Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on November 30, 2019

In 2019, nearly 300,000 Jews are living in fear for their own future and their own security.These were the words of World Zionist Organization (WZO) vice chairman Yaakov Hagoel, who has called on the British government to fight the scourge of antisemitism as concerns mount over the possibility that UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn could become the countrys next prime minister.In an exclusive letter to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, Hagoel said that in 2019, one of the top contenders for the United Kingdoms leadership is a declared antisemite, a hater of Israel and a terrorist supporter.He said that attempts to conceal antisemitic views among Labour Party leaders have been shattered every day with the harsh and problematic statements under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and his associates.In 2019, British Jewry faces increasing concern about identifying as Jews, Hagoel continued. Jewish symbols are hidden in fear of rising antisemitism on the streets of Britain.Hagoel stressed that Today, a large, well-established and influential political party is giving a tailwind to bigotry against Jews, officially, without masks and without fear.In a strong message to the UK government, Hagoel said that the WZO demand[s] the British government [to] immediately denounce the rising antisemitism in its street, and also called for practical action to be taken, not just talk we demand educational programs and legislation.Hagoel also demanded the United Kingdom to take immediate action to protect her Jewish citizens through physical and legal protection.It is the duty of all world governments to ensure the safety and security of the various communities living in their country, regardless of their religious or national background, he concluded.During a BBC interview on Tuesday night, Corbyn refused to apologize to the Jewish community about how he has handled the Labour antisemitism storm. He also continuously defended the way he dealt with the issue.Despite being given several opportunities to do so by the host of the show, Corbyn only responded that he is determined that our society will be safe for people of all faiths.I dont want anyone to be feeling insecure in our society, and our government will protect every community against the abuse they receive on the streets, on the trains or in any or any other form, he said.EARLIER ON Tuesday, the Labour leader also hit back at Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis article in The Times, in which the Jewish leader wrote that the poison of antisemitism sanctioned from the top has taken root in Britains Labour Party, and that the soul of our nation is at stake in next months election on December 12.During the launch of the parties race and faith manifesto, Corbyn responded by saying that antisemitism in any form is vile and wrong.It is an evil within our society, he said. There is no place for it and under a Labour government, it will not be tolerated in any form whatsoever.Corbyn also called on the Jewish community to engage with him, adding that no community will be at risk because of its faith, identity, ethnicity or language under a future Labour governmentAlthough religious leaders usually stay out of national politics in the UK, several others backed Mirvis actions.The senior rabbi of Britains Sephardi Jewish community, Rabbi Joseph Dweck, wrote on Facebook that as a rule, we as rabbis are careful to keep out of national politics.But as Chief Rabbi Mirvis said, this comes to an issue of racism and a large portion of the Jewish community does not look at the potential election of Corbyn as a question between liberal and conservative politics, but rather, the difference between the safety and peace of Jewish life in this country, and God forbid, the alternative, he said.Dweck stressed that his community is the oldest in the UK, dating back to 1656.We have over the last 364 years contributed greatly to every sector of British society, and in turn, Britain has been very good to our people, he said. Given the history of antisemitism in Europe, the hateful specter that casts a shadow over the rhetoric and ideas of Mr. Corbyn and his party gives us significant reason for concern, and so the chief rabbi has raised his voice in concern and caution.I stand with him and his message, Dweck concluded.Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby also posted a statement online saying that the chief rabbi should be compelled to make such an unprecedented statement at this time ought to alert us to the deep sense of insecurity and fear felt by many British Jews.He emphasized that everyone in our country is entitled to feel safe and secure.They should be able to live in accordance with their beliefs and freely express their culture and faith. As a Church, we are very conscious of our own history of antisemitism, Welby continued. None of us can afford to be complacent. Voicing words that commit to a stand against antisemitism requires a corresponding effort in visible action.Welby concluded, The chief rabbis statement provides all of us with the opportunity to ensure our words and actions properly reflect our commitments to mutual flourishing and inclusion, for the common good.Ezra Taylor contributed to this report.

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WZO: UK Jews living in fear for their future and security - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on November 30, 2019

The good thing about Secretary of State Pompeos declaration that the U.S. does not regard settlements as illegal is that it is a naked expression of the power of the Israel lobby in U.S. policy making. Even the Associated Press chalked the decision up to Trumps biggest donor, Sheldon Adelson.

For 20 years Sheldon Adelson has been pouring money into Republican politics to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and he has succeeded. Trump has proved to be Adelsons perfect little puppet (to quote the president on Adelsons former favorite in 2015), giving the casino mogul everything on his wish list, from moving the embassy to Jerusalem to recognizing the Golan annexation to tearing up the Iran deal. A huge check from Sheldon Adelson and winning Jewish votes in Florida, is how Thomas Friedman explained Trumps actions a few weeks ago. Adelson has more power than the Secretary of State, writes Tim Egan of the Times.

Some say Trump does all this for the evangelical vote. A cynical play for evangelicals, and not Jews, David Rothkopf said of the settlements reversal. This may be comforting but its not true. If the settlements were such a winner for evangelicals, Trump would have announced the change two weeks earlier, before the Kentucky and Louisiana governors elections when he pulled out all stops to win. Read Trumps desperate speeches to rallies in those states to try and get Republican candidates to victory. In each speech he mentions Israel/Jerusalem once, in a boilerplate line. Compare it to adoption, abortion, health care, the military where Trump goes on and on. The fact is that Christian evangelicals dont really care that much about Israel, as a former Israeli consul in California, pointed out a year ago:

Yes on paper there are 70 million evangelical Christians in America. How many truly are interested in the settlements and this and that? The numbers are not very high. The number of evangelical Christians who are interested in our political conversation is very very small.

Lets be clear, selling out US policy on Israel to donors did not start with Trump and Republicans. Hillary Clinton pandered to pro-Israel contributors in her 2016 campaign. She attacked the boycott movement so as to please Haim Saban and other donors, and promised to take the U.S.-Israel relationship to the next level, so as to change the script from the Obama years when we only gave Israel 3.8 billion a year plus.

To understand Israels outsize place in U.S. politics, reflect that the Ukrainian assistance that is now the subject of impeachment hearings is less than one-tenth of the amount we give Israel. And that Ukraines President Zelensky would do anything for a White House visit so as to gain legitimacy, but rightwing strongman Benjamin Netanyahu had countless White House visits even in the Obama White House, and then Hillary Clinton promised to meet Netanyahu in her first month in office. A promise Trump fulfilled, greeting Netanyahu at the White House in February 2017.

The Israel lobby, pro-Israel influencers, mostly Jewish, have been a factor in our political life since Harry Truman folded on his own opposition to a Jewish state in part because he needed $100,000 from political backers Abe Feinberg and Ed Kaufmann a huge sum in 1948for a whistlestop campaign trip through the midwest when his campaign was broke. Democrats had to worry not just about the Jewish vote, but also about fundraising from wealthy Jewish contributors, John Judis wrote in his book Genesis.

Obama spoke to Netanyahumore than any other foreign leader even though he didnt like him, surely because he was dependent on the pro-Israel Jewish community. Obama called the wealthy Chicago liberal Zionists who gave him his start my cabal. His foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes writes frankly about the Jewish donors to the Democratic Party who had Netanyahus back after Netanyahu lectured Obama for saying a peace deal must be based on the 67 lines:

Netanyahus smack at Obama came just as the 2012 presidential campaign cycle was cranking up, and it succeeded in igniting a firestorm of criticism A number of congressional Democrats distanced themselves from the speech. I was given a list of leading Jewish donors to call to reassure them of Obamas pro-Israel bona fides. It was far too painful to wade into these waters with no prospect of success. Netanyahu had mastered a kind of leverage: using political pressure within the United States to demoralize any meaningful push for peace just as he used settlements as a means of demoralizing the Palestinians

So Obama backed down on the 67 lines, and then Netanyahu spoke to Congress to try and stop the presidents Iran deal, the kind of access to American politics a foreign leader can only dream of, and Chuck Schumer voted against President Obama on the deal and still ascended to leadership of the Senate. Because he had the lobby on his side.

I bore myself repeating these items. (And God help the reader!) But I have to because most observers accept the antisemitism redlines echoed lately by Bernie Sanders: you are not to speak of an outsize Jewish role in politics. So few write about the Israel lobby, though they know it to be a significant force. P.S. It appears that the AP removed its reference to Sheldon Adelsons role in the settlements decision. (Original quotation here.)

This is not just a domestic political question, its a foreign policy problem. The Israel lobby is the root cause of the Israel Palestine conflict.

Consider the two other main causes of the conflict. 1, Israeli settlement/colonialism (or in Zionist terms, the effort to liberate European Jewry from persecution by establishing a Jewish homeland in historical Palestine). 2, Palestinian resistance to 1. Neither of these historical forces would still be a source of serious conflict 71 years after Israels establishment were it not for the lobby. Without the blind support of the United States, Israel would have made a deal a long time ago. The country would have followed through on the historic Palestinian concession of 1988 followed by the Arab Peace Initiative of 2001, and accepted partition of the land on highly favorable terms (Israel gets 78 percent). Without U.S. support, Israel would have been internationally isolated and would have grabbed the deal.

The Israelis have been able to continue to devour the land only because the United States supports the occupation in international fora, and gives Israeli a diplomatic umbrella against any storm, due to blind bipartisan political backing here.

Political work in western capitals is a fundamental component of Zionism (which is a reason criticizing the lobby is redlined). Zionism began as a European lobby: Theodor Herzls dream was one he brought to the highest chambers in Europe, from the Pope to the Sultan to the Czar to the Kaiser, as well as to skeptical Jewish leaders in London. Israels establishment depended on Louis Brandeis among other Jewish leaders lobbying the British cabinet and the White House for the Balfour Declaration of 1917.

Thirty years later, Israel required western support to become a country (Eddie Jacobson famously prevailing on his old friend Harry Truman to meet Chaim Weizmann after he had shut the door to him). After the wars of 1967 and 1973, that reliance was institutionalized in American Jewish life. We Are One! a Zionist historian titled his book on the relationship of American and Israeli Jewry.

Zionism became the ironclad ideology of American Jewish institutions. [Israel] is a country we send buses to and planes to, and money too, and we feel like its our home too, Aibgail Pogrebin put it at Temple Emanu El in September. New York Times editorial page editor Max Frankel saw it as his duty to protect the Jewish state 40 years ago; and foreign affairs columnist Tom Friedman says he still sees that as the newspapers duty today.

Or as Anshel Pfeffer put it in Haaretz: the most significant joint endeavor of Americas Jews [is] six decades of unswerving support for the Israeli government of the day.

Israel lobbyists themselves extol Jewish political power in the U.S. as Israels lifeline for money and arms and diplomatic protection. I have no qualms about pointing out that the American Jewish community is almost certainly the most influential minority community in the history of the U.S., and possibly in the history of the world, says Michael Koplow of the Israel Policy Forum. American Jews have worked hard to make it so, and have built a network of outward-facing institutions that protect this privileged position. While Times opinion editor Bari Weiss warns in her new book that the left wing of the Democratic Party is actively hostile to Jewish power. Among progressives, she writes, the very idea of Jewish power must be abjured.

A core precept of the lobby is that American Jews who feel queasy about Israels treatment of Palestinians need to keep their mouths shut. On my first visit to Israel, my mothers best friend told me that American Jews were yoredim, or lower, than the Jews who had like her made aliyah, going up by moving there. A refrain inside the Israel lobby, echoed even at the J Street conference this year, is that We Jews live in comfort in America, while Israeli Jews are on the front lines and their kids serve in the army. Our job is to support Israel in the most powerful country in the world.

For 40 years or so this has meant that the lobby has kept Republicans and Democrats from any criticism of the settlement project. George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter both learned that they would be foiled if they tried to make the settlements an issue, and there is evidence that both Carter and Bush ascribed their truncated leases on Pennsylvania Avenue to that political error. Bill Clinton ran to Bushs right on settlements in 92, and won, and all Democratic candidates for Congress learned in recent cycles that the way to raise money from the Jewish community was by getting a position paper from AIPAC, the rightwing Israel lobby.

Sheldon Adelson has plenty of counterparts in the Democratic Party. I was in the audience in Cairo in 2009 when Obama, who had not yet visited Israel, thrillingly declared to the Muslim world that the settlements must end. The president had J Street at his back. Then he and J Street folded under political pressure, including a Netanyahu speech to Congress, defying Obama on settlements, when the multiple standing ovations were bought and paid for by the Israel lobby, as Tom Friedman said.

So the settlements went on, and Obama broke his word and vetoed an anti-settlements resolution at the U.N. just as the 2012 presidential campaign cycle was cranking up, to quote Ben Rhodes.

Yes Obama abstained on an anti-settlements resolution at the U.N. at the very end of his presidency, a move that Trump sought to thwart as president-elect by reaching out to the Russians; but Obamas abstention was an afterthought, and it was said he wouldnt have done it if Hillary Clinton had won Hillary Clinton, whom Obama had hired as secretary of state by reaching out to her through a lead Israel lobbyist, the head of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who supports settlements night and day. Though liberal Zionist groups are hardly any better, doing all they can to block pressure on the settlement project.

This exercise of power has had real impact: Israel has acted with complete impunity with respect to world opinion on its occupation for more than 50 years, knowing that it can keep expanding illegal settlements and collect ten times what the Ukraine does in military aid from the U.S., even as it destroys the possibility of a Palestinian state, something the U.N. voted to create 72 years ago and which Oslo reaffirmed. Not surprisingly, the Israelis often sound entitled. Netanyahu says America is a thing you can move very easily. While his political rival Moshe Yaalon explains that Israel is the strongest power in the region because of our spirit and our knowledge and no mention of American support.

The importance of the lobby to Israel is why so much is at stake today in the growing American Jewish alienation from Israel. The Jewish community is small, and to maintain influence it has had to speak in one voice. So if the Jewish community splits, thats a big deal. It is why Democratic Majority 4 Israel sprung up after the election to Congress last year of three Israel critics, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, in an effort to keep the Democrats from moving left on the issue (as Michael Fischbach reminded us). It is why Israel lobbyist Daniel Gordis lectures American Jews that we have a responsibility to support Israel (oh and we need Israel because it keeps us Jewish). It is why anti-Zionist Jews are completely marginalized from official Jewish life: they can undermine a crucial consensus.

Its too late. The lobby is in its twilight. It depends on older Jews like Sheldon Adelson and Tom Friedman, who really, really love Israel. Young Jews are lukewarm/skeptical/appalled by a religious state that persecutes a minority in their name, and the Democratic base is becoming openly critical as women and people of color play a larger role in the life of the party. J Street is taking over from AIPAC in the centrist leadership of the Democratic Party, and an earnest debate over Israel is beginning at last.A democratic process will replace a corrupt/rigged one. And only then, after the lobby is broken, can the conflict end.

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The root cause of the conflict is the Israel lobby - Mondoweiss

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Posted By admin on November 27, 2019

The 2019 ORT Montreal Ted Wise Gala for Jewish Education will take place on Sun. Dec. 8, 9 at Place des Arts, with a cocktail dinatoire followed by the show. Honourees this year are community leaders Jonathan Goodman, Jeff Hart, Dean Mendel and Gideon Pollack while the featured performer will be Mat Franco, the first and only magician ever to win NBCs Americas Got Talent. He takes an innovative approach to magic-making thats driven by pure joy and that wins over audiences!

For close to 140 years, ORT has supported more than three million students around the world. In addition to supporting ORT activities across the globe, the 2019 ORT Gala will help raise urgently needed funds for the following schools and programs in Montreal: Akiva School, Azrieli Schools Talmud Torah/Herzliah, CBB Ottawa, Chabad NDG, Ecole Maimonide, Hebrew Academy, Hebrew Foundation School, JPPS-Bialik, JPPS ONE, March of the Living Montreal, Solomon Schechter Academy, and the Yaldei Developmental Centre. This brilliant idea was realized by Goodman,

I have been going to ORT galas for decades, Goodman explained. ORT would sell about 600 gala tickets a year leaving 2,100 empty seats at Place des Arts Wilfrid-Pelletier hall. ORT paid for the entertainment, hall, and security. In a given year, ORT would spend about 35 to 40 percent of revenues on this overhead. Eleven years ago, I had an epiphany. I went to ORT Montreals executive director and made a donation in exchange for the 2,100 empty seats at their next gala. I then went to 10 plus Montreal Jewish institutions committed to Jewish education and offered them a free gala. Everything they sell, they keep. No deductions!

We now have been filling the hall for the last 10 years decreasing the overhead from 35 to 40 percent to 13 percent thereby channeling more money towards creating Jewish grandchildren and less on paying the band. ORT has raised close to $4 million and the schools have raised over $7 million since we started this partnership.

You can read a lot more on my blog.

UN ANNIVERSARY: On the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Canadian Friends of Rabbis for Human Rights and the Labour Zionist History Circle will hold a free lecture and discussion on Tuesday, Dec.10 (7 pm) at the Gelber Centre (5151 Cte Ste. Catherine Road). Refugee rights advocate Rivka Augenfeld will speak onRefugee Rights are Human Rights: Myths, Realities and Our Responsibilities.

TIMEOUT MONTREAL: I was pretty impressed with what I saw at the new Time Out Market Montreal at Eaton Centre, which opened two weeks ago. It brings food from 16 of Montreals most outstanding chefs and restaurateurs under a 40,000 square foot ultra-gourmet high-end food court For one thing, upon making your order you are handed a pager which will light up when your food is ready. A special VIP opening, expertly coordinated by uber-talented culinary food publicist Ashley Rosenberger, attracted a whos who of personalities from Just For Laughs boss Bruce Hills to restaurateur Chris-Ann Nakis.

COHEN CHATTER: Bnai Brith Quebec will be hosting another Music Brunch for Seniors on Sun. Dec. 15 at the ADATH on Harrow Cres. in Hampstead. It will feature The Bagg Street Klezmer Band. Reservations must be made in advance by calling the synagogueThe Auxiliary of the Jewish General Hospital will hold its second Toy and Bake Sale in conjunction with the Grade 5 students of Solomon Schechter Academy. Funds raised will be allocated to the NICU as well as the Centre for Child Development and Mental Health. It takes place Nov 27 and 28 from 10 am to 2 pm on the first floor Pav. G. Lori Bassal heads the organizing committee.

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Goodman's idea has boosted ORT Gala to profound proportions - The Suburban Newspaper

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Posted By admin on November 27, 2019

A Labour candidate has been forced to apologise after her use of the popular slang termgassed prompted accusations of antisemitism.

Peymana Assad, who is of Afghan heritage,came under fire after she wrote: Some man I just met thought I was Israeli so I cracked the 10 lost tribes of Israel joke to him and he got gassed.

Her 2012 comment was unearthed on Monday by GnasherJew, a Twitter account run by Jewish investigative journalists and ex-Labour members dedicated to exposing left-wing antisemitism, who called the remark exceptionally distasteful.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

Within hours, the Labour candidate for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner issued a statement saying she had used the word in the sense of the common slang term for being happy and excited.

She added: It didnt occur to me at all that it would have other connotations and Im completely mortified that I didnt realise this. I unreservedly apologise.

Protesters clashed during the demonstration

Reuters

Members of the Jewish community hold a protest against Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism in the Labour Party

AFP/Getty

Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose antisemitism, in Parliament Square

Reuters

Hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square to protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party

EPA

Labour MP Luciana Berger speaks during the protest

PA

A protester blows through a shofar during the demonstration

Getty

Members of London's Jewish community protest in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outside parliament

EPA

Labour MP John Mann speaks during a protest against antisemitism

PA

People protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party as Jewish community leaders have launched a scathing attack on Jeremy Corbyn, claiming he has sided with antisemites again and again

PA

Labour politicians Stella Creasy and Chuka Umunna leave after attending the demonstration

Getty

A pro-Jeremy Corbyn protester holds a placard during a counter-protest

Getty

A support of the Labour Party hold up a placard during the demonstration

Reuters

Jeremy Corbyn supporters during the demo

Reuters

A protester holds up a sign reading For the many, not the Jew

AFP

Protesters clashed during the demonstration

Reuters

Members of the Jewish community hold a protest against Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism in the Labour Party

AFP/Getty

Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose antisemitism, in Parliament Square

Reuters

Hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square to protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party

EPA

Labour MP Luciana Berger speaks during the protest

PA

A protester blows through a shofar during the demonstration

Getty

Members of London's Jewish community protest in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outside parliament

EPA

Labour MP John Mann speaks during a protest against antisemitism

PA

People protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party as Jewish community leaders have launched a scathing attack on Jeremy Corbyn, claiming he has sided with antisemites again and again

PA

Labour politicians Stella Creasy and Chuka Umunna leave after attending the demonstration

Getty

A pro-Jeremy Corbyn protester holds a placard during a counter-protest

Getty

A support of the Labour Party hold up a placard during the demonstration

Reuters

Jeremy Corbyn supporters during the demo

Reuters

A protester holds up a sign reading For the many, not the Jew

AFP

Ms Assad elaborated on the encounter that prompted the tweet in question.

A man came up to me and asked if I was from Israel," she said.

"Im used to people asking where Im from and assuming that Im not from Britain. I said I was Afghan but that theres a theory that Afghans descend from one of the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel, we laughed about it being a kind of strange theory thats never been proved.

"He was really intrigued by it and said hed look it up when he got home.

There has long been the suggestion of a link between Israel and the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan, who some believe could be one of the ten lost tribes described in the Talmud.

In 2010, Israel commissioned a study into the link but it is not clear what the findings were. Several previous studies have proven inconclusive.

Responding to Ms Assad's apology, GnasherJewsaid: We believe that she probably didnt mean to offend, but, there is no doubt it was very offensive.

The row broke out shortly after Chief RabbiEphraim Mirviscondemned Jeremy Corbyns failure to tackle antisemitism, suggesting he was unfit for office and that the very soul of our nation is at stake.

The latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox

The Labour Party is currently subject to an investigationinto antisemitism by the Equalityand Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

Adam Wagner, a lawyer involved in the EHRCprobe and founder of RightsInfo, said it was clear the comments were innocent.

(Twitter)

Once the candidate explained the comments, it is clear that they were an innocent joke and the use of the term gassed was meant to mean excited, he toldThe Independent.

She shared a number of tweets in 2012 relating to different context where she used the term in that way.

Rafael Shimunov, co-founder of The Jewish Vote and board member of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice said: From a Jew in NYC, I see how this clarification is necessary but anyone with a basic understanding of youth culture in 2012 would have easily known how innocent your use was, and those who continue to smear you after this statement have cynical anti-left political agendas.

As news of the allegedantisemitismbroke, some suggested the accusations pointed to a larger problem within politics and the media.

If you are a London media person and you dont know what gassed meansitsays more about the class and race of your newsroom more than anything else, one Twitter user wrote.

Emily Thornberry on Labour antisemitism: Nobody can pretend that there isnt an ongoing problem

Another said: Its so unfortunate that young people of colour and those from working class backgrounds are now being vilified for innocently speaking in their own vernacular.

Ms Assad also shared numerous examples of herself using the phrasein various contexts in late 2012 and early 2013, as well as instances where she had denounced antisemitism, calling herself absolutely committed to standing in solidarity with Jewish people and to fighting antisemitism.

She wrote: Ive been outspoken against any pro-Palestinian campaigners blaming Jewish people for Israels actions and about antisemitism in our party.

She said she would continue to promote the Board of Deputies of British Jews Ten Commitments.

The Labour Party did not respond to request for comment and Ms Assad deleted her Twitter account at around midday on Tuesday.

Social media is an increasingly important battle ground in elections - and home to many questionable claims pumped out by all sides. If social media sites won't investigate the truth of divisive advertising, we will. Please send any political Facebook advertising you receive todigitaldemocracy@independent.co.uk, and we will catalogue and investigate it.Read more here.

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Labour candidate apologises after use of slang term gassed prompts antisemitism claims - The Independent

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Posted By admin on November 27, 2019

Rising anti-Semitism is rarely the lone or the last expression of intolerance in a society.- Samantha Power

Our tradition, our experience, our well-earned fears teach us that in every generation there arises a threat not only to our well-being but to our very being. An equally sobering and too often overlooked realization is that, to the extent we are threatened, so are others.

It might be that, as we have heard, history is an arc that bends towards justice but in truth that long arc is defined as much by setbacks as by progress. We know that because our experience has too often borne the painful weight of those setbacks.

At our Seder, even as we rejoice over our freedom and redemption, we remember and declare that,shebechol dor vador omdim aleinu lechaloteinu in every generation they rise against us to annihilate us. We understand in our souls and our bones that our existence and survival is never certain.

The post-World War world, with American leadership, the State of Israel, a westernized Europe has sometimes given us the illusion that we Jews have finally reached a safe place on that long arc of history, but more and more we experience painful jolts that once again prove the sad wisdom of our tradition is the truer understanding of historys arc.

In parashat Toldot, Yitzhak prays to God that his line may continue as we encounter another of our imahot struggling to conceive. In his prayers, we are made once again to confront the harsh truth that Jewish continuity cannot be taken for granted. The difficulty the imahot experience in conceiving speaks not so much to barrenness as to the truth that each generation is a miracle.

Rivkahs pregnancy is powerfully difficult. We are told, The children agitated within her, and she said, If so, why am I thus? To emphasize the struggle that is to be, Chazal explain that the agitation Rivkah felt and sensed in vayitrotzezu related to Yaakovs wanting to be born when she passed by the yeshiva of Shem and Ever, and Esavs desire to emerge when she passed by the temple of idolatry. In short, the agitation within her womb was the eternal struggle that would express itself between the world of Yaakov vs. the world of Esav.

Her two as-yet-unborn infants represent two nations, two conflicting ideologies Israel and Edom. As the Mizrachi puts it, The turmoil within her was due to the irreconcilable conflict between the two nations that was already taking shape.

As it was in Rivkas womb, so has it been in the world. Until Moshiachs arrival, this is a fact of our existence. Yes, we have sometimes felt optimistic to allow ourselves to believe otherwise, but Gods lesson remains clear, Two nations are in your womb; two regimes from your insides shall be separated; the might shall pass from one regime to the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.

Two regimes. One dedicated to justice, morality, decency and ethics. The other to barbarity, viciousness, bloodshed. They cannot ever be in harmony. One must always have their upper hand, either on the battlefield or in the hearts and minds of men. There is no surety as to which will be strong. Only one thing can be, Chazal teach, They will not be equally great. When one rises the other falls.

Two nations are in your womb shnei goyim bbitneich.

Goyim is generally spelled gimel, vav, yud, mem. Yet here it is written, gimel, yud, yud, mem. Pronounced goyim it actually reads, geyim proud ones. The Talmud (Avodah Zarah 11a) tells us this alludes to two great leaders who would descend from Yaakov and Esav Antonius, the Roman emperor, and Rebbi, the codifier of the Mishnah. According to the Talmud, both were proud in the sense that they were both extremely wealthy, so wealthy that they were always able to serve their guests radishes, lettuce and cucumbers, at any time of the year, in season or not in season, even if they needed to be imported from far away markets

We begin with existential threats and end with vegetables?! What is going on here?

My grandfather, HaRav Bezalel Zev Shafrans profound work (Shelot Utshuvot Rbaz - Yalkut HaChanochi6) provides insight to thesignificance of theRebbi and Antoninus relationship and its lesson for history and the eternal conflict between the descendants of Yaakov and Esav.

In theopening story on the Daf, Antoninus turns to Rebbi for advice on how to establish his son as successor,something most unusual as it was the Senate that chose the leader and that body generally refused to have a son follow his father as emperor. Elaborating on the very close relationship between the two geyim, the Talmud also describes how Antoninus had a secret tunnel erected between their houses so that he could always visit with Rebbi. In other words, communication between them was always open, honest and, most importantly, discreet. (Antoninus eager to have his son succeed him, was rightly worried about leaks.)

When Antoninus sought Rebbis advice, Rebbi knew he must watch his words and tongue. So, he devised ways and means to express his advice other than in mashalvchida or just bremiza. As a result, my grandfather makes clear that he spoke only through allegory, never by direct answer. Even to speak in whispers was unacceptable because one could never know, the Talmud writes, if a bird will bring the message through the heavens. (Foreshadowing wiretaps!)

So, when Antoninus complained to Rebbi that the powers at Rome were badgering him, his response was to take him to his garden and pluck one radish, and then another and another. The message? To pluck them one at a time, not all at once.

As he communicated with radishes, so too he communicated with lettuce. The Talmud tells of Gira, Antoninus daughter, who sinned with another man. Once again, Antoninus sought Rebbis advice as to how to handle the situation but did not want anyone to know of it. The Rebbi did not as much as utter the words that she sinned. Instead, he sent gargira, a leafy green whose name was like hers. Rebbi sent Antoninus chasa a kind of lettuce, whose meaning is to have mercy. Chasa, that is, mercy.

No leaks. No betrayal. Only a discreet, responsible, trusting communication.

My grandfather cites other examples from the Talmudic portrayal of this trusting relationship, including when Rebbi replaced large overgrown radishes with small radishes on his roofs garden, conveying the message that the older, tired out ministers should bereplaced with new, younger ones.

My grandfathers teaching was that the discretion and trust these two giants shared benefitted each. Rebbismessages and responses were always filled with wisdom and sharpness (radishes!) that no one could ever wiretap or eavesdrop.

Rebbi spoke in vegetable. Antoninus understood in real life.

My grandfather makes clear that the Talmud was not concerned with vegetables at all! He concludes that these two geyim who were always able to serve their guests radishes, lettuce and cucumbers were never at a loss for trust, never at a loss for discretion. these two greats, communicated with each other bremiza, discreetly, and never did they lack radishes or lettuce, because theirs was a language of allegory and riddle; in these riddles they were able to hide their most innermost thoughts, so others would never understand.

In each generation

The threat is with us always. Our ability to overcome Esav and his tactics, whether diplomatically or on field of battle is not about vegetables. Overcoming the threat in each generation depends on communication, discretion, and trust.

At our moment in history, the battle between Yaakov and Esav continues unabated. We desperately need a Rebbi and Antoninus to communicate, to use discretion, to establish trust and find a balance of respect between the two houses. Could any of us name two leaders, two geyyim, like them?

There are those who imagine such communication exists today between Washington and Jerusalem. I pray it is so, but I find myself at a loss to identify a real Rebbi or Antoninus.

Discretion? Subtlety? In our current political and cultural environment? With our Antoninus? That is laughable. And, frighteningly, as a result, Esav makes his claim to the upper hand.

Rabbi Safrans Something Old, Something New Pearls from the Torah available on Amazon Something Old, Something New: Pearls from the Torah: Rabbi Eliyahu Safran: 9781602803152: Amazon.com: Books

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Esau or Jacob: Who has the upper hand? - Arutz Sheva

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Posted By admin on November 27, 2019

ByMendy Pollack Chabad.org

There are times when Divine providence is so stark that you cannot help but take notice.

Both my father and my wifes father passed away more than 30 years ago.

My father-in-law,MenasheBernath, was a simple man, aGdfearing Jew with the kindest heart. His mother died when he was a baby, and his step-mother forced him to sleep in the barn in the small Romanian village where they lived.

By the time he was seven, he had been sent away to a neighboring village to be apprenticed to a local grocer, yet he never became bitter. He divided his meager salary in two. Half he would send him to his step-mother; the other half he gave to the village rabbi who lived in extreme poverty.

He eventually immigrated to New York. Although he never received much of a Jewish education, his sweet prayers were legendary, as was his outsized heart, which stopped beating when he was only 62 years old.

My father,ShmuelAvrohomAbba Pollack, born in the Ukrainian mountains, was a devoted member of the Otynia Chassidic dynasty which was almost entirely wiped out by the Nazis. My father lost his first wife and three children to the Nazis, yet he had the strength to remarry my mother and begin anew in Brooklyn, where I was raised.

My father was a beloved figure in Crown Heights where he gaveTalmudclasses in the Empire Shtiebel (shul).

A printer by trade, he developed a warm relationship with theLubavitcher Rebbe, whose books he would print.

After my father and father-in-law both passed away within the span of two years, theirtefillinended up in my house where they sat on a shelf undisturbed for decades.

Around two months ago, I said to myself, Thesetefillinare sacred. They were used for amitzvahfor so many years, I am sure that they can still be used by someone. I decided to send them to a scribe who inspected them both to ensure that they were in fine condition.

The day the tefillin came back from the scribe (it was a Monday), I put them in a bag and hung it up next to the front door, so that I would not forget about them.

That afternoon, around 3 p.m., I was home, which is somewhat unusual for me. I heard a knock on the door, and was greeted by ameshulach, an alms collector fromIsrael, who was raising money for his daughters forthcoming wedding. I invited him in, gave him a snack and a cold drink, and sent him on his way with a check in hand.

As I walked him to the door, he remarked that in a few weeks his son would be celebrating hisbar mitzvahand he had no idea how he would find money with which to purchase a pair oftefillin. Ive lived in this neighborhood for 40 years and many collectors have come to my door, but this is the first time I recall anyone asking for money fortefillin.

Overjoyed, I stuck my hand into the bag and handed him a pair of freshly checkedtefillinfor his son. Laughing and crying at the same time, he expressed his gratitude and joy over this amazing turn of events. He then confided that his sister and brother-in-law would soon be making a bar mitzvah as well, and neither did they have money fortefillin. Without further ado, I scooped out the second pair oftefillinand handed it to the man.

My only regret is that in my great excitement, I neglected to ask thetzedakahcollected for his name and contact information.

The following morning my wife and I woke up early to visit our daughter who lives in Waterbury, Conn., 80 miles to the northeast of our home in Queens.

Apparently we were both more tired than we thought, and we both dozed off, awakening abruptly when we crashed into the guardrail.

The car was totaled but we walked out without a scratch. The State Trooper could not believe it when he looked at us and at the car. Never had he seen people survive such an accident with nary an injury.

I felt that it must have been connected to thetefillin. After 30 years of disuse, I finally arranged for them to be used once again, and the following morning my wife and I were saved from a terrible accident.

A friend of mine drew my attention to the following story in the Talmud, concerning a man known asElishathe Winged One:

Why was he known as the Winged One? In his time, the wicked government decreed that any Jew who wore tefillin on his head would have his brain pierced. Undeterred, Elisha bravely woretefillinin the marketplace. He once saw that he had been spotted by the government-appointed observers with histefillinon and he ran away as fast as he could. The man caught up to him, but not before Elisha slipped thetefillinoff his head and clutched it tightly in his hands. What do you have in your hand? asked the soldier harshly. Oh, just the wings of a dove, said Elisha. Oh yeah? sneered the stranger, open your hands and prove it! Left with no choice Elisha opened his palms. A miracle occurred, and thetefillinhad become doves wings.

Why, of all objects in the world, did thetefillinbecome doves wings? The Talmud replies: Just as the wings of a dove protect it, so do themitzvotprotect the people of Israel.

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My Life Was Saved by the Tefillin I Gave Away - Anash.org - Good News

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Posted By admin on November 27, 2019

Next year, Seth Rogen will play his most Jewish role yet in American Pickle, a movie based on a short story by Simon Rich. Rogen is Herschel Greenbaum, a Yiddish-speaking immigrant to the United States who emerges from a pickle barrel, fully preserved, after 100 years to meet his great-grandson in 2018 Brooklyn.

Its a fitting role for an actor and filmmaker who will be honored Monday by the Workmens Circle, an organization dedicated to promoting Jewish identity based on social justice and Yiddish language.

Rogen, 37, and his father, Mark, who worked for the organization in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, will receive the Generation to Generation Activism award.

Its something thats always been just a very big part of my life, the actor said of his Jewish identity in an interview with The Jewish Week. The first jokes I ever wrote were about it; it was a very inherent part of who I was.

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Rogens Jewish upbringing has also played a significant part in his career which, he acknowledges, has included at least one Jewish joke in just about every one of his movies. (We did not kill Jesus! his character, Isaac Greenberg, yells at one point in the 2015 comedy, The Night Before.) Growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Rogen went to a Habonim Dror summer camp and a Talmud Torah elementary school, which provided the material for his first standup sets. He even headlined a Workmens Circle event in Los Angeles when his father worked there.

My dad worked there for years, I would go there and spend time there, and my grandparents spoke Yiddish and its highly connected to my own personal identity, Rogen said.

Its really going to be a Rogen family affair, said Ann Toback, executive director of the Workmens Circle, who said the organizations mission this year was generation to generation activism. She described the Rogen family as heimishe.

Seth Rogen attends the Global Press Conference for Disneys THE LION KING on July 10, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. Getty Images

The groups history as a socialist organization has been part of the Rogens family history for generations. Marks grandparents, Labor Zionists who performed in the Yiddish theater, grew up down the street from a Workmens Circle office. Mark and his wife, Sandy, met on a left-wing kibbutz in Israel in the 1970s.

Its the kind of organization that philosophically fits into our family values, said Mark, who has always worked for nonprofits. His goal in working there, he said, was to try to let people know that there are people out there suffering and we have to try to do something about it.

Although Rogen has played explicitly or implicitly Jewish men in most of his films, American Pickle, due out next year, is Jewish to its core. The immigrant time traveler he plays meets his lone surviving descendant, Ben Greenbaum, a computer programmer living in the transformed New York of the 21st century.

The film opens with a scene involving the anti-Semitism that drove Rogens character to immigrate to the United States in the first place. It was particularly eye-opening for Rogen to find himself filming the movie in Pittsburgh in October last year, when an anti-Semitic gunman killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue there. Being so close to the attack reminded Rogen that anti-Semitism is still relevant.

We actually were in Pittsburgh at the time of the attack, and we were making one of the most Jewishly themed studio films that I could name, said Rogen. It was terrible, obviously, and very traumatic and surreal, but there was some sense of pride of being in Pittsburgh at that time and making something that was so outwardly Jewishly themed.

Rogen said filming a movie about anti-Semitism and about finding safe haven in America felt like the right response to the attack.

Theres some sense of receding that happens in moments like that and thats appropriate, he said. And theres some sense that the opposite is whats appropriate, that you should stand kind of taller and occupy more space rather than less space, and thats kind of what it felt like we were doing. So it was two very oppositional forces occupying the same space, but it felt good in some ways to be a part of that space.

Rogen spent some time studying Yiddish, which he speaks for part of the movie, but found the Jewish-Germanic language of Ashkenazi Jews to be surprisingly difficult.

I speak Hebrew pretty well and I speak English, also pretty well, I would think. But it was essentially like learning gibberish, said Rogen. Id have two words to say in English and it would turn into three sentences in Yiddish and I was like, I dont even understand the one-to-one ratio of this stuff.

Asked if he was planning to keep his Yiddish up, Rogen chuckled but gave a quick no.

My grandparents spoke Yiddish, they called it Jewish, said Rogen. But it wasnt like, coursing through my veins, I dont have a latent Yiddish gene anymore.

But he plans to revive the language for the dinner on Monday. You gotta lay some Yiddish on them at the Workmens Circle, he said.

Read the full Q&A with Seth Rogen here.

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Seth Rogen And Dad To Be Honored By Workmen's Circle For Ties To Yiddish Culture - The Australian Jewish News

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Posted By admin on November 27, 2019

Iraqi Jews leaving Lod airport in Israel on their way to the Maabara transit camp, 1951. Photo: Israel Government Press Office.

JNS.org On or around November 30, Jewish communities around the world will be holding events to remember the mass exodus of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and Iran. Almost a million people were displaced in the past 50 years, leaving billions of dollars worth of property behind.

Not only have Arab governments never compensated Jews for their stolen homes and businesses, they are waging a pernicious campaign to claim communal property and Jewish heritage as their national patrimony.

Synagogues cant be moved and clearly, it is better for Arab states to preserve them as memorials to an extinct community than not at all. However, these states are also declaring Torah scrolls, communal archives and books to be part of their cultural heritage.

For instance, the Egyptian government claims that all Torah scrolls and Jewish archives, libraries, communal registers and any movable property over 100 years old are Egyptian antiquities. However, Jews consider Torah scrolls their exclusive property. It is forbidden to buy or sell them. Fleeing Jews have often prioritized scrolls and books over their personal possessions.

November 26, 2019 4:45 pm

What does international law have to say? The Hague Convention of 1954 protecting cultural property in conflict was brought in to stop the massive looting that has always occurred in war and specifically during WWII. There is also the post-colonial understanding that the new states that emerged in the 20th century have ownership of their own cultural heritage; the days when Britain could ship the Elgin Marbles from Greece, or Napoleon could plunder ancient Egyptian obelisks as war booty, are over.

In Egypt, registers of births, marriages and deaths of Jews from Alexandria and Cairo dating back to the middle of the 19th century were once kept in the two main synagogues in each city. But in 2016, government officials took away the registers to be stored in the Egyptian National Archives.

Egyptian Jews living abroad cannot even obtain photocopies of certificates, often the only formal Jewish identification Egyptian Jews have to prove lineage or identity for burial or marriage. Repeated efforts since 2005 to intercede with the Egyptian authorities have come to nothing.

Egyptian government policy has been backed by the tiny remnant of the countrys Jewish community. Its leader, Magda Haroun, intends to leave the communitys assets to the government. She has even suggested that two paintings in the Louvre once owned by an Egyptian Jew should find their way back to Egypt.

Under the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, thousands of books, manuscripts and other documents were seized from Jewish homes, schools and synagogues and stored at the headquarters of Iraqs secret service in Baghdad. In 2003, the archive was discovered in the flooded basement after the building was bombed by the Americans.

The Americans shipped the archive to Washington, DC, for restoration and hastily signed a diplomatic agreement promising to return the material to the Iraqi government. The United States spent over $3 million to restore and digitize the archive, which has since been exhibited across the country. The collection includes a Hebrew Bible with commentaries from 1568, a Babylonian Talmud from 1793 and an 1815 version of the Jewish mystical text Zohar, as well as more mundane objects such school reports and a Baghdad telephone book.

Although tens of thousands of Iraqi documents were shipped to the United States, the Iraqi government has only formalized its claim to the 2,700 books and 30,000 documents of the water-stained archive, which it claims are the countrys precious cultural heritage, a last emotional link with its ancient Jewish community and a reminder of Iraqs former diversity.

The Iraqi Jewish community in exile has been waging a bitter battle to recover the collection and prevent it being sent back to Iraq. They say that to return the archive, which was seized from Jewish community offices, schools and synagogues, would be like returning property looted by the Nazis to Germany.

The Iraqi and Egyptian cases are symptomatic of a larger problem. Since 2004, the United States has been bound by law to impose import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological material that constitutes a countrys cultural heritage, and has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) to this effect with Algeria, Egypt, and Libya, and passed a law affecting Syria . In January 2018, the International Council of Museums released a Red List for Yemen aimed at protecting Hebrew manuscripts and Torah finials from leaving the country. All but 50 Jews have fled the country, taking what possessions they could, but even these ultimately could be returned to Yemen.

These MOUs claim to be about [stopping] looting, but their broad scope and limited evidence of success suggests their real impact is providing a legal vehicle to legitimize foreign confiscations and wrongful ownership claims. The MOUs are based on a flawed premise. It is the heritage and patrimony of 850,000 indigenous Jews who fled their homes and property under duress, said Sarah Levin of the California-based Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA).

It is understandable that the international community should wish to prevent the looting and smuggling of ancient artifacts and their sale on the international art market. That is how Islamic State financed much of its conquest of northern Iraq and Syria. But there is a distinction between theft for financial gain, and legitimate salvage of Torah scrolls or books taken by fleeing Jews to be used for prayer.

Eight Sumerian artifacts sold to the British Museum were recently sent back to Baghdad. But the Iraqi-Jewish archive does not belong to some long-extinct civilizationsome of the owners are still alive.

International law is based on the outmoded assumption of territorial sovereignty. It needs updating, specifically to resolve the tug-of-war between minority and national heritage, where the minority has been persecuted and displaced.

Lyn Julius is the author of Uprooted: How 3,000 years of Jewish Civilization in the Arab World Vanished Overnight (Vallentine Mitchell, 2018).

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Arab States Are Claiming the Heritage of Their Expelled Jews - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on November 27, 2019

Read: Corey Lewandowski tried to make a mockery of the House

Just last week, Devin Nunes, the ranking Republican member on the Intelligence Committee, himself took a shot at Nadler, suggesting that the Intelligence Committee took the lead on impeachment because the Judiciary Committee, the typical arena for such matters, was headed by someone in whom the Democrat leaders obviously have no confidence.

Pelosis allies insist that is untrue. But in any case, her interests and Nadlers are now fully aligned. After Thanksgiving, the Judiciary Committee will set about weighing the evidence gathered against Trump in his attempted military-aid-for-political-dirt swap with Ukraine, and it will draft, as the formal House resolution authorizing the inquiry puts it, such resolutions, articles of impeachment, or other recommendations as it deems proper.

Mitchell Moss, a professor of urban policy and planning at New York University and another longtime Nadler watcher, told me that the congressman has a sophisticated understanding of the Constitution that will serve him well in the weeks ahead. The Judiciary Committee is actually going to play to Jerrys strength, which is: What are the behaviors the president has done to warrant impeachment? Moss said. I think this is going to be a process which will bring out the best in Jerry, which is pretty impressive.

If Schiff is a cool television presence, a slim 59-year-old triathlete who speaks in modulated, extemporaneous sound bites, Nadler, 72, is a hotter, blunter personality. His default mode is a wised-up Big Apple belligerence, and he speaks in a nasal New York accent that summons memories of George Costanza. He is a classic legislative debater: Once, while arguing with a conservative Democratic colleague in the New York State Assembly about whether Jewish religious tradition condones the death penalty, he rattled off memorized passages from the Talmud to defend his liberal viewpoint. His biography page on the Judiciary Committees website features glowing testimonials from the likes of former President Bill Clinton; Representative John Lewis of Georgia, the civil-rights icon; and the former head of NARAL Pro-Choice America Kate Michelman.

Nadler was first sent to Congress 27 years ago, after winning a special party convention to succeed Ted Weiss, who had died on the eve of the Democratic primary in September 1992. He represents a district that stretches from Manhattans Upper West Side to the Orthodox Jewish enclave of Borough Park, in Brooklyn, and hes known for being a consistent foe of expanded police powers to combat terrorism, a reliable battler against the National Rifle Association, and a passionate advocate for economic aid and disaster relief for New York. (With memories of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs toppling of a longtime establishment incumbent still fresh in New York, Nadler is facing an unusually vigorous primary challenge next year from six potential contenders, chief among them Lindsey Boylan, a former New York State economic-development official.)

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The Return of Jerry Nadler - The Atlantic

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Posted By admin on November 27, 2019

On a misty fall morning, deep in the redwood forests of Mill Valley, more than two dozen Bay Area artists gather to play. A mix of writers, musicians, dancers, visual artists and multimedia creatives so diverse that many of them had never met, they converge with one common interest: their Jewish identity.

Santa Rosa writer and visual artist Christopher Reiger and San Francisco interdisciplinary artist Elisabeth Nicula lead a birdwatching stroll through the forest, acknowledging that this was originally Miwok land.

Marin graphic artist Sarah Rose Weitzman engages several others in making cyanotypes (sun prints) on photographic paper, leading to talk of things invisible made visible. Meanwhile, East Bay spiritual leader Taya M Shere, just back from a trip to Auschwitz, sits alone on a rock and plays a Middle Eastern instrument.

The 28 artists some recognized, some up-and-coming are together for the first Bay Area iteration of Asylum Arts, a N.Y.-based arts incubator that provides opportunities for Jewish artists to connect, explore and create new dimensions of Jewish culture.

Since its founding in 2007 by Rebecca Guber, Asylum Arts has organized 20 retreats, including five overseas and the one held Nov. 11-14 in Marin. Each gathering grows a network of Jewish artists who can count on one anothers support going forward. The artists are Jewish, but dont necessarily do Jewish art.

From the panel I participated in, which represented several different points of view, it was clear how valuable it was to bring Bay Area Jewish artists together to support and challenge one another, said Heidi Rabben, senior curator at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. Asylum Arts provided an opportunity for gathering, centering, sharing, listening and questioning, which is powerful for any community to experience.

Co-sponsored by the CJM and the JCC East Bay, the four-day retreat was supported by grants from the Schusterman Family Foundation and the S.F.-based Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

Some of the workshops, such as one on writing grant proposals, were based on the common needs of most artists. Others came from the attendees skill sets and interests, such as: How to Draw a New Yorker Cartoon, DIY Zines, morning yoga (led by an Israeli performance artist) and how to develop a relationship with ones audience.

It was one of the more rich and positive retreats weve held in a long time, Guber said afterward. You never quite know what the chemistry will be when you bring a group of people together like this. Part of it was magic.

I came away from it with a renewed sense that what Im doing is worthwhile, and a deep knowing that there are so many ways to be a Jewish artist.

With the recent expansion into the East Bay of the N.Y.-based LABA (Laboratory for New Jewish Culture), its an enriching time in the local Jewish arts scene, though LABA is different in that its participants (a small cohort) meet regularly over nine months, use Jewish texts as a prompt and must create something.

We dont have those kind of outcome aims, Guber said. Where we overlap is that we both encourage Jewish artists to investigate their Jewish identity. LABA is a long, deep dive. What were doing is more of an interjection into their lives as artists.

Bay Area writer, director and rapper Dan Wolf was recruited to help design the Bay Area retreat, in part because he had already participated in Asylum Arts retreats in New York and Warsaw.

Wolf said the gatherings enable an artistic cross-pollination of skills and ideas. Given that many contemporary Jewish artists self-define as secular, he said, the retreats allow them to reflect on their Jewish identity and how that may meaningfully find its way into their work.

Some joked it was the most Jewish theyve felt in their whole life, Guber said of the Marin retreat. They suddenly feel a sense of ownership about their Jewish identity. Certainly they get permission to embrace it.

Rabbi Gray Myrseth, youth education director at Kehilla Community Synagogue in Piedmont, brought a reading from the Babylonian Talmud to give the artists an experience of Midrashic thinking. Each was asked to relate a life experience as a story of continuity. Then, after everyone had spoken, they were asked to tell the same life story in a new light as a tale of disruption.

Myrseth said this activity tends to land well with people who have complicated relationships to Judaism, adding that with midrash, Judaism gives us a blueprint to see things dynamically, such that continuity and disruption can to some degree co-exist.

Poet Jake Goldwasser, a linguist who works in Silicon Valley on issues of translation and artificial intelligence, said the retreat was a positive experience. It was eye-opening to meet other people who have access to various Jewish traditions and to learn how they are mutating them, perpetuating them, rejecting them and complicating them, he said in an email to J.

I came away from it with a renewed sense that what Im doing is worthwhile, added Ava Rosen, an S.F.-based multidisciplinary artist, and a deep knowing that there are so many ways to be a Jewish artist.

Guber said that the plan now is to let the artists steep for a year or so to let them carry the creative energy forward, before having another local retreat. Its a good bet that the Bay Area art scene will be the richer for it.

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This artist retreat emphasizes that it's a rich time for Jewish art in the Bay Area - The Jewish News of Northern California

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