Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

The United States of America will be designating Antifa as a Terrorist Organization, President Donald Trump tweeted on May 31, the morning after American cities were engulfed with protests decrying the death of George Floyd. In major metropolises including New York, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Dallas and Los Angeles, the demonstrations spiraled out of control, devolving into looting, vandalism and arson.

Trump declared the lootings were being led by antifa, a decentralized movement threaded together by its militant, sometimes violent opposition to fascism and the far-right.

Pittsburghs chief of police, agreed. Attorney General William Barr also pointed his finger at the group, saying the protesters were using antifa-like tactics. However, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said, A number of different groups are involved in these whether its antifa or its others, frankly.

Whether you agree with antifas ideology or approach, the presidents announcement is shocking, given that many of the most violent hate groups in the United States arent designated as terrorists. One notable example is the Ku Klux Klan, which for decades has used bloodshed, intimidation and crime to terrorize Americans.

Whether you agree with antifas ideology or approach, the presidents announcement is shocking, given that many of the most violent hate groups in the United States arent designated as terrorists.

White supremacist extremism is currently the most lethal form of extremism in the U.S., American University professor Cynthia Miller-Idriss told Congress in September. According to the Anti-Defamation League, the far-right was the source of 73% of domestic extremist-related slayings from 2008 to 2019.

However, Trump has been much more hesitant to declare these menacing groups as terrorists.

The first time the U.S. labeled a white supremacist group as a terrorist organization was in April. However, the Russian Imperial Movement was not American-based. The ultra-nationalist organization is widely known for plotting bomb attacks on asylum seekers in Sweden. Meanwhile, countless other home-grown neo-Nazi, Holocaust denial, neo-Confederate and Skinhead organizations remain undesignated.

When the United States labels a group as terrorist, it is not a symbolic gesture. If the State Department designates antifa as such, the Treasury Department will freeze any American property or assets the group has. It will be illegal for Americans to deal financially with antifa, plus facilitate a ban on its members from traveling into the United States.

Members of the National Socialist Movement, one of the largest neo-Nazi groups in the US, hold a swastika burning after a rally on April 21, 2018 in Draketown, Georgia. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Terrorist groups are under the purview of terror-related intelligence bodies such as the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), which is uniquely suited to handle these deadly organizations. Right now, the NCTC is prohibited from preventing violent anti-Semites like the Pittsburgh and Poway, Calif., shooters. Trumps National Strategy for Counterterrorism includes preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons. However, known neo-Nazis still are able to obtain firearms.

Unlike white supremacist groups, which explicitly call for victimizing racial and religious minorities, antifas mission is not inherently violent. One could argue that by opposing fascism, the group seeks to prevent mass violence. Antifas rampages normally end in property damage. Its hard to argue that the group is lethal; the only recorded death related to antifa was in January 2019 when member Charles Landeros fired at police while being arrested. He missed and was killed by returning fire. Compare that to self-described white supremacist Robert Gregory Bowers, who is charged with walking into the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue in October 2018 and killing 11 Jews. That incident was not isolated. Patrick Crusius is charged with killing 23 people at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart in August, leaving behind a white nationalist manifesto.

Crusius had posted about his intent to kill on the website 8chan. If white nationalists were considered terrorists, the NCTC might have been able to track and potentially stop the deadliest attack on Latinos in modern American history.

Trump isnt only ignoring white supremacist terrorism but actively pushing American institutions overlook it.

However, Trump isnt only ignoring white supremacist terrorism but actively pushing American institutions overlook it.

According to Reuters, Trump attempted to rename the Countering Violent Extremism program to Countering Radical Islamic Extremism erasing white nationalist violence from its mission entirely. Under the current administration, federal prosecutors are limited in how they can bring white nationalists to justice.

White supremacy is a greater threat than international terrorism right now, David Hickton, a former U.S. Attorney, told Time. Id have to pursue a white supremacist with hate crimes, unless he interfaced with al-Qaeda. Does that make any sense?

One thing that certainly does not make sense is cracking down on antifa instead of more pernicious groups.

Whether you approve of antifas message or tactics, it is not nearly as consequential a threat to Americans as the vast number of white supremacist groups in this country. Although it might be more politically advantageous for Trump to rail against the anarchy-loving movement, he is driving this nation, and his blind spot endangers all Americans in his backseat.

Ariel Sobel is the Journals social media editor.

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Why Does The US Government Consider Antifa Terrorists, But Not The KKK? - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

May 27, 2020 by Julie Nathan

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The Covid-19 virus has produced sickness and death, turmoil and disruption, around the world. It is a silent stalker of human fragility. But it has brought with it another virus, an older but virile plague, one with no known cure, and no limits to the amount of dead bodies it can produce. This plague flares up whenever the society faces uncomfortable changes. This is the plague of antisemitism the longest-standing, most pervasive, and most genocidal hatred known to humanity.

During the Bubonic Plague of the 1300s, Jews were accused of creating and spreading the plague by poisoning the water-wells in order, so the accusation claimed, to destroy Christendom. Thousands of Jews were massacred, often by being herded into synagogues and set alight, resulting in over 200 Jewish communities being annihilated. Even though the Bubonic Plague was caused by plague-infected fleas on rats, the delusion that Jews are the cause of plagues developed deep roots. So again, today the Jews are blamed for creating and spreading Covid-19.

The antisemitism engendered by reactions to Covid-19 is world-wide, in the streets and online. In order to see in detail what is being discussed and promoted by antisemites online, a good snapshot with an abundance of examples is provided by a study of posts by people in one country, Australia, on one social media site, Gab. This site is favoured by extremists for its permitting of all kinds of speech. These expressions can either be described through paraphrasing or can be reproduced as is. The latter method is a more accurate and precise way to show what the hate propagandists are actually saying. Their online expressions fell into nine general themes, plus images.

Images

Weeks before Covid-19 hit Australian shores on 25 January, Australian antisemites were reposting images from others that referred to Jews as the virus. One notable example was composed of images of several green cylindrical-shaped viruses and several of the crowned coronavirus, also in bright green, but in the centre of each coronavirus was placed an image of the caricatured Jew, Shlomo. The message: Jews are the virus. This image was later updated to include the text: Question: Why arent Jews getting infected? Answer: One virus cant live inside another.

There were other images equating Jews with Covid-19. One image of a person whose head is a coronavirus is named (((CORONAVIRUS))) thus indicating it is Jewish by use of the echoes symbol, the triple parenthesis. Another image is of a green coronavirus with the Nazi-imposed yellow Star of David replete with the word Jude (German for Jew) attached at the front. Even the Israeli flag had a green coronavirus image superimposed over the blue Star of David. Many images were repeatedly reposted.

One image placed Jews as the power and orchestrators behind Covid-19. This image is of a caricatured Jew placing a kings golden crown upon the coronavirus which is sitting on a red throne, with the globe of the world wearing a surgical mask and running away from the corona-king. Another image is of caricatured Jew and the coronavirus with text including the words Its not Chinese. Its the JEW FLU!

Jews created it

An accusation made very early on, and consistently repeated, was that Covid-19 was created by the Jews. A variety of nefarious purposes were put forward. One of the earliest claims was of the Corona virus coming from a jewish laboratory.

There were claims about Jews in China: Apparently a jew professor was arrested and is believed to have sold the virus? Israeli Mossad agent? and Hasnt a Jewish professor been arrested for selling this virus to students from Wuhan? China has a terrible record for pandemic viruses, wild animal consumption, and poor sanitation standards. Are they a testing lab for Israeli agents? One wrote that mossad released the virus in the city that had a Chinese viral warfare lab in it, so they could have plausible deniability. Another wrote that: The jews set up China as a communist state in the first place. Nothing happens in their turf without their say so, and China is the scapegoat for what the NWO Jews are doing to Christians in America, and the so-called Wu Flu has transitioned into the dreaded Jew Flu.

Put simply, one person argued that At this point in history, a cynical mind must assume that Jews are behind any world calamity as they were with all recent wars and the Black Death. One claimed that The coronavirus fits into the Jewish paradigm of legalism, parasitic prophecies and fabricated history. Others claimed that Jews were immune: theyre not going to release a virus which is going to effect them especially are they and that Jews have anti-bodies to corvid19.

Some proposed that it was an extension of Israeli-Iranian animosity: Just a cohencidence how Iran and China have been the hardest hit by Israels bio weapon, eh? Cant expect jewish owned media to admit THAT though and The idea that the virus racially discriminates was probably cover for israel murdering a bunch of Iranians that it wanted vapourised.

Some claimed that Covid-19 was created with genocidal intent: Watching this movie #Inferno. Basic plotline: billionaire #Jew (((Ben Foster))) plans to kill billions of people with a #virus and Its obviously the jews trying to start another epidemic to kill whites. One cited the 1320 Black Death. The rumor began to circulate that certain Spanish rabbis had produced a powerful poison, which they poured into the water wells to cause the plague.

Jews are spreading it, so spread it to Jews

Many people on Gab accused Jews of spreading Covid-19. One posted that Jews have been noted as the biggest spreaders per capita. Some claimed that it was a jew who spread corvid19 around AIPAC and CPAC, which infected many leading political figures it a jewish press secretary of the Brazillian President, whom exposed Trump to the corona virus. Another simply claimed that the noted jewish lack of hygiene and lacking the empathy for others caused the virus to spread.

Others claimed that Jews were taught to deliberately infect gentiles, especially antisemites: With Rabbis schooling the online shule attendees that coronavirus is for the gentiles not the Jews, and Jews from Israel to New York to the UK coofing [ie coughing] on anyone suspected of being anti-Semites. There were claims that Jews can afford to spread the virus as they do not get sick: if jews get Corona Virus they just need some vitamin C, but if Italians get Corona Virus they have to die.

In contrast, others encouraged spreading Covid-19 to Jews: Start spreading the flu / Jew World Order is gay / Jew York, Jew York / Youve got the flu. Another one posted: Remember goy its okay to coof [ie cough] on the kids of #Yids, after all theyre just lying rodents and 2020 is the year of the rat. Mind you the #Jews will use their #media power to turn set coofing into anudda #Holocaust story. Some claimed that The jews have already arrested some White kids for joking around on telegram that they were going to spit on jews to spread corvid19 to their community.

One encouraged Jews to spread it amongst themselves, that Jews of New York and beyond should keep packing themselves into synagogues, gathering in the street, and visiting their jewish friends and family. They should only stay away from white gentiles (Nazis), who are deliberately infecting jews.

Jewish plot to control the world

This was another common and popular theme that Covid-19 was orchestrated in order to facilitate and enable the Jews to enact government crackdowns on democratic rights and freedoms, lock-down whole populations, cause economic chaos, and thereby control the world.

Some people claimed that government policies under Covid-19 were directed by Jews and had the aim to destroy white ethno-nationalists, to use the virus to empty the [prisons], was that they were freeing up for their real goal for the prison industrial complex, somewhere to house racially conscious Whites. Another claimed that we see all the time the police walking in close proximity to themselves and to those whom they seek to harass on behalf of the jewish crown. A Victorian state government advertisement educating about coronavirus was photoshopped replacing the word together with subjewed to state: Staying Apart Keeps Us SubJewed. To help keep us SUBJEWED, visit vic.gov

Some claimed that China (given that its willing part of the jewish banker led agenda21 concept for a global order) was in cahoots with our governments for this operation to spread corvid19 to the West and others that At the very least it cant hurt to draw attention to Jews betraying America for China again. Yet, others claimed that The CDC is run for jewish world communism. One even suggested that The jews will want to wreck Easter for the Christians.

Others were more precise: Lets get our priorities straight here (((raab))) The disease which has no borders, which they should be occupying themselves over with high level summits, should be the disease of cosmopolitan jewish global finance and trade. Another posted: But in all honesty the Jewish community have good reasons to be fearful for they are rightly being singled out as the traitors in our midst, as well as being a demonstrably greater antagonist than the coronavirus itself.

In contrast, some people dismissed that it was a Jewish conspiracy. One person claimed that the Corona Virus has two purposes secondly to crash the old monetary system and take away the cabals power (bankers, Rothchilds) there will be the introduction of gold backed currencies again. Another person claimed: Exactly so it makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER to unleash a Virus that EXPOSES THE FAILURE CALLED GLOBALISM How in the HELL could this POSSIBLY help the Jews?.. Its FUCKED UP ALL THEIR PLANS.

Hoax

There were quite a few posts, although clearly in the minority, claiming that the Covid-19 pandemic was a hoax. Examples include: flaccid false flag virus experience, the Global Flu Hoax of 2020, Weve now come to see that the virus was a mild flu, and Could this be the biggest hoax in history?

Others focused on the economic and political aspects of it being a hoax, namely that it is aimed at enabling dictatorial control of the population: this Holocough lockdown bullshit the economic damage, treasonous suspension of our rights over the nothing virus, and COVID-19 PLANDEMIC IS A NEW WORLD ORDER ROTHCHILD JEW HOAX!!! The use of the term Holocough is playing on the word Holocaust, and inferring that both are hoaxes.

Jewish money-making scam

There were theories that Covid-19 was a Jewish money-making scam. It was repeatedly claimed that Jews were making money either via economic collapse caused by the lock-downs and so buying-up cheap, or were raking-off money from the government support schemes, or that Jews were lending governments the bail-out money and would reap a rich harvest in repayment. This was a very popular theme. It tied into old stereotypes and tropes about Jews and money, of Shylock and Fagin, of Jews as greedy money-grubbing capitalists.

This post summed it up: Yeah, shit like this makes me wonder if its all another elaborate jew scam. Siphon off our money through bailouts. Crash the economy and buy everything up cheap. Typical. Others claimed that A lockdown the great economic reaping culls many independent non-kike players from the scene and In Frydenbergs case, using a lockdown to destroy uncounted Aussie businesses Members of the jewish community are famous for pulling this feel sorry for us so you dont realise that we run everything as an organised crime activity, trick. References to Josh Frydenberg, the Australian Federal Treasurer, were fairly common, especially in relation to his being Jewish.

Others termed it in different ways: Every jew made out like a bandit through the bailout schemes and all the money being thrown at the jews thanks to this false flag virus, we have our cui bono which leads us to understand therefore whom perpetrated this whole exercise in crisis management for the enrichment of the managers, scheme. Jew Bono. But a hallmark of a guilty jew, is the misdirection exercise of pretending that they too, are a victim of the fraud that theyve been coordinating.

Two images exemplify this theme. A meme of a round yellow face hugging a red heart was created during Covid-19 as an image to show that people cared. This was turned into an antisemitic meme by adding a large hooked nose and of holding a bag of money instead of holding the heart. Another meme was of the US government giving a cheque for one trillion five hundred billion dollars to Jews. These images were posted many times. The cheque image was posted one time accompanied by the text: The #Jews are a parasite race of murderers, gangsters, bankers, fraudsters, extortionists, predators, perverts and liars. They OVERTLY have the ear of ALL federal authorities. Let that sink in.

Claims that Jews were making massive amounts of money were often expressed: Nows the time to start trying to get people to see what the jews are doing again. Harp on about how this money is coming from nowhere, that they are getting richer by lending us money from nowhere that we have to pay them back again which they got from nowhere, and Yeah, and now theyre printing what must be trillions more free money globally, which we are going to have to pay back plus interest. Trillions of dollars of free money for the jews. One posted a general claim: How shit works. Jews get free money no matter what the situation is. Thats why theres the age-old meme about jews not working. Dont need to work when your species gets money for free. (No, jews with jobs dont work.)

Vaccines

There has been a vocal anti-vaccination campaign for years. It was not just the possibility of scientists developing a vaccine against Covid-19 that concerned anti-vaxxers, some even saw the pandemic as created in order to enforce mass vaccinations. Many posts directly connected Jews to this, with some using the Hebrew word goyim (gentiles), or the antisemitic hashtag Expose the Nose.

Posts included that If Israel develops a vaccine for WuFlu, there is a zero percent chance I will take it voluntarily and nobody else should take it either. Never trust anything created in Israel, There must be immense pushback on this jewish plan by stealth to move us closer to regular forced vaccination of lord knows what, Take the vaccine, goyim #ExposeTheNose, and good goyim, take your government approved vaccine so you can be safe and secure from the virus.

An image by cartoonist Ben Garrison showed a caricatured Jew overlooking a chart titled The Plannedemic with a 6-step plan, with the last step being Mandatory Vaccine Rollout. Others saw it as more dictatorial: its some martial law and some medical militia coming to your door to force immune system destroying medical death into your arm. One went further, into Christian eschatology: Do NOT take the vaccine or the tracking chip, if this is an accurate prediction it is the mark of the beast.

Mocking the Holocaust

Given any opportunity, antisemites often gravitate towards mocking and/or denying the Holocaust, the murder of 6 million Jews under Nazi Germany. Some used the death toll from Covid-19 to engage in mocking the Holocaust. These included: Never forget the 6 million killed in the holocough and Please remember the 6 gorrillion Israelis that died from #Caronavirus and Never forget the 1,000,000 Israelis who Tragically Died from the Coronavirus invented by Nazi SS Soldiers in a Death Camp.

Some made reference to the Australian Federal Treasurer, who is Jewish, and the government economic packages to keep Australians financially above water. For example: We have a Jewish Treasurer. Never forget the 6 gorillon stimulus packages, Australian FERAL (((treasurer))) (((frightenedberg))) announced 3rd stimulus package that will help 6,000,000 Who would have thought that was possible? and 6 million. The Jewish Australian Treasurer miraculously uses his powers of gematria to ensure that precisely 6 million Australians get the Shekels. Always with the 6 million. No more, no less.

Some engaged in Holocaust denial, by using a mainstream media headline Italian Mayor: We cant cremate bodies fast enough to keep up with coronavirus deaths as evidence that the Holocaust did not occur, and posting that Europeans may be about to find out how difficult it really is to cremate 6 million bodies.

In further Holocaust denial and mockery, one wrote: In years to come there will be covid-19 museums in every town displaying not actual proof, but shoes, hair, wedding rings and sad stories from millions of survivors. Students will be taught of the horrors so they never forget (or begin to question). Denying it will land you in gaol. This was accompanied by a photo of the Auschwitz death camp with photoshopped images of the coronavirus entering Auschwitz, and the text Its not the first time the entire world has been tricked.

Jews receiving divine punishment

Some people believed that Covid-19 was an act of divine punishment of the Jews. One man, an extremist Christian, wrote that it Seems a ton of the parasite class and many Jews are catching Diversity flu. Almost as though God is saying something. Another was more forthright, posting God: I must send pestilence to exterminate the jews and God promised to wipe the jews out with pestilence. The latter comment was accompanied by images of the coronavirus.

Glee at Jewish deaths

Given that many people blamed the Jews for Covid-19, it is no surprise that many would be glad to see Jews die from the virus. Others went further and called for the death of Jews. Some examples include: I just hope the prideful bigoted hateful RACIST unclean Cainetic fake jew trash dies of the corona Bullshit and Out of 350 million [American deaths]? I hope they are all niggers or jews.

Another posted: As expected the #MSM is lording the #Hollywood #Jew faggot praising #celebrities throughout the headlines with regards to the #coronavirus. Fact is most everyday citizens hope these verminous sacks of affluent crap die agonizing deaths from COVID19. One poster used poetry: Imagine all the hebrews / Getting covid 19 / woohoo-hoo! / I hope someday soon they will leave us / And the Whhhi-i-i-te world will live as one and They would crash the economy / To make another buck / Aint no time being wasted / Time to heat the oven up.

Conclusion

Racist and bigoted expressions, against anyone, are despicable at any time. But as history shows, when there is economic uncertainty, social unrest, and political turmoil, extremists tend to become much more active and militant. Add a pandemic to this mix, and fuel is added to the wood-pile.

The anti-Jewish hate expressed in the online posts above, by people in one country on one social media site, is only a tiny fraction of the antisemitic hate posted online globally. The conspiracy theories, the animosity, the death-wishes expressed, along with the total lack of logic and reason, shows that for some people their hatred knows no bounds.

If those views enter the mainstream or are turned into violent action, then no one is safe, and the society is under threat of going down a path that leads to much pain and darkness. It is incumbent upon political and civil leaders and citizens to actively and effectively expose and oppose all forms of racism and bigotry, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Disclaimer: All quoted comments throughout the article are reproduced as in the original, without any correction of spelling or grammar.

Julie Nathan is the Research Director at the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), and author of the annual ECAJ Report on Antisemitism in Australia.

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

Spanish flu has been used to describe the flu pandemic of 1918 and 1919 and the name suggests the outbreak started in Spain. But the term is actually a misnomer and points to a key fact: nations involved in World War I didnt accurately report their flu outbreaks.

Spain remained neutral throughout World War I and its press freely reported its flu cases, including when the Spanish king Alfonso XIII contracted it in the spring of 1918. This led to the misperception that the flu had originated or was at its worst in Spain.

Basically, it gets called the Spanish flu because the Spanish media did their job, says Lora Vogt, curator of education at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. In Great Britain and the United Stateswhich has a long history of blaming other countries for diseasethe outbreak was also known as the Spanish grip or Spanish Lady.

READ MORE: When Mask-Wearing Rules in the 1918 Pandemic Faced Resistance

Historians arent actually sure where the 1918 flu strain began, but the first recorded cases were at a U.S. Army camp in Kansas in March 1918. By the end of 1919, it had infected up to a third of the worlds population and killed some 50 million people. It was the worst flu pandemic in recorded history, and it was likely exacerbated by a combination of censorship, skepticism and denial among warring nations.

The viruses dont care where they come from, they just love taking advantage of wartime censorship, says Carol R. Byerly, author of Fever of War: The Influenza Epidemic in the U.S. Army during World War I. Censorship is very dangerous during a pandemic.

Patients lie in an influenza ward at the U.S. Army Camp Hospital No. 45 in Aix-les-Baines, France, during World War I.

Corbis/Getty Images

When the flu broke out in 1918, wartime press censorship was more entrenched in European countries because Europe had been fighting since 1914, while the United States had only entered the war in 1917. Its hard to know the scope of this censorship, since the most effective way to cover something up is to not leave publicly-accessible records of its suppression. Discovering the impact of censorship is also complicated by the fact that when governments pass censorship laws, people often censor themselves out of fear of breaking the law.

In Great Britain, which fought for the Allied Powers, the Defense of the Realm Act was used to a certain extent to suppressnews stories that might be a threat to national morale, says Catharine Arnold, author of Pandemic 1918: Eyewitness Accounts from the Greatest Medical Holocaust in Modern History. The government can slam whats called a D-Notice on [a news story]D for Defenseand it means it cant be published because its not in the national interest.

Both newspapers and public officials claimed during the flus first wave in the spring and early summer of 1918 that it wasnt a serious threat. The Illustrated London News wrote that the 1918 flu was so mild as to show that the original virus is becoming attenuated by frequent transmission. Sir Arthur Newsholme, chief medical officer of the British Local Government Board, suggested it was unpatriotic to be concerned with the flu rather than the war, Arnold says.

The flus second wave, which began in late summer and worsened that fall, was far deadlier. Even so, warring nations continued to try to hide it. In August, the interior minister of Italyanother Allied Powerdenied reports of the flus spread. In September, British officials and newspaper barons suppressed news that the prime minister had caught the flu while on a morale-boosting trip to Manchester. Instead, the Manchester Guardian explained his extended stay in the city by claiming hed caught a severe chill in a rainstorm.

READ MORE: Why the Second Wave of the 1918 Flu Was So Deadly

Warring nations covered up the flu to protect morale among their own citizens and soldiers, but also because they didnt want enemy nations to know they were suffering an outbreak. The flu devastated General Erich Ludendorffs German troops so badly that he had to put off his last offensive. The general, whose empire fought for the Central Powers, was anxious to hide his troops flu outbreaks from the opposing Allied Powers.

Ludendorff is famous for observing [flu outbreaks among soldiers] and saying, oh my god this is the end of the war, Byerly says. His soldiers are getting influenza and he doesnt want anybody to know, because then the French could attack him.

Patients at U. S. Army Hospital No. 30 at a movie wear masks because of an influenza epidemic.

The National Library of Medicine

The United States entered WWI as an Allied Power in April 1917. A little over a year later, it passed the 1918 Sedition Act, which made it a crime to say anything the government perceived as harming the country or the war effort. Again, its difficult to know the extent to which the government may have used this to silence reports of the flu, or the extent to which newspapers self-censored for fear of retribution. Whatever the motivation, some U.S. newspapers downplayed the risk of the flu or the extent of its spread.

In anticipation of Philadelphias Liberty Loan March in September, doctors tried to use the press to warn citizens that it was unsafe. Yet city newspaper editors refused to run articles or print doctors letters about their concerns. In addition to trying to warn the public through the press, doctors had also unsuccessfully tried to convince Philadelphias public health director to cancel the march.

The war bonds fundraiser drew several thousand people, creating the perfect place for the virus to spread. Over the next four weeks, the flu killed 12,191 people in Philadelphia.

READ MORE: How U.S. Cities Tried to Halt the Spread of the 1918 Pandemic

Similarly, many U.S. military and government officials downplayed the flu or declined to implement health measures that would help slow its spread. Byerly says the Armys medical department recognized the threat the flu posed to the troops and urged officials to stop troop transports, halt the draft and quarantine soldiers; but they faced resistance from the line command, the War Department and President Woodrow Wilson.

Wilsons administration eventually responded to their pleas by suspending one draft and reducing the occupancy on troop ships by 15 percent, but other than that it didnt take the extensive measures medical workers recommended. General Peyton March successfully convinced Wilson that the U.S. should not stop the transports, and as a result, soldiers continued to get sick. By the end of the year, about 45,000 U.S. Army soldiers had died from the flu.

The pandemic was so devastating among WWI nations that some historians have suggested the flu hastened the end of the war. The nations declared armistice on November 11 amid the pandemics worst wave.

In April 1919, the flu even disrupted the Paris Peace Conference when President Wilson came down with a debilitating case. As when the British prime minister had contracted the flu back in September, Wilsons administration hid the news from the public. His personal doctor instead told the press the president had caught a cold from the Paris rain.

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As the 1918 Flu Emerged, Cover-Up and Denial Helped It Spread - History

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

World experts say Victoria University in Australias decision to remove genocide material from a human rights lecture is shocking and puts victims at psychological risk.

A quote referring to the aggression against Bosniaks that was recently removed from a human rights lecture at Victoria University after members of the global Serbian community complained that the content was degrading, has raised concerns among international experts in the field of human rights, political science and trauma.

When the Sarajevo Times approached Victoria University for comment last week on the content removal, a spokesperson for the university stated that the decision to remove this particular quote is not a reflection on its accuracy or validity, but rather a recognition that examples need to be carefully chosen when dealing with topics as sensitive as human rights.

Victoria University also issued an apology for any hurt caused for both the content itself and its subsequent removal.

President of the Institute for Research of Genocide Canada and member of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, Dr Emir Ramic, beleives this content removal corresponds with genocide denial and that human rights are under attack worldwide.

The act of removing the content and apologising for hurt caused, correlates to genocide denialism, Dr Ramic told the Sarajevo Times.

We need to learn from history, recognise what happened in Srebrenica and call it by its real name, he said.

The Srebrenica massacre is the most notorious incident of mass murder in Europe since the Second World War.

Bosniaks, as the only people in Europe who survived aggression and genocide since the Holocaust, are exposed to unacceptable discrimination not just in the motherland, but in the diaspora as well, Dr Ramic added.

According to a 2018 report mapping the Bosnian diaspora, there are an estimated 50,000 -100,000 people of Bosnian ancestry currently living in Australia.

Its very hurtful for the victims and families of the survivors to continue to wrestle with something based on facts, he concluded.

International academics perturbed by Victoria Universitys response

Lara J Nettelfield, a Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Human Rights at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights and the Department of Political Science at Columbia University, who also co-authored the book Srebrenica in the Aftermath of Genocide, said Victoria Universitys actions were alarming.

It is shocking that a university would succumb to the pressures of an external group, she told the Sarajevo Times.

Institutions of higher learning are places where students should have a safe place to investigate the historical record, including tragic chapters such as the Bosnian Genocide.

According to Ms. Nettelfield, such actions can serve to discount the pain of victims.

For the survivors, denial, distortion, and revisionism undercuts their claims as citizens in a post-war state, negates their wartime experiences, in addition to their right to have their suffering acknowledged, she said.

Associate Professor of Conflict Studies at St Pauls University in Canada, Genevieve Parent, said that the content erasure was both concerning andcounterproductive.

It is important to keep in mind that denial facilitates the disappearance of genocide-related facts and silences the survivors memories and experiences, she told the Sarajevo Times.

Although people may disagree on the interpretation of facts, the underlying information should never be erased, Ms. Parent said.

Deleting the content will not mute the ongoing discussions, nor contribute to healing.

If we consider the Universitys deletion of information, we might ask ourselves what comes next, added Ms. Parent.

If the Universitys intent is to foster a robust discussion on the matter, how can this be done in the absence of factual information from all parties involved?

Rather than deleting the content, a more appropriate course of action would have been to present complementary points of view from all sides, Ms. Parent said.

In this way, none of the transgressions committed by the various groups should escape notice.

People of Serbian Heritage Pleased With Victoria Universitys Actions

A Serbian man living in Belgrade who requested anonymity, said that irrespective of its factuality, the content Victoria University removed was discriminatory and not conducive to peace-building.

I agree with Victoria Universitys decision to remove that content because the content is pretty much racist, he told the Sarajevo Times.

Its not about is it true or is it not, he added, its not helping with building the trust and a long term peace between nations [sic] in Bosnia.

Hundreds of comments celebrating the content removal were posted on YouTube in response to the video by Charles Cather entitled Serbia Wins! Australian Uni Apologizes and Removes Serb-Degrading Material , including God bless you, This warms my heart and Congratulations Serbia! Congratulations everyone!

Momce 2020, a Serbian living in Adelaide, Australia said in a comment in response to Charles Cathers videothat they were pleased the content has been removed.

I am glad it was sorted and removed by Victorian [sic] University, the comment stated.

They should be ashamed, how they treat us Serbs.

Psychological Impact of Content Removal on Victims

Dr Amra Delic, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist from the Plava Poliklinika in Tuzla and research associate at the University of Leipzig, Germany, who created an academic model of trauma healing in post-war societies, said that responding ineffectively to genocide both socially and institutionally can have dire psychological consequences for survivors.

Inappropriate societal and institutional response to genocide and other war crimes relativization, minimization, and denial, are encouraging a cycle of trauma, she told the Sarajevo Times.

Dr Delic said that such actions send a message to Bosniak victims that their traumatic experiences, their losses and their pain have not been recognized.

The lack of empathy and capacity to constructively face the past historical and legal facts.and anyone supporting such an attitude, is weakening the hope in justice on the side of the victims, Dr Delic told the Sarajevo Times.

This adds to their feelings of distrust and unsafety, and places them at a high risk of protracted secondary victimization, worsening the victims psychological perspective and recovery, she added.

Dr Delic believes a more effective response from Victoria University would have been to facilitate a discussion in order to aid the healing process.

It would be more beneficial that Victoria University established a dialogue platform between the sides, helping to heal future generations from the Balkans, instead of censorship of the international legal confirmation of historical facts related to the recent war in former Yugoslavia, she told the Sarajevo Times.

In July it will be 25 years since the Srebrenica massacre, where over 8,000 Bosniak boys and men suffered abuse and torture before being executed by forces of the Army of the Republika Srpska,and a further 20,000 civilians were removed from the area in an act of ethnic cleansing.

According to co-author of Srebrenica in the Aftermath of Genocide, Lara J Nettelfield, these weeks should be a time to revisit the tragic and harrowing events of the genocide, and to honor those who were killed and their surviving family members.

There are victims who still havent been identified, she said.

They havent been forgotten.

Written by Miya Yamanouchi for the Sarajevo Times

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

Hello,

I got an email yesterday from the Trump campaign. It begins:

Friend,

President Trump isnt running against Sleepy Joe Biden. Hes running against the Radical Left, the Deep State, the Do-Nothing Democrats, and their partner, the real opposition party, the Fake News media.

They are vicious and crazy, but as long as we have you on our team, we will win and we will WIN BIG!

Despite their best efforts to take him down, President Trump continues to put America First with every decision he makes. In fact, his approval ratings are SKYROCKETING among the Republican Party and voters in swing states.

President Trump knows that the corrupt media will never report the FACTS. He wants to get the TRUTH, which is why he asked us to go straight to the source - YOU, the American People - to take the Official May Approval Poll.

YOUR answers will represent the views of EVERY voter who lives in your zip code.

It goes on like this for a while. But this is more than enough to make my point: The Trump campaign thinks his supporters are idiots.

First of all, Trumps approval is not skyrocketing among Republicans, nor among voters in swing states, in any actual polls. Unless, of course, you think this Official May Approval Poll, in which I will be the official voice of every voter in my ZIP code, is a serious thing. And if you do, you should probably just stop reading now and go buy that fish tank cleaner cocktail youve been meaning to get.

But none of this is particularly important. Other campaigns do this kind of moronic fake poll crap, too.

Whos on the ballot?

What is important is the first line: President Trump isnt running against Sleepy Joe Biden. Its important in part because there are smart and decent people who nod along when they hear statements like this. They think its true, in some real and vital way, that the president is running against the media, and the Deep State, and all of the forces of darkness. Yeson some superficial level, theres some truth to it. On another, its all nonsensebecause as a matter of basic reality, he is, in fact, running against Joe Biden.

But Trump doesnt want you to think of it that way, because by any measure Biden is much more popular than he is. So, he needs his voters to think hes really running against the monstrous horde Biden is allegedly the front man for.

Trump needs to do this for several reasons: For one, he will lose if the election is a referendum on him. Thats because Biden is more popular than he isand because Biden is also more popular than Hillary Clinton was in 2016 (which is why the president and his campaign reportedly long for a rematch).

The mythic narrative of Donald Trumps victory in 2016 is that only he could have defeated Hillary Clinton because he was the only candidate willing to attack her. Its certainly true that another nominee wouldnt have encouraged Lock her up! chants, or invited some of Bill Clintons sexual assault victims to a debate. But Donald Trump didnt make Hillary Clinton unpopular. She did that herself, albeit with the help of conservativesincluding yours trulygoing back almost 30 years. We now know that Clintons candidacy didnt just make Trump more palatable, it also artificially made Bernie Sanders more attractive to the many Democrats who didnt like her, either. The best proof is the fact that, in the primaries, Biden destroyed Sanders in the same states where, four years earlier, Sanders crushed Clinton. As Ive argued before, this means Hillary Clinton is one of the most influential political figures in modern history. She was so toxic she midwifed the transformation of the GOP into a nationalist party, at least for a while, and came very close to transforming the Democrats into a socialist party (or at least accelerated the transformation).

Anyway, the real point here is that Trump needs an enemy for Republicans (and Republican-friendly independents) to hate or fear enough to justify re-electing a president many of them dislike. Thats where all the Deep State, radical left and, most of all, the the real opposition party, the Fake News media stuff comes in. Theyre the Enemy Within that must be stopped.

Now, I will happily stack my record of criticizing the mainstream media against just about anybodys. Im happy to concede that outlets like the New York Times carry water for the Democrats like Gunga Din for the British Indian Army. But heres the thing: Gunga Din isnt on the ballot. And no amount of punish the media from Trumps Gunga Dins on the right will change that.

Im not outraged by the tactic of running against the media, which is hardly original. It was an old idea by the time the 1992 Bush campaign sold their first official bumper sticker Annoy The Media: Re-Elect Bush. (It didnt work.)

A warless wartime president.

What I do find outrageous is that this isnt merely Trumps re-election strategy. It is central to his idea of governance because it is central to his own psychology. He needs to delegitimize everything and everyone who criticizes him or exposes inconvenient facts about him. He doesnt care whether the criticisms or exposs are true. And he certainly doesnt care if his counterattacks are truehis execrable insinuation that Joe Scarborough murdered a former staffer to cover up something sordid is just the latest example of immoral demagoguery going back to his birtherism, or his peddling the idea that Ted Cruzs father killed Kennedy. Hes furious about the threat to free speech posed by fact-checks to his tweets. There is no assault on free speech there. But in response, he threatens to do great violence to free speech as payback.

This raises the funny irony of all the folks insisting that reporters deserve to be demonized, belittled, or humiliated because they get the facts wrong or are unkind to Trump. These same people never seem to have any problem with a president who does precisely what they accuse the media of doing. To their credit, the editors of the Wall Street Journal noticed the hypocrisy. Trump is doing with Scarborough precisely the sort of stuff the anti-media Comstocks and Steele dossier obsessives decry, just more flagrantlyand they love it.

The president has been running a wartime presidency adapted to the culture war. Amazingly, when given the chance to actually fight a war of sorts against the pandemic, he couldnt manage it because it was too damn hard to stay in character. So he turned the pandemic into a culture war spectacle, because that was in his comfort zone.

This illuminates the fact this is all just a stupid game for clicks, ratings, and votes, and most importantly, its a way to provide an excuse for not holding the president of the United States accountable for his actions. Pay attention. His most successful defenders will often dodge the substance of a valid criticism of the president and pivot to What about The New York Times? Or, the real issue is the mediablah blah blahas if the Times or MSMs conduct has anything to do with the fact that he botched the response to the coronavirus, fired inspectors general, openly invited the Russians to meddle in our election, or spouted countless daily lies on matters great and small. The New York Times, love it or hate it, isnt the president of the United States and denouncing it as a defense of his conduct has as much logical force as saying What about Dominos Pizza!?

About Ms. McEnany.

Which brings me to Kayleigh McEnany, the new It girl of MAGA world.

On Fox News Sunday, I criticized the new White House press secretarys conduct as grotesque and indefensible. And all the usual suspects got very angry. Michelle Malkin, who is not outraged by Holocaust-denial or racism, is very cross with me. Seb Gorka is going full Gorka (Protip: Never go full Gorka).

After reading all of their arguments and thinking about it a bit, Ive concluded: Theyre all wrong and I was right.

The first thing that needs to be pointed out is why McEnany was given the job in the first place. But that requires some context. She has no real experience in journalism or communications. She is one of these peopleWashington is full of themwho just wanted to be on TV. When being anti-Trump got her on TV, she was anti-Trump. When the incentive structure changed, she changed her views accordingly (a very common tale). Anti-Trump McEnany denounced Trumps racist comments about Mexican immigrants. Pro-Trump McEnany hailed the presidents comments on Charlottesville asI defecate you negatorya message of love and inclusiveness!

In short, shes in the entertainment business, as are so many of the pundits who will admit in private so many of the things they passionately deny in public. Indeed, theres a whole theoretical framework out there that says conservative commentators should only say what their audiences want to hear, not what they think is true. She is good at this dumb game, and it got her the press secretary job. Kudos to her.

But shes not there to answer questions from the press, shes there to play this dumb gameagain, during two national emergencies. Specifically, shes there because the presidents coronavirus briefings were a disaster. He used them as substitute MAGA rallies, a kayfabe spectacle for his own ego, which was not what most people facing a pandemic and an economic catastrophe were interested in. Initially, he got a rally-around-the-president bump in approval, but he frittered it away.

Meanwhile, virtually every U.S. governor (and most world leaders) has gained support during the pandemicbecause they took it seriously. Trumps aides and allies spent weeks trying to convince him that he was hurting himself by using all this free media (his term) for his schtick. Once he realized his mistake and stopped doing the press conferences, he literally concluded that there was no point to having a coronavirus task force at all. The only benefit to the task force, after all, was the opportunity to mug for the cameras. Remove that and you remove the need for the task force in Trumps mind. He was stunned to find out that his own task force was so popular (again his word) and reversed the decision. A normal presidenthell, a normal personwouldnt think popularity would be a factor. Either it was necessary to have a task force to save American lives or it wasnt. That just wasnt a big part of the equation for him.

But Trump was still frustrated that he couldnt do his rally schtick. So they brought in Kayleigh to do it for him. Trump doesnt like having White House press secretaries speak for him, if that means actually trying to do the job. But having a smart and attractive woman play all the Dear Leader hits, well, thats a different story.

The specific exchange that I found grotesque and indefensible came last Friday when reporters asked about Trumps vow to override the governors if they didnt do what he wanted and open the churches.

She dodged and caviled for a bit until the following exchange:

Q: But just to follow up what Kristen asked, what specific provision of federal law allows the President to override a governors decision?

MS. MCENANY: The President will strongly encourage every governor to allow their churches to reopen. And, boy, its interesting to be in a room that desperately wants to seem to see these churches and houses of worship stay closed.

Thats red meat and fan service.

I keep hearing how journalists are so terrible and need to have their terribleness thrown back at them. This is much more important, it would seem, than providing clear information about the pandemic or the economy or, in this case, the presidents constitutional powers as he sees them.

And thats the weird thing. If all of these people droning on and on about the evil, biased press had their way, isnt this precisely the kind of question they would want asked? I guarantee you that if President Obama asserted the authority to override governors and force churches open (or closed!), the very same people turning McEnany into Joan of Arc would be setting their hair on fire in outrage.

Because I know so many of the playersand so much about themperformatively attacking me, Im so very tempted to opine on their motives. But Ive learned in the last few years that the human mind is perfectly capable of creating a worldview to back up a decision that was initially made for cynical or careerist reasons, so Ill assume everyone is sincere.

But sincerity doesnt transmogrify bullshit into gold. President Trump cant govern. He doesnt know how. This means, as many of us have argued for a long time, hes not Hitler or even a strongman. Real dictators know how to use all the powers at their disposal. As Ross Douthat recently argued, he doesnt want real authoritybecause with real authority comes real responsibility. Thats the last thing he wants. What he does want are ratings, and praise, and to be the center of attentionand to get reelected for more of the same. To do that he needs a domestic enemy, a new Evil Empire to rally the faithful. And for now, thats the media.

Fine, beat up on the media all you like. But dont tell me the media is on the ballot or that the medias shortcomings absolve the presidents. And dont tell me that, amid a pandemic that has taken more than 100,000 lives, and tens of millions of jobs, that this crap is the real issue.

Or at the very least, dont tell me these things as if theyre serious things serious people say. Because theyre the kind of things Kayleigh McEnany says.

Photograph of Donald Trump by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

Originally posted here:

The Media Are Not on the Ballot - The Dispatch

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

On the first day, a white woman made a panicked call to 911, because a black man bird-watching nearby in Central Park politely asked her to leash her dog.

On the second day, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was arrested and lynched by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, who pressed his knee into Floyds neck for more than five minutes in response to a complaint that Floyd attempted to use a counterfeit bill at a convenience store. A brave teenager, Darnell Frazier, laid bare the truth of what happened by recording it on video.

On the third, fourth, and fifth days, a shocked nation watched and rewatched the video, while the District Attorney failed to press charges against any of the officers who were involved in the arrest and killing of Floyd.

On the sixth day, on Shavuot, while we were celebrating the revelation of biblical law at Mt. Sinai, the groundswell of anger exploded into protests against the lawlessness of law enforcement throughout the nation. Floyds murder became the galvanizing evidence of the systemic racism that has plagued our nation for 400 years. Like a virus, this racism has proven itself to be highly adaptable, but it has always had abuse of power and violence at its core.

On the seventh day, while some of us rested, others joined the protests throughout the nation, which were met in some cases by the ruthless arm of the law. In New York City, the NYPD drove their vehicles through people, shoved a protestor to the ground, sending her to the ER, and unmasked a black man in the middle of a pandemic to pepper spray him in the face.

Today, as we re-enter the world as it is, every Jew white Jews in particular in New York City and throughout our nation must ask ourselves: Which side are we on?

We find ourselves in a moment of national reckoning perhaps unmatched in any of our lifetimes. The enduring injustice of racism has found succor with a viral pandemic that has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color. A lack of leadership from our city and nations elected leaders has strengthened the mix. It is the public health crisis of 1918 with the racial violence of 1968 and a Lindbergh-style fascistic leader like the one Roth imagined in The Plot Against America, at the helm.

As Jews, our hearts and souls ache with the disconnect between our values and this moment. In America, our society has too often failed to treat every individual as if they were formed btzelem elohim, equally in the divine image.

Our leaders have not only failed to pursue justice, they have also perpetuated injustice. Our president threatens us with the most vicious dogs, and the most ominous weapons, harkening back to images imprinted on our national consciousness by the attacks on the civil rights movement. In New York City, our mayor commended the tremendous restraint of the NYPD on the same night officers brutalized protesters with impunity. (Mayor De Blasio later called for an investigation into specific instances of police brutality.)

The events of the past week have again made clear another revelation: As individuals and as a Jewish community, we must recognize that the promise of equal justice under the law remains out of reach in a system infected with structural racism.

We must show our black and brown siblings that we see the racism and violence coursing through our society, and we must be prepared to take responsibility not only for our transgressions, but also for our silence.

It starts at home. As a Jewish community, our best institutions have undertaken anti-racist work both within and beyond the synagogue walls. But the process has only just begun, and making our voices heard against racism and police brutality in this moment is a requisite step in that march towards justice.

If we want to stand on the side of civil rights, we must respond to attacks on people of color as we would a white student facing anti-semitism on campus, or a Hasidic man beaten on the streets of Brooklyn: We must see their pain and commit to disrupting the forces that cause it. And while we show empathy and resolve, responsibilities that will last our entire lives, there are immediate actions in our government and public policy we can take.

Section 50-a of New York States Civil Rights Law, perpetuates police unaccountability by shielding misconduct records from the public view. As part of the progressive gains made in New York State in the last year, a repeal of 50-a was attempted but failed. Today, with support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is the time to once and for all to ensure police misconduct is not concealed from accountability.

Today marks the start of a new week, following a difficult week that was preceded by many difficult weeks before it. Today, we can choose to renew our commitment to the ongoing fight for justice. We can stamp out the dual viruses of COVID-19 and structural racism. Much has been revealed, creating an opportunity to address deep structural wrongs, but we all must ask ourselves in the weeks ahead which side are we on and what will we do about it.

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, Matt Nosanchuk, and Rabbi Rachel Timoner are co-founders of the New York Jewish Agenda.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward.

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Every Jew must decide which side theyre on - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

Racism and violence against black people has been a problem in America for hundreds of years. But with recent events and protests, there's a feeling the country could be headed toward "a turning point for real change," as President Barack Obama wrote in an essay for Medium.

If you are a parent looking for resources to help you raise and teach your kids to be anti-racist, you might not know where to start. We followed the direction of educators and activists of different races to give you some ideas.

"I hope that we can all realize that we have our part to play in this," TODAY's Al Roker said in a discussion with his co-anchors. Before we can teach our own children, we need to understand anti-racism ourselves and then lead by example.

On her Facebook page, author Luvvie Ajayi ("I'm Judging You") recommended a list entitled "75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice," curated by Corinne Shutack, with advice like: "45. Seek out a diverse group of friends for your kids" and "46. Seek out a diverse group of friends for you."

Trending stories,celebrity news and all the best of TODAY.

Author and teen expert Lisa Damour ("Untangled," "Under Pressure") shared the words of Shaker Heights, Ohio, high school principal Eric Juli, along with a Google document that has been shared all over social media with a list of anti-racism resources for adults and children.

Author, blogger, and leadership consultant Karen Walrond (Chookooloonks) compiled a list of "works by amazing people and organizations of all races, creeds, faiths and nationalities" for her readers to follow and explore "to help you live a more inclusive life, spark some self-reflection on how you can be an ally (and how you might be a part of the problem) and finally, inspire you to make light."

Walrond's list includes work by Revolutionary Love Project activist Valarie Kaur and author Mira Jacob ("Good Talk").

And Liz Gumbinner and Kristen Chase of Cool Mom Picks also curated a list of things white parents can do as well as how to talk to their kids on their own Facebook page.

"We need to raise the next generation of compassionate, empathetic, enlightened kids," the pair wrote. "Its on us, parents. We can do this."

Never miss a parenting story with the TODAY Parents newsletter. Sign up here!

In fighting racism, a critical component is talking to children about race, discrimination, and how to be anti-racist. Though parents' first reflex might be to aim for their children to be "colorblind," blogger and photographer Jennifer Borget of Cherish365 recently explained to her followers why that is not the most helpful goal.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has compiled a guide for educators about engaging youth in conversations about race that can also be useful for parents.

"From police-involved deaths of Black and Latinx men to everyday racism to Confederate flag controversy with sports figures and celebrities getting involved in the conversation, there is a lot to grapple with and discuss," the ADL writes in their introduction.

Another good resource is the Center for Racial Justice in Education's list of resources for talking to children about race, racism, and racialized violence. Common Sense Media also compiled a list of media resources to help spark discussions with children, including movies, books, TV shows, and video games.

Finally, sometimes the best ways to communicate to children, especially younger children, is through books. Here's a sample list of 31 books created by The Conscious Kid and American Indians in Childrens Literature.

"These books showcase the many ways people of all ages and races have worked to disrupt racism and highlight how race intersects with other issues, such as capitalism, class, and colonization," writes the authors.

"The majority of books center on BIPOC [Black and Indigenous People of Color], whose lives and bodies have been on the front lines of racial justice work, yet whose stories often go untold. The essential work of white activists is also included to underscore that anti-racist work is not the responsibility of BIPOC; and exemplify the ways white people have stood up against racial injustice."

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How do we teach our children anti-racism? These resources will help - TODAY

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

JTA Jewish groups are expressing outrage over the death of George Floyd, a black man killed last week by a Minneapolis police officer who has subsequently been charged with second-degree murder, and solidarity with the sweeping national protests that have followed.

Here are excerpts from the statements weve seen so far. Know of something weve missed? Please send it our way.

Truah, a social justice organization of rabbis, issued a statement May 27, after the first night of protests in Minneapolis:

We say once again: Black Lives Matter. And we commit to creating a country that lives by this statement.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, an organization working with 130 local groups across the United States, tweeted an image of two dozen black men, women and, in one case, a child who have been killed by police officers:

The CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, connected George Floyds death to an explosion of racist murders and hate crimes across the United States:

In short, systemic injustice and inequality calls for systemic change. Now.

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, reiterated his groups commitment to ongoing action:

We remember others before them: Eric Garner. Tamir Rice. Trayvon Martin. Sandra Bland. Oscar Grant. Philando Castile. Walter Scott. Terrence Crutcher. Samuel Dubose. Michael Brown. The list feels endless, and so too is our despair. But as we recite the Mourners Kaddish for them all, we say now, again: We will not sit idly by.

Our country simply cannot achieve the values of justice for all to which it aspires until we address ongoing racism in all sectors and at all levels of society. We remain in solidarity and action with the NAACPs urgent #WeAreDoneDying campaign, whose policy demands cover areas of criminal justice, economic justice, health care, and voting, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disproportionately impact Black Americans.I have been working with these guys since years now! With lots of hard work and timely communication they made sure they delivered the best to me. Highly recommended!

Keshet, a group that advocates for LGBTQ Jews, expressed solidarity with black leaders:

As we work to advance equality and justice for LGBTQ Jews, we take seriously the need to build a world in which people of all races and ethnicities can live in safety; a world in which the bodies of Black, Brown, Trans, and Queer people are treated with dignity and respect. Keshet stands in solidarity with Black leaders in the Keshet community and beyond whose wisdom and insights are instrumental to building a just and equitable future. We vow to voice our outrage and demand justice. #BlackLivesMatterI have been working with these guys since years now! With lots of hard work and timely communication they made sure they delivered the best to me. Highly recommended!

Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, said this:

Through legislative reform, local activism, and by educating NCJW advocates, we will make sure each individual we engage helps end the toxic culture of racism that permeates our country. For now, it is important to support Black and Brown communities and the leaders spearheading the peaceful, anti-racist responses unfolding. Together, we will make sure the memory of George Floyd will be for a blessing.

Mazon, a group dedicated to combatting hunger, tweeted a four-part statement:

The Rabbinical Assembly, the international association of Conservative and Masorti rabbis, called for sweeping changes to policing in America:

United in purpose, we will dismantle the systemic racism all too embedded still within American law enforcement and its justice system. The firing and we hope prosecution of the four Minneapolis police officers involved in this one egregious murder is a necessary step, but it cannot be the only action against structural injustices that have plagued generations and continue to this day. We must forever strive for a free and just society for all people.

Heres what the Jewish Federations of North America said:

Some local federations went further in spelling out how to do that. The Jewish Federation of Greater Cleveland, for examples, asked its constituents to take specific actions:

1. Put pressure on [Minneapolis] District Attorney Mike Freeman to charge and arrest the officers responsible by calling 612-348-55502. Protest peacefully violence and vandalism cannot be allowed to distract from the important message that must be sent3. Challenge your own conscious and unconscious biases on racial equity and inclusion by reading more, asking more questions, and listening more closely to ensure youre being the best ally you can as part of the collective journey our society must take

Our Jewish traditions and values compel us to stand up for the rights of all people without prejudice or bias. If we do not speak out, if we do not take action, we are part of the problem.

Other local Jewish organizations have also weighed in. From Baltimore, which experienced its own recent protests after a man died in police custody there, the Baltimore Jewish Council said:

We must stand together against hatred and bigotry in any form and uphold the core American values of justice and equality. We commit to taking concrete action to improve relations and enhance understanding between communities here in Baltimore, and between minority groups and law enforcement officials. Because the function of law enforcement is so vital to society, and the because the majority of law enforcement officials are dedicated public servants, it is incumbent upon us to quickly and effectively address violations and violators in a manner that preserves public trust and achieves justice and equality for all.

Amidst protests in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation issued this statement:

Yet words are not enough. We remain committed to addressing the systemic causes of racism, inequity and injustice through our Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Museum Milwaukee, and Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center.

During these challenging and frightening times, we hold close the principle of Jewish law that preservation of life comes before all else, and we ask that our community pursue justice safely.

May the memories of those lost be a blessing.

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

The president is poised to sign into law bipartisan legislation supported by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) that would dedicate federal funding for Holocaust education programs.

Anti-semitism has no place in our country, especially in our schools, Rep. Buchanan said. We need to do all we can to combat this evil ideology.

The Never Again Education Act, H.R. 943, cosponsored by Rep. Buchanan with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and more than 300 other cosponsors, would authorize the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to administer $2 million in funding for fiscal year 2021 and each of the four succeeding fiscal years, according to the text of the bill.

If enacted, H.R. 943 would direct that the funds be used to create regional workshops to assist high school and middle school teachers in incorporating Holocaust education into their curricula, according to the text.

This funding and training would help educators teach young Americans of the Holocausts atrocities, Rep. Buchanan said. The increase of anti-semitism that we have seen in Florida and across the country is unacceptable. We must deny the purveyors of anti-semitism the opportunity to spread this hate among our students.

H.R. 943 is supported by several groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Zionist Movement, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, World Jewish Congress North America and the Center for Jewish History.

The U.S. Senate on May 13 gave H.R. 943 voice vote approval after the U.S. House of Representatives in January passed the measure with a 393-5 vote. The president received the bill on May 19 for his signature.

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Buchanan supports bill directing funds to Holocaust education programs - Ripon Advance

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2020

President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. will designate anti-fascist protesters known asantifaas a terrorist organization amid nationwide protests over the recent death of unarmed Black man George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.

Trump, who announced his intentions on Twitter, blamed radical left anarchists, as well as the media, for stirring up trouble in various cities and urged local leaders to shut their demonstrations down before it is too late!

Its ANTIFA and the Radical Left. Dont lay the blame on others! he tweeted Saturday after demonstrators gathered outside the White House over Floyds death and the presidents response to it.Many chanted Black lives matter, I cant breathe and No justice, no peace. Some threw items at police and destroyed local property.

The protesters had little to do with the memory of George Floyd, Trump said, adding that they were just there to cause trouble.

An American Civil Liberties Union official, responding to Trumps terrorism call for antifa on Sunday, called it abused and misused.

As this tweet demonstrates, terrorism is an inherently political label, easily abused and misused. There is no legal authority for designating a domestic group. Any such designation would raise significant due process and First Amendment concerns, said ACLU National Security Project Director Hina Shamsi in a statement to HuffPost.

Damairs Carter/MediaPunch/MediaPunch/IPxPolice are seen armed with batons after protesters violated a curfew in effect in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Professor Steve Vladeck of the University of Texas School of Law similarly slapped down Trumps plans, tweeting: The United States of America has no legal authority to designate *any* domestic entities as terrorist organizations.

The FBI considers domestic terrorism to be violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.

The U.S. officially designates only foreign terrorist organizations, and supporting such organizations can trigger federal terrorism charges. Domestic organizations from antifa to the Ku Klux Klan enjoy broader First Amendment protections unless members of those organizations violate specific federal statutes.

Still, the federal government has broad powers to investigate organizations it considers criminal enterprises if officials see evidence of a conspiracy to break federal law. The Trump administration is suggesting an aggressive approach against left-wing protesters.

ASSOCIATED PRESSPolice detain demonstrators protesting in Atlanta on Saturday. The protest started peacefully earlier in the day before demonstrators clashed with police.

Trumps comments, which failed to acknowledge the events that sparked the nations ongoing upheaval,came as White House national security adviser Robert OBrien denied that there is a problem with systemic racism in the nations police forces.

There are some bad apples in there. There are some bad cops that are racist, and there are cops that maybe dont have the right training. ... And they need to be rooted out, OBrien said in an interview Sunday with CNN.

Attorney General William Barr also backed Trumps depiction of the demonstrators in a statement on Sunday that accused them of exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate, violent, and extremist agenda.

It is time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it, he said, a message that appeared to mirror the Black Lives Matter movements own call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism.

This violence instigated and carried out by Antifa and other similar groups in connection with the rioting is domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly, Barr said while imploring state and local leaders to use law enforcement resources and the National Guard where warranted.

Antifa is not one organization but rather a loosely linked collection of groups of protesters who take on right-wing demonstrators, sometimes physically, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Its participants believe in active, aggressive opposition to far right-wing movements. Their ideology is rooted in the assumption that the Nazi party would never have been able to come to power in Germany if people had more aggressively fought them in the streets in the 1920s and 30s, the ADLs website said.

Ryan J. Reilly contributed reporting.

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