Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

We need to stand up and speak out.

On April 11, 1944, a young Anne Frank wrote in her diary:

Who has made us Jews different from all other people? Who has allowed us to suffer so terribly until now? It is God Who has made us as we are, but it will be God, too, who will raise us up again. Who knows it might even be our religion from which the world and all peoples learn good, and for that reason and that reason alone do we now suffer. We can never become just Netherlanders, or just English, or representatives of any other country for that matter. We will always remain Jews.

Anne Frank was on to something. The Talmud asks, from where did Mount Sinai derive its name? After offering a few alternatives, the Talmud suggests that Mount Sinai comes from Hebrew word sinah which means hatred, because the non-Jews hatred of the Jews descended upon that mountain when the Jewish people received the Torah there. Torah demands a moral and ethical lifestyle, an attitude of giving rather than taking, a life of service rather than of privilege, that has revolutionized the world.

The Jewish people have been charged to be the moral conscience of the world, a mission they have not always succeeded at, but that nevertheless drew the ire, anger and hatred of so many. For two thousand years the Jews were bullied and persecuted simply because of their Jewishness and all that stands for.

After the Holocaust, the world gave the Jews a reprieve from their hatred, becoming instead beneficiaries of their pity. But looking at events around the world, it is rapidly becoming clear that the last 75 years was an aberration. We have witnessed the rise of anti-Semitism around the world as the world reverts back to its ageless pattern and habit.

The Midrash (Eichah Rabbah 1) teaches that three prophets used the term eichah o how! In Deuteronomy, Moses asks: "Eichah, how can I alone bear your troubles, your burden and your strife?" (Deut. 1:12) In the Haftorah for Shabbos Chazon, the Prophet Yeshayahu asks: "Eichah, how has the faithful city become like a prostitute?" Lastly, Yirmiyahu begins the Book of Eichah: "Eichah, how is it that Jerusalem is sitting in solitude! The city that was filled with people has become like a widow..." Eicha How? How is it that anti-Semitism persists? Why must they rise up against us in every generation?

On Tisha BAv we will sit on the floor and wonder aloud, eicha? How could it be Jews have to fear for their lives yet again? Eicha how could it be that today, with all the progress humanity has made, more than a quarter of the world is still holding anti-Semitic views?

Rabbi Soloveitchik tells us that though the Midrash identifies three times the word eicha is used, in truth there is a fourth. When Adam and Eve fail to take responsibility, God calls out to them and says ayeka, where are you? Ayeka is spelled with the same letters as eicha, leading Rabbi Soloveitchik to say that when we dont answer the call of ayeka, when we dont take personal responsibility for our problems and blame others, we will ultimately find ourselves asking eicha, how could it be?

We can ask eicha, how could all of these terrible things be, but we may never have a definitive answer. Our job is to make sure we can answer the call of ayeka, where are you? Are you taking responsibility? We may not be able to fully understand why anti-Semitism exists, but we can and must remain vigilant in calling it out, confronting it and fighting it. We must remain strong in standing up for Jews everywhere. We must confront evil and do all we can to defeat it.

And, we must do all that we can to take personal responsibility to fulfill the Jewish mission to bring Godliness into the world. If individual Jews were hated for being the conscience of the others, all the more so does a Jewish country generate hate for being the moral conscious of the whole world, held to higher moral standards than any other country or state.

Our job is not to be discouraged by asking eicha, o how! but to ensure that we can answer the call of ayeka, where are you. Anti-Semitism will not come to an end by assimilating and retreating. It will come to an end when we can positively answer the question that the Talmud tells us each one of us will be asked when we meet our Maker: did you long for the redemption and did you personally take responsibility to do all that you can to bring the redemption? Did you truly feel the pain of exile and feel the anguish of the Jewish condition in the world? Do you truly and sincerely care? Did you anxiously await every day for Moshiach to herald in an era of peace and harmony, an end to anti-Semitism and suffering?

It is not enough to long for Moshiach, we must bring him. It is not enough to hope for redemption, we must be the catalyst for it. It is not enough to be tired of eicha, we must answer ayeka. If we want to get up off the floor and end the mourning, if we want to finally end anti-Semitism, it is up to us to do what is necessary to heal our people, to repair the world, to love one another, and to earn the redemption from the Almighty.

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The End of Anti-Semitism - Aish

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org.

The Fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz that we have just passed initiates a three-week period of mourning for the loss, twice, of Jerusalem and the Temple. The official rabbinic reason for the disasters given in the Talmud is Sinat Chinam needless hatred and internal divisions and antagonism among Jews. Sadly we have always been very good at this, from Abraham onward. Looking around us today, the bitter divisions throughout the Jewish world confirm that the rabbis were right.

However, there is another factor that historically I think is more significant. If you look at the early history of the Jewish people 3,000 years ago, as recorded in the Bible, you cannot fail to notice what a mess our kings, priests, judges, and tribal chieftains made of everything, time and time again. Sure, they thought they were making the right decisions. But it turns out they rarely were.

At the time of the Judges, the tribes were so divided they only came together once to settle an internal dispute. They demanded of the tribe of Benjamin that murder on their territory should be punished. Benjamin refused and the other tribes went to war. Eventually, they all but destroyed the tribe and had to rebuild it.

David and Solomons unified rule lasted two generations. Then the kingdom split into two. The southern kingdom of Judea had Jerusalem as its capital, and the Temple. The 10 northern tribes, known as Israel, broke away and immediately set up two pagan temples. The two kingdoms were occasional allies but much of the time they were killing each other.

July 13, 2020 3:11 am

Both kingdoms were caught between rival powers. The Israelite kings had to choose who to ally themselves with and sadly, they invariably made the wrong choices. The northern kingdom of Israel could boast such awful rulers as King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. It changed dynasties and kings regularly. Ten of its 19 rulers were assassinated. All Judean kings, good and mostly bad, came from the house of David. The only exception was a brief interlude when Jezebels daughter (or perhaps granddaughter) Athaliah ruled, having killed all her sons except one.

The northern kingdom soon became a vassal state of Aram. When Aram succumbed to the Assyrian empire, Israel was expected to pay tribute to the Assyrians. But they tried to break away. Terrible decision. The last years of Israel were marred by internal conflict.

One king replaced another in quick succession. Zechariah was killed by Shalum. He was murdered by Menachem who was followed by Pekachyah. His son was murdered by Pekah who was killed by Hoshea. By this time, the Assyrians had enough of this unstable dependent and, to quote the poet Byron, The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold. They took the lot of them into exile and scattered them around the Assyrian Empire in 720 BCE.

Having disposed of Israel in the north, the Assyrians then attacked a rare good Judean king, Hezekiah. But with a little help from the Almighty and a plot back at home in Nineveh against Sennacherib, Judea got away with buying the Assyrians off. But then Egypt emerged from a period of passivity and tried to persuade the Judeans to remain neutral in its war with Assyria.

Some 60 years later, another good king, Josiah (and by good I mean ethical and loyal to the Torah) made another disastrous miscalculation and intervened on behalf of Assyria in an attempt to thwart the Egyptian advance even though Pharaoh Necho had begged him not to. Josiah backed the wrong horse again and Pharaoh killed Josiah at Megiddo in 609 BCE. His son Yehoachin became king.

I hope you are still following this. Life in the Middle East was never boring.

Can you believe it, Yehoachin proved untrustworthy too. Nebuchadnezzar lost his patience. He captured the king and carted him and the elite of Judea off to Babylon. They, together with the next group of exiles, would constitute the largest Jewish community anywhere for the next 1,000 years.

Nebuchadnezzar then appointed the uncle of Jehoachin, Mattaniah, king and insisted he change his name to Zedekiah (literally the Pious One of God). If ever there was a misnomer this was it! He too promised to be a faithful ally. But once again, he made the fateful decision to rely on Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar by now was furious with these devious Judeans. He invaded in 586 BCE, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, killed the kings sons before his eyes, and then blinded him. That was the rule in those days. And he sent everyone with any skill back to Babylon in chains where they joined the earlier exiles.

Judean dysfunctionality did not end there. Gedaliah was left in charge by the Babylonians, but two pro-Egyptian Judeans assassinated him. The remaining Judeans including the prophet Jeremiah fled down to Egypt for fear of retaliation so that for the first time since Joshua, there were no Israelites living in the once Promised Land. And that is probably why we have the fast of Gedaliah the day after Rosh Hashanah to remind us how we lost the Promised Land and left it devoid of any Jews. We tend to remember our disasters as much, if not more, than our victories.

With a record of so many bad or failed kings, I often wonder why we pray for the restoration of the Davidic monarchy. In three weeks time, it will be the Ninth of Av. And if you have the patience as we get closer, I will tell you why the Second Commonwealth ended up almost as bad a mess as the first one.

All this makes me wonder why so many people still think that the Jews want to control the world, when they couldnt even control their own small bit of it. But then neither logic nor facts were ever very effective against prejudice or hatred.

History does not repeat itself exactly. But we really ought to learn from the mistakes of the past. Human nature being what it is, however, Id rather put my faith in a Higher Power!

Rabbi Jeremy Rosen received his rabbinic ordination from Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He also studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Cambridge University and went on to earn his PhD in philosophy. He has worked in the rabbinate, Jewish education, and academia for more than 40 years in Europe and the US. He currently lives in the US, where he writes, teaches, lectures, and serves as rabbi of a small community in New York.

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Learning From the Past: Reckless Jewish Kings Through the Ages - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai, the last president of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem before the Roman legions destroyed theTemple and uprooted the Jews from their capital, was a complex man. He was a trader, a scholar, a polemicist and a judge. According to the Talmud,he made one of the most crucial interventions in Jewish history when,on the eve ofitsdestruction,he realizedJerusalem was lost.

He evaded the zealots who were determined to fight to the death and sweet-talked the Roman commander,soon-to-be Emperor Vespasian,into allowing him and a small group of rabbis and students to relocate tothe coastal town of Yavne.

Rabbi Yochanan wasabove alla pragmatist. Bereft uponhissons death, he was consoled by the thought the boy had been on loan to him from God,and nowreturned to his rightful owner. He wasnt sure he had made the right decisionto leave the Holy City,and accounts of his deathvoice his fears he might goto hell for giving up on Jerusalem.

He was also a messianist. His dying words were that he must prepare himself for the arrival of Hezekiah, the last king of the house of David, the precursor of the Messiah,who wouldaccompany him to the next world.

Rabbi Yochanan had ensured thattheSanhedrins authority and center of Torah scholarship would not be lost in the great destruction. But he never meant for Yavne to be an alternative to Jerusalem and itsTemple. Just a temporary respite on the long path back home.

In his essay "Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine," published this week in Jewish Currents, AmericanJewishacademic and journalistPeter Beinart portrays Rabbi Yochanans decision differently. Beinart writes that Rabbi Yochanan "imagined an alternative" Judaism, "a new form of worship, based on prayer and study."

Im an agnostic Jew who doesnt mindhow other Jews choose to define their own Jewish identity or worship, if thats what they want to do(though it intrigues me greatly). And while Beinarts depiction of Rabbi Yochanan has no basisin the Talmudic texts, Im fine with that as well. Theyre apocryphal anyway,and we can all play fast and loose with the Talmud.

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But it is highly instructive that Beinart chooses to see Rabbi Yochanan as a utopian,rather than a pragmatist. Because it perfectly mirrors the conclusions he reaches in the essay.

I agree with three of Beinarts main conclusions. The most important of them is that one binational state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan with equal rights for Jews and Palestinians would be a just way to end the fundamentally unjust situation, whereby millions of Palestinians do not have national or civil rights.

As Beinart points out, as long as such a binational state could remaina haven for Jews suffering persecution anywhere in the world, it would still fulfill the raison detre of the Jewish state. Unlike most of Beinarts critics, who are confident such a state would be a recipe for chaos and bloodshed, I can imagine the overwhelming majoritiesof both nations coming to terms withthe hyphenated "Israel-Palestine" and realizing it was the best possible outcome. Hell,Idlove to live in such a state-if it were indeed peaceful.

The only problem is, I cant vote for a statelike that. Not one party in Israel, no,not even the Joint List, is proposing it. And neither could the Palestinians, back when they had elections, vote for it. It simply wasnt on offer.

I agree as well with Beinart,that a large proportion of Israelis, and Israel-supporting Jews in the Diaspora, have projected a Nazi mentality on to all the Palestinians. While antisemitism is all too prevalent among Palestinians, they are not planning a genocide of Jews. To believe that is the case, as Beinart points out, opens up the way to awful atrocities. And though I dont quite share his predictions that an ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is all but inevitable, itscertainlya possible outcome which hes right to warn us of.

And Beinart is right in his historical analysis that there werepast leaders (including prominent mainstream figures)who believed that Zionismdidntnecessarily have to mean a full sovereign state for Jews only,and that it could be part of a wider federation including other nations.

But this is also where his argument becomes fatally flawed.

Beinart derives inspiration from these early Zionists,because he wants to believe in a more perfect Zionism, one that can be morally justified by 21st century progressive values as well. But thats not what Zionism was about. Not because Zionism isnt morally justifiable(it was)but because Zionism wasnt about morals. There wereZionist ideologues and thinkers, but Zionism wasnt an ideology. It wasnt a vision of a better world.

Zionism was a plan to solve the acute problem of Jewish persecution, primarily in Eastern Europe, but gradually in any place where Jews faced antisemitic violence and discrimination. (Im using the past tense here because I dont believe Zionism actually exists after 1948, when the program was successfully fulfilled). It didnt have to be moral, by the standards of its day or our day. It had to be pragmatic.It had to work because millions of Jewish lives were at stake.

The different strands of Zionism and the evolution of its mainstream leadership in the half a century between the first Zionist Congress of 1897 and the foundation of Israel didnt reflectchanging moralsensibilities- they were a response to changing regional andglobal circumstances.

Political Zionisms founder, Thedor Herzl, envisaged the Jewish state existing as a semi-autonomous district of the Ottoman Empire. Because that was the most pragmaticwayof achieving it in his lifetime(he died in 1904).His heir as Zionist leader, Chaim Weizmann, believed for decades thatthe Jewish statewould be a protectorate of the British Empire.

David Ben-Gurion had the foresight to realize that the British would be no different than the Ottomans in lacking both the desire and then the power togivethe Jews a homeland (the British were trying to get out of their promise in the Balfour Declaration practically from the moment the inkfromArthur Balfours signature dried).

Ben-Gurion managed to convince the initially reluctant leadership of American Zionists at the Biltmore Conference in 1942 of the case for full statehood, or as they called it there a "Jewish commonwealth." By that point, after the United States had joinedWWII, it finally seemed that after the war there would be both an opportunity to achieve an independent state and the necessity to have one so that the Holocaust survivors could be resettled.

Five and a half years later, when the United Nations voted for the partition plan,Ben-Gurion was vindicated. There were those who argued thatthe allocation of56 percent of the territory was unjust to the Arabsofmandatory Palestine, who were two-thirds of the population. And the RevisionistZionists argued that it was a historical sinthatthe Jews were not getting all their historical homeland.

Neither argument budged Ben-Gurion,because he knew Zionism was a pragmatic plan and the best way of realizing it was to go with whateverwas possible.

Ben-Gurion was right. All the countless arguments since 1948 on "Zionism: Right or wrong?" are sterile hypothetical thought exercises. Zionism worked for those for whom it was intended to work. Israel as a reality is not going away. Reality doesnt care whether you think Zionism is inherently racist or that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

As many others have done before him, Beinart makes a strong case for why the two-state solution has failed. He neednt have bothered. The problem isnt with the two states, but with the solution.

Most Israelis are in principle in favor of the two-state solution. Sadly, there just arent enough of them who feel the need for a solution. The status quo isnt a problem for most Israelis. On the day they will feel that need, they will make a pragmatic choice, for two-states, a confederacy, a binational state, whatever they feel works in their interest. It simply isnt about morals.

It isnt my place to speak for the Palestinians, but they will make their choice according to how they see their own interests as well. Beinart in his essay extensively quotes Palestinians who support a binational state. On Twitter he listed even more Palestinian writers he read for research. With the exception of one single Palestinian Israeli academic, they are all Palestinian Americans.

Not that that invalidates them in any way, but the fact remains that while the binational state is popular in the relatively small community of Palestinian American academics and activists, it remains the minority view among the three much larger Palestinian communities right here West Bankers, Gazans and Arab Israelis.It seems that its not only American Jews and Israelis who have different values and perspectives. American-Palestinians and their siblings back in Palestine have them as well.

Ninety percent of Arab-Israelis voted in April for the Joint List which is emphatically in favor of two states. Beinart blithely dismisses them saying that "the Joint Lists vision of equality inside the Green Line can be extended." They actually claim to have very strong reasons fornotsupporting a binational state. Perhaps he believes that Ayman Odeh and Ahmed Tibi dont really mean what they say. Either way Beinart doesnt care to engage with them - and that is his essays biggest giveaway.

Not one line in the lengthy essay is dedicated to giving readers any idea of how the overwhelming majority of both Israelis and Palestinians actually living in his future binational state of "Israel-Palestine" will be convinced that it can work.

I believe it can, theoretically, though it would probably still need a two-state period in the interim. Beinart doesnt have to persuade me. But about everyone else around here - he doesnt seem to care one way or the other. I suspect that he hopes that a wave of BDS or a President Ocasio-Cortez will one day force Israelis and Palestinians to accept his vision.

Beinart isnt talking to anyone who will actuallylive in "Israel-Palestine." Hes having an internal conversation with a handful of Palestinian American academics and, with their blessing, has created a utopian half-Jewish state which can serve as safe space for a section of young American Jews, the readership of Jewish Currents, who are trying to reconcile their Jewish identity, their inherent affinity with Israel and their progressive values, in a period of ideological and racial turmoil in the U.S.

He is Yochanan Ben Beinart, and his utopian Yavne doesnt exist on the shores of the Mediterranean. It has, instead been transplanted 6000 miles away, to a faculty lounge on an American campus.

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Peter Beinart's one state solution sounds so perfect it's practically utopian - Haaretz

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

Theres a reason why most Israelis find it difficult to listen patiently to lectures from liberal American Jews. For Israelis, their country is a real place filled with real people and perplexing dilemmas that have no easy solutions. But for all too many American Jews, Israel is a dreamlanda place for intellectual tourism where we can project our own insecurities and anxieties on the Jewish state while expressing our moral superiority over the lesser beings who live there and lack our wisdom.

Which brings us to the problem of Peter Beinart.

Beinart, the former editor of The New Republic and columnist for The Atlantic, sought to carve out a place for himself as the leading liberal critic of Israel with his 2012 book The Crisis of Zionism. The book was as spectacularly ignorant as it was arrogant in its refusal to acknowledge the reality of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

The conceit of the work was that Israelis needed to rise above their fears and recognize that a two-state solution was within easy reach. Anything that contradicted his assumptionslike the nature of Palestinian political culture or the continued rejectionism and obsession with the fantasy of Israels destructionwas either rationalized or ignored. Too immersed in their unseemly quest for security and profit, Israelis could only overcome the crisis of the title by listening to the wisdom of Beinart, a righteous American pilgrim, whose manifest good intentions should have generated respect and deference from his recalcitrant Israeli pupils

Much to Beinarts chagrin, rather than take the advice of a leading American public intellectual to heart, Israelis ignored it. In the eight years since then, Israel has endured more violence and political controversy while the Palestinians have continued to reject peace, whether along the lines laid out by President Barack Obama (whose alleged bona fides as a friend of the Jewish people was discussed at length in his book) or the less generous terms offered by President Donald Trump.

Instead of moving closer to moral and physical collapse as Beinart has been prophesying, Israel has only gotten stronger. Much of the Arab world has tired of Palestinian intransigence and largely abandoned advocacy for their cause, as many now perceive the Israelis as a vital ally in the struggle against Iran, as well as a needed resource in the areas of technology, agriculture and clean water. Peace with the Palestinians is not in sight. But until it becomes possible, the Jews of Israel will hold on and continue to thrive.

All of this has left Beinart deeply troubled. He understands that events on the ground have refused to conform to his ideas. So rather than stick to his tired mantra about two states, Beinart has decided to junk it.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNSJewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.

The result is an 8,000-word essay in Jewish Currentsthe far-left magazine where he now writes on Jewish affairs after having decided that the ultra-liberal Forward was no longer woke enough for himand a shorter version published in The New York Times in which he decides its time to give up on two states or rather the whole idea of a Jewish state. His Yavne: A Jewish Case for Equality in Israel-Palestine is a manifesto calling for the dismantling of Israel as a Jewish state, replacing it with a binational entity where Jews and Arabs will share sovereignty over all of the territory between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River.

Such a country will supposedly respect the rights of both peoples and provide a path to peace that was rendered impossible by the insistence of the Jews on having their own state in order to protect them from their unreasonable fears of another Holocaust. Having thus divested themselves of their unfair demonization of Palestinians, Israelis will prosper as Arabs mourn the Shoah and Jews will join them in lamenting the nakba (disaster) caused by the birth of the Jewish state.

There is, of course, nothing new about binationalism. It was championed by a small group of Jewish intellectuals in the 1920s and 30s whose naive and fearful approach was rendered obsolete by the Arab terror and rejectionism of that era. If Jewish life were to persist in its ancient homeland, sovereignty and self-defense were a must.

As scholar Daniel Gordis has written of Beinarts foolish essays, acceptance of his premise requires not so much imagination as ignorance even greater than that of the author. This means ignoring the fact that Palestinians still conceive of their national identity as inextricably tied to the destruction of Zionism and Jewish life, not a desire for peaceful co-existence. That Beinarts essays were published in the same week that the Fatah and Hamas movements announced their decision to join forces to oppose any compromise with Israel is not so much ironic as it is telling.

Beinarts call for a new Yavnea reference to the place where Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai built a yeshivah where Judaism could be revived after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.is also deeply symbolic. The real-life Jews of today are not defeated, but are flourishing in their reconstituted Jewish state. But thats meaningless to Beinart because he believes the Palestinian refusal to accept Israel is a good enough reason to abandon the whole project. So hes prepared to throw in the towel and with it, not only Jewish security but also the revival of Jewish life and culture that was made possible by Zionism.

Should Israelis treat his intellectual journey as if it were the epic event that he and his friends at the Times think it is?

Beinarts chutzpah and self-importance demand satire, not respect. The notion that the state created by the sacrifice, blood, guts and brains of millions of courageous Israelis should be trashed because it doesnt measure up to the hopes of one presumptuous intellectual living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan is something so silly that youd have to be an idiot (or an editor at The New York Times) to believe it.

While we do well to mock Beinart, we still shouldnt ignore him.

Beinarts anti-Zionist broadside in Americas leading newspaper represents more than just his own appalling egotism. His abandonment of the Jewish state is also indicative of the crisis of faith within much of American Jewry, whose loyalty to liberal patent nostrums exceeds their love of their fellow Jews or the vibrant society that has flourished in Israel.

His delusions are also to be found in the boardrooms of all too many liberal American Jewish institutions and philanthropies. Their talk of disillusionment with Israel and along with their judgmental attitude towards the hardheaded realism of the overwhelming majority of Israelis is not dissimilar to Beinarts ideas.

The contempt for the achievements of Zionism and the fearful refusal to contemplate a future in which Jews can succeed despite the fact that insoluble problems remain unsolved has become part of the narrative of American Jewish life. Though Beinarts ideas are as unoriginal as they are lacking in insight, they have the virtue of mirroring the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of much of the liberal American Jewish establishmentboth philanthropic and religiousthat is more interested in kowtowing to a Black Lives Matter movement linked to anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism than it is to standing up for Zionism and the Jewish state.

The retreat of the defeated to Yavne is an image that has nothing to say to Israelis. Rather, it is an apt metaphor for the failures of an American Jewish organized world drenched in ignorance and Jewish illiteracy that is suffering both a demographic implosion and a crisis of faith. The surrender of the self-described leading exponent of liberal Zionism speaks volumes about the failures of American Jewry.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNSJewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.

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Understanding the collapse of liberal Zionism | Commentaries - St. Louis Jewish Light

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

As a result of the global Corona crisis many Israelis living abroad have decided to return home and Jews from communities across the globe are asking to make aliyah. Will Corona Zionism bring with it another wave of Israeli settlers, similar to the waves of immigrants in the 60s and 70s? Which are the most attractive cities for new neighborhoods? What are the prominent characteristics immigrants take into account before purchasing an apartment?Since the founding of the state to the current day, history has proved that global crises leave their mark on Jewish communities across the world, increasing the number of those making aliyah to Israel. Israels coping abilities and high functioning throughout the crisis have coined a new phrase, Corona Zionism.The global Corona crisis has resulted in many Israelis, who emigrated abroad for various reasons, asking to return home and many Jews living in various communities across the globe taking an interest in making aliyah. Have you too found yourself examining places to live? Attractive areas for employment? Quality education? Life in an enveloping and embracing community? And who are the real estate entrepreneurs who make it possible to realize your dream of a home and move forward economically without giving up financial security and peace of mind?Photo credits Ofir Kraus (eagle-eye)Avney Derech Group, who have been active for over a decade, have so far populated 1,000 housing units and are in the planning and construction stages of an additional 2,500 housing units, leading a unique and original business world view that combines business thinking, creative social Zionist measured thinking, allowing hundreds of families whose dream of buying an apartment seemed far from possible, to purchase an apartment, and even move forward financially. The company specializes in finding housing solutions for young couples and families with children thanks to the perfect professional envelope they provide their customers. And as part of that, they are the only entrepreneurs with a subsidiary that currently manages about 500 units owned by home buyers from Israel and abroad.In addition, the group owns a mortgage consultation firm that accompanies buyers throughout the financial process of taking out a mortgage or other loans.Avney Derech Marketing and Sales Director Ariel Edelstein notes that Unlike other real estate entrepreneurs operating in Israel, in addition to being a business company, the goal here at our company is to really help individuals and families move forward financially. This is first and foremost both in terms of financial education for economic security and in terms of settling the land. When you help a young couple or family with children, you see that they do not have the tools and understanding how to buy and what to buy, and you guide them to purchase the home that is suitable for them and right for them and not the one that is right for the bank or the contractor but truly right for them. The results speak for themselves.Edelstein further adds that if in previous waves of immigration, expensive cities such as Jerusalem and Raanana or seaside cities such as Tel Aviv, Netanya, Rishon LeZion, Bat Yam, Ashdod and Ashkelon were very attractive to new immigrants and were identified with them, in the current reality, new immigrants are looking for new community living environments that are built around a mixture of leisure services, providing meeting places for the neighbors, allowing new friendships in the neighborhood. And no less important, neighborhoods which are comparatively cheaper than those in high demand cities where apartment prices start at one million shekels. In other words, welcome to the periphery.Urban life provides us with comfort and proximity to necessary leisure activities, education, culture and commerce, but often there is also alienation and a sense of loneliness: many residents who live in large cities dont always know their neighbors and many particularly new immigrants are lacking friendships in their neighborhood Edelstein emphasizes. For this reason, in recent years, Zionism and community life have become fashionable again and are of the leading criteria for families when they buy a new apartment.One of the cities grabbing the attention of immigrants recently is Beer Sheva. The group, that began business operations in Beer Sheva, is coming full circle with the Lipstick on the Park project in the city. Accelerated infrastructure development in the area, connecting the capital of the Negev with convenient public transport of trains and buses to Ben Gurion airport, the north and center of the country, and all in short time frames, has made the city extremely attractive. Moreover, it is much more lucrative to find an apartment in Beer Sheva, due to relatively low real estate costs. Because buying and renting prices of apartments and houses in Be'er Sheva are significantly lower than in Central and Northern Israel.Lipstick on the Park project is being constructed in the new Nahal HaPark neighborhood and includes 7 buildings and 168 housing units, from large 3-5 room apartments for families with children, garden apartments, mini penthouses and spacious penthouses. The price range starts at ILS 1,150,000.If we take for example the process a family goes through when buying an apartment in our Lipstick on the Park project in Beer Sheva explains Edelstein, we accompany them from the initial consultation stage when deciding what type of apartment to purchase. Our mortgage consultants assist families in taking out the correct mortgage for them and in managing the property if they decide to put it up for rent. Thus, we provide families interested in purchasing an apartment full support in the process.As other examples, there are the additional projects we are building in Tel Aviv, in the new and modern city of Harish, Yokneam, Lod, Alfei Menashe, Beit Shemesh and more. In all of our nationally deployed projects from north to south, east to west, we do not offer every apartment to our customers; our sales people arrive at the project with customers and examine the apartment in depth and only if they conclude that it is suitable for customers and meets their needs, and that it will significantly advance them, only then do they close the deal.The combination of our indoctrinated values to settle the country alongside the aspiration to promote our customers and our desire to accompany buyers and give them the perfect surroundings is a winning product called Avney Derech.Sincerely,Dalia Ezer-Malimovka | SpokeswomanAvney Derech GroupMobile: 052-6678360

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Zionism 2020 is Alive and Kicking: A wave of many Jews and Israelis are a - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

Join us this summer as we explore 72 years of Israeli history through a lens of transition. Over five weekly sessions led by Jewish educator Uri Feinberg, we will strengthen our foundation of knowledge about the Jewish state, we will be able to zoom out and zoom in, contextualize and look forward, and ultimately feel more comfortable asking the question, Why do I care and what does this mean to me?

Never miss the best stories and events! Get JewishBoston This Week.

All are welcome. Contact Brigid Goggin with any questions atbgoggin@tisrael.org.

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Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

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$125.00 Standard Registration$175.00 Supporter Registration$50.00 Reduced Registration

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The History of the State of Israel: Zionism Through 2020 - jewishboston.com

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

Foodbenders, a Toronto-area restaurant located in the heart of the city, has been accused in recent weeks of promoting extreme antisemitic anti-Zionist theories and tropes through its social platforms and at the storefront, displaying signs claiming IDF or Israeli responsibility for police brutality in the United States, calls to 'Defund Israel,' and allegations that Jeffery Epstein, the late disgraced sex offender, was part of a "Zionist Mossad" operation. Beyond her promotion of antisemitic anti-Zionist conspiracy theories online and at her store, Kimberely Hawkins, the manager of the restaurant in the Bloordale neighborhood of Toronto, has said on Instagram and elsewhere that "Zionists are Nazis" and are not welcome at her restaurant, while also tying it to alleged Jewish and Zionist influence within the Canadian government and in US foreign policy.

Additionally, Hawkins expressed her admiration for Leila Khaled, a Palestinian woman who was responsible for hijacking two planes in 1969 and 1970 as a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).The PLFP is widely considered a terrorist organization by most Western democratic governments, including Canada, the United States and the European Union.

Speaking to the popular local news outlet blogTO, Hawkins denied any claims that she harbors antisemitic views and glorifies Palestinian terrorists.

"Im not antisemitic," Hawkins said to blogTO. "That would go against all the other principles that Ive been standing up for the past few weeks. I believe that Palestinians should be free and have the same equal human rights as everyone, and thats not a stance I will apologize for."

"When I'm making a statement about Zionism, I am not referring to Jewish people... It's about the state government," Hawkins added.

The reaction in the Toronto and wider Canadian Jewish community to Hawkins' claims and tropes has been fierce.

The sentiments expressed by Foodbenders and its owner are hateful and deplorable, and have no place in the Canadian food industry, said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of Bnai B'rith Canada, in a statement Sunday on the organization's website.

Together, acting within the boundaries of the law, we can ensure that there are real consequences for this behavior, he added.

Bnai B'rith Canada noted Canadian Jewish attitudes on Zionism, citing the 2018 Survey of Jews in Canada, conducted by Environics Research at York University and the University of Toronto, which found that Zionism is the normative form of Canadian Jewish identification.

Similarly, the Canadian branch of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) arrived at the restaurant in recent days to disrupt Foodbenders' operations, via the use of picketing. Hawkins further alleged the smashing of the restaurant's windows. In one instance, a woman can be seen spray painting Stars of David on the storefront, which can be viewed on Foodbenders' Instagram profile.

Commentators on Foodbenders' Instagram page, along with Canadian Jewish organizations, have suggested that Hawkins may be liable to prosecution under Canadian hate speech laws, though she told blogTO that the police have not been in contact with her regarding violations.

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Toronto eatery dishes out antisemitic theories and tropes - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

Sunday 20 Tammuz (July 12) marks the 116th yahrzeit of Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism.Herzl was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1860, where he was educated in the secular Jewish-German enlightenment milieu. In 1878, following the death of his sister he moved with his parents to Vienna, where Herzl studied law, receiving his doctorate in 1884. The young Herzl quickly turned away from the bar, however, opting instead to pursue writing, playwriting and journalism as a career. He became the Paris correspondent for the liberal Viennese newspaper Neue Freie Presse, and it was there that he first encountered the antisemitism which would be the driving force behind his dream of building a Jewish State in Israel. In 1894 Herzl wrote a play, The Ghetto, rejecting assimilation and conversion as solutions to the problem of antisemitism. That same year, the Dreyfus affair - that of a French Jewish army officer who was wrongly accused of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment - ruptured French society.Herzl witnessed large rallies at which people shouted "Death to the Jews" in the streets of Paris. This, combined with other influences, led Herzl to conclude that the Jewish people needed a homeland of their own. In June 1895, he wrote in his diary: "In Paris, as I have said, I achieved a freer attitude toward antisemitism ... Above all, I recognized the emptiness and futility of trying to 'combat' antisemitism." Over the next few years Herzl engaged himself in meeting with wealthy and influential people who might assist in realizing his vision of a Jewish state. He reached out to Baron Morris Hirsch and Baron Edmond de Rothschild for funding, as well as proposing a funding organization owned by stockholders for Jews to contribute to. This proposal would eventually be realized as the Zionist Organization. Meetings with the Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1898 to encourage world powers to back the Jewish state were less successful, as were meetings in England with Joseph Chamberlain, the British colonial secretary and others. However, the only concrete offer he received from the British was the proposal of a Jewish autonomous region in Uganda. Herzl's most famous quote stands as a testament to his tenacity. "Wenn ihr wollt, ist es kein Mrchen," he wrote in the preface to his Zionist utopian novel Altneuland, titled Tel Aviv in Hebrew, or The Old New Land in English. The phrase is commonly translated as , ('im tirtzu, ein zo agada') in Hebrew, or in English: 'If you will it, it is no dream.'Although his death in 1904 meant that Herzl never saw the founding of the independent State of Israel, his convening of the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in August 1897 paved the way. The Congress ratified the goal of Zionism as being "to establish a National Home for the Jewish People in Eretz Yisrael, that will be secured on the basis of the Law of Nations." The Congress also established the Zionist Organization, and elected Herzl as President, a position he served in until his death.Herzl later wrote in his diary: "In Basel I established the Jewish State. If I were to say it publicly today, the response would be laughter from all directions. Perhaps in another five years, 50 years at the most, everyone will recognize it."He was interred in the Jewish cemetery in Doblingen, near Vienna alongside his parents and wife, but so steadfast was he in his belief in a Jewish state that he left instructions for the family's remains to be re-interred in Israel upon its creation. In August 1949 the first Knesset passed a law stipulating that the Israeli government and World Zionist Organization would together bring Herzl's coffin, and that of his wife and parents to Israel, and on August 17 that same year the family were buried in a state ceremony on Mount Herzl. Herzl is immortal," Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion said. "His tombstone is the State of Israel, which will be built and will grow in love with its sons and builders." The ceremony, Ben-Gurion said, was not "a procession of mourning but a journey of victory, the triumph of the vision that became reality.

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Remembering Herzl on his 116th yahrzeit - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) New York / New Jersey issued a joint statement with the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey (JFNNJ) on July 10 condemning the head of New Jerseys Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for accusing Israel of choking Palestinians.

The statement says that the two Jewish groups were concerned over some of the rhetoric used during a July 3 protest in Bergen, N.J., against possible Israeli annexation of portions of the West Bank. According to the ADL, CAIR New Jersey Executive Director Selaedin Maksut said during the rally, In order to defeat this evil that is Zionism, we must realize that the foot on the necks of the Black and Brown people of this nation is the same foot and the same knee that is choking the Palestinian people. Zionism is racism, and the same powers that oppress the ones here in America are the same powers that oppress the Palestinian people.

ADL New York/New Jersey and the JFNNJ condemned Maksuts reported statement as the type of language that only serves to further anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist conspiracies and distract and divide us from the critical work of combating systemic racism here in the U.S. and supporting the work of Israelis and Palestinians who yearn for peace and equality.

CAIR New Jersey did not respond to the Journals request for comment.

The ADL released a report on July 10 detailing how a large number of these events [Day of Rage protests] featured classic anti-Semitic tropes or hostile language demonizing Zionism, the movement for Jewish self-determination and statehood. Some of the other examples listed in the report included chants of Death to America, Death to Israel in Arabic as well as chants of Genocide in 48, we dont want your two states during a July 1 rally in Brooklyn, N.Y. A Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) flag, which the State Department designates as a terrorist organization, was held during the same rally.

The report also highlighted how, at the New Jersey rally, an unidentified speaker who claimed to be affiliated with American Muslims for Palestine said, We know that when you say no to annexation, no to occupation, were talking about all of historic Palestine. Were talking about the entire West Bank, were talking about all the land. All the land from which our people were driven out.

The ADL report did acknowledge that many of the protestors limited their messaging to expressions of support for Palestinians and criticisms of Israeli policy.

The Day of Rage protests occurred in cities all over the country, including Boston, Los Angeles and San Diego. Canadian high schoolers reportedly joined a July 4 protest in Mississauga, Ontario, that included chants in Arabic stating, Jews are our dogs! Bnai Brith Canada filed a hate crime complaint on July 8 over the alleged incident.

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ADL Condemns CAIR NJ Head for Saying Israel is 'Choking the Palestinian People' During 'Day of Rage' Protest - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

In a meeting on June 21, Iran's cabinet of ministers approved the final draft of the 25-year comprehensive cooperation plan between Iran and China.

On July 5, came the announcement of the Iranian FM Zarif about Iran-China negotiations overa 25-year so-called 'accord', which as he put into words is "clear and the two countries have nothing to hide about it."

During the past week, however, some claims and reports were made by some specific foreign-based medialashing out at the Islamic Republic.

The unfounded claims about the issue arguedfor example, that under this 25-year cooperation, Iran is to hand over Kish Island to Chinain exchange for military, regional and international support or some named the cooperation a 'secretive deal'.

Rumors are still going around despitethe explanations offered by the Iranian officials asserting that the plan for strategic cooperation between Iran and China would be designed on equal footing, on the basis of common views, and with the purpose of supporting multilateralism.

Domestically, there have also been some disputes about the issue.Zarif is to attend Parliament commissions session on Sunday evening (July 12), to answer the lawmakers' questions about the 25-year cooperation document with China.

Mehr news conducted an interview with the Head of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce in Tehran, Majidreza Hariri to get a better understanding of the reality of the two sides' sustainable cooperation in the future.

Please, tell us aboutIran's 25-yearcooperationagreementwithChina. Is it a 'deal'? When was it signed? The mutual cooperation will be on which sectors?

First of all, this is not a contract. It is a 'roadmap', titled as "Iran-China 25-year comprehensive cooperation plan" for bilateral cooperation in the long-run.

Iran-China agreed upon conclusion ofa comprehensive cooperation plan back in 2016 during the Chinese President'svisit to Tehran, to develop mutual cooperation in various sectors including politics, new sciences, economy, culture, exchanging university students as well as regional and military.

After this initial agreement, a draft of the plan had to be written to identify the details of this roadmap. But in 2016, Iran was engaged in the JCPOA hoping for the US and the Europeans to fulfill their commitments. As a matter of fact, the accorded roadmap with China became significant for Iran after the withdrawal of the US from the nuclear deal and Europeans' failure to making theirpromises.

Accordingly, as of the beginning of 2019, i.e. after the US pulling out from the JCPAO, Iran shifted its focus from western countries to Asian allies and paid special attention to its accorded roadmap with China to develop it into implementable projects.

In February 2019, the time Parliament Speaker of Iran Ali Larijani paid a visit to China where he revoiced Iran's tendency to have long-term cooperation with the country. Iranian ministries were then ordered to investigate cooperation fields with China.

Iranian FM Zarif made several visits to China afterward, putting forward Iran's suggestions about the probable cooperation sectors, which were agreed upon by China.

Eventually, in late June 2020, the Iranian Cabinet finalized the preparation of the Iranian version of the "Iran-China 25-year comprehensive cooperation plan". That was when the criticisms aroused and enemies' propaganda was distributed.

How do you explain the recent unsubstantiatedrumors circulated about Iran-China cooperation via this roadmap?

Both Iran and China are special countries. Their cooperation in the result may be stimulative with its pros and cons; theUS isa definiteopponent.

However, the recent chorus of criticism about the 25-year roadmap was not an international one but was aroused by some western anti-Iranian media or telegram channels, which are run by anti-revolutionary Iranians living abroadwith political motivations.

Their made claims about this roadmap are truly baseless, relyingon the US' stances toward China.

The US isdefinitely anopponent to Iran-China long-term cooperation.

In my view, Iran has not been inclined to release the details of the prepared roadmap due to the US stances toward both the Islamic Republic and China and the anti-Iranian sanctions. There were chances of US sabotage in this regard. But presently, its content is published and available to media. Moreover, the issue has not been confidential at all.

Does Iran have any similar long-term cooperation roadmap with other countries?

China is the first country with which Iran is preparing such a long-term plan, but unfortunately, some baseless claims have been made about it. For example, some claim thatChina has the upper-hand in this cooperation or the roadmap will make the ground proper for China to colonize Iran and etc.

To prove that the made claims about it are baseless, I hereby announce my readiness and that of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce to answer any questions of the critics about the economic aspects of this roadmap.

How long will it take for Tehran and Beijing to implement this roadmap?

To have it finalized for being implemented under the framework of a mutual agreement, the prepared version of the roadmap by Iran needs tobe reviewed and modified by the Chinese side.

The finalized bilateral agreement will then be used by various sectors to define their affiliated projects via specific contracts.

For example, Iran expresses a tendency for developing industrial parks in southern Makran coast. Accordingly,IranSmall Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) will start negotiations with a Chinese company on inking a contract.

The same can occur in the oil and gas sector of exchanging university students between the two sides.

Itwill take two or three years for the roadmap to be finalized and implemented.

To prove that the made claims about it are baseless, I hereby announce my readiness and that of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce to answer any questions of the critics about the economic aspects of this roadmap.

How do you assess the mutual interests of this roadmap for the two sides?

All the mutual cooperation agreements in the world are win-win and I underline that in contrast with the made false claims saying China plans to colonize Iran, this is Iran who has prepared the initial draft of the future agreements with China. Therefore, there are definite interests for Iran.

I do believe that Iran-China cooperation will put a big danger to the interests of the Zionist regime.

The Zionist regime has attracted the biggest part of the Chinese investments in the region. Chinese companies arerunning major foodstuffs, ports, and petrochemical projects in the occupied lands.

Iran is a bigger country with bigger potentials and if China commences its cooperation with Iran, China-Zionist regime cooperation will lose its significance.

Therefore, in my view, the propaganda against Iran-China 25-year roadmap is run by the Tel Aviv regime.

Interview by Haniyeh Sadat Jafariyeh

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Iran-China 25-year roadmap big threat to Zionists' interests - Mehr News Agency - English Version

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