Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 9, 2019

The Health Ministry will reportedly investigate four psychiatrists after a television report said they had prescribed drugs to ultra-Orthodox students, including minors, to inhibit their sexual desires.

In an expose aired over the weekend, Channel 12 sent two formerly ultra-Orthodox men undercover to seek care from the prominent mental health professionals Prof. Omer Boneh, the head of the psychiatry department at Jerusalems Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital; Prof. Abraham Weizman of Tel Aviv University; Dr. Michael Bontzel of the Maayanei Hayeshua hospital in Bnei Brak; and Dr. Tali Vishne after receiving claims from former yeshiva students of the phenomenon, which was ostensibly sought for religious reasons.

Formerly ultra-Orthodox men primarily from Hasidic sects said they were given heavy anti-psychotic or antidepressant drugs after admitting to having sexual thoughts, including about other men. They said they were given the medications strictly for their side effects, namely to lower their libido.

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The practice is believed to have startedin the 1990s among the Gur Hasidic sect, which is known for its sexual stringencies, gradually spreading to other Hasidic communities that also uphold strict gender separations and modesty laws.

For three years of my life I was in yeshiva without coming out [of the closet], Kobi Weinberg told Channel 12. The condition was that I take the pills. From the age of 9 until 15 I took psychiatric pills that I didnt need. I didnt eat and I didnt sleep, it made me depressed and it made me a shadow of my former self. I didnt want it. They also forcibly gave it to me, a teacher grabbed my throat, put the pill in and poured water.

The TV station also interviewed former mentors from the yeshivas who confirmed the phenomenon.

A Lag BaOmer bonfire in the Ultra orthodox neighborhood of Meah Shearim, Jerusalem, April 25, 2013 (photo credit: by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The station then sent two formerly Haredi men, posing as a student with homosexual thoughts, and a yeshiva mentor to the four psychiatrists to test the practice.

Boneh, of Hadassah Ein Kerem, prescribed the anti-depressant Paroxetine. It has a side effect that lowers the urges, which can help because it will improve mood and reduce the unwanted things, he said.

The hospital, in a statement to Channel 12, said, For reasons of patient confidentiality, we are prevented from addressing the unfounded and baseless claims presented in the article.

Vishne and Bontzel prescribed Risperidone, an antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia, and another drug that was not named.

Had they aired in the report the entire session, they would have seen that it included an in-depth conversation with the patient and a comprehensive psychological questionnaire that was designed to test the symptoms of the psychological distress, Vishne said in a statement. Due to the findings, I thought it correct to prescribe a low dose for one month only, to relieve the psychological condition and prevent clinical depression, not to repress sexual desire!

I refuse to prescribe drugs that repress sexual desire and have fought this phenomenon for many years, she said.

Illustrative: Thousands of haredim holding a prayer rally in Jerusalems Shabbat Square in opposition of the governments plan to start drafting yeshiva students into military and national service on June 25, 2012. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

According to a report by the Haaretz newspaper on Monday, the Health Ministry has demanded explanations from the four psychiatrists and will investigate the case.

The ministry will investigate the claims that arose from the investigation and if any faults in the medical treatment are found, it will act to the fullest extent of the law, it said.

The paper said Health Ministry officials did not believe the hearings would yield any punishments, as three of the four psychiatrists had previously been investigated after similar claims arose over the past decade.

Dr. Zvi Fishel of the Israel Psychiatric Association told the paper the practice is a wrongful act in any case that is not a sex offender, and we strongly oppose it.

But he also cast doubt on the reporting, saying: Since no one knows what really happened in those meetings as part of the report, we cannot judge the doctors and certainly not criticize them.

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Doctors accused of giving drugs to yeshiva students to curb their sexual desires - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on December 9, 2019

A construction worker. A substitute teacher. An insurance salesman.

In their day jobs, the players on Israels national baseball team look like your average 20- or 30-somethings. Some are recent college graduates, some have young children.

But after winning an Olympic qualifying tournament in Italy in September which included victories over Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and Italy the overachieving group of mostly American Israeli (and a few Israeli-born) Jewish ballplayers now has the opportunity of a lifetime: to become Olympic medalists.

But they need some help.

The team is trying to raise money to help prepare for the 2020 Summer Games in Japan, where six nations will participate in baseballs return to the Olympics after a 12-year absence. The games will be played in Fukushima and Yokohama starting on July 29.

While the Israel Association of Baseball will pay for travel, lodging and expenses in Japan, the training leading up to the Olympics is self-funded.

The money is helping level the playing field, said Team Israel starting pitcher Joey Wagman from Danville, alluding to the fact that the Japanese team is loaded with talent. In fact, Japans top professional league, he noted, will be pausing its 2020 season so that the best players in the country can play for Japan in the Olympics.

Thats why Wagman is so gung-ho about fundraising. Money raised will go toward things such as professional training, physical therapy and, most importantly, time. Our guys still have day jobs, Wagman said.

Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Israel have nabbed the first of the six Olympic baseball spots, with two more to be determined. The United States lost an opportunity to advance by losing an important game to Mexico last month, but can still qualify in March, as can teams from strong baseball nations such as Cuba, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

Wagman, 28, is a right-handed pitcher who played at Monte Vista High School in Danville. Drafted by the White Sox, he played a handful of seasons in the Oakland As organization, making it as high as Double-A. Before joining Team Israel, he played for the Milwaukee Milkmen, an independent pro team in Wisconsin.

Though hampered by a shoulder injury in recent years, Wagman was stellar in the Africa-Europe Olympic regional qualifier in Italy, starting two out of five games and hurling a complete-game shutout against Spain in Game 1.

Were trying to build a community around this team. There are so many aspects to this story that are really incredible.

Now, in seeking to raise funds for the Israeli squad, he has been talking to just about anyone who will listen.

Ive called every synagogue in the Bay Area, he said. Lots of networking, cold calling, meeting with congregations, synagogues, rabbis. He even spoke from the bimah once, addressing congregants at Temple Beth Abraham in Oakland.

Were trying to build a community around this team, he said. There are so many aspects to this story that are really incredible.

In addition to Wagman, players across the U.S. as well as the Israel Association of Baseball are trying to raise funds. As of Dec. 8, the IAB had raised about $52,000 on the crowdfunding website Jewcer, and Wagman had raised about $6,700 on his personal GoFundMe page.

That money has allowed Wagman to take time off from his job as a substitute teacher to train at a tech-athletic center in Menlo Park and work on his pitching at a high-level training facility in Pleasanton.

The fundraising efforts go well beyond crowdfunding, Wagman said. For example, earlier this month he met with David Katznelson, a former music industry executive and CEO of Reboot, a Jewish arts and culture nonprofit.

Team Israels goal on its Jewcer page is $200,000, and Wagman hopes to raise $30,000 via the GoFundMe campaign he created on Nov. 17.

Gabe Cramer, a 25-year-old pitcher from Santa Rosa who played at Stanford University, pitched three scoreless innings against Italy in Game 3 of the qualifier.

Cramer is still working his day job in New York City, at a college consulting firm. But hes been able to train at a nearby facility, plus he is going to physical therapy during his off hours.

Ive been trying to find a balance between working and training, he said. My jobs been flexible.

Much of the team is made up of Jewish Americans who recently gained Israeli citizenship under Israels Law of Return. Thats because the Olympics have much more stringent heritage rules than other tournaments, such as the World Baseball Classic, which grant eligibility to anyone who could become a citizen.

Still, the Israeli team does include at least one native Israeli, Shlomo Lipetz, a 40-year-old sidearm pitcher from Tel Aviv who recorded the final out in the teams 11-1 Olympics-clinching win over South Africa a win that Cramer said was an emotional one.

There were tears in everyones eyes for different reasons, he said. Some players had kids there who never saw them do anything on a baseball field. Others were remembering their grandparents, and how proud they would have been.

He said that memory is fueling his preparation for Japan. Whenever I think about not going to the gym, I think back on that and remember how special it was, he said. Im doing everything I can.

Since the Olympics take place in the middle of the Major League Baseball season, current MLB players will not be participating. However, players from the top professional leagues in Japan and South Korea, and others, will participate.

Wagman is aware of the challenge facing Team Israel. But he is hopeful that the team which includes former major-league infielder Danny Valencia will continue to make history.

In 2017, Israel qualified for the World Baseball Classic in a headline-generating run that was described as a David and Goliath story.

My focus is on becoming a true Olympian, Wagman said. If were fully prepared, theres no reason we cant bring home a medal.

There are only six teams in the tournament, and three teams medal. So why not us?

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Locals on Israeli baseball team looking toward Tokyo Olympics - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on December 9, 2019

(JTA) Michelle Farber has spent decades teaching Talmud to Jewish women. But when her first child was born, she was relieved it was a boy.

When my son was born, I said, Good, we had a boy first, itll give the world a little time to catch up for women, Farber said. Well, my daughter was born a year and a half later. I really thought that by the time my kids got to my age things would be totally different, and I feel like theres still not a large number of women who dedicate time to study Talmud.

Farber, 47, is one of the people trying to change that.

For the past 7 1/2 years, she has taught a page of Talmud a day to a small group of women at her home in the Tel Aviv suburb of Raanana. Some 250 more listen to the class online.

The classes are part of a worldwide program called Daf Yomi in which countless numbers of Jews around the world nearly all of them men study one of the 2,711 pages of the millennia-old Jewish legal code known as the Talmud each day. On Jan. 4, the 7 1/2-year Daf Yomi cycle is set to finish, an occasion that will be marked by massive celebrations. In 2012, a crowd of 90,000, mostly males, filled MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to celebrate the end of the last cycle.

On Jan. 5, Farber is holding the first large-scale Daf Yomi ceremony for women at the Binyanei HaUma convention center in Jerusalem. Thousands are expected to attend, and the event will be livestreamed around the world. The ceremony is a project of Hadran, an organization founded by Farber to encourage womens Talmud study.

The event will celebrate a years-long accomplishment, but Farber also hopes it will encourage more women to engage in intensive Jewish text study a field that has been dominated by men for centuries.

This is a real opportunity to make a change and get to all the women who are out there who arent necessarily studying now and could be, she said. Its a very good thing to do at a stage of life where youre busy with a million things and want to set aside some time for learning and feel like youre getting somewhere.

Farbers life is a case study in the obstacles that Orthodox women have faced in trying to study Talmud at the highest levels. The Long Island, New York, native left Barnard College in the middle of her studies to study Torah in Israel, eventually getting her bachelors degree in Talmud and Bible from Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv. She also graduated from the scholars program at Midreshet Lindenbaum, a womens seminary in Jerusalem.

At that stage, a man with Farbers knowledge could have pursued rabbinical studies. But at the time, that option was all but closed to Orthodox women.

So Farber studied independently. She joined a coed Talmud class with a distinguished Orthodox rabbi, but had to leave after it shut its doors to women. Ultimately she embarked on a career teaching Jewish studies to women in Jerusalem before moving to the Tel Aviv area, where she taught a weekly Talmud class to women.

The opportunities for me were really lacking, said Farber, who uses the title rabbanit. You cant imagine what its like. A guy has no understanding of what its like to be a woman and where the women are coming from and the lack that they have.

Rabbinic ordination has been open to non-Orthodox women for decades. Opportunities have expanded recently for Orthodox women as well. Yeshivat Maharat in New York City has been training Orthodox women clergy for a decade, though it does not confer the title rabbi on its graduates. In Israel, some women have received Orthodox rabbinical ordination.

Other programs offer women advanced degrees in Jewish law. And American high school graduates can choose from nearly two dozen womens seminaries in Israel. Farbers daughter studied at Migdal Oz, the sister school of Yeshivat Har Etzion, a highly regarded mens Orthodox academy in the West Bank settlement of Efrat.

But Farber notes that there is still a significant gender gap when it comes to advanced Jewish study. An Israeli survey from 2016 showed that 41 percent of religious Zionist women in Israel do not study Torah regularly, as opposed to just 14 percent of men. Part of the reason why Farbers class is limited to women is so women have a safe space to start encountering texts.

I knew that women may be intimidated to come if there were men in the room, Farber said. It was a way to attract beginners who had less background. If you put them in a class with men, theyre going to be more hesitant to open their mouths, to feel comfortable, and I wanted a warm, safe environment for women.

Farbers teaching style emphasizes giving students a clear explanation of the Talmuds esoteric and tortuous legal debates. But she also aims to show how the Talmud confronts questions of human nature something she has found her female students approach with particular insight.

She recalled one Talmud scenario in which a woman receives a date rather than a ring to signify marriage and then eats the fruit. Is the marriage still valid? It sounds like a bizarre case, but one of her students suggested that the bride might just be poor and hungry.

One of Farbers regular students via podcast, Ilana Kurshan, said she appreciates that Farber uses womens names when discussing hypothetical legal cases. Kurshan has completed Daf Yomi and wrote an award-winning memoir on the experience called If All the Seas Were Ink.

You imagine in your head that the women are the actors in the drama, Kurshan said. There are many aspects both of the text itself and the human encounter with the text that we have not historically had access to because only half the population has been studying the texts.

In advance of the completion ceremony, Farber has begun a campaign to have women adopt one page of Talmud and then study it before the event. She also wants to help train more women to teach Talmud.

Its not just that women should study Talmud but that we create more women scholars, she said. Having a woman teacher provides a role model. It just sends a message that you can get somewhere in this field.

Want to study Daf Yomi? Click here to sign up for My Jewish Learnings free email series exploring insights from each page of the Talmud. Emails begin Jan. 5, 2020.

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Talmud study is mostly a boys' club. This Orthodox woman wants to change that. - JTA News

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Posted By admin on December 9, 2019

Do You Want To Know Shas?

Dear Fellow Students,

We use the expression The Sea of the Talmud because the Talmud is vast, deep and apparently unending. It is fascinating, intricate and instructive. Amazingly, it can be studied with enthusiasm by children, young adults, seasoned learners and great scholars. It is simply unique.

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Ideally, we should remember everything we have learned. We should be able to apply relevant sections to whatever situation we meet. On Shabbos and Yom Tov we should remember the tractates which discuss those special days. We should be guided by Kiddushin and Kesuvos in how to build a Jewish home and how to treat our spouses. In all our dealings with our fellow-man in domestic or commercial circumstances we should have in mind Bava Kama and Bava Metzia and so on.

Someone who can do this, is truly living the Torah. The world he lives in is a Torah world. When he is walking along a street or waiting for a bus, his mind is filled with the wisdom of the Talmud, leaving no room for foreign thoughts to enter. This is the level we should be aiming for. Our Torah knowledge should not be limited to the time when we are actually studying. It should be our constant companion, our guide and best friend.

Of course, such familiarity with the expanse of Talmudic teachings does not come without significant effort. We need to understand the material fully, review it constantly and indeed daven for Hashems assistance to achieve this level. Does it seem to be a superhuman challenge? It is! Most of us will not succeed one hundred per cent. But that doesnt mean that we shouldnt try. We should always make time to review what we learn. If we dont manage to remember all the details, at least we should attempt to recall the main points.

Most of us will succeed more with both a structure for review and an incentive. I have compiled this sefer, Do You Want To Know Shas? published by Menucha Publishing and available in all good sefarim stores, which consists of questions on every daf which will encourage the reader at least to look through the material to work out the answer. The format of the questions brings the discussion of the Gemara into the world we live in, applying the principles to modern situations. Because we can relate to the subject matter, imagining ourselves in the situation the Gemara is discussing, reviewing becomes more interesting and enjoyable. This is our incentive.

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Rav Avrohom Weiss, a prominent Maggid Shiur in Yerusholayim and former Av Beis Din in Glasgow, Scotland writes as follows:

To all those who are now completing Shas and are going to the Siyum, I wish you a sincere Mazel Tov. Its a great achievement and milestone. May you merit to attend many more siyumim. However, our next ambition is not only to learn Shas but to remember it. We need not only to go through Shas but Shas must go through us. But how can we do it? How are we going to find more time in our busy schedules?

My esteemed colleague Rabbi Michoel Fletcher, whom I have known for many years, has come up with a time and energy efficient plan for remembering what we have learnt in an easy and interesting way, requiring little investment of time. He has compiled for us two relatively easy questions on each daf. The questions often update the subject of the daf into a modern context, making it easier to relate to. Once you start looking at these questions and enjoy answering them whether by heart or by looking through the daf, I assure you, you wont want to stop. Rabbi Fletcher has a most compelling style, as those whose who have enjoyed his previous sefarim will know. The questions he asks are fascinating and occasionally a touch humorous. After going through the sefer, even if youre not boki bShas youll at least have a basic idea of the different topics you have covered. And youll enjoy the siyum so much more. Its well worth the small extra effort to feel that you have not only learnt Shas but you will be living it as well.

Following on in a series from my earlier sefarim, Do You Know Hilchos Brachos? Do You Know Hilchos Shabbos? Do You Know Hilchos Yom Tov? and Do You Know Hilchos Chol Hamoed? Do You Know Parshas Hashavua? I was going to call this sefer Do You Know Shas? However since to that question, everyone will answer No, I have changed the name to Do You Want To Know Shas? to which, hopefully, we will all answer, Yes.

With best wishes,

Rabbi Michoel Fletcher

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Going to the Siyum HaShas? - Arutz Sheva

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Posted By admin on December 9, 2019

The Talmud tells us that he who saves the life of one Jew can be thought of as having saved an entire world. Other editions of the Talmud state that saving the life of any human being, Jew and non-Jew alike, is comparable to saving an entire world.

What would those Sages say about someone who, during the darkness of the Nazi era, saved the lives of thousands of intermarried Jews and non-Jews and their families, by finding a way to list them all as bona fide non-Jews doing this with steadfast determination, despite the considerable risk to his own life? Unbelievably, the fascinating story of the man who did just that remained unknown until this year, when the book Shedding our Stars, the Story of Hans Calmeyer and How He Saved Thousands of Families Like Mine (She Writes Press, 2019) by Laureen Nussbaum, was published - decades after his death.

The year is 1940. Hans Calmeyer, a secretly anti-Nazi German lawyer with humane beliefs, is drafted to an SS unit but opts tojoin an organization taken over by the Luftwaffe whose specialty is foreign airplane sightings. He volunteers to serve near the Dutch border and when the Dutch army surrenders in May, the reluctant soldier's unitmovesto Rotterdam.

In December, he interviews for a position in the Reich's Interior Ministry which soon issuesa decree defining what constitutes a "Jew" and which requiresall Jews in the Netherlands to report to the authorities.Rival factions in the Nazi party interpret the German racial law differently and Calmeyer is charged with interpreting it in the Netherlands so as to settle doubts about the Jewishness of those on the Dutch list.

Calmeyer uses his considerable and respected legal talents to argue persuasively against article 3 of the decree. His opinion is accepted and that clause, stating that a grandparent was racially Jewish if he or she was a member of a Jewish congregation, is opened to refutation by individuals whose race is indoubt. This opens the door for petitioners to claim that they are not in fact Jewish and for decisions of doubtful ancestry to be made for over 5600 cases. Calmeyer has brilliantly shifted the emphasis to proving an undocumented forebear was Jewishinstead of forcing the petitioner to prove that this forebear was Aryan, and that makes all the difference.Thanks to his legal expertise, murderous Germanpedantry is bested using its own meticulous methods.

Appointed the Reichskomissar in the Netherlands, Calmeyer is then officially assigned the authority to decide on questionable cases with regard to the Reich's definition of Jew. He is given considerable autonomy and thus holds the life or deathof thousands in his hands - and he uses his power bravely and well.

What gave him the courage to research, then falsify, destroy and alter family records when he felt it was possible to save people? It was a combination of abhorrence for Nazi ideology, his own ordinary human decency and the firm belief that the way to fight the evil that had found root in his native land was to do whatever he could to prevent the wanton genocide of Jews. He did this with two loyal co-workers and without public heroics, without joining the partisans, without fanfare and without talking about it, managing to thwart Nazi inspections and criticism. Bringing attention to himself in any way would not only have gotten him killed, it would have stopped his efforts, he later wrote.

Good men were scarce in the Nazi machine during the Holocaust. Good men who took risks to save Jews were rare indeed. In the Netherlands, where 90% of the Jewish population did not survive Nazi genocide, many due to Dutch neighbors' turning them in or reporting their hideaways (as in the case ofAnne Frank), his daring is even more laudable, takingon even more significance.

It is riveting to read Calmeyer's story through the eyes of the book'sauthor, then the school-age daughter of one of the families he saved. Her father was Jewish, her mother a non-Jew, and Calmeyer used her non-Jewish grandmother's alleged relationswith another non-Jew to classify her and her siblings as non-Jewish and her mother's marriage to a Jew a "privileged intermarriage." This enabled mother and children to "shed their stars," giving rise to the book's name - escape being sent to the camps and to survive the hardships of the war as part of the civilian Dutch population instead of being slated for extermination. The writer's vivid description of life during the frightening period when her family was considered Jewish contrasts starkly with how she was able to live once the hated yellow star was removed and makes Jewish suffering all the more horrifying, the Nazis' relentless lust for murdering Jews and anyone with a Jewish bloodline all the more abhorrent.

Laureen, then called,Hannelore, was friendly with Anna and Margot Frank and describes their sudden disappearance as well as what befell other Jewish families, including her future husband Rudi's parents who died in the camps and the suicides ofJewish neighborswho had escaped to the Netherlands and could not face falling into Nazi hands. The story of how Rudi himself cleverly escaped being caught by the Nazis is a spellbinding part of the book.

Hans Calmeyer saved thousands of lives, but in order to do so, had to reject those whose records he could not change without giving himself away and jeopardizing the entire operation. His concerted effort to remain clandestine allowed him to save many more than the number of Jews on Schindler's list, but did not lead to his starring in a movie by Steven Spielberg. Instead, he was actually imprisoned after the war, denounced as part of the Nazi genocide machine by a woman whose family came to him but was rejected because he could not find a way to altertheir records. Those whom he was able to save, however, came forward and served as living proof of the thousands he removed from Nazi clutches.Today, he is listed as a Righteous Man Among the Nations in Israel's Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem,a title reserved for those few who courageously saved Jews.

Calmeyer suffered greatly as a result of the choices he had to make, calling his efforts "too little, too little" and torturing himself throughout the rest of his life with the thought that he might have done more. The reader, however, is filled with awe and admiration for this outwardly unremarkable Aryan lawyerand cannot help thinking how many lives could have been saved had there been another hundred Calmeyers among the bureaucrats faithfully running the genocide system. The contrast with Adolf Eichmann's claim that he was only "following orders" comes unbidden to mind...

Calmeyer's damning description of post-war Germany is as enlightening as his war time experienceand goes a long way towards explaining the despicable rise of antisemitism today in the country that once blindly followed Hitler.Writing soon after the war, he is shocked to see the same Nazi bureaucrats continuing to run his native land, unashamed, unrepentant, and ubiquitous realizing that he was but a drop in the bucket filled with willing, believing Nazis. It seems, he reveals, that the allies only got to the leadingfigures in the Third Reich, and that the ordinary, plodding Nazi bureaucrats were whitewashed, with all guilt swept under the carpet, allowing them to remain in place. The old elites, the big banks and industrial giants who helped the Nazis and whose liquidation had been recommended by investigators, were left untouched.

Famed writer Alfred Doblin wrote: "Here lives unchanged a hard working people of orderly habits. As always, they have been obedient to a government, latterly to Hitler, and they do not understand why this time, being obedient should have been wrong." Author and journalist William Shirer was clearer:"They do not have any guilt feelings and regret only that they have been beatenthey are sorry for themselves and not for all the people they have murdered and tortured."Adenauer was unrepentantly laconic, saying that there was no one else to help run the country.The reader realizes that it is continuity, not regression, that explains why so many of theiroffspring areJew haterswhose anti-Semitism is what they have in common with the Muslim migrants Angela Merkel mistakenly thought would expiate her country's wholehearted attempt to eradicate its loyal Jewish minority during the Hitler years..

Hans Calmeyer deserved to have his important story told. It is evident that much research and efforts went into its writing and that the book's 92 year old author is able to look at the world, after decades of personal accomplishment, with the wisdom of experience. She says in an interview that the situation in the world shows many parallels with that of the Weimar Republic that allowed Hitler to rise to power and hopes that it is not too late to draw lessons from history.

The only part of the book I found somewhat less interesting was the writer's detailed description of her own family's life longafter the war, added at the advice of friends who thought it would provide humaninterest to the book. It is somewhat jarring when she tells of her family's move to America and affiliation with the pacifist Quakers. She does not mention or perhaps does not know,that they are also avowed antisemites.

On the one hand, her Jewish survivor husband's illustrious scientific career serves to emphasize, by contrast, how many other brilliant minds were lost at Auschwitz. On the other hand, the couple's view of life that embraces pacifism as if there is no evil in the world that must be fought once the Nazis were defeated, is not particularly realistic. In that vein, this reviewer feelsthat Nussbaum's sympathy for the German girls her age who suffered during the allied bombings towards the war's end is misplaced. We would all have wished that only Nazi ideologues be the ones to pay for their sins, but bombing Dresden, for example, saved untold lives because it was the center of Nazi industry and most of the girls for whom she feels sorry were compliant and cooperative Nazis. Those very same Talmudic Sages quoted above, by the way, said that he who has mercy on the cruel will end up causing cruelty to be wreaked on the weak.

Hans Calmeyer was not bothered bythose considerations. He quietly saved whomeverhe could and his story makes for a highly recommended and powerful read.

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The unknown story of the man who foiled Nazi plans, saving thousands - Arutz Sheva

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Posted By admin on December 9, 2019

Gilad Atzmon writes:

Once every day a Labour Party official offers a grovelling apology to the Jewish community, but for some peculiar reason its leaders seem unforgiving. They dont take Corbyns expressions of remorse seriously. On 8 December Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, speaking on the Andrew Marr show, attempted again to appease his partys detractors. Weve done everything, I think, we can possibly do. Weve apologised to the Jewish community, he said.

So far, nothing seems to have worked. If the Labour Party is to be forgiven by the Jewish community, it must perform an authentic act of total humiliation and the sooner it occurs, the better, as election day is just a few days away.

Therefore, I suggest that Corbyn, his shadow chancellor and any other person who contemplates becoming involved in British politics learn some basic Jewish history and in particular. the horrendous and tragic story of Jewish philosopher Uriel Da Costa .

Uriel Da Costa (1585-1590) was a Jewish rationalist who became a symbol among Jews and others of one martyred by the intolerance of rabbinical zeal.

Da Costa was the scion of an aristocratic family of Marranos (Spanish and Portuguese Jews forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism). Initially, he studied canon law and became the treasurer of a collegiate church. Da Costa questioned the salvation depicted by the Roman Catholic Church. In his search for authentic meaning and spirit, he turned to the Old Testament. He then converted to Judaism and convinced his close family to adopt his new/old religion. At the age of 22, Da Costa fled with his family from Porto, Portugal, to Amsterdam.

Da Costa soon found that the form of Judaism that prevailed in Amsterdam had little to do with the Bible or with rational or analytical thinking and had much to do with an elaborate structure based on rabbinic legislation (Talmud). Being philosophically inclined, he formulated 11 theses (1616) attacking Rabbinic Judaism as non-biblical, for which he was excommunicated by the Rabbinical institutions.

Uriel Da Costa

Da Costa next composed a larger work condemning rabbinic Judaism and denying the immortality of the soul (1623-24). In a path that may remind some of life in contemporary Orwellian Britain, the Amsterdam magistracy arrested Da Costa, fined him and deprived him of his books.

In 1640, after years of ostracism which he could hardly bear, Da Costa made a public recantation. In response, the communitys leaders choreographed an exceptionally cruel and humiliating rite. As described by the Israeli Museum of the Jewish People:

In a ceremony in the Great Synagogue of Amsterdam, Da Costa was first forced to confess his sins, then endure 39 lashes, and finally to lie on the (synagogue) threshold and let the entire crowd step over his body.

Da Costa never recovered from this barbarous ritual. A few months later he shot himself in the head in the middle of the street.

If Corbyn, his shadow cabinet or anyone else within the Labour Party is interested in forgiveness,the road is open for them to undergo Urial Da Costas experience.

However, some major categorical differences between Da Costa and Labour politicians must be examined before such a development matures into a televised spectacle. While Da Costa was an exquisite free thinker who served as an inspiration to the great Baruch Spinoza (who was subjected to similar Rabbinical malevolence just a few years later), Labours leadership isnt exactly an intellectual collective. Their contribution to authentic thinking and freedom of thought is currently in the red. Unlike the sensitive Da Costa who couldnt bear the humiliation and ended his life under tragic circumstances, Corbyn and the Labour elite are more than likely to survive such a humiliating scenario they may even enjoy it. Like most British politicians, they long ago lost contact with the concepts of dignity and pride.

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Corbyn, Uriel Da Costa and the meaning of real apology - Redress Information & Analysis

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Posted By admin on December 9, 2019

A TMX Group board displays Toronto Stock Exchange information. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The popular narrative of the moment is that Capitalism has failed. Capitalism, it is argued, is not providing for the needs of a fair and just society. Instead, it is allowing a small section of the population to amass vast sums at the expense of others. And this may be true. But the question is, whats better?

Originally, capitalism simply referred to the use of capital to trade and expand commerce. Antisemites have always claimed the Jews started it and were therefore to blame for all the evils of wealth. But of course the Fuggers and Medicis, the giants of Medieval European banking, were not Jewish. Besides, it is important to distinguish between money that has intrinsic value or not and the theories of how we relate to property and private wealth.

In the nineteenth century, thanks to MarxsDas Kapital, Capitalism came to be associated with rich industrialists squeezing the poor to make greater profits. Marxism gave primacy to the working classes as the creators of wealth. This became the basis of the modern political conflict of class warfare. In fact, both sides won. Capital provided the wealth for Socialism to bring about the various forms of welfare states that are now the norm of modern societies. What we might call capisolism.

The Economist recently featured an article about Capitalism based on the work of Branko Milanovic of the Stone Center CUNY. He posits different stages of modern Capitalism. From Classical Capitalism (before 1914), associated with the USA, to social-democratic Capitalism and the Welfare State that emerged in Europe to Liberal Meritocratic Liberalism that is the prevailing model. He contrasts these western expressions with what he calls Political Capitalism (of the sort represented by China) which pursues wealth but controls freedom of thought and expression. It provides welfare but on its own terms.

December 9, 2019 7:12 am

A recent essay in The New York Review of Books discusses the views of economist Robert Skidelsky and argues that the current economic theories of money are not what we assume them to be and make no sense. The system is dysfunctional. So what can we ordinary mortals do?

Religions tend to require those who have wealth to help those who have not, as a moral obligation. But what if, as happens a great deal, wealthy people do not care to help society. Who then is responsible for taking care of the community? Governments? Sometimes they might, but too often dictatorships of the left or the right are corrupt, incompetent, or dishonest. So who should we trust with creating a fair society?

Here is a Jewish take: Long before Jewish Law was established as an ethical system for running human society, the idea of giving tithes (a percentage of ones wealth or income to others) was an established custom. For example, in Genesis 14, Abraham gave a tithe to Malchizedek. It is not clear whether the tithe was given as an offering to a priest or as a donation to help others. Both found their way into Jewish law.

As mercantile societies proliferated, so too did the sophistication of business practices and the uses of capital. New laws, or modifications of the old ones, were added. Charity extended from agricultural donations to financial ones, from lending as a religious charitable obligation to lending as a means of helping people become self-supporting.

The Torah asserted that there would always be poverty: the poor shall never cease from the land. But it reiterated (more than any other law) the obligation to help the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. It disapproves of sloth or dependency. Hebrew slaves, more than two thousand years ago, working to pay off debts or who were unable to support their families, could work or enter a state of servitude. But it was not regarded as ideal. Time limits were imposed. A Hebrew slave who wanted to stay on beyond the statutory period had an ear pierced to express Divine disapproval. The children of Israel are My servants, not servants to other servants. And provision had to made to ensure that someone leaving slavery could be self-sufficient.

Competition between merchant classes in the Greek, Roman, and Persian worlds became fierce as they expanded their empires. Simultaneously, the reactions against the excessive accumulation of material wealth raised the issue of morality. Was money the root of all evil? Or was it human cupidity? Greek philosophers argued about materialism and whether wealth or poverty was superior. So did eastern religions. The Torah was worried about accumulating too much wealth in both the priesthood and the monarchy. Solomon already warned in Ecclesiastes that wealth in itself brought neither wisdom nor satisfaction and was certainly not the solution to the challenge of life.

The debate about the accumulation of material things entered the Talmud in Mishna Avot 4.13:

What is mine is mine and what is yours is yours is a balanced attitude. But some say that was the attitude of the men of Sodom.

What is mine is yours and what is yours is mine is a simpleton.

What is mine is yours and what is yours is yours is a saint.

What is mine is mine and what is yours is mine is a bad person.

The first line asserts the freedom of individual choice to accumulate wealth. But this could also imply selfishness and disregard for the others. When used that way it was regarded as morally corrupt, like the world of Sodom.

The third one illustrates stupidity. If we are going to approve of material possessions, and the right to accumulate, then it stands to reason that each person should be able to choose how, and how much they want to accumulate. To have people decide for each other is just silly. That is what gangsters, dictators, and ideologues do.

The fourth proposition says that a rejection of materialism is saintly. But it does not necessarily disapprove of those who cannot adopt such a selfless attitude. And finally, accumulating for oneself by taking what belongs to others, is obviously the worst ethical position.

One might argue that Socialist dictatorships do this as much as Capitalist governments. They decide how much you can keep. And then they decide what to do with the money they collect even if it wastes it, makes matters worse, or bankrupts a state.

This is another example where the Torah implies that there is no perfect political solution. In the Bible, there are different models of leadership, governance, and economic systems. Each state each community needs to adapt to survive and thrive. A solution that works at one moment in time, or in one situation, may not be the right one forever. Flexibility is essential. Otherwise, systems atrophy. The beauty of democracy, despite its limitations, is that it allows for change.

Judaism requires us to continuously struggle to find a better or more appropriate resolution to this challenge. Capitalism of whichever sort and socialism in its varieties can both be harnessed for good and for evil. And if States fail, it is up to us, as individuals, to fulfill our moral obligations regardless of the system.

We seem preoccupied with the pursuit of happiness. But happiness is not necessarily good. Without wealth, we cannot provide for our bodies and those of the weak and disadvantaged. But without moral obligation, we cannot provide for our souls. It is not enough to do no harm. We must strive to do good.

Rabbi Jeremy Rosen received his rabbinic ordination from Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He has worked in the rabbinate, Jewish education, and academia for more than 40 years in Europe and the US. He currently lives in the US, where he writes, teaches, lectures, and serves as rabbi of a small community in New York.

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Judaism and Capitalism - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on December 8, 2019

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill on Friday that enables Ulster County towns and villages to tax property sales and use the proceeds to buy land or development rights as a conservation measure.

The legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, and Sen. Jen Metzger, D-Rosendale, simply added the word Ulster to a 2007 law that gave towns and villages in Westchester and Putnam counties the ability to create community preservation funds that they replenish with income from real-estate transfer taxes. Voters must approve the tax in a referendum for a municipality to impose it.

This legislation is about giving Ulster communities the tools to safeguard their unique natural, historic, agricultural, and scenic resources for the benefit of current and future generations, Metzger said in a statement after the bill signing. Having worked at the local level in Ulster County for many years to protect open space and support our local farms, I am thrilled to partner with Assemblymember Cahill in providing this important opportunity to local governments for this purpose, and thank the Governor for recognizing the need to protect our irreplaceable Hudson Valley resources.

Cahill called the bill an important step forward in helping our local governments preserve open space, develop the tools needed to make housing more affordable and to responsibly plan for a sustainable future.

The legislation was similar to a proposal Cuomo recently vetoed that applied solely to the Town of Chester in Orange County, and would have given that town the ability to tax property sales for a conservation fund if voters approved. In that case, Cuomo said his objection was the allegation in a federal lawsuit that the bills purpose was to block housing development for Hasidic families.

Maloney says Trump left us no alternative to impeachment

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney said Tuesday that President Trumps misuse of military aid for his own political benefit and his obstruction of lawful investigations of his misconduct had left Congress no choice but to impeach him as a way of holding him accountable.

In a statement after the release of the House Intelligence Committees report on its impeachment hearings, the Cold Spring Democrat expressed respect for people who hoped for better from this president and were skeptical of the unfolding impeachment process, but said he believed the evidence and history will vindicate that course. Maloney serves on the Intelligence Committee and participated in that panels televised questioning of government officials for five days about Trumps suspension of military assistance to Ukraine and two investigations he wanted that countrys president to announce.

Heres Maloneys full statement:

The evidence is as clear as it is heartbreaking: President Trump misused taxpayer-funded military assistance to pressure a foreign government for help with his re-election campaign. He did so over months with a reckless disregard for our national security and that of a key European partner currently at war with Russia. He has obstructed lawful investigations of his misconduct and repeatedly and knowingly lied to the public.

I have had a high bar for impeachment. But the Presidents conduct has left us no alternative. If we are to be faithful to the people we serve and the oath we take to the Constitution, we must hold this president or any president accountable for such misconduct.

I respect those who hoped for better from this president, and who remain skeptical of this constitutional process. It is precisely because of this respect, not in spite of it, that I will act in the best interests of our country. I am confident that over time, and in the light of history, the facts and the evidence compelling these actions will create a broad understanding of their necessity.

I thank the brave national security professionals and career foreign service and military officers who did the right thing by testifying before the Committee and the American public.

Chele Chiavacci Farley, the Republican planning to challenge Maloney in 2020 for New Yorks 18th Congressional District seat, issued a statement Tuesday night condemning the divisive and unproductive impeachment hearings and the party-line vote on the Intelligence Committees report, a split that she said showed no clear mandate to remove a sitting President with less than a year before the next election.

Democrats continue to waste millions of dollars and relentlessly pursue any path they can to continue to fracture our nation, in their brazen attempts to overturn an election, and invalidate the votes of millions of Americans, Farley said.

Schmitt, Hoovler plan public talk in Woodbury on opioid crisis

Assemblyman Colin Schmitt and Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler plan to host a roundtable discussion this week about the opioid epidemic.

The talk is open to the public and will take place from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Woodbury Senior Center at 16 County Route 105 in Highland Mills. Schmitts office said speakers will include government and nonprofit representatives, recovering addicts and first responders, and they will talk about the current state of the crisis and potential ways to combat it.

The heroin and opioid epidemic is a public health crisis that impacts each and every one of us directly or indirectly, said Schmitt, R-New Windsor.

Anyone interested in participating should contact Jena Knight at knightjl@nyassembly.gov or 845-469-6929.

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The Fray: Cuomo signs bill allowing Ulster towns, villages to raise conservation funds - Times Herald-Record

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Posted By admin on December 8, 2019

Anyone who wants to understand the problem with the definition of anti-Zionism as a form of anti-Semitism should read Yair Netanyahus tweet about the French parliaments decision last week to adopt that definition. Do you realize that the French parliament has actually decided that Ahmad Tibi, Ayman Odeh and the whole Joint List are anti-Semites? the prime ministers son wrote.

Its hard to think of a purer expression of Netanyahu-esque manipulation a combination of legal bullying, emotional extortion and sophisticated engineering of meaning than defining anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism and charmingly imposing it on foreign countries.

Haaretz Weekly Episode 51Haaretz

Its almost possible to summarize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus historic act with the fact that he managed to change the worlds opinion like a sock that came out of the laundry. Who could have imagined that in the United States, Britain and now France a remark that the Israel of the Declaration of Independence has become an ethnocracy, oppressing another nation, will be defined by law as anti-Semitism?

What is this similar to? To the situation where U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accepts the propaganda of the Israeli right anddeclares thatthe settlements arent necessarily inconsistent with international law? Wait a minute, that happened too. With all due respect to the fight against anti-Semitism, this new definition is a manipulation, and you have to be a European consumed by guilt or an American consumed by political correctness to accept it.

The new definition doesnt have anything to do with the fight against anti-Semitism. Dont let them fool you. This is a crude attempt to harness the battle against anti-Semitism for the benefit of making the occupation and settlement enterprise kosher, and politically silencing the opponents of the occupation by criminalizing the battle to end it. The English translation of Yair Netanyahus tweet must be spread because it exposes the true motives of the linking of anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.

The haters of minorities around the world dont scare the state of the Jews; rather, the minorities in the Jewish state are keeping the Jewish majority that rules it from sleeping. Tibi and Odeh and the arsenal of votes in their warehouses of democratic weapons are conspiring to surprise us with a blitz at the polling stations.

The complementary step to the new definition of anti-Semitism was made in Israels lawbooks two years ago when the Knesset passed an amendment to the Basic Law on the Knesset. A person can now be prevented from running for the Knesset if he or she rejects the definition of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

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Who are we trying to fool? Jewish and democratic are code words for a Jewish state. How many words are needed to prevent Arabs who havent forgotten theyre Arabs from running for the Knesset? How much chutzpah do you need to ban them by law from fighting for equality in their own country? How much of a manipulator do you have to be to equate an elementary democratic struggle by citizens of the country with an armed struggle by an enemy nation or hostile organization in occupied territory?

Heres a wonderful example of the Netanyahu-esque manipulation in action: Turning the struggle to make Israel a state of all its citizens into the rejection of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. In other words, rejecting the existence of Israel, or in short: its destruction. How did he put time after time in the recent elections? They want to destroy the country.

This is how, under the auspices of a Basic Law, someone who believes Israels Arab citizens should be transferred outside its borders, or thrown into the sea or Gaza, is equated with someone who espouses turning Israel into a state of all its citizens and the annulment of its Jewish character. In other words, Jewish supremacy and Arab inferiority that under Netanyahu have been legally enshrined in the nation-state law.

Its a beautiful trick they invented. The Israeli government will do anything it wants, enshrine it in law and then say that opposition to it is anti-Semitism. How come they never thought of that before?

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France's new definition of anti-Semitism has nothing to do with fighting it - Haaretz

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Posted By admin on December 8, 2019

The parallels are stark and increasingly depressing. The Kurdish struggle for statehood is all too similar to the Jewish one in the early 20th century. If we stay quiet, we discard our history and the principles on which Zionism was founded. The old saying goes that, Kurds have no friends but the mountains. Its time we change that.

When US President Donald Trump withdrew peacekeeping troops from Northern Syria last month, he executed the latest in a string of historic betrayals by the West towards the Kurdish people. They are the largest stateless people in the world and despite the promises made in the past, that isnt changing today.

On the contrary, in a divisive world, it seems its the one thing that can unify the US, Russia and China. This, despite the fact they have spent the last decade fighting against ISIS giving their lives to fight the group who have terrorized so many on our behalf. Entering the vacuum, Turkey has invaded Northern Syria and done so for one sole purpose. It seeks to suppress this longing for Kurdish sovereignty in their homeland, and to crush a secular democratic experiment that spits in the face of religious theocracies.

NATO ally or not, Erdogan displays more than a few character traits of a tyrant. His resurgence of Turkish nationalism proves he is an enemy to all those who seek a more tolerant Turkey or Middle East. His equating of the admittedly dire situation in Gaza with the Holocaust and his denial of the Armenian genocide demonstrate clearly why we should all view him with complete contempt.

For any Jew who calls themselves a Zionist, or even one who recognizes Israels existence in the world as a positive, it is imperative that we realize the resemblance of their struggle with ours and stand in solidarity without hesitation. The Kurds have been the victims of persecution, gassing and systematic oppression for generations. Yet, they cling to similar values that we hold dear in our community: a desire for self-determination, for liberal values of equality and tolerance; a rising feminist movement which is a shining light for women in such an oppressive part of the world.

Specifically in the Kurdish-majority region of Rojava, Northern Syria, they attempted to engage in democracy and feminism in a region largely void of those values, and were successful; all this out of the ashes of one of the bloodiest wars in modern history.

THESE SEEDS for a better Syria and Middle East were crushed at the hands of Turkish soldiers, using weapons that were sold to them by our UK government. Astonishingly, despite a billion pounds worth of arms being sold from the UK to Turkey since 2014, we seem to have no influence over their flagrant expansionism. So, while its good to hear Dominic Raab say we will stop sponsoring this ethnic cleansing for the time being, the damage is done. The blood will stain our nations hands for a long time, but it doesnt mean our community should stay quiet.

In the UK weve been so preoccupied with Brexit and Labours antisemitism crisis; weve avoided discussing what we actually stand for. Were a diverse community with a spectrum of opinion that can sometimes make us forget about the foundations we all share.

The vast majority of us want to see a more peaceful, democratic and liberal region surrounding Israel. The majority of Kurds support a separation of mosque and state and most have sought their state through peaceful means, including voting for independence in Iraqi Kurdistan 93-7% in their 2017 referendum.

For any Zionists who smear the Kurdish struggle by focusing on the PKK, (a recognized terrorist organization), better not mind sounding like hypocrites. The Irgun were also terrorists, the founding of the state of Israel was also bloody, these are truths we cant and should never run from.

While solving this issue will never be simple, it can only happen peacefully by forming a new coalition of democratic nations worldwide who stand for secularism and tolerance. There is a Christmas General Election around the corner here in the UK, which means your representatives and their opponents have to come to you to gain your vote. As a community, lets make sure we tell them to protect and support the Kurds in any way they can. Whoever heads the next Israeli government must be sent the same message. American Jews, follow suit. Do that, and we keep the spirit of Zionism alive.

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If we dont stand with the Kurds, who should stand with us? - The Jerusalem Post

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