Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on May 24, 2015

Golan Heights,also called Golan Plateau, Arabic Al-Jawln, Hebrew Ramat Ha-Golan or Ha-Golan, hilly area overlooking the upper Jordan River valley on the west. The area was part of extreme southwestern Syria until 1967, when it came under Israeli military occupation, and in December 1981 Israel unilaterally annexed the part of the Golan it held. The areas name is from the biblical city of refuge Golan in Bashan (Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 20:8).

Geographically, the Golan is bounded by the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee on the west, Mount Hermon (Arabic: Jabal Al-Shaykh; Hebrew: Har ermon) on the north, the seasonal Wadi Al-Ruqqd (a north-south branch of the Yarmk River) on the east, and the Yarmk River on the south. As a political unit the boundaries differ; Israel is the suzerain of almost all of the Golan except for a narrow strip in the east that follows the Israeli-Syrian armistice line of June 10, 1967, which was later modified by the separation of forces agreement of May 31, 1974. The Golan extends about 44 miles (71 km) from north to south and about 27 miles (43 km) from east to west at its widest point. It is roughly boat-shaped and has an area of 444 square miles (1,150 square km). The better agricultural land lies in its southern portion; the stony foothills of Mount Hermon in the north, with patches of woodland and scrub, are a stock-raising area. The Israeli portion of the Golan rises to 7,297 feet (2,224 metres) at its extreme northeast point on the Mount Hermon slopes.

In 1894 the French-Jewish banker Baron Edmond de Rothschild bought a large tract of land for Jewish settlement in the Golan; he was followed by other groups in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Jewish colonization was attempted but was frustrated by the hostility of the Arab population and by the Ottoman land laws, which virtually forbade settlement by nonnatives. After World War I the Golan became part of the French mandate of Syria and in 1941 passed to independent Syria. After the Arab-Israeli War of 194849, Syria fortified the western crest of the Golan Heights, which commands the ula Valley, the Sea of Galilee, and the upper Jordan River valley, all in Israel. In these sections many Israeli civilians were killed by Syrian artillery and sniper fire; agriculture and fishing were rendered difficult, and at times impossible.

On the last two days (June 910, 1967) of the Six-Day War, the Israeli armed forces, after defeating Egypt and Jordan, turned their attention to Syria. Under cover of the Israel Air Force, engineer troops built access roads up the steep Golan Heights, which were then frontally assaulted by armoured vehicles and infantry. The Syrian defenders and most of the Arab inhabitants fled, and Syria asked for an armistice; fighting ceased on June 10. The heights were placed under Israeli military administration, and Golan was integrated into the communications and financial framework of Israel. By the late 1970s nearly 30 Jewish settlements had been established on the heights, and in 1981 Israel unilaterally annexed the area.

A disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria, signed following the Yom Kippur War of October 1973, established a United Nations buffer zone in the Golan Heights, monitored by a UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). The UNDOF mandate was renewed every six months thereafter. Negotiations between Syria and Israel, initiated during bilateral talks held in Madrid in 1991, continued intermittently until they broke down in 2000 over the future status of the heights.

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Posted By admin on May 24, 2015

Remarks by President Barack Obama on May 22, to Adas Israel Synagogue in Washington DC marking Jewish American Heritage Month.

THE PRESIDENT: A slightly early Shabbat Shalom. I want to thank Rabbi Steinlauf for the very kind introduction. And to all the members of the congregation, thank you so much for such an extraordinary and warm welcome.

I want to thank a couple of outstanding members of Congress who are here. Senator Michael Bennet where did Michael Bennet go? There he is. And Representative Sandy Levin, who is here. I want to thank our special envoy to combat anti-Semitism, Ira Forman, for his important work. There he is. But as I said, most of all I want to thank the entire congregation of Adas Israel for having me here today.

Earlier this week, I was actually interviewed by one of your members, Jeff Goldberg. And Jeff reminded me that he once called me the first Jewish President. Now, since some people still seem to be wondering about my faith I should make clear this was an honorary title. But I was flattered.

And as an honorary member of the tribe, not to mention somebody whos hosted seven White House Seders and been advised by and been advised by two Jewish chiefs of staff, I can also proudly say that Im getting a little bit of the hang of the lingo. But I will not use any of the Yiddish-isms that Rahm Emanuel taught me because I want to be invited back. Lets just say he had some creative new synonyms for Shalom.

Now, I wanted to come here to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month because this congregation, like so many around the country, helps us to tell the American story. And back in 1876, when President Grant helped dedicate Adas Israel, he became the first sitting President in history to attend a synagogue service. And at the time, it was an extraordinarily symbolic gesture not just for America, but for the world.

And think about the landscape of Jewish history. Tomorrow night, the holiday of Shavuot marks the moment that Moses received the Torah at Mount Sinai, the first link in a chain of tradition that stretches back thousands of years, and a foundation stone for our civilization. Yet for most of those years, Jews were persecuted not embraced by those in power. Many of your ancestors came here fleeing that persecution. The United States could have been merely another destination in that ongoing diaspora. But those who came here found that America was more than just a country. America was an idea. America stood for something. As George Washington wrote to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island: The United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.

Its important for us to acknowledge that too often in our history we fell short of those lofty ideals in the legal subjugation of African Americans, through slavery and Jim Crow; the treatment of Native Americans. And far too often, American Jews faced the scourge of anti-Semitism here at home. But our founding documents gave us a North Star, our Bill of Rights; our system of government gave us a capacity for change. And where other nations actively and legally might persecute or discriminate against those of different faiths, this nation was called upon to see all of us as equal before the eyes of the law. When other countries treated their own citizens as wretched refuse, we lifted up our lamp beside the golden door and welcomed them in. Our country is immeasurably stronger because we did.

Anti-Semitism is, and always will be, a threat to broader human values to which we all must aspire. And when we allow anti-Semitism to take root, then our souls are destroyed, and it will spread.

From Einstein to Brandeis, from Jonas Salk to Betty Friedan, American Jews have made contributions to this country that have shaped it in every aspect. And as a community, American Jews have helped make our union more perfect. The story of Exodus inspired oppressed people around the world in their own struggles for civil rights. From the founding members of the NAACP to a freedom summer in Mississippi, from womens rights to gay rights to workers rights, Jews took the heart of Biblical edict that we must not oppress a stranger, having been strangers once ourselves.

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Posted By richards on May 24, 2015

Jewish American values are woven into the fabric of American life and have shaped the progress weve made as a country. That history has fundamentally shaped the Presidents personal views and leadership. As he told The Atlantics Jeffrey Goldberg:

"To me, being pro-Israel and pro-Jewish is part and parcel with the values that I've been fighting for since I was politically conscious and started getting involved in politics. Theres a direct line between supporting the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland and to feel safe and free of discrimination and persecution, and the right of African Americans to vote and have equal protection under the law."

Today at 11:00 am ET, in honor of National Jewish American Heritage Month, President Obama will address the Adas Israel congregation in Washington, D.C., the first synagogue in the U.S. to be addressed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Watch his remarks live:

Before the President speaks, he'll meet with a few leaders from the American Jewish community who exemplify the many ways that American Jews contribute to and strengthen our country. And we wanted to share a first look with you.

Rabbi Shira Stutman Sixth & I, Washington, D.C.

As the Director of Jewish Programming at a historic nondenominational synagogue, Rabbi Stutman works daily tobuild the Jewish community for young professionals in the city. To her, the Jewish faith is about recognizing the joy that comes from a community of people who are interested in deepening themselves and bettering the world to bringing justice to all who deserve it and to make that tradition real and relevant for future generations. Her favorite t-shirt reads: This is what a real rabbi looks like.

When my great-grandfather came to America from Russia in the early days of the 20th century, his name was Joseph Address. He kept that name through his journey from Ellis Island to South Philadelphia. And through the years that it took him, a tailor, to scrape together enough money to open his own shop. With his final pennies, he hired someone to write his name, in golden script, on the front window: 'Andress Tailor Shop' it read. The painter has misspelled his name.

"My great-grandfather did not have the English skills to fight it out with the painter, nor did he have the money to get it repainted. So Andress it became. Many immigrants have a story like minenot the exact same story, of course, but a story of a poor ancestor who came to this country with little to nothing and built it into something. I love these stories, romanticized and hyperbolized as they usually are. Once upon a time, we were all strangers here. Once upon a time, no one cared enough to learn our names.

"Too many Americans still feel like strangers in this countryor, even worse, are treated as such by those around them. At the intersection of my family storymy proud Jewish identity, and my proud American identity--is the demand that I work to bring justice to every American, that we learn each others names and stories, that we take responsibility for each other. That we participate in the work of social justice, which requires that we work with directly affected people, recognize our privilege, and use our power to make lasting change that people really need.

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Posted By simmons on May 24, 2015

On Sunday, Robert S. Wistrich the director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem emailed the following column to Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Steve Linde, asking that it be published in the coming week. Wistrich died suddenly on Tuesday. We dedicate his last column to perpetuating his memory. May his words live on.

There are few topics of more pressing concern today to Jewish communities around the world than the current resurgence of anti-Semitism. Thus, there could have been no more appropriate time for the 5th Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism to meet than last week in Jerusalem. It was a large and impressive gathering of participants from all over the world, initiated by the Foreign Ministry, together with its Diaspora Affairs Department.

In my own remarks to the conference I emphasized the need to free ourselves from certain outdated myths. My first point was that even today, Jews in Israel and the Diaspora are fixated on the dangers of far-right traditional anti-Semitism whether racist, religious or nationalist. While neo-fascism has not altogether disappeared, it is in most cases a secondary threat.

Second, there is an illusory belief that more Holocaust education and memorialization can serve as an effective antidote to contemporary anti-Semitism. This notion, shared by many governments and well-meaning liberal gentiles, is quite unfounded. On the contrary, today Holocaust inversion (the perverse transformation of Jews into Nazis and Muslims into victimized Jews) all-too-often becomes a weapon with which to pillory Israel and denigrate the Jewish people. Hence the approach to this entire subject requires considerable rethinking, updating and fine-tuning.

Third, we must recognize much more clearly than before that since 1975 (with the passing of the scandalous UN resolution condemning Zionism as racism) hatred of Israel has increasingly mutated into the chief vector for the new anti-Semitism.

By libeling the Jewish state as racist, Nazi, apartheid and founded from its inception on ethnic cleansing, its enemies have turned Zionism into a synonym for criminality and a term of pure opprobrium.

Hence, every Jew (or non- Jew) who supports the totally illegitimate or immoral Zionist entity is thereby complicit in a cosmic evil.

Fourth, todays anti-Semitism is a product of a new civic religion that could be termed Palestinianism.

The official Palestinian narrative seeks to supplant Israel with a judenrein Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. In the case of Hamas, this intent is absolutely explicit. With Fatah, it is partly veiled for tactical reasons.

But when it comes to the Palestinian ideology and the millions around the world who support it, virtually all actions of self-defense by Israel are instantly classified as genocide, demonized and treated as part of a sinister Jewish-imperialist conspiracy. Not surprisingly, then, pro-Palestine demonstrations, beginning in the summer of 2014, were often accompanied by ugly chants of Death to the Jews and anti-Semitic incidents.

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Posted By simmons on May 23, 2015

President Barack Obama said Friday he "forcefully" objects to suggestions that policy differences between his administration and the Israeli government signal his lack of support for the longtime U.S. ally.

Speaking at one of Washington's most prominent synagogues, Obama said the U.S. and Israel should not be expected to paper over differences on Israel's settlement building or the frozen peace process with the Palestinians.

"That's not a true measure of friendship," Obama told about 1,200 people, including members of Congress, gathered at Congregation Adas Israel. "The people of Israel must always know America has its back."

The president's remarks come during a period of deep tension in an already prickly relationship with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly over Obama's bid to strike a nuclear deal with Iran. Netanyahu views Iran's disputed nuclear program as an existential threat to Israel and has lobbied vigorously against such a deal, including by addressing a joint meeting of Congress earlier this year.

Obama defended the framework deal that negotiators are seeking to finalize by the end of June, saying it would make Israel and the entire region safer. Still, he said given the high stakes, he welcomes scrutiny of the negotiations.

"This deal will have my name on it," he said.

Obama on Friday signed bipartisan legislation that gives Congress the right to review any final nuclear deal with Iran before the president can waive congressional sanctions. Obama had initially resisted any legislation that could undo the nuclear deal.

The president and Netanyahu also clashed during the recent Israeli elections over the prime minister's comments on the peace process. Netanyahu said in the lead-up to the election that he no longer backed a two-state solution, though he reversed himself after his party's victory.

Obama also addressed what he called a "deeply disturbing rise" in anti-Semitism around the world. He said the world knows from history that this is "not some passing fad" and should not be ignored.

Obama's appearance coincided with Solidarity Shabbat, devoted to showing unity by political leaders in Europe and North America against anti-Semitism.

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Obama Tells People of Israel: America Has Your Back - ABC News

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Posted By simmons on May 23, 2015

A Palestinian youth practices his parkour jumping skills in Gaza City in houses destroyed during the 50-day war last summer. Photograph: Reuters/Mohammed Salem

A new World Bank report has warned that the Gaza Strips economy is on the verge of collapse, saying the unemployment rate there is now the highest in the world.

The damning report, released on Friday, claimed blockades, war and poor governance have strangled the economy of the Gaza Strip, ruled by Hamas.

Gazas gross domestic product would have been an estimated four times higher if not for conflicts and restrictions, including a blockade in place since 2007.

Israel, backed by Egypt, imposed the blockade on Gaza after the Islamist Hamas won elections in 2006 and seized control of the territory the following year from forces loyal to western-backed Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel defends the blockade as necessary to prevent militant weapons smuggling, while human rights groups criticise the restrictions as collective punishment.

The report, which will be presented to a donors conference next week, said Gazas economy was badly hurt as a result of the three wars fought between Hamas and Israel since 2007 including a 50-day conflict last summer.

It said about 43 per cent of Gazas 1.8 million residents are unemployed, with youth unemployment soaring to 60 per cent. Nearly 80 per cent of Gazas population receives some kind of social assistance, and almost 40 per cent fall below the poverty line.

The current market in Gaza is not able to offer jobs, leaving a large population in despair, particularly the youth, Steen Lau Jorgensen, World Bank country director for the West Bank and Gaza, said in the report.

The ongoing blockade and the 2014 war have taken a toll on Gazas economy and peoples livelihoods. The economy cannot survive without being connected to the outside world.

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Posted By richards on May 23, 2015

Remarks by President Barack Obama on May 22, to Adas Israel Synagogue in Washington DC marking Jewish American Heritage Month.

THE PRESIDENT: A slightly early Shabbat Shalom. I want to thank Rabbi Steinlauf for the very kind introduction. And to all the members of the congregation, thank you so much for such an extraordinary and warm welcome.

I want to thank a couple of outstanding members of Congress who are here. Senator Michael Bennet where did Michael Bennet go? There he is. And Representative Sandy Levin, who is here. I want to thank our special envoy to combat anti-Semitism, Ira Forman, for his important work. There he is. But as I said, most of all I want to thank the entire congregation of Adas Israel for having me here today.

Earlier this week, I was actually interviewed by one of your members, Jeff Goldberg. And Jeff reminded me that he once called me the first Jewish President. Now, since some people still seem to be wondering about my faith I should make clear this was an honorary title. But I was flattered.

And as an honorary member of the tribe, not to mention somebody whos hosted seven White House Seders and been advised by and been advised by two Jewish chiefs of staff, I can also proudly say that Im getting a little bit of the hang of the lingo. But I will not use any of the Yiddish-isms that Rahm Emanuel taught me because I want to be invited back. Lets just say he had some creative new synonyms for Shalom.

Now, I wanted to come here to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month because this congregation, like so many around the country, helps us to tell the American story. And back in 1876, when President Grant helped dedicate Adas Israel, he became the first sitting President in history to attend a synagogue service. And at the time, it was an extraordinarily symbolic gesture not just for America, but for the world.

And think about the landscape of Jewish history. Tomorrow night, the holiday of Shavuot marks the moment that Moses received the Torah at Mount Sinai, the first link in a chain of tradition that stretches back thousands of years, and a foundation stone for our civilization. Yet for most of those years, Jews were persecuted not embraced by those in power. Many of your ancestors came here fleeing that persecution. The United States could have been merely another destination in that ongoing diaspora. But those who came here found that America was more than just a country. America was an idea. America stood for something. As George Washington wrote to the Jews of Newport, Rhode Island: The United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.

Its important for us to acknowledge that too often in our history we fell short of those lofty ideals in the legal subjugation of African Americans, through slavery and Jim Crow; the treatment of Native Americans. And far too often, American Jews faced the scourge of anti-Semitism here at home. But our founding documents gave us a North Star, our Bill of Rights; our system of government gave us a capacity for change. And where other nations actively and legally might persecute or discriminate against those of different faiths, this nation was called upon to see all of us as equal before the eyes of the law. When other countries treated their own citizens as wretched refuse, we lifted up our lamp beside the golden door and welcomed them in. Our country is immeasurably stronger because we did.

Anti-Semitism is, and always will be, a threat to broader human values to which we all must aspire. And when we allow anti-Semitism to take root, then our souls are destroyed, and it will spread.

From Einstein to Brandeis, from Jonas Salk to Betty Friedan, American Jews have made contributions to this country that have shaped it in every aspect. And as a community, American Jews have helped make our union more perfect. The story of Exodus inspired oppressed people around the world in their own struggles for civil rights. From the founding members of the NAACP to a freedom summer in Mississippi, from womens rights to gay rights to workers rights, Jews took the heart of Biblical edict that we must not oppress a stranger, having been strangers once ourselves.

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Posted By admin on May 22, 2015

ISIS claimed responsibility for a recent bombing of Hamas security offices in Gaza. (Reuters)

HAIFA, Israel Sworn enemies Israel and Hamas may have found the one thing that can unite them: The threat of ISIS taking over Gaza.

Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization which controls the Islamic enclave in Israel and which fought a vicious 50-day war against Israel last summer, is desperately trying to stop ISIS from gaining a foothold within its territory. In recent weeks, jihadi groups loyal to ISIS have exchanged gun and rocket fire with Hamas authorities, planted bombs in public buildings and threatened an all-out war with the Gaza government. Hamas reportedly blew up a mosque believed to be a base for ISIS loyalists and has detained significant numbers of suspects.

In light of Hamas latest action, we renew our allegiance to [ISIS leader] Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and call on him to strengthen his influence, to open up a war in Palestine in order to unite together in a war against the Jews and their accomplices, a group calling itself Supporters of the Islamic State in Jerusalem said in a statement last month after the mosque in the central Gaza section of Deir Al-Balah was destroyed.

Hamas is brutal enough and determined enough to meet that challenge.

- Yoram Schweitzer, Institute for National Security Studies

The statement demanded that Hamas release all ISIS loyalists and was followed days later by a bombing near Hamas' security headquarters.

ISIS has now expanded beyond Iraq and Syria and into Yemen, Libya, Egypt and Somalia. Although Palestinian leaders refuse to publicly acknowledge an ISIS presence threat in Gaza, the groups black flag is now often seen there.

The developments have Hamas and Israel, which sees an ISIS takeover of Gaza as a bigger threat than Hamas, reportedly talking through back channels about how to squeeze out ISIS, a collaboration that some commentators say could be the basis for possible dtente between sworn enemies. Any potential agreement, informal or otherwise, does not appear imminent, but there is a growing belief that it remains a possibility.

I know that people from Hamas have expressed more and more the concept of long-range hudna [truce] with Israel, regional terror expert Yoram Schweitzer of the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies told FoxNews.com. Because of the dire straits in Gaza as a consequence of the last operation there, Hamas has to carry the burden of caring for the people and is considering pushing for a kind of hudna in return for Israeli concessions.

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Posted By admin on May 22, 2015

Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. While far from monolithic in practice and having no centralized authority or binding dogma, Judaism has remained strongly united around several religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, transcendent God that created the universe.

According to Jewish thought, God established a covenant with the Jewish people, then known as the Israelites, and revealed his laws and commandments to them in the form of the Torah. Jewish practice is devoted to the study and observance of these laws and commandments, as they are interpreted according to various ancient and modern authorities.

Judaism does not easily fit into common western categories, such as religion, ethnicity, or culture. In religious terms Judaism today is comprised of three main denominations: Orthodox (including several varieties), Conservative, and Reform, plus a large body of secular Jews who belong to no organized religious institution.

Judaism is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. The tenets and history of Judaism form a major part of the foundation of other Abrahamic religions, including Christianity and Islam.

Much of the Hebrew Bible is an account of the Israelites' relationship with God as reflected in their history from the time of Abraham until the building of the Second Temple (c. 350 B.C.E.). Abraham is generally seen as the first Jew, although he was also the progenitor of several non-Jewish tribes. Rabbinical literature holds that he was the first person to reject idolatry and preach monotheism. As a result, God promised he would have many children: "Look now toward heaven and count the stars. So shall be your progeny" (Genesis 15:5).

Abraham's first child was Ishmael and his second son was Isaac, whom God said would continue Abraham's work and whose descendants would inherit the Land of Israel (then called Canaan), after having been exiled and redeemed. God sent Abraham's grandson, the patriarch Jacob and his children to Egypt, where they later became enslaved. As Jacob was also known as "Israel," his tribe became known as the Israelites.

God sent Moses to redeem the Israelites from slavery. After the Exodus from Egypt, God led the Jews to Mount Sinai and gave them the Torah, eventually bringing them to the land of Canaan, which they conquered at God's command. God designated the descendants of Aaron, Moses' brother, to be a priestly class within the Israelite community. They first officiated in the Tabernacle (a portable house of worship), and later their descendants were in charge of worship in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Once the Israelites had settled in Canaan, the Tabernacle was established in the city of Shiloh for over 300 years. During his time, God provided great leaders known as the judges to rally the nation against attacking enemies sent by God as a punishment for the sins of the people, who failed to separate themselves from the Canaanites and joined in worshiping the Canaanite gods.

The people of Israel then told the prophet Samuel, the last and greatest of the judges, that they needed to be governed by a permanent king, as were other nations. God acceded to this request and had Samuel appoint Saul to be their first monarch. However, when Saul disunited with Samuel and proved to lack zeal in destroying Israel's enemies, God instructed Samuel to appoint David in his stead.

David and Saul struggled with each other for many years, but once David's kingship was established, he told the prophet Nathan that he would like to build a permanent temple for the Lord. God promised the king that he would allow his son to build the temple and that the throne would never depart from his children. It was thus David's son, Solomon, who built the first permanent temple in Jerusalem, as described in the Books of Kings.

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Posted By simmons on May 22, 2015

Robert S. Wistrich, one of the worlds foremost scholars of anti-Semitism, died late Tuesday evening after suffering a heart attack in Rome, where he was due to address the Italian Senate about rising anti-Semitism in Europe.

Wistrich, 70, was the Neuburger Professor of European and Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the head of the Universitys Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism.

Over the course of his career, Wistrich edited and published dozens of books about the fate of Jews and their treatment by other nations.

Among his notable works was the 1989 book The Jews of Vienna in the age of Franz Joseph, which won the Austrian State Prize in History. Two years later he published Antisemitism: The Longest Hatred, which later served as the basis for a three-hour British-American television documentary on anti-Semitism.

His book A Lethal Obsession: Antisemitism From Antiquity to the Global Jihad, published in 2010, was awarded the Best Book of the Year Prize by the New-York based Journal for the Study of Antisemitism.

In 2014, Wistrich authored an exhibition titled The 3,500 year relationship of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel, which was scheduled for display at UNESCO headquarters in Paris but was canceled amid pressure from Arab nations.

At the time, Wistrich said that the cancellation completely destroyed any claim that UNESCO could possibly have to be representing the universal values of toleration, mutual understanding, respect for the other and narratives that are different, engaging with civil society organizations and the importance of education. Because theres one standard for Jews, and theres another standard for non-Jews, especially if theyre Arabs, but not only.

The exhibit eventually reopened six months later after the phrase Land of Israel in the title was replaced with Holy Land.

Robert Wistrich (photo credit: courtesy)

In July 2014 Wistrich was invited to address an emergency Knesset meeting on rising violent anti-Semitism and anti-Israel activities in Europe, during which he warned that we have entered a new, very difficult era in all of Europe.

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