Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 27, 2019

The Divisive Decade: When The Center Couldnt Hold

The 2010s meant a lot of things to a lot of people, but weve chosen to label the past 10 years The Divisive Decade. The bitter battle over the Iran nuclear deal was a Jewish communal watershed, and the election of Donald Trump has cleaved the community in ways that sometimes feel unfixable.

Even the decades terrifying rise of anti-Semitism, a call for unity if there ever was one, has divided Jews along ideological lines. Below is a timeline of some defining moments, and here is a special collection of essays where we asked writers to examine the key Jewish trends of the past 10 years, and ask how we might overcome this polarization.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) introduces Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his choice to be the nations 112th Supreme Court justice during an event in the East Room of the White House May 10, 2010 in Washington, DC. Kagan was selected by Obama to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Getty Images

Rabbi Sholom Rubashkin is sentenced to 27 years in prison in connection with multiple charges at the now-defunct Agriprocessors kosher slaughtering plant.

The expanded National Museum of American Jewish History opens in Philadelphia.

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Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz completes his massive translation of the Babylonian Talmud into modern Hebrew.

Elana Kagan becomes the third Jewish justice on the current Supreme Court.

In this handout photo provided by the Israeli Defense Force, freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (2nd R) walks with Defence Minister Ehud Barak (L), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd, L) and IDF Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz (R) at Tel Nof Airbase on October 18, 2011 in central Israel. Shalit was freed after being held captive for five years in Gaza by Hamas militants, in a deal which saw Israel releasing more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. (Photo by IDF via Getty Images)

Gilad Shalit, is releasedafter being held captive by Hamas in Gaza for five years in exchange for releasing 1,027 prisoners in what is the largest prisoner exchange agreement Israel ever made.

Leiby Kletzky. Wikimedia Commons

Lieby Kletzky, an 8-year-old chasidic boy, is murdered by an emotionally disturbed Orthodox man in Borough Park.

Debbie Friedman, Jewish singing superstar, dies at 59.

A fire destroys the building of Kehilath Jeshurun, a landmark Orthodox congregation on the Upper East Side.

Matisyahu, one-time Chasidic reggae singer and rapper, posts a beardless picture of himself, igniting discussions about his religious metamorphosis.

Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav begins a prison sentence for rape.

Aly Raisman of the United States on the Vault during training sessions for Artistic Gymnastics ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games at Greenwich Training Academy on July 26, 2012 in London, England. Getty Images

Gymnast Aly Raisman wins two gold medals at the Summer Olympics in London.

Superstorm Sandy floods Greater New York, inflicting countless damage on institutions in the Jewish community.

Major fighting breaks out in Gaza between Israel and Hamas forces.

The 12th Siyum HaShas completion of the Talmud-reading cycle takes place throughout the world.

Gal Mekel during his stint on the Dallas Mavericks. Via Times Of Israel

Gal Mekel becomes the second Israeli basketball player signed by an NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks, but his pro career in the States is short.

Production starts at the massive Tamar natural gas field off of Israels Mediterranean coast.

A Pew Research Center study finds that a growing number of Jews in this country define themselves as nones, without a religious belief or affiliation.

U.S. and other world powers reach an interim deal to curb Irans nuclear program.

Pope Francis declares that a true Christian cannot be anti-Semitic.

At the scene of an attack, by two Palestinians, on Israeli worshippers at a synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem on November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians armed with a gun and axes burst into a Jerusalem synagogue and killed four Israelis before being shot dead, in the deadliest attack in the city in years. Getty Images

Following the kidnap-murder of three Israeli teenagers, serious fighting flares up between Israel and Hamas forces in Gaza.

Six men including five Jewish worshippers and a Druze officer are killed during a terrorist attack at a synagogue in the Har Nof section of Jerusalem.

David Blatt, a veteran of pro basketball in Israel, is named head coach of the NBAs Cleveland Cavaliers.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg awarded first Genesis Prize.

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is sentenced to prison on bribery charges.

Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver arriving at the courthouse in New York, Nov. 24, 2015. JTA

Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard is released from federal prison.

Benjamin Netanyahu is re-elected prime minister of Israel.

Power broker Sheldon Silver, a longtime member of the New York State Assembly, is arrested on federal corruption charges.

A revival of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, stars Danny Burstein as Tevye.

A biography of Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cements her reputation as The Notorious R.B.G.

The controversial Iran nuclear deal goes into effect, widening the divide between the Obama administration and parts of the US Jewish community.

Abe Foxman ends a 50-year run at the Anti-Defamation League, 27 of which were as national director.

Eli Wisel in his study. Courtesy

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel dies at 87.

Israeli elder statesman Shimon Peres dies at 93.

The political chasm among Jews in the U.S. widens when Donald Trump is elected president. Seven in 10 Jews vote for Hillary Clinton.

Vermont Sen. (and native Brooklynite) Bernie Sanders becomes the first Jewish candidate in history to win a major party presidential primary when he wins in New Hampshire.

Israeli actress Gal Gadot in the 2017 film Wonder Woman. JTA

Film producer Harvey Weinstein becomes the public face of the #MeToo sex abuse movement.

Israeli actress Gal Gadot achieves superstardom as Wonder Woman.

Yona Metzger, former chief Ashkenazic rabbi of Israel, enters prison on a corruption charge.

Bowing to Orthodox pressure, Netanyahu freezes an agreement to allow non-Orthodox worship at the Western Wall.

Shouting Jews will not replace us, white nationalists rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Marking a return to the Manhattan neighborhood, the JCC Harlem opens.

A boy places flowers on October 28, 2018 outside of the Tree of Life Synagogue. Getty Images

The Orthodox Union announces that it will enforce its ban against woman rabbis in member congregations.

Eleven people are killed during a terrorist shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

The Mossad steals a half-ton of nuclear files from an Iran nuclear facility.

Keeping a campaign promise, President Trump moves the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Actress Natalie Portman declines to attend the Genesis Prize award ceremony in Jerusalem, as a protest against Israeli political actions.

Serious fighting between Israel and Hamas forces flares up in Gaza.

Israeli singer Netta Barzilai wins the Eurovision Song Contest.

The sisters: Raquel Nobile, Rosie Jo Neddy, Rachel Zatcoff, Stephanie Lynne Mason, Samantha Hahn sing Matchmaker. Courtesy of Victor Nechay/ProperPix

Shtisel, the Netflix series about a charedi family in Israel, becomes a hit in the United States.

A Yiddish revival of Fiddler on the Roof opens Off Broadway.

National elections in Israel twice fail to elect a party that can form a government coalition. Another vote is set for March 2020.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted on corruption charges.

J. Levine Books and Judaica, the century-old firm with Lower East Side roots, closes its midtown location.

After a decade in the National Basketball Association, Omri Casspi, the NBAs first Israeli player, returns to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

More essays from The Decade In Review: 2010- 2019 and snapshots from our editorial team on the last ten years in Jewish journalism, including the big issues they covered locally and nationally.

See the original post:

A Timeline Of The Decade That Was - The Australian Jewish News

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