Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

A Farmington Hills man has pleaded guilty to making a false police report, in which he lied about being stabbed by an assailant making anti-Semitic remarks.

Sean Samitt, 26, entered his plea Feb. 20 before Judge Phyllis McMillen of Oakland County Circuit Court. Sentencing is scheduled for April 8.

According to police, it was Dec. 15, 2019 when Samitt reported that he was leaving Temple Kol Ami synagogue in West Bloomfield Township where he was employed when a man confronted him in the parking lot, making anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant statements.

Samitt said the man attacked him but he fought back and was stabbed in the process. Police were contacted by security staff at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital when Samitt arrived at the emergency room with a stab wound to the abdomen.

Though police reportedly suspected right away that Samitts account was fabricated, the parking lot and area around the synagogue was searched by officers and police dogs. Samitts self-inflicted stab wound didnt require stitches, as reported by Fox 2 Detroit.

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Man admits he lied about being stabbed outside West Bloomfield synagogue - The Oakland Press

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

NEW YORK (JTA) Two years ago, Fred Guttenbergs daughter Jaime headed to school as usual. She never came back.

Jaime, a bright-eyed 14-year-old who loved dance and wanted to be a pediatric physical therapist, was one of the 17 people killed in the mass shooting at the Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2018.

Normally people look at life milestones with children, and they smile and they laugh and they get excited, Guttenberg said in a phone interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency hours after visiting his daughters grave on the second anniversary of Jaimes burial. And I am recognizing my daughters life milestone today, her burial, by having gone to her cemetery this morning.

Less than two weeks earlier, Guttenberg had been ejected from President Donald Trumps State of the Union address after yelling out in protest as Trump spoke about gun rights. The moment offered a stark reminder of how dramatically his life had changed.

Before the shooting, Guttenberg had sold a company that owned 19 Dunkin Donuts franchises and was dabbling in a number of fields, including real estate and auto brokerage. He also was caring for his brother, who was suffering from cancer.

Everything changed after Jaime was murdered in one of Americas deadliest school shootings. Guttenberg set aside his business plans. He also stopped attending synagogue, finding it impossible to understand how his daughters death could have been part of Gods plan.

And he emerged as one of the nations most vocal gun reform activists in a country where guns cost nearly 40,000 people their lives the year before the Parkland shooting.

He spends all his time on the cause, traveling to meet with elected officials across the country, doing media interviews and writing to his more than 250,000 followers on Twitter. His wife, Jennifer, and son, Jesse, also have spoken out on the issue.

Guttenberg says he tries to remain calm while speaking about his daughter and his anger about the lack of national policies to stem gun violence.

But sometimes, like when he listened to Trump declare an intention to protect gun rights at the State of the Union, his anger cant help but spill through. He later apologized and said he should not have yelled out.

I dont ever want to do things that detract from what my purpose is, which is to lower the gun violence death rate, he told JTA when asked about the incident.

Guttenberg with his daughter Jaime, who was killed in the Parkland school shooting. (Courtesy of Guttenberg)

As the general election looms in November, Guttenberg says he has a singular focus: putting in office a president and lawmakers who will flout the countrys powerful gun lobby and instead enact laws that keep Americans safe from gun violence.

The way I see it, this is the most crucial year in this countrys history, he said. This is the year that can determine whether or not this country will ever be able to pass real gun safety legislation.

Guttenberg says local gun reform measures give him hope, but he blames the countrys most influential senator, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for a lack of broader change. McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has said he would not allow any gun-related legislation to be put up for a vote unless Trump says he would sign it into law.

Its the job of the House and the the Senate to pass legislation to the president and to force the president to either sign it or not, and Mitch McConnell has refused to do his job, so we need to fire him, Guttenberg said. And I am confident and optimistic that were going to, and I am confident and optimistic that after the next election, we will see gun safety legislation pass on a national level.

Though Guttenberg has yet to endorse any presidential candidate, he has praised several Democratic contenders on Twitter and appeared in campaign ads for Joe Biden, the former vice president who, like Guttenberg, has experienced searing losses.

Biden lost his first wife, Neilia, and infant daughter Naomi in a 1972 car crash and his son, Beau, died of brain cancer in 2015. He called Guttenberg after the shooting, and the two later met and talked about how to cope with grief.

Ive talked openly and publicly about how, to be quite honest, some of the things he said to me have been the most important parts of my path forward in terms of healing and mission and purpose, so Ive been very thankful to him, Guttenberg said.

One Democrat he isnt a fan of is Bernie Sanders, the Jewish senator who is considered the front-runner for the partys presidential nomination. Guttenberg has criticized the Vermont senators track record on guns, and in turn has been harassed by Sanders supporters.

Sanders has drawn criticism for not doing more to disavow backers who have gone after progressives who do not support him. Guttenberg says he has reached out to Sanders campaign but has not been satisfied with the response.

Guttenberg has also struggled with his faith. Raised in a Conservative Jewish family, Guttenberg and his family used to belong to Temple Beth Chai, a liberal independent synagogue in Parkland, a heavily Jewish suburb about an hour north of Miami.

But Jaimes death, which came just months after Guttenbergs brother passed away, made him question God. Though hes still on good terms with his rabbi, Guttenberg decided to leave the synagogue.

Ive not yet come to peace with my struggles with religion, he said. What I will say is my faith is stronger than ever, but its placed elsewhere. Its placed in the people around me. Im so amazed by how amazing people have been that my faith in humanity is strong.

Guttenberg says his optimism and activism shouldnt be mistaken for healing.

It doesnt mean that Ive gotten over what happened, he said. It doesnt mean that it gets easier, but every day I find new ways to get through my day that have meaning to me, that I can be proud of and happy over.

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Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed in Parkland, believes 2020 'is the most crucial year in this country's history' - JTA News

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

There is a thriving Jewish community in DeLand, Florida and it's growing by leaps and bounds.

Temple Israel of DeLand has been in existence since the late 1940s, not to be mistaken for Temple Israel in Winter Springs or Temple Israel of Daytona. They are separate entities.

The synagogue is situated 22 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and is less than five miles from the St. Johns River. DeLand is located in Volusia County, which is the county seat, and it's near Stetson University, a highly reputable liberal arts college founded in 1883.

The founders of Temple Israel were merchants in the area and they made up a small professional community who settled in a town whose population the year the synagogue opened in 1954, was a little over 8,650.

In the early 1950s, segregation defined the landscape. Black and white schools and bathrooms existed in a time only those of a certain age can remember. Jews were tolerated. However, there was a line that wasn't crossed socially. Jews living in DeLand had to stick together.

A small group of families collectively purchased a piece of property located on East New York Avenue. Miami developer John Bigman partnered with developer Max Weiss, and both contributed $500 each and agreed to build the property at a very low cost to its founding members. The Avins, Bauns, Fishers, Gibbs, Greenbergs, Shapiros, Snitzers, Speirers, and Weiss families pitched in $500 each to help make their vision a reality.

"It was called a 'social center.' One could make the point that it was the forerunner of today's Jewish community center. Harry Shapiro, who was a dressmaker at the time, was the first spiritual leader during its early years," Bob Sharff, past president of Temple Israel, explained.

They played cards, held life events like bris ceremonies and b'nei mitzvahs, and they worshiped together. No one knew for sure when it transitioned from a social center to a full-time synagogue. But they didn't have to drive to Daytona Beach to attend services anymore.

The 1954 building has remained unchanged. No major renovations have been done to the property. Names of past congregants and their families who were active in the temple in the last half of the twentieth century are enshrined on the walls.

"Its original structure is where we worship today. When you walk in here you sense the love... their love has never gone away. You can feel it when you walk through the door. I firmly believe it's the reason for the success of our congregation," said David Weinstein, current president of Temple Israel.

In the 66 years that Temple Israel has stood, their mostly Christian neighbors accepted them into the community. Temple Israel and its members have lived through some of the most prolific social and technological advancements in American history.

A small bimah is elevated at the end of the room. Behind it is an ark holding two Torah scrolls. During high-holiday services a choir consisting of eight to 10 members sits to the left-hand side of the platform. They sing traditional tunes accompanied by the rabbi on guitar.

The history of the congregation between the years 1951 and 1969 has not been adequately researched and recorded. That generation is mostly gone. In 1969 Jacob "Jack" Levinson became the spiritual leader of Temple Israel. He was a bus driver in New York City before coming to Deltona. He became the spiritual leader who did everything. He was a beloved figure who helped grow the congregation to more than 80 members. Over the years the synagogue has had various spiritual/prayer leaders.

Rabbi Reuven Silverman has been the spiritual leader of the congregation since 2007. Prior to assuming his role at the synagogue, Silverman was in the insurance business. "I owned a Nationwide Insurance franchise from 1981 until 2017." Rabbi Silverman said.

"I, however, have always had 'a calling,' to the rabbinate. I was the Saturday morning spiritual leader at Temple Shalom of Deltona way back in the 1980s, as they had no rabbi at the time.

"After that I was the Shabbat Gabbi for the Chabad of Daytona for approximately eight years. My wife and I bought a house over there so we could walk to Shul. I appeared on a radio program called The Jewish Sound. I learned a lot about my own spirituality during that time."

The rabbi is proud that his ordination is on the wall in the Oneg room of the Shul. "I remember the ordination ceremony was held in Boynton Beach, Florida," he recalled, "and from then on, my life's direction has changed dramatically. This, coincidently, occurred during the 60th anniversary of Temple Israel in 2014."

"We love him," is the consensus of all of Temple Israel's members. Rabbi Silverman is "genuine, knowledgeable, caring and a hoot."

They're known as a 'Reformadox Synagogue'-as they have elements from all over the traditional Jewish spectrum.

Between prayers at one Saturday morning service, the rabbi began telling a story about his trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles the day before. "Did you ever notice how excruciatingly long it takes to get through the DMV?" he observed. He told about the conversations he had with the people he had met with that morning. He continued on with the Saturday morning service, praying, and at times singing the prayers accompanying himself and the congregation while strumming chords on his guitar, pausing from time to time to interject his continuing saga at the DMV. Everyone in the congregation was engaged by his exploits, and reveled in his observations on human nature. His stories were hysterical. He managed to teach a lesson of what it is to be a Jew both morally, spiritually, doing everyday mundane things.

Temple Israel has a very active Men's Club and Sisterhood. Renee Kristall a member of the sisterhood said, "It's all about my sisters. We have a great time together. We have a book club, we've held fundraisers for Breast Cancer, we play mahjong weekly at the synagogue. And once a year our biggest fundraiser is our rummage sale. Many of us in the congregation contribute. We put the donated merchandise on tables and tents outside for an end of the week event. People in the community now look for it each year as it's become so popular. There is so much to do and you can get involved as little or as much as you want."

On Sunday mornings the Temple Israel Men's Club members get together for coffee and breakfast at Boston's Coffee house in downtown DeLand. "Perhaps someone will get the idea of opening a really good Jewish deli in downtown DeLand. The name would have a ring to it, you know-Downtown DeLand Deli. It's a natural!" They all commented and agreed if it ever happened, they would support it wholeheartedly.

"We have a Passover Seder at the temple each year. The food is fantastic and the coming together of our congregants is just wonderful. Everyone pitches in. All the food is prepared Kosher for Pesach by our president, David Weinstein. I kosher the kitchen. The kids are home from college, many of them grew up and were bar/bat mitzvah at the temple, so to them it's a homecoming. We're one big family," Rabbi Silverman said.

"On Wednesday evenings, we get together for Torah study. Every congregant is welcome. I prepare for this every week and we all learn together. The Wednesday Torah study is something that I love to do," Rabbi Silverman said.

Tables set at Temple Israel of DeLand for Tu B'Shevat seder.

Last year Stetson University built a beautiful new Hillel center on its campus. Currently the Jewish population at Stetson is estimated to be over 11 percent, which means there are over 300 Jewish students on campus. Temple Israel welcomes the Stetson students.

During Chanukah, a Chavurah dinner was held at the Victoria Gardens Clubhouse, a 55-plus development that has been in existence for approximately 17 years. The attendance of the Chavurah dinner exceeded 70 people. Several attendees said that Jews from all over are moving into the Victoria Gardens development now being developed by Kolter Homes. They joked that "It feels like we're living in a modern-day shtetl."

"If you live in DeLand, or are in the area for Shabbat, be sure to check out Temple Israel of DeLand. You'll find a warm, welcoming, hamish group of people who will make you feel at home!" said Rabbi Silverman.

For more information about Temple Israel of DeLand, call 386-736-1646.

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Temple Israel of DeLand is 66 and steadily growing - Heritage Florida Jewish News

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

We must all take a stand against anti-Semitism. It doesnt matter if we are a Republican or Democrat discrimination against Jews does not belong in our society. We are better than that.

A friend of mine told me that a couple of years ago her daughter went to a summer program that is held on the campus of Yale University. It is sponsored by a Jewish organization. When she dropped her daughter off, her daughter waved good-bye to her as she was walking with a group of students to a Sabbath dinner. The young men were wearing yarmulkes (sometimes called kippot). My friend said to her husband, I hope she will be safe walking with those boys. They are a target with those yarmulkes on. Her husband assured her that she has nothing to worry about. He said, These streets are part of Yales campus. This is New Haven, not Paris.

She recently told me that her husband would probably look differently at her concerns since there have been so many anti-Semitic attacks in New Jersey and New York recently.

According to the ADL who keeps track of anti-Semitic incidents, just in January, in D.C., Seattle and Springfield, Va., synagogues received harassing anti-Semitic letters. In Chicago a person forced their way into a synagogue and behaved in a threatening matter towards the rabbi and in Brooklyn an individual walked down the street screaming, Hitler did not kill enough of you in the gas chambers and then got into an altercation with a Jewish man in which he brandished a knife. There were dozens of other anti-Semitic incidents that included graffiti, threats and confrontations against Jews in dozens of states.

In general, you cannot tell what religion someone is by what they look like. However, ultra-Orthodox Jews stand out because of the way the women dress in a modest manner and the men choose to wear black coats and hats or yarmulkes. They are easy targets. However, if history teaches us anything, discrimination against observant Jews always seems to spread to less observant Jews and then to those affiliated with Jews and then to other minority groups in society.

The same friend whose daughter attended the program at Yale recently told me a very sad family story. Her grandfather had a first cousin who didnt want to stay with her family in Eastern Europe and thought she would be happier in the United States with her cousins who lived here. After World War II she got notice that her entire family she left in Europe which included her parents, siblings and nieces and nephews were killed in the Holocaust. She never asked how they died assuming they perished in concentration camps. However, just recently through distant cousins my friend discovered how those relatives actually died. It seems this womans father was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi whose relatives in the U.S. begged him and the rest of the relatives to come to live here while they could still get out of Europe. However, he was very committed to his congregation and thought his congregants would have no hope if he and his family left. So they all stayed.

Eventually, this entire family, including the children were rounded up with others in their community, put in either a synagogue or other building (I cannot remember which) and burned alive!

Discrimination starts with a snide remark, othering and looking at people as different. Unfortunately, it doesnt end there. Jews who have faced discrimination have gone two separate ways in our society. Either they have assimilated and changed their family name or have made a concerted effort to maintain their identity. Instead of assimilating there is a rabbi named Dovid Hofstedter who chose the opposite road. He is Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) and became a scholar of all things Jewish, has written books about Judaism and founded the largest Torah (educational) organization in the world called Dirshu.

His parents were Holocaust survivors. They were witness to unspeakable crimes against humanity. He knew that many of the greatest scholars of the 20th Century were murdered before they had a chance to pass down all of their wisdom. He wanted to create a renaissance of Jewish learning and he managed to do it all across the world.

After Jews complete a 7 1/2-year cycle of Torah study, they have an enormous celebration called a siyum. Dirshu has been having these siyums all across the world since December. Thousands upon thousands turn out for these massive celebrations. Recently, they had three, with the largest one taking place at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. There was a sea of Jewish scholars participating in these siyums, dressed in ultra-orthodox garb dancing and singing as if to say to the world, We are here to stay and are proud to be Jewish!

Noelle Nikpour is a GOP strategist, fundraiser and television commentator.

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Opinion: Taking a stand against anti-Semitism should not be a partisan issue - New Haven Register

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

Following the 2018Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, Israeli TV satirist Lior Schleien had to put on a comedy show.

He acknowledged that there was nothing funny about the shooting, in which a gunman killed 11 Jews at prayer at a Conservative synagogue in the most deadly attack ever on an American Jewish institution.

But what was funny to Schleien? Israeli Diaspora Minister Naftali Bennetts comments outside the synagogue at the time.

A Jew is a Jew is a Jew and we embrace them all, Bennett told an Israeli reporter in a video clip that Schleien ran on his show. Every Jew in the world is welcome and loved.

Schleien pointed out that Bennett is an ally to many Israeli politicians who have built careers denigrating non-Orthodox Jews.

Uhhh, no, Schleien said. Every Jew in the world is welcome and loved is a message I saw in a restaurant in a fortune cookie once. But its not the message of the current Israeli government.

He then rattled off a stream of video clips showing Bennetts allies saying insulting things about non-Orthodox Jews, calling them fakers of Judaism, the toughest problem hurting the Jewish people, and not a Jewish religion.

Except for the 11 Conservative Jews in Pittsburgh, Schleien cut in. They have been promoted to the rank of Jew posthumously.

A liberal white Jewish satirist plays clips of right-wing politicians saying outrageous things and then deadpans at the camera. Sound familiar?

For the past decade, Schleien has been the host of the twice-weekly show Gav HaUma (literally, the back of the nation), the closest thing Israel has to the American comedy program The Daily Show.

Schleien has become a kind of Israeli Jon Stewart a thorn in the side of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a voice for the countrys secular liberals.

Like Stewart, Schleien has been accused of promoting a liberal agenda. And like Stewart (who left The Daily Show in 2015 after 16 years as host), Schleien has responded that his primary goal is creating good comedy whether at Netanyahus expense or anyone elses.

I have one job: to give my opinion in the most interesting and funny and intellectual way that I can, Schleien told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. We dont go into the staff meeting and say, How are we taking Bibi down?

Schleien, 41, was raised in the liberal mecca of Tel Aviv. After earning an advanced degree in law, he got his start in comedy in 2002 as a satirist on Yair Lapids news program. (Lapid, a former news anchor, is now a prominent member of parliament.) Schleien counts Stewart, Stephen Colbert and David Letterman among his influences.

On his show, Schleien invariably wears a shiny black button down shirt, his red hair either close-cropped or in a mini Jewfro. He is surrounded by four panelists comedians, pundits, and recently, the award-winning dramatic actor Lior Ashkenazi who mostly riff on the issues of the day or do a group interview with a public figure.

Each show ends with Schleien doing a monologue that is especially Stewart-esque. One of his favorite moves is to show a politician saying something foolish or hypocritical and then stare deadpan at the camera as the audience laughs. The show has begun posting some of his monologues with English subtitles to reach an American audience.

Our most effective tool is video clips, where I show that Yair Lapid says one thing, and here Yair Lapid says the opposite, Schleien said. Benny Gantz says something and its completely wrong. Here, Bibi says something, and then look, in English, he says the opposite and he lies. So that makes the job easier.

The acrimony is mutual. In 2017, Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuaccusedSchleien and other journalists of trying to undemocratically overturn the government. But Schleien says he is almost as frustrated by Netanyahus opponents as he is by the prime minister himself. A recent segment mocked Gantz, Netanyahus main rival, for confusing the terms Dominican Republic and banana republic.

Schleien especially enjoys mocking Lapid, his former boss. He loves to show an old photo of Lapid looking more like a sultry model than a government minister, as well as a clip of the avowedly secular politician dancing with Orthodox Jews at the Western Wall.

They obfuscate and suck up and kneel down to the settlers and the right-wing religious population and the haredi Orthodox population, he told JTA, referring to Israels center-left opposition. The [opposition] leadership is supposed to oppose those things, and Yair Lapid is the symbol of that weakness and opportunism. Hes a wuss against those forces.

Schleien regularly savages the left despite being intimately connected to one of its most prominent leaders. Meirav Michaeli, a onetime columnist for the liberal daily Haaretz and former panelist on Gav HaUma, is now a senior Labor Party lawmaker and Schleiens longtime romantic partner.

Schleien says he and Michaeli have erected a Great Wall of China between their personal and professional lives and noted that their relationship predates her political career. When Michaeli appeared on the show in 2016 after Labors election loss, panelists tore into her. She still will appear on the occasional episode of the show.

I love her, I dont agree with everything she believes, Schleien said. We have other things to talk about besides my show.

Naturally, many of Schleiens segments focus on the prime minister. He has made incessant fun of Netanyahus demonization of the press, his showmanship, and his alleged corruption. The mocking extends to Netanyahus wife, Sara, who is often portrayed as self-absorbed, materialistic and aggressive toward her husband.

We dont hate Bibi, Schlein said during a characteristic bit. We dont just criticize him, embitter his life, needle him incessantly, give him no rest. We do all of that out of love. Just like Sara.

But while Schleien says his top priority is comedy, he is sincerely worried that Israels secular, liberal, democratic values are collapsing in the face of a messianic religious right-wing. He called President Donald Trump a good student of Bibi for his demonization of the press.

There are no more obstacles, he said of Netanyahu. Everything is on the table. He attacks journalists personally, he calls for the boycott of TV channels. Its getting worse and worse.

He stopped himself.

As a citizen, Id say its getting worse, he said. But as a satirist, Id say its getting more ridiculous.

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Meet Lior Schleien, Israel's Jon Stewart - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

The Israeli public, after going to two rounds of elections, is tired and is of the opinion that it told the various political actors what it wants and now it is their job to hammer out a working government, Kan 11 poll expert Dudi Hassid told The Marker on Friday.

I have not seen one serious poll in which all parties stick to their promises, he said, and a government is created.

The meaning of these decisions, if kept, is that voting results will be the same and the current situation will continue leading the nation to a fourth election round, he said.

Joking about the repeated expression used by Netanyahu in his campaign, that should 300,000 Likud members who sat out the last round come vote now he can win the elections he asked how can we know they are Likud supporters if they sat at home during the last elections?

The amazing thing, he said, is that almost all of us [Israeli] citizens define ourselves in a tribal way. Meaning that 80% of Israelis are willing to claim they are Mizrhai or Ashkenazi Jews, Arabs or Jews from the former USSR.

Even among young people who were born in this country the self-definition remains the same, he said, parties that did not market themselves to a tribe were unable to enter Knesset in the past elections. He named Zehut and New Right as such parties.

These elections, like the previous ones, are about whom you dont like, he said.

We are about to have a third election because of 1,500 votes, he said, that is very frustrating.

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Kan 11 Poll expert: Israel heading to fourth elections - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

After his early primary victories, Sen. Bernie Sanders is closer to being Americas first Jewish president than anyone has come in the countrys history. But 10 years ago, he was just an iconoclastic socialist senator from a small New England state where I, a Jewish girl from New York, happened to be attending graduate school. Several times, I watched Sen. Sanders walk down Montpelier, Vermonts, Main Street, for a July Fourth parade and expressed my approval so intensely my classmates teased me. I was kvelling (a Yiddish word that means feeling a sense of pride).

As a secular New York Jew, Bernie felt like family. And as an avowed democratic socialist, he was one of a mere handful of national political figures whose positions aligned with my core beliefs. My excitement arose mostly from the connection between these qualities: the idea of Judaism and social justice as intertwined.

Yet fast-forward to 2020 and polling indicates that full-throated Jewish support for Sanders hasnt yet materialized. In fact, one Pew survey conducted before the Iowa caucuses in mid-January found that Jewish support hadnt consolidated around any one candidate, despite the historic presence of Sanders and another Jewish contender Mike Bloomberg in the race.

According to Pew, only one in five Jewish voters preferred either Sanders (11 percent) or Bloomberg (8 percent). The other candidates for the Democratic nomination had similarly split support, with 31 percent preferring Biden, 20 percent for Warren, and 13 percent for Buttigieg; the remaining 11 percent were undecided, refused to answer, or gave another response. (We dont know yet how Sanderss strong performances in Iowa and New Hampshire will affect these numbers.)

If youre surprised by this variety in Jewish voters preferences, youre not paying attention. Yes, American Jews are a reliable Democratic voting bloc. Despite efforts by the Trump administration to use Israel policy (including moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem) to court Jewish votes, he remains wildly unpopular with Jewish voters. In the general election, our support will likely rally around whoever wins the Democratic mantle, whether or not its Sanders. But the clichd-for-a-reason saying goes like this: two Jews, three opinions. And this early primary polling is a perfect example.

Like many American Jews who see our heritage as an identity, a culture, and a way of thinking rather than solely a faith, Sanders identifies as both Jewish and secular. He has spoken more about his background this campaign season than in the 2016 election, connecting his familys history of persecution with his values.

For many, Sanders embodies a particular way of being Jewish. He draws a universalistic vision of a better world from particular Jewish experiences of suffering and oppression, according to Jewish Currents Joshua Leifer.

What is familiar is not necessarily beloved ... but to be an American Ashkenazi Jew and listen to the speech of Bernie Sanders, and watch the motion of his hands, is to know he is one of us, writes Talia Lavin at the New Republic, adding that Sanders is part of a long and flourishing tradition of secular Jews and in particular secular Jewish leftists who were Jewish in every particle of their being. A vocal group of younger Jews has made this affinity into their calling card, nicknaming him Zeyde (Yiddish for grandpa) and forming new Jews for Bernie groups around the country.

But American Jews, far from a monolith, carry intersecting identities: We include women, LGBTQ folks, and people of color, and some of us are Sephardi or Mizrahi in origin. Some Jews, myself included, feel that electing a woman president is more urgent than a Jewish one. Even for me, an original Bernie fangirl, Sen. Elizabeth Warrens aggressive defense of reproductive justice my defining political issue is compelling enough to compete for my vote.

Some Jews dont necessarily feel the kinship with Bernie that I do; they are religiously observant, in contrast to his secularism, or they experience their Jewishness differently. And why should it be otherwise? If the statistic that 53 percent of white women voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton teaches us anything, its that there is no rule saying people will vote based on a particular group identity, or even that group identity is a fixed category to begin with. With younger voters eschewing fellow millennial Pete Buttigieg for Sanders and older voters doing the opposite, with women voters not yet flocking to the female candidates and black voters sticking with Joe Biden in early polls, this is the primary that ought to put the final lie to the myth of identity-first voting.

A few specific bumps do lie in the road for Sanders and Jewish voters, and theyre worth discussing. Israel is one. Its ironic: Sanders is the only major presidential candidate who has lived in Israel, working on a kibbutz in his youth, and today his position on the occupation is more humane toward the needs of the Palestinian people than any of his rivals.

Because he foregrounds the human rights crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, Sanders is facing heightened attacks on this issue, including from the so-called pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. Right-wing factions have gone so far as to insinuate that hes anti-Semitic. While this is ridiculous on its face (and, in fact, Sanderss two-state position on Israel and Palestine lines up with the majority of American Jews), the fear-mongering may be enough to deter a number of Jewish voters from jumping on the Sanders bandwagon.

Another stumbling block to Jews full-throated embrace is the fear of an anti-Semitic backlash. Barack Obamas presidency and Clintons nomination have shown that when a member of an underrepresented group achieves new heights politically, it invites vitriol and backlash. Given that anti-Semitism is already on the rise, many older Jews in particular may feel that nominating Sanders will attract attention they dont need.

Whenever rapid social change threatens the stability of the existing social order, the right-wing is tempted to fall back on the explanation of left-wing politics as a Jewish plot, Joel Swanson writes at the Forward. The inconvenient fact that the most successful Jewish presidential candidate in history is also the most successful socialist can only feed this conspiracy theory.

Its also undeniable that some American Jews like some people of all groups and backgrounds may be wary of Sanderss urgent social messaging. This group of voters may hate Trump, but they are unmoved by Sanderss call for radical realignment or revolution, believing it to be impractical, too extreme, or an impediment to defeating Trump. Sanders will have to win over these cautious voters of all backgrounds in order to make it to the White House.

A poll of American Jews taken in September 2019 by the progressive Jewish group Bend the Arc and released this week found that 75% view President Trump unfavorably, and 66% view him very unfavorably ... in an open-ended question about what matters most about the 2020 elections, the most common response was defeating Donald Trump.

Many of the concerns mentioned above break down along age lines, with younger voters tending to embrace Zeydes radical politics more warmly than their parents. This is a pattern that appears to hold across demographics. But policy and ideology aside, Id imagine most Jewish voters are simply preoccupied with the same electability obsession that many Democrats keep expressing. They want someone who can beat Trump and are hedging their bets, or backing whoever seems like a moderate frontrunner, until the best contender becomes apparent hence the support of Biden before Iowa.

In the coming weeks, we should question any narratives that try to pin Sanderss lower polling numbers among Jews on his views on Israel, anti-Semitism, or any single determining factor. Like everyone else, American Jews are following the results, listening to the policy debates, watching the news, and waiting for their fellow Democrats to make their choice. And if that choice is Sanders, there may be worries, yes, but there will also be a lot of kvelling.

Sarah M. Seltzer is a writer in New York City and an editor at Lilith Magazine.

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Why Bernie Sanders isnt leading the Jewish vote and why that could change - Vox.com

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

Here are two recipes I love but havent been able to share until now due to space considerations.

The first recipe is bursting with Middle Eastern flavors and is perfect for family Shabbat meals. Serve it with pan juices or a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, and if you want to use a full turkey breast, just go ahead and double the recipe.

The second recipe is adapted from Marcy Goldmans The Newish Jewish Cookbook, which includes new spins on delicious traditions among its more than 140 recipes for holidays and everyday. This kugel is perfect for brunch or as a not-too-sweet dessert. Goldmans book updates Ashkenazi classics for modern tastes and shares recipes inspired by Sephardic and Mizrachi dishes.

Mix olive oil, garlic, zest, juice, salt, mint, chili, sumac and cumin in small bowl. Place turkey in snug-fitting container. Brush with marinade. Separate skin from turkey (do not detach) and brush or rub marinade under skin. Pour remaining marinade over turkey. Marinate for 1 hour, turning and brushing periodically.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place turkey in baking pan. Brush thoroughly with marinade (discard any leftover marinade). Sprinkle with paprika. Place in oven. Immediately lower heat to 325 degrees. Baste occasionally with liquid from baking pan (or use additional olive oil). Roast about 20 to 25 minutes a pound (timing will vary) until meat at bone is just cooked and very moist (see notes). Remove from oven. Cover with foil. Let sit for 10 to 20 minutes before slicing.

Notes: A half turkey breast is sometimes called a split breast. Do not overcook. Turkey continues cooking after removal from oven. If using an instant-read thermometer, remove at 160 degrees. Turkey reaches 165 degrees while resting.

Adapted from The Newish Jewish Cookbook

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan or 11-by-7-inch baking dish with spray. In a medium bowl, whisk until smooth the butter, cup sugar, 2 eggs, milk, cup sour cream, flour, cornmeal, baking powder and tsp. salt.

Place cottage cheese, vanilla and remaining sugar, eggs, sour cream and salt in food processor work bowl. Process until smooth.

Spoon half of cornmeal batter into prepared pan. Top with half of cottage cheese mixture. Repeat. Marbleize by swirling a knife through batter.

Bake until kugel appears set and is pulling away from pan edge, about 40 to 50 minutes. Serve warm or chilled with garnishes.

Note: When dry cottage cheese (also known as no-curd cottage cheese or hoop, farmers or bakers cheese) is not available, I substitute ricotta cheese strained of all liquid. Use 24 oz. of ricotta cheese. After straining, use 1 lb. for recipe, mixing in dash of salt. Reserve rest for another use.

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2 of my favorites from the Dept. of Leftover Recipes - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

Beyond the pale is a lyrical way of labeling something beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior. The evocative prepositional phrase has been adopted as the name of a Florida microbrew, a German death-metal album, a Netflix stand-up comedy special, an Irish/folk band from Texas and here is what interests us a genre-bending klezmer fusion band from Toronto that plays Paradiso on Saturday, Feb. 22.

We are rooted in Klezmer music, in Jewish music, and we throw a whole lot else in Beyond the Pale, says Eric Stein, who founded the instrumental band and plays mandolin and mandocello. And, it should be noted, he created the bands name in the late 1990s long before the microbrew or the death-metal album even existed.

The bands name is notoriously hard to look up via Google, and Stein says that one confused venue actually ran the Texas folk bands bio on its website to promote a concert by the Canadian klezmer group.

The expression 'beyond the palehas a common derivation the idea that it is something beyond the bounds and breaking rules, Stein says. The expression is relevant to both Irish and Jewish people. In Russia, there was a large geographic settlement called the Pale of Settlement, beyond which Jews were not allowed to travel or settle. The Irish Catholics use the same expression to describe medieval Ireland under British control.

Beyond the Pale is an apt name for his bands music, a sonic syrup made from klezmer (the traditional secular celebration music of Ashkenazi Jews) blended with the folk rhythms of Romanian, Balkan, and Gypsy celebration music. For more than 20 years, the Toronto band has toured the world, having played New Yorks Carnegie Hall as well as a spate of global Jewish folk music festivals (Miamis Yiddishfest, So Paulos Kleztival, Vancouvers Chutzpah Festival, and New Mexicos own KlezmerQuerque). The bands most recent album,Ruckus, released in 2017,received two nominations from the Canadian Folk Music Awards.

The laboratory for the invention of klezmer music were Jewish weddings, Stein says. Back then, in the 19th century, weddings would last a week with rituals and gatherings that required different types of klezmer music as accompaniment. There was music for the bride being veiled, music for the in-laws being escorted from their homes to the wedding, procession music, party music, even different music for when the sun would rise at the end of a night of partying.

For the record, Stein says he is the only Jewish member of the band. The other members, who are of Serbian and Scots/Welsh ancestry, grew up in Torontos highly diverse, immigrant-rich population: Aleksandar Gajic (violin), Bret Higgins (bass), Milos Popovic (accordion), and Martin van de Ven (clarinets).

The real secret sauce of the band is the mix of where we are all from. Its a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, Stein says.

Stein didnt grow up on klezmer music, though. As a teenager, his tastes leaned to '60s psychedelic rock, the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and The Band. But The Bands dalliance with bluegrass led him to folk, which led him to klezmer as a sort of foggy mirror in which he began to grasp sight of his own cultural history.

I had not really been connected to my history, my people, my religion till I got into klezmer music, Stein says. It helped me connect to these people who had a different niche in the Jewish community that gave them a sense of self and a means of self-expression.

Beyond the Pale draws from both European and American versions of klezmer. Stein says early 20th-century Jewish immigration to the United States began to change the music.

Klezmer music evolved even further as Jews moved from Europe to Boston, Philly, and New York. Klezmer began to take on elements of big band jazz. In the 1920s and '30s, the real heyday of Jewish theater music in America, there was a lot of great music that was colored by klezmer stylings, Stein says. But then there is the historical cataclysm which obliterated Eastern European Jewish communities where all this music came from. Cut off from a supply of audiences for this music, in the post-World War II era, klezmer music kind of gradually went the way of the dodo.

Stein says its still possible to detect the traces of klezmer on Jewish musicians of the mid 20th-century era.

In a counterfactual scenario, a Benny Goodman or Gershwin could have been klezmer musicians. Some people claim to find influences of klezmer in Gerswhins music, Stein adds. But by the 1960s, klezmer music was nearly extinct. Eventually, in the 1970s, there began a cultural revival of the music. That world of revival was what I encountered in the 1990s.

Its clear that Stein, a former history major, relishes his role as cultural interpreter-cum-musician. He says he enjoys playing the music for newcomers to the genre as much as he does for Jewish and Yiddish audiences.

People really enjoy what we do. We balance more progressive and traditional interpretations of the music. We play for traditional Jewish audiences, and we perform for audiences who have never heard klezmer music before. Thats a gratifying experience for me, to show what klezmer music is, where it comes from, and where its going, Stein says. Its music to mourn, music to celebrate, music to think to, music that reflects the whole of ones life cycle.

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Boundless klezmer: Beyond the Pale | Music - Santa Fe New Mexican

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2020

Photo Credit: Gili Yaari/Flash90

We havent gone crazy, and were not giving up our reputation, Direct Polls, a digital survey service, wrote on their Facebook page Thursday night, But tonight we are presenting an election survey which is unusual and contrary to everyone elses trends.

They explained: Our abilities over the last two years have proven that we are first to recognize trend changes. In the coming days we will know whether we were right this time, too.

The survey was conducted by Direct Polls LTD on February 19 and 20, 2020, using a digital system integrated with a panel, among a sample of 976 individuals from the adult Jewish population (18+) in Israel, with a Statistical sampling error of +-3.8%, a 95% probability. In addition to this sample, three other large surveys were conducted in the Arab, religious Zionist and Haredi sectors. A total of over 3,000 people were sampled and weighted for the results of this survey.

Blue&White, after a hard week rife with accusations of corruption against two of its top four leaders: Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi, both of them former IDF chiefs of staff, loses 2 seats, with those voters becoming undecided. Those 2 mandates are Blue&Whites center-right voters, who followed former chief of staff Moshe Yaalon to the new party. Apparently, theyve had enough.

But despite abandoning Blue&White, these center-right voters did not move to the Likud. The serious decline in Gantzs power is not reflected in Netanyahus situation. He retains his 31-seats from last week, and nothing more.

Netanyahus partners, Yamina and the two Haredi parties, on the other hand, have increased their power this week, despite the relentless efforts of the Likud leader to plow through the entire country in his campaign, especially in the settlements, where Yaminas constituency is strong. Bibi is working the stumps this time like never before, almost as if his personal freedom depends on his ability to convince the public to trust him.

One extra mandate has migrated to the Joint Arab List, which will likely increase its Knesset showing to 14 seats. Its co-chairmen, Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi, have also been campaigning hard, on the premise that if a strong majority of Arab voters decide to vote, the Arab list could reach 15 and even 16 seats. On paper, they could get 20, but the fact is many Israeli Arabs dont see them as much help when it comes to taking care of their core issues: housing, infrastructure, medicine, transportation, and education.

The 14th mandate is made up of Arabs who voted for Blue&White and now gave up on it and are looking to empower the Arab list. In addition, there are leftist Jewish voters who abandoned Meretz after its union with Labor and Gesher, and did not find a more suitable party than the Joint Arab List.

Shas was already very close to its ninth mandate, and now has won it from the rightwing voters of Orly Levy-Abekasis who are unwilling to follow her to the union with Labor and Meretz. They opted to return to Shas, which has a strong social welfare line, in addition to its religious agenda.

Last week, Yamina was struggling to keep 7 seats in the polls, and now it finally succeeded in squeezing an eighth mandate from Itamar Ben-Gvirs Otzma Yehudits voters. Ben-Gvir plunged from 2.5% last week to 1.2% in this survey.

At the end of the day, according to this unusual poll, the rightwing bloc led by Netanyahu comes very close to the desired 61 votes: they have 58, compared to the center-left-Arabs bloc which dropped to 55 despite the success of the Arab list.

Liberman, who has not been able to get stronger since dropping from eight and even nine seats to seven, announced this week that he would in no way sit in one government with Netanyahu.

The Likud will probably have to entice Orly Levy-Abekasis to betray her partners in Labor and Meretz and return home to the Likud, following her constituents. The Levy in her name belongs to David Levy, a former senior Likud politician who served in a number of ministerial positions.

If he manages to lure Abekasis, Bibi will have to look for two additional deserters; Yoaz Hendel and Zvi Hauser, two senior Blue&White MKs who started out as Netanyahus men, may deliver the goods in the end.

Things are looking up on Balfour Street, and not a minute too soon.

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Survey Claims Voters Trending Away from Gantz to the Right, But Not to Netanyahu - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

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