Page 1,413«..1020..1,4121,4131,4141,415..1,4201,430..»

Australian court blocks synagogue over terror fears – www.jewishaz … – Jewish News of Greater Phoenix

Posted By on August 9, 2017

Posted: Wednesday, August 9, 2017 8:17 am

Australian court blocks synagogue over terror fears JNS.org Jewish News |

An Australian court has upheld a decision by a local municipal council in Sydney to block the construction of a Jewish synagogue over fears that it could be a target of terrorism.

Australias Land and Environmental Court backed a decision by the Waverley Council to prohibit the construction of the synagogue in Sydneys world-famous Bondi Beach suburb.

Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. Please click the button below to manage your account.

kAmp44@C5:?8 E@ E96 CF=:?8[ E96 AC@A@D65 DJ?28@8F6D D:E6 C2:D6D 4@?46C?D 2D E@ E96 D276EJ 2?5 D64FC:EJ @7 7FEFC6 FD6CD @7 E96 $J?28@8F6[ ?62C3J C6D:56?ED[ >@E@C:DED 2?5 A656DEC:2?D 😕 (6==:?8E@? $EC66E 2?5 E96 A9JD:42= >62DFC6D AC@A@D65 E@ 562= H:E9 E96 :56?E:7:65 E9C62ED H:== 92G6 2? F?2446AE23=6 :>A24E @? E96 DEC66ED42A6 2?5 25;@:?:?8 AC@A6CE:6D]k^Am

kAmpFDEC2=:2? y6H:D9 =6256CD 6IAC6DD65 D9@4< @G6C E96 4@FCED 564:D:@?[ D2J:?8 :E H:== AC6G6?E E96> 7C@> AC24E:4:?8 E96:C C6=:8:@? 7C66=J]k^Am

kAmU=5BF@j%96 564:D:@? 😀 F?AC64656?E65[UC5BF@j #233: *69@C2> &=>2?[ DA@<6D>2? 7@C E96 uC:6?5D @7 #67F866D @7 t2DE6C? tFC@A6[ E@=5 k2 9C67lQ9EEAi^^?6HD]4@>Qm?6HD]4@>k^2m]2F] U=5BF@jxED :>A=:42E:@?D 2C6 6?@C>@FD] xE 32D:42==J :>A=:6D E92E ?@ y6H:D9 @C82?:K2E:@? D9@F=5 36 2==@H65 E@ 6I:DE 😕 C6D:56?E:2= 2C62D] xE DE2?5D E@ DE:7=6 y6H:D9 6I:DE6?46 2?5 24E:G:EJ 😕 $J5?6J 2?5 :?5665[ 3J 4C62E:?8 2 AC64656?E[ E96 H9@=6 @7 pFDEC2=:2[ 2?5 3J 6IE6?D:@? C6H2C5:?8 E6CC@C:D>]UC5BF@j kDEC@?8my}k^DEC@?8mk^Am

Your current subscription does not provide access to this content. Please click the button below to manage your account.

Posted in US & World News, World on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 8:17 am.

Read more:

Australian court blocks synagogue over terror fears - http://www.jewishaz ... - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix

Wain Pavilion breaks ground at Park Synagogue East – Cleveland Jewish News

Posted By on August 9, 2017

Park Synagogue East in Pepper Pike is building a pavilion with help from longtime congregants Barbara and Norman Wain. The structure is expected to be complete at the end of August and will have a dedication ceremony for the congregation Sept. 7.

When Norman Wain, a radio industry pioneer who owned multiple stations, agreed to fund the building, its sole purpose was to protect summer camp children from the sun. Then the idea came up to increase the size so the structure could be used for various services.

It started about, I would say about five, six months ago, we started talking about it and then it just grew like Topsy, Wain said. We had committed to doing a shelter for the kids and as it got bigger we kept saying OK, OK, OK.

Once the concrete was poured, the pavilion measured 2,800 square feet, three times larger than the original plan. It will hold up to 300 people. The structure, located by the playground and pool, will be in a prime location to be used by summer campers. It wasnt until the idea of using the structure for outdoor services like weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and Shabbat that the congregation ignited in support of the pavilion, Wain said.

The same idea for a pavilion was completed by one of Wains friends at a synagogue in Charlotte, N.C.

He reports to me that theyre waiting in line for bar mitzvahs and weddings and everybody likes the idea of an outdoor shelter to have a service, Wain said. So we went along with the idea and we like the concept and we call it the Wain Pavilion.

But this wasnt the first time the idea of a shelter came up to the congregation. Barbara Wain originally pitched the idea in 2011, when she was director of development at Park Synagogue. However, a grant request to build the structure was denied and the project was put on hiatus.

It was cold, we never pursued it, Barbara Wain said. When I married Norman (in 2013) I told him about this project that never got funded. Norman realized it was very important, it was really missing from our ability to serve people and in a safe manner.

The couple talked to Rabbi Joshua Hoffer Skoff, senior rabbi at Park Synagogue, and expressed their desire to fund the project.

Skoff agreed there is a need for the pavilion and supported the idea to expand the structure so it could have various uses and serve as an unconventional teaching setting.

Im very used to having Judaism in an informal type of environment, Skoff said. I certainly saw that Jewish education and learning about life can happen in natural places during a camp season, but also just for adults.

An architects rendering of what the pavilion could look like.

The pavilion will include a fireplace and a temporary bimah, which can be moved inside. A plaque will be placed inside the pavilion to recognize Stephany and Jonathan Bass for their additional contribution to the structure. There are no permanent seating structures; instead seating will be added depending on the event.

Ive been a Park member ever since I came here in 1954, Wain said. Im just happy to add to the facilities here. This is just going to expand Parks ability to do different kinds of events.

Michael A. Bonner, Inc. of Russell Township is the architect for the project.

A cost for the pavilion was not disclosed.

Publishers Note: Norman Wain is a past board chair of the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company Board of Directors.

More:

Wain Pavilion breaks ground at Park Synagogue East - Cleveland Jewish News

Genadeen Caterers | Catering & Events

Posted By on August 9, 2017

As the exclusive caterer to The Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst, New York, we are creative professionals always prepared to satisfy all your needs whether your affair is on location at The Sephardic Temple or at any hotel, country club, synagogue, or your residence.

From the very beginning, The Sephardic Temple has adhered to the point of view that we are not in the business of making parties. Were here to work with you in your tough role as planners. What we offer is quite simple, flexible prices and strategies to make your wedding event a success. The mood and spirit we create will enchant your guests. They will admire the physical beauty of our decor, the fame of our food is legendary, and our service is incomparable. Be assured of a decidedly different party experience at your simcha or event. It is important to note that other caterers give you what you order and choose. We provide subtle touches that you dont ask for-such as unlimited name brand liquors, mixer beverages in bottles (we dont think it appropriate for your guests to receive pumped mixers that can intermingle and corrupt the taste of a drink), tablecloths/napkins, movable bars placed in strategic positions, and an outdoor garden with fountain that can be used as desired. Our fees can satisfy everyone. You can design your own party to suit your preference and budget.

As high-end caterers, we offer only the best of French service cuisine in our newly refurbished Grand Ballroom. From the stunning beauty of the Grand Entrance, to the wonderful Garden, you will get married under the stars in unsurpassed elegance. Having created a diverse array of affairs, we can successfully guide you with ease and satisfaction through any event you may be planning. Our new gourmet dairy menu is something spectacular to savour.

We will make your affair, big or small truly memorable. With excellent design, precise planning, and outstanding cuisine, you will be ecstatic you called Genadeen.

See the rest here:

Genadeen Caterers | Catering & Events

What’s Going On In NYC This Week – Jewish Week

Posted By on August 9, 2017

The top music, film, theater and food events in New York City this week, curated by arts and culture editors:

THE TOP THREE

TRAVELING IN PAIRS

Israeli-American jazz pianist Alon Nechustan and polymath Samuel Torjman Thomas join forces in Traveling in Pairs, a musical project that gives a jazz-inflicted treatment to a wide range of Jewish music. Thomas, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader and singer, is also a professor of ethnomusicology and Jewish studies; hes best known as the leader of the New York Andalus Ensemble, a multi-ethnic outfit performing the traditional music of North Africa and Spain in Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish. Nechushtan has worked with Frank London, Baye Kouyates Afro Beat ensemble and Alicia Svigals Klezmer Quartet; hes forged a name for himself as a genre-buster who remains strongly rooted in jazz. Sunday, Aug. 20, 11 a.m., City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com. $10.

THE AMERICAN SEPHARDI MUSIC FESTIVAL

Baritone David Serero star of the Ladino versions of The Merchant of Venice, Nabucco and Othello directs the inaugural American Sephardi Music Festival. Produced by the American Sephardi Federation, the three-day event features several Sephardic music stars. Composer/singer-songwriter and guitarist Gerard Edery a master of Sephardic song (The New York Times) performs sacred songs from the three major religions; Franoise Atlan, a French singer who lives in Morocco, explores Sephardic and Arabic music; the Arabic Jazz Ensemble Nashaz plays Maqam jazz (with oud); Israeli-American trumpeter Itamar Borochov connects the music of the downtown scene, North Africa, modern Israel and ancient Bukhara. Serero closes the festival with a mix of opera and comedy. Tuesday, Aug. 24 and Sunday-Monday, Aug. 27-28. Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., (212) 294-8301, http://programs.cjh.org.

TAMUZ NISSIM

Jazz singer Tamuz Nissim plays Rockwood Music Hall this weekend. Tamuzmusic.com

Israeli-born vocalist and composer Tamuz Nissim can deliver a moody, sultry ballad with real authority, and she can swing as well, with a command of the scatting vocabulary. Nissims 2016 debut album, Liquid Melodies, a duet with guitarist George Nazos, was hailed as a combination that works so amazingly well through each [jazz] style that it is stunning (WTJU.net). The title song, a Nissim original set to a soft Brazilian beat that will bring to mind Astrud Gilberto, asks longingly, Liquid melodies that we used to sing/ They have lost their sound as weve lost our way/ If well call them, Come Back/ Will they stay? Saturday, Aug. 12, 5 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., rockwoodmusichall.com.

Theater

AMERIKE

Created by Zalmen Mlotek and Moishe Rosenfeld in 1984, the musical Amerike The Golden Land, weaves stories and observations the two collected from New Yorks Yiddish-speaking immigrants. The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene is now reimagining the production, documentary-style, heightened by the use of projection designs and a live seven-piece klezmer band on stage. Directed by Drama Desk-nominee Bryna Wasserman, Amerike is performed in Yiddish with Russian and English supertitles. Through Aug. 20, Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, (866) 811-4111, mjhnyc.org.

HELLO, DOLLY!

The Broadway hit that became an even more famous Barbra Streisand movie has returned to its Broadway roots. The widowed, brassy matchmaker Dolly Levi travels to Yonkers to find a match for the miserly well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire Horace Vandergelder. Played on film by the legendary Babs, this Broadway revival features the no-less-legendary Bette Midler as Dolly. Directed by four-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Zaks. Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th St., (212) 239-6200, hellodollyonbroadway.com. $59-$189.

ARI SHAPIRO: HOMEWARD

As a journalist, NPRs All Things Considered host Ari Shapiro has witnessed wars and revolutions. Inspired by his experiences around the world, he takes the stage in Homeward, his first solo cabaret performance. Shapiro will sing songs of upheaval, patriotism and hope, from places that are less far away than they seem. Sunday, Aug. 13, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Joes Pub, 425 Lafayette St., (212) 539-8778, publictheater.org.

Music

HEKSELFEST

Israeli-born jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman, who has drawn praise for his warm and clean guitar tone, clear articulation, [and] crazily extended improvisational ideas, (The New York Times) teams up with various jazz mavericks for three nights. On tap: legendary jazz drummer Billy Hart, singer Becca Stevens, multi-instrumentalist Joel Ross and more. Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 10-13, at various times, Cornelia Street Caf, 29 Cornelia St., (212) 989-9319. $20, drinks included. Visit corneliastreetcafe.com for details.

ANBESSA ORCHESTRA

Ethiopian pop/funk, for those not hip to it, is a world-music revelation. Fusing the familiar sounds of American rock, soul, blues and jazz with the utterly foreign pentatonic scales and melismatic vocal delivery of Ethiopian music, the genre has an otherworldly sound married to a powerful, guttural groove. Anbessa Orchestra, a seven-piece group of Israeli-born, New York-based musicians, riffs off Ethiopian hits from the 60s and 70s, the so-called Golden Age of Ethiopian pop, spicing up the mix with Middle Eastern and Israeli influences. Friday, Aug. 11, 10 p.m., Barbs, 376 Ninth St., Brooklyn, (347) 422-0248, barbesbrooklyn.com. $10.

SHIRA AVERBUCH

Well-known in local Israeli-American circles for her Hebrew performances for kids, young Israeli-American actor/singer/songwriter (and self-proclaimed tree-hugging fairy) Shira Averbuch performs acoustic songs from her #12WeeksofGratitude video project, a heartfelt folk collection with a touch of country jazz. All proceeds will be donated to the International Rescue Committee. Sunday, Aug. 13, 3 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com. Free.

GOYFRIEND

Berlin-based Sasha Lurje is one of the most sought-after voices in klezmer music. Belarusian-born composer/clarinetist Zisl Slepovitch is leader of the critically acclaimed Litvakus, a NYC-based band known for its raw, rootsy and energetic performances of Jewish music from Belarus. The two team-up in Goyfriend, a project exploring the Jewish-Slavic-Baltic cultural dialogue through music. Sunday, Aug. 13, 11 a.m., City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com. $10.

SHAI MAESTRO SOLO PIANO

The Israeli-born pianist is a former member of bassist Avishai Cohens Trio and currently leads his own trio. Hearing the Shai Maestro trio is like awakening to a new world: a world of wonders, excitement, beauty, and uncertainty, says All About Jazz. Maestro will perform a solo piano version of originals from his 2014 album, Untold Stories, and more. Monday, Aug. 21, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 1160 Broadway, 5th fl., (646) 494-3625, jazzgallery.nyc.

KADAWA

This Israeli-born, N.Y.-based trio performs quirky originals drawing from jazz, rock, classical and Israeli music. With Tal Yahalom on guitar, Almog Sharvit on bass and Ben Silashi on drums. Saturday, Aug. 19, 12 a.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com.

AVIVA

Infusing her high-timbered indie-pop songs with subtle Middle Eastern trills, young Israeli-American singer/songwriter Aviva Scheier sounds like a cross between Adele, Birdy and a westernized Sarit Haddad. Scheier will present songs from her recent debut album, Paper Cranes. Sunday, Aug. 20, 6 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com.

ORLY BENDAVID AND THE MONA DAHLS

Songwriter/performing artist Orly Bendavid and her band, The Mona Dahls, perform quirky, earthly and folksy songs, evoking sounds of Parisian cabaret, Appalachian hill country and the Middle East. With guest pianist Matthew Davies. Sunday, Aug. 20, 6 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com.

SLAVIC SOUL PARTY

The acclaimed Brooklyn-based Balkan brass plays its fiery signature blend of Balkan brass, funk grooves, Roma, klezmer and jazz. Tuesdays, 9 p.m., Barbs, 376 Ninth St., Brooklyn, (347) 422-0248, barbesbrooklyn.com. $10.

Film

THE WOMENS BALCONY

When the womens balcony in an Orthodox synagogue collapses, leaving the rabbis wife in a coma and the rabbi in shock, the congregation falls into crisis. Charismatic young Rabbi David appears to be a savior after the accident, but slowly starts pushing his fundamentalist ways. This tests the womens friendships and creates an almost Lysistrata-type rift between the communitys women and men. Lincoln Plaza Cinema, 1886 Broadway, (212) 757-0359, lincolnplazacinema.com.

WONDER WOMAN

Starring Sabra actress/model/former Miss Israel Gal Gadot, the first A-list Israeli movie star ever, the smash-hit film follows Diana, princess of the Amazons and demi-god, as she grows up on an all-female, all-warrior, all-Israeli-accented island. After a handsome British pilot fighter (Chris Pine) arrives on the island and alerts her to the First World War raging outside, the two rush off to save the world through their combined military prowess. In very wide release.

MENASHE

Starring a real-life Menashe (the Skverer chasid Menashe Lustig), Joshua Z. Weinsteins Menashe follows the tale of a widower pushing against the conventions of his tight-knit, family-oriented community by trying to win custody of his young son. In his debut feature, Weinstein, a documentarian, shows a real feel for the rhythms and cadences of chasidic life. Its sweet and sad all at once, and a New York story through and through. Angelika Film Center, 18 W. Houston St., angelikafilmcenter.com (through Aug.17), and Lincoln Plaza Cinema, 1886 Broadway, lincolnplazacinema.com (through Aug.10).

IN SEARCH OF ISRAELI CUISINE

This tasty, feature-length documentary is a portrait of the Israeli people told through food. More than 70 cultures comprise the Israeli people, each with its own culinary traditions; featured here are profiles of chefs, home cooks, vintners and cheese makers drawn from the Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, Druze and other cultures that make up Israel today. Sundays through August, 5:30 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway, (212) 864-5400, SymphonySpace.org.

Exhibitions

OPERATION FINALE

Playing out more like a spy novel than a museum show, this multimedia exhibit features recently declassified materials charting the tracking, capture, extradition and trial of Adolf Eichmann Through Dec. 22, Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, (646) 437-4202, mjhnyc.org.

FLORINE STETTHEIMER: PAINTING POETRY

Through her critically acclaimed poems, paintings and drawings, as well as a selection of costume and theater designs, photographs and ephemera, The Jewish Museum offers a timely reconsideration of poet/painter Florine Stettheimer, an icon of Jazz Age New York. Through Sept. 24, The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., (212) 423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org.

To publish events, submit them to jewishweekcalendar@gmail.com two weeks or more in advance. We cannot guarantee inclusion due to space limitations. Since scheduling changes may occur, we recommend contacting the venue before heading out to an event.

Alon Nechustan and Samuel Torjman Thomas perform Aug. 20 at City Winery. Musicsalon.com | Asefamusic.com

Read the original post:

What's Going On In NYC This Week - Jewish Week

Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff: August 9, 2017 – Haaretz

Posted By on August 9, 2017

How Sheryl Sandberg, Natalie Portman & Howard Schultz cope with imposter syndrome | Intel completes Mobileye purchase | New Air-Krafts

Have our people emailyour people. Share thissign up linkwith your friends

TOP TALKER: Israel Held Secret Talks With Russia, U.S. Over Cease-fire in Southern Syria by Barak Ravid:Israel, the United States and Russia held a series of secret meetings early last month in Amman and in a European capital regarding the cease-fire in southern Syria The Israeli team included top representatives of the Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry, Mossad and the Israel Defense Forces. The American team was led by President Donald Trumps special envoys on Syria, Michael Ratney and Brett McGurk The Israelis told the Russians and the Americans that they had to demand from the Iranians that the Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah and the Shiite militias in Syria must leave the country. [Haaretz]

"Facing Palestinian criticism, White House says closeness to Israel is an asset by Michael Willner, Adam Rasgon and Herb Keinon: This is a way for the Palestinians to try and message the administration: We have to see some sign that you in fact take our interests into account, said Dennis Ross.White House officials say that Abbas takes the Trump team more seriously knowing that Kushner and Greenblatt are personally close with the Israelis a distinction from members of the Obama administration. What they mean to say is that, because were close to the Israelis, we have the ability to influence Israeli behavior, Ross said. And that indeed could benefit the Palestinians, to an extent.[JPost] Abbas issues new demands of Israel, but is quietly still arresting terror suspects [ToI]

JARED INSIDER: Behind The Jared And Ivanka PR Machine by Steven Perlberg:On a Thursday late last month... Jared Kushner paused in the West Wing to chat with ABCs Jonathan Karl and his daughter, who worked as a CNN summer intern. Kushner told Karls daughter that it must be interesting to be a reporter, because you always have to figure out who is going to lie to you When Kushner thought he noticed another reporter, New York magazines Olivia Nuzzi, recording the exchange, he was startled and said it was off the record. He then uncomfortably asked Nuzzi to delete the recording, which she did not do. A few minutes later, after Kushner had left, a Secret Service agent and a press assistant approached Nuzzi and told her she was not permitted to record (she is).

A product of the ruthless New York corporate arena, [Josh] Raffel conducts the blocking and tackling for Kushnerand his wife, Ivanka Trump, routinely making the couple available for off-the-record chats, sources say. Hes smart and good-humored, and reporters whove battled with him say he comfortably oscillates between friendly chatter and aggressiveness. One White House reporter said hes the most competent staffer in the West Wing Sources say Raffel is intensely loyal to the couple The couple trusts Raffel, whom Kushner has known for years, more than the White House communications department, and, according to sources close to them, they want him to be their press steward. [BuzzFeed]

DRIVING THE CONVO: "Elizabeth Warren Comes Out Against Senate's Anti-BDS Bill" by David Colon:"Warren, who was never a sponsor of the bill, was asked about it by a constituent at a town hall last night. In response, she said that while she disagreed with BDS, she also said that 'outlawing free speech-protected activity violates our basic constitution.'"[Gothamist]

NY Post editorial Democrats latest anti-Israel turn:"The White House hopefuls may be responding to the shift by the partys base against Israel Then again, [Chuck] Schumer is 66 and [Steny] Hoyer 78, while [Cory] Bookers 48 and [Kirsten] Gillibrand 50. In the Democratic Party, reliable support for Israel looks to be a thing of the past. [NYPost]

An NJDC spokesman emails us..."Saying that the Democratic Party is anti-Israel is both detached from reality and an easy way to kill bipartisan pro-Israel support. We must work to keep fighting for the US-Israel relationship as a bipartisan issue, especially during the erratic Trump administration. This is too important of an issue to fall victim to increasing partisanship."

ON THE HILL -- Four Democratic Senatorsadvocate for Palestinian Issa Amro -- by Aaron Magid: SenatorsBernie Sanders (I-VT), Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) recently wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson advocating for Palestinian activist Issa Amro who has been charged by the Israeli military court system, a Congressional staffer told Jewish Insider. A similar petition was submitted in the House and backed by 34 Democrats.

It was a private letter raising the case of Issa Amro asking him to monitor the case citing the State Departments own human rights report, which had mentioned Amros case, the Senate staffer explained. Haaretz reported that Amros charges are for spitting at a settler, obstructing soldiers and insulting them. ...We fear that Israeli military courts deliberating over Mr. Amros charges will be unlikely to render a fair and impartial verdict given that the conviction rate within that system is 99.74 percent, the House letter noted.

Eugene Kontorovich, Professor of Law at Northwestern University, blasted the Democratic House letter and told us last month, Just as Israel does not seek to politicize the treatment of U.S. security detainees, U.S. Congressmen should not meddle in this matter.

DRIVING THE DAY --Trump Threatens Fire and Fury Against North Korea if It Endangers U.S. by Peter Baker and Choe Sang-Hun:This is a more dangerous moment than faced by Trumps predecessors, said Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonprofit group in Washington. The normal nuanced diplomatic rhetoric coming out of Washington hasnt worked in persuading the Kim regime of American resolve. This language underscores that the most powerful country in the world has its own escalatory and retaliatory options. [NYTimes]

HEARD YESTERDAY - Former Senator Joe Lieberman on i24News Crossroads: I know that a lot of people will criticize President Trump for the language he used towards North Korea today, but as far as I am concerned, we have tried just about everything else and it hasnt worked So, I dont mind the strong language. The question is: what next? Because this is an unstable, unpredictable leader of North Korea.. [Prompting China to act] could be the most immediate the most positive response to what President Trump has said. The Chinese may worry that they dont know exactly what President Trump would do. He might take military action, which would destabilize the entire area, probably create massive refugees flows from North Korea into China, which the Chinese dont want.

Eliot A. Cohen: "America Is Not Ready for a War in North Korea" [TheAtlantic]

MORE ON TRUMP'S PLATE -- Iranian drone comes close to U.S. fighter jet: U.S. official by Idrees Ali:An unarmed Iranian drone came within 100 feet (31 meters) of a U.S. Navy warplane as it prepared to land on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf, a U.S. official said on Tuesday This appears to be the first time an Iranian drone has come dangerously close to a U.S. fighter plane in the Gulf. [Reuters]

"Getting Trump Out of My Brain" by David Brooks:"If Trump falls in disgrace or defeat, and peoples partisan pride is no longer at stake, I hope that even his supporters will have enough moral memory to acknowledge that character really does matter...But where are people going to go for a new standard of decency? Theyre not going to go back to the old WASP ideal. Thats dead. Trump revealed the vacuum, but who is going to fill it and with what? I could describe a similar vacuum when it comes to domestic policy thinking, to American identity, to Americas role in the world. Trump exposes the void but doesnt fill it. Thats why the reaction against Trump is now more important than the man himself." [NYTimes]

WSJ editorial...McMaster and the Commander:"Mr. Trump may worry about the damage Mr. Bannon and his allies could do to his Administration if he is no longer part of the White House team. But if his minions continue to vilify his colleagues inside the White House, how can anyone tell the difference?" [WSJ]

BUZZ ON BALFOUR: Investigations Intensifying, Israel Imagines Life After Netanyahu by Isabel Kershner:There is, as yet, no clear contender to replace Mr. Netanyahu An Israel without Mr. Netanyahu at the helm would, in any case, be an unfamiliar place for its inhabitants, the Middle East and the world The Israeli leader has also become a fixture at the annual meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, showcasing a combative, theatrical style of diplomacy.... His tenure has been one of impasse in the Palestinian peace process. But inside Israel, he is credited with having maintained stability as Arab neighbors descended into chaos. A departure would leave Israel, its allies and its enemies in uncharted terrain The notion that there is nobody to replace Mr. Netanyahu holds until it happens, Professor [Gadi] Wolfsfeld said. They said nobody could replace Ben-Gurion. [NYTimes;LATimes]

KAFE KNESSET -- by Tal Shalev and JPost's Lahav Harkov:Thousands of Likudniks are expected to gather this evening in Tel Aviv for a mass rally and demonstration of support for Netanyahu. The rally was scheduled in the wake of all of the PM's legal troubles and the Likud has been preparing quite a buildup for the event. Bibi himself is the keynote speaker and everyone is waiting for his speech, in which he is likely to address the latest developments in his investigations. A senior Likud figure told Kafe Knesset that he believes Netanyahu will be putting on quite a show. "It will be a declaration of war - on everyone - from the media to the Left - and even on law enforcement authorities."

Not in the bag anymore?As if Netanyahu doesnt have enough to worry about, senior United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni referred to an interesting letter in a talk to yeshiva students this week, according to a Walla! News report. Gafni recounted that Rabbi Elazar Menachem Shach, who was the undisputed head of the Lithuanian Haredi community while he was alive, wrote a letter to former Prime Minister Menachem Begin while he was negotiating peace with Egypt that it is permissible to evacuate settlements for peace. Concessions made only for peace are not considered concessions, and when God has mercy on us and the time comes, the ceded land will all be returned to us, Rabbi Shach wrote...Haredi parties have long been reliable members of any right-wing government.Is Gafni hinting to Netanyahu that they arent his natural partners anymore anymore? Read today's entire Kafe Knesset here [JewishInsider]

2020 WATCH -- Fundraising slows at pro-Trump super PACs by Megan Wilson: Future45, which collected $20 million of its $25 million in donations from Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson during the 2016 campaign, had zero donors so far this year Of all the pro-Trump super PACs, Future45 had the least left in its coffers and also the smallest amount of operating costs in the first half of the year spending just over $19,000, which could indicate it is shutting down or going on hiatus. [TheHill]

Mark Zuckerbergs Political Ambitions Are Grander Than You Think by Nick Bilton:The reaction to the rumors, though, were sometimes stranger than the potential of a Zuckerberg presidency. On the left, a lot of people applauded the notion of a tech genius running for office... Some in the alt-right reduced the prospect of Zuckerberg, who is of Jewish heritage, in the White House to horrifying racist screeds... One person who interacts with Zuckerberg on a regular basis theorized that maybe Zuckerberg is leaving open the option to run for office one day in the very distant future, or that he could try running for lesser office to better understand how government works. [VanityFair]

** Good Wednesday Morning! Enjoying the Daily Kickoff?Please share us with your friends & tell them to sign up at [JI]. Have a tip, scoop, or op-ed? Wed love to hear from you.Anything from hard news and punditry to the lighter stuff, including event coverage, job transitions, or even special birthdays, is much appreciated. Email Editor@JewishInsider.com**

BUSINESS BRIEFS:After A Comeback, Anne Wojcicki's23andMe Faces Its Next Test [FastCompany] By Buying IsraeliMobileye, Intel Jumps Firmly Into Driverless Car Race [NYTimes] Nielsen buys AI sports marketing co vBrand[Globes] WeWork grows Seattle footprint with biggest deal yet in a project developed by Martin Selig [ConstructionDive] With $5.3 million in funding, Yinon Weiss'CarDash wants to change how you get your car serviced [TechCrunch]

SPOTLIGHT: "Its Not Just You: These Super Successful People Suffer From Imposter Syndrome" by Stephanie Vozza: "You might be surprised at the people who admit to feeling like an imposter. While a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society at Harvard University, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg felt she didnt deserve to be there. Every time I was called on in class, I was sure that I was about to embarrass myself, she writes in her book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Every time I took a test, I was sure that it had gone badly. And every time I didnt embarrass myself or even excelled I believed that I had fooled everyone yet again. One day soon, the jig would be up.

"Actress and fellow Harvard alum Natalie Portman shared her continued feelings of inadequacy with the schools 2015 graduating class in a commencement speech. Today I feel much like I did when I came to Harvard Yard as a freshman in 1999, she said. I felt like there had been some mistake, that I wasnt smart enough to be in this company, and that every time I opened my mouth I would have to prove that I wasnt just a dumb actress.

"Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz admitted to being insecure: Very few people, whether youve been in that job before or not, get into the seat and believe today that they are now qualified to be the CEO. Theyre not going to tell you that, but its true.Schultz says a CEOs willingness to feel insecure is not a weakness, but only when used properly. I would say one of the underlying strengths of a great leader and a great CEOnot all the time but when appropriateis to demonstrate vulnerability, because that will bring people closer to you and show people the human side of you. [FastCompany]

PROFILE:"The Hotelier Who Reinvigorated a New York Neighborhood Heads to Vegas" byNikki Ekstein:"With his next project, New Yorks NoMad, Andrew Zoblerput himself in charge of the whole thing, including operations. I wanted to prove to myself and to the world that I could create a hotel, he says...With the opening next year of the Park MGM in Las Vegas, which hes undertaking with the namesake casino giant, Zobler is looking beyond boutique hotels to megaproperties with mega social scenes... Convention hotels, Zobler says, dont have to be as boring as they usually are: To me, thats the next chapter." [Bloomberg]

--"Despite his reluctance, when Zobler does talk about his background, its very telling. He starts with his two larger-than-life grandmothers. He inherited his ambition from his Holocaust-survivor paternal grandmother. She had the idea that we survived for a reason, he says. That we should do something of importance. He attributes his aesthetic sense to his maternal grandmother, Sydell, for whom the company is named." [Surface]

"El Chapo Gives Up Public Defenders and Hires a Private Lawyer" by Alan Feuer:"While traveling in Israel on Tuesday, [Jeffrey] Lichtman confirmed in an email that he had been retained by Mr. Guzmn, whom he will now defend against a sprawling international conspiracy indictment that was filed against him in January by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn." [NYTimes]

"FBI: Teen Sold Bomb Threats Against Schools, Jewish Centers on the Dark Web by Kelly Weill:Michael Kadar, 19, was arrested in Israel in March, under suspicion that he was behind a wave of bomb threats targeting U.S. institutions. When Israeli police raided the Kadars bedroom, they found a flash drive containing the teens personal records on his alleged bomb threats U.S. officials allege in newly unsealed court documents that he was running a bomb threat business on the dark web marketplace AlphaBay The post offered refunds for unsuccessful bomb threats, and tiered pricing ranging from $30 for a single threat, to $90 for emailed bomb threat to a school districtsmultiple schools + framing someone for it. [DailyBeast; NYTimes]

MEDIA WATCH: "When Silicon Valley Took Over Journalism" by Franklin Foer:"Makers of magazines and newspapers used to think of their product as a coherent packagean issue, an edition, an institution. They did not see themselves as the publishers of dozens of discrete pieces to be trafficked each day on Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Thinking about bundling articles into something larger was intellectually liberating...Journalism has performed so admirably in the aftermath of Trumps victory that it has grown harder to see the professions underlying rot. Now each assignment is subjected to a cost-benefit analysiswill the article earn enough traffic to justify the investment? Sometimes the analysis is explicit and conscious, though in most cases its subconscious and embedded in euphemism." [TheAtlantic]

TRANSITION -- Hadas Gold tweets: "Im starting a new chapter and a new beat! Im joining CNN to cover European politics, media, & global business.This is a bittersweet moment - I LOVE Politico and the people here. I am forever indebted to Politico, my editors and colleagues.I joined Politico 5 years ago -- my first real journalism job. There aren't enough words to express my gratitude to for giving me a chance.Im excited for this new opportunity CNN covering Europe's changing dynamics and how it deals with U.S." [Twitter]

Welcoming Gretchen Hammond to Tablet by Alana Newhouse:Starting this month, Gretchen Rachel Hammond will be writing full-time for Tablet, as part of a year-long fellowship at the magazine On June 24, Hammond broke the news that three women flying Pride flags festooned with the Star of David were forced by organizers to leave Chicagos Dyke Marchsetting off a massive news story and a national conversation about anti-Semitism on the left. One week later, Gretchen was reassigned to nonjournalistic duties at the paper. [Tablet]

Remembering Arlene Gottfried: Legendary New York City Street Photographer by Paul Moakley:Gottfried, who died at 66 on Aug. 8 of complications from cancer, according to her family, was born and raised in Brooklyn with her sister, Karen, who became a muse for much of her work, and a surprisingly camera shy brother, the comedian Gilbert Gottfried As a shy, young Jewish girl with a head of curly hair, her identity was ambiguous and could fit in anywhere. She always carried a camera and as she got older, she carried a point-and-shoot in her purse. Over the span of three decades, Gottfried published five books that taken together can serve as photo albums of her life. [TIME]

SPORTS BLINK: Blatt remaining patient as he waits for another NBA opportunity by Allon Sinai:I have an end game and that end game is that I would really like to go back to the NBA, Blatt told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. There were no changes in the NBA this year from a coaching standpoint and my real goal is to try next year to get back into the league as a head coach. It may happen and it may not happen. But I wanted to leave that door open for myself if the opportunity arises. [JPost]

"The New Moneyball, With Lots and Lots of Money" by Jared Diamond: "Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi took over the Los Angeles Dodgers front office before the 2015 season and quickly drew the ire of a city built on the power of stardom.Inheriting a record payroll and massive expectations, they began running the Dodgers less like baseballs wealthiest organization and more like the small-market teams they came from: They shunned the most expensive free agents and headline-grabbing trades in favor of protecting the farm system and adding complementary pieces of the puzzle." [WSJ]

'NEW AIR-KRAFTS' -- Patriots Become 1st NFL Franchise to Buy a Team Plane: "They only figuratively own the New York Jets, but the defending champions now own two wide-body jets. According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, the Patriots bought a pair of 767 Boeing aircrafts." [BleacherReport; ESPN]

DESSERT: "At Nur, an Open-Armed Approach to Middle Eastern Flavors' by Pete Wells:"For long commutes, few chefs can top the one that Meir Adoni has been making since he opened a Middle Eastern restaurant calledNuron East 20th Streetin April. He splits his time between Manhattan; Tel Aviv, the site of his two other restaurants; and his home outside Jerusalem...The plates have energy. At times, in fact, they dont know when to quit. The sauces and powders and garnishes proliferate so quickly that its hard to keep count... Nurs menu embraces Morocco and Libya in North Africa, in addition to Israel, Yemen and Syria; again, its hard to keep count. His vision of his part of the globe is pluralistic." [NYTimes]

BIRTHDAYS:Physicist and venture capitalist, co-founder and general partner of New Markets Venture Partners, Donald M. "Don" Spero, Ph.D. turns 78...Emmy Award-winning correspondent for ABC News for more than 20 years, then a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, Carl Robert Zelnick turns 77...Host of Showtime's "Inside Comedy," son of a Rabbi, he has appeared 130 times on Johnny Carson, David Steinberg turns 75...Romance novelist with 19 books on the NYT bestseller lists, Barbara Delinsky (born Barbara Ruth Greenberg) turns 72...Author of 36 Jewish themed books, founder of Rossel Books, he lectures on Israel, the Holocaust, Bible, archaeology, spirituality, Jewish history and Jewish education, Seymour Rossel turns 72...Psychologist and bestselling suspense novelist, Jonathan Kellerman turns 68...Southern California resident, Faith Schames turns 66...Member of the Minnesota Senate since 2007, following four years in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Ronald Steven "Ron" Latz turns 54...Chief of Staff for Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10), Amy B. Rutkin turns 48...

Kiev-born, member of the Maryland House of Delegates since 2007 from Montgomery County, Kirill Reznik turns 43...Reporter in the Washington bureau of The New York Times since 2017, previously Chief Investigative Reporter for Politico (2007-2017), Kenneth P. Vogel turns 42...Executive Director of the Israel on Campus Coalition, Jacob Baime turns 32...South Pasadena, California resident, Giovanna Fradkin...Senior counselor at at Dezenhall Resources since April 2017, previously communications director for the Republican Jewish Coalition and an RNC alum, Fred Brown...Partner at Hilltop Public Solutions, who served as Special Advisor to NYC Mayor de Blasio, Rebecca Kirszner Katz...Researcher at the London School of Economics, previously a public affairs / political intern in the DC office of SKDKnickerbocker, Isaac Lederman...Amanda Isaacson...Elise Aronson (h/ts Playbook)...Dan Zimerman...Mark Shapiro...

Gratuity not included. Welovereceivingnews tips but we also gladly accept tax deductible tips.100% of your donation will go directly towards improving Jewish Insider. Thanks! [PayPal]

We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting.

Please try again later.

This email address has already registered for this newsletter.

Want to enjoy 'Zen' reading - with no ads and just the article? Subscribe today

The rest is here:

Jewish Insider's Daily Kickoff: August 9, 2017 - Haaretz

Moldovan Students Set to Learn More About the Holocaust – Transitions Online

Posted By on August 9, 2017

Critics say that teaching on the subject has been far too little, partly because of the sensitivity of discussing the atrocities committed by the Romanian fascist state.

Critics say that teaching on the subject has been far too little, partly because of the sensitivity of discussing the atrocities committed by the Romanian fascist state.

The upcoming school year should bring more prominence to Holocaust studies in Moldovan schools. A partnership agreement signed by Lilia Pogolsa, deputy minister of education, and Alexandr Bilinkis, the president of the Jewish Community in Moldova, last month lays out a collaboration to elaborate and implement programs for studying the Holocaust in schools, with the aim of combating anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and interethnic hatred. The activities mentioned in the agreement are the elaboration of a curriculum for an elective subject covering the Holocaust, training teaching staff on how to address the topic, and organizing extra-curricular activities related to the Holocaust. The partnership covers a timeframe of five years.

Up until now, history textbooks for secondary schools have only devoted a page and a half to the Holocaust in Moldova, The Times of Israel writes, while high schools have devoted a day to the topic in the 9th grade, and another day in the 12th grade, according to Irina Sihova, the curator of Moldovas Jewish Heritage Museum.

Still, the agreement does not guarantee that more time will be devoted to the study of the Holocaust.

We signed an agreement with the Jewish community on the measures we will take together to integrate the Holocaust in the educational process, said Corina Lungu, a senior consultant at the Ministry of Education in charge of secondary education, according to The Times of Israel. We will teach about the Holocaust the same way that we teach all historical events. I wouldnt say that we need to pay more attention to the Holocaust. We have a curriculum and every subject has a few hours.

Moldova has had difficulties coming to terms with its World War II history, which includes atrocities committed by the Romanian army against Jews and gypsies. At the beginning of the war, the country was part of Romania, then-ruled by a fascist regime; in accordance with a secret protocol of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, Romania was forced to give the territory to the Soviet Union. Romania regained the lost lands briefly, only to lose them again to the Soviet Union after the war.

In the town of Edinet, northern Moldova, a synagogue with a tragic past has been up for sale for 65,000 euros ($75,000), according to The Times of Israel. Its Moldovan owner had said he wasnt aware of its history, which includes the execution of 90 members of the local Jewish community on its premises during the war. The house and courtyard, which were used by a textile manufacturer while Moldova was part of the Soviet Union, are now rented out to a car junkyard.

While Edinet had a Jewish population of 10,000 at the end of the 19th century, the most recent Moldovan census in 2014 showed that the local Jewish community only had 17 members.

Compiled by Ioana Caloianu

See the original post:

Moldovan Students Set to Learn More About the Holocaust - Transitions Online

Ernst Zndel, Holocaust Denier Tried for Spreading His Message, Dies at 78 – New York Times

Posted By on August 9, 2017

The first conviction was tossed out on a technicality, and the second was overturned in 1992, when the Supreme Court of Canada found that the law was an unreasonable limit on freedom of expression.

Mr. Zndel, who moved to Canada from Germany as a teenager, was twice denied Canadian citizenship. In 2000 he moved to the United States, where he ran a website and lived with his third wife, Ingrid Rimland.

In 2003, American authorities arrested Mr. Zndel for overstaying his visa. He was sent back to Canada, but the authorities there did not want him. They detained him as a threat to national security, given his ties to neo-Nazi groups, a decision that drew criticism from some civil liberties advocates.

After another lengthy legal process, Mr. Zndel was deported to Germany in 2005. A state court in Mannheim, after yet another tumultuous trial, convicted him in 2007 on 14 counts of inciting hatred and one count of violating the memory of the dead. (A member of his defense team, Sylvia Stolz, was jailed and disbarred for signing Heil Hitler on a legal document.)

Mr. Zndel was sentenced to five years in prison but released in 2010, partly in consideration of his time spent in pretrial detention.

Recently, Mr. Zndel petitioned the American authorities to allow him to travel to Tennessee to care for his wife, who is 81. The administrative appeals office of the Department of Homeland Security denied his request on March 31.

The record shows that the Applicant is a historical revisionist and denier of the Holocaust, distributing writings, books, tapes, videos and broadcasts to promote his views, the office found. The record indicates further that these publications agitated for aggressive behavior against Jews. Furthermore, the Applicant has been a leader in these activities for decades and has shown no regret or remorse for his actions.

On Monday, the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Canadas leading Jewish advocacy organization, said in a statement: Ernst Zndels death brings to a close an especially pernicious saga that plagued Canadians for decades.

In a phone interview, Bernie M. Farber, who was the chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress, now part of the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said that for decades, he was the gasoline that fed Holocaust denial in Canada.

Mr. Farber, now the executive director of the Mosaic Institute in Toronto, added, He was Canadas most famous hatemonger, and he reveled in it.

Mr. Zndel was on some levels a run-of-the-mill neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier, said Deborah E. Lipstadt, a professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University in Atlanta. But, she said, he had stood out for his determination to use mass media to spread his views.

Prior to the digital age, he was responsible for spreading these materials across Europe and the Americas, she said. They became important resources for an array of neo-Nazi, white-supremacist and Holocaust-denying groups.

During Mr. Zndels trials, his defense team commissioned a report from a self-proclaimed expert on executions, Fred A. Leuchter Jr., who denied the existence of the gas chambers. In fact, he had no such expertise and was later charged with fraud.

The report, which became and remains a cornerstone of the Holocaust-denial movement, claimed that gas chambers were a scientific impossibility, Professor Lipstadt said. Based on shoddy methodology, it was riddled with basic scientific errors, miscalculations and false claims.

Taking the witness stand at Mr. Zndels second trial, David Irving, perhaps the worlds best-known Holocaust denier, vouched for the Leuchter report. He later wrote the introduction when it was published as a book. (In Britain, Mr. Irving unsuccessfully sued Professor Lipstadt for libel, a case dramatized in the 2016 film Denial.)

Professor Lipstadt was among those who expressed worry that the attention Mr. Zndel received over the years was what he wanted. On a strategic level, sometimes I wondered if the various trials did not create a modicum of sympathy for a man who deserved not sympathy but utter contempt, she said.

Ernst Christof Friedrich Zndel was born on April 24, 1939, four months before Nazi Germanys invasion of Poland, in Calmbach, now part of Bad Wildbad. He moved to Canada in 1958 to study advertising and graphic arts.

In a 1983 interview with The Globe and Mail, the Toronto newspaper, Mr. Zndel said that he had grown up in an apolitical family and knew scarcely any Jews.

He said of the origins of his beliefs, The absolute Gods honest truth is that it was a reaction to the incessant anti-German propaganda stereotyping the Germans.

He added: Look, I am not a neo-Nazi. If I wanted to be a Nazi, I would be a real one.

Mr. Zndel, twice divorced, had two sons, but details about survivors were not immediately available. Reached by phone on Monday, his wife, Ms. Rimland, replied, Whoever calls will get the same answer from me: I will give no comment because the mainstream media is too biased.

Follow Sewell Chan on Twitter @sewellchan.

Ian Austen and Victor Homola contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on August 8, 2017, on Page B14 of the New York edition with the headline: Ernst Zndel, 78, Promulgator of Holocaust Denial.

See original here:

Ernst Zndel, Holocaust Denier Tried for Spreading His Message, Dies at 78 - New York Times

Petition urges Manchester Uni to remove books by Holocaust denier David Irving – Jewish News

Posted By on August 9, 2017

More than 3,000 people have signed an online petition calling on Manchester University to remove books by Holocaust denier David Irving from library shelves.

The petition, launched by the North West Friends of Israel, says: Leaving Irvings books on open display is a threat to the safety of Jewish students and staff at a time when anti-Semitic hate crime is on the rise across Europe. You can view the petition here.

The campaign is backed by Dr Irene Lancaster, Manchester Universitys first Teaching Fellow in Jewish history, as well as Dr Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

An English historian, Irving lost a high-profile legal battle against American historian Deborah Lipstadt, having sued for libel after she described him as a Holocaust denier.

The University has refused to pull the books from the library shelves, citing freedom of speech and the stance of 20 other leading educational institutions. Last week, it also declined a compromise suggestion by Campaign Against Anti-Semitism (CAA) to label them Holocaust Denial.

However Churchill College at Cambridge and University College London have both now reclassified Irvings works, either moving them to closed access areas or inserting disclaimers inside the books.

Lancaster said her work in the study of Jewish history was in part about establishing the difference between fact and fiction, myth, historiography and history.

On the petition, she added: The signatories at least understand the pain that Manchester University is causing the Holocaust survivors and their families who live in the city as well as the duty of universities, like everyone else, to abide by this countrys laws on incitement to hatred and definition of anti-Semitism.

Lancaster, who has worked at Yad Vashem, met the Universitys associate vice-president for social responsibility Prof. James Thompson in April, but to no avail.

Retired Manchester academic Dr Yaacov Wise said colleagues thought Manchester University was continuing to fail to provide a safe and inclusive environment for Jewish students and staff, adding: This is just one more case of Jewish students and staff at Manchester University being singled out for harassment, discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism.

Continue reading here:

Petition urges Manchester Uni to remove books by Holocaust denier David Irving - Jewish News

Member of prominent Hasidic family from Brooklyn comes out …

Posted By on August 9, 2017

Abby Stein . (photo credit:FACEBOOK SCREENSHOT)

NEW YORK A 24-year-old Brooklyn descendant of one of Hasidic Judaisms founders has come out as transgender.

Raised haredi Orthodox in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Abby originally Srully Stein told the New York Post, and announced on a personal blog called The Second Transition that she recently began transitioning into a woman.

Stein is a descendant of Hasidic Judaism founder Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer, better known as the Baal Shem Tov, and the grandchild of Rabbi Mordechai Stein. She said being a member of a prominent family in the Hasidic world made her early struggle with her transgender identity more challenging.

My family had more restrictions than most families even in Williamsburg, she told the Post. Like men were expected to work only in Jewish scholarly jobs, not drive, and I was constantly told that we ought to be role models.

In a blog post, Stein wrote that for as long as she could remember, she wanted to wake up one day as a girl.

I was very far from the typical masculine boy, even in a community where masculinity is not a discussion topic, so to speak. I was never interested in typical boy stuff, and I was always told that I act, and talk with the manners of a girl. Yet, until I was 19, I did not know that there is even something like that someone assigned boy at birth who is actually a girl, in mind and spirit.

Stein said her father has not spoken to her since she shared the news.

I think right now its shock more than anything, she told The Post. He doesnt know what to do.

Stein said she hopes the Orthodox community becomes more accepting of transgender people and that her story will inspire transgender Orthodox teens.

My main goal is to get people to talk about it, she said, adding, Since Ive gone public, 17 people have reached out to me who still live within the community and struggle with similar things. Most of them didnt know theres help.

Before leaving the haredi Orthodox community, Stein married a woman and had a son. Four years ago, she divorced and left the community. Now Stein is a student at Columbia University, where she is involved in campus Jewish life and a transgender support group.

Share on facebook

More here:

Member of prominent Hasidic family from Brooklyn comes out ...

The Day My Hasidic Father Visited Me at Wellesley – Forward

Posted By on August 9, 2017

Walking around the leafy campus in his black hat and long black coat, my father looks like a historical figure from another era. Fascinated by the elaborate architecture, he points to a poster on Wellesleys Science building.

What is the meaning of science? He asks.

Im caught off guard. Science explains how our world works, Totty, I mumble.

I point out some fixtures in the elevator, describing how science created the yellow paint, the emergency telephone, and complex levers to handle the strings lifting us upward. I dont think I can adequately explain the connection between the elevator and what we do in the laboratories on our computers, though. My mother tongue didnt teach me words for this.

Ive been studying science for four years but I have never had to translate it into Yiddish.

I was raised in Kiryas Joel, an insular Ultra-Orthodox enclave in upstate New York. Our sect, the Satmar Dynasty, promised a pious, holy, tranquil life. I spent my formative years attending the villages Yiddish-speaking girls school, where instead of a rudimentary education, girls were taught only what was considered practical for Jewish homemaking.

The home economics courses certainly taught me many useful skills. As a sixth grader, I was already whipping up elegant marble cheesecakes with buttery graham crusts for the Shavuos holidays. Instead of math or chemistry, I learned how to sew themed Purim costumes for my six younger siblings. There were no Regents exams or AP courses; we all received non-accredited diplomas written in Yiddish.

Our village was sheltered from modern influences, with little exposure to the outside world. All my knowledge of the world was derived from thoroughly-censored Yiddish newspapers. But as a teenager, I found a public library where I secretly practiced reading and writing in English. I discovered the Internet, and spent hours devouring books. Learning imbued in me a sense of fulfillment, discovery and wonder.

When my forbidden visits to the public library were reported to the Vaad Hatznius the Hasidic Modesty Police I was expelled from school immediately, and quickly shipped off to a religious boot-camp in Israel in the hopes that the Holy Land would make my tarnished soul see the light. It was not very effective. Somehow, I ended up at Wellesley College (a story for another time, as they say). And now, there is a an ever-widening culture-gap between my Totty and me. I wear modest clothing for my fathers visit, the first time Im conforming to tznius or the rules of modesty since coming to Wellesley. I am still mastering American style and fashion, so wearing thick tights, a long skirt and a collared shirt on a summer day makes me feel self-conscious.

But its also nice to look like I belong to him again. My father is kind, soft-spoken, and the most generous person I know. He taught me to do as he does, to stand up for what I believe in, respect nature and all living things. He taught me that real love is truly unconditional. I hope to follow in the footsteps of his integrity, his altruism and work ethic.

My father still amazes me, like the fact that he achieved Spanish and Polish fluency by conversing with his immigrant coworkers, or that he remembers every phone number by heart, and can tell me endless stories about 17th century Austria-Hungary. But this American life its cultural references, politics, and Western societal norms are completely foreign to him. Im often explaining to him things I learned on my own, like where his taxes go, how precipitation or congress works, or that college isnt just for medicine or law.

Our perspectives on education are profoundly different. It took my dad a long time to reconcile himself to his aversion to college. Im thrilled hes finally visiting. I also recognize how uncomfortable it must be for him to deal with my existence back home. Being one of only a handful of women who left Kiryas Joel for better opportunities tarnished my familys reputation. His friends pity him for having me as a daughter.

But I think hes less ashamed of me now that Im in the same college as Hillary Clinton (though he keeps teasing me, that if I cant introduce her to him it means nothing). He occasionally hints that he respects that Ive become better acculturated to secular society, and can get by in the modern world.

Weve become much more open than when I first started transitioning away from his lifestyle. While its frustrating that he keeps asking about my plans for marriage, I know he does it because he was taught thats the only way a girl can be happy. He wants what he genuinely believes is best for me.

He tells me hes proud of me, but watching him grapple with all these new ideas makes me feel guilty for having all these opportunities that he doesnt even know he was denied access to. Throughout our day together, he asks me to come home more than once.

My dad is content in his enclave. All he needs for a joyful life can be found within his idyllic shtetel. He has great friends, loves his job, and is actively involved in his insular community. But I dont think he would ever make it outside of there. I cant see him socially integrating or maintaining a conversation with non-Hasidim.

Actually, people often show him a lack of courtesy. Despite being 20 years younger than he is, strangers immediately assume Im more capable, intelligent, and polished than my father, because I speak better English. This happens in Walmart, in hospitals, in courtrooms, and even in modern Jewish communities like Flatbush or Teaneck. Its awkward to be treated with more respect than my father. Its upsetting, too. I love my father dearly and dislike seeing him so vulnerable out in the world. I worry about him constantly, that his deficits in English and knowledge of U.S. law could get him taken advantage of by dishonest car mechanics, rabbinical professionals, medical crooks, or other community operatives.

Observing the stark contrast between my father and Wellesley reminds me of myself when I first left Kiryas Joel and the Hassidic way of life. I had little awareness of secular norms, local laws, or pop culture references; I had no idea who Madeline Albright was, or Ryan Gosling, or Snow White, or Donald Trump. It made it difficult and confusing to maintain conversations with people. I was thrilled to get to know people from all different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, but my broken English made it difficult to talk to them.

Transitioning from Orthodoxy to secular life continues to be an enlightening and eye-opening experience. Im learning to communicate with people from all walks of life. My English is now more polished and articulate, and my Yiddish accent almost completely gone.

Still, Im never more aware of where Ive come from as when my father came to visit. At one point, I spot a group of students staring openly at my dad and me. I am once again reminded that while I am simultaneously existing between two vastly different worlds, I fully belong to neither.

To my father, I am a Wellesley Woman. But to my classmates, I am just like my father.

Im more than ok with that. Somewhere between the two is all I ever hope to be.

Goldy Landau is a Wellesley graduate interested in technology, entrepreneurship, and cross-cultural diplomacy. She currently works in politics in New York City.

Kurt Hoffman

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward.

Read more here:

The Day My Hasidic Father Visited Me at Wellesley - Forward


Page 1,413«..1020..1,4121,4131,4141,415..1,4201,430..»

matomo tracker