Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

Uber Eats and Ritual have removed Bloordale eatery Foodbenders from their platforms after the restaurant used what many considered anti-Zionist tropes.

Owner Kimberly Hawkins received letters from Uber Eats and Ritual on Monday, indicating that their agreements were terminated effective immediately.

The eatery received criticism for hashtagging #zionistsnotwelcome on Instagram, and profiling Leila Khaled on social media a woman who hijacked two planes in 19691970, and a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine a designated terrorist entity in Canada and the U.S.

On Sunday, Bnai Brith Canada, the Canadian section of Bnai Brith the oldest Jewish service organization in the world called on community members to take action against the eatery for posting pro-terrorist content on social media.

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 Brith Canada, in a statement. Together, acting within the boundaries of the law, we can ensure that there are real consequences for this behaviour.

The removal from Uber Eats and Ritual is just the latest in a stream of backlash the eatery has received. On Monday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford condemned the language and actions used as disgusting, noting that it would not be tolerated in Ontario.

Our government stands with the Jewish community in condemning this kind of behaviour here at home, and across the globe, Ford tweeted.

A Doordash spokesman confirmed with the Toronto Sun on Tuesday that they have also decided to remove the eatery from their platform for failure to follow community guidelines. Ambrosia Natural Foods is also reportedly discontinuing Foodbenders products at all three of their locations.

Hawkins said in an Instagram post that she loves Jewish people, and they are welcome in her store, but doesnt believe that criticism of the Zionist political ideology amounts to criticism of Jewish people. She has since temporarily turned off comments on her eaterys Instagram page.

Controversy at the eatery started in June when the eatery wrote F*ck the Police on a sandwich board sign outside the restaurant in support of anti-racism protests. On Canada Day, the sign read: Happy KKKanada Day Hawkins said in an Instagram post that she received more than 400 death threats since the original sign was posted.

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Uber Eats and Ritual drop Toronto eatery over anti-Zionist stance - Post City

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

Jewish, Hebrew and Israel education should be affordable and accessible to everyone, Israeli-American Council (IAC) co-founder and CEO Shoham Nicolet said on Sunday.

The current crisis brings great opportunities; by bringing education trailblazers we hope to inspire a new and innovative Jewish Education. Today, we can and should reimagine Jewish, Hebrew and Israel education. We must dream about making it affordable and accessible to anyone, anywhere, in an effort to keep our children connected to our heritage, said Nicolet.

The summit, a hands-on virtual experience with live streams, networking tools and interactive sessions, will bring together Israeli and American senior executives from EdTech, leading academics, and social entrepreneurs to examine the pivotal role of innovation in the field of education. Participants include Kristen DiCerbo, Chief Learning Officer at Khan Academy; John Schwartz, Head of Enterprise Global Business Development at edX; Erica Lockheimer, VP at LinkedIn Learning; Prof. Ariel Porat, President of Tel Aviv University; Prof. Katherine E. Fleming, Provost at New York University; Adi Altschuler, Founder and CEO, Inclu-Special for All and Founder of Krembo Wings and Zikaron Basalon, among many more.

The two-day program will feature panels and one-on-one conversations, as well as breakout sessions and online networking opportunities with other summit attendees, with the goal of convening international educators to learn best practices and models to take back and implement in informal and formal classroom settings.

We can now rethink and re-imagine a stronger and even more meaningful connection between Israel and the Jewish people, just like in this partnership with TAU online that brings educators from both sides of the ocean as well as our great friends and partners in the Jewish American world, added Nicolet.

Participating organizations in the global e-summit include: The Jewish Federations of North America, The Center for Israel Education, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Kesher L'Ivrit, ICenter, Momentum, Foundation for Jewish Camp, Prizmah, the Center for Jewish Day Schools, the Jewish Funders Network, as well as Israel Scouts, BBYO, Habonim Dror and Hashomer Hatzair. They will participate in numerous panels such as, Isra-Ed-Tech: Innovating Israel Education and Engagement, Innovation and Creative Thinking in the Midst of a Global Crisis: the story of Zionist Youth Movements, and Jewish Federations: Helping Jewish Learning Thrive, in COVID-19 and Beyond.

Yuval Shraibman, TAU Online - innovative learning centers founder and CEO said ahead of the virtual conference that, We see in this summit and our partnership with the IAC as an opportunity to stop for a moment during these challenging times and reimagine the future of education. TAU Online is helping professors and students, teachers and pupils reinvent their teaching and learning experience.

The e-summit marks the IACs response to the new realities facing the world in the wake of the coronavirus and the need for innovative leadership in education and virtual learning.

To answer these new challenges, the organization has recently launched a series of virtual learning experiences aimed at enriching the bond between Israeli and American communities. Among the endeavors is OFEK Hub, a state-of-the-art learning hub providing a unique online learning experience with an Israeli twist, where students can learn a variety of subjects ranging from Hebrew to Israeli Innovation from the comfort of their own homes.

Additionally, last month the organization co-hosted "The New Tomorrow" in collaboration with the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, which brought together leading industry giants from Israel and the US to examine the impact of COVID-19 on global communities.

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IAC co-founder: Jewish, Israel education should be affordable to everyone - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

When Winona Horowitz was a little girl, she used to sleep in the doorway of her parents bedroom.

Her greatest fear was someone would knock on the door and drag them off to be murdered... like her fathers family who perished in the Holocaust.

I think it came from overhearing stories of what happened in the camps, says the actress now known to the world as Winona Ryder.

I was terrified of being separated from them. In World War II, my mums father died fighting the Nazis in the Pacific and, on my fathers side, family members died in the camps.

I am grateful my parents told me the truth, though they had to pick the right age to tell me because it is so horrific.

But I used to go to the library and look at books about it. I couldnt stop turning the pages and thought, This is horrible, why am I doing this?

Then I realised maybe I was looking for my family, for someone I recognised.

Winona, 48, has been a war buff ever since. That may surprise fans who recall the Goth icon and poster girl of the 1980s and 1990s who starred in Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Bram Stokers Dracula and Girl, Interrupted.

But she remains one of Hollywoods most intriguing and unconventional leading ladies, with a rollercoaster personal life.

Yet her Jewish heritage has also seen her experience anti-semitism at first hand. There are times when people have said, Wait, youre Jewish? But youre so pretty! she revealed recently.

There was a movie I was up for a long time ago a period piece and the studio head, who was Jewish, said I looked too Jewish to be in a blue-blooded family.

And only last month Winona became embroiled in a row with Mel Gibson after repeating an allegation that, years ago, he asked her if she was an oven dodger a term referring to the gas chambers.

Actor Gibson accused her of lying, saying in a new statement: This is 100 per cent untrue.

The exchange came as Winona hits TV screens once more in The Plot Against America, which starts on Sky Atlantic on Tuesday.

Based on Philip Roths novel and with a screenplay by the creators of The Wire, it tells of a working-class Jewish family living in an alternate 1940s New Jersey.

Aviator Charles Lindbergh ascends to the Presidency on a wave of xenophobic and anti-semitic rhetoric, opposing US intervention in the war.

Winona plays Evelyn Finkel, who falls for a charismatic Nazi-sympathising rabbi. She believes the story is uncannily relevant amid the rise of political hate-speak.

Its a very personal story, she says.

If you are a grandchild or a child of European Jews, its hard not to be untouched by it.

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Its also a taste of what were living in now and what we might possibly be heading into in the future, if we dont get out and vote. Im excited because a lot of my fans are young and this is timely and relevant.

Named after her home town of Winona, Minnesota, she grew up in a commune outside San Francisco where her bohemian author parents became friends with beat poet Allen Ginsberg.

Her godfather is LSD guru Timothy Leary, the psychologist who wanted to turn America on to psychedelic drugs. Her first movie role, aged 13, was in high-school flick Lucas. She was bullied at her own school for looking like an effeminate boy. When 1988 hit Beetlejuice made her famous she thought things would improve.

But it made things worse, she said. They called me a witch.

In the same year, then 17, she won rave reviews as the murderous teenage girlfriend of Christian Slater in cult hit Heathers. Then, in 1990, she fell in love with her Edward Scissorhands co-star Johnny Depp.

She was 17, he was 26. They got engaged after five months.

He was my first everything, she said later. My first real kiss. My first real boyfriend. My first fianc. The first guy I had sex with.

Their split, three years on, left both deeply wounded. Depp famously had the tattoo Winona Forever on his arm changed to Wino Forever. Director Tim Burton said that afterwards he wasnt acting like Johnny any more. Its almost like Winona took Johnnys soul.

Winona tried to drown her sorrows with booze and almost ended up dying when a lit cigarette set fire to her hotel room.

The pair remained close and Winona is currently preparing to give evidence supporting Depp in his High Court libel action over allegations that he beat his former wife Amber Heard.

A string of movie hits dotted the 1990s for Winona. Martin Scorseses The Age of Innocence in 1993 won her a Golden Globe.

A year later she played Jo March in Little Women dedicating the role to Polly Klaas, 12, a girl from her home town who was kidnapped and murdered. She remains close to the family and supports a foundation in Pollys name.

But in 2001, problems surfaced when Winona was arrested for shoplifting $6,000 worth of merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue in Los Angeles. Police found her with a syringe, painkillers and tranquillisers provided by a quack doctor.

Winona was given community service, handed hefty fines and placed on probation for three years.

She stopped acting for a while what she calls my hiatus. In 2010 she made a blistering movie return in Black Swan as an ageing ballerina fighting to stay relevant.

A year later she fell for Scott Mackinlay Hahn, who she has been spending lockdown with. In 2016, she won a new army of fans as a determined single mum in Netflix s sci-fi thriller series Stranger Things.

And she was delighted to play Evelyn in The Plot Against America, not least because Philip Roth is a favourite author and she loved his 2004 novel. I read it one sitting, its a brilliant book and really interesting because of my own family history, she said.

The novel has taken on a new significance in light of Donald Trump s divisive presidency. One line really sums that up: Theres a lot of hate out there. And he knows how to tap into it.

Can you believe that? says Winona. Its pretty incredible how relevant it is.

She has even been accused of taking on the role as an anti-Trump protest. Winona says: Apparently, I said a few things and someone said, Well 62 million people are now going to boycott Stranger Things so there!

But you cant just sit back because you dont want to be disliked or have people not watch your show.

Im the daughter of two writers and historians and was really lucky I got to grow up in a family that talked about stuff that wasnt being discussed.

In school, when teaching historical stuff, Id say, Well what about when this happened? and I literally got detention. Now Im astonished at some of the things going on.

I never thought Id see a swastika paraded at a march and shown on national TV. So its now or never. You have to take a stand, you have to! And the way to do that is by voting.

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Why Winona Ryder has been haunted by horrors of Holocaust since her childhood - Mirror Online

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

Ive been indulging in a lot of screen time recently. I know Im not alone in this. But it somehow seems odd to spend so much of my time passively watching as history is happening right before our eyes. For a multitude of reasons, this year may turn out to be the most consequential year in modern world history, certainly in American history; and that thought is stressing me out. So, in search of answers, I have begun watching and reading about how other people have responded to crises throughout history.

There is currently a 24-part lecture series on Prime TV entitled The Black Death, and yes, it is about the plague that originated in China, and beginning in 1347, it devastated not only half of the entire population of Europe, but also its ruling institutions, including feudalism and the Catholic Church. But what fascinated me were the first-hand accounts, in both writing and art, as told by those who were living in the midst of it. Those who cared for the sick and then succumbed themselves; those who turned to prayer and self-flagellation, those who turned to hedonism or violence, those who were scapegoated for being Jewish, and those who tried to restore order and government.

During the next ten years, 75 million people perished. That is a staggering number. But it doesnt tell us about the human story of that pandemic. We can only begin to understand the meaning of such events by opening ourselves to the accounts of those who lived and died or survived in such times.

Such traumatic experiences are not the only stories of interest to historians. Other stories, of a gentler sort, fascinate as well. Perhaps because they stand out in relief against the larger backdrop of social upheaval.

I recently watched Anne Frank: Parallel Stories, in which Helen Mirren reads from Annes diary, which is filled with what we might call the normal preoccupations of an adolescent girl in the 1940s. She writes freely and imaginatively of friendship, isolation, love, romance, having her first period and her desire to improve the world. Her death in a Nazi concentration camp at the sweet age of 15 is what makes her story so poignant and so tragic.

When such stories are intertwined with those of other victims and survivors, we feel the true significance of the Holocaust. The weight of those stories has helped to stiffen my own resolve to resist any movement toward a world in which such evil could ever exist again. Engaging with history and realizing that our own stories are part of the entire human experience can really help put things in perspective.

Today, we are living through our own historical moment facing a worldwide pandemic; political upheaval; social unrest; continued racial injustice toward our own species and man-made environmental catastrophes that threaten to extinguish life itself.

So, how are we dealing with all this?

We all have stories about the disease that is crippling our society, keeping us in isolation, with little or no employment, unable to attend school, unable to make new friends or to date. Are your relationships stressed? Has the Black Lives Matter movement made a difference to you? Did you participate in the protests? How has your world changed? Are you worried about your health or that of your loved ones? Do you watch a lot of news coverage like I do, or post more on social media? Do you feel that youre actively engaged and are trying to make a difference?

The most important question for me is, What will I tell my granddaughter when she grows up?

There are so many stories that when taken together will inform future generations, as well as scholars, about how we survived here on Vashon-Maury Island, while so many in other places did not.

Now is a good time to think about sharing your own experiences. The Vashon Heritage Museum, our island equivalent of the Smithsonian, has begun what it calls the Vashon COVID-19 Archive Project. A team led by historian Bruce Haulman has begun collecting such stories for a future exhibit. Working in collaboration with Voice of Vashon, they will be conducting video and audio interviews at several locations around Vashon-Maury throughout the month of July. Participants only need to be willing to share their stories, but artifacts such as masks and photos, even screenshots of social media posts may also be of interest.

For more information visit vashonheritagemuseum.org/covidarchive. Also, check Vashon Heritage Museums Facebook page for updates on the location for the interviews.

Be part of history.

Art Chippendale has lived on Vashon for 24 years with his wife Tania Kinnear. He has been active in community organizations and co-founded the group Unifying for Democracy.

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What's your story? - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

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Posted By admin on July 13, 2020

The government is facing legal action over its decision to build a national Holocaust memorial and learning centre in a Royal Park next to Parliament.

Secretary of State of Homes, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick MP is being challenged by the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust over the process leading to a decision to build in Victoria Tower Gardens, beside the River Thames.

Jenricks department sought planning permission in January 2019 after former Prime Minister David Camerons Holocaust Commission, led by former Jewish Leadership Council chair Sir Mick Davis, recommended a national memorial somewhere central.

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However a raft of heritage and environmental experts have warned that the damage and congestion that it could cause would outweigh the public benefit.

The Trust has played a leading role objecting to plans to build the memorial on the last piece of publicly accessible land in central London. The gardens are Grade II listed, sit alongside the Grade I listed Palace of Westminster, and lie partly within a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the world-famous Westminster Abbey.

Working with other campaign groups, including Save Victoria Tower Gardens and the Thorney Island Society, the Trust has argued that ministers should reconsider the memorials location, citing the undesirable impact of the chosen design.

A planning decision was due to be taken by Westminster Council, which said it was minded not to grant permission, until Jenricks department stepped in and took over.

Successive prime ministers, including Theresa May, has maintained that the memorial will be built in Victoria Towers Gardens, and the current Conservative Government even made support for the memorial a manifesto commitment.

Last month lawyers acting for the Trust argued that the environmental impact of the proposals, which could cause great damage to the root systems of the Parks 180-year old plane trees, was not carrying sufficient weight in forthcoming call-in inquiry, which is scheduled to begin on 6 October.

The Trust contends that the proposals represent an exceptionally serious intrusion into a very important green public open space, argued its lawyers.

The Trust has made clear that that it regards a new Holocaust Memorial with Learning Centre is a good idea, but that Victoria Tower Gardens is the wrong place for what is now proposed. This view is shared with many other objectors, including Westminster City Council and Baroness Ruth Deech.

Deech is one of several Jewish peers to have expressed her objections to the memorial proposals, arguing that the 100 million should be spent on Holocaust education instead.

While lawyers for the Trust do not object to the call-in, they have called for a Judicial Review, and the case will be heard by Mr Justice Holgate at the High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division.

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Government may face legal action over building of Westminster Shoah memorial - Jewish News

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Posted By admin on July 11, 2020

Given the involvement of both sides of her family in their respective congregations, its not surprising that Claire Lemergrew up firmly ensconced as a child of the United Synagogue.

Her father has been on the board of her home shul, Hampstead Garden Suburb, and is now, she thinks, in his 40th year of running its childrens service.

So Dr Lemer, a consultant paediatrician, has United Synagogue in her veins. In 2014 she became a trustee of the US a big responsibility to take on, considering her day job.

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But she says, when she speaks to young doctors at her hospital, Guys and Thomas, she often tells them of the importance of having a hinterland on which to draw, unconnected with work, but which she believes has the capacity to make them better at their job.

Her commitment to the US has grown over the years. She says: Like many young people, growing up, [synagogue] was part of my routine, whether it was Hebrew classes or bat chayil, or attending Shabbat or festival services. When I went to university, for the first time I had to think about the choices I wanted to make. I was lucky enough to go to a small city (Cambridge) where the student Jewish society was very active, but also very connected with the local synagogue.

Claire Lemer

Accordingly she began to become involved in Cambridge Jewish life, and understood the nature of the behind-the-scenes work that had to take place in order for people to benefit.

Back in London, finishing her clinical training, it was head down, with synagogue in the background, part of the rhythm of the week. But what she calls various life events, including a serious road traffic accident, brought Dr Lemer back to communal activity.

At first she took part in a US programme for young leaders. Then people in my local synagogue, knowing I had done this programme and seeing the skills I was developing, asked me if I would become involved in the strategy work that was being written for our community. And then I was asked if I would serve on the board, and I did that for a while. And the combination of all of that was to get involved in the rejuvenation of United Synagogue Women, led by Elaine Sacks [wife of the former Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks].

That took her, Dr Lemer says, from the detail of the synagogue to the detail of the bigger picture, again, what was going on behind the scenes. Around that time (2014) there were discussions about how to get more women involved by having them stand as trustees, and so she agreed to run for election.

Looking back across the decades to the group of people who began the US 150 years ago, Dr Lemer describes them as really revolutionary in their initiative. But no institution reaches 150 years without changing and without listening to potential constituents.

The most immediate change, Dr Lemer believes, is in the geographical location of US communities, and the support the umbrella body can give to new congregations, both in London and in the regions. Last year the US gained more than 1,000 new members, and that, she feels, is because they are trying to offer more than just the life cycle of services and simchas and burials. We are trying to support Jewish schools in a number of different ways, and have begun the Jewish Community Academy Trust to provide the best Jewish and secular education available.

The US has established two asylum seeker drop-in centres, in Hendon and Woodford Forest, which it hopes will bring in younger people interested in helping the wider community. And, supported by the National Lottery, we are creating a Heritage Centre at Willesden Jewish Cemetery.

The US, says Dr Lemer, is an incredibly important organisation which touches many peoples lives we can offer a place where people can feel safe and connect with like-minded people.

She is aware of criticisms of the US in the past, but believes it is becoming more agile in its responses to what people want and need from their community. It is doing its best to provide a place for younger people who want to invest and grow in their Judaism.

But in order to take what the US has to offer, Dr Lemer says, there need to be people giving. Despite a busy schedule in her paediatric work, and the problems of Covid-19, she says the US has given her more challenging opportunities to learn and think and she hopes that more people will take up the baton to begin the next 150 years.

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Family links built deep commitment to the United Synagogue - Jewish News

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Posted By admin on July 11, 2020

Most churches, synagogues and temples are still holding services and classes/lectures online due to coronavirus concerns until they have plans in place for social distancing and other requirements before they open their buildings.

However, a few are taking reservations or limiting their indoor prayer services, like many Islamic centers, and other religious communities have taken services outdoors while maintaining distancing and required mask wearing.

Here is a sampling of upcoming services.

Islamic Center of Reseda: Open for maximum 100 people per prayer times. Check website for parking and rules for social distancing. 18206 Victory Blvd. 818-996-9116. masjidreseda.com

St. Innocent Orthodox Church: The Rev. Yousuf Rassam leads the Great Vespers service, 5:30 p.m. July 11 (watch on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/StInnocentTarzana). The Divine Liturgy is outdoors and open to the public, 9:30 a.m. July 12 (and all other Sundays). 5657 Lindley Ave., Tarzana. 818-881-1123. Church website: stioctca.orthodoxws.com

Shepherd Church: Worship services, 6 p.m. July 11 and 9 and 11 a.m. July 12 (live.shepherdchurch.com). The church is in Porter Ranch. Email: mail@shepherdchurch.com. http://www.theshepherd.org/#

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles: Daily Masses in English are live streamed from the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, 8 a.m. (also, limited seating with required mask wearing, social distancing and other rules). Sunday Mass in English, 10 a.m., and in Spanish, 12:30 p.m., are live streamed: lacatholics.org/mass-for-the-homebound. For parishes that live stream Mass: lacatholics.org/parish-livestreams For more information: lacatholics.org

First Presbyterian Church of Granada Hills: Live stream Sunday service, 9 a.m. July 12 (www.fpcgh.org/watch). http://www.fpcgh.org; http://www.facebook.com/fpcgh

The Church on the Way: The Revs. Deborah and Tim Clark lead the online Sunday services, 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. July 12. The church is in Van Nuys. 818-779-8000. Email: info@tcotw.org. thechurchontheway.org; http://www.facebook.com/myTCOTW

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church: Live stream Sunday service, 9:30 a.m. July 12 (bit.ly/2BRa1MB). Check the website for updates on possible in-person services. 8520 Winnetka Ave., Winnetka. 818-341-3460. http://www.our-redeemer.org

Sunday with St. Luke Lutheran Church: The Rev. Janet Hansted leads the service, 9:30 a.m. July 12. Click on the Zoom link from the church website. The church is in Woodland Hills. 818-346-3070. http://www.stlukelutheran.com

Sunday service with the Episcopal Church of St. Andrew and St. Charles: The Rev. Gregory Frost leads the service, 10 a.m. July 12. The church is in Granada Hills. 818-366-7541. Email: office@2saints.org. http://www.2saints.org

Sunday and Communion service with Knollwood United Methodist Church: The Rev. Kalesita Tuifua leads the streaming service, 10 a.m. July 12. The church is in Granada Hills. 818-360-8111. Email: office@knollwoodchurch.com. http://www.facebook.com/KnollwoodUMC; knollwoodchurch.com

When Is Good for You?: The Rev. Joseph Choi explains the message, based on Acts 24:22-27, 10 a.m. (in English) and 11:30 a.m. (in Korean) on July 12. Watch here: youtube.com/numcvideo. Northridge United Methodist Church, 9650 Reseda Blvd. 818-886-1555. http://www.northridgeumc.org

Reseda Church of Christ: Live stream Sunday service, 10 a.m. July 12. http://www.facebook.com/ResedaChurch; resedachurch.com

LGBTQ Victory: The Rev. Bill Freeman discusses the topic with transgender minister the Rev. Megan More, 10 a.m. July 12. Find the Zoom link on the website. 616-796-5598. Email: bill@billfreeman.org. http://www.billfreeman.org

Sunday service with Sherman Oaks United Methodist Church: The Rev. Garth C. Gilliam delivers the message, 10 a.m. July 12. Watch the service from the website or listen by phone, 669-900-6833 and use ID: 92413458020. Church, 818-789-0351. Email: soumc@sbcglobal.net. soumc.org; http://www.facebook.com/soumc.church

Woodland Hills Community Church (United Church of Christ): The Rev. Craig Peterson leads the 10 a.m. July 12 service on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/330952170. Or, by phone: 669-900-6833 and use ID: 330952170 and press #. Piano prelude, 9:45 a.m. bit.ly/2AxVuoq; woodlandhillscommunitychurch.org

And Justice for All: Guest speaker Mathew P. Taylor discusses the topic at the online Sunday service with worship associate Todd Covert and tech assistant David Early, 10:30 a.m. July 12. Check website for link to join the online service. For upcoming services and church information contact Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church in Canoga Park. 818-887-6101. http://www.emersonuuc.org

Sunday service with Center for Spiritual Living-Granada Hills: The Rev. Michael McMorrow delivers an inspirational sermon, 10:30 a.m. July 12. Also, McMorrow gives mid-day re-set talks on the centers Facebook. 818-363-8136. cslgh.com; http://www.facebook.com/csl.granadahills

Tale of Two Brothers: The Rev. Steve Peralta at North Hollywood First United Methodist Church delivers the message, based on Genesis 25:19-34, part of a sermon series on Wrestling With God, 10:30 a.m. July 12. Watch the service online from the website link. 818-763-8231. Email: nohofumc@gmail.com. More information on Facebook bit.ly/2BPcdo4. nohofumc.org

Sunday service with Congregational Church of the Chimes: The Revs. Beth Bingham and Curtis Peek lead the live stream service, 10:30 a.m. July 12. Click on the link from the website to join the service. The church is in Sherman Oaks. 818-789-7124. Email: office@churchofthechimes.org. churchofthechimes.org

Give It to Keep It: The Rev. Stephen Rambo reflects on Letting go, I enhance the experience of heaven-on-earth by sharing my good with all Spirits creations as he delivers the online message, 10:30 a.m. July 12. Center for Spiritual Living-Simi Valley. 805-527-0870. http://www.cslsimi.org; http://www.facebook.com/cslsimi

A Life of Joy: The Rev. Rob Denton delivers the message, part two of a five-part sermon series Live Life Beyond, based on the book A Life Beyond Amazing by David Jeremiah, 10:45 a.m. July 12. Readings: Luke 15, John 15:11 and Nehemiah 8:10. West Valley Christian Church is in West Hills. 818-884-6480. http://www.wvcch.org; http://www.facebook.com/westvalley.christianchurch

The Power of Play: Matt Toronto discusses his thoughts on the centers July theme, 11 a.m. July 12 (bit.ly/2YQarfp). Unity Burbank Center for Spiritual Awareness. http://www.unityburbank.org; http://www.facebook.com/unityburbank

Adat Ari El: The Conservative Jewish congregation in Valley Village offers two Shabbat services: beginning at 6 p.m. July 17 and a morning service, 9:30 a.m. July 18 (Torah portion is Mattot/Masei from Numbers). 818-766-9426. Click on the link for the Facebook live stream, http://www.adatariel.org/worship/shabbat-services; http://www.adatariel.org

Temple Beth Hillel online: Shabbat service, join at 6 p.m. July 17 (watch online or call 669-900-6833and use password shalom; tbhla.org/tbh-online). The Reform Jewish congregation is in Valley Village. 818-763-9148. tbhla.org; bit.ly/2BvkDRc

Shomrei Torah Synagogue: Kabbalat Shabbat, 6 p.m. July 17 and a Shabbat morning, 10 a.m. July 18. Click on the link to download the prayer book and to watch the Shabbat services and other programming, http://www.stsonline.org/media-galleries/live-streaming. The synagogue is in West Hills. 818-854-7650. http://www.stsonline.org

Temple Ahavat Shalom: Rabbi Becky Hoffman leads the 6:30 p.m. July 17 (contact the temple in advance for a link to the Zoom service). The temple is in Northridge. 818-360-2258. Email: info@tasnorthridge.org. http://www.facebook.com/TASnorthridge; http://www.tasnorthridge.org

Temple Judea: Shabbat live stream service, 6:15 p.m. July 17. More online programming, see this page: templejudea.com/covid19response The Reform Jewish congregation is in Tarzana. 818-758-3800. Email: info@templejudea.com. templejudea.com

Temple Aliyah: Shabbat and other services and educational programs from the Conservative Jewish congregation in Woodland Hills. Check website for Shabbat services, 7 p.m. July 17 and a morning service, 10:30 a.m. July 18. templealiyah.org/livestream; http://www.templealiyah.org

Valley Beth Shalom: For Shabbat services, prerecorded lectures and classes, check the schedule here: http://www.vbs.org/vbsathome The Conservative Jewish congregation is in Encino. 818-788-6000. http://www.vbs.org

Finding Hope in the Midst of Darkness Tisha BAv: Shomrei Torah Synagogue and Temple Aliyah present a program and small group discussions, 7:30 p.m., followed by evening minyan and Eicha (Book of Lamentations) reading, 8:15 p.m. July 29. Zoom meeting: bit.ly/2O5Eppc (meeting ID: 82920679124 and password: tisha). By phone, 669-900-6833. To register call Shomrei Torah Synagogue, 818-854-7650, or send an email through their website: http://www.stsonline.org. More information on the program: bit.ly/3eijNVK

Send information at least two weeks ahead. holly.andres@dailynews.com. 818-713-3708.

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Religion events in-person and online in the San Fernando Valley, July 11-18 - LA Daily News

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Posted By admin on July 11, 2020

As the world reopens post-pandemic, the question arises: Can we travel to a familiar place and still find something new? Everyone loves Paris, the city of lights. For Jews, Paris is a romantic destination as well as a repository of Jewish history going back centuries. So as you think about getting away to Paris, you also want to think about Jewish Paris. And if the question is Jewish Paris, the answer is Flora Goldenberg. Goldenberg, whose grandfather owned a famous restaurant in the Marais district of Paris, has been offering tours of Jewish Paris for the past seven years. She is knowledgeable, well-spoken, good-natured and fun. She helps visitors understand the connections between multiple layers of French Jewish history, from Roman times through the Medieval era, from the building of the Louvre to the time of Napoleon, and from the Holocaust to the present day.When Goldenberg was growing up in the Marais, it wasnt the impossibly chic destination neighborhood that it has become in recent years. Today, the Marais is gentrified beyond all recognition and a favored Paris weekend hangout not unlike Soho in Manhattan or, for that matter, Soho in London. In between the high-end boutiques and top restaurants, however, can be found all manner of Jewish history.On a recent February morning, Goldenberg gave a private family tour that began in the nearby Place des Vosges, adjacent to the Marais neighborhood, and the beginning of where modern Jewish Paris really began. The Place des Vosges is best known for the magnificent home of French literary legend Victor Hugo, but who knew that it also contains two Jewish synagogues, one of which has existed for almost two centuries? Paris is slow to reveal its hidden beauty, and Goldenberg is a pro at identifying the mansions, gardens and other delights that are never obvious to the average pedestrian or tourist. On our Marais tour, she took us inside the private gardens attached to centuries-old mansions or hotels particuliers where aristocrats once roamed. She took us inside a synagogue built in 1914, when the Jews began to feel secure about themselves in France, and showed how collaborators bombed the front of the synagogue in 1941 as World War II began. A few blocks away, she pointed out one of the hidden synagogues on the second floor of a normal-looking apartment building, in continuous use since Napoleons time, and where the Lubavitcher Rebbe prayed while he lived in Paris in the late 1930s. The Marais contains many Holocaust memories as well, as thousands of its inhabitants, including hundreds of children, were arrested and deported as the Holocaust wore on. Goldenberg also pointed out the location of her familys restaurant, which was attacked by Arab terrorists in 1982, killing six and wounding almost two dozen more. You can still see a bullet hole in one of the windows above the former site of the restaurant.As is often the case, reports of anti-Jewish violence in the streets of Paris, especially in the Marais, are greatly exaggerated. As we toured the district, we saw plenty of men wearing kippot or hats indicating their religious identities.Despite what you read in the news, Goldenberg says, here, life is normal for Jews. The world as a whole is more violent, but Jews do not have any more problems than usual. Goldenberg refers to the Marais of her childhood as the center of much more Jewish life than today. As the neighborhood gentrified, commercial and apartment rents skyrocketed, pushing out most of the little Jewish shops and causing most Jewish residents to decamp to the suburbs.Despite that, Goldenberg points out that there are still plenty of synagogues and fantastic kosher options in the neighborhood, ranging from a macaron store to bakeries, a pizza place, and falafel and shwarma hangouts. You can always come to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Mona Lisa, but if youre Jewish, the smart play is to reach out to Flora Goldenberg and discover the hidden Jewish Paris that the average tourist would never see. The writer is a New York Times bestselling author and Shark Tank contestant. He runs the Michael Levin Writing Company, a company that creates ghostwritten business books and memoirs. MichaelLevinWrites@gmail.com

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Flora Goldenberg will show you the Jewish Paris you never knew - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on July 11, 2020

If you had told a young Evan Bernstein that he would be a leader in Jewish communal affairs, he probably would have laughed and said, There is no way. But life, as everyone well knows, doesnt go as planned. And in Bernsteins case, it certainly didnt.

I grew up in East Lyme, Conn., in a very non-Jewish environment, he said, noting that he attended the local public school and didnt even go to Hebrew school. Our shul, Temple Beth Shalom, was a 30-minute drive, and we only really went on holidays. There were a handful of Jews in my town, and all of my closest friends were not Jewish.

Today, the 45-year-old is firmly enmeshed in the Jewish community, particularly when it comes to issues of anti-Semitism and security. He recently left a job at the Anti-Defamation League to serve as the new chief executive officer at the Community Security Service, which trains Jewish volunteers to ensure the safety and security of Jewish organizations. Founded in 2007, CSS has trained 4,700 volunteers nationwide and is operating in 100 synagogues; those are numbers that Bernstein, who lives in the New York area, plans to grow.

We as a community need to take security more seriously, and we need to involve Jews as part of the solution as they have for 50 years in communities around the globe, said Bernstein. In Europe, in South Africa, in Australia, they have led the way with security of their own with organizations like Community Security Trust in the United Kingdom. They dont rely first on the police or private security groups. Its only in America, where since the Holocaust we have relied on the police to protect us.

Evan Bernstein.

The need for increased security is acute right now. According to the annual ADL audit of anti-Semitic attacks, 2019 was a recording-setting year for all the wrong reasons. Among the 2,100 reported incidents were three deadly attacks: a shooting at the Chabad of Poway, Calif., in April; a shooting in December at a kosher market in Jersey City, N.J.; and a machete attack at the end of that same monthon the last night of Hanukkah, of all timesat a synagogue in Monsey, N.Y.

And while the headlines may not reflect it, the threat against Jews continues to grow, even and maybe especially during the global coronavirus pandemic.

I dont think corona cured anti-Semitism, said Bernstein, and I dont think it cured what we saw over the last four yearsthe growth in anti-Semitism and the record number of incidents. People are naive to think that it disappeared.

That image is seared into my brain

In fact, he has firsthand experience: Five years ago, while working at the ADL, he got his first serious death threat.

That person is in jail, but it was a seminal moment for me before the [recent] rise of anti-Semitism, he said, adding that he had to have security cameras installed in his home and arrange for the local police to drive-by regularly. The hardest thing, though, was explaining it to his wife and young children.

But it isnt just about personal threats. Its the communal ones as well that worry him, especially the deadly attacks in Jersey City and Monsey.

Those incidents, he said, shook him to the core.

My life was altered after being on the ground for the active shooter in Jersey City and being there, he said, with law enforcement and with parents from the Catholic school across the street and the yeshivah adjacent to the kosher grocery.

The next morning, he attended prayers at the synagogue that shares a wall with the market. Also, there were Israeli Consul General of Israel in New York Dani Dayan and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. As they recited the Mourners Kaddish, recalled Bernstein, I looked down and saw shell casings and bullet holes. There was a mop in front of me, and it had a bullet hole in it. That image is seared into my brain.

Days later, he described, I was in Monsey after the stabbing. I was there before the FBI was even on the scene. Being there for two of the four attacks in real-timethe 2018 murder of 11 Jewish worshippers at the Tree of Life*Or LSimcha synagogue in Pittsburgh is included in that count, changed me as a person. So when I got the call that CSS was interested in me being involved with the group, I was very interested because I saw how important our security is.

What sets CSS apart from other Jewish organizations, said Bernstein, is that it relies primarily on volunteers who take its in-class security and safety training, and then use what they have learned to help their own communities.

We train our volunteers at a very high level, he said. Im going through the training right now through social distancing. Its been incrediblethe training, the theories and the best practices in security. Its been inspiring to talk to our volunteers, who are just amazing. We have regional leaders across the country, and this is like a part-time job for them, even though they are volunteers.

My world revolves around the Jewish community

His goal, however, is to encourage more people to step up.

To that end, he and his very small staffCSS has only a handful of employeesare working to create an entry point for people who arent ready to tackle full training, but would benefit from security training. He also wants to have recertification requirements as they scale the training and professionalism in the coming years. Additionally, Bernstein plans to increase outreach to more synagogues and communities and get them involvedwhether its a congregation that meets several times a day or one that has services only on holidays.

One other step hed like to pursue is encouraging more young people, particularly those on college campuses, to join up. Bernstein hopes that if they start training and volunteering while they are in school, they will continue to do so when they are older and raising a family.

While his new focus at CSS will be reaching people and communities on a micro-level, the macro is still vitally important. He said it is important to strengthen CSSs relationships with other Jewish communal security agencies, including the national Secure Community Network and the New York-based Community Security Initiative.

Reflecting back on the roads hes taken, said Bernstein, life will take you in many direction that you can never predict. Now I am observant and my kids are in yeshivah, and my world revolves around the Jewish community.

The post Meet the man seeking to build a grassroots effort to secure Jewish communities appeared first on JNS.org.

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Meet the man seeking to build a grassroots effort to secure Jewish communities - Cleveland Jewish News

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Posted By admin on July 11, 2020

SIR The emergency funding for the arts announced by Oliver Dowden is hugely welcome. However, the work of church and synagogue musicians across the country is still under serious threat, with some professional choirs already facing permanent disbandment. We need clear steps towards the reinstatement of musicians work in religious services.

Many of us already work in a way that is very socially distanced singing from balconies and organ lofts. Yet, the Government has made an un-nuanced statement regarding singing in places of worship: if possible, dont do it.

It has even suggested that churches should replace musicians with recordings. If this happens, will live music-making in places of worship ever return?

Since March, singers and directors of music have been waiting for clarification on when (or if) we are likely to be reinstated. We want, and need, to get back to work keeping the great choral tradition in this country alive. Please allow us to do so.

Stephen AlderWestminster Cathedral

Sapphire ArmitageAssociated with St Brides, Fleet Street, andSt Pancras New Church

Emily ArmourSt Bartholomew the Great

Andrew ArthurDirector of Music, Trinity Hall, Cambridge

Helen AshbySt Margarets Church, Westminster

Kate AshbyAssociated with All Saints, Margaret Street, andRoyal Hospital, Chelsea

Jenny BaconThe Guards Chapel

Robin BaileyMarylebone Parish Church

Leilani BarrattAssociated with HM Tower of London

Caspar BarrieHM Tower of London

Ana Beard Fernandez Carmelite Priory, Kensington

Peter BeavanDirector of Music, Royal Memorial Chapel, Sandhurst

Nicola BeckleySt Michael, Cornhill

Nicolaas BeemsterLincoln Cathedral

Cathy BellLincolns Inn Chapel

Olivia BellSt Gabriels, Pimlico

Benjamin Beurklian-CarterThe Grosvenor Chapel

Simon BiazeckThe Choir of the London Oratory

James BirchallAssociated with Westminster Abbey andSt Pauls Cathedral

Christina Birchall-SamsonLiberal Jewish Synagogue andSt Johns Wood Church

Matthew BlaidenDirector of Music,St Stephens, Rochester Row

Sebastian BosleyAssociated with Guildford Cathedral andWinchester Cathedral

Frances BourneFarm Street Church

Vanessa BowersThe Choir of the London Oratory

Morag BoyleAssociated with St Brides, Fleet Street, and Marylebone Parish Church

Emma Brain-GabbottAssociated with St Clement Danes and St Margaret Lothbury

Verity BramsonAssociated with Sidney Sussex College,Cambridge, andSt Johns, Hyde Park

Eleanor BrayAssociated with St Georges, Hanover Square

Alastair BrookshawAssociated with Westminster Abbey

Zoe BrookshawHM Tower of London

Timothy BrownDirector of Music Emeritus, Clare College Choir

Bob BryanSt Brides, Fleet Street

Jeremy BuddAssociated with StMargaretLothbury andSt Brides, Fleet Street

Sebastian BudnerSt Georges Cathedral, Southwark

Tara BungardAssociated with Westminster Abbey andSt Pauls Cathedral

Heather CaddickSt Peter & St Paul, Nutfield

Jessica CaleThe Choir of the London Oratory

Colin CampbellSt Lawrence Jewry andSt Jamess,Piccadilly

Hilary CampbellComposer andchoral director

Henry Capper-AllenAssociated with St Pauls Cathedral andSt MargaretLothbury

Edward ChaddockSt MichaelCornhill, St Sepulchre-without-Newgate andSt Columbas, Church of Scotland

Rachel ChapmanSt Brides, Fleet Street

Bob ChilcottComposer

Jillian ChristieAssociated with Eton College Lower Chapel

Eleanor ClarkeHM Tower of London

Rosie CliffordRoyal Hospital, Chelsea

Aidan CoburnHampstead Parish Church

Claire ColemanSt Jamess, Sussex Gardens

Dan Collins All Saints, Margaret Street

Matthew CollinsDirector of Music, Howden Minster

David CondryAssociated with St Pauls Cathedral andWestminster Abbey

Frances CookeAssociated with HM Tower of London

Helena CookeAssociated with HM Tower of London andRoyal Hospital, Chelsea

Tristram CookeWestminster Abbey

Ben CooperWinchester Cathedral

Katy CooperThe Grosvenor Chapel andAll Saints, Margaret Street

Nicola CorbishleyAssociated with the Guards Chapel andSt Marylebone Parish Church

Sam CorkinAssociated with Canterbury Cathedral andChapel Royal,Hampton Court

Carole Court St Albans,Holborn

Hilary CroninSt Bartholomew the Great

Hugh CrossCarmelite Priory, Kensington

Cara CurranSt Mary Abbots, Kensington

Sarah DaceyThe Grosvenor Chapel

Alison DanielsEly Cathedral

Robin DattaLiverpool Cathedral

Helen DanielsSt Pancras New Church

Andrew DaviesLincolns Inn Chapel

Will Davies

Director of Music, St Magnus-the-Martyr

Peter DavorenSt Brides, Fleet Street

Leonora Dawson-Bowling

Associated with St Pauls Cathedral and St James's, Spanish Place

Julian Charles DebreuilSt Jamess, Spanish Place

Peter Di-ToroAssociated with St Mary Abbots, Kensington, and St Jamess, Sussex Gardens

Mimi DoultonAssociated with St Brides, Fleet Street, and St Pauls Cathedral

Stephen DouseSt Margarets, Westminster, andWest London Synagogue

George DyesmithSt Magnus-the-Martyr

Christiana EastwoodSt Stephens, Gloucester Road

Graham EcclesAssociated with Bangor Cathedral and St Asaph Cathedral

Yvonne EddySt Marys, Bourne Street

Joey EdwardsAssociated with St Georges Cathedral, Southwark

Louise EekelaarDirector of Music, Holy Trinity, Brook Green

Jon EnglishSt Pauls Cathedral

John EvansonAssociated with St Pauls Cathedral andTemple Church

Rowan FennerSt Georges, Hanover Square

Martin Ford Director of Music, the Guards Chapel

April FredrickAssociated with St Brides, Fleet Street, andSt Peters, Eaton Square

Andrew FriedhoffAssociated with the Guards Chapel andSt Johns Wood Church

Kate FunStAlbans, Holborn, andBelsize Square Synagogue

Rosemary GaltonThe Choir of the London Oratory

Robert GarlandThe Guards Chapel

James GeidtAssociated with Temple Church

Oliver GerrishSt Johns Wood Church

Izzy GibberAssociated with St Peters,Eaton Square

Anna GouldSt Michael Cornhill

Jack Granby Chapel Royal,Hampton Court Palace

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Letters: Let the choirs sing or the whole tradition will crumble - Telegraph.co.uk

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