semitism is viewed through lens of history - BlueRidgeNow.com

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