Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on March 8, 2017

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On Monday night, Richard D. Heideman was elected the new President of the American Zionist Movement (AZM), the American federation of Zionist groups and organizations, at the AZM Biennial Assembly in New York.

Heideman is an acclaimed Washington, D.C. lawyer who defends victims of terrorism and has successfully won or settled cases worth billions of dollars against Libya, Syria, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and banks accused of funding terror.

Recently named Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year for 2016, and a former President of Bnai Brith International, Heideman launched his tenure with a program to improve attitudes towards Israel and Zionism in North America.

Zionism Forward is my vision as AZM President. It is not about redefining Zionism, it is about reenergizing Zionism, Heideman said in his inaugural speech. We must return to the basics of Zionism, that which unites us all in this hall here today, and make it relevant to our families, our communities, our synagogues, our schools and beyond, he said.

I call upon each of you and the organizations you lead consisting of perhaps millions of people in the American Jewish community in your way and through your leadership to join with me to work together, hand in hand, in the spirit of unity, solidarity and pride, to accept the task of rebuilding the good name of Israel, the good name of the Jewish people and the good name of Zionism.

Heideman also spoke about practical steps that must be taken, beginning with a conference to combat those who seek to demonize Israel and Zionism.

Our students must be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to defend Israels honor in the face of slander, Heideman continued. While Iran and its allies may fantasize over a World Without Zionism, we must strive for a World With Zionism an ideology and cause to be celebrated.

Heideman also drew attention to the United States upcoming decision whether to extend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) after its current mandate ends on June 30, 2017. He pointed out that UNRWA has interfered with Israels efforts to build a safe and peaceful country for all of the people residing within her borders and her efforts towards regional peace, development and security. Heideman called for presenting truth, evidence and proposing solutions.

The AZM Assembly was packed with discussions about Zionism and the State of Israel and its relevance to American Jewry, with Jewish and Zionist organizational leaders, diplomats, academics and religious leaders speaking on panels such as Why Zionism is not a four-letter word as well as Talking about Israel: How to conduct an inclusive conversation. Other panels included Israel: Center, partner or theme park and Effective Responses to Anti-Semitism, Anti-Israelism and Anti-Zionism.

During the AZM Assembly, Herbert Block was announced as its new Executive Director, succeeding Karen Rubinstein, who has provided decades of outstanding leadership and was named Executive Director Emeritus. Block was formerly an Assistant Executive Vice President of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) from 1999 to 2015, where he was responsible for the Government Affairs and Property Restitution portfolios for JDC, considered the worlds leading Jewish humanitarian organization. Since 2011 Block has served as a Presidential Appointee as a Member of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of Americas Heritage Abroad, a position he will continue to hold.

Heideman succeeds Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, of Chicago, Illinois and was installed into office by Seymour D. Reich, Past Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Past President of Bnai Brith International and Past President of the American Zionist Movement.

The American Zionist Movement, based in New York City, is composed of organizations and individuals representing a broad array of Zionist perspectives and engaging in a variety of philanthropic, educational and advocacy activities on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people. In this capacity, the AZM carries out activities and programs in the United States in cooperation with the World Zionist Organization, and represents American Zionists within the National Institutions of Israel.

AZM strives to provide services and programming for member organizations, as well as to serve as a catalyst for new Zionist ideas, a convener of Zionist discussions, an incubator of new initiatives and to provide quality Jewish and Zionist education to the next generation.

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New American Zionist Movement President Launches 'Zionism Forward' - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2017

Lets talk about Zionism. Ever since the First Zionist Congress in 1897, when Theodor Herzl launched the concept of a homeland for the Jewish people, Zionism has met with criticism. There were those who labeled it a colonial movement, even though colonialism involves a large power making money and extracting raw materials from a colony under its control, a far cry from the struggles and poverty of the early Zionists. There was the infamous United Nations resolution of 1975 that branded Zionism as racism, a travesty spurred on by Yasir Arafat and not repealed until 1991. And just a few weeks ago, an article appeared in the Forward that linked Zionism and anti-Semitism. While it was aimed mostly at the extreme right, it maintained that, like anti-Semites who historically wanted to get rid of the Jews by sending them off to some distant place, Zionism posits that Jews need to live together as a majority in a single land and not spread themselves throughout the world.

But do any of these attacks reflect the true nature of Zionism? Certainly not. Like the Zionism of the earlier pioneers (Lovers of Zion), the Zionism that Herzl advocated had at its core the concept that Jews are a people, a nation, and not only a religion. To end the persecutions Jews had suffered in many countries through the ages, they needed to establish their own state. The intention was not to take anyone elses space the early Zionists paid for all the land they acquired from the Arabs. Nor was it to force all Jews to live in that state. The intention was to give Jews sovereignty in a country of their own, so that they would never again be overpowered by anti-Semitism. The most natural land for such sovereignty was the historic homeland of the Jewish people, the Land of Israel.

In his new novel Judas, Amos Oz portrays an idealistic character who had opposed establishing a Jewish state because he believed that Jews and Arabs could simply live together harmoniously without the scourge of nationalism. But the novels protagonist makes a counter-argument: Why should the Jews be the single nation in the world who did not deserve a land of their own, a homeland, self-determination, be it only a small part of their ancestral land? And, he continues, even if, ideally, nationalism were to disappear in the future and a perfect stateless world become a reality, at least so long as every nation had bars on its windows and bolts and locks on its doors, was it not also right that the Jewish nation should have a small house with bolts and bars, just like all the others? Was this not especially true, he asks, after a third of the nation was slaughtered because they did not have a house or a piece of territory of their own?

Zionism offers Jews a house of their own for those who want to live in it and one that stands as a bastion of safety for all Jews.

A Zionist I admired and loved, Marlin Levin, said that living in Israel had been the right choice for him, but he made no judgment about others who chose to live elsewhere. Born in Harrisburg, Pa., he made aliyah with his wife Betty in 1947. He remained in the land for almost 70 years, until his death at 94 this past December. Betty is still there. A journalist, Marlin had worked for the Palestine Post, later the Jerusalem Post, before becoming Jerusalems Time-Life bureau chief. For my own research and with enormous generosity, he made his personal archives available to me dispatches, letters, unpublished notes that trace his life and that of the state. On Feb. 1, 1948, he was in the Palestine Post office when it was car bombed and exploded in flames; he escaped death only because, coincidentally, he had changed his seat that night from his usual one opposite a window. After the U.N. partition of the land into Jewish and Arab states, the Arabs laid siege to Jerusalem and Marlin chronicled what it felt like to be thirsty and starving, one bucket of water a day per person and an occasional sardine, a half loaf of bread, a few noodles. He interviewed David Ben-Gurion before the Suez War of 1956, covered Adolf Eichmanns trial in 1961 and reported on the Sadat-Begin meetings of 1977.

Marlin understood the complexities of Israeli-Arab relationships and longed for peace based on fairness for both sides. But he also lived a Zionist life because he believed that Jews had a claim to their land from their earliest history, and despite all the attacks against Zionism, and all the struggles of the Israelis themselves, the Zionist enterprise built a new and vital world for Jews everywhere.

Francine Klagsbruns latest book is The Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day. Her new biography of Golda Meir will be published in October.

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Staking A Zionist Claim | Francine Klagsbrun | The Blogs | The ... - Jewish Week (blog)

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2017

It has been claimed that the infiltrators from Africa steal workplaces from Israelis, burden the social services and endanger security. Had we not curbed their inrush, the character of Israeli society would have changed completely.

Tibi and Rivlin. The Arab MK is trying to warn Israeli Jews of the results of an annexation (Photo: Noam Moskovich)

Similarly, we will start a pilot project at a limited cost with relatively low risks. After we are convinced that the experiment went well and that it has a high chance of succeeding, we will establish the great annexation enterprise in which from the wealth of our land there shall prosper the Arab, the Christian, and the Jew and where purity and integrity will prevail. The pilot project is, simply put, establishing equal relations with the Arabsone-fifth of Israels citizens.

Last week, we were surprised by Joint List and Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi, who joined the president in supporting the annexation idea. But if the Zionist president and the Palestinian MK hold a similar view on the long-awaited state, doesnt it mean that there is something wrong with their vision?

The answer to this question is simple: The shrewd Tibi is not interested in an annexation, because he knowslike the Jews who have not become inundated by their passion for the territoriesthat one state would be a disaster. When he predicted that he would be the elected prime minister in this state, his intention was to warn the Jews of the results of the annexation and urge them to let go of the occupied territories and create a fundamental change in the situation of Israels Arabs. The anti-Zionist Arab is protecting Zionism better than the president of the Zionist state.

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Zionism's anti-Zionist protector - Ynetnews

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2017

March 7, 2017 11:05 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) The Anti-Defamation League says it received bomb threats at four of its offices Tuesday, the same day more Jewish Community Centers across the country were also targeted in a new round of threats.

As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, the list of Jewish groups receiving threats on Tuesday is unfortunately long also including six Jewish Community Centers and three day schools in six states.

Just before 10 a.m., the ADL headquarters on the corner of East 39th Street and Third Avenue received an anonymous phone call saying there was a bomb in the building and it will go off in 20 minutes, CBS2s Hazel Sanchez reported.

Police were called to the scene and while the building was not evacuated, some people voluntarily left the building on their own.

After a search of the building, police say there were no explosive devices found.

But late Tuesday, police officers were still surrounding the ADL building, CBS2s Jessica Layton reported. Some were wearing tactical gear and holding long guns.

The NYPD has promised an increased police presence at Jewish centers around the city.

Its disconcerting and its not something that is a normal way of doing business during the day, ADL New York Regional Director Evan Bernstein told WCBS 880s Marla Diamond. Its difficult for staff to have to contend with it.

Mayor Bill de Blasio promised an aggressive NYPD response to all acts of hate.

De Blasio and police Commissioner James ONeill met with New York Jewish leaders at a Staten Island JCC that received a bomb threat last week.

Forces of hate have been unleashed, and it is exceedingly unsettling to people who are the victims, de Blasio said.

In a statement on Twitter, ADL chief executive officer Jonathan Greenblatt said offices in Atlanta, Boston and Washington, D.C. also received telephoned bomb threats Tuesday morning.

We call on @POTUS to take concrete steps to catch those threatening the Jewish community, he said in his tweet.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer condemned the latest wave of anti-Semitic attacks.

We denounce these latest anti-Semitic and hateful threats in the strongest terms, Spicer said.

The Chicago Jewish Day School, a private school in Chicagos Edgewater neighborhood, was also evacuated due to a bomb threat Tuesday morning, CBS Chicago reported.

Coverage From CBS Chicago Jeremy Ross Reports:

Greenblatt said Jewish Community Centers and day schools in Oregon, Wisconsin, upstate New York, Florida and Maryland were also targeted.

David Posnack Jewish Day School in Davie, Florida, about 25 miles north of Miami, was evacuated around 10 a.m. Tuesday, after a second bomb threat in the past eight days. Police searched the grounds and gave the all-clear about two hours later.

All of a sudden, its escalated. Kids are being targeted simply because they are Jewish and thats the only reason, said Maggie Fischer, whose children attend the school. In this day in age, this shouldnt be happening.

Coverage From CBS Miami Carey Codd Reports:

The Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, was closed for about two hours Tuesday morning, after receiving an emailed bomb threat overnight, CBS Chicago reported. The center reopened around 9 a.m. It was at least the third bomb threat at the center since Jan. 31.

The Louis S. Wolk Jewish Community Center in upstate Brighton, just south of Rochester, also was evacuated Tuesday. The building was re-opened after police determined there was no bomb.

Well look to work with the FBI to see if ours is similar or different than the other threats that have been received, Brighton Police Chief Mark Henderson told 1010 WINS Steve Kastenbaum.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said a bomb threat was also received at a DeWitt JCC outside of Syracuse.

State Police are on the scene at all three incidents and are continuing to assist federal and local officials as well as JCC membership and staff and ADL local affiliates, Cuomo said in a statement.

The JCC Association of North America also released a statement, saying several JCCs have received either emailed or phoned-in bomb threats overnight and this morning.

Last week, 20 bomb threats were called into JCCs in 12 separate states during the day, including multiple locations in New York and New Jersey.

Cuomo said he is directing state police to work with federal and local law enforcement to launch a full investigation into the latest incidents.

New York has always stood as a beacon of diversity and inclusion, and we will continue to stand united in the face of this virulent strain of hatred and anti-Semitism, he said. These incidents go against every tenet of our states tradition, and we will continue to send a strong message that New York has zero tolerance for intolerance.

The Federal Communications Commission has also granted a request from Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) allowing Jewish facilities to trace calls from blocked numbers.

Federal officials have now been investigating more than 120 bomb threats called into Jewish organizations since January. Jewish cemeteries have also been vandalized.

Meanwhile, New York City officials said there has been an unprecedented 113 percent increase in hate crimes so far this year. There have been 100 hate crimes reported in New York City since Jan. 1, compared with 47 for the same period in 2016. A total of 55 of the hate crimes reported in the city have been anti-Semitic, compared with 19 last year.

This issue is not just an issue for members of the Jewish faith. Its an attack on everybody in New York City, ONeill said. Ive been in the Police Department for 35 years, and I dont think theres anything wer take more seriously than hate crimes.

Police sources said the recent spate of hate crimes has been particularly ugly.

Two days ago, for example, an employee of the East Midwood Jewish Center received a voicemail stating: Oy vey, we are coming to spray your synagogue with pigs blood, the goyim. Thats right you (slur). Take a hike.

We dont take any of it lightly. People have every reason to be concerned, de Blasio said. But were going to go right at any acts of hate. Were going to crack down on any movement that purveys hate as a way of showing that were not going to let it happen here.

On Friday, authorities said they arrested Juan Thompson, 31, in St. Louis and charged him in connection with a bomb threat to the ADLs national headquarters last month.

Authorities said hes also charged in connection with at least eight threats against JCCs nationwide. Prosecutors said the threats were made in an effort to harass and vilify his former girlfriend.

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Anti-Defamation League Offices, Jewish Community Centers Targeted In New Round Of Bomb Threats - CBS New York

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Posted By simmons on March 8, 2017

The wave of threats reported on Tuesday echoes similar waves of threats on Jan. 9, Jan. 18 and Feb. 27.

The Anti-Defamation League tweeted on Tuesday that multiple ADL offices received bomb threats.

This is not normal. We will not be deterred or intimidated, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement emailed to TPM. This adds to the 121 threats received since early January. It is time for action, and we call on the Administration and Congress to take concrete steps to catch those threatening the Jewish community.

The Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reopened on Tuesday after being evacuated and closed following a threat via email, according to a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"In response to an email threat received overnight, the JCC is currently CLOSED," read a post to the center's Facebook page.

A Jewish community center in Rochester, New York, also evacuated Tuesday morning following a bomb threat. Local ABC affiliate 13WHAM reported that an FBI official was on site assisting with the investigation.

Per reports by local NBC affiliate WHEC and local station CNY Central, a Jewish community center in Dewitt, New York, was also put on lockdown on Tuesday.

The David Posnack Jewish Community Center in Davie, Florida, was evacuated on Tuesday after a bomb threat was phone in, according to a report by local Fox affiliate WSVN.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that Jewish community centers in Portland, Oregon, and Rockville, Maryland, also received bomb threats.

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ADL Offices, Jewish Community Centers Hit With New Wave Of Bomb Threats - TPM

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2017

Dr. Milton L. Caplan was born 1915, son of the late Jacob L. Caplan and Gertrude Goldman Caplan, in Ellwood City, and lived in Ellwood most of his life, until 2003 at the age of 88, when he retired to West Palm Beach Florida.

Dr. Caplan lived to 101. He would have celebrated his 102nd birthday in May. He passed away Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy Smith Caplan, as well as his two sons, Mark Jeffrey Caplan and Ronald Jay Caplan. The last of his family, he was preceded in death by his brother, Dr. Aaron Caplan, and a sister, Bertha Feldman.

He is survived by his granddaughter, Elana Beth Caplan of Philadelphia, and daughter-in-law, Rona Budovitch Caplan of Wilmington, Del.

He is also survived by his devoted and loving nieces, nephews and cousins: Barbara Caplan Azizo, Rebekah Caplan, Steven J. Feldman, Lisa Feldman Brill, David Cohen and Alissa Cohen.

His medical career spanned 61 years. For 56 of those years, he shared a family practice with his brother, Dr. Aaron Caplan, and the two together - in a combined 100 years of service - brought the finest medical care to their community. They were selfless physicians whose patients came first. House calls were a regular part of their practice. The Dr. Aaron and Milton L. Caplan Highway, a section of PA Route 288/Route 65 which leads into Ellwood City, was named in their honor for their years of service.

Dr. Milton delivered more than 3,000 babies, many of whom were named after him. The favorite part of his practice was obstetrics. He always said that his relationship with his patients were the most treasured aspects of his medical career.

He graduated from Lincoln High School as Salutatorian of his class in 1932. He attended Geneva College for two years, and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh Medical School after earning bachelor of science and doctor of medicine degrees. He did his medical internship at Passavant General Hospital, Pittsburgh.

Dr. Caplan served from 1940 to 1946 during World War II, first as Battalion Surgeon in Iceland for three years, and after D-Day in the European Theater of Operations until the war ended. He was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Ribbon with 4 Bronze Stars, and the American Defense Medal. He was relieved from active duty with the rank of Captain, and later promoted to the rank of Major in the Officer Reserve Corps.

He was a member of the Board of the Ellwood City Hospital, was one of the strong supporters in building the new hospital on Pershing Street and was instrumental in obtaining up-to-date equipment and encouraging a high standard of practice.

Locally Dr. Caplan was a member of the Tree of Life Synagogue and B'nai B'rith. Professionally, he was a member of the Lawrence County and Pennsylvania Medical Societies, as well as the American Medical Association.

The Ellwood City Chamber of Commerce named Dr. Caplan "Outstanding Citizen of the Year" in June, 1990.

In honor of his 100th birthday, Ellwood City Mayor Anthony Court proclaimed May 10, 2015, as Dr. Milton L. Caplan Day.

Friends will be received from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday evening, March 9, 2017, in the TURNER FUNERAL HOME, 500 Sixth Street, Ellwood City.

Graveside services will be conducted on Friday, March 10, 2017, at 10 a.m. at Beth Shalom Cemetery, Shaler Twp., Pittsburgh.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to: JCC of Wilmington, Mark Caplan Youth Fund, 101 Garden of Eden Road, Wilmington, DE 19803 or Third Street Music School Settlement, Dorothy Caplan Scholarship Fund, 235 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003 or The Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America, 733 Third Avenue, Suite 510, New York, NY 10017.

Condolences to the Caplan family may be sent to: Barbara Azizo, 110 Girard Street, Brooklyn, NY 11235 or Rona Caplan, 529 Country Club Drive, Wilmington, DE 19803.

You may read the obituary, sign the guestbook, or send condolences at: http://www.turnerfh.com.

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Milton L. Caplan, MD - Ellwood City Ledger

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2017

On Saturday morning, as reporters scrambled to find sources for President Trumps allegation that his predecessor had wiretapped Trump Tower during the presidential campaign, it seemed all roads were leading to Mark Levin of Cheltenham.

It began,the New York Times reported Sunday, as a conspiratorial rant on conservative talk radio. Levin, a Philadelphia-born, Elkins Park-raised radio host with an enormous following, had spent much of his Thursday show alleging that the Obama administration had surveilled Trump and his associates during the campaign.

The far-right website Breitbart News -- where Trump adviser Stephen Bannon previously served as editor-in-chief -- picked up the story a day later. That story reportedly circulated around the White House, and on Saturday Trump started tweeting.

Since the presidents explosive tweets, and the media frenzy that followed, Levin has contended that his assertions were based on reporting by the mainstream media --and that he just connected the dots.(An Obama spokesman denied the allegations, and fact-checkers have reported that the evidence cited by Breitbart and others in the conservative sphereis sketchy at best.)

Levin is not a household name outside of conservative circles. The most powerful conservative youve never heard of, theDaily Beast called him in a 2013 profile.But millions of people listen to his show each night.

He has said his conservatism dates to his upbringing in the Philadelphia region. In a 2007 interview with the Inquirer, he said a favorite pastime, as a teenager, was to visit Independence Hall and imagine the founding fathers designing a nation.

Levin graduated from Temple Universitys Ambler campus at 19 and stayed at Temple for a law degree. He served for a time on the Cheltenham school board while in law school, he told the Daily Beast, and formed a tax-reform group called the Committee to Limit Taxation. He was the youngest member the school board has ever had, said Tom Ellis, the solicitor for Cheltenham Township's Republican organization.

"He created a lot of uproar, arguing for cutting taxes," Ellis said of Levin's time on the board. "He's a real conservative."

Though Levin, 59, is several years older than Ellis, they were both in the B'nai B'rith Jewish service organization as youths, Ellis said, and once, Levin took him to see Ronald Reagan speak. Levin would later join the Reagan administration, andbecame a familiar voice on talk radio in the waning Clinton years.

"He's always been an extremely conservative person," Ellis said. "It did surprise me" that he had moved into a radio career. "I was listening one day and they said, 'Mark Levin,' and I thought, is that my Mark Levin?"

Among the major themes of his show: thatAmerica is headed down a dark pathand that liberals are trying to expand the federal government at libertys expense. Hes decried political correctness and accused politicians of downplaying the threat of terrorism. Last January, after a Philadelphia police officer was shot by a man who told police he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, Levin spent a segment of his show criticizing Mayor Kenneys response to the shooting. Kenney had said the attack had nothing to do with being a Muslim.

A liberal, kook, pathetic, moronic, propagandist demagogue of a mayor, Levin called Kenney. He said he had uncles who had served in the Philadelphia Police Department, and he played God Bless America on the air in honor of them and other officers.

Published: March 7, 2017 4:44 PM EST

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2017

The Anti-Defamation League and several Jewish community centers across the country got a new round of bomb threats Tuesday, adding to the scores they have been plagued with since January.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was at a Jewish Community Center on Staten Island to denounce previous threats when he learned of the new ones.

"This is a moment in time, in history, where forces of hate have been unleashed," de Blasio said. "It is exceedingly unsettling."

Federal officials have been investigating more than 120 threats against Jewish organizations in three dozen states since Jan. 9 and a rash of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries. Over the course of Monday evening and Tuesday, there were eight emailed or phoned-in bomb threats in six states plus Ontario, the JCC Association of North America said.

Also Tuesday, two suburban Jewish community centers in upstate New York were shut down when someone phoned in bomb threats, authorities said. The Jewish Community Center in the Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay was closed for almost two hours. A Jewish community center in Portland, Oregon, received a bomb threat, too.

In Providence, Rhode Island, an administrator at the Jewish Community Day School, attached to a synagogue, received a threat Tuesday morning alleging there was a shooter with an assault rifle on the roof of the building, police said. Police and a K-9 team swept the building; no one was found.

Chicago Jewish Day School on the city's north side was evacuated for a few hours.

In New York, Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said there were five threats made, including to the New York-based Anti-Defamation League, which also received threats to its offices in Atlanta, Boston and Washington, D.C. The ADL said threats were also made in Florida and Maryland.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said he shared President Donald Trump's hope that the threats subside.

"We denounce these latest anti-Semitic and hateful threats in the strongest terms. It is incredibly saddening that I have to continue to share these disturbing reports with you," he said. "As long as they do continue, we will continue to condemn them and look at ways in which we can stop them."

On Friday, Missouri resident Juan Thompson was arrested on a cyberstalking charge and accused of making at least eight of the threats nationwide, including one to the ADL. Authorities said Thompson was trying to harass and frame his ex-girlfriend by pinning the threats on her.

A criminal complaint said Thompson started making threats Jan. 28. He claimed on Twitter that his ex-girlfriend was behind the calls. Thompson is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday in St. Louis for a hearing to determine if he should remain detained pending trial.

Authorities are looking for other suspects in the threats.

Associated Press writers Chris Carola in Albany, New York and Kiley Armstrong in New York contributed to this report.

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Anti-Defamation League, Jewish centers get more threats - ABC News

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2017

Tracey Grossman is the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Florida Region Board Chair Elect. She is a member of the ADL Florida Executive Committee of the Regional Board and has served as Development Chair, Leadership Chair, Co-Chair of Floridas ArtWorks events, and the ADLs emerging leaders program, the Glass Leadership Institute. In addition, Tracey is a trained facilitator for ADL programs in Florida schools:

Ms. Grossman has Co-Chaired ADLs National Young Leadership Committee, known as ADL 2020; currently serves as the Co-Chair of the National Leadership Committee; and is the youngest member of ADLs National Advisory Committee the most prestigious committee for leaders.

Tracey received the Ldor Vdor (Generation to Generation) Award in 2008 and the 2016 Torch of Liberty Award from ADLs Florida Region, and the national Daniel Ginsburg Young Leader Award in 2010.

Tracey has a graduate degree from Teachers College of Columbia University in Secondary English Education, and was a high school English teacher in both the New York City Public School System and in two counties in Florida. For the nearly 15 years, she has taught at her synagogue, where she also serves on the Board and on numerous committees. Tracey is a proud mother of three boys.

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Tracey Grossman, board chair-elect, Anti-Defamation League - Sun Sentinel

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Posted By richards on March 7, 2017

JERUSALEM For some, the notion of delving into the Talmud in English for free with the click of a mouse was something they could only dream of.

But now that dream is becoming a reality.

Earlier this month, Sefaria, a nonprofit organization devoted to Jewish text learning, announced it had uploaded 22 tractates of the renowned Steinsaltz English-language edition of the Babylonian Talmud and will post the remainder as they are translated and annotated.

The Hebrew version of the Talmud will begin going online by the end of the year at Sefaria.org.

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The Talmud, considered the canon of Jewish law, is central to rabbinic Judaism but has mostly been the purview of rabbis and scholars, in part because it is written in Aramaic, and in part because it encompasses multiple volumes.

Ninety percent of the worlds Jews speak Hebrew and English, said Daniel Septimus, Sefarias executive director. The Talmud is in Aramaic. From an accessibility point of view, its a game changer.

Although there are other online Talmud editions, they are not in English or cost hundreds of dollars to access. Sefarias edition has a Creative Commons noncommercial license, meaning anyone can use it as part of the public domain for noncommercial purposes.

Known as the William Davidson Talmud, the new online edition offers parallel translations linked to major commentaries, biblical citations, midrash (ancient rabbinic literature) and halakhah (Jewish law and jurisprudence).

The project is funded by the William Davidson Foundation in cooperation with its publishers, Milta and Koren Publishers Jerusalem.

Septimus said the project, which required the efforts of 15 engineers and countless scholars and translators, has been a labor of love.

For the Jewish people, our texts are our collective inheritance, he said. They belong to everyone and Sefaria wants them to be available to everyone.

Michele Chabin is RNS Jerusalem correspondent.

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Nonprofit offers Jewish texts in English online for free - The Daily Tribune

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