Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on May 21, 2019

The denial of the Holocaust and genocide take many forms, from simply ignoring obvious facts by manipulating the sources, through minimizing the dimensions of genocide, to trivializing and rationalizing genocide by analogy and claiming that it is an acceptable example of the kinds of things that happen in wartime.

The deniers of the Holocaust and genocide attack three facts in particular:

According to Professor Yisrael Gutman of the Yad Vashem Memorial Institute in Israel, the use of the term Polish concentration camps is a form of Holocaust denial. It is a conscious or unconscious way of changing victims into perpetrators and an attempt to blur the question of responsibility for the crime.

The aim of denying the existence of the gas chambers is, first, to negate the mass scale of the crime of genocide. The second aim is to make it easier to contend that people have always been killed on a greater or lesser scale throughout history, and that the things that the Nazis did during the Second World War were hardly exceptional, but rather examples of the kind of repression that always occurs during war.

The prime evidence for the deniers contention that there were no gas chambers in Auschwitz used to be an account by one of the Auschwitz guards, Sonderfhrer Thies Christophersen (transcribed in the presence of attorney Manfred Rder). Published in the form of a brochure titled Auschwitz Lge (Auschwitz Is a Lie) in 1973, Christophersens assertions became a classic of neo-Nazi propaganda. The SS man stated categorically that, as an eyewitness in Auschwitz, he never saw any gas chambers there. Christophersen also claimed that reports of cruelty in the camp were a lie, and that those who opposed Hitler during the war were traitors. Auschwitz, he asserted, was no death camp, but instead an ordinary industrial plant where internees were treated according to the regulations, and gas chambers the product of diseased imagination.

Since the end of the 1980s, genocide deniers have been appealing to more objective proofs, namely the results of chemical analysis of plaster samples taken from the walls of the gas chambers. Teams of pseudo-experts posing as tourists clandestinely gouge chunks of plaster from the walls of the gas chambers and later submit them to chemical analysis for the presence of hydrogen cyanide compounds. The quantity of these compounds is always, of course, too small to state that people were killed in the gas chambers. What is more, the deniers regard these analyses as clear proof that no one was killed by gas there.

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Posted By admin on May 21, 2019

Mark Zuckerberg defended the presence of Holocaust deniers on Facebook this week despite widespread criticism, arguing that the company's algorithm will punish misinformation to restrict its circulation on the social network rather than deleting it outright.

But Facebook has still been prominently showcasing groups that promote Holocaust denial at the top of its search results, Business Insider has found.

If a user searches for "Holocaust" on Facebook, some of the top results are for user-created groups that falsely claim the Nazi murder of millions of Jews was fabricated. These appear on the first page of the search results, as well as on the dedicated Groups tab of the search results.

The prominence of these groups in Facebook's search results reveal a gaping hole in Facebook's defenses to stop the spread of falsehoods on its service and raise new questions about the effectiveness, and seriousness, of Facebook's policies.

In contrast to Facebook's search results, if a user searches for "Holocaust" on Google, the first-page results are a mixture of news articles, legitimate informational websites, and other results, none of which suggest the Holocaust did not occur. The same is true of Yahoo, Microsoft-owned search engine Bing, and privacy-centric search engine DuckDuckGo.

Reached for comment, a Facebook spokesperson said they made a mistake: "Our goal is for Facebook search results to be relevant and useful to people. That did not happen in this case and we have corrected the issue."

"We find Holocaust denial to be repugnant and ignorant," a spokesperson said earlier. "Mark [Zuckerberg] has made that clear - and we agree that we 'find Holocaust denial deeply offensive.' We don't allow people to celebrate or defend or try to justify the Holocaust. We also remove any content that mocks Holocaust victims or survivors."

Unlike other major search engines, the first page of Facebook's search results for "Holocaust" includes a group that promotes Holocaust denialism, "The Open Holocaust Debate." BI

On Wednesday, technology news site Recode published a wide-ranging interview with CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It came on the back a furor over conspiracy theory website Infowars' use of Facebook, and Zuckerberg argued that the company did not feel comfortable restricting the "voice" of its users, even if they were clearly wrong.

Instead, he said, Facebook penalized hoaxers and misinformation spreaders with its algorithm, which ensures that such posts get far less traction and views in the News Feed. Zuckerberg cited Holocaust denialism as an example of content that was penalized but not banned.

"I'm Jewish, and there's a set of people who deny that the Holocaust happened," the Facebook founder said. "I find that deeply offensive. But at the end of the day, I don't believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that different people get wrong."

But the News Feed is not the only way Facebook users can find and consume information on the social network. Holocaust denial groups rank highly in Facebook's Search results, mixed in alongside non-conspiracy-theorist groups.

The Groups search results for "Holocaust" includes two groups in its top ten promoting Holocaust denial material, "The Open Holocaust Debate" and "Holocaust Revisionism." BI

The groups vary slightly in their search ranking position from user to user. One such group, "The Open Holocaust Debate," has more than 1,600 members and frequently ranks in the top three search results. Billed as a "study group," its users frequently post anti-Semitic messages and deny that the Holocaust occurred.

Another in the top-ten results is the 1,000-member "Holocaust Revisionism," which has a description that reads in part: "many people are starting to wake up, and find out that the official story which we have been told about the Holocaust may not be 100% true ... the truth of the matter is that Hitler was a Zionist puppet from start to finish... and that the whole Holocaust thing was part of a Messianic agenda in order to fulfill a Sabbatean Frankist version of prophecy."

One of the posts in "The Open Holocaust Debate" disputing the existence of the Holocaust. BI

In an emailed statement, a Facebook spokesperson said that search results are unique to each user: "They're ordered algorithmically based on a combination of many factors. A few of the factors that determine what Groups appear in the Groups module on the search results page include relevance to what you type into the search bar, if you are connected to members of the Group and the activity level of the Group. "

However, Business Insider tested the "Holocaust" search with four different users, and Holocaust denial groups appeared highly every time indicating this is likely a widespread issue. For two of the users, "The Open Holocaust Debate" was ranked third, and "Holocaust Revisionism" was ranked sixth. For one user, the former was ranked second and the latter was ranked eighth. And for another, "The Open Holocaust Debate" was ranked sixth.

The spokesperson added that Facebook blocks Holocaust denial content in countries where it is illegal, and takes down groups if they "[devolve] into threats or statements of hate."

The prominence of Holocaust denial groups in Facebook's search results risk misinforming users seeking more information about the historic atrocity, especially as Facebook increasingly encourages the Groups feature as a way to make connections on the platform.

A recent survey by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany found that 11% of US adults were not sure if they had heard of the Holocaust and that 2 out of 3 Americans between 18 and 34 years of age could not identify Auschwitz.

While Facebook has begun taking greater steps to stop the spread of misinformation in its NewsFeed, it's not clear to what extent the company is policing the other corners of its 2-billion member internet service.

With its engineering resources and capital, Facebook should be capable of solving the problem with technology.

After all, no other major search engine promotes Holocaust denial material on its first page of results for "Holocaust."

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Posted By admin on May 20, 2019

On Monday night in Monsey, the Atrium was packed with ultra-Orthodox Jews.

The ballroom of the massive catering hall usually hosts lively Hasidic weddings. This week it welcomed hundreds of people from around the New York City area who had come to this suburb itself home to a large population of Haredim to hear from people who believe that vaccines are harmful, and that anyone trying to get you to vaccinate your child is in the pocket of pharmaceutical corporations.

But while the audience was almost entirely religious, only one of the speakers at the vaccine symposium was: Rabbi Hillel Handler, who has become something of a poster child for the minority of Hasidic Jews who are rejecting calls from within their community and without to vaccinate their children for measles and other diseases.

Its not Handlers first time entering the spotlight as a lightning rod for controversy: He has defended numerous unpopular people, ideas and practices over the years.

When something is unpopular or no one has the courage to say it, they come to me, Handler told the Daily News. If not me, who?

Handler did not respond to multiple requests for comment left with his family.

The national measles outbreak is now close to the largest since the creation of the measles vaccine. It continues to spread in the Hasidic communities of upstate New York and New York City due to frequent travel of Hasidic Jews to Israel, where there is an even larger outbreak occurring, as well as the high density of Hasidic neighborhoods and the near-daily social gathering of children in schools and places of worship.

Handler lives in Brooklyn, and is a member of the Satmar Hasidic group. His views on vaccines fall into the same pattern as many of his other opinions: They are far from not only the political mainstream, but from the consensus beliefs of most Hasidic Jews.

He has defended metzitzah bpeh, a rare practice of orally cleaning the circumcision wound during a bris ceremony, and which has been linked to several cases of herpes among infants in the New York City area.

Handler also believes that crimes of sexual assault should be dealt with by rabbis, not the police, and defended Rabbi Yisroel Weingarten, a New York rabbi who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for molesting his daughter.

Hes an extremist, and hes amoral, Shmarya Rosenberg, who blogged about the Hasidic world for years at his site Failed Messiah, told the Daily News. He appears to be a gun for hire in the ultra-Orthodox community.

Handler spoke in Monsey on Monday alongside secular saints of the anti-vaccine movement, including the disgraced British doctor Andrew Wakefield, who helped kickstart the modern anti-vaccine movement with a since-debunked study linking vaccinations to autism.

In his speech, Handler suggested that Hasidic Jews are being attacked in Brooklyn for simply sneezing on the sidewalk, and has falsely suggested that New York City mayor Bill de Blasio is targeting Jews because he is secretly German. (Handler, 77, is reportedly a Holocaust survivor.)

We Hasidim have been chosen as the target, Handler said on Monday, according to The New York Times. The campaign against us has been successful.

Handler also made several erroneous statements about vaccines and the diseases they are meant to protect against. Measles vaccines are safe for the vast, vast majority of recipients, and there is no link between vaccination and autism.

To be sure, Handlers views are far outside the norm in the Hasidic world. While some schools in Rockland County, the suburban county north of New York that is home to several large Hasidic communities, have vaccination rates that barely reach two-thirds that of the states average rate, others have vaccination rates at or better than national averages. Hasidic rabbis have repeatedly encouraged their constituents to get themselves and their children vaccinated.

Handler has played into concerns among Hasidic Jews that government agencies are anti-religious and are determined to disrupt their highly traditional, often socially insular communities.

In a statement issued Wednesday titled Nonsense and Insults at a Recent Monsey Gathering, Agudath Israel of America, the largest Hasidic umbrella group, called Handlers attack on de Blasio deeply offensive.

It is unfortunate that he was allowed to share his imaginings with others, the statement read.

Speaking to the New York Times on Tuesday, Handler appeared to walk back his opposition to vaccines somewhat.

I dont mind if someone takes a vaccine. Its not my business, he told a reporter. What am I, a fascist? Am I going to bring down the law?

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at feldman@forward.com or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

This story "Hasidic Rabbi Hillel HandlerMeasles Vaccine Antagonist" was written by Ari Feldman.

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Posted By admin on May 20, 2019

Sifting through the crop tops and sheer blouses for sale at Junee, a boutique in Borough Park, Brooklyn, is an unexpected clientele: some of New York Citys most modest women.

Filled with bright colors and the latest fashions, the store specializes in outfitting Hasidic women, who follow a deeply conservative sartorial doctrine that, among other things, requires their elbows, collarbones and knees to always be covered, and if married, their hair to be hidden under a scarf or wig.

Junee and other stores like it have seen their sales rise in recent years because of a flood of new products designed to make modesty and fashion compatible. There are items like tape to tighten up a collar that sags toward impropriety, felt dots that muffle the provocative clack of pumps and cloth tubes that can extend a short sleeve into something more acceptable.

Womens undershirts are so popular among those wanting to cover their collarbones that entire shops have opened selling nothing but undershirts, also known as shells. Even dickeys, shirtless collars once the purview of only the nerdiest of nerds, are getting a second look. In Borough Park, one of the most heavily Hasidic neighborhoods in New York, dickeys are a hot item: Fitted into a sweater, they can make even a cowl neck look demure.

Tznius, or modesty, has taken on a renewed focus in recent years, Hasidic Jews and religious experts say, as the wider world encroaches on their insular community. In response, some Jews have ratcheted up their observance of tznius as a way to draw a brighter line and to spread their beliefs. The move parallels similar ones in Israel and London, where issues concerning modesty have come to the forefront.

There are inspirational hotlines offering testimonials from women who stuck close to modest ideals and were bestowed with miracles, like becoming fertile or seeing a daughter engaged. And there are songs written to teach little girls to play carefully so as not to expose a knee.

But alongside the religious goals comes a far more terrestrial desire: Stay godly, yes, but fashionable, too.

The general stress on tznius is an equal and opposite reaction to the crudeness of society, said Rabbi Avi Shafran, director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America, a national organization of Orthodox Jews who adhere to a strict interpretation of religious law. Despite the ostensible feminist arc of our society, womens bodies are still being used to sell beer and attract people to television shows and movies.

Modesty is an effort by the community, he added, to not just allow that to seep into our lives, but see it as a sign that we should almost be more careful, and more circumspect when it comes to the way we dress.

Tip Top, on 13th Avenue in Borough Park, sells trim for extending hemlines and cuffs, including 500 different shades of black. Nechy Gottsman, a clerk, says her work is about more than selling fabric it is about doing a good deed, or mitzvah, by making modesty accessible.

More and more people are coming and following the rules because our store is here, Ms. Gottsman said.

Before the advent of one-stop shops like Tip Top, which opened the 13th Avenue store, its newest location, last year, the inconvenience of a trip to Manhattans garment district for the right shade of trim might have induced a woman to bend the rules.

Till now, they just went: Let it be what it is. So its short for a little while? Ms. Gottsman said. Now they really consider and they would just do everything to make the tznius happen.

Stores that specialize in so-called kosher clothing, where the right lengths and figure-obscuring shapes can be bought off the rack, have been around for decades in Hasidic neighborhoods. But bargain hunting is limited, and the risk of wearing the same thing as a friend feared by fashion-conscious women the world over is high.

The proliferation of new goods aimed at maintaining modesty, in particular shells, which are sold in a rainbow of colors at Hasidic specialty shops like Shell Station, allow women to find better prices and wider selections.

Its just easier to go into Macys and go into the rack and see this is cap sleeve and this is a three-quarter sleeve and this is no sleeve, and its not a problem, Susan Youngewirth, 36, said. Whereas before it would have been a whole hassle to go to the seamstress, buy fabric, add the fabric it was way harder. We did it anyway, but it was just more complicated.

At Treasures Forever, a basement-level shop on 47th Street in Borough Park that specializes in tznius accessories, sells long-sleeved and loosefitting nightgowns so that modesty can be ensured even in the privacy of the home. One rack holds heel sound-dampeners, sheer sleeves (too skintight to be appropriately worn as sleeve extenders, an accompanying label says, they are to be used as only a second layer of sleeves, under other sleeves) and a headband that a woman can attach to a cellphone, preventing a wig from shifting and exposing hair while on the phone. The stores business card doubles as a portable, skirt-measuring ruler.

Tznius, which is interpreted from biblical texts, extends beyond clothing to behavior, and also applies to men, who must remain covered as well, though the male Hasidic style of dress does not appear to be affected by the vagaries of modern fashion. Different sects also interpret rules differently.

Unlike other strictly religious communities, like the Amish or the Mennonites, integrating secular style is largely permissible for Hasidic women, said Ann D. Braude, the director of the womens studies in religion program at Harvard Divinity School.

Its an accommodation that allows you to participate in some ways in mainstream fashion, while still maintaining the requirements of modesty, she said.

Businesses that have capitalized on this idea have hit a sort of commercial and religious sweet spot, Professor Braude said.

Youre promoting fashion and religion at the same time; youve got everything. she said. Youre promoting internal virtue and external appearance and profit. Its really a kind of a business for all seasons.

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Outfitting Hasidic Women With Stylish, Yet Modest, Fashions

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Posted By admin on May 20, 2019

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As Corey Johnson, the speaker of the New York City Council, urged his colleagues on Wednesday to ban the sale of fur in the city, he argued that it was the moral thing to do.

But the proposed ban, backed by animal rights advocates, has met an unexpected challenge from a diverse set of opponents, including black pastors and Hasidic leaders. They say a prohibition would fly in the face of centuries of religious and cultural tradition.

Black ministers have staged protests, saying that for many African-Americans, wearing furs is a treasured hallmark of achievement. Hasidic rabbis point to the many men who wear fur hats on the Sabbath. And fur shop owners and garment manufacturers have raised alarms over the potential loss of jobs and an attack on an industry with a deep history in New York.

With the Council holding a hearing on the proposal on Wednesday, the deep dissension was evident outside City Hall. Protesters yelled, Put people first, and counterprotesters responded, How many animals have to die?

Each side had celebrity power: The anti-fur movement was represented by Tim Gunn, the Project Runway style guru; the pro-fur crowd had Safaree Samuels, a rapper and television personality, who was wearing a lynx coat that he said he had bought for the event.

The bill being considered by the Council would ban the sale of fur garments and accessories, but it would allow the sale of used fur garments and new apparel using fur from older garments. Violators would be subject to fines of $500 to $1,500, and any money made from selling banned fur would be subject to forfeiture. The bill would not ban wearing fur.

Los Angeles is the largest city in the country to have banned the sale of fur; other cities include San Francisco and West Hollywood. But New York City is the largest fur retail market in the United States, according to FurNYC, a trade group representing 130 fur retailers in the city. The 150 fur businesses in the city create 1,100 jobs and produce $400 million in revenue per year, according to the group.

Maria Reich, 43, chief executive of Reich Furs, a Manhattan-based manufacturer of fur coats, said a ban on fur sales would have a drastic impact on the 20 or so people she directly employs and an additional 30 contractors she uses to create her pieces.

The morale is down. They are scared, Ms. Reich said of her employees. These are people who have a craft and have been working in this industry for 30 or 40 years. They dont know what they will do next, and they have families to support.

Reich Furs is on West 30th Street, in what is known by those who frequent the area as the Fur District. The company was started in the 1940s by the grandfather of Ms. Reichs deceased husband. The business is in its fourth generation of family ownership.

Theres a political agenda. If this ban happens, the leather industry will be attacked, the meat industry will be attacked, Ms. Reich said. Theres a slippery slope. Are politicians going to tell us what to do, what to wear and what to eat? Its a little bigger than fur.

Dan Mathews, a senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an advocacy group, said the citys fur-making tradition should not impede a ban.

Once in a while, we just take a look around and decide that certain practices should not be part of our modern society, he said, and electrocuting and skinning animals alive for a luxury product is something that just turns peoples stomach, and thats why its going by the wayside.

The bill was introduced by Mr. Johnson, the Council speaker and an enthusiastic animal lover who, in 2017, co-sponsored a bill that led to the ban of circuses using wild and exotic animals in the city. At the hearing on Wednesday, he called the fur industry brutal and pointed to the cruel treatment of animals raised or killed for their pelts.

Mr. Johnson played a video showing animals living in cages and then being electrocuted or having their necks broken. The evidence of cruelty in the fur industry is overwhelming, he said.

Local furriers should diversify and embrace innovations in the fashion and garment industry that can take the place of fur. There is no such thing as ethical fur, or ecological fur, or excellent welfare fur, Mr. Johnson said.

But it was unclear how much support the bill has in the City Council or when Mr. Johnson might seek to bring the measure up for a vote. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that he supported the underlying idea of a ban, but added that he was concerned about the effect on workers in the fur industry.

I think if something happens here there has to be some sense of how to phase it in, in a way that really does try and protect some jobs, Mr. de Blasio said in March.

Councilman Chaim Deutsch of Brooklyn said that he opposed the ban for several reasons, including that many Hasidic Jewish men wear hats made of fur, known as shtreimels or spodiks.

If we ban fur and then you have people that are still out there wearing it, considering the fact that hate crime in New York City is on the rise, people will be targeted on the streets, saying, Why are you wearing this if theres a fur ban? Mr. Deutsch said.

In its current form, the bill includes an exemption for fur items worn as a matter of religious custom, but Mr. Deutsch was nonetheless wary.

Today theyre going to ban fur, tomorrow our pants are going to start falling down because theyre going to ban leather, were not going to have belts, he said. Were not going to have shoes. Once you start with one thing, where does it end? What is next? We cant eat chicken? We cant eat meat?

For Mobilizing Preachers and Communities, a group of mostly black pastors who have come out against the ban, the opposition is more secularly based.

In our culture, fur is a sign of status, achievement, that weve made it against all odds, said the Rev. Johnnie Green Jr., the pastor of Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem, who leads the group of pastors opposing the ban. Show up to any black church on a Sunday in the winter, and you will see a heap of mink coats.

To ban the sale of fur in New York City, but allow it to be sold in Westchester, is culturally insensitive, he added, referring to the suburbs north of the city.

Mr. Green owns a mink coat that hits below the waist and says he likes to wear it when he travels and on special occasions. I wear it because I like the way it looks, he said. I like what it represents. I like the style.

The pastor dismissed the argument against animal cruelty. Im more concerned about saving black lives, he said. When the activists are more concerned about saving black lives than black minks, let me know.

Mr. Samuels, the rapper, is known for his affinity for furs. My stylist let me know about it and I was like, a fur ban in New York City? How could they do that in one of the fashion capitals, if not the fashion capital, of the world? he said.

Asked for the price of his new coat, he turned to his stylist. How much was this one, Messiah?

Fifty five, came the reply.

Fifty-five thousand? he asked.

Yeah.

Furs are expensive, Mr. Samuels concluded. Its an expensive habit.

J. David Goodman contributed reporting.

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Posted By admin on May 20, 2019

[ buh-ney brith ]SHOW IPA

/ bne br /PHONETIC RESPELLING

WORD ORIGIN

an international Jewish organization, founded in New York City in 1843, which institutes and administers programs designed to promote the social, educational, and cultural betterment of Jews and of the public at large.

From the Hebrew word bn brth sons of the covenant

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, Inc. 2019

B'nai B'rith

/ (bne bri, br) /

a Jewish fraternal organization founded in New York in 1843, having moral, philanthropic, social, educational, and political aims

from Hebrew ben brth sons of the covenant

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

B'nai B'rith

Jewish fraternal organization founded in New York City in 1843, Hebrew, literally "Sons of the Covenant," from bene, state construct of banim, plural of ben "son," + brith "covenant."

Online Etymology Dictionary, 2010 Douglas Harper

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Posted By admin on May 18, 2019

Its a musical journey thats long and deep, robust and resonant.

While Carnegie Halls citywide cultural festival Migrations: The Making of America which kicks off on Saturday, March 9 with a concert at Carnegie Hall has been in the works for several years, the theme is most timely now.

The festival celebrates the musical legacy of three migrations: the crossings from Scotland and Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries, the immigration of Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe between 1881 and 1924, and the migration of African-Americans from the South from 1917 to the 1970s.

New York has been an incredible destination for people from all over the world. All three groups that weve chosen are coming from terrible suffering and appalling conditions, and out of that came inspiration and happy, extraordinary creations, Clive Gillinson, executive and artistic director of Carnegie Hall, tells The Jewish Week. All had a huge impact on what we think of as American music today.

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With more than 100 events, this is Carnegie Halls largest ever festival. Working with about 80 partner institutions, they are presenting concerts as well as films, lectures and panel discussions, exhibitions, performances and other public arts programming at venues around town, over the next five weeks, also showcasing other immigrant groups and the crossovers between them.

One of the centerpiece events at Carnegie Hall, From Shtetl to Stage: A Celebration of Yiddish Music and Culture, created by Seth Rogovoy and Eleanor Reissa, is a mix of Yiddish theatre and folk songs, classical music and klezmer. Reissa, who also directs the show, says that she could have filled a couple of weeks rather than two hours with all the great material.

Even though its a story of the past, its a story of the present, she says. What was the value of letting these people come to our shores? The value is of course enormous. Its threads are everywhere.

Gillinson points out that several of the performers in From Shtetl to Stage like pianist Evgeny Kissin and violinist Gil Shaham have played at Carnegie Hall before, but never have so many of these figures been on stage together. Others include vocalists Mike Burstyn, Elmore James and Tony-award winner Katrina Lenk (The Bands Visit) as well as Reissa, pianist Zalmen Mlotek, actors Yelena Shmulenson and Allen Lewis Rickman, music director Frank London. (The April 15 show is already sold-out, but Carnegie Hall officials suggest checking with the box office.)

Also featured in the festival is a related lecture The Musical Legacy of Eastern European Jews by ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin at YIVO (April 10); a concert by the Andy Statman Trio at Carnegie Hall (March 14); the St Lukes Chamber Ensemble playing Music in Color, a concert dedicated to the music of Gabriela Lena Frank, an American composer of Peruvian, Chinese and Jewish Lithuanian descent, at several venues; workshops with the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (March 26); a concert featuring Sarah Aroeste and Anthony Mordechai Tsvi Russell, Diaspora Songs: Yiddish Meets Ladino at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan (March 28); and a day-long symposium, Immigration Matters at the American Jewish Historical Society (March 31).

On March 21, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts digs into its Jerome Robbins archives to highlight a never-produced autobiographical theater work by the dancer and choreographer, The Poppa Piece, in which he confronts his Jewish heritage, his immigrant parents perspective and difficult moments in his life. Evan Leslie, the Librarys artistic producer, says that Robbins began working on it 1979 and abandoned the project in the early 1980s. The program features playback of audio and video footage including Robbins recording memories relevant to the creation of the piece, and commentary by biographer Amanda Vaill and others.

And at Carnegie Hall on March 27, singer and pianist Michael Feinstein presents The Great American Jewish Songbook Kern, Berlin, Arlen, Rodgers and More. Feinstein, who worked as Ira Gershwins assistant for six years when he was in his 20s and Gershwin in his 80s, tells The Jewish Week that he got to know many of the songwriters whose words hell be singing and will present their music in context, with many personal anecdotes.

Ive never done a show like this before, he says. This is the music with which I most deeply connect. These songs formed my entire life. To be able to interpret them is a tremendous gift.

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Posted By admin on May 17, 2019

23rd Annual Breaking the Glass Ceiling Awards Luncheon Sunday, April 7, 2019

Thank you everyone who attended the 23rd Annual Breaking the Glass Ceiling Awards Luncheon. The Museum proudly recognized this years honorees: Susan Brustman, Michele Oka Doner, Mera Rubell & Elizabeth Schwartz and welcomed them into our prestigious group of nearly 100 Breaking the Glass Ceiling honorees to date. Click here to view Breaking the Glass Ceiling Ad Journal which lists event sponsors, honoree bios and more.

March 19, 2019 - June 23, 2019

The national museum debut of Shtetl in the Sun: Andy Sweets South Beach 1977-1980. The exhibition celebrates the legendary photographers work in the late 1970s capturing the colorful elderly Jewish community in South Beach, before his death at a young age. Based on the new book by Brett Sokol from Letter16 Press.

March 6, 2019 May 21, 2019

Through the Hat is the first museum show from the internationally acclaimed NYC based artist, Steve Marcus. The exhibition includes over 26 wood carved sculptures and Jewish ritual objects, more than a dozen hand drawn works of art on paper and custom synagogue furniture.

March 31, 2019 - June

The 52 noisemakers on display, were collected by Colleen and Richard over 20 years from around the world and are being shown publicly for the very first time. The diverse styles of the noisemakers reflect different regions and cultures and are as varied as the materials they are made from.

Opening July 2, 2019 - Preservation and Renewal: Bauhaus and International Style Buildings in Tel Aviv celebrates the 100th year anniversary of the opening of the Bauhaus school in Weimar, Germany in 1919. The exhibition examines the Bauhaus buildings in Tel Aviv (also known as The White City), presented through color photographs of renovated buildings alongside historic photographs and architectural plans.

Tel Aviv has almost 4,000 buildings built in the Bauhaus style, later known as the International Style, making it the highest concentration of Bauhaus buildings in the world. In 2003, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Tel Aviv's White City a World Cultural Heritage site.

Opening June 23, 2019 - Look at You, Key West: Photos by Maggie Evans Silverstein Key Wests most sacred secret: it is a place where everyone fits in, because the more you dont, the more you do. A unique coinage. And now, lucky us, we get to see the island through Maggie Silversteins photographic lens: kind, winking, colorful, quirky, respectful and above all, celebratory.

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Welcome | Jewish Museum of Florida - FIU

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Posted By admin on May 16, 2019

The COE tracks extremist-related murders connected to all forms of extremism, including right-wing extremism, left-wing extremism and domestic Islamist extremism, as well as less common forms.

When extremists adhere to or are influenced by more than one extremist movement, they are categorized here by their apparent primary ideology, i.e., the ideology that seems to be most important to them, is the most recently followed or, if applicable, that seems most directly related to the murders they committed.

The case of Corey Johnson is an example of someone with a history of multiple extremist affiliations. In March 2018, Johnson, a 17-year-old high school student from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, carried out an allegedly premeditated stabbing rampage during a sleepover at another house, killing a 13-year-old child and severely injured two other people.2

Johnson reportedly had a history of fascination with white supremacy and Nazism. One police report from an earlier incident involving Johnson characterized him as liking extremists, Fascists, Hitler and referred to the teen as a White Supremacist. However, by late 2016, Johnson had become enamored with radical Islamist ideas and allegedly converted to Islam. Johnson even reportedly attempted to reach out to ISIS, attracting the attention of both local and federal law enforcement, who also linked him to a threat to kill Infidels at a British school. After his arrest, Johnson reportedly told police he had committed the stabbings because his victims disrespected his religion.3

Corey Johnson. (Photo: Palm Beach Gardens Police Department)

To be included in the tally of extremist-related killings, it is not enough for an incident, by its nature, to seem as if it could have been committed by an extremist. Rather, there must be positive evidence connecting the murderer to an extremist group or movement. This is why one deadly incident that many have speculated had ties to white supremacy is not included in this report: the Kroger grocery store shootings of October 2018.

In this incident, Gregory Bush, a white man, opened fire in a Krogers supermarket in a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky. He killed one person, then killed a second person in the parking lot outside. Both victims were African-American. Bush has been charged with federal hate crimes in this case, in part because of a surveillance video showing Bush unsuccessfully attempting to enter a historically African-American church shortly before the Krogers attack. Bush also allegedly told a witness of the shootings during the incident that whites dont kill whites.4

Bush does allegedly have a history of making some racist remarksincluding against his ex-wife, who is African-Americanbut so far, no evidence has emerged to connect him to the white supremacist movement or its ideology (nor would it be common for a full-fledged white supremacist to marry an African-American person or raise a biracial child). Because of this, Bushs crimes are not included herealthough if evidence of white supremacist ties on his part were to emerge in the future, he would be added at that point.5

The Bush attack notwithstanding, white supremacists were responsible for the great majority of extremist-related killings in 2018, which is the case almost every year. Right-wing extremists were responsible for 49 (or 98%) of the 50 domestic extremist-related killings in 2018, with white supremacists alone accounting for 39 (or 78%) of those murders. Anti-government extremists (primarily sovereign citizens) were responsible for eight (or 16%) of the deaths.

Scott Paul Beierle in a Leon County Sheriff's Department Booking Photo.

The remaining two 2018 deaths, both stemming from a single incident, are worth special mention. In November 2018, Scott Paul Beierle opened fire inside a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, killing two people and wounding four more. Beierle also pistol-whipped someone who tried to intervene. He then killed himself. In the wake of the attack, Buzzfeed and the Associated Press revealed that Beierle had made a series of racist and misogynistic YouTube videosone titled The Rebirth of My Misogynismthat revealed deep-seated hatred towards women, particularly women in interracial relationships who had ostensibly betrayed their blood. In one of these videos, Beierle referenced Elliot Rodger, whose 2014 stabbing and shooting spree in California left six dead and 14 wounded and was motivated primarily by misogynistic rage.6

Beierle appears to have identified with the so-called incels, or involuntary celibates, a movement that consists primarily of men who externalize their rage and unhappiness over their inability to form meaningful relationships with women. Incels are part of a larger universe of mostly online right-wing misogyny, sometimes called the manosphere, which includes sub-categories such as men going their own way and pickup artists. Rodgers 2014 murders were the first known example of deadly incel-inspired violence and he continues to inspire like-minded men today. In April 2018, self-described incel Alek Minassian conducted a vehicular attack in Toronto, Canada, killing 10 and injuring 16 more. In a Facebook post made just before the attack, Minassian referenced Rodger.

The COE is now tracking incel-inspired acts of violence in its murders and terrorism databasesand has added Rodgers 2014 spree to its records, as well.

While some of 2018s right-wing related murders received considerable publicity, with the tragedy at the Tree of Life garnering attention worldwide, other killings remained largely under the radar. This includes another white supremacist-related murder in Pittsburgh, which occurred not long before the synagogue shooting. In August, white supremacist Joden Rocco was charged with homicide for stabbing an African-American man to death outside a bar where Rocco was denied entry. Prior to the incident, Rocco made an Instagram video in which he discussed how he and friends were planning to go from bar to bar to see how many times they could repeat the n-word to bartenders before being thrown out.7

This incident is noteworthy not just for the shocking and unprovoked nature of this attack, but also because Rocco used social media to announce his racist bar-hopping plans. Robert Bowers, the Tree of Life shooter, used the social media site Gab to broadcast his attack on the synagogue, proclaiming Screw your optics, Im going in. As noted above, Beierle used YouTube as a platform for his misogyny and Minassian used Facebook to publicize his own attack. As social media has become ubiquitous, extremists have grown more likely to use these platforms to announce their beliefs and plans, including even deadly acts. In 2015, Dylann Roof created a website to host the manifesto he used to justify his murderous attack on the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolinathe next Dylann Roof may simply post his intentions to his social media feeds.8

Domestic Islamist extremists were responsible for only one of the 50 killings documented in 2018, a sharp drop from recent years and the lowest figure since 2012, the last year when no such killings took place. Unlike the last several years, there was no domestic Islamist extremist mass casualty event such as a shooting spree or vehicular attack in 2018. Compared to right-wing extremists, domestic Islamist extremists in the U.S. have been involved in far fewer lethal incidentsbut a number of those attacks have been high-casualty events, including most notably the Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, which left 49 dead.

The fact that only one person was killed by a domestic Islamist extremist in the U.S. in 2018 should not be taken as an indication that the threat posed by this form of extremism has diminished. A number of domestic Islamist extremists were arrested in 2018 for a variety of crimes, from terrorist plots to providing material support to terrorism.

Finally, it should be noted that we report no killings in 2018 related to left-wing extremism, a category in which we include traditional left-wing extremism, left-wing single-issue movements, anarchists and black nationalists. In a sense, this is not unusual, in that left-wing extremists have not been particularly violent over the past 20 years, and most of the violence that has emerged from that quarter has been directed at property rather than people. ADLs data shows just 15 murders linked to left-wing extremism over the past 20 years, with 13 of the 15 fatalities occurring in 2016 and 2017, all linked to black nationalists. It should be noted that Tierre Guthrie, the perpetrator of one of 2018s anti-government extremist-related murders, may have also had black nationalist leanings.9

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Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2018 - adl.org

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Posted By admin on May 15, 2019

Oscar Stewart of Rancho Bernardo, was the one who screamed at the suspect, 19-year-old John Earnest, and ran him out. Nick Oza (ozan), Arizona Republic

The man accused of killing one person and wounding three others at a synagogue outside San Diego last month faces a rare pairing of state and federal prosecutors, both with the option of pursuing the death penalty against him.

John T. Earnest, 19, pleaded not guilty to hate crimes in his first federal court appearance Tuesday in San Diego.

Earnest spoke only twice during a brief hearing, once to acknowledge his name and once to say he agreed with his court-appointed lawyer's request not to seek bond.

Prosecutor Peter Ko said the federal government has not decided whether to seek the death penalty, andreaffirmed plans to try the case separately but simultaneously with state charges of murder and attempted murder.

Shackled at the wrists and ankles, Earnest had adifferent look than athis April 30 arraignment, sporting a new buzz cut and shedding the glasses he wore then.He looked blankly at Magistrate Michael Berg as the judge explained the proceedings.

Earnest has been charged with 109 federal counts, most of them in connection with the April 27 shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue that resulted in the death of congregant Lori Gilbert Kaye, hand injuries to Rabbi Yisrael Goldstein and wounds to two other worshipers.

The federal hate crime charges make Earnest eligible for the death penalty if convicted, and the state charges stemming from the synagogue onslaught could carry the same punishment. He has also been accused of arson in relation to a fire at a mosque in nearby Escondido the previous month.

Last month, Earnest pleaded not guilty to the state charges in both cases.

John T. Earnest was arraigned in San Diego County Superior Court on April 30. Earnest is facing charges of murder and attempted murder at the Chabad of Poway synagogue, where one woman was killed and three injured. On Thursday, he was charged with more than 100 federal counts of hate crimes.(Photo: Pool, Getty Images)

After the shooting spree, which prosecutors say ended when Earnest failed to reload his semi-automatic rifle and was rushed by members of the congregation, he called 911 and told a dispatcher, I just shot up a synagogue, adding that his reason was, because Jewish people are destroying the white race. He was arrested shortly afterward.

Prosecutors described Earnest as consumed with hatred toward Jews and Muslims, and they say he was inspired to act by last years shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue and the March assault on two New Zealand mosques that left 50 people dead. Earnest allegedly posted a manifesto detailing his beliefs.

More: The last day of Passover: Two families, one shared tragedy at Poway synagogue

Related: Feds charge suspect in Poway synagogue killing with 109 counts of hate crimes

In announcing the federal charges against Earnest on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer Jr. said he expected the state and federal cases to proceed simultaneously, which is uncommon.

So is Earnests profile in light of the horrific acts hes accused of. A nursing student at Cal State San Marcos, Earnest is a gifted pianist and was an accomplished athlete and scholar at Mt. Carmel High School in San Diego, where his father, John A. Earnest, is a popular physics teacher.

The younger Earnest apparently got radicalized sometime in the last two years through online readings. Two days after the attack, his family issued a powerfully worded statement denouncing his actions.

Like our other five children, he was raised in a family, a faithand a community that all rejected hate and taught that love must be the motive for everything we do, the statement said. How ourson was attracted to such darkness is a terrifying mystery to us, though we areconfident that law enforcement will uncover many details of the path that he took to this evil and despicable act.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Accused San Diego synagogue shooter John T. Earnest in federal court - usatoday.com

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