Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 17, 2019

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By Mark Newman

Anyone who even casually knows the Hebrew Bible (Tanach) has heard of Shmuel the Prophet. He accomplished many great things of which two were anointing Shaul (Saul) of the tribe of Binyamin (Benjamin) the first king of Israel and later anointing David of the tribe of Yehudah (Judah) the king of Israel. Additionally, Shmuel wrote Sefer Shoftim (the Book of Judges), Sefer Shmuel (the Book of Samuel), and Megillat Rut (the Scroll of Ruth), three of the 24 books in Tanach. Clearly, Shmuel was beloved by God and left a lasting legacy from which the entire world has benefited in the millennia since his passing.

In fact, Shmuel is so beloved by God that in Sefer Tehillim (the Book of Psalms), Shmuel is compared to Moshe (Moses) and Aharon (Aaron): Moshe and Aharon were among His priests and Shmuel among those who invoke His Name; they called upon Hashem and He answered them. (Tehillim 99:6) Not bad, eh? [The Babylonian Talmud Tractate Berachot 31b and Tractate Taanit 5b both point out this comparison.] Even the great Prophet Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) compared Shmuel to Moshe: Hashem said to me, Even if Moshe and Shmuel were to stand before Me, I would have no desire for this people. Send [them] away from My Presence and let them go! (Yirmiyahu 15:1)

If I wanted to be known as accomplishing great things with lasting value, I would want to be great like Shmuel. Could our President Trump possibly be compared to the Prophet Shmuel? On the surface, not at all but before we make a definitive conclusion, I suggest we take a broader look at the question.

Donald John Trump the individual person is and has lived a life quite different from that of any Biblical Prophet and surely cannot be compared in any sense to these spiritual and moral giants that literally spoke for God and represented how to walk the proper path in life. The question in our day is whether an individual who appears to be very far removed from a Godly life could or should ever be the leader of a great nation such as the United States of America.

Thats where Yiftach (Jephthah) comes in. Remember him? No? He definitely was never a former US President or even a former US Vice President. Who was Yiftach and how is he relevant to our discussion?

If you go back to Tanach, specifically Sefer Shoftim (Chapter 11:1-3), it says:

Yiftach, the Giladite, was a mighty man of valor and he was the son of a concubine; Gilad begat Yiftach. Gilads wife bore him sons and when the wifes sons grew up they drove Yiftach away and said to him, You will not inherit in the household of our father for you are the son of another woman.

Yiftach fled because of his brothers and settled in the land of Tob. Boorish men collected around Yiftach and ventured forth with him.

With that background, could you ever imagine a boorish man like Yiftach becoming any nations leader? Lets read on to the next few verses, 4-8:

And it happened after a period of time that the Children of Ammon made war with Israel. And it happened when the Children of Ammon waged war against Israel that the elders of Gilad went to bring Yiftach (back) from the land of Tob. They said to Yiftach, Come and be our chief, and we will do battle with the Children of Ammon.

But Yiftach said to the elders of Gilad, Was it not you who hated me and drove me away from my fathers house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?

The elders of Gilad said to Yiftach, For this have we now returned to you that you go with us and do battle with the Children of Ammon and that you become a leader over us, over all the inhabitants of Gilad!

Yiftach becomes their chief and leads them to victory. The story of Yiftach continues until Chapter 12 verse 7 where it says, Yiftach judged Israel for six years. Yiftach the Giladite died and was buried in cities of Gilad.

Yiftach was far from a perfect leader as Sefer Shoftim notes when he made a vow that ended up with horrible repercussions upon his own daughter; nevertheless, he still continued as a judge over the nation for six years, after the battles were over. [It should be noted that, according to the great commentator Radak, Yiftach was buried in cities, rather than in a city, as punishment for what he had allowed to happen to his daughter.]

Now that we have a good picture as to how great the Prophet Shmuel was and how deficient in comparison Yiftach certainly seems to be, what possible connection could all this have with President Donald Trump?

For that, we need one more background piece from the Babylonian Talmud Tractate Rosh Hashana 25a-25b. Here, the discussion is centered around a verse in Sefer Shmuel, specifically Chapter 12, verse 11, where it says: So Hashem sent Yerubaal (actually Gidone but called such because he quarreled with the idol BaalSefer Shoftim, Chapters 6-8) and Bedan (actually Shimshone [Samson] but called such because he came from the tribe of Dan Sefer Shoftim, Chapters 13-16) and Yiftach and Shmuel and He rescued you from the hand of your enemies from all around, and you dwelt in security. It then quotes the verse from Sefer Tehillim (99:6) mentioned above.

The Talmud goes on to say, Scripture has equated three of the least significant leaders with three of the most important leaders. This Scriptual equation comes to tell you that Yerubaal in his generation is like Moshe in his generation; Bedan in his generation is like Aharon in his generation; Yiftach in his generation is like Shmuel in his generation. This comes to teach you that even the most insignificant of the insignificant who has been appointed a leader over the community is like the most distinguished of the distinguished. [According to the great commentator Maharsha, the most insignificant of the insignificant is a reference to Yiftach (who was the least of the three insignificant leaders listed in the verse). His authority was no less than that of most distinguished of the distinguished Shmuel.]

Yiftach in his generation is like Shmuel in his generation. Now you surely see where we are going with all of this, right? Donald John Trump is not necessarily the most moral and proper individual in the world but US President Donald Trump was duly elected by the American people via the only proper allowable democratic process sanctioned in the US Constitutionhe legitimately won an overwhelming majority of votes in the United States Electoral College.

Our US President Donald Trump is making lasting contributions with historical records of job employmentfull time job employment (usually with benefits)for blacks, hispanics, those without a college education, women, and everyone else. Moreover, the wage increases in these past three years for the first time in decades has disproportionately gone to those who earn the least income. More than just an economic benefit, full time jobs provide dignity for US citizens and helps family formation/retention which is the single most important factor that insulates against the plethora of social maladies that now afflict all of us.

He has placed more Federal judges (a lifetime position) with a respect for the US Constitution as it is written by the Founding Fathers (along with only very few Amendments in the two and half centuries since) than any President before him (in his first three years). This has begun the process of returning the value of a written Constitution that has served us so well despite the efforts of Leftists to shred the worlds democratic template with their Living Constitution ideology, an ideology specifically designed to allow interpretations that are so far removed from the US Constitution, the written words would cease to have any meaning or protection from tyranny.

President Trump is the first US President in many decades to motivate successfully a majority of our NATO allies to increase their defense spending toward a target they set many years ago and never met. Now, in only three years, some have met the target and many others are moving in the right direction. That increases the possibility of regional peace.

President Trump is the first US President ever to recognize and act upon some obvious realities regarding Israel and the Middle East, realities without which there never could be anything remotely resembling peace in that savage region. Trumps courage and common sense in his administrations decisions vis-a-vis Israel are truly historic in the most positive way for the entire world.

Similarly, look at President Trumps actions in regards to the worlds greatest State sponsor of terror, Iran, to whom president Obama gave $1.4 billion of cash, allowed them full access to conduct business and make more money for their terrorist activities, and gave them carte blanche to create nuclear weapons in no more than 15 years from the date of agreement [an agreement which was never submitted to the US Senate for ratification as a treaty, as it should have been]. President Trump has blessedly reversed all of president Obamas subservience to the Mullahs, held Irans feet to the fire, and their government is now struggling to remain in control. Better yet, even the normally feckless Europeans are now warning Iran that if it does not stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons, they will join the US and cut off all trade. They never would have done this without President Trumps leadership.

These are only some of the many very positive and consequential accomplishments of Donald Trumps remarkable Presidency so far. Not all of his policies are uniform improvements for sure and some we will not know their utility for years to come. Inevitably, some of his policies will have to be revised or possibly reversed. Thats the way every Presidents administration must act and will be judged. There are some good policies, and some bad policies.

Consequential Presidents have either many more very good policies than bad policies or many more very bad policies than good policies. So far, to me, it seems President Trump is consequential and clearly has many more very good policies than bad policies. For the first time in my adult life, regarding President Trumps re-election, I will be able to vote for a US President rather than merely vote against the other candidate for US President (assuming President Trump doesnt do anything horribly negative between now and the election in November 2020).

Donald Trump the individual, has many flaws, and we should never look to him as a paragon of moral clarity or as a model of moral behavior for any of us. Donald Trump, our US President, has achieved a remarkable amount of good in just three years and we should all be most grateful for that. Even though he might not be a Shmuel, he is our Yiftach.

{Mark Newman is married to Ellen Newman and together they were blessed with raising Ariel Yitzchak zl for 18 years in Great Neck, NY to love Judaism and Israel. Mark has worked professionally for almost three decades in the US Federal government as a civil law enforcement officer.}

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Who is Better: Shmuel the Prophet or President Trump? Look to Yiftach for an Answer - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

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Posted By admin on December 17, 2019

(JTA) Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop was one of the first New Jersey officials to describe Tuesdays shooting at a kosher market as a hate crime motivated by anti-Semitism.

He did so on Wednesday, a day before the states attorney general did.

Had I said that we were unsure of the motives or the reasons or whether it was a hate crime, I feel like it wouldve jeopardized my relationship with the community, the trust Ive built, and at the end of the day we would have looked very foolish, he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a phone interview Friday. So I knew at the time, based on the circumstances, that it was a hate crime.

On Friday, Fulop added another chilling piece of information about the shooting that left six people dead, including the two assailants: He believes the suspects had been targeting the yeshiva next to the store where 50 kids were studying.

Police also found an active pipe bomb in the van they drove from a cemetery, where they shot and killed a police detective, to the JC Kosher Supermarket, the scene of a shootout that lasted more than an hour and resulted in five more deaths.

Along with the 39-year-old officer, Joseph Seals, the victims in the attack were two members of the citys small Orthodox Jewish community Mindy Ferencz, 32, the market owner with her husband, and Moshe Deutsch, 24 and a store worker, Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, 49. Rodriguez was shot after helping to save a wounded Jewish man.

Had the police not responded how they responded, this it couldve been far far worse, Fulop told JTA. So as I said, even in all the darkness, theres a little bit of light on that front.

The attack hurt Fulop both as the mayor of the city and as a Jew.

Any time theres hate or targeting of one religious or racial group, Im saddened by it, he said. Its obviously personal for me in this situation because [it was] targeting the faith that I am part of.

Following the attack, Fulop worked with the Met Council, a Jewish charity organization, to distribute kosher food to the Orthodox community surrounding the market for Shabbat. The community, in Jersey Citys diverse Greenville neighborhood, is made up of nearly 100 families who have moved from Brooklyn in recent years.

Fulop, 42, has an eclectic background. He grew up in Edison, New Jersey, and though his parents were not religious, they sent him to study at Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva, a nearby Orthodox school, through sixth grade. He also attended the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, a Conservative Jewish school, for two years.

His parents thought it important to instill a strong sense of Jewish culture in their son because of his familys Holocaust history 35 members of his mothers family were sent to Auschwitz and only seven survived. After World War II, his mothers parents returned to their native Romania before moving later to the United States.

His fathers family also came from Romania but settled in Israel, where his father served in the army before coming to the U.S.

Fulop says that having attended day school and studied Jewish texts guides a lot of my principles and judgment.

When you study Gemara and Mishnah and all that stuff, it talks to you about patience and fairness and justice and being a good person and treating people respectfully, and I think thats the foundation I took away from my time in yeshiva. Those are things I try my best to embody in my job, he said, using the Hebrew terms for the Talmud and the oral law it is a commentary on.

Today he belongs to Temple Beth El, a Reform congregation in Jersey City, with his wife, Jaclyn, who converted to Judaism, and their son, Jaxon.

Im like any secular Jew, I would say, in the area, the mayor said. I appreciate the values and I hope to instill some of those in my 1-year-old son.

After graduating from college, Fulop worked at the investment firm Goldman Sachs. But the tragedy of the 9/11 terror attacks inspired him to enlist in the Marine Corps. He was in the first wave of troops that were deployed to Iraq.

The reason I enlisted was because I viewed that as a partial payment for citizenship, he said. I viewed the fact I had so much to be thankful for, that the country embraced me, that was my responsibility.

Fulop returned to Goldman Sachs following his service in Iraq but later decided he wanted to go into politics. He credits the late Jersey City mayor Glenn Cunningham, who took him under his wing, with his success.

Fulop and wife Jaclyn at the Night of Opportunity Gala at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, April 9, 2018. (Bennett Raglin/WireImage via Getty Images)

In 2004, he lost in his bid for Congress, but the following year he won an election for the Jersey City City Council. In 2013, he defeated the incumbent mayor, Jerramiah Healy, to gain his current post.

With an ambitious agenda, Fulop says he wants to make Jersey City into the best midsized city in the country. The city just across the Hudson River from Manhattan has seen an influx of artists and young professionals in recent years leaving New York City in search of cheaper rent. In addition to the Hasidic families who moved to the city in recent years, non-Orthodox Jews are also flocking there, Fulop says, adding that his Reform synagogue is bursting at its seams.

He says Jersey Citys diversity should make the country pay extra attention to the attack.

Diversity is not something new for residents of Jersey City, and this incident speaks to the fact that if you can have hate and anti-Semitism in a place that has known diversity and inclusivity since its existence, it should send a message that this sort of sentiment can and sadly does exist everywhere, he said.

But there had been tension in the Greenville neighborhood, he said, as the Hasidim moved there in recent years and attempted to buy up properties to grow their community.

Anytime you have a community change and gentrify and different communities moving in there, it can create and does create tension. That did happen when the Jewish community started to move in, he said.

At times, some of the Jews aggressively attempted to buy homes, Fulop said, which led to resentment and complaints from some local residents, although there were no previous attacks.

In recent months, some of that tension seemed to have abated and he had not heard of any complaints from non-Jewish Greenville residents in the last six to eight months. People familiar with the Greenville Jewish community told JTA after the shooting that community members had gotten along well with locals.

Whats most important to Fulop is building trust with his Jersey City residents. Thats one of the reasons he has been quick to share his assessments of the attack with the media.

The way I see my job is that it is a relationship between me and the constituents based on trust, he said, and if I compromise that trust I no longer will have the ability to do this job, so I try to be as upfront and straightforward with people as possible.

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Jersey City's Jewish mayor didn't wait to call the kosher store shooting an anti-Semitic attack. Here's why. - JTA News

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Posted By admin on December 17, 2019

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Chassidim have celebrated the 19th of Kislev (Yud Tes Kislev) ever since the Alter Rebbe (1745-1812) author of Shulchan Aruch HaRav and Tanya was released from czarist imprisonment on that date in 1798. It gained even greater significance, however, when 103 years later his great-great-grandson, the Rebbe Rashab (1860-1920), proclaimed it to be the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus.

The Alter Rebbe was imprisoned on charges of treason because, among other reasons, he had annually sent funds to support chassidim in the Holy Land, which was then part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire Russias enemy. A person charged with treason in czarist Russia could easily be executed, especially a Jew. Thus, the Rebbes release from jail was an extraordinary miracle.

Halacha mandates that the anniversary of a miracle be celebrated, not only by its subject, but by his descendants and disciples in later generations. The Rebbes release, though, wasnt just a miracle. It signified vindication of Chassidus. From its early days, the Baal Shem Tovs new movement encountered fierce opposition from some Jewish leaders who feared it would weaken standards of Jewish observance (like Shabsai Tzvis ill-fated movement had a century earlier). So after the Vilna Gaons passing, some hotheads presented false accusations to the czarist government, which resulted in the Alter Rebbes arrest. They hoped he would be found guilty and that the government would subsequently crush Chassidism, resulting in its eradication. Their plans failed, though, and the Alter Rebbes release from jail ensured the continued existence of Chassidus.

His enemies informed on him a second time two years later (and he was arrested again), but after his second release active opposition to Chassidus ended. While some still opposed it in principle or disagreed with some of its ideas or customs, they allowed Chassidus to expand exponentially until even outsiders came to respect its leaders and adherents. So Yud Tes Kislev was a turning-point in the history of the Chassidic movement.

But the designation Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus implies something far deeper. Jews who believe in Divine providence know that historical events reflect Heavenly forces. Far beyond external differences of opinion between Chassidim and their opponents was a deeper question: To what extent may and should the Torahs mystical concepts be revealed?

Ever since the Talmud (Chagiga 11b, 13a) described limitations on revealing them which are quoted in halacha (Rambams Hilchos Yesodei Hatorah, end of ch. 2 and 4:11ff) Torah leaders have been hesitant to talk openly about mystical concepts. Over the centuries, however, these concepts were revealed more and more, even in works that werent written solely for the saintly (such as the Rambans Torah commentary).

And then the Arizal (1536-1572) ruled that in the generations approaching Moshiachs revelation, it is permitted and obligatory to reveal these subjects. Indeed, a principal purpose of the chassidic movement was to spread knowledge of these subjects to the wider Jewish population. Even within the movement, however, differences of opinion arose as to how much to reveal.

After his release, the Alter Rebbe related that, while in prison, his spiritual masters, the Maggid and the Baal Shem Tov, appeared from the higher world and explained that his suffering was due to a Heavenly criticism (kitrug) that he was revealing too many Torah secrets by teaching Chassidus.

Should I stop? the Alter Rebbe asked.

No, they replied, since youve already started, continue teaching even more.

Indeed, after his release, the Rebbe started teaching Chassidus much more often and at greater length and depth. This practice was developed much further by his son, the Mitteler Rebbe, and his successors, resulting in the splendid edifice of Chabad Chassidus today numbering hundreds of volumes from the seven generations of Rebbes, besides works of commentary by their disciples.

In other words, Yud Tes Kislev marks the Heavenly vindication of the Alter Rebbes decision to reveal mystical concepts and teach how to utilize them in serving G-d. As such, it is indeed a crucial date in the spiritual underpinnings of Chassidus and worthy of being called the Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus. On this day, we celebrate our preparations for the revelation of the deep mystical teachings of Moshiach, may he come very soon.

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The Rosh Hashanah Of Chassidus? - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

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Posted By admin on December 17, 2019

Police have identified one of the dead suspects in a shootout at a kosher market in Jersey City asDavid Anderson, who reportedly is a former member of the Black Hebrew Israelites.

Here are some things to know about the movement.

Black Hebrew Israelites can refer broadly to people of African descent who claim to be descended from the biblical Israelites and practice some Jewish rituals. The movement emerged from a stream of late 19th-century black nationalism that claimed African-Americans were the true descendants of the ancient Hebrews. Some estimates put the number of adherents in the tens of thousands, and the various member groups vary in ideology and outlook. Those differences are manifest in their views on Jews, with some seeking mainstream Jewish community acceptance, while others see their identity as separate from Judaism.

Not generally. The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies some Black Hebrew Israelites as a hate group, naming one branch in particular, the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ. A2008 reportfrom the center warned that extremism within the movement was on the rise.

Although most Hebrew Israelites are neither explicitly racist nor anti-Semitic and do not advocate violence, there is a rising extremist sector within the Hebrew Israelite movement whose adherents believe that Jews are devilish impostors and who openly condemn whites as evil personified, deserving only death or slavery, the SPLC said.

Sometimes. Extremist Hebrew Israelites can be found on street corners literally shouting their doctrine, which can include Holocaust denial, misogyny and anti-LGBTQ invective, at passersby. They are especially visible in major Northeastern cities like New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., as well as in Florida and some Southern states.

One part of the wider Black Hebrew Israelite movementbegan arriving in Israel in the late 1960s, where they settled in the Negev Desert town of Dimona. There were tensions at first between Israeli authorities and the group, but these have been mostly resolved. In recent years, members of the group have becomecitizensand integrated into Israels diverse musicscene.

Yes. Rabbi CapersFunnye, who has led the International Israelite Board of Rabbis and is a cousin of the former first lady, is thechief rabbi of the community. He also leads Beth Shalom Bnai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago. Uniquely among Hebrew Israelite rabbis, Funnye hasembracedmainstream Jewish beliefs and cultivated a relationship with the mainstream American Jewish community.

There is none. Extremist Black Hebrew Israelites hate whites. But some have claimed that the rise of far-right groups is empowering black extremists.

The Southern Poverty Law Centertold the Forward last month that black extremism, manifest through some segments of groups like the Black Hebrew Israelites, is feeding off the rise in white nationalist extremism and attracting recruits. Tom Metzger, a white supremacist leader, once called the movement the black counterparts of us.

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Who are the Black Hebrew Israelites, the movement one Jersey shooter is a member of? - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on December 17, 2019

What young Malaysians need to learn from Germany is to learn from history, says the German Ambassador to Malaysia.

WHEN German Ambassador Nikolaus Graf Lambsdorff heard about the actions of a Malaysian graduate who gave a Nazi salute at his convocation ceremony recently, he was shocked.

For most Germans, either the denial or the praise of the Holocaust is one of the worst things that could happen.

Its unthinkable for us. You cannot do that. Its a criminal offence in Germany. I was simply shocked, I knew immediately this could not stand and I had to do something, he says.

The embassy issued a statement condemning the incident on its Facebook page last week, which became their most popular post to date.

The post was inundated with various comments mostly positive.

In Germany, the Swastika and other Nazi symbols are banned while those found guilty of the Nazi salute face a fine or even jail term.

As Lambsdorff highlights, a few days ago, a German man was fined 600 euros (RM2,760) by a local court in Cologne for making the Nazi salute, which is a tribute to dictator Adolf Hitler.

The judge said this was a serious crime and must not happen again. I understand that for outsiders, for some Malaysians, it may be hard to understand why this would be a serious crime. To us, it is, with our history. To praise Adolf Hitler for killing Jews in an industrialised, planned, strategic way is a serious crime, says Lambsdorff.

The graduate of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) explained that his salute was in protest over what he believed was the Jewish dominance of the world.

He also expresses his support for the Palestinians in Gaza as well as his resentment at the Jews and went as far as to support the cruel actions of the Nazi regime and the Holocaust. The student then ended his post with the hashtags #SaveGaza and #Pray4Palestine.

To us Germans, the very simple message that we learnt from our history is two words never again. This is why we are allergic to anything that looks like genocide. It doesnt matter who is affected, whether in Myanmar with the Rohingya or what Pol Pot did in Cambodia, says Lamsdorff, who has been in Malaysia for more than two years.

The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi regime.

Based on Hitlers book Mein Kamf (My Struggle), the Nazis believed that the Germans were superior to everyone else.

Lambsdorff concedes that he has heard people in Asia saying that people should be glad about what Hitler did to the the Jews and that this sort of methods could be applied to other specific ethnic groups.

Can you imagine that its the meanest thing you can probably say. There are very few people who would say that but it has happened to me. Most of these people dont really know what they are talking about, he says.

While Jews were the main targets of Hitler and the Nazi party, other minorities such as homosexuals, the disabled, and Gypsies were targeted as well.

There are, however, Malaysians who justify Hitlers actions on the Jews by saying that the Palestinians are victims of atrocities committed by the Israeli state.

Thats a rather absurd comparison. First of all, the Holocaust is a singular event in size. Six million people were killed. Nothing like that had ever happened before a systematic way to kill millions of people it sounds awful and it is awful, in an industrialised way. They invented all sorts of methods to kill Jews, he says.

These methods included mass shootings and the use of gas chambers.

Adds Lambsdorff, Germany believes in international law for the basis of states living next to each other.

We try to help avoid or stop wars, that is one of the main goals for German foreign policy. This has been the case since the Second World War. Thats another lesson we learnt, war is never a solution. We will never support a policy that only leads to more violence and more wars, he says.

Lambsdorff is of the view that it is up to both Israel and Palestine to sort out their problems, although he admits that it sounds a lot easier than being done.

We, especially lately, have been rather critical of what the Israeli government has been doing, especially in occupied territories.

But, to us, it is quite important to make clear that while we take the right to criticise any government including Israel, we will never doubt Israels right of existence.

At the same time, we do quite a lot to help the Palestinians. We are a major part of UN missions who work in the territories. We have always fought terrorism, and of course in the past, one source of terrorism was Palestine. Its not a coincidence that we have an embassy in Israel and an office in Palestine. Relations with both of them are good. There are limits to what we can do to get the two to get along with each other, but we are trying, he says.

History sticks with you, whether you like it or not, Lamsdorff notes.

We have been and continue to try to live down our history. I could claim that I was too young, what do I have to do with it? A lot to do with it, not because I happen to be a diplomat but because Im German. We cannot shake it but what we can do is try to learn from it. We can warn others not to make mistakes that we made. That didnt always work. We couldnt stop Pol Pot in Cambodia. There were other killings in Africa or Asia, but we do try to help the victims. We first teach our own people in schools our history and why it happened. The everlasting question is how it could be possible in a democracy; Germany was a democracy before the war and before Adolf Hitler came to power and did what he did.

As for the UMS graduate, Lambsdorff says he would like to meet him if there is an opportunity and if he is willing to talk and listen.

We have every interest to tell as many people about the Holocaust and the lessons from it. He obviously took the completely wrong lessons, he notes. We are trying to tell others, whoever is willing to listen and this is why we have a articulate interest in the rule of law, in democracy and human rights anywhere in the world including in Malaysia.

For us Germans, GE14 as a democratic, totally peaceful, change of power was fantastic. It shows that Malaysia is a maturing democracy; that something like this happened in faraway Asia, gives us hope. Its proof of what can be done and achieved, he adds.

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Never again - The Star Online

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Posted By admin on December 17, 2019

By the end of 1962, the year that Philip K. Dick published his novel The Man in the High Castle, John F. Kennedy was in office, the Cuban Missile Crisis was underway and Marilyn Monroe had died.

In the Amazon Prime Video universe inspired by that novel, 1962 is yahr null, Year Zero in the complete Nazi takeover of the Eastern United States, which includes a top-secret Josef Mengele project that would help Nazis cross into alternate worlds and use that access to gather information, invade and conquer.

This series the fourth and final season dropped a month ago gives us a chance to follow fascism from a safe distance, theoretically prospecting for a future worse than the one we seem to have now.

(Light spoilers follow.)

In the world-establishing first season, we learn that the Nazis and the Japanese have won World War II and divided the spoils. Nazis control the American Reich and its capital, New York City, reporting to Berlin (goodbye East Coast Jewry and Harlem, along with the Statue of Liberty). The Japanese control the Pacific States with the help of police called the Kempeitai, who in real-life were often called the Japanese gestapo, and report to the Japanese Emperor; its capital is San Francisco.

Jews and blacks are permitted to live only in the Neutral Zone, aka the Rocky Mountain States. That region is also the gathering place for the Resistance, brave souls from the Nazi and the Japanese zones who risk their lives to bring back American democracy.

In seasons one and two in particular, the Resistance draws hope from secret films that show a different reality, one where the Allies win the war. These filmskept safely by the mysterious man in the high castle pose a threat to both fascist governments, which vow to destroy them.

This is a powerful statement about the role of journalism, art and culture in truth-telling: They can bring hope and strength to the downtrodden.

There are a few Jewish moments in the series.

A settlement in the Neutral Zone called Sabra masquerades as a Christian enclave, but it actually houses the Jews who are lucky enough to get there. While few scenes take place at Sabra, it is there that a major character celebrates his bar mitzvah, an affirmation of faith and reconnection to peoplehood that must be exceedingly rare in 1960s Nazi-occupied America.

Near the end of the first season, when a secretly Jewish character is tortured by the Kempeitai for information, the lives of his sister and her children are used as leverage. When he refuses to cooperate, his sister, niece and nephew are gassed using Zyklon D (a newer version of the Zyklon B gas used by the real Nazis).

These snippets of Jewish experience drive home a point: In this world, not only has European Jewry been decimated by the Nazis, but so has American Jewry.

The fact that there arent many High Castle scenes involving Jews points to the reality of this alternate universe: There just arent that many Jews left. Those who have survived are either in hiding or concealing their heritage.

In the American Reich, these Nazis continue to root out Jews, blacks and degenerates anyone who threatens the master race. They get sent to a re-education camp, from which no one returns.

In this world, not only has European Jewry been decimated by the Nazis, but so has American Jewry.

In one scene, snow apparently starts to fall. But then a policeman explains, Tuesdays, they burn cripples [and] the terminally ill. Why? Because theyre a drag on the state.

The 10-episode fourth season, which premiered on Nov. 15, puts the focus on the Black Communist Rebellion, whose quest for a black homeland evokes the civil rights movement. But the journey of its members most of them concentration-camp survivors now looking to be a free nation in their homeland emotionally echoes the real experience of Jews after World War II.

This season contains a special treat for Bay Area viewers, as most of the action is set here. The BCR has its headquarters in Oakland, home of the Black Panthers who will soon appear in our world, and there are key scenes that play out in the streets and on the Bay, with the Bay Bridge in full relief. Moraga, too, makes a brief appearance.

The main protagonist in High Castle is Juliana Crain, who evolves from being a quiet, law-abiding citizen to a traveler who can cross between worlds, and a revolutionary who feels bound to distribute the films. If they can be beaten in that world, she says of the fascists, they can be beaten in this one.

Crain clashes with John Smith, a U.S. Army hero who joins the Nazis when they win the war not as a true believer, he would have justified, but out of pragmatism. And while some Nazi tactics are distasteful to him at first, he gets used to the taste of fascism first as a means to protect his family, then to advance to great power and visibility.

The first two seasons asked how a citizen becomes an activist. But as the focus shifts to John Smith and his wife, we are asked to imagine how people become fascists how one decision leads down a path from which there is no turning back, until one day you do see the wreckage you are leaving in your wake.

Glimpsing the other worlds is unbearable, Smith says finally to Crain, to glimpse all the people you could have been and to know out of all of them this is the one you became.

Looking back at the world depicted in High Castle through the lens of today, one cant help but see the cautionary tale within. We may not know if there are other worlds, and we dont need a TV show to imagine life being better. But our job, in any world, is to be the best version of ourselves, no matter how many alternate worlds exist.

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'Man in the High Castle' wraps up with a dire warning about rising fascism - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on December 17, 2019

This rare character trait would solve all world problems and revolutionize every human life.

Is America headed for another civil war? Many commentators are finally realizing the deadly reality of our dreadful political division. There is only one way to avoid a nation-destroying clash.

The Civil War began on April 12, 1861. On August 12, President Abraham Lincoln made this proclamation:

Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do appoint the last Thursday in September next, as a day of humiliation, prayer and fasting for all the people of the nation. [I]n all humility and with all religious solemnity, to the end that the united prayer of the nation may ascend to the Throne of Grace and bring down plentiful blessings upon our Country.

In a time of unprecedented national crisis, Lincoln spoke about the need for coming to God in all humility! The Union came close to being divided forever. Abraham Lincoln wanted to save it, and he knew that the nation couldnt be reunited unless we were in all humility. Americans had to be humble enough for God to teach them a lessonor else the nation would be divided forever.

How far our nation has fallen from God since that proclamation was made! Look at this history, and you gain some perspective on what is happening in America today.

On March 30, 1863, as the Civil War continued to rage, Lincoln praised God for providing endless blessings. Then, he warned:

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Can you imagine a president or a political leader today making such a statement? We are in this deep and dangerous division because we have forgotten God. Yet the situation is even worse today in some ways! We just havent started shooting yet, but some of the statements being made are worse than those made in 1861. Where is this all leading?

A Call to Repentance

On October 20, 1864, Lincoln reemphasized the repentance theme:

And I do farther recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid that they do reverently humble themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of events for a return of the inestimable blessings of Peace, Union and Harmony throughout the land, which it has pleased him to assign as a dwelling place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations.

Lincoln didnt reach the people with that message right away. They had to suffer and suffer, and soak the land with blood. But they finally did gain more humility, and after much suffering and hundreds of thousands of deaths, America was finally ready to lay aside its weapons and listen to God. This president was actually calling on them to repent and humble themselves and let God lead us.

Think about these powerful statements from perhaps our greatest president. Can you imagine a president today rebuking the nation for turning away from God? We often hear hollow words of gratitude toward God, but never do our leaders recommend repentance from sin.

How can America prevent a second civil war? There is only one way. Here is something we must understand if we are to make a change and a turnaround in the way we are living.

The Ultimate Example of Humility

Jesus Christ set the ultimate example for us to follow (1 Peter 2:21). Without Him, we would have no hope, no future, and no salvation. And look at His example of humility!

The Apostle Paul wrote, Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:3-5). How different was Christs mindset!

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (verses 6-7). Christ had existed for eternity as the Word alongside God Himself. He has always been second in command, even before the universe existed. His life is worth more than the sum total of all angels and humans. Yet, He willingly lowered Himself to the level of a mortal human beingso He could serve us.

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name (verses 8-9). Christ humbled Himself to the point of death. He made the ultimate sacrifice to pay for the sins of all mankind so we arent doomed to eternal death (Romans 6:23). He purchased us with His blood to make salvation possible. As a result of this unmatched humility, God glorified and blessed Him. God will do the same to us if we follow Christs example of ultimate humility.

Try to think regularly on what Christ went through for you. Even if He only had to die for you personally, He still would have done it! As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: (Isaiah 52:14). Witnesses of Christs scourging and crucifixion were astonishedHe was beaten beyond recognition, to the point that He didnt look human anymore!

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not (53:3). All mankind is responsible for our Saviors suffering and death. Too many today try to pin the blame exclusively on the Jews. Christ died not just for the Jews, but for every person who has ever lived and died, is alive today, or will live in the future! We all have sinned.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth (verses 4-7).

Christs scourging paid the penalty for our physical sins, which lead to sickness, injury, and death. This beating made our healing possible. Christs crucifixion paid for our spiritual sinsthe breaking of the Ten Commandments, which leads to eternal death. His death made eternal life possible for us.

Verse 8 asks the pivotal question: Who shall declare His generation? Christ humbled Himself to death and now wants us to display the same humility. He expects us to declare the dual blessings of physical healing and spiritual life made available to all mankind by His suffering and death.

Gods Favorite Home

God the Father rules the entire universe and inhabits all of it at once. But theres one place He likes to live most of all. Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word (Isaiah 66:1-2). There isnt a physical temple today, but the spiritual temple consists of those few who receive the Holy Spirit and humbly submit to God. God can live in youif you allow it. His mind can become your mind (Philippians 2:5).

The word contrite in Isaiah 66 verse 2 means broken and smashed. God loves a humble person who has broken and smashed and conquered vanity. He will look to you if you fear and obey Him. With Him on your side, you can solve any problem among individuals, families, cities, states, nations, and even the entire world. The time will come when every knee will bow to Christ (Philippians 2:10). God is giving you, as you read this message, the opportunity to become one of the first to bow to Christ the Kingbefore the rest of humanity does. Remember: He died for you! Is it really too much to ask for you to honor Him by the way you live your life daily?

Isaiah 66 verse 2 is one of the greatest scriptures in the Bible. Do we have the strength of humility to allow God to live in us so we can declare His generation? Christs sacrifice is for all mankind. All mankind needs to be taught about it. We have the honor to be their teachersif we choose to obey God now.

Think again about Abraham Lincolns Thanksgiving proclamation. He was grateful and humble and repentant like few people ever have been. No wonder he was one of the greatest presidents in American history.

The Miraculous Blessings of Humility

Most leaders and elites today are far too arrogant to be taught by God. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day (Matthew 11:23). God obliterated the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from heaven because the inhabitants were so evil. Yet, Christ said the people in Capernaum, a wealthy resort area, were even worse because they heard the gospel message but refused to heed itwhen even the Sodomites would have obeyed had they received a similar warning! This is blunt condemnation.

But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee (verse 24). Those in Capernaum should have known better. They knew that Christ was a God Being in the flesh, yet they still rebelled against His warning message. Were all guilty of rebelling against God. Its not just the Jews; its everybody. Our elites and politicians exalt themselves to the God level! They arent humble and teachable before God. God promises to bring them down to the dustto force them to become humble.

God wants you to realize the reward He is offering to the humble today. If we declare His generation, we will sit on Davids throne alongside Christ for all eternity! (Luke 1:30-33; Revelation 3:12).

But this reward is unavailable to the vast majority of mankind. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes (Matthew 11:25). Gods truth is revealed to human mindsyou cant discover it on your own. God only makes the truth known to babes, or the humble and childlike. The wise and prudent, or worldly intellectuals, are more ignorant than a toddler when it comes to spiritual truths. They have no idea who and what God is. Meanwhile, the humble can simply study Chapter 1 of Mystery of the Ages and prove the answer to this most important question in life.

Society today has the wrong perspective on power, and this can easily rub off on Gods people. At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:1-4). Christs own disciples were jockeying for the premiere seat of authority in Gods Kingdom. Christ had to enlighten them: The most humble today will be the most powerful tomorrow.

In his Autobiography, Mr. Armstrong wrote of his hard-yet-rewarding experience with achieving humility:

I was never converted until I was brought to the place where I realized my own nothingness, and Gods all-encompassing greatnessuntil I felt completely whipped, defeated. When I came to consider myself as a worthless burned-out hunk of human junk not even worth throwing on the junk pile of human derelicts, truly remorseful for having imagined I was a somebodycompletely and totally and bitterly sorry for the direction I had traveled and the things I had donereally and truly repentantI told God that I was now ready to give my self and my life over to Him. It was worthless, now, to me. If He could use it, I told Him He could have it! I didnt think, then, it was usableeven in Gods hands!

But let me say to the reader, if God could take that completely defeated, worthless, self-confessed failure to which I had been reduced, and use that life to develop and build what He has done, He can take your life, too, and use it in a manner you simply cannot now dreamif you will turn it over to Him without reservation and leave it in His hands! (pp. 483-484).

Look at how blessed Mr. Armstrong was. The Work under him, at its peak, soared past $200 million in annual income. His Plain Truth magazine surpassed 8 million subscribers. The list goes on and on.

If you strive to develop the ultimate humility, you will receive blessings like you cant even dream of!

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Germany and France Plan to Reform the EU - theTrumpet.com

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Cuomo Administration Decides on South Cove for Mother Cabrini Memorial

The planting bed, south of South Cove, that the administration of Governor Andrew Cuomo has selected as the site for a memorial to Mother Cabrini.

On Friday, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that a planned memorial to Mother Cabrini a 19th-century Italian-American who founded more than 60 organizations to help New Yorks needy, and later became the first naturalized U.S. citizen to be canonized a Catholic saint will be sited in the planting beds south of South Cove, the Battery Park City inlet at the foot of South End Avenue.

This memorial will honor the legacy of Mother Cabrini a great New Yorker and Italian-American and the Commission chose a site that perfectly symbolizes her commitment to helping new Americans settle in the United States, Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. We want this memorial to pay tribute to the charity and goodwill she spread to countless others in her lifetime.

The symbolism Mr. Cuomo was alluded to stems from the fact that South Cove looks out on the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, locations that are deeply resonant for American immigrants. The commission he referred to was a panel the Governor appointed in October to decide on a site for this memorial, and recruit artists to design it. This panel includes no residents from Battery Park City, although George Tsunis, the chairman of the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) is a member.

Fridays development followed a discussion earlier in the week at the Battery Park City Committee of Community Board 1 (CB1), in which chair Tammy Meltzer asked Nick Sbordone, the Authoritys vice president of communications and public affairs, whether an upcoming meeting of the BPCA board, will be confirming final details for either the Mother Cabrini memorial or the Hurricane Maria memorial?

This was a reference to another monument planned by Mr. Cuomo, commemorating Puerto Rican victims of the 2017 storm that claimed thousands of lives on that island. As with the Mother Cabrini memorial, the Hurricane Maria plan began with a press release, followed by the appointment of a commission to select a location and preside over a design competition. (The panel for the Hurricane Maria shrine does include one Battery Park City resident, Elizabeth Velez.)

Mr. Cuomo appears to have settled on Battery Park City for his recent spurt of memorial building, at least in part, because it is one of the few areas of New York City that, as chief executive of the State government, he controls directly. The Lower Manhattan locations also effectively guarantee significant media coverage and public visibility for both projects.

A schematic showing the site, between the Museum of Jewish Heritage (left) and South Cove (right).

In the case of the Mother Cabrini Memorial, it also offered Mr. Cuomo the further inducement of snubbing Mayor Bill de Blasio, with whom he has an acrimonious relationship. Mr. Cuomos announcement, timed to coincide with the Columbus Day Parade, followed a decision by the de Blasio administration to erect statues to seven women who had made significant contributions to New Yorks history. Although many additional statues of memorial to women are planned by City Hall, Mother Cabrini was not included in the first round of honorees.

Mr. Sbordone answered that while some details around timing and final location were still to be determined, we know that the Maria Memorial will be either at the Chambers Street overlook or at Esplanade Plaza.

Ms. Meltzer countered by asking, does the community get to have any kind of say in this conversation, or the chance to weigh in?

Always, Mr. Sbordone replied, in a reference to the BPCAs concerted effort in recent years to increase transparency, consult with residents on major decisions, and include community leaders in planning. Whether this commitment is shared by the Cuomo administration, however, remains an open question.

But we did a resolution saying we didnt want it in Battery Park City, Ms. Meltzer noted. This measure, enacted last December, observed that, all public land within Battery Park City has already been designated for uses on which the community relies; that, Battery Park City has more memorials per square foot than any other neighborhood in New York City; and that, there are numerous locations within the State that could be better suited to locate the Hurricane Maria Memorial than Battery Park City.

The same resolution called upon Mr. Cuomo to set up, a process [of] communication and transparency with the community prior to the placement of any new memorials in Battery Park City or anywhere else in Lower Manhattan. Neither of the commissions overseeing the planned memorials ever held a single public meeting, invited comment from residents, or liaised in any way with CB1 before the decisions to locate their respective memorials within Battery Park City were announced.

Mr. Sbordone answered, that resolution asked for representation on the commission and that the BPCA not pay for it.

Ms. Meltzer rejoined that, the representation on the commission has never bothered to come to a CB1 meeting and is someone who does business with both the City and the State. This was a reference to the fact that Ms. Velez is trusted confidante of the Governors, who served on the board of the Committee to Save New York, a controversial and secretive organization started by Mr. Cuomo in 2010, which was comprised mainly of real estate developers, bankers and lobbyists. The group was the States top lobbying spender in 2011 and 2012, but Mr. Cuomo shut it down the following year, after critics pointed to close ties between donors and State government. Ms. Velez also operates a construction contracting company that does business with both City Hall and Albany. According the multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation, Mr. Cuomo promised Ms. Velez a seat on the board of the Battery Park City Authority in 2016, but her appointment did not go through, for reasons that never became public.

Ms. Meltzer continued, they never actually bothered to come to a BPCA or CB1 meeting to get any type of community input. So, from our perspective, there has been little to no engagement.

Were looking at this from a community perspective, she added. Can you tell me where in Battery Park City there is a memorial to anybody who lived in Battery Park City and was lost on September 11, 2001? There is nothing here that represents the residents who were here on September 11. And yet, theres a hurricane memorial coming. It could beautiful, and Im sure it will be very interesting. But it would be nice if the community got to have some input on the final two selections.

Justine Cuccia, who serves as co-chair of CB1s Battery Park City Committee, noted that Esplanade Plaza (along with the Chambers Street overlook, one of two locations proposed for the Hurricane Maria Memorial), is the location of a volleyball court that the community uses, and is also used for dances and events.

Mr. Sbordone responded that, one of the benefits of having BPCA staff involved is that we are constantly reminding folks that this is a residential community.

Ms. Meltzer pressed, adding another thing at that location is not ideal. We havent seen what it looks like, or the scope and size, and there could be infrastructure changes. The concerns about usage and location are very real. And were out of that decision-making loop, or even conversations

An illustration of one proposal for the Hurricane Maria Memorial planned for Battery Park City, in which a statue that resembles a house submerging into the Esplanade is meant to illustrate the plight of the storms victims in Puerto Rico.

A further concern about both planned memorials is cost. The Cuomo administration has announced budgets of $700,000 for the Hurricane Maria project, and $750,000 for the Mother Cabrini monument. Given that these amounts are a fraction of the cost needed merely to repair several existing pieces of public art and infrastructure within Battery Park City in recent years, whether those budgets are realistic remains an open question. Examples of costlier projects from the BPCAs 2019 budget include $2.5 million to redesign the Police Memorial, $3 million to repaint the Tribeca Pedestrian Bridge, and $1.6 million for design and installation of way-finding signage. In 2018, the BPCA hired a contractor to repair the Pylons public art piece (alongside North Cove Marina) and the illuminated glass benches surrounding the Irish Hunger Memorial for $595,000, and estimated that restoration of the dozen-plus other public art pieces in the community could cost hundreds of thousands of additional dollars in the near future. (The BPCA recently appraised the value of its entire public art collection at approximately $63 million.)

Battery Park City activists and leaders have a record of opposing plans for additional memorials that they believed conflicted with the interests of the community. These include successfully derailing proposals to locate two relics of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 with the community: the so-called Survivors Staircase (a flight of 38 steps that once led from Vesey Street to the World Trade Center plaza above) and the Sphere (a metal globe sculpture originally located on plaza between the Twin Towers, and heavily damaged when they collapsed). Both were initially slated for relocation to sites within Battery Park City. But each was instead incorporated into plans for the new World Trade Center complex when the community objected to these proposals.

But State officials have an equally long record of vetoing these concerns and locating within the community monuments that often seem calculated to curry favor with politically significant constituencies. One illustrative case in point is the Irish Hunger Memorial, which was dedicated in 2002, at the corner of North End Avenue and Vesey Street, in spite of the fact that Battery Park City has little discernible connection to the history of New Yorks Irish-American community.

The same template may apply to the planned memorials for Hurricane Maria and Mother Cabrini, in that Battery Park City has scant significance in the narratives of Puerto Rican or Italian-American immigrants to New York. As Ninfa Segarra, a Battery Park City resident who once served as Deputy Mayor, and more recently chaired the Battery Park City Committee of Community Board 1, noted, as one of the few Puerto Ricans who live in Battery Park City, I think placing a Memorial here is ridiculous. The Governor should identify who in the Puerto Rican community asked that it be placed here.

Matthew Fenton

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The BroadsheetDAILY ~ News of Lower Manhattan ~ 12/16/19 - ebroadsheet.com

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Posted By admin on December 16, 2019

(Courtesy of Neve Yerushalayim) Jerusalem, December 1980. A young American tourist wearing jeans and a backpack descends the steps to the Kotel plaza. Gazing at the Wall for the first time, she knows shes supposed to be moved. But shes too annoyedeven angryabout the partition separating men and women. Why are women shunted off to the side? she fumes. She makes a decision. These religious people can segregate themselves if they like, but Im standing wherever I want. And she marches right into the mens section.

Shes about halfway to the Kotel when a guard suddenly notices her. Running after the girl, he calls to her to stop. You not to be here, you to be there, he says in broken English, pointing to the womens side. He escorts her out. Shes seeing red.

At that moment, a tall man wearing a suit and a black fedora approaches her. He smiles. Are you Jewish? he asks.

Yes, she says, between clenched teeth.

Would you be interested in a Friday night Shabbat meal with a religious family, or a class on Jewish philosophy?

No! she replies, wanting nothing to do with either the Kotel or Judaism.

For the next few hours, she wanders around the Old City. But something pulls her back to the Kotel. Ill give it a second chance, she figures. Again, the partition upsets her, but she has no choice about it. On the womens side, she goes up to the Wall. Placing her hands on the stones, she sees the notes pressed into the cracks, gazes upward, and looks at the people around her, then back at the Wall. She feels nothing. Oh well, she thinks. I tried. With that, she exits the womens section.

Just then, a young woman in a high-necked sweater and mid-calf skirt approaches.

Excuse me, she says with a friendly smile, do you have a map of the Old City?

Yeah, just a second, the tourist responds, reaching into her backpack.

By the way, are you Jewish?

Hmm, the tourist thinks. I believe Ive heard this before. Yes. Why?

While youre here in Jerusalem, would you be interested

Yup, sounds familiar. Listen, the tourist challenges, before we talk about my doing anything religious, whats the deal with this partition?

Well, the woman calmly replies, wouldnt you feel more comfortable praying surrounded by women rather then men?

The tourist pauses. Yes, I would. Okay, that makes sense. Then a little light bulb goes on in her head. Maybe other things in Judaism make sense too?

Two months later, she drops in on some classes at Neve Yerushalayim, intending to study no longer than a week. Ten months later, she returns to Americajust for a visitas a newly Orthodox Jew.

The Tourist? Gila Manolson.

In Neve Yerushalayims 50-year history as a ground-breaking institution for Jewish womens education, its staff have had the privilege to know thousands of women like Gila from all over the globe. Some may have had a strong conservative background, and some didnt even know they were Jewish growing up. They were seeking truth, seeking meaning, seeking healthy family life and relationships, and seeking God! They came to Neve to find out what it means to be a Jew, to discover the depth of their heritage, which they knew almost nothing about. They were inspired to find that Judaism was not an archaic religion, but a guide to living the most meaningful life, freed from the fads and false morals of their generation. These women have left Neve to build lives in Jewish communities around the world. They have gotten married to men who share their dedication to Torah, and are raising generations of Torah-observant Jews.

Another Neve student, Sara (85), tells how, after spending 15 years on an ashram, she began to discover that there was something more to Judaism than what they taught her in Hebrew school. She writes:

A month later my search took me to Jerusalem. There I studied at Neve Yerushalayim, billed as a yeshivah for English-speaking women with little or no Jewish background. I fancied that I had a great deal of Jewish background, since I had gone to Hebrew school until I went away to college and was the president of my synagogue youth group. Yet what I was learning in Jerusalem felt like a completely different religion.

Something started to stir inside me. My intellect, which so often at the ashram had been scolded and sent to sit in the corner, was now set free to run and do cartwheels. I was invited to pick apart every argument. And I didI questioned, challenged, debated and argued.

I battled with several issues, but the depth of my teachers approach left nothing outside its ken. Here was intellectual brilliance aligned with spiritual profundity. The way of life enjoined by the Torah fit me like a dress that had hung in my closet for decades. Only when I actually tried it on did I find that it fit me perfectly.

In Jerusalem, during my first week of studies, I noticed that when people emerged from the rest room, they would stand for a minute with their eyes closed, muttering something. When I inquired what they were doing, I was told that just as there is a blessing to say when eating or drinking, there is also a blessing to say after using the toilet, acknowledging the Divine source of all the bodily functions.

I was blown away.

Still, my leave of absence from the ashram was drawing to a close, and my former life beckoned.

I was 37 years old. The ashram was not only my physical and spiritual home, but also my place of employment and the residence of all my friends. Accepting the dictates of the Torah would require a radical change of lifestylea repudiation of so much I held dear, an estrangement from those I loved and the forfeit of whatever standing and prestige I had acquired in the New Age world. The very idea overwhelmed me.

One night, sometime after midnight, I went to the Kotel, the Western Wall, Judaisms holiest site. There I meditated. What was Gods will for me?

I had spent my entire adult life learning to align myself with the will of God as I perceived it. Now I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it was Gods will for me to stay in Jerusalem and practice Torah.

That night at the Kotel, I chose.

Yes, I told God, I will accept Your Torah as my guide, even when it is inconvenient or downright difficult. I will do it on Your terms whatever it costs me. I will live the way You want me to.

That night I fairly floated up the steps from the Kotel to my room in the Jewish Quarter. Instead of feeling saddled by the religious obligations to which I had just committed myself, I felt free and light.*

As Neve approaches its 50th year, idealistic young women, like Gila and Sara, from all over the world are still arriving almost every day of the year to immerse themselves in an environment of Torah. They are searching for clarity and a connection to their heritage in a confusing world where so many Jews are assimilating and intermarrying. Neve has an obligation to continue to provide quality Jewish education for these women.

Neve cant abandon its commitment to the future of the Jewish people and continues to dedicate itself to its mission. This year, it is launching its 50th-anniversary campaign to raise $7.5 million in order to propel its work forwardto increase its recruitment programs, create more spiritual support for its alumnae, enhance its offerings to the present student body, award them scholarships and renovate the dorms, thus building more successful Jewish futures.

A donation to Neve is to enable the school to continue empowering Jewish women and the community at large. You can learn more about Neves goals at http://www.nevey.org.

* Reprinted with permission from God Winked: Tales and Lessons From My Spiritual Adventures, by Sara Yoheved Rigler

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Posted By admin on December 16, 2019

Police in Beverly Hills, California, are investigating vandalism at a synagogue early Saturday morning as a possible hate crime.

The suspect overturned furniture, threw brochures and materials around and damaged several "Jewish relics" at Nessah Synagogue, police said in a statement.

An employee notified security when he arrived for work and found an open door and items ransacked inside, they said. Investigators viewed security video and distributed a screen grab of a suspect.

" ... fortunately the Synagogues main scrolls survived unscathed," police said.

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Police said they are treating the incident as a possible hate crime.

"Significant efforts are underway to identify and locate the suspect," police said.

The vandalism follows more than a year's worth of nationwide attacks and threats on locations associated with Jewish communities, including the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in October 2018 that claimed 11 lives, the alleged hate crime shooting at a Southern California synagogue that killed one in April, an alleged plot to blow up a Colorado synagogue revealed last month, and Tuesday's deadly attack on a Jersey City, New Jersey, kosher market.

The Beverly Hills synagogue says it was established in shared space in 1980 to serve Iranian Jews, many of whom fled religious persecution following Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979.

The city of Beverly Hills calls Nessah "the largest Persian-Jewish congregation in the United States." About one in five of the city's 34,000 residents are thought to have Iranian heritage. Together with neighborhoods on Los Angeles' Westside, the local Iranian diaspora is sometimes called "Tehrangeles."

"This cowardly attack hits at the heart of who we are as a community," Mayor John Mirisch said in a statement. "It is not just an attack on the Jewish Community of Beverly Hills; its an attack on all of us. The entire City stands in solidarity behind Nessah, its members and congregants."

Eric Garcetti, mayor of nearby Los Angeles, tweeted that he was "shocked and outraged."

"We will stand together and speak out strongly against any act of hate and intolerance in our community," he said. "We're keeping our friends and neighbors in our thoughts as police investigate."

Police said the synagogue will undergo cleanup and reopen Sunday.

Dennis Romero writes for NBC News and is based in Los Angeles.

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Vandalism at synagogue in Beverly Hills, California, investigated as possible hate crime - NBC News

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