Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on August 2, 2017

A manhole cover in a Jewish district of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Photograph: Danita Delimont/Alamy

More than five centuries after King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled Spains Jewish population, the still-spoken language of the exiles is to be formally honoured by the countrys leading linguistic authority.

The Spanish Royal Academy (RAE) has announced plans to create a Judeo-Spanish branch in Israel that will sit alongside the 23 existing academies dedicated to the Spanish languages across Latin America and in countries such as Equatorial Guinea and the Philippines.

Speakers of Judeo-Spanish, or Ladino, fled Spain and settled elsewhere in Europe as well as in the Middle East, north Africa and Latin America.

The director of the RAE, Daro Villanueva, described Judeo-Spanish as an extraordinarily important cultural and historical phenomenon that was overdue an academy of its own.

The Jews who were expelled in 1492 dispersed around Europe and the Americas, taking with them the Spanish language as it was spoken at the time of their expulsion, he told the Guardian.

All of this has been miraculously preserved over the centuries. Theres literature, folklore, translations of the Bible and even modern newspapers written in Ladino.

Not only did Ladino preserve many archaic Spanish words, Villanueva said, it was also influenced by the languages of the countries in which the refugees settled.

Villanueva said nine Ladino specialists had so far been appointed to help pave the way for the new institution, which will form part of the Association of Spanish Language Academies.

Through these nine academics we can now [lay the foundations] for a Judeo-Spanish academy to be based in Israel, just as we did in the 19th century with the Latin American academies.

He added: The idea isnt to absorb Ladino into modern Spanish, its the opposite: to preserve it.

Isaac Querub, the president of Spains Federation of Jewish Communities, welcomed the move to recognise what he called the rich and profound cultural legacy of Ladino.

Its the language that mothers have used to rock their babies to sleep with for more than five centuries, he said. Its the language thats been used to pass down recipes and the one that is spoken in the intimacy of home. Even after all these hundreds of years, its still being used.

Querub said the move was one of the encouraging steps that Spain had recently taken to make up for the injustices of 1492, but he said he would prefer the institute to be based in Spain rather than Israel.

Shmuel Refael, director of the Salti Centre for Ladino Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, said the language represented a culture and an identity for the Sephardic Jews whose community developed on the Iberian peninsula before 1492.

He estimated there were around 400,000 people in Israel with some knowledge of the language. It depends on what you consider a speaker to be: someone who knows a few words of the language, or someone who can read and write the language, he said.

Two years ago, both Spain and Portugal brought in laws to facilitate the return of the descendants of the thousands of Jews who were forced from the countries at the end of the 15th century.

The Spanish government said its offer of citizenship was intended to correct the historical wrong in which the countrys Jewish population was banished, forced to convert to Catholicism or burned at the stake.

Portugal said that although it was impossible to make amends for what had been done, the offer of nationality represented an attribution of a right.

Read the rest here:

Spain honours Ladino language of Jewish exiles - The Guardian

Category: Sephardic | Comments Off on Spain honours Ladino language of Jewish exiles – The Guardian
Tags:

Posted By simmons on August 2, 2017

SlutWalk Chicago will allow marchers carrying Jewish or Zionist symbols after saying earlier they would be banned.

The group, part of an international movement that protests rape culture, in its ban announced this month referred to a decision by the Chicago Dyke March to ask three women carrying rainbow flags featuring white Stars of David to leave.

But a SlutWalk Chicago organizertold Haaretz on Sunday that the group would welcome all participants at the Aug. 12 march who wish to protest sexual violence and the attitudes of shame and blame that surround it.The organizer, identified as Red, also said the collective needs to make amends to the Jewish community for past actions.

We are not banning any symbols or any kind of ethnic or heritage flags, Red told Haaretz following a meeting of organizers to hone their message. Those are welcome, everyone is welcome to express themselves as they see fit at SlutWalk. And we encourage people to bring signs and symbols that represent fighting sexism, patriarchy, rape culture, and that takes a lot of different forms for different people, and we support them in how they decide to show up for SlutWalk.

Since a series of tweets reportedly made by the groups social media team without consulting with the collective, SlutWalk has reached out to the Jewish and Muslim communities in Chicago to show that the event is inclusive and offers a safe space to all participants, Red told Haaretz.

Red said people carrying Israeli flags would not be banned.

As a feminist person myself, I feel very strongly about Palestinian liberation and radical Jewish resistance, Red told Haaretz. I care very deeply about those concerns, but I do think that at SlutWalk Chicago we have some apologizing to do around the confusion with some of our tweets.

Organizers of the Chicago Dyke March in June toldthe three women carrying Jewish Pride flags who were asked to leave that the rainbow flags with a white Star of David would be a trigger, or traumatic stimulus, for those who found them offensive.

Jewish groups have denounced the banning of the Jewish Pride flags at the lesbian march and called for an apology.

More here:

SlutWalk Chicago, In Reversal, Will Allow Marchers Carrying Jewish ... - Jewish Week

Category: Jewish Heritage Month | Comments Off on SlutWalk Chicago, In Reversal, Will Allow Marchers Carrying Jewish … – Jewish Week
Tags:

Posted By richards on August 2, 2017

JUST BEFORE the Knesset went into summer recess, there was yet another installment of the ongoing debate about retirement age for women, in which even great fighters for equality urged that retirement age for women remain at 62 or 63 and not be raised to 64 or heaven forbid equal to that of men, which is 67. Their arguments are based on women homemakers who have never held a job outside the house and would have to wait longer to receive their senior citizens pensions if the retirement age is raised.

On the other hand, employers who want to fire women in their early 60s have the excuse of retirement age, which doesnt really make sense, because in Israel, as in many other parts of the world, women tend to live longer than men, and if they are good and dedicated workers, there is no reason to get rid of them.

One of the few places in which there is equality of retirement age for men and women is in the law courts, where retirement age has nothing to do with gender, but with having reached the age of 70. Yet these days, 70 is not exactly old, and even when it was, there was something unfair about judges having a longer lease on working life than other people. Pensions are, after all, paid on the basis of years worked and salaries earned. Professions in which a persons age does not necessarily make him or her a candidate for retirement include entertainment, the arts and journalism, although there are also physicians and scientists who also work beyond retirement age. Authors and visual artists are generally freelancers, so there is no retirement age for them, and many continue to be prolific well past the age of 70.

French Armenian singer Charles Aznavour, who is due to appear in Tel Aviv at the end of October, is 93 years old. Among the other past-retirement age entertainers who have appeared in Israel in recent years are Tom Jones (77); Mick Jagger (74); Cliff Richard (76), who may celebrate his 77th birthday when he performs again in Israel in October; Paul McCartney (75); Enrico Macias (78); Rod Stewart (72); Paul Anka (76); Elton John (70) and thats just a short list.

On the local scene, singers and actors over retirement age include Yehoram Gaon (77); Boaz Sharabi (70); Israel Gurion (81); Chava Alberstein, who will be 70 in December; Lea Koenig (87); Gila Almagor (78); Rivka Michaeli (79); Liora Rivlin (72); Zeev Revach (76); and Tuvia Tzafir (71), among many others, including classical musicians who have not been mentioned here.

As far as journalism is concerned, Shalom Kittal, who will be 70 in December, was brought back to Reshet Bet as a guest anchor in the final months of the Israel Broadcasting Authority, and then stayed on with Kan, where he now has permanent broadcasting slots. Dan Maragalit (79), who was fired two months ago from Israel Hayom, is now writing for Haaretz; Moshe Arens (91) has a regular column in Haaretz; Yaakov Ahimeir (79) continues to present world news on Kan 11 and also contributes to the print media; Ron Ben Yishai (73), the intrepid military correspondent, continues to write for Yediot Aharonot. Gabi Gazit (70) broadcasts on 103 FM, as does Natan Zahavi (70), who also writes for the weekend edition of Maariv. Aryeh Golan, who continues to be the early morning anchor on Reshet Bet, is also 70, and these days is frequently seen on television as well. And of course theres Noah Klieger (90), who continues to write on Holocaust-related subjects and on sport for Yediot Aharonot. Authors and artists are largely self-employed, but amongst the senior citizen authors still writing are Sami Michael (90); Aharon Applefeld (85); Eli Amir (79); Amos Oz (78); and A.B. Yehoshua (80).

Theres no age limit on politicians and statesmen. President Reuven Rivlin, who was an MK up until taking office in July 2014, will celebrate his 78th birthday next month. When Rivlins predecessor, Shimon Peres, was sworn in as president, he was 83 years old and continued to serve for seven years, tirelessly traveling throughout the country and abroad. The world may well belong to the young, but it also belongs to the not-so-young.

IN THE spirit of better late than never, Rivlin and his wife, Nechama, on Sunday hosted what could be termed a judicial dinner in honor of the 80th birthday of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak. However, the celebration was a little out of date. Barak turned 80 last September 16. Even going by the Hebrew calendar, the date of the dinner was way off the mark, given that Barak was born on the day before Rosh Hashana. It could be said that the dinner was held in advance of his 81st birthday, but then 81 is not a milestone number, except for people who count in multiples of nine.

Still, it was an opportunity to bring some of Israels leading legal minds together. Also present were Baraks wife, Elisheva, a former vice president of the National Labor Court, and three of Baraks successors: Dorit Beinish, Asher Grunis and present incumbent Miriam Naor, who will step down in October when she turns 70. Beinish, Grunis and Naor all came with their spouses. Rivlin was not exactly the odd man out at the dinner that he hosted; he was a practicing lawyer for many years before giving his attention to politics full-time.

EVEN THOUGH it had been advertised on Friday as taking place, in a subsequent advertisement on the front page of The Jerusalem Post on Monday, organizers of the annual Tisha BeAv nighttime walk around the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem announced that a final decision as to whether the police would authorize the walk would be given at the last minute. Because of the doubt and the security issue, the evening prayers and the recitation by David Matar of the Book of Lamentations was scheduled for 9 p.m., instead of immediately after nightfall as had been the case in bygone years. As always, the assembly place for the service was in Independence Park directly opposite the US Consulate.

A handful of regulars who hadnt noticed the time change showed up at 8 p.m. and were dismayed at the absence of the usual crowd. Nadia Matar, the chief organizer, arrived while it was still daylight, bringing with her numerous large national flags and placards with the names of overseas supporters who were virtually participating in the walk. Matar voiced the hope that next year they would participate in person. Close to a hundred police from different units were in the park when Matar arrived.

She and her partner in Women in Green, Yehudit Katsover, have a long and excellent relationship with the police, but Matar thought that such a huge number was far too many and speaking through a bullhorn told them that they were loved and appreciated, but that more than half of them could leave. They applauded her, and indeed more than half did leave.

At 8:30 p.m. a few more people came drifting in, but it seemed that this 23rd annual gathering was not going to draw as large a crowd as in the previous 22 years. In the final analysis it was almost, but not quite, as large, yet in some respects it was a different crowd. Many of the Americans and Brits may have been deterred by the uncertainty and didnt come, but a large number of French immigrants came to demonstrate their solidarity with Jerusalem, and Matar, who was making all the announcements as things developed, went seamlessly from Hebrew, to English to French to ensure that everyone present knew exactly what was going on.

She explained that the police had authorized the walk, but had asked that it not begin before 10.15 p.m. The late start had obviously been anticipated and a large screen had been put up for the purpose of showing two video clips, one of Jerusalemites talking about their yearning to be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount, and the discomfort they felt at an Arab presence there; and the other of former MK Geula Cohen talking about how her proposed Jerusalem Law was passed on July 30, 1980.

Cohen had been motivated by a desire to ensure the territorial integrity of greater Jerusalem, and the fact was that Mayor Teddy Kollek was preparing a Jerusalem bill that would be proposed by a member of the Labor Party. Cohen had been informed of this by Labor MK Uzi Baram, and she wanted to get in first. The problem was that she had no political support. Even Dr. Joseph Burg, the head of the National Religious Party, would not support her, saying the time wasnt ripe.

She spoke to Likud MK Dov Shilansky, who agreed with her, but asked if she had support. She answered that no one would dare not vote in favor of a law declaring that united Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel and the seat of the president of the State, the Knesset, the government and the Supreme Court. Cohens confidence had not been misplaced. People from the far Left abstained, but not did vote against, and the law was passed.

The following day, said Cohen, she received a letter from Kollek saying that as result of the new legislation, four embassies were leaving Jerusalem for Tel Aviv. Cohens response was: Let them be in Tel Aviv, so long as were in Jerusalem.

WHILE SHE was in New York last week, Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev not only attended the opening night of To the End of the Land, directed by Hanan Snir in a joint production of the Cameri and Habima theaters based on the critically acclaimed novel by David Grossman, but also visited the graves of the last two Lubavitcher Rebbes, Yosef Yitzhak and Menachem Mendel Schneerson, where she said a prayer and lit a candle.

Whatever her intentions may have been, Regev was roundly roasted by Lior Schleien on Channel 10s satirical show Back of the Nation. Schleien contended that prayer is a very personal and intimate thing and one doesnt take along a video photographer when one goes to pray at the tomb of a rabbinic leader. A confessed atheist, Schleien also made some other deprecating remarks that would not go over too well in Chabad circles, but his main target was Regev.

Grossman had earlier taken a verbal shot at Regev at the cocktail reception following the performance of the play. It was not the first time that he had publicly criticized her.

In June of this year, Grossman said that Regev does not understand her job and gives priority to Jewishness and Israeliness over freedom of expression. Even though Regev had publicly complimented him in New York, calling him one of our best writers, Grossman was not placated. In his own address, Grossman told Regev that she was mistaken in demanding loyalty from the people contributing to Israels cultural output. Regev was not exactly thrilled to hear this and replied that all she had asked for was that there be no anti-Israel incitement. Then in a much quieter tone than she usually employs, she suggested to Grossman that they continue their quarrel in Israel and refrain from it in New York.

ITS SAD that the restraint that Regev was able to muster in New York could not be contained in Israel. From insults traded during the week of Tisha Beav between Regev, coalition chairman David Bitan, former Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and the invective of lawyer Yoram Sheftel, who is appearing for Elor Azaria, it would seem that nothing has been learned from the saga of the destruction of the Temple. History is simply repeating itself, but with different players and a revision of the script.

CHANGES IN Jewish life can have impact on the Hebrew language. For instance, this week at the pre-Tisha Beav study session at the Presidents Residence, Naama Kelman, who is a Reform rabbi, was listed in Hebrew as Rabba, whereas Esti Rosenberg, who happens to have a wonderful pedigree as the daughter of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein and the granddaughter of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, was listed as Rabbanit, although she is a noted scholar in her own right and heads the Migdal Oz Beit Midrash for women.

On a completely different issue related to changes in Jewish life, imagine a headline that states The rabbi had painted toenails. Actually, thats not a big deal when the rabbi is not only a woman but also the Dean of Hebrew Union College. Kelman, who was wearing sandals, displayed a superb pedicure with beautifully shaped and painted toenails.

WHEN HE came to Israel last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought with him a valuable gift in terms of cultural and spiritual heritage a Torah scroll with case and crown from the Paradesi Jewish community in Cochin, which is one of Indias most ancient communities. The scroll was presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who gave it to the Foreign Ministry for safekeeping.

Last week, the gift was transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to its new home, Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People. Although the chances are high that it is a permanent home, it may not be, because the Paradesi Jewish community has declared that it is proud to lend the scroll which is one of five to the Paradesi Jewish community in Israel and to the Jewish people of Israel to conserve and sustain the proud heritage of the Paradesi Jewish community. In expressing its appreciation to Modi and the government of India for facilitating the transfer of the Torah scroll, the Paradesi Jewish community underscored the benevolent protection bestowed on them and other Jewish communities in India by the rulers of India and their fellow Indian citizens.

The Torah scroll was commissioned long ago by Baghdad-born tycoon Shabdai Koder in memory of his wife Miriam, who passed away in 1908. Among those attending the presentation ceremony were Shmuel and Alia Koder, representing the Paradesi Jewish community; Yaakov Finkelstein, the Israel Consul in Mumbai; Dan Tadmor, the director general of Beit Hatfutsot, and the museums chief curator, Dr. Orit Shaham Gover. While Beit Hatfutsot has the Torah scroll, the Israel Museum has the wonderful Kadavumbagam synagogue from Cochin, which it restored in 1996, and Moshav Nevatim in the Negev has the Chin Jewish Heritage Museum and Synagogue.

Last month a group of Indian media moguls came to Israel to check out Israels Internet technologies and next week Bollywood dance group Sugar & Spice, along with singer Mickey Singh, will perform at the opening of the Karmiel Dance Festival. They will also be performing in Modiin and Petah Tikva.

A DELEGATION headed by Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Edward Goodale visited the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation on Sunday and was sufficiently impressed when learning about YaLa, the Young Leaders Facebook-based movement that promotes dialogue and engagement as a means to securing a productive, safe and peaceful region, that Goodale spontaneously announced that Canadas Ministry of Foreign Affairs would participate in the program, which was launched by the Peres Center in 2011 at the initiative of Peres Center honorary president Uri Savir.

With almost a million committed participants from all over the Middle East acting as ambassadors for peace and dialogue, the future looks somewhat brighter than the past, despite the ongoing turmoil in the region. Among the peace ambassadors are young people from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iraq who dialogue with each other through social media.

Goodale said both the Peres Center and the YaLa project were inspirational. He was accompanied by Canadian Member of Parliament Michael Levitt, former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler, representatives of the Canadian Embassy in Israel and Canadian expat and leading businessman and partner in a private equity company Jonathan Kolber, who is a member of the board of directors of the Peres Center.

AWARD WINNING author and journalist for The Jewish Press Harvey Rachlin looked for what turned out to be more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack when he tried to trace exact iconic quotes that for decades have been attributed to Golda Meir.

Rachlin was willing to believe that Meir had said something similar that had been paraphrased and linked to her name in perpetuity, but intensive research failed to produce either the so-called original quote or its adopted version. Meir is not the only person who has been cloaked in misquotes and false quotes which have stuck like glue in the annals of history.

Rachlin was specifically searching for the context in which she allegedly made the following quotes:Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us and When peace comes, we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons.

In his research, Rachlin found these quotes surfacing many times in various writings about Israels only woman prime minister, but nowhere did he find a speech made by Golda in which either of these quotes appeared.

Nonetheless, they will continue to be repeated as part of her legacy. The latter quote came to mind this week with regard to Elor Azaria and the unnamed soldier from the Oketz unit who neutralized a terrorist in Halamish without killing him. Instead of admiring the soldier who presented the security authorities with a live prisoner who could be questioned, many Israelis mocked him, saying that this was the Azaria effect. Now every soldier would be afraid to shoot to kill. The brave soldier who stopped a terrorist in his tracks without killing him was considered by some to be a coward, while Azaria who had killed a terrorist who had already been neutralized was considered a hero.

This perversity of thought did not allow room for consideration that the soldier who refrained from killing saw no reason to take the law into his hands and to kill when he had the opportunity to do otherwise. He allowed the law to take its course. If a good word is to be said for Azaria, who made conflicting statements about killing a terrorist who had already been incapacitated, it is that unlike his family, which has gone bananas, he is taking his punishment like a man.

WHILE FRIENDS of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) national board member and major supporter Haim Saban and his wife Cheryl were at a groundbreaking ceremony in the northern Galilee last week for a new memorial center for fallen Druse soldiers, 25 children and siblings of fallen IDF soldiers visited the Chicago area as part of the Friends of the FIDF LEGACY program. The youngsters attended a 10-day recreation camp and were given what was for them an unforgettable experience.

These brave children whose parents have made the ultimate sacrifice for Israel and Jews around the world have been through so much, said FIDF National Board Member Morris Silverman, who hosted a pool party for them at his and FIDF supporter Lori Komisars Winnetka home. Silverman and Komisar have been FIDF LEGACY hosts for the past eight years.

We wanted to show them how grateful we and FIDF are for the sacrifices they and their families have made, Komisar said. Bringing these incredible kids here to make lifelong friends, meet the community, and share in the uniquely American experience of summer camp is a wonderful way to help them heal from their tremendous loss.

Meanwhile, in Israel, the Sabans, who are funding construction of the FIDF Druse Soldiers Heritage Center, were able to shmooz at the groundbreaking ceremony with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman; Sheikh Muwaffak Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druse community in Israel; and former Member of Knesset Shachiv Shanan, the father of Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Kamil Shanan, one of the two Druse police officers killed by terrorists at the Temple Mount on July 14.

The Druse communitys reputation is always connected to terms like bravery, sacrifice, and sanctity of life, said Saban. To this day, hundreds of Druse soldiers have given their lives protecting Israel. The FIDF Druse Soldiers Heritage Center is the very least we can do to show our gratitude and admiration for their sacrifices. The Druse community deserves its own place that will be a source of pride.

The new heritage center will highlight Druse contributions to the IDF and the State of Israel, and will also serve as both a rest and recreation resource for active-duty and discharged soldiers as well as a memorial for fallen Druse soldiers, thus being a source of comfort and pride to bereaved families. The building will include a lobby, a 500-seat auditorium, a gymnasium, a heritage room, classrooms, offices and a dining hall.

[emailprotected]

Share on facebook

See original here:

Grapevine: When age doesn't matter - The Jerusalem Post

Category: Jewish Heritage Month | Comments Off on Grapevine: When age doesn’t matter – The Jerusalem Post
Tags:

Posted By simmons on August 2, 2017

Under Hebrons night sky, a young bridegroom, Yaakov G., just hours before walking down his wedding aisle, walked a pebbly Hebron path to the Cave of Machpela, said to be a portal into the Garden of Eden.

Under the floor of a Herodian structure is a double-chambered cave where lie the bones of Abraham and Sarah; Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and Leah. Before marriage, Jews traditionally visit the graves of ancestors, extending invitations to the wedding, and Yaakov was doing just that. With the first shards of sunrise, Yaakov joined the Vatikan service, the minyan of the dawn.

Yaakov, an Israeli student from Jerusalem, told us by phone, When I was in the army, stationed nearby, wed go to the Machpela for Shabbat davening. I wanted to go on the day of our wedding. After all, he explained, Maarat HaMachpela means the Cave of the Twos, not only because of the caves twin chambers, but because of the three pairs of husbands and wives, together for eternity.

The Cave of Machpela in Hebron. The Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund raises funds for Hebrons Jewish poor. Wikimedia Commons

Last month, UNESCO, the United Nations cultural oversight organization, declared the Machpela to be a Palestinian World Heritage site, endangered by Israel. The Palestinians called the ruling well-deserved. Prime Minister Netanyahu called it delusional. Yaakov, in the Machpela, saw the chambers as a source of dreams, enchantment and biblical-level romance.

Abraham paid 400 shekels in silver to Efron the Hittite for the Machpela. He overpaid, if a cave is just a cave, but if location is everything, then a cave adjacent to Eden is choice. Mystics say that Adam, exiled from the Garden, saw rays of light coming from the cave, he sensed the fragrance of his lost Eden, and chose it as a final resting place for himself and Eve. Abraham, years later, when he discovered the cave, saw Adam and Eve lying side by side, as if asleep. Abraham was determined to be buried there, as well.

Most Hebron stories are less pleasant. In 1980, a group of yeshiva students after Friday night in the Machpela, were ambushed, swarmed by bullets and grenades that killed six of the boys. The killer, Tayseer Abu Sneineh, was captured, sentenced to life imprisonment and walked free in three years. In May of 2017 he was elected mayor of Hebron. Asked about the murders, the mayor said, They all were armed settlers and soldiers, no women or children. We wanted to send a message to the settlers that this is our city and they have to leave.

In recent decades, Jewish reaction ranged from appeasement to murder. In 1967 Gen. Moshe Dayan ordered (in a move that was later overruled) that the Machpela be a mosque only, no Jews allowed. In 1994, Baruch Goldstein shot 29 Arabs kneeling in prayer at the Machpela, an act vehemently condemned by just about every leader in Israel, outside Goldsteins Kach party. The 1995 Wye Accords then divided the Machpela, giving the Islamic Waqf the larger Isaac section and the only known entrance to the cave itself; the Jews got the smaller Abraham and Jacob areas, but each religion gets 10 days of their choice when the Machpela is theirs alone.

Hebron is legally divided between the Arab sector, designated H1, 97 percent of Hebrons area, with nearly 50,000 Arabs, and the Jewish sector, H2, a single neighborhood with around 90 families needing constant IDF protection. Hebrons Arabs are said to have the strongest municipal economy in the Palestinian Authority, with 55 percent of the PAs commercial activities.

The Hebron Fund, a Brooklyn-based charity, raises over $2.2 million annually for Hebrons Jewish poor; arranges life-cycle events in the Machpela; and provides support for Israeli soldiers. Aside from the Machpela, tourists to King Davids first capital can visit the tombs of Yishai (King Davids father); the biblical Ruth; Ramban (Nachmanides), the eminent scholar; and a museum in Beit Hadassah, the medical clinic established in 1893.

Rabbi Daniel Rosenstein, the Hebron Funds director, still cant believe the recent election. A murderer is now the mayor of Hebron? And you should know, the six murdered boys werent armed, werent settlers, and werent soldiers.

As for not hurting women or children, well, there were no women or children at the scene. But what about the Arab riots of 1929, said Rosenstein. When the screaming stopped, 67 Jews were murdered; 66 were wounded; Jewish women were raped, if not killed; and children were slashed by swords. There were scenes, reported The New York Times, of a most barbaric slaughter.

But most remarkable, reported The Times, soon after the riots there was an alarming story spread by Moslems [that] struck great terror among them. It was said, with so many Jews killed, and with such cruelty, the spirit of Abraham has been moved to wrath, and nightly from his burial place in the Cave of Machpela a low moaning is heard, followed by a wail, then words uttered indistinctly at first, then clearer: Why have ye slaughtered my children? Why did ye shed innocent blood? The Arabs, reported The Times, are said to be terrified and many are seeking means to propitiate the wrath of the Patriarch.

The murderous rampage left the Jews even more terrified, and no Jew lived in Hebron for nearly 40 years, until the centuries-old community, now called a settlement, returned after the Six-Day War.

Few remember, but Jerusalem and Hebron were once equally appealing to Jewish pilgrims. The New York Times reported, There are two Wailing Walls in Palestine; one in Hebron and one in Jerusalem. Not allowed in the Machpela, Jews would stand near a small hole thought to be above the cave, into which theyd deposit letters to Abraham, much as notes are left today at the Lubavitcher Rebbes grave in Queens.

In 1914, Henry Morgenthau, the United States ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, desired to see the land which once belonged to Israel, reported The Times. The Jewish ambassador visited Jerusalem but not any Jewish site in particular. Instead, he went to Hebron and the Cave of Machpela.

He found a Hebron where Jewish life was thriving. An Orthodox Jew presided over the Anglo-Palestine Bank; the renowned Slobodka Rabbinical School recently moved to town; there were Jewish elementary schools; and Chabad first came to town in 1845. To greet Morgenthau, it was reported, a triumphal arch spanned the road, and Jewish school children sang songs of welcome.

After the Six-Day War, singing returned to the Machpela. Rabbi Sam Intrator, one of Rebbe Shlomo Carlebachs confidants, told us, Outside of Shlomos own shuls, probably the first Carlebach minyan in the world was at the Machpela. Shlomo told me many times how proud he was of that.

Today, the Machpela is not on the itinerary for most Jewish tours or Birthright. Israel Foger, an Israeli now living in the United States, told us, Before my sons bar mitzvah, we planned to go to the Machpela where he would put on tefillin for the first time. We invited all our family and friends who were in Israel. Our American friends said theyd gladly join us; our Israeli family refused to go. They said it was a political act, it was crossing the Green Line, they felt uncomfortable. So my son, Dov, put on tefillin for the first time twice, once at the Machpela, with those who would go; once in Jerusalem, for those who wouldnt, a sad sign of our division.

The Hebron Funds Rosenstein mused about three places in Israel that we purchased, places no one can say we stole: the Machpela (by Abraham); Josephs Tomb in Shechem (by Jacob); and the Temple Mount (by David). Today, he said, we cant pray on the Temple Mount, because the Jewish presence there is zero, and you see the riots. We cant pray at Josephs Tomb, because the Jewish presence there is zero, and it was burned down. And its only because of the 90 families in Hebron that we can go to the Machpela. Because of them, theres infrastructure, soldiers, tourism, all keeping the Machpela in Jewish hands.

Rosenstein isnt afraid of UN resolutions. After the Security Council Resolution 2334, declaring Jerusalems Jewish Quarter to be Palestinian, Jews more than ever are asserting their right to daven at the Kotel. With the UNESCO vote, were going to see at least 50,000 coming [to the Machpela] on Sukkot and again on Shabbos Chayei Sarah, when the Torah reading is of Abraham, Sarah and the cave. Another big day will be Rosh Chodesh Elul [Aug. 22], when thoughts turn to Rosh HaShanah, and visiting the dead is a seasonal tradition.

UNESCO says the Machpela is Palestinian, so watch, said Rosenstein: Jews from all over will be coming to the Machpela.

We have family there.

Continued here:

Cave Of Dreams - Jewish Week

Category: Jewish Heritage Month | Comments Off on Cave Of Dreams – Jewish Week
Tags:

Posted By simmons on August 2, 2017

Jewish Chronicle

Holocaust denial may rise in next 20 years, says Sir Peter Bazalgette Jewish Chronicle Sir Peter Bazalgette, chair of the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation, said: I have the impression that Holocaust denial may well grow in the next 20 years ... UK's 'social splintering' risks repeating past, say Holocaust survivors ...The Guardian UK Holocaust Memorial to be sited next to Parliament despite MPs ...iNews all 5 news articles »

See the original post:

Holocaust denial may rise in next 20 years, says Sir Peter Bazalgette - Jewish Chronicle

Category: Holocaust Denial | Comments Off on Holocaust denial may rise in next 20 years, says Sir Peter Bazalgette – Jewish Chronicle
Tags:

Posted By simmons on August 2, 2017

Marian Magt says he is still running for ilina Region post.

The police charged far-right extremist leader Marian Magt with Holocaust denial, referring to his comments on a social network. If he is found guilty, he may spend up to eight years in prison, the public-service broadcaster RTVS reported.

Despite the accusations, Magt still wants to run for the government post in ilina Region in the November regional elections.

Magt is one of the founders of Vzdor (Resistance) Kysuce, which the Interior Ministry classifies as an extremist group. In last years general election he unsuccessfully ran on the slate of Peoples Party Our Slovakia (SNS), led by Marian Kotleba.

Earlier this year, the court sentenced him to three years conditionally for illegal arming. Magt was also invited for hearing after he encouraged people attending a protest against Islamisation to tear the European Unions flag, RTVS informed.

Magt does not conceal his Antisemitism or admiration of Adolf Hitler, whom he has described as peacemaker and a person with his heart on the right place.

The police had already proposed charging Magt for his statements at the beginning of this year, but the prosecutors office officially submitted the charges to the district court in adca on July 27, RTVS reported.

Magt said earlier this year that he is not the only administrator of his blog posts and social network profiles, so the police cannot prove it was actually him who wrote the posts. He is now casting doubt on the experts who prepared opinions.

They cannot explain what Holocaust denial is. Not even the law knows it, Magt told RTVS.

2. Aug 2017 at 5:49 |Compiled by Spectator staff

Thank you for singing up. Shortly an email will be sent to the address you provided to verify your e-mail.

Error! Please try to register again later, your e-mail was not registered.

Your email is not in a correct format.

See the original post here:

Extremist charged with Holocaust denial - The Slovak Spectator

Category: Holocaust Denial | Comments Off on Extremist charged with Holocaust denial – The Slovak Spectator
Tags:

Posted By simmons on August 2, 2017

An Irish journalist apologized on Tuesday after being fired for penning a column perceived as anti-Semitic and sexist, saying his career is over now.

The Sunday Times fired Kevin Myers after he suggested that female BBC presenters Vanessa Feltz and Claudia Winkleman were successful in negotiating higher salaries because they are Jewish.

In the offending column, entitled Sorry ladies equal pay has to be earned, Myers wrote: Jews are not generally noted for their insistence on selling their talent for the lowest possible price.

Myers told Irelands RTE news that he offered Felt and Winkleman a sincere apology.

I am very, very sorry that I should have so offended them and I do utter an apology, not for any reason other than out of genuine contrition for the hurt I caused them, but I uttered those words out of respect for the religion from which they come, Myers said.

And for the religion that I still hold in high regard, particularly the Irish members of that religion who have been so forthright in their defense of me generally, he added.

On Monday, the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland said that branding Myers an anti-Semite or Holocaust-denier was an absolute distortion of the facts.

More than any other Irish journalist, he has written columns about details of the Holocaust over the last three decades that would not otherwise have been known by a substantial Irish audience, Council chairman Maurice Cohen said in a statement, according to The Irish Times.

BBC star Vanessa Feltz (YouTube screenshot)

Cohen insisted that Myers was not racist against Jews, but in his curmudgeonly, cranky, idiosyncratic style had inadvertently stumbled into an anti-Semitic trope.

Myers in the past penned an article in the Irish Independent saying the Holocaust did not happen to protest European laws against Holocaust denial. That article was removed from the papers website Monday after Myers came under fire for the Sunday Times piece.

BBC star Claudia Winkleman (Youtube screenshot)

In the apology, Myers said that it was a mistake to have used religion in the latest article.

I foolishly referred to their religion as being a motivator. Actually there is a good article to be had about that but its not to be done in a throwaway line that will not be understood, he said. It was stupid of me, the encapsulation of such a complex issue in a single sentence one of my flaws is to deal with major issues with throwaway lines.

However, he denied that the article was motivated by anti-Semitism, and claimed to be an admirer of the Jewish people.

My Jewish audience will understand that I am a great admirer of Jewish people, I think they are the most gifted people who have ever existed on this planet and civilisation owes an enormous debt to them.

Myers took full responsibility for the article, admitting that he would probably never be able to work again in journalism.

He said that even though five or six others must have read the article before it was published, he didnt want anyone else to lose their job over the incident.

An editor for the Irish edition of the Sunday Times apologized for the article on Sunday, saying he took full responsibility for its publication.

Originally posted here:

Irish journalist apologizes for 'anti-Semitic' jab in article - The Times of Israel

Category: Holocaust Denial | Comments Off on Irish journalist apologizes for ‘anti-Semitic’ jab in article – The Times of Israel
Tags:

Posted By simmons on August 2, 2017

In March, Jackson adopted an ordinance banning school dormitories, which seemed aimed at yeshivas that draw students from afar. Agudath Israel of America, an umbrella group for ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic organizations, filed a federal suit in May arguing that the ordinance violated federal land-use laws intended to protect religious groups against burdensome local restrictions.

Jersey City, a manufacturing hub well into the 20th century, never had a significant ultra-Orthodox presence. But a few years ago, leaders of Brooklyns Hasidic communities, realizing that rising real estate prices were making continued expansion in the borough untenable, began scouting locations outside New York, and Jersey City emerged as an ideal place. It can be reached from Brooklyn by public transportation, and driving is relatively easy outside the rush hours.

An ad hoc organization known as Yaazoru (Hebrew for We will help you), made up of 60 volunteers from Brooklyn and Jersey City, helped settle the newcomers, even busing men to make a minyan of 10 so prayers could take place.

The other day, a Hasidic woman, Gitti B., was standing on her stoop watching several of her five children play with the children of a neighbor, Chaya H. Gitti said she was able to buy a house with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large dining room and a playroom for the same cost in mortgage, taxes and insurance as her $1,600-a-month, two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn.

She and Chaya both said they had to lean on their Hasidic neighbors because they no longer lived among parents, siblings and cousins. When she had her last baby, Gitti said, her Hasidic neighbors pitched in, taking care of her children and preparing meals. Their non-Jewish neighbors have also been helpful.

They told us when we have to put out our garbage, and they introduced us to their pets so we shouldnt be afraid of them, said Gitti, who, like Chaya, did not want her last name used to protect her privacy. Theyre nice people.

Eddie Sumpter, 34, a black neighbor around the corner who was able to buy a bigger house by selling his previous home to a Hasidic family, said he welcomed the newcomers.

We live among Chinese. We live among Spanish, said Mr. Sumpter, who is a cook. It dont matter. People is people. If youre good people, youre good people.

Go here to see the original:

Uneasy Welcome as Ultra-Orthodox Jews Extend Beyond New York - New York Times

Category: Hasidic | Comments Off on Uneasy Welcome as Ultra-Orthodox Jews Extend Beyond New York – New York Times
Tags:

Posted By richards on August 2, 2017

In Jesus Camp, the premiere documentary by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, we watched as three children dedicated their young lives to Jesus and the teachings of their church: climate change as a hoax, the imminent return of Christ as a given, and Christian heavy metal as a legitimate form of art.

The duo behind this documentary recently announced their second: a documentary that will tell the story of three Hasidic young adults who choose to leave behind religious life for the secular world and must grapple with the consequences of their decision.

The secular world is fascinated by stories of ultra-religious communities. Jesus Camp was even nominated for an academy award (but lost, somewhat ironically, to An Inconvenient Truth). Although the subjects of Jesus Camp had to shut down their Christian camp after the movie aired due to threats of vandalism, the critical consensus is that Ewing and Grady treated a topic that is very easy to make fun of with even-handed objectivity.

Theres no love lost between many Hasidic communities and the media. The media has a long history of treating Hasidim as exotic others, failing to tell their stories with adequate objectivity. Much of the secular worlds knowledge of the Hasidic world comes from those who have left it, or are in the process of leaving it, and as such, we are subject to an inevitable bias.

In a statement, the filmmakers said that our main subjects may be leaving the intense strictures of the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish community, but theyre also grappling with a universal human dilemma: that the cost of freedom can also mean losing the only community theyve ever known.

The new documentary, titled One of Us will be premiering on Netflix in the fall.

Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter, @arr_scott

View original post here:

'Jesus Camp' Creators To Release Documentary About Leaving The Hasidic Community - Forward

Category: Hasidic | Comments Off on ‘Jesus Camp’ Creators To Release Documentary About Leaving The Hasidic Community – Forward
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 2, 2017

A rare interview from the archives of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority sheds light on the significance of the Ninth of Av, on which Jews commemorate the destruction of both Holy Temples and a host of other tragedies in Jewish history, for our times.

The interview, with Rabbi Yehuda Leon Ashkenazi, was part of the Tzerufim program which was broadcasted in 1985 on Channel 1 every week after Shabbat.

Rabbi Ashkenazi was among the foremost spiritual leaders of French Jewry in the 20th Century.

Interviewer: Is it still possible to describe in todays age, when 300,000 Israelis have [voluntarily] left Israel, the exile as the most severe of sufferings?

Rabbi Ashkenazi: The Exile is defined by the Sages of Israel as unnatural, abnormal, and for he who feels himself to be healthy, [the Exile] is as difficult as death.

I: Is the Exile over, despite the fact most of the Jews still reside outside of Israel?

RA: The situation of a dispersed nation in foreign lands without its capital city has ceased. And even the situation today of Diaspora Jewry has changed because of the establishment of the State of Israel, [as] now they have a connection to their Nation based in reality. Diaspora Jewry of today is in an anachronistic position: on the one hand, they are the result of the Second Temple exile which yearned for redemption, while on the other hand, the Third Temple is already starting to be rebuilt in our day. Therefore, a Jew who leaves the State of Israel today is a bit more connected to Israel than one who never moved to Israel in the first place, since he is the [true] Diaspora of the State of Israel. Diaspora Jewry needs to repair its relationship with the State of Israel - and it may take time, since we are in a transition period.

I: Even so, werent there good periods when Jews resided outside of Israel (like the Golden Age in Spain)? Is all that considered Exile?

RA: There are periods of Exile, such as under Joseph in Egypt, which it is possible to call good. But every good period in exile, without exception, ends with destruction. Whoever looks at the post -Biblical period sees the constant failure, as if theres some sort of fatalism; We dont know how to pull ourselves from the external world at the right moment. A historical law is very dangerous. We need to be aware of consequences.

I: If failure in exile is a historical law, how can we change the law?

RA: What is the source of the [law]? There is a certain tendency in our identity towards the universality of the external world, which explains the pull of exile. In our forefathers, this was a good trait. But in their descendants, this universalism reveals itself as cosmopolitanism, a doubt about the uniqueness of the Jewish People.

I: Is there an element of similarity between our generation and previous ones?

RA: We are in a very similar period to that of the beginning of the Second Temple period. Also in that period, the Jewish people was in its land, and there was also a Diaspora community from the First Temple exile which did not return in the period of Ezra and Nehemia. So the question today is, What is the nature of the connection between the Diaspora of then and the State of today? Are we at the beginning of a process [like what we saw in the Second Temple period] and heading for a crisis, or at the end of the crisis?

History can only go on for so long. We had two thousand years of exile, and all of a sudden something completely different, so Im optimistic.

Read more here:

Are we still in exile? - Arutz Sheva

Category: Ashkenazi | Comments Off on Are we still in exile? – Arutz Sheva
Tags: