Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By richards on June 3, 2016

Yin, Yiyuan; Djakovic, Stevan; Marsters, Scot; Tien, Janet; Peng, Jing; Tremayne, Jarrod; Lee, Genee; Neve, Richard M; Wu, Yan; Merchant, Mark; Ashkenazi, Avi; Carter, Paul J

Pradeep M. Nair; Heather Flores; Alvin Gogineni; Scot Marsters; David A. Lawrence; Robert F. Kelley; Hai Ngu; Meredith Sagolla; Laszlo Komuves; Richard Bourgon; Jeffrey Settleman; Avi Ashkenazi

Petersen, S L; Chen, T T; Lawrence, D A; Marsters, S A; Gonzalvez, F; Ashkenazi, A

Tom T. Chen, Ellen Filvaroff1, Jing Peng, Scot Marsters, Adrian Jubb, Hartmut Koeppen, Mark Merchant, Avi Ashkenazi

Ashkenazi, Avi

Du, Xiangnan; Lin, Benjamin; Wang, Qian-Rena; Li, Hao; Ingalla, Ellen; Tien, Janet; Rooney, Isabelle; Ashkenazi, Avi; Penuel, Elicia; Qing, Jing

Wilson, Catherine; Ye, Xiaofen; Pham, Thinh Q; Lin, Eva; Chan, Sara M; McNamara, Erin; Neve, Richard M; Belmont, Lisa D; Koeppen, Hartmut; Yauch, Robert L; Ashkenazi, Avi; Settleman, Jeff

Ashkenazi, Avi; Salvesen, Guy

Lu, Min; Lawrence, David A; Marsters, Scot; Acosta-Alvear, Diego; Kimmig, Philipp; Mendez, Aaron S; Paton, Adrienne W; Paton, James C; Walter, Peter; Ashkenazi, Avi

Nair, Pradeep; Lu, Min; Petersen, Sean; Ashkenazi, Avi

Fairbrother, Wayne J; Ashkenazi, Avi;

Lu, Min; Marsters, Scot; Ye, Xiaofen; Luis, Elizabeth; Gonzalez, Lino; Ashkenazi, Avi;

Wilson, Nicholas S; Duewell, Peter; Yang, Becky; Li, Yun; Marsters, Scot; Koernig, Sandra; Latz, Eicke; Maraskovsky, Eugene; Morelli, Adriana Baz; Schnurr, Max; Ashkenazi, Avi

Newton, Kim; Hildebrand, Joanne M; Shen, Zhirong; Rodriguez, Diego; Alvarez-Diaz, Silvia; Petersen, Sean; Shah, Saumil; Dugger, Debra L; Huang, Chunzi; Auwerx, Johan; Vandenabeele, Peter; Green, Douglas R; Ashkenazi, Avi; Dixit, Vishva M; Kaiser, William J; Strasser, Andreas; Degterev, Alexei; Silke, John

Wainberg, Zev A.; Messersmith, Wells A.; Peddi, Parvin F.; Kapp, Amy V.; Ashkenazi, Avi; Royer-Joo, Stephanie; Portera, Chia C.; Kozloff, Mark F.

Kim, Jeong; Ashkenazi, Avi

Chaudhuri, Amitabha; Wilson, Nicholas S; Yang, Becky; Paler Martinez, Andres; Liu, Jinfeng; Zhu, Catherine; Bricker, Nicole; Couto, Suzana; Modrusan, Zora; French, Dorothy; Cupp, James; Ashkenazi, Avi

Lim, Bora; Scicchitano, Angelique; Beachler, Cheryl; Gusani, Niraj; Sarwani, Nabeel; Yang, Zhaohai; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin; Ashkenazi, Avi; Portera, Chia; El-Deiry, Wafik S.

Gonzalvez, Francois; Lawrence, David; Yang, Becky; Yee, Sharon; Pitti, Robert; Marsters, Scot; Pham, Victoria C; Stephan, Jean-Philippe; Lill, Jennie; Ashkenazi, Avi

Ogasawara, Annie; Tinianow, Jeff N; Vanderbilt, Alexander N; Gill, Herman S; Yee, Sharon; Flores, Judith E; Williams, Simon-Peter; Ashkenazi, Avi; Marik, Jan

Du, Xiangnan; Wang, Qian-Rena; Chan, Emily; Merchant, Mark; Liu, Jinfeng; French, Dorothy; Ashkenazi, Avi; Qing, Jing

Subbiah, Vivek; Brown, Robert E.; Buryanek, Jamie; Trent, Jonathan; Ashkenazi, Avi; Herbst, Roy; Kurzrock, Razelle

Wilson, Nicholas S; Yang, Annie; Yang, Becky; Couto, Suzana; Stern, Howard; Gogineni, Alvin; Pitti, Robert; Marsters, Scot; Weimer, Robby M; Singh, Mallika; Ashkenazi, Avi

French, Dorothy M; Lin, Benjamin C; Wang, Manping; Adams, Camellia; Shek, Theresa; Hotzel, Kathy; Bolon, Brad; Ferrando, Ronald; Blackmore, Craig; Schroeder, Kurt; Rodriguez, Luis A; Hristopoulos, Maria; Venook, Rayna; Ashkenazi, Avi; Desnoyers, Luc R

Pham, Victoria C.; Pitti, Robert; Anania, Veronica G.; Bakalarski, Corey E.; Bustos, Daisy; Jhunjhunwala, Suchit; Phung, Qui T.; Yu, Kebing; Forrest, William F.; Kirkpatrick, Donald S.; Ashkenazi, Avi; Lill, Jennie R.

Pham VC; Pitti R; Anania VG; Bakalarski CE; Bustos D; Jhunjhunwala S; Phung QT; Yu K; Forrest WF; Kirkpatrick DS; Ashkenazi A; Lill JR.

Soria, Jean Charles; Mark, Zsuzsanna; Zatloukal, Petr; Szima, Barna; Albert, Istvan; Juhasz, Erzsebet; Pujol, Jean Louis; Kozielski, Jerzy; Baker, Nigel; Smethurst, Dominic; Hei, Yong Jiang; Ashkenazi, Avi; Stern, Howard; Amler, Lukas; Pan, Yang; Blackhall, Fiona

Wilson, Nicholas S; Yang, Becky; Morelli, Adriana Baz; Koernig, Sandra; Yang, Annie; Loeser, Stefanie; Airey, Denise; Provan, Larissa; Hass, Phil; Braley, Hal; Couto, Suzana; Drane, Debbie; Boyle, Jeff; Belz, Gabrielle T; Ashkenazi, Avi; Maraskovsky, Eugene

Chaudhuri, Amitabha; Xie, Ming Hong; Yang, Becky; Mahapatra, Kaushiki; Liu, Jinfeng; Marsters, Scot; Bodepudi, Sweta; Ashkenazi, Avi

Biton, Sharon; Ashkenazi, Avi

Bagri, A.; Ashkenazi, A.

Yang, A.; Wilson, N.; Ashkenazi, A.

Gonzalvez, F.; Ashkenazi, A.

Herbst, R.; Eckhardt, S.; Kurzrock, R.; Ebbinghaus, S.; O'Dwyer, P.; Gordon, M.; Novotny, W.; Goldwasser, M.; Tohnya, T.; Lum, B.; Ashkenazi, A. Jubb, A.; Mendelson, D.

Eimon, P.; Ashkenazi, A.

Stern, H.M.; Padilla, M.; Wagner, K.; Amler, L.; Ashkenazi, A.

Camidge, D.R.; Herbst, R.S.; Gordon, M.S.; Eckhardt, S.G.; Kurzrock, R.; Durbin, B.; Ing, J.; Tohnya, T.M.; Sager, J.; Ashkenazi A.; Bray, G.; Mendelson, D.

Varfolomeev, E.; Alicke, B.; Elliott, J.M.; Zobel, K.; West, K.; Wong, H.; Scheer, J.M.; Ashkenazi, A.; Gould, S.E.; Fairbrother, W.J.; Vucic, D.

Jin, Z.; Li, Y.; Pitti, R.; Lawrence, D.; Pham, V.C.; Lill, J.R.; Ashkenazi, A.

Qing, J.; Du, X.; Chen, Y.M.; Chan, P.; Li, H.; Wu, P.; Marsters, S.; Stawicki, S.; Tien, J.; Totpal, K.; Ross, S.; Stinson, S.; Dornan, D.; French, D.; Wang, Q.; Stephan, J.P.; Wu, Y.; Wiesmann, C.; Ashkenazi, A.

Wilson, N.S.; Dixit, V.; Ashkenazi, A.

Shang, Y.; Mao, Y.; Batson, J.; Scales, S.J.; Phillips, G.; Lackner, M.R.; Totpal, K.; Williams, S.; Yang, J.; Tang, Z.; Modrusan, Z.; Tan, C.; Liang, W.C.; Tsai, S.P.;Vanderbilt, A.; Kozuka, K.; Hoeflich, K.; Tien, J.; Ross, S,; Li, C.; Lee, S.H.; Song, A.; Stephan, J.P.; Ashkenazi, A.; Zha, J.

Kratz, E.; Eimon, P.M.; Mukhyala, K.; Stern, H.; Zha, J.; Strasser, A.; Hart, R.; Ashkenazi, A.

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Posted By simmons on June 2, 2016

New York, NY, April 28, 2016 The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today urged presidential candidate Donald Trump to reconsider his use of the phrase America First as a slogan describing his approach to foreign affairs, citing its anti-Semitic use in the months before Pearl Harbor by a group of prominent Americans seeking to keep the nation out of World War II.

The most noteworthy leader of the America First Committee was Charles Lindbergh, who sympathized with the Nazis and whose rhetoric was characterized by anti-Semitism and offensive stereotypes, including assertions that Jews posed a threat to the U.S. because of their influence in motion pictures, radio, the press, and the government.

The undercurrents of anti-Semitism and bigotry that characterized the America First movement including the assumption that Jews who opposed the movement had their own agenda and were not acting in Americas best interest is fortunately not a major concern today, said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. However, for many Americans, the term America First will always be associated with and tainted by this history. In a political season that already has prompted a national conversation about civility and tolerance, choosing a call to action historically associated with incivility and intolerance seems ill-advised.

In a letter to Mr. Trump, ADL urged him to refrain from using the slogan in the future.

As a 501(c) (3) organization, ADL does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

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Posted By admin on June 1, 2016

To be clear, there is nothing remotely anti-Semitic about the proclamation itself, and Im not accusing the president or his staff in any way of promoting anti-Semitism. But I do note that the proclamations discussion of Jews contributions to American society is consistent with a particular left-wing view of Jewswhich is that Jews have two predominant roles to play in the world, either as victims or as advocates for progressive causes.

Here are the first two paragraphs of the proclamation:

At Americas birth, our Founders fought off tyranny and declared a set of idealsincluding life, liberty, and the pursuit of happinessthat would forever guide our countrys course. For generations since, Jewish Americans, having shared in the struggle for freedom, have been instrumental in ensuring our Nation stays true to the principles enshrined in our founding documents. They have helped bring about enduring progress in every aspect of our society, shaping our countrys character and embodying the values we hold dear. This month, as we pay tribute to their indelible contributions, we recommit to ridding our world of bigotry and injustice and reflect on the extraordinary ways in which Jewish Americans have made our Union more perfect.

Many of the Jewish people who reached our Nations shores throughout our history did so fleeing the oppression they encountered in areas around the world. Driven by the possibility of charting a freer future, they endeavored, on their own and as a community, to make real the promise of American their individual lives and in the life of our country. Determined to confront the racism that kept this promise from being fully realized, many Jewish Americans found a cause in the Civil Rights Movement thatin its call for freedom and justiceechoed the timeless message of Exodus and the Jewish peoples journey through the ages. Reflecting on the march in Selma, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once noted, I felt my legs were praying. From the fight for womens rights to LGBT rights to workers rights, many in the Jewish American community, drawing on lessons from their own past, have trumpeted a clarion call for equality and justice.

Its no secret that many liberal American Jews emphasize the social justice part of their identity. But this doesnt preclude also recognizing, as part of Jewish Heritage Month, that Jews have contributed disproportionately to the arts, business, medicine, academia, science, and so forth. Nor does it preclude recognizing that American Jews have successfully created unique and innovative Jewish communal charities, educational institutions, and internal religious movements (such as Conservative Judaism). Nor does it preclude recognizing that American Jews have been at the forefront of helping to establish and defend Israel and in rescuing persecuted Jews from Ethiopia to the USSR.

Im sure if you asked whoever drafted the presidents proclamation about these other matters, he would say something along the lines of, yeah, that stuff is nice, too.

But for some progressives on the far left, including some progressives of Jewish descent, that other stuff isnt nice too. To them, Jews exist only for the role assigned to them by the progressive mythosto use their experience of oppression and their privilege to fight for the rights of others, and then to assimilate or disappear.

Ever since Karl Marx himself stated as much, there has been a significant strand of left-wing thought suggesting that Jews arent a legitimate ethnic group, but simply forlorn Asiatic/European nomads who came to exist as a group solely to serve the class interests first of feudal rulers and than of capitalists, possessing neither a legitimate religion (because no religion is legitimate) nor a legitimate culture (because Jews) nor any claim to self-determination.

Indeed, this is sometimes explained in a way that makes anti-Semitism understandable as a reaction to the fact that Gentile rulers use Jews to exploit their subjects. Consider the following recent open letter from a group of leftist Jewish Oberlin students:

We agree with the definition of anti-Semitism laid out by Aurora Levins Morales, a Jewish pro-Palestinian activist; she writes that anti-Semitism, writing about European Jewry under Christianity, functions by creating a vulnerable buffer group that can be bribed with some privileges into managing the exploitation of others, and then, when social pressure builds, be blamed and scapegoated, distracting those at the bottom from the crimes of those at the top.

Because Jews have no corporate legitimacy unless they are gathering to demand rights for others, it is deemed reactionary to suggest that Jews should have intragroup solidarity. Indeed it has long been a defining attribute of many Jews on the far left to go out of their way to express their disinterest in Jewish causes. Consider Rosa Luxemburgs classic statement: What do you want with these special Jewish pains? I feel as close to the wretched victims of the rubber plantations in Putamayo and the blacks of Africa with whose bodies the Europeans play ball I have no special corner in my heart for the [Jewish] ghetto: I am at home in the entire world, where there are clouds and birds and human tears.

Moreover, it would be reactionary to recognize disproportionate Jews contributions to various fields of endeavor. Good left-wingers, after all, believe that all groups would be exactly equal in every way but for societal oppression Indeed, given that relevant ethos, Jewish success suggests that Jews have somehow gamed the system at the expense of disadvantaged minorities, something that is rather overtly suggested every time a self-proclaimed spokesperson for a minority group suggests that his group must exhibit more solidarity like the Jews so they can be successful like the Jews. (Anyone who thinks that intragroup solidarity is a defining aspect of American Jewish culture doesnt know much about American Jewish culture).

So for some fraction of the far left, the Jewish contribution to various liberation movements is not simply the Jews most important contribution to the world, and is not simply the only one worth mentioning if you have limited space, as with President Obamas proclamation. It is, rather, the only legitimate praise one can give to the Jews.

Meanwhile, Jewish support for Israel, or sometimes even for fellow Jews suffering elsewhere, is nothing but reactionary nationalism based on at best foolish sentimentality and at worst racist notions of Jewish superiority. Exactly why Jewish solidarity is racist, but not solidarity among other groups, is never clearly explained, but it seems to have something to do with the fact that Jews arent a legitimate ethnic group to begin with.

Once we understand that there are those who believe that the existence of Jews as a recognizable entity, is only justified (and only temporarily) to the extent Jews rely on their residual memories of collective oppression to aid left-wing liberation movements, one can begin to understand the far lefts problem with the Jews. Their ideology leaves no room for anything but revulsion with Zionism, dismissal of claims of anti-Semitism (in ways they would never dismiss accusations of other forms of racism), nor for considering the Holocaust to have any more significance than as an unfortunate example of white on white crime.

In short, to many on the far left, the only good Jew is a secular left-wing internationalist political activist with no particular interest in the well-being of his fellow Jews. (Consider again the Oberlin students: We urge all Jewish students concerned about anti-Semitism to fight with equal passion for Palestinian liberation, Black liberation, and an end to all forms of oppression, on and off campus. Others, but not Jews, are permitted to be especially concerned with the fate of their own group.) Given that only a small fraction of Jews fit that model, anti-Semitism is therefore a natural consequence.

Jews have a specific heritage worth celebrating. It would have been proper if the White House had recognized it, no matter what the far Left thinks.

Everyone worth reading avidly reads COMMENTARY. Can you afford not to?

Never again miss another issue or article. Not a subscriber yet? Join the intellectual club, today.

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Posted By richards on June 1, 2016

In 1492 the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, captured the last Muslim stronghold in the Iberian peninsula. Isabella sent Christopher Columbus sailing west to find a new route to Asia. The king and queen also gave their Jewish subjects a choice convert or leave.

Many converted, as had other Jews during previous generations of persecution. Some took ship to North Africa, Italy and eventually the Ottoman Empire. A smaller group tramped west, across the Portuguese border. There they found an established Portuguese Jewish community. Just five years later in 1497, the King of Portugal demanded that all Jews convert, without the right of emigration (except for a handful of families).Many of these New Christians received little or no formal instruction in Roman Catholicism and continued to secretly adhere to Judaism, or what they could remember of it.

This site addresses the genealogy of these New Christians, some or all of whom are also know to history asWestern Sephardim,A Nao Portuguesa, Men of the Nation,Spanish &Portuguese Jews. Other names have been applied and misapplied including: anusim, bnei anusim, crypto-Jewsandmarranos. On this site I will use Sephardic as shorthand for descendants of New Christians. This single word covers a wide and fluctuating set of identities from fervent Catholic to fervent Jew, everything in between, and eventually even Enlightenment philosophers. It is anerror to imagine our ancestors as normative Ashkenazi Jews forced to adopt a public cloak of Catholicism. This was a group of people on a temporal journey from medieval Iberian Judaism to what we would recognise as a modern identity. This site will focus on what historians call the Early Modern period, roughly from 1492 to 1750. The reality is that there is little genealogical evidence before the Council of Trent (1545-1563) instructed Catholic parishes to maintain baptism, marriage and death records.

I recognise that other communitiesare also called Sephardic, including the Eastern Sephardim of the former Ottoman Empire (our kinsmen who went east, when our ancestors went to Portugal) and many Jews from the Near East and Middle East who share our core religious traditions. In Israel Sephardic can often mean not Ashkenazi. I have included a Terminology page.

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Posted By richards on June 1, 2016

To be clear, there is nothing remotely anti-Semitic about the proclamation itself, and Im not accusing the president or his staff in any way of promoting anti-Semitism. But I do note that the proclamations discussion of Jews contributions to American society is consistent with a particular left-wing view of Jewswhich is that Jews have two predominant roles to play in the world, either as victims or as advocates for progressive causes.

Here are the first two paragraphs of the proclamation:

At Americas birth, our Founders fought off tyranny and declared a set of idealsincluding life, liberty, and the pursuit of happinessthat would forever guide our countrys course. For generations since, Jewish Americans, having shared in the struggle for freedom, have been instrumental in ensuring our Nation stays true to the principles enshrined in our founding documents. They have helped bring about enduring progress in every aspect of our society, shaping our countrys character and embodying the values we hold dear. This month, as we pay tribute to their indelible contributions, we recommit to ridding our world of bigotry and injustice and reflect on the extraordinary ways in which Jewish Americans have made our Union more perfect.

Many of the Jewish people who reached our Nations shores throughout our history did so fleeing the oppression they encountered in areas around the world. Driven by the possibility of charting a freer future, they endeavored, on their own and as a community, to make real the promise of American their individual lives and in the life of our country. Determined to confront the racism that kept this promise from being fully realized, many Jewish Americans found a cause in the Civil Rights Movement thatin its call for freedom and justiceechoed the timeless message of Exodus and the Jewish peoples journey through the ages. Reflecting on the march in Selma, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once noted, I felt my legs were praying. From the fight for womens rights to LGBT rights to workers rights, many in the Jewish American community, drawing on lessons from their own past, have trumpeted a clarion call for equality and justice.

Its no secret that many liberal American Jews emphasize the social justice part of their identity. But this doesnt preclude also recognizing, as part of Jewish Heritage Month, that Jews have contributed disproportionately to the arts, business, medicine, academia, science, and so forth. Nor does it preclude recognizing that American Jews have successfully created unique and innovative Jewish communal charities, educational institutions, and internal religious movements (such as Conservative Judaism). Nor does it preclude recognizing that American Jews have been at the forefront of helping to establish and defend Israel and in rescuing persecuted Jews from Ethiopia to the USSR.

Im sure if you asked whoever drafted the presidents proclamation about these other matters, he would say something along the lines of, yeah, that stuff is nice, too.

But for some progressives on the far left, including some progressives of Jewish descent, that other stuff isnt nice too. To them, Jews exist only for the role assigned to them by the progressive mythosto use their experience of oppression and their privilege to fight for the rights of others, and then to assimilate or disappear.

Ever since Karl Marx himself stated as much, there has been a significant strand of left-wing thought suggesting that Jews arent a legitimate ethnic group, but simply forlorn Asiatic/European nomads who came to exist as a group solely to serve the class interests first of feudal rulers and than of capitalists, possessing neither a legitimate religion (because no religion is legitimate) nor a legitimate culture (because Jews) nor any claim to self-determination.

Indeed, this is sometimes explained in a way that makes anti-Semitism understandable as a reaction to the fact that Gentile rulers use Jews to exploit their subjects. Consider the following recent open letter from a group of leftist Jewish Oberlin students:

We agree with the definition of anti-Semitism laid out by Aurora Levins Morales, a Jewish pro-Palestinian activist; she writes that anti-Semitism, writing about European Jewry under Christianity, functions by creating a vulnerable buffer group that can be bribed with some privileges into managing the exploitation of others, and then, when social pressure builds, be blamed and scapegoated, distracting those at the bottom from the crimes of those at the top.

Because Jews have no corporate legitimacy unless they are gathering to demand rights for others, it is deemed reactionary to suggest that Jews should have intragroup solidarity. Indeed it has long been a defining attribute of many Jews on the far left to go out of their way to express their disinterest in Jewish causes. Consider Rosa Luxemburgs classic statement: What do you want with these special Jewish pains? I feel as close to the wretched victims of the rubber plantations in Putamayo and the blacks of Africa with whose bodies the Europeans play ball I have no special corner in my heart for the [Jewish] ghetto: I am at home in the entire world, where there are clouds and birds and human tears.

Moreover, it would be reactionary to recognize disproportionate Jews contributions to various fields of endeavor. Good left-wingers, after all, believe that all groups would be exactly equal in every way but for societal oppression Indeed, given that relevant ethos, Jewish success suggests that Jews have somehow gamed the system at the expense of disadvantaged minorities, something that is rather overtly suggested every time a self-proclaimed spokesperson for a minority group suggests that his group must exhibit more solidarity like the Jews so they can be successful like the Jews. (Anyone who thinks that intragroup solidarity is a defining aspect of American Jewish culture doesnt know much about American Jewish culture).

So for some fraction of the far left, the Jewish contribution to various liberation movements is not simply the Jews most important contribution to the world, and is not simply the only one worth mentioning if you have limited space, as with President Obamas proclamation. It is, rather, the only legitimate praise one can give to the Jews.

Meanwhile, Jewish support for Israel, or sometimes even for fellow Jews suffering elsewhere, is nothing but reactionary nationalism based on at best foolish sentimentality and at worst racist notions of Jewish superiority. Exactly why Jewish solidarity is racist, but not solidarity among other groups, is never clearly explained, but it seems to have something to do with the fact that Jews arent a legitimate ethnic group to begin with.

Once we understand that there are those who believe that the existence of Jews as a recognizable entity, is only justified (and only temporarily) to the extent Jews rely on their residual memories of collective oppression to aid left-wing liberation movements, one can begin to understand the far lefts problem with the Jews. Their ideology leaves no room for anything but revulsion with Zionism, dismissal of claims of anti-Semitism (in ways they would never dismiss accusations of other forms of racism), nor for considering the Holocaust to have any more significance than as an unfortunate example of white on white crime.

In short, to many on the far left, the only good Jew is a secular left-wing internationalist political activist with no particular interest in the
well-being of his fellow Jews. (Consider again the Oberlin students: We urge all Jewish students concerned about anti-Semitism to fight with equal passion for Palestinian liberation, Black liberation, and an end to all forms of oppression, on and off campus. Others, but not Jews, are permitted to be especially concerned with the fate of their own group.) Given that only a small fraction of Jews fit that model, anti-Semitism is therefore a natural consequence.

Jews have a specific heritage worth celebrating. It would have been proper if the White House had recognized it, no matter what the far Left thinks.

Everyone worth reading avidly reads COMMENTARY. Can you afford not to?

Never again miss another issue or article. Not a subscriber yet? Join the intellectual club, today.

Subscribe Now

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Posted By simmons on May 31, 2016

The Southwest Regional office of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Houston extends from El Paso on the west end of Texas to Beaumont on the east end, and all points south. Major cities in the region include Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, El Paso, and Beaumont.

ADLs Southwest Regions banner programs include No Place for Hate, fighting hatred and encouraging diversity in schools K-12, and our Community of Respect encouraging respect and inclusion in all other areas of the community, such as businesses and community organizations.

We handle complaints of discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism, monitor extremists and domestic terrorists, and work with many in the community, including law enforcement, to fight hatred in all its forms. Our well-established Coalition for Mutual Respect program has led the community in creating avenues of interfaith understanding and dialogue for nearly 15 years.

ADLs Southwest Region sponsors several major fundraising events annually including its Torch of Liberty Award Dinner, Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award Luncheon, and Walter Kase Teacher Excellence Award Luncheon. In 2013, ADLs Southwest Region will sponsor its Houston In Concert Against Hate in lieu of its annual Torch of Liberty Award Dinner.

Contact Us Phone:(713) 627-3490 Fax:(713) 627-2011

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Posted By simmons on May 28, 2016

From Metapedia

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is a powerful Jewish lobby organization primarily based in the United States but with offices in some other countries. It was founded in 1913 as a branch of B'nai B'rith. In 1930 they had only three fulltime employees. By 1938 the organization expanded to two-hundred and fifty workers.[1]

The organization describes itself as a civil rights organization that fights antisemitism and bigotry more generally.

Critics of Jewish influence and how it is used have often been highly critical of the ADL.

The ADL states that it was founded in 1913 in response to the perceived antisemitism against the Jew Leo Frank who was convicted of the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan that year. Controversy has continued regarding the case with continued attempts to turn Leo Frank into an innocent martyr.

In the 1950s the ADL campaigned to free the Jew Morton Sobell from charges of espionage. In 2008 Sobell admitted to spying for the Soviet Union.[2]

The ADL claims to be an international civil rights organization working for equal civil rights for all but the organization supports Israel and its often Jewish supremacist policies.

ADL undercover agents such as Abraham Feinberg have been stated to have been investigated by the FBI as agents of a foreign government and for stopping investigations regarding illegal arms-smuggling from the US to Israel. Feinberg became well known as financing Harry Truman and helping him to victory in the 1948 presidential elections. Truman recognized Israel minutes after the declaration of independence. Feinberg was also one of the financiers of the Israeli nuclear weapons program.[3][4]

One of the earliest activities was the establishment of what has been described as a private intelligence agency, and sending spies, infiltrators, disruptors, and agents provocateurs against perceived opponents (including other Jews). In the early 1940s they had over 50,000 files on American citizens and their political associations. Declassified FBI files state that in 1940, the ADL supplied contact information of nearly 1,600 ADL members to the FBI to serve as informants and undercover sources. A FBI letter advised that "the Anti-Defamation League does not wish it to become generally known that they do employ private investigators". A 1947 Congressional hearing revealed that the ADL had begun providing information to the original House Committee on Un-American Activities.[2][3][5][6]

See also the article on the Great Sedition Trial of 1944.

"An ADL operative using illicit press credentials was arrested at a Madison Square Garden disrupting an anti-war rally in 1941. "The ADL had then brought 'tremendous pressure to bear on Commissioner Seery and the Mayor's Committee on Press Cards to drop the Forster incident the preceding night." The effort to quash prosecution included offering payoffs and planting hostile news reports, according to the FBI report."[2]

"In 1993, Roy Bullock, was exposed as an ADL agent. He was San Francisco art dealer who was fairly well-known in the homosexual community and whose specialty was the infiltration of patriotic, Arab-American, and other organizations on behalf of the League. Bullock was found to have in his possession illegally obtained and highly private and personal data on his targets data which could only have been obtained from police and other confidential government files. These data were also discovered in the files of the ADL itself when police raided ADL headquarters in San Francisco and Los Angeles as result of Bullocks exposure...seizing evidence of a nationwide intelligence network accused of keeping files on more than 950 political groups, newspapers, and labor unions and as many as 12,000 people...operatives of the Anti-Defamation League searched through trash and infiltrated organizations to gather intelligence an Arab-American, right-wing, and what they called pinko organizations...the organization maintains undercover operatives to gather political intelligence in at least seven cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco". Jewish organizations that had taken positions critical of Israeli policies were included in the Pinko section. There were also files on members of Congress. The ADL or persons working for the ADL also tapped into phone systems, worked closely and likely often illegally with several police officers, and from police sources obtained privileged and personal information on thousands of people. 75% of the information was estimated to had been obtained illegally. It has been alleged that the DA in charge dropped the charges due to needing Jewish support in coming elections. Sensitive information is stated to have been shared with Israel.[3][6][7]

Organizations that the ADL kept files on in 1993 span the political spectrum and included Ku Klux Klan,the White Aryan Resistance, Greenpeace, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the United Farm Workers, the Jewish Defense League, the American Civil Liberties Union, Earth Island Institute, the United Auto Workers, Jews for Jesus, Mother Jones magazine, the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Bo Gritz for President Committee, the Asian Law Caucus, the AIDS activist group ACT UP, Centro Legal de la Raza, Irish Northern Aid, National Indian Treaty Council, and Japanese-and American Citizens League.[3][6][7]

While the ADL has publicly focused on US "neo-Nazi" groups without any power, it has been argued that this has been mainly in order to scare rich Jewish fund-raisers, while many of the ADL's more clandestine activities has also targeted perceived enemies of Israel such as Palestinians, their solidarity groups, Arab-Americans, Arab students, and Arab delegations to the United Nations.[3]

In 1951 the FBI judged material regarding the Arab League and activities of Egypt and Saudi Arabia that the ADL brought to the FBI "to be absolutely unreliable".[2]

The National Director of the ADL in 1961 stated that "[T]he Anti-Defamation League for many years has maintained a very important, confidential investigative coverage of Arab activities and propaganda.Our information, in addition to being essential for our own operations, has been of great value and service to both the United States State Department and the Israeli government. All data have been made available to both countries with full knowledge to each that we were the source" and "we have maintained an information-gathering operation since 1948 relating to activities emanating from the Arab Consular Offices, Arab United Nations Delegations, Arab Information Center, Arab Refugee Office and the Organization of Arab Students".[3]

In 1969 the FBI proposed investigating the ADL as an Israeli foreign agent after three ADL undercover operatives infiltrated and strategized the takeover of the Organization of Arab Students.[2]

In 1983 the ADL published a 49 page "confidential" booklet for use by Jewish students listing the names of individuals such as Arab-American professors and organizations classified as pro-Arab propagandists. After it became public the ADL stated that the booklet was an unfortunate incident.[3]

Jeffrey Blankfort has argued that the above mentioned Bullock "succeeded in not only becoming a member of the local chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee but, because of his size and weight, he would be in charge of security at all its events" and that "One of the targets Bullock befriended was Palestinian-American Alex Odeh, the head of the Orange County chapter of the ADC who would be killed by a terrorist bomb when he opened the door to his Santa Ana office on October 11, 1985. In Bullocks files, police found a key to Odehs office as well as the floor plan." Bullock has not officially been linked with the unresolved murder.[3]

The ADL kept files on 48 anti-apartheid organizations, possibly due to fear that they would make comparisons between apartheid and Israeli policies. ADL agents were also paid by South Africa to supply information regarding anti-apartheid organizations in the USA.[3]

"One individual the South African agents were particularly interested in was Chris Hani, the man who was expected to succeed Nelson Mandela as the countrys president. Hani was assassinated in South Africa shortly after a speaking tour in California during which he was trailed by Bullock who prepared a lengthy report on it for the South African government, a copy of which was found in his files."[3]

The NAACP was one of the organizations that the ADL kept files on 1993.[3]

Jews have been stated to be a major source of funding also in the post civil rights era which prevented the NAACP from taking political positions that would offend the Jewish establishment, such as expressing sympathy with the Palestinian cause or criticizing Israels arms sales to South Africa. "This was typified by the attitude of long-time NAACP Director Roy Wilkins, widely characterized as an Uncle Tom by black activists, who withdrew the NAACP from the National Black Political Convention in 1972, taking exception to a resolution that condemned Israel for "expansionist policies and forceful occupation of the sovereign territories of another state.""[3]

In 1992 ADL issued a 50-page ADL Research Report" entitled The Anti-Semitism of Black Demagogues and Extremists. Heading the list were Min. Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, Illinois Congressman Gus Savage, Rev. Al Sharpton, Kwame Ture (the former Stokely Carmichael), poet Amiri Baraka, and rappers Ice Cube and Professor Griff and Public Enemy. Certain black newspapers and radio stations were also criticized.[3]

When the NAACP installed Benjamin Chavis as new director and he reached out to Farrakhan, the ADL responded by causing the NAACPs major Jewish funders cut of funding until Chavis resigned.[3]

One debated passage in the Talmud states "A heathen who studies the Torah deserves death". The Anti-Defamation League has criticized David Duke for allegedly using this quote out of context by omitting important surrounding parts. However, this has in turn been criticized with the full surrounding context stated to be supporting David Duke. The Anti-Defamation League has been criticized for using very selective citations and selectively omitting important parts in order to create a misleading impression.[8]

The ADL has attacked the Christian New Testament as responsible for persecutions of Jews and being historically false. The ADL were at the forefront of attacking the Mel Gibson film the Passion of the Christ.[9][10][11][12]

One example is in the small town of Oberammergau, Germany. Every ten years since 1635, the locals come together to put on a six-hour Passion Play about the final hours of Jesus Christ. They carry out the vow of their ancestors to produce the play, believing that he delivered them from the bubonic plague. The ADL have through a campaign of intimidated the locals into rewriting the play and have argued for more changes.[9]

The ADL also lobbies against Christianity being favored in public schools in the United States and against other forms of favoritism for Christianity by the state (but does not lobby against Judaism in Israel).

The ADL played an ongoing role in censoring books they disagreed with including the Shakespearian play the "Merchant of Venice".[13]

The ADL for a long time opposed recognition of the Armenian Genocide that took place 1915-1917 since this could negatively affect the situation for Jews in Turkey and Israeli-Turkish relations. Turkey was one of Israel's few regional allies. The ADL reversed their official position in 2007 after a public outcry but still refused to support a resolution in Congress formally acknowledging the Armenian genocide.[14]

Even some Jews have criticized the ADL for hypocrisy, for false charges of antisemitism for political purposes, and for attacking some Jews with not politically correct opinions. Even Jewish community leaders with dissenting views have been stated to fear speaking out lest the ADL accuse them of some crime against the Jewish people. The ADL has also been accused of trying to scare rich Jews with false threats (such as from American Christians) in order to receive large donations. The criticisms against Christians have been seen as instead being harmful to Jewish interests since Christian Zionists often support neoconservatism.[15][16]

In 2013, the ADL told YouTube (colloquially known as JewTube) to disable PressTV's YouTube account which also occurred.[17]

In 2014, the ADL has been accused of contributing to false leaflets stating that Jews in the Ukraine must register with a non-existent government agency.[18][19]

In addition to earlier mentioned information sharing the ADL has ties with police across the country through its LEARN program (Law Enforcement Agency Resource Network) in which it trains police in dealing with extremist groups and hate crimes.[3]

Douglas Reed, The Controversy of Zion, 1956.

Jack Tenney, U.S. Senator for California.

John Rarick , U.S. Congressman for Louisiana.

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Anti-Defamation League - Metapedia

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Posted By richards on May 28, 2016

Toddler Playground Dedication

Join us Sunday, May 29, at 11 a.m. for the dedication of our new Toddler Playground., which was built with support from the Ilan Rasooly, z"l, Playground Fund.

Sunday, June 5, is the 49th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem during the Six Day War. Celebrate this milestone at KMS. The program begins at with an Israeli breakfast (Shakshuka, Fatoush, Burekas, and more). Led by Rena and Chaim Fruchter, we will rejoice with songs and stories about Jerusalem. This program is recommended for ages 8 through adult. More details about the program can be found here. Reservations are required for breakfast and must be made by May 27. Space is limited so make your plans now.

The Cheryl Stern Community Kelim Mikvah is now officially open. There are still plenty of bricks on the path that may be dedicated. Please see the attached form or go to http://www.yise.org/brick to dedicate a brick.Single bricks cost $180. Double bricks cost $500. Payment may be made by check or credit card (see form for details) or online using PayPal.

Please click here for a copy of the 2016 KMS Gala Journal.

View the current issue of Kol Mevaser.

Click here to donate to the Keren Hasefer Fund to repair and upkeep KMS' Sifrei Torah.

Many interesting new events are coming in the spring, along with our continuing menu of great weekly classes. Please click here for a complete schedule.

Kemp Mill Sababa

Sababa is the Hebrew slang word for cool and wonderful! We want everyone who visits Israel to be inspired, amazed, and to have FUN. Kemp Mill Sababa is a great way to refer your friends to your favorite unique and off the beaten path places in Israel. If you have visited Israel recently (in the past two years), we want you to list your favorite places and experiences that dont usually make it into the tour books. Click here to make a recommendation. (It will take you less than 5 minutes!)

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Kemp Mill Synagogue

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Posted By richards on May 28, 2016

Mikv Israel-Emanuel Synagogueoften referred to as the Snoa, another term for synagogueis the oldest surviving synagogue and Jewish congregation in the Americas. This is more than enough to make it a place of historical significance but it has another element that makes it unusual. The floor is entirely covered in sand.

Founded in Curaao in 1651, the congregations original name translates to The Hope of Israel. The Mikv Israel-Emanuel Synagogue itself began construction in 1729, was completed in 1732, and has been in continuous use ever since.

The synagogue is tucked into a quiet street in the Punda neighborhoodof Willemstad, the historic capital city of Curaao. Though it has an inconspicuous exterior, once you step inside, youll find rows of pews, towering chandeliers, and a shining mahogany bemah. As you walk around, your feet sink softly into the floor of sand.

Spanish and Portuguese Jewsfrom the Netherlands and Brazil were early settlers in the Caribbean islands, taking on influential roles in the local communities, and the Jewish community in Curaao was notable among those in the New World. (Nearby the Hendrickplein Jewish Temple built in 1865 is also well worth a visit.)

The reasons for the Jewish migration to the islands and the reason for the sand floor may beconnectedan attempt to avoid persecution. As Jews made their new home in the Caribbean, fears of persecution lingered. The sand floor is said to have been there tomuffle the sound of steps as a reminder of the secret Jewish servicesperformed in the recent past. While that is one interpretation,the true origin of the sand-floored synagogue is largely mysterious. Nonetheless, the tradition has carried on in other far flung Jewish communities. Sand floor synagoguescan be found in four other locations, in Jamaica, in Surinam, in Saint Thomas,and in thePortuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam.

The building is in very good condition, and guests can attend the regular services. You can also check out their Jewish Cultural Historical Museum, which contains information on the islands Jewish community and history as well as artifacts such as old scrolls and spice boxes.

The city of Willemstad, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, looks at first glance like an Amsterdam lookalike, though it has a population of only around 150,000. Curaao, an island in the Caribbean just off the coast of South America, only gained autonomy from the Netherlands on October 10, 2010,which was the first time since the arrival of the Spanish in 1499 that the islanders regained political control.

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Curaao's Sand-Floored Synagogue | Atlas Obscura

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Posted By richards on May 27, 2016

In an effort to discover the origin of the Yiddish language, researchers say that they have found evidence that proves that Ashkenazi Jews are descended predominately from four villages in northeastern Turkey.

The study, titled Localizing Ashkenazic Jews to primeval villages in the ancient Iranian lands of Ashkenaz was conducted by researchers from three universities in the U.K., U.S., and Israel. It was published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.

Using a Geographic Population Structure device, Dr Eran Elhaik, a geneticist from the University of Sheffield who led the study, was able to convert the DNA of Ashkenazi Jews into geographic coordinates.

The data showed that 90 percent of Ashkenazi Jews have links to the ancient villages of Iskenaz, Eskenaz, Ashanaz, and Ashkuz that sit near ancient Silk Road trade routes.

We traced nearly all AJs to major primeval trade routes in northeastern Turkey adjacent to primeval villages, whose names may be derived from Ashkenaz. We conclude that AJs probably originated during the first millennium when Iranian Jews Judaized Greco-Roman, Turk, Iranian, southern Caucasus, and Slavic populations inhabiting the lands of Ashkenaz in Turkey, the researchers wrote.

They say this is evidence that Yiddish is a Slavic language that was created by Irano-Turko-Slavic Jewish merchants, and is not of German origin as is commonly thought.

They suggest that it was devised as a cryptic trade language, and was used to gain its creators an advantage in trades along the Silk Roads.

Language, geography and genetics are all connected, Dr Eran Elhaik told phys.org.

Today, half the worlds 10 million 11.2 million Ashkenazi Jews live in the United States, with another 2.8 million residing in Israel. They make up approximately 75 per cent of Jews, while Sephardi Jews comprising the remaining 25 per cent.

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Ashkenazi Jews, as well as the Yiddish language, came from ...

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