Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Menachem Begin: studied at Warsaw University and served, briefly, in the Polish Army. Wikipedia

With Polands relationship with Israels leadership looking ruffled in light of the latters decision to allow Vladimir Putin to speak at the Fifth World Holocaust Forum held in Jerusalem, sources closer to home have been quick to note the crucial importance played by Poland, and the Anders Army, in the eventual formation of Israel.

Under the command of General Wadysaw Anders, the unit made their way through Iran to Palestine en-route to fight in the Italian campaign. At this stage, however, the decision was taken by the top-brass to officially release enrolled Jewish soldiers from their duties, thereby allowing them to enlist with local Jewish groups fighting for an independent Jewish state for many, the addition of professionally trained troops was viewed as a pivotal moment.

Among these was Menachem Begin, a charismatic officer who would later achieve global fame as the sixth prime minister of Israel.

An NKVD mugshot of Begin taken in 1940.Wikipedia

Born in the Russian Empire in Brest-Litovsk in 1913 (today, Brest in Belarus), in his childhood Begin was a member of Hashomer Hatzair, a Zionist scout group, and at 16 he joined Beitar, a youth movement with links to the Zionist Revisionist Movement.

This activism continued into adulthood; having been accepted by the University of Warsaw to study law, Begin galvanized other Jewish students to form a self-defence group and used the opportunity offered by his university studies to hone the public speaking skills that would stand him in such good stead in the future.

Though qualifying to practice as a lawyer in 1935, Begin turned his back on this avenue to instead focus on his burgeoning political career. Rapidly climbing the ranks of Beitar, he travelled the country speaking on its behalf and, in 1937, was appointed to head their operations in Czechoslovakia. Another promotion quickly followed, this time to lead the international organizations largest branch: Poland.

Begin with his wife in Tel Aviv in 1942.Wikipedia

The German invasion forced Begin to flee Warsaw and seek sanctuary in Vilnius, but his freedom was curtailed by the Soviet Unions invasion from the east. As a prominent Zionist he was detained by the NKVD and subsequently tortured and sentenced to eight years in the gulag, a brutal experience graphically recounted in his autobiographical memoir, White Nights.

Prematurely released in 1941 as a consequence of the Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, an act that saw amnesty granted to tens of thousands of Poles held in Soviet captivity, Begin joined Polands army-in-exile, the 40,000-strong Anders Army, as a corporal officer cadet.

Appearing in Israel three years ago, President Andrzej Duda spoke of the decision to allow Jewish troops the chance to join up with their brethren: Polish military commanders and political leaders of the government of the Republic in exile fully understood the reasons motivating Jews and did not hinder such choices. Poles took leave of their Jewish colleagues, former fellow prisoners exiled in Soviet labour camps and then brothers-in-arms from General Anders army, wishing them success in the struggle to restore their own state. They wished them success realizing that the same path led them to free Poland and to the creation of Israel: the path of armed struggle.

Begin (top right) was wanted by the British authorities in Palestine.Wikipedia

Continuing, the President extolled the common goals and virtues shared by both Polish and Jewish soldiers alike: This way, in the life of Menachem Begin and a whole generation of Zionist Jews, educated in the schools of interwar Poland, where along with young Poles of the Kolumb generation of 1920, they were acquainted with the output of the great romantic poetry, patriotic poetry, in the life of the Jews who ardently desired their own state to be formed, a traditional Polish motto was embodied: For our freedom and for yours. The freedom that the Jews together with the Poles defended on many occasions in the past, and for which they took up in arms together as citizens of the Republic of Poland.

For Begin, this was to be the start of a new, spectacular chapter. Taking command of the Etzel military organization he initiated a number of operations against the Palestinian government, among them a daring jail break that saw 27 prisoners spring from Acre Prison in 1947. Living in disguise in Tel Aviv, he evaded arrest despite a ten thousand pound bounty being placed on his head.

As leader of the Likud Party, Begin became prime minister in 1977.Wikipedia

Sometimes masquerading as a rabbi, he engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the authorities hunting him before coming out of hiding not long after the establishment of the State of Israel.

It was during this time he helped found Herut, a right-wing party that consistently courted controversy. Famously at logger-heads with David Ben-Gurion, matters reached a climax in 1952 when Ben-Gurion signed a reparations agreement with West Germany. For Begin this was tantamount to accepting blood money, and his fiery speeches incited a full-scale riot during which his supporters attempted to storm the Knesset.

Begin went on to the win the Nobel Peace Prize with Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat.Wikipedia

In 1977, as leader of the Likud Party, he was elected as Israels sixth prime minister in what was a landslide vote, thereby ending the lefts political dominance. Described as a watershed moment, his legacy included increased cooperation with the United States as well as a peace treaty with Egypt for which he awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with his Egyptian counterpart, Anwar Sadat.

A strong proponent of active defence but also of liberal democracy his contribution to the State of Israel resonates to this day. Dying in 1992, his funeral was attended by 75,000 mourners, and while he remains a controversial figure, the legacy of this former Warsaw law student is impossible to dispute.

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From Warsaw to Jerusalem: the story of Begin, Israel's 6th prime minister - The First News

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Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Belgian newspaper de Standaards inflammatory article titled How the Zionists Discovered the Holocaust. Photo: Twitter.

One of Belgians leading newspapers was excoriated by Israels ambassador in Brussels this week for publishing an opinion piece that amounted to what he called cheap, distorted and devious antisemitism and anti-Israel drivel.

The offending article in the mass-circulation Flemish-language daily de Standaard was authored by a Belgian journalist, Johan Depoortere. Titled How the Zionists Discovered the Holocaust, the articles appearance was timed to coincide with the commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp.

Illustrated with a photo of the followers of Neturei Karta a miniscule group of ultra-Orthodox Jews who are bitterly opposed to the Zionist movement and shunned by the Jewish mainstream Depoorteres piece began with the observation that the millions of Jews exterminated by the Nazis cannot protest if they are used to justify another injustice: a regime [Israel] that has imposed discrimination and apartheid in law.

Several of the historical claims made by Depoortere in the article did not stand up under scrutiny. For example, he protested [T]hat a people [the Palestinians] who did not participate in the massacre of European Jews by the Nazis have to pay the price for that crime or are accused of antisemitism, with no mention of the alliance forged by the wartime Palestinian Arab leader, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, and the Nazi regime.

January 28, 2020 2:54 pm

Depoortere also asserted that the Holocaust occupies such a central place in the propaganda of the Zionist state, describing this as a calculated response by the State of Israel to international criticism of its presence in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem following its victory in the 1967 Six-Day War.

From that moment on, the Israeli propaganda and the defenders of Zionism played the Holocaust card uninhibited also in our country, Depoortere claimed.

The 75-year-old Depoortere spent several years as foreign correspondent for Belgian television, reporting from Lebanon, central America, Russia and Afghanistan among other locations.

Emmanuel Nahshon Israels ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg remarked on Twitter on Thursday that he had encountered the article while attending the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem.

Shame on you @destandaard! Nahshon declared.

The controversy over Depoorteres piece comes only a few months after another Flemish newspaper, De Morgen, published a viciously antisemitic article by its columnist Dimitri Verhulst in which he commented that being Jewish is not a religion, no God would give creatures such an ugly nose.

About 35,000 Jews live in Belgium.

According to an ADL study in 2019, antisemitic beliefs are held by 24 percent of the countrys population. The ADL study additionally noted that in Europe, support for Israel boycotts was found to be highest in Belgium, where 18 percent said they supported BDS [the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel.]

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New Antisemitism Scandal in Belgium as Daily Paper Publishes Article Accusing 'Zionists' of 'Playing Holocaust Card' - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Predictably, Russian President Vladimir Putins speech to last weeks World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem raised hackles among the responsible guardians of Holocaust memory. The Russian dictator claimed that 40% of the 6 million Jewish victims of Nazi slaughter were citizens of the Soviet Union a vastly overinflated figure that can be arrived at only if you include those Jews who resided in countries that were occupied by the USSR.

Putins manipulation of Holocaust numbers historians generally agree that about 1 million of the 6 million Jews murdered were Soviet citizens comes in the context of an ugly dispute between Russia and Poland over responsibility for World War II, in which Putin has depicted the Poles as willing collaborators of the Germans. In turn, the Poles have countered the infamous August 1939 Nonaggression Pact agreed between the Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which effectively removed Poland from the map of nations by partitioning the country between the two totalitarian states, was the source of the war that engulfed Europe.

According to Jan Grabowski, a respected Polish historian of the wartime period, Putins 40% claim proffered in Jerusalem was completely false. Its worth recalling that professor Grabowski has long been a hate figure for nationalists in Poland because of his research documenting instances of Polish collaboration with the Nazi occupiers, but that clearly hasnt pushed him into Moscows corner.

As Grabowksi and other professional historians understand all too well, all the nations of Europe who found themselves under the Nazi boot collaborated to some degree. The torrid debates of recent years over the guilt or innocence of Poles, Hungarians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and others have little to do with the historical record, and everything to do with the desire of nationalist governments to purge their nations of wartime guilt by portraying themselves purely as victims of the Nazis just as the Jews were.

Putin is absolutely right to remind the world of the enormous sacrifices made by the Soviet Union in the eventual defeat of the Nazis. In the summer of 1943, the Red Armys counter-offensive in the Donbass region tore the guts out of the German Army, as Winston Churchill memorably put it, and was a milestone on the road to victory two years later. Putin is also right to remind the world that Red Army troops liberated Auschwitz, the extermination camp built by the Nazis in occupied Poland, on Jan. 27, 1945. But neither of those facts can forgive his other distortions, nor his willful abuse of the Holocaust to score political points against Russias present-day adversaries.

Critically, there is another layer of history that Putin stalwart defender of the Soviet Union that he is will never bring himself to talk about publicly.

The Soviet Union was once dubbed a prison house of nationalities, and that was especially the case for Soviet Jews. While the Bolshevik Revolution liberated the Jews from the brutally anti-Semitic rule of the Tsar, under communism, Jewish identity was frowned upon, while any expression of support for Jewish national rights or for the Zionist movement was strictly forbidden.

At the beginning of World War II, Joseph Stalins regime even played down the German atrocities that targeted Jews specifically in the name of waging a Great Patriotic War. That only changed towards the end of the war, when Stalin a true believer in the global Jewish conspiracy shrewdly figured out that the sympathy of American Jews could be very helpful in Soviet dealings with the Roosevelt administration. And so, a Jewish Anti-Fascist committee was duly launched, whose figureheads visited the United States, giving dramatic first-person accounts of the war against the Nazis and the sufferings of the Jews.

But by 1946, this same committee had been liquidated, as Stalin resumed an anti-Semitic campaign that ended only with his death seven years later. Even in the era of De-Stalinization that followed, the Soviets clung rigidly to their line that the Jewish victims of the Nazis were no different from any other victims, and that highlighting their treatment only served nefarious Zionist aims.

In this period, when Soviet Jews faced state discrimination and a ban on emigration to Israel, the Soviets cemented their biggest World War II lie of all. Soviet propaganda claimed that the Zionist movement was an ideological bedfellow of the Nazis, and that Zionist leaders had collaborated with the Nazis at just the time that the USSR was engaged in its heroic resistance. This particular piece of propaganda was, incidentally, the main reason why Mahmoud Abbas now head of the Palestinian Authority was awarded a Ph.D. by Moscow University for a thesis on alleged Nazi-Zionist collaboration.)

Discussion of the Holocaust during the Soviet period was licensed only insofar as the focus was on the iniquities of the Zionist movement and its alleged subversion of Soviet efforts to defeat the Germans. Visitors to World War II monuments would look in vain for any acknowledgement of the Holocaust as a Jewish event. Meanwhile, the Soviet press dripped with crude cartoons reminiscent of Nazi caricatures that showed Israeli leaders with hooked noses, wearing fascist-style uniforms that substituted the swastika with the Star of David.

As ever, how we interpret history is often directed by the geopolitical winds of the present. The tortured, complex relationship between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union two political systems founded upon fear as the primary instrument of rule shouldnt be reduced to a few simple talking points. Yet in the murky world of international politics, fragments of truth are assembled in the service of a larger goal. In this case, Putin succeeded in delivering the Soviet version of World War II from the podium of the worlds most respected Holocaust institution.

Sadly, in the years to come, as the Jewish community frets that there are few Holocaust survivors left alive to tell of their experiences, we should expect these Holocaust distortions to become more commonplace.

Letters, commentaries and opinions appearing in the Cleveland Jewish News do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company, its board, officers or staff.

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Heres what Putin didnt talk about in Jerusalem - Cleveland Jewish News

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Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Raised in a devout British evangelical family, Laurence Oliphant (18291888) had a successful career as a diplomat, intelligence agent, and foreign correspondent, despite his peculiar personal life and his involvement in various mystical religious movements. At one point he gave up a seat in parliament to join a cult-like sect in western New York with his family. Oliphant eventually embraced the idea of establishing a Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Unlike other early Christian Zionists, he cooperated extensively with the pre-Herzlian Zionist movement known as ibat Tsiyon, traveling to Galicia and Romania to meet with Jewish leaders. Philip Earl Steele writes:

[Oliphant was well aware of] the fears of Great Britain that, following the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Russiablocked from further expansion into the Balkans because of the emergence of the new states of Romania and Bulgariawould now attempt to seize areas in the Levant from the Ottomans. Thus, combining his religious and imperial motives, [he] devised his plan for Gilead, presenting it as a way to solve Britains worries by establishing a Jewish colony under the protection of Great Britain.

[The plan] soon obtained the backing of Prime Minister Disraeli (a longstanding Zionist), and he in turn swiftly won over Foreign Minister Salisbury. In late November 1878 the three men met together to discuss the idea with the prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) at Sandringham, one result of which was that Oliphant received his [diplomatic] credentials. In February 1879 he set sail for the Levant on a mission George Eliot also expressed approval for.

Oliphant soon also met Viennas Peretz Smolenskin, the eminent Zionist activist who published the Hebrew-language journal Ha-Shaar (The Dawn). Smolenskin had been very favorably impressed with Oliphants plan for the Jewish colonization of Palestine, and in fact had presented it in Ha-Shaar the previous autumn. In Vienna, in the early spring of 1882, Smolenskin and the Oliphants became friendsLaurence Oliphant and [his wife] Alice even invited Smolenskin to travel on with them to Palestine in the aim of fostering the Jewish colonies anticipated soon to arise there.

Oliphant would enjoy the endorsement of the Zionist impresario David Gordon and even publish in his journal Ha-Magid (The Preacher). In time, Oliphant and his wife would settle in Haifa to pursue his Zionist endeavors and hire as his private secretary Naftali Imber, best known as the author of Israels national anthem. As Steele goes on to detail, Oliphants efforts paved the way for the founding of the early settlements of Zikhron Yaakov and Rosh Pinah.

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More about: Christian Zionism, Hatikvah, History of Zionism, Peretz Smolenskin

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A Forgotten, and Eccentric, Christian Zionist Who Reached Out Directly to Jewish Activists - Mosaic

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Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

This week, we learn how to complain better. Our first guest is Amy Fish, the ombudsman for Concordia University in Montreal and the author of I Wanted Fries With That: How to Ask for What You Want and Get What You Need. She tells us what she learned working as chief complaints officer for a university (and before that a Jewish nursing home!), and shares a few simple tricks to help us all better ask for what we wantand get it.

Then, Mark sits down with Carolyn Karcher, professor emerita at Temple University and the editor of Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism, a collection featuring 40 rabbis, activists, and writers. She explains how she came to oppose Zionism, and how she sees anti-Zionism functioning within the Jewish community today.

Let us know what you think of the show: Email us at Unorthodox@tabletmag.com or leave a message at 914-570-4869.

Come see us on tour!

Jan. 26 New York: Stephanie in conversation with David G. Marwell, author of Mengele: Unmasking the Angel of DeathFeb. 6 Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Book talk with StephanieFeb. 9 Wyomissing, Pennsylvania: Book talk with MarkFeb. 26 Naples, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and MarkMarch 12 Boca Raton, Florida: Book talk with Stephanie and Liel

Copies of The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia will be sold and signed at each event. Like the book? Leave us a review on Amazon or Goodreads.

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This episode is sponsored by a new podcast called Those Who Were There, presented by the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University. The Fortunoff Archive holds more than 4,400 testimonies recorded in over a dozen countries, and the first season of the podcast features 10 episodes drawn from the archive. In every episode, a survivor or witness shares their own story. For more visit fortunoff.library.yale.edu/podcast

This episode is also sponsored by Harrys. New customers get $5 off any shave set with a 5-blade razor, weighted handle, foaming shave gel with aloe, and a travel cover when they go to Harrys.com/UNORTHODOX.

Unorthodox is a smart, fresh, fun weekly take on Jewish news and culture hosted by Mark Oppenheimer, Stephanie Butnick, and Liel Leibovitz. You can listen to individual episodes here or subscribe on iTunes.

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Unorthodox Ep. 212: Amy Fish on How to Complain More Effectively; Carolyn Karcher on 'Reclaiming Judaism from Zionism' - Tablet Magazine

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Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Khalidis core thesis is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is best understood as a war of colonial conquest, one that closely hews to the pattern and mind-set of other national-colonial movements of the 19th century. As he points out, an early Zionist slogan calling for a Jewish homeland in Palestine a land without people for a people without a land not only discounted the presence of the estimated 700,000 Palestinians already there, but echoed a great body of settler lore that required conquered lands to be void of people, or at least inhabited only by lesser ones: Think of the expansion onto Indian lands in the American West, or white Australias long denigration of the Aborigines. Zionism had the added advantage, Khalidi argues, of adorning itself with a biblical coat that was powerfully attractive to Bible-reading Protestants in Great Britain and the United States.

Consolidating this colonial settler paradigm, in Khalidis telling, was the 1948 Israeli War of Independence or the Nakba (Catastrophe), as the Palestinians call it. By seizing control of nearly 80 percent of the land that constituted the British Palestine Mandate, and overseeing the expulsion or flight of a similar percentage of its native Arab population, the Israeli pioneers were emulating the model of earlier victorious settlers. Once outside actors became involved, Khalidi contends, matters only turned worse for the Palestinians. After the 1967 war, for example, the United Nations passed Resolution 242, demanding Israel return to its prewar borders. As Khalidi astutely points out, while SC 242 is generally regarded as the foundational basis for future Arab-Israeli peace talks, for the Palestinians it represented a one-two punch: Nowhere in the resolution are they referred to by name they are merely refugees while a return to the 1967 borders meant the outside world was now legitimating their 1948 expulsion. In Khalidis view, each subsequent diplomatic breakthrough in the region has served only to further negate or marginalize the Palestinians. The 1979 Camp David peace treaty between Israel and Egypt meant that the Palestinians had lost a cornerstone ally in the region, while the much-heralded 1993 Oslo Accords served to co-opt the Palestinian leadership and maroon their followers into tiny enclaves under ultimate Israeli control.

While many of Khalidis insights are thought-provoking, their persuasiveness is undermined at times by a tendency to shave the rhetorical corner. He quite justifiably labels the Irgun, an early Jewish paramilitary organization, as a terror group, but is markedly more charitable when similar tactics were used by armed Palestinian factions. There is also a slipperiness to some of his formulations. To cite one particularly stark example, Khalidi contends that vital to the settler-colonial enterprise has been an Israeli campaign to sever the link displaced Palestinians feel for their homeland. The comforting idea, he writes, that the old will die and the young will forget a remark attributed to David Ben-Gurion, probably mistakenly expresses one of the deepest aspirations of Israeli leaders after 1948. Well, if the writer himself notes that the source of a quote is probably wrong, then its deeply problematic to use that quote.

But the bigger weakness of this book, to my mind, can be distilled to a simple question: Where does it get you? Even if one fully accepts Khalidis colonialist thesis, does that move us any closer to some kind of resolution? This may seem an unfair criticism. After all, it is not incumbent on a historian to offer up possible remedies except this is the closing task Khalidi sets for himself. It is also where his insights become noticeably threadbare.

His most intriguing suggestion is that the Palestinians stop regarding the United States as an honest broker in negotiations with Israel, but recognize that Washington will always ultimately side with Israel. He further suggests that with American influence in the region waning, it might be one of the new powers emerging on the scene China or India or Russia that could more honorably fulfill the arbiter role. While Khalidis first point has considerable merit, its exceedingly hard to see the United States, waning influence or no, ever taking a diplomatic back seat in the region to another external power, or forcing Israel to make the sorts of concessions that a new intermediary would surely demand. And with the possible exception of the current occupant of the White House, its even harder to imagine anyone thinking a solution to their problems can be found in the tender embrace of Vladimir Putin.

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Is There Any Way to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? - The New York Times

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Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Much have I traveled in the realms of gold, John Keats wrote. And many goodly states and kingdoms seen.Growing up in Israel, studying in Europe and working in the US gave me a unique perspective on life.After graduating high school in Israel, I left for England to explore new educational horizons. I then went on to study for my MA at the University of Cologne in Germany. Despite the sheer size of the student body, the quality of this free education was outstanding.Eventually, I traded the eternally gray skyline of Cologne for sunny Dallas.Somehow, the energy in Dallas was conducive for business and enterprise. Applying my language skills, I was transformed from an academic to a business woman.My workout regiment in Cologne, which consisted of walking to the university and back, was replaced by a state-of-the-art gym in Dallas.The physical vibrations in Dallas are remarkable and its a city that is constantly growing. It was not by chance that Dr. Kenneth Cooper started his famed Aerobic Center and clinic there.Ten years in Dallas were followed by 10 years in Washington DC, where the pendulum has swung yet again to intellectual pursuits. The human landscape could not be more different. DC home to government and the National Institutes of Health was fertile ground for my lecture series.Yet, it seemed as though I could not stay in one place longer than 10 years. It wasnt until I landed in Barcelona on a snowy Thanksgiving in DC that I appreciated how the deep blue sky of Barcelona inspired generations of painters. Aesthetics matter a great deal there.The exterior, be it the beautiful architecture of buildings, not just Gaudis, but also the way people dress.At every street corner there is either a gym or a beauty salon.However, the real reason for my move to Spain turned out to be the numerous descendants of the Anusim (the Marranos), for whom exploring their Jewish roots was of crucial importance. Their collective memory had never died since 1478.Shalom TV helped me reach out to larger audiences and help make their Jewish heritage more easily accessible to many.After commuting between three continents for years, it was time to move back to Jerusalem. The wheel has come full circle.It was time to welcome my European and American friends and colleagues to Jerusalem. I remember my friend, who runs a hi-tech firm and moved to Tel Aviv from Manhattan, warning me about the dark colors of Jerusalem. But I only saw Jerusalem of Gold. Nothing equals the unique pleasures of Jerusalem.Walking to the Western Wall on early Shabbat mornings through breathtaking scenery, one feels a part in the long chain of history. It is ever so easy to be spiritual here. Jerusalem may not the fashion or art capital of the world but it is home to highest number of charitable organizations in Israel and ranks number one in Israel in optimism. Maybe the two are related.As the Talmud so aptly states, Ten measures of beauty descended unto the world, nine on Jerusalem.Shoshana Tita is a writer, lecturer and director of Torah Life Center in Potomac, MD

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From Israel to Europe and America, then back to Jerusalem - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Photo Credit: Pixabay

{Originally posted to the authors website}

As time goes on, I find that my reading is narrowing to books on Israeli and Jewish matters, including Torah commentary; with fewer novels and less general history and politics. There is only so much territory one can cover!

Last January I published a list of new (2018) Jewish/Israeli books that I was reading, from an eclectic group of authors like Einat Wilf, Gil Troy, Yossi Klein Halevi, Yoram Hazony, Aviad Hacohen, Yael Ziegler, Kira Sirote, and rabbis Uriel Eitam, Binyamin Tabory and Eitam Henkin.

Here are my recommended 2019 books.

#IsraeliJudaism: Portrait of a Cultural Revolution, by Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs (JPPI). An innovative study that explains the blended Israeli-Jewish identity that is becoming the majority culture in Israel; both traditional and modern, rooted in religion but also anchored in liberal Zionist nationalism.

We Stand Divided: The Rift Between American Jews and Israel, by Daniel Gordis (Ecco). The author asks: How can American Jews possibly connect on a deep level with Israeli society (where vibrant new strains of national-traditional and spiritual identity are developing, as above) when in the US they have lost a sense of peoplehood and commitment to religion, and instead assumed an identity that is focused on little but progressive politics?

The New American Judaism: How Jews Practice their Religion Today, by Jack Wertheimer (Princeton). Based on 160 interviews with rabbis of all stripes, this book really should be named How American Jews Dont Practice Judaism Today. It is a requiem for a once-vibrant Jewish community, which now is running away from Jewish study, ritual and core beliefs (such as belief in God!), and replacing this with social action for gay and immigrant rights, and airy-fairy love-in meditations. Intersectional-izing and tikkun-olam-ing itself to death.

How to Fight Anti-Semitism, by Bari Weiss (Crown). The NYTimes columnist shows how anti-Semitism now finds a home in the US in identity politics and the reaction against identity politics, in the renewal of America First isolationism and the rise of one-world socialism, and in the spread of Islamist ideas. A powerful wake-up call against complacency, and a plea to save liberal democracy.

Fight House: Rivalries in the White House, from Truman to Trump, by Tevi Troy (Regnery History). A fast and fascinating read with deep insight from a presidential historian and aide which demonstrates that good old fashioned rivalries are the norm, not the exception; that such rivalries often lead to policies contrary to presidential and national intention; and that the Trump administration isnt the worst of them in this regard.

Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israels Targeted Assassinations, by Ronen Bergman (Random House). A well-researched and comprehensive review from Haganah times to the eliminations of Imad Mughniyeh in 2008 and Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in 2010. Provides perspective on the recent US strike against Qassem Soleimani.

Shadow Strike: Inside Israels Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power, by Yaakov Katz (St. Martins). This book, written by The Jerusalem Posts editor-in-chief, reads like a spy thriller and offers valuable insight into the dynamics of the US-Israel defense alliance.

Exile: Portraits of the Jewish Diaspora, by Annika Henroth-Rothstein (Bombardier). This intrepid Swedish-Jewish journalist weaves together sweeping historical narratives and personal experiences to show how Jews from Iran to Finland (and Cuba, Turkey, Colombia, Tunisia, Morocco, Siberia and Uzbekistan) have persevered while preserving Jewish lore and culture.

Dust and Heaven: A History of the Jewish People, by Asael Abelman (Hebrew: Dvir and The Tikvah Fund). A bold attempt to cover the grand sweep of Jewish history from Biblical times to today, with a conservative and nationalist lens that emphasizes continuous Jewish scholarship and ceaseless yearning for Zion and the Messianic era.

The Ruling Party of Bagatz: How Israel Became a Legalocracy, by Simcha Rothman (Hebrew: Sela Meir). A shocking study of the Supreme Courts gross over-interventionism in setting Israeli government policy from justices Zamir to Hayut. A call for re-balancing power between the court and the Knesset.

Shalom Rav, by Shalom Rosner (Koren). Inspirational insights on the weekly Torah readings with citations from classical scholars, Hassidic and modern thinkers, and current luminaries edited by Rabbi Rosners student, Marc Lesnick.

The Person in the Parasha, by Tzvi Hersh Weinreb (Koren). Advice for ethical and spiritual growth from a prominent community rabbi and clinical psychotherapist. Addresses a wide spectrum of human emotions and situations, including optimism, grief, integrity, bullying, conformity, conflict, envy, aging, parenting, leadership and more.

Honeycombs: The Amidah, by Reuven P. Bulka and Rikki Bulka Ash (Ktav). A commentary on Jewish prayer through the lens of rabbis Yonasan Eybishitz (the Yearot Dvash) and Yosef Hayyim of Baghdad (the Ben Ish Hai). The upshot: One must give to G-d (good deeds and honesty) not just request things from him.

Two High Priests: Rav Tzadok and Rav Kook, by Chaim Yeshayahu Hadari (Hebrew: Pri Hadar). A collection of essays by the late Yeshivat Hakotel dean on the mystical and nationalist thought of rabbis Tzadok Hacohen of Lublin and Abraham Isaac Kook of pre-state Israel. A study partner is recommended for this highbrow tome.

Jacob: The Story of a Family, by Jonathan Grossman (Hebrew: Herzog/Tevunot and Yediot/Chemed). Intricate literary analysis of 27 chapters in Genesis with careful attention to story structure and key words, showing that Jacobs struggles mirror those of Abraham but without direct Divine guidance along the way. (Read Grossmans superb commentary on Esther, Scroll of Secrets before Purim!)

The Talmud in a Nutshell, by Uri Brilliant (Hebrew: Kinneret, Zmora, Dvir). This indeed brilliant Daf Yomi teacher, who lectures daily to thousands of students via digital apps and the telephone, teaches the first page of each Babylonian Talmud tractate, illustrating the principles in each section. A great way to taste the Talmud.

I Find You Seeking Me, by Haim Sabato (Hebrew: Yediot/Chemed). Free-flowing and poetic discourse on aspects of Jewish faith by a yeshiva dean who is also a celebrated literary author. Worth reading for its elegant, soaring prose.

Watch forMorality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, by Rabbi Lord Dr. Jonathan Sacks (Hodder & Stoughton, forthcoming in March 2020), who is clearly the most profound expositor of Jewish thought today.

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Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship can soon apply for federal grants to improve security.

The new federal law is called the Protecting Faith Based and Nonprofit Organizations From Terrorism Act. President Donald Trump signed the Act into law this week.

The Act comes in the wake of a surge of threats and attacks on synagogues, mosques and other religious groups -- including the machete attack on five people at a New York synagogue in December.

The bills were first introduced by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-Michigan) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio). In a statement, Peters says:

We must take urgent action to protect synagogues, churches, and mosques from targeted attacks that we continue to see across the country. Houses of worship should be safe havens, and people of faith should feel secure when practicing their religion."

The Act provides funding of $75 million a year, for the next five years, for grants to religious institutions to improve security measures.

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Posted By admin on January 28, 2020

Editors note: On International Holocaust Remembrance Day we take an in-depth look at the rising incidents of anti-Semitism.

Hate crimes against Jews are on the rise everywhere.

In Germany, a heavily armed assailant unable to force his way into a synagogue on Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day, shot a woman in the street and then entered a nearby kebab shop and killed another person.

In New York, a man walked into the home of a rabbi celebrating Hanukkah and stabbed five celebrants.

Even in Macomb County, three middle school students in Warren drew swastikas using chalk on the sidewalk at their elementary school.

Singing a Hebrew chant is Meyer Keslacy, director ofCongregation Beth Tephilath Moses synagogue, which has taken steps to ensure the safety of its members. Anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise around the world.

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What's more concerning is these incidents last year followed a rash of attacks on the Jewish community the previous year including shooting rampages, at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, and at a synagogue in Poway, California, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Tracker of Anti-Semitic attacks. The tracker features recent cases of anti-Jewish vandalism, harassment, assault and murders reported to or detected by the group.

"It is baseless hatred for no reason," said Meyer Keslacy, director of the Congregation Beth Tephilath Moses synagogue in Mount Clemens.

States with large Jewish populations such as California, New York and New Jersey are experiencing the most incidents. But even in Macomb County, where the Jewish population is 3,400 and small in comparison to Oakland County, which has more than 50,000, Jews are concerned about what's happening.

"The synagogue took steps to ensure the safety of our members but personally, I have not changed my behavior regarding Judaism," Keslacy said.

He remains proud, determined to celebrate his Jewish culture and religion.

As for why Jewish people are under attack, he remains perplexed.

"People always ask me this. I can't explain it. I don't know what to say," said Keslacy, who is the youngest of nine children born and raised in Marocco, and whose knowledge and passion for his Jewish culture stems from his parents and his schooling in Israel.

Jewish shawls hang in the foyer of the synagogue.

"Unfortunately, I have been aware of anti-Semitism since I was a child and with the internet I am made aware of the attacks throughout the world in real time -- it boggles the mind why people have this hatred against Jews, but it holds us back not to speak out against it."

The mission of the ADL since 1913 has been to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to work to secure justice and fair treatment for everyone.

"Regrettably, our work and our expertise on anti-Semitism and hate is more current and urgent than ever in the U.S. and around the globe," said Sharon Mazarian, ADL senior vice-president for international affairs during her testimony in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's global event countering anti-Semitism.

In its audit of incidents in 2018, the ADL recorded a total of 1,879 incidents of anti-Semitism across the country, the third-highest year on record since the ADL started tracking such data in the 1970s.

"In a year marked by the white supremacist shooting spree at a Pittsburgh synagogue, which claimed 11 lives, and punctuated by a dramatic surge in white supremacist propaganda activity nationwide, ADL's Audit identified 59 people in the United States who were victims of anti-Semitic assaults in 2018, up from 21 in 2017," said the ADL report.

The overall number of reported incidents show a 5% decline from 1,986 incidents reported in 2017 but remain at near-historic levels and 48% higher than the totals for 2016 and 99% higher than 2015, according to the audit report.

"We've worked hard to push back against anti-Semitism, and succeeded in improving hate crime laws, and yet we continue to experience an alarmingly high number of anti-Semitic acts," said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and national director. "We unfortunately saw this trend continue into 2019 with the tragic shooting at the Chabad synagogue in Poway. It's clear we must remain vigilant in working to counter the threat of violent anti-Semitism and denounce all forms, whatever the source and regardless of the political affiliation of its proponents."

No state seems to be immune to the rash of anti-Semitic incidents.

In Michigan, there were 114 reports of anti-Semitic acts toward Jews in 2018-2019 that happened at a variety of locations: businesses, public parks, nonprofit organizations, schools and homes, including communities with little or no Jewish population.

Thirteen of those were committed in Macomb County. A majority were related to white supremacist propaganda but also included an incident at an elementary school.

"One of my dearest friends in college was Jewish," said Romeo native John Paul Rea, Macomb County deputy county executive, who attended Grand Valley State University.

His friend taught him about the Jewish culture and faith, but even without the firsthand experience, Rea finds it difficult to process what has been happening in New York.

"It's absolutely awful, the fact that an individual could have that kind of hatred for their fellow man," Rea said.

In 2012, when data showed that Macomb County was experiencing profound demographic shifts, the county took a proactive approach and created One Macomb.

Since then, the initiative has worked to promote the area's diverse ethnic and religious population. Now, with new data coming from the 2020 Census, county leaders will once again look at the data gleaned by the census count to further identify its population and whatever needs they might have.

Few, if any, incidents of anti-Semitism have been reported in recent years in areas patrolled by the Macomb County Sheriffs Office.

Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said professional law enforcement associations, such as groups representing police chiefs, and organizations that track hate crimes, usually share information to keep police updated about incidents and trends.

When incidents that do happen, once the dust settles and information becomes available, its shared either for learning or being prepared, he said.

Among the people harassing and vandalizing members of the Jewish community are schoolchildren.

The ADL reported there were 344 incidents of anti-Semitism in schools last year, almost identical to the 342 in 2017 but still higher than previous years.

In Warren, children drew swastikas on the sidewalk of their elementary school.

In Birmingham, middle school students used a group chat to share anti-Semitic and racist messages and in Bloomfield Hills a Jewish high school student was taunted by peers with an anti-Semitic song.

In West Bloomfield, a Jewish child was told by peers that he should have a concentration camp number on his arm.

Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, CEO of the the Holocaust Memorial Center, stands in front of a boxcar that was used to transport Jews to concentration camps in Germany. Recent data shows anti-Semitic incidents around the world are on the rise.

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"We get calls from schools in Macomb and Oakland all the time," said Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld, CEO of the HolocaustMemorial Center in Farmington Hills.

Sometimes it is to ask for help in handling an incident, other times it's inquiries about how to approach the topic of anti-Semitism.

Children ask questions and teachers share answers provided by HMC's Echoes and Reflections Curriculum. Examples of questions might include:

What is a swastika?

Why were Jewish people given a tattoo?

What was the Holocaust all about?

Michigan law requires schools to ensure their social studies curriculum for grades 8 to 12 includes age- and grade-appropriate lessons about genocide, including the Holocaust, totaling six hours of instruction a year.

Since HMC began its program, more than 850 teachers from around Michigan including the Upper Peninsula have participated in the robust program. They have learned not only about the Holocaust, but best pedagogic practices and lessons to share with their students.

Kristen Avey, who teaches global history and current world issues at Dakota High School, said one of the things she liked about the program is they use the lessons from the past to create life lessons for the kids today. They talk a lot about not being a bystander and how even the smallest act can make a difference, she said.

"This is preventative work," said Mayerfeld, who is serving his fourth year as CEO of the museum, which has played an important role in teaching the public about the dangers of hatred and bigotry through tours of its collection and lectures.

"We teach that hateful and biased attitudes can develop into acts of violence," Mayerfeld said.

Many of those who help in educating the public are survivors of the Holocaust mustering the courage to talk about the horrors they experienced under Hitler's regime. These are the people that come to mind when Mayerfeld sees a swastika or anti-Semitic slur directed at a Jew.

"I wonder whether the person saying these things or using those symbols understands how they were put to use to murder 6 million human beings including a 1.5 million children," Mayerfeld said. "Local survivors have shared that they are frightened by the uptick in anti-Semitism. They worry that the world has not learned anything from their suffering."

However, he believes these behaviors only grow if they are silently condoned by others around them.

"It is up to each individual to speak out against hateful remarks and attitudes they hear from those around them," he said.

Keslacy concurs.

When people do not object or condemn, their silence, in effect, is promoting it, he said.

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Recent events stoking concerns of incidents of anti-Semitism - The Macomb Daily

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