Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 13, 2022

What can we do to prepare our children to defend themselves and stand proud in the face of the vicious Jew-hatred and anti-Zionism that is infiltrating every aspect of Jewish life? We need to create a network of educated, confident teens who embrace their Jewish identity and are willing to advocate for themselves, Israel and the Jewish people. We need to create the New American Jew.

For the past 20 years, Jewish education was hyper-focused on teaching tzedakah and tikkun olam. The rare attempts to educate and prepare students for campus were made through a one-time workshop or speaker. Why then, are we surprised when Jewish kids start or join anti-Israel groups?

Would you allow your child to sit for an AP calculus exam without taking the course? Would you allow them to perform in a school play without attending any rehearsals? Of course not. We want our kids to succeed, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they are set up to do just that.

If that is the case, why are Jewish parents sending their children off to hostile environments U.S. colleges and universities without any preparation? Without giving them the knowledge and confidence to withstand the onslaught of antisemitism they will encounter?

I founded Club Z more than 10 years ago because I believe Jewish teens in America deserve to be prepared for and acknowledge the challenges that they will ultimately face. When I first started, I thought that if we just educate our kids and give them the facts, knowledge and understanding of the conflict, theyll see the light, and they will choose the side of actual, fact-based truth.

Ten years later, I can tell you unequivocally that knowledge is not enough. The Jewish people can no longer afford knowledge for knowledges sake. The doing part is the missing part for many teens. We need advocates. Actually, we need an entire generation of Jewish advocates.

But advocacy is not merely standing on a corner waving an Israeli flag. Thats wonderful, and I applaud every time I see Jews do that. However, for teens to effectively attend a rally, speak out in class, or write an op-ed advocating for Israel and Zionism, they need to be able to first advocate for themselves.

In order to instill in teens a strong Jewish identity, it is critical that they receive an in-depth education on Jewish and Israel history and peoplehood. This education must begin in high school before teens get to college when identity development takes place. Teens must know where they come from and embrace the pride and beauty of thousands of years of Jewish history. They need to understand that their heritage is inexorably tied to Israel and Zionism. When an attack in Israel takes place, American Jews shouldnt think of it as happening to other people in a faraway land; rather, it is happening to their people, their homeland, their family.

This mindset will bring about the New American Jew young Jews with strong identities who are not afraid to get their hands dirty in the work of advocacy. In the early 20th century, Jews who left the intellectual elite to work the land literally get their hands dirty were regarded as inferior. But look at the profound impact the New Jews had! They transformed the land of Israel into a thriving economic powerhouse.

We are seeing a similar trend today. In established Jewish organizations, advocacy is often eschewed, perhaps because it is viewed as too politically charged. More than that, advocacy is being looked down upon. At a recent meeting with a Jewish community organization, I was told, We believe in Israel and Zionist education, but we draw the line at advocacy.

That must change. For the sake of our Jewish future.

Young Jews today must be unafraid to get their hands dirty in the hard work of Jewish advocacy and be strong and proactive about their support for Israel and the Jewish people. Because at the end of the day, the people they are defending are themselves. Its no longer a controversial idea that anti-Zionism is antisemitism. The struggle that our children are facing has very little to do with Israel and everything to do with the fact that they are openly Jewish. Ive seen the transformation that results in this kind of teen empowerment.

How do we empower teens to become effective advocates? To become New American Jews? There are three essential components that give teens the strength to confront the anti-Israel sentiments they will undoubtedly face on college campuses and beyond: knowledge, confidence and community.

The knowledge must consist of an intensive program built on three pillars, Zionism, peoplehood and advocacy, and include multiple in-depth sessions on Jewish and Israel history, the Arab-Israeli conflict, understanding narrative, identifying bias, case studies, maps and language. This education is complex, nuanced and needs to adjust to the pressing issues of the time. We need to give teens comprehensive knowledge, rather than talking points, and teach them how to think critically and analytically, so they reach their own conclusions about the issues discussed.

The teens confidence comes from linking that content to experiential identity development and advocacy training. Once teens have the knowledge and are secure in their Jewish identity, all they need is practice, which fosters confidence. Teens should receive debate and public speaking training and real-life opportunities to put them into practice. They need guidance on how to defend their positions under pressure with calm, thoughtful responses grounded in facts.

Finally, but perhaps most importantly, is community. Teens can have a firm grasp on the facts and history and be confident in their identity and ability to defend their position, but if they dont have a community of like-minded peers who support them, it is all for naught. Social events, retreats, Shabbatot, go-karting, laser tag I could go on and on are critical to building deep friendships with teens from different backgrounds and creating a powerful community dedicated to common goals.

Club Z teens are educated, confident, unapologetic Zionists. And here is what Ive learned after 11 years of working with them: Once you learn the history of the Jews and Israel and understand who you are and your place in the Jewish story, you wake up and are excited to share these ideas with those around you. Whats more, you will put every fiber of your being into defending your identity and your homeland.

Our teen advocates are the Jewish leaders of today and tomorrow. They are the New American Jews.

Masha Merkulova is the founder of Club Z.

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Jewish teen advocacy: What is it and how does it lead to the new American Jew? - eJewish Philanthropy

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Posted By admin on September 13, 2022

NOURISHMENT FOR THE SOULYearly yearning: Another look at hunger in Jewish life

To live as a Jew means that we do not just eat to live. And at the same time, we do not simply live to eat With the advent of the month ofElulwe start our preparations for the High Holidays. Part of our preparation is, not surprisingly, around food, write retired psychologist Betsy Stone and Rabbi Avi Katz Orlow, vice president of innovation and education at the Foundation for Jewish Camp, inan opinion piece foreJewishPhilanthropy.

Thinking about menus:While we might spend some time thinking about the symbolic foods we will have at our Rosh Hashanah table, or the best brisket recipe to use, fasting on Yom Kippur takes center stage. Are we going to decaffeinate to avoid the headache? How hungry will we be? What is the best thing to eat to prepare for the fast? As much as we say, Next Year in Jerusalem, we are already thinking, What will I break the fast with this year?

Needing nourishment:While global poverty, food insecurity and urban deserts are problems that need to be addressed, each of our personal hungers are never fully resolved. The nature of our being means that we are only sated for a limited time. We will always need more Similar to fear and pain, hunger is an essential warning sign. The sensation of wanting nourishment reminds us of the fragility of our bodies, and our ongoing need for physical sustenance. This feeling helps us live. What about the other things that make us hungry? We crave things beyond just food be it love, connection, sleep, wisdom or meaning. What are the other yearnings that inspire us and plague us?

Yearnings:The two of us, a rabbi and a psychologist, started to wonder about this broader issue of what are we yearning for. The research has pointed out that many of us identify as spiritual but not religious. Many are disappointed in the offerings of traditional religious practice. Many of us are seekers who do not yet know what we are seeking. What do we yearn for? How might Jewish professionals and innovators respond to the needs and hungers of those who are dissatisfied with our traditional offerings?

Read the full piece here.

What can we do to prepare our children to defend themselves and stand proud in the face of the vicious Jew-hatred and anti-Zionism that is infiltrating every aspect of Jewish life? asks Masha Merkulova, founder of Club Z,inan opinion piece foreJewishPhilanthropy.

What weve been doing:For the past 20 years, Jewish education was hyper-focused on teachingtzedakahandtikkun olam. The rare attempts to educate and prepare students for campus were made through a one-time workshop or speaker. Why then, are we surprised when Jewish kids start or join anti-Israel groups?

Our responsibility:Would you allow your child to sit for an AP calculus exam without taking the course? Would you allow them to perform in a school play without attending any rehearsals? Of course not. We want our kids to succeed, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they are set up to do just that.

Lack of preparation:If that is the case, why are Jewish parents sending their children off to hostile environments U.S. colleges and universities without any preparation? Without giving them the knowledge and confidence to withstand the onslaught of antisemitism they will encounter?

Read the full piece here.

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Your Daily Phil: GatherDC expands to West Coast + Nourishment for the Jewish soul - eJewish Philanthropy

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Posted By admin on September 13, 2022

(September 13, 2022 / JNS) Nearly a century ago, The New York Times hired Joseph W. Levy, who had spent his boyhood in Jerusalem, as its foreign correspondent in Palestine. Fascinated with archeological discoveries that affirmed the truth of the biblical narrative, Levy admired Zionist land development and the newly founded Hebrew University. He enthusiastically embraced the Zionist narrative of a previously barren land suddenly flowing with milk and honey. He admired the new type of Jew who was a member of the chosen people, once again a free citizen in his ancestral homeland.

The eruption of murderous Arab violence in 1929when Jews were slaughtered in their ancient capital cities of Hebron and Jerusalemshocked Levy. Nevertheless, he blamed Zionists for their failure to establish friendly relationships and cooperation with local Arabs. His evident anti-Zionist bias would remain the hallmark of Times coverage of Palestine, and eventually, Israel.

Jewish statehood was staunchly opposed by the Times, lest it compromise the loyalty of American Jews to their home country. Publisher Adolph Ochs, a committed Reform Jew, insisted that Judaism was a religion only, not a national identity. His Sulzberger family successors embraced his discomfort with Zionism and the idea, no less reality, of Jewish statehood.

The birth of the modern-day State of Israel has remained problematic for the Times ever since. It became evident once Thomas L. Friedman was appointed Jerusalem bureau chief in 1984. He was an unrelenting critic of Israel for its occupation of Jordans West Bankbiblical Judea and Samaria. Jewish settlers were repeatedly blamed for obstructing peace with Palestinians, who showed no sign of wanting it.

Returning to Washington in 1988, Friedmans newly published From Beirut to Jerusalem emphasized Israels occupation of Palestinian land, leading to its moral decline. He celebrated the emergence of Palestinians as a people, absurdly identifying their violent intifada with the American struggle for civil rights and equating Jewish settlers with Palestinian suicide bombers.

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Several Jewish Jerusalem bureau chiefs followed in Friedmans footsteps. Serge Schmemann blamed the bellicose settlers of Hebron for the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a resident of a Tel Aviv suburb. After a Likud election victory, Joel Brinkley warned of a right-wing theocracy. Steven Erlanger blamed Israeli governments for failing to confront extreme and ideological settlers, who he equated with Hamas.

Jodi Rudoren, who grew up in an Orthodox family, focused on Israeli responsibility for Palestinian suffering. Following the murder of three rabbis in a Jerusalem synagogue, she blamed extremists on both sides. A Times editorial described it as a tragedy for all Israelis and Palestinians.

Times Jewish columnists have been incessantly critical of Israel. Roger Cohen warned that it cannot remain a Jewish and democratic state with its undemocratic system of oppression in territory under its control, inflicting on disenchanted Palestinians the very exclusion Jews lived for centuries. Its corrosive business of occupation and messianic religious Greater Israel nationalism threatened democracy.

No columnist lacerated Israeli settlements more persistently than Anthony Lewis. Identifying himself as a friend of Israel, he equated Israeli occupation (of its biblical homeland) by Jewish zealots with South African apartheid. Settlement, he asserted, mocks the tradition of Jews as a people of law.

Echoing Lewiss absurd analogy Friedman feared that scary religious nationalist zealots might lead Israel into the dark corner of a South African future.

Friedman has remained an unrelenting critic of Israel. He yearns for a two-state solution with Palestine occupying biblical Judea and Samaria. Otherwise, Israel will be stuck with an apartheid-like, democracy-sapping occupation. He believes that his repetitive castigation of Israel helps it to preserve its moral integrity. In fact, it reinforces his stature as the most unrelenting Times critic since Joseph Levy paved the way nearly a century ago.

How ironic that a newspaper with Jewish publishers for nearly a century that has employed a stream of Jewish reporters, Jerusalem bureau chiefs and columnists should engage in unrelenting criticism of the worlds only Jewish state.

Jerold S. Auerbach is the author of 12 books, including Print to Fit: The New York Times, Zionism and Israel (1896-2016).

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'The New York Times,' Zionism and Israel - JNS.org

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Posted By admin on September 13, 2022

The U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into a complaint alleging that Jewish students at the University of Vermont faced numerous instances of discrimination and harassment, which have altogether created a hostile environment on campus.

The complaint, jointly filed in October 2021 by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish on Campus, named four incidents that occurred that year and included testimonials by students who admitted that they feared openly expressing their Jewish identity on campus.

The first two incidents mentioned in the complaint involved student groups that were alleged to have discriminated againstpro-Israel students. UVM Empowering Survivors, a support group, was created in May of 2021 as a hub for those who have experienced sexual assault. Along with it came the Instagram page ShareYourStoryUVM, an anonymous social media account where survivors could share their experiences.

According to the complaint, on May 12, 2021, in response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza, UVM Empowering Survivors posted on Instagram that it would follow the same policy with zionists that we follow with those trolling or harassing others: blocked, going on to say that we will not be engaging in conversation about . . . Zionism.

They basically, in one fell swoop, excluded the Jewish Zionist students from this sexual assault survivor group, Brandeis Center President Alyza Lewin told Jewish Insider. That was extremely traumatic, particularly for Jewish survivors of sexual assault.

During the same month, a group of university students started the book club UVM Revolutionary

Socialist Union. According to the complaint, the clubs first Instagram post on May 1, 2021, expressed that No racism, racial chauvinism, predatory behavior, homophobia, transphobia, Zionism, or bigotry and hate speech of any kind will be tolerated. The complaint further stated that the clubs bylaws require every RSU member to pledge NO to Zionism.

Lewin, who helped author the complaint, said that the investigation into UVM would show other universities that they can no longer ignore antisemitism like anti-Zionist rhetoric, which she noted is its own form of antisemitism.

Universities have to understand that Judaism is more than a religion. That Jews also share this sense of peoplehood. Lewin said.

The Jewish history, culture, theology, heritage is inextricably intertwined with the land of Israel. And so when Jews express that pride or that support or that feeling of connection with the Jewish ancestral homeland, when they express the belief that Jews have a right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, in some borders, that for many Jews, is an expression of their Jewish identity, she added.

The third incident highlighted in the complaint occurred on Sept. 24, 2021, when a group of rowdy, intoxicated students reportedly vandalized the universitys Hillel building for close to 40 minutes by throwing rocks at the upper, dorm portion of the building, as well as hurling items with a sticky substance against the buildings back. The complaint notes that UVM administrators have yet to categorize the attack as a bias incident, despite it taking place where a large number of Jewish students were known to be.

Incidents like these, as well as other actions against members of UVMs Jewish community, have made many students feel unsafe on its campus. Avi Zatz, a former UVM student who transferred to the University of Florida after his second year, said that antisemitism on campus was a significant factor in his decision to leave.

It would be hard to find a Jewish person at UVM, who is identifiably Jewish, who hasnt experienced something [of antisemitic nature], Zatz said. Things like if you run into the wrong person, theyll call you a baby killer or something for being Jewish, if youre wearing a Jewish star or something. Its just like an everyday culture [where] you have to hide that youre Jewish or hide the extent to which youre Jewish in order to be a normal successful student.

The complaint also named a university teaching assistant who repeatedly made comments on social media targeted at student supporters of Israel. In a series of tweets on April 5, 2021, she wrote, is it unethical for me, a TA, to not give zionists credit for participation??? i feel its good and funny, -5 points for going on birthright in 2018, -10 points for posting a pic with a tank in the Golan heights, -2 points just cuz i hate ur vibe in general.

In a tweet the following month, the TA wrote that the next step is to make zionism and zionist rhetoric politically unthinkable, adding that it should be worthy of private and public condemnation, likened to historical and contemporary segregationist movements.

One student, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of being targeted, said that as an Israeli American, they didnt feel comfortable speaking up about their heritage in class.

My peers have posted about how Zionism is political and Zionists are evil, but they dont understand the ethnic and religious ties of Zionism to our culture, and so I just, I felt very scared to explain this in front of a group of UVM students, and it was the first time of my life I felt too intimidated to openly express my pride in my Jewish-ethnic and Israeli-national identities, they said.

Another student, who also wished to remain anonymous, described attempts to get help from university administrators as incredibly disheartening.

Ive had around half a dozen meetings with administrators over the years, including with the president, provost, vice provost for DEI [UVMs Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion], the director of interfaith education and engagement, and more to talk about antisemitism at UVM. And numerous other Jewish students also attended these meetings and told administrators about incidents of antisemitism at UVM, but every time we met with administrators, they dismissed or ignored our complaints and administration even mocked Jewish students, they said. At one meeting, a Jewish student was mocked by the DEI director after sharing their experience with antisemitism and expressing their frustration that the university wasnt listening to their concerns.

A key issue was that every time we met with administrators, they refused to recognize or understand Judaism as anything other than a religion, the student added. So the administration not only dismissed our complaints, but also belittled and demoted the issue of antisemitic discrimination by sending us to speak to the interfaith office, which is an office that has zero ability to address the discrimination we were experiencing on the basis of our shared ancestral and ethnic identity.

The University of Vermont is the latest school to face a federal investigation for allowing the discrimination and harassment of its Jewish students. In July, the University of Southern California became the subject of a similar investigation in response to a complaint filed two years prior claiming that then-student body vice president Rose Ritch resigned after being the target of a wave of online harassment.

Today in a society where we believe that each individual has the right to define their identity for themselves nobody else has a right to define your identity for you and that we must welcome to the table each individual with their full identity, it cant be that the only people who are not welcome to the table with their full identity are the Jews, Lewin stated.

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DOE opens investigation into antisemitic incidents at the University of Vermont - Jewish Insider

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Posted By admin on September 13, 2022

Lebanese international law expert Hassan Jouni said in a September 1, 2022 show on OTV (Lebanon) that the United States and the Zionist movement created Hitler and Nazism "in the same lab" that it would later use to create ISIS and terrorism. For more about Hassan Jouni, see MEMRI TV Clips Nos. 8961, 7138, and 3754.

Hassan Jouni: "The United States and the Zionist movement created Hitler. It seems strange but I can clarify.

"This is why I link the creation of Hitler and Nazism to the creation of ISIS and terrorism. They were created in the same lab.

"They created them, helped them, armed them, and allowed them to move in, following an agreement with the Turks. It was a big enterprise. How did they create Hitler? I need to explain this."

Interviewer: "Quickly please."

Jouni: "Yes, all you need to do is to look up the Haavara Agreement, from 1933, between the Zionist movement and Hitler. That's not all. The top eight American companies... Allow me..."

Interviewer: "There are no [similar] American-Iranian agreements in the region."

Jouni: "Absolutely not. They are sworn enemies. Yesterday, the Iranian President said: 'I will not meet with my American counterpart, because he is the enemy of my people.' But there is another thing that I would like to say. The top eight American companies Ford, GM, General Electric, IBM, all these companies helped Hitler to the very last moment of the war. Also in France Renault and other companies."

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Lebanese Expert: U.S. and Zionism Are Behind Hitler, ISIS - Middle East Media Research Institute

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Posted By admin on September 13, 2022

Most of Simi Hershkops family has no idea she is starring in a new Israeli TV series.

Neither her father nor her 11 siblings use social media or have access to the internet. And due to their strained relations, she did not tell them about the cameras that have been following her around for months as part of a new HOT docu-reality show about Haredi women.

They dont really have any internet access. Maybe some of them know, some of them dont, but we havent spoken about it, Hershkop, 27, told The Times of Israel. I think most of them probably dont know; theyre not part of that world. And were not so in touch They had a hard time with the path I chose and I fully respect that.

Her path keeps her firmly inside the Haredi world, wearing a wig and modest clothes, sending her son to an ultra-Orthodox school and of course observing Shabbat and keeping kosher.

But Hershkop one of the five women starring in Bnot Brak is not only the proud owner of a smartphone, but she also runs the popular DosCelebs Instagram account, which highlights the intersection of religion and pop culture to its more than 70,000 followers.

Hershkop who grew up in Bnei Brak and now lives just outside Jerusalem is joined on the show by Yael Silverman, a wigmaker; Esti Socolovski, a makeup artist; Ofra Shimoni, a businesswoman and media mogul; and Nana Halperin, a member of the wealthy and well-known Halperin family who used to run her own accessories line.

The five women who star in Bnot Brak a feminine play on the name of Bnei Brak, the largest Haredi city in Israel represent a new kind of ultra-Orthodox woman: one who doesnt hide owning a smartphone, has an active social media presence, dresses fashionably and isnt afraid to speak her mind.

Despite all they have in common, the five women are still remarkably different in their perspectives, backgrounds and points of view. Shimoni views her time on social media as a necessary evil to promote her business, Halperin believes it is a tool to showcase the beauty of religion and Socolovski uses it to spotlight both her career and her personal life while building her brand.

Were very, very different from each other, the cast is very diverse, nobody is like each other in any way, Silverman, 27, told The Times of Israel. Im happy because the general public doesnt really know these different sides of the Haredi community.

Silverman, one of the more outspoken members of the cast, grew up and still lives in Bnei Brak, where she makes and sells wigs, the traditional hair covering for married ultra-Orthodox women.

From the outside, the Haredi community looks very homogeneous that everyone is the same, dresses the same, thinks the same, she said. So Im very happy to have this series to show that its very much not the case.

While mainstream ultra-Orthodox Jews shun the use of smartphones in favour of the strictly limited kosher phones that can only be used for phone calls, a growing number are owning and using internet-connected devices, to the dismay of leading Haredi rabbis.

Hershkop said she had to wait until she left her parents home to acquire the forbidden object.

Until I got married I didnt have a smartphone, and by the sheva brachot [the week of celebrations following a Jewish wedding] I already had a smartphone, she recalled, noting that she also kept a kosher phone for public use and initially only used the smartphone in private.

While the women on Bnot Brak all define themselves as Haredi, the most common criticism they receive is that they should not be allowed to refer to themselves as part of the ultra-Orthodox world.

People have a very clear idea of what a Haredi person is, and then I speak in ways that dont fit that model, so they say no, youre not Haredi, said Silverman. I get that reaction all the time, but it doesnt bother me. Today what is important to me is what I think about myself.

Silverman admits that she is more modern than many ultra-Orthodox Jews, but Im part of the Haredi community. Im a bit more of an outsider, but there are others like me, and not just a few.

Hershkop said she receives similar criticism on a regular basis.

Nobody else can decide who I am; only I get to decide that, she said. I live in a Haredi home. Perhaps Im among the more modern ultra-Orthodox Jews, but I dont fit into any box. I think Im a good Jew and Im trying to show good things, and nobody else gets to define me.

Bringing the stories of women outside of mainstream Israeli culture to the general public is a welcome development. But Bnot Brak is still a very classic reality show, with obviously staged conversations and interactions and a heavy editing hand.

And while Halperin is an interesting character, her life might be more suited to a show on how Israels top 1% lives. With a home in Bnei Brak one of the poorest cities in Israel that contains both a private pool and her own in-house mikveh (as well as a luxury vacation home in Jerusalem), shes hardly representative of any average Haredi woman.

Among the five women, Halperin holds perhaps the strictest ultra-Orthodox views, despite her embrace of certain elements of the outside world.

My entire world view is very Haredi. Im internally very extreme, maybe externally less so, she said on the show.

In an interview with Channel 12 to promote the series, Halperin touched on one of the most culturally and politically divisive issues in the Haredi community the teaching of core subjects like math, English, science and literature in schools.

Im against [teaching] the core subjects, said Halperin, whose five sons attend or attended institutions where they study only Talmud and other holy subjects. While Haredi girls schools offer a somewhat more expansive education, the boys institutions generally teach no secular subjects.

Silverman, who sends her oldest daughter to a state-run Haredi school (a relatively new phenomenon), stands diametrically opposed to such a position.

It seems illogical to me. I think the boys deserve to get a full education, Silverman told The Times of Israel, noting that her husband grew up without studying any secular subjects, and once he entered the working world he had to start learning to use a computer and other things that other people learn in fourth grade.

Opposition to teaching such subjects, said Silverman, stems from those who want Haredi men to only study Torah full-time, even as adults. But you have to give a child the option to choose if he wants to learn Torah or to study academics.

Ultimately, the women involved say they want to show the world that not all Haredim are the same and that in many ways, they have plenty in common with secular Israelis.

The Haredi community and the secular public were not that different, said Hershkop. Maybe we look different on the outside, but on the inside were all still humans, and we should stop judging each other.

Hershkop said that though there are extremist Haredim, were not all extreme and setting fire to trashcans [in anti-government protests]. Theres also the side that people dont know. And its time to see the beautiful side of the religion, and were here to show that.

Silverman said she hopes Bnot Brak will disprove a lot of stigmas about Haredim, because there really hasnt been a TV series that showed off daily Haredi life, she said. Until now it has been items on the news or protests and people see only a certain limited view of Haredim.

With the new show, she said, Im very happy that we have an opportunity to show that were 1.5 million people, with plenty of diversity and differences.

Times of Israel

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Bnot Brak the ultra-Orthodox answer to Real Housewives - Australian Jewish News

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Posted By admin on September 11, 2022

A leading expert on anti-Semitism has said that university campus groups "have the right to exclude Zionists." Writing in the Times of Israel, Kenneth Stern argued that, although it may be "hurtful" and counterproductive, the right of progressive groups to exclude advocates of the occupation state must be respected. Stern is the US attorney who took the lead in drafting the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.

His intervention follows the growing debate around the exclusion of Zionist students from progressive spaces. Founded on the ethno-nationalist ideals of Zionism, Israel has long been viewed in progressive circles as a racist country that advocates settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing. This view has become more widespread in recent times after major human rights groups accused Israel of committing the crime of apartheid.

With Zionism increasingly being viewed as a racist, imperialist ideology, groups advocating for equality, human rights, the rights of minorities and progressive values, in general, are more frequently excluding supporters of Israel from their spaces. This has happened despite protests that Zionism and affinity with the apartheid state are intrinsic parts of Jewish identity. Critics, however, have long questioned this argument and rejected the claim that a political ideology should be treated as a "protective category" in the same way as gender, religion and race are.

The recent row over the IHRA definition is largely a demand by pro-Israel groups for wider society to support their claim that Zionism and support for the state of Israel be accepted as such a category. It is a form of exceptionalist pleading which is rejected wholesale when other groups in society make similar demands. For instance, the political ideology of "Islamism" or the desire to create an "Islamic State" are not only violently opposed and condemned, but any Muslim who insists that their political views and religion be granted special protection is also dismissed out of hand, and rightly so.

A similar example would be if India's far-right BJP government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and advocates of Hindutva, said that it is racist and anti-Hindu to question their demand to create an exclusively Hindu state. As is becoming increasingly clear, in their quest to refashion India as a Hindu state, Hindutva extremists have placed themselves on a collision course with the country's secular constitution. No amount of special pleading that India is the only Hindu state in the world should make any difference, but the goal is still no less than the reformation of India as an ethno-religious state affording special rights and privileges to Hindus within a multi-tier system of citizenship. The model state that such Hindus aspire to replicate is Israel. The parallel between the two ideologies is a powerful illustration of the special status granted to Zionism.

Israel and its supporters are granted a privilege that is not extended to any other political community. Public bodies and private institutions across the Western world have not only agreed to their demand, but have also adopted the supposedly "working definition" of anti-Semitism produced by the IHRA that conflates legitimate criticism of Israel and Zionism with anti-Jew racism.

Although Stern does not compare Zionism and its equivalent ideologies around the world, he insists on treating Israel and its founding ideology in the same way as any other political ideology and its followers. The right to criticise freely without being labelled a racist should be preserved, he maintains. He admits that Zionism itself is a contested term but, nevertheless, the feelings about what Zionism means personally for some Jews should not be an excuse to crack down on freedom of speech by labelling people "anti-Semites" for criticising Israel's founding ideology.

Commenting on the different perceptions of Zionism and the reasons why progressives exclude supporters of Israel, Stern said: "Some progressive students may understand Zionism as a term for Israel's treatment of Palestinians; others may understand Zionism as most Jewish students do the right of Jews to self-determination in their historic homeland."

He explained that a significant and growing number of Jews are "agnostic" about Zionism or are anti-Zionist, which appears to suggest that Zionism and affinity with Israel is not as important to Jewish identity as pro-Israel groups claim.

MEMO In Conversation: 'Whatever happened to anti-Semitism?': MEMO in conversation with Antony Lerman

"Anti-Zionist students may feel that letting a Zionist work among them is the equivalent of overlooking whether someone is a Nazi," said Stern, "just as some Jewish organisations might feel that letting Jews in who support the Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is overlooking anti-Semitism." He disagrees with both assertions, but people on campus must be allowed to define their politics.

Wrestling with the central question of the piece in the Times of Israel whether it is anti-Semitic to exclude Zionists from progressive spaces Stern defends the right of progressive groups to be selective. "If a group decides that in order to be a member, one has to have a particular view of Israel and Zionism, the right to make that decision must be respected. Those not invited in, even though exclusion hurts, can find other ways to express themselves, including by creating new groups and coalitions."

Stern has been critical of the way that the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism has been employed by pro-Israel groups against critics of the apartheid state. His latest intervention is another defence of freedom of association and speech against what many say is a crackdown on pro-Palestine voices and the dangers of conflating anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.

"Jewish groups have used the definition as a weapon to say anti-Zionist expressions are inherently anti-Semitic and must be suppressed," wrote Stern in the Times of Israel two years ago. Concerns raised by him then highlight the claim that the fight against anti-Semitism, as American Jewish commentator Peter Beinart believes, has "lost its way".

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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An anti-Semitism expert says that progressives 'have the right to exclude Zionists' - Middle East Monitor

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Posted By admin on September 11, 2022

(New York Jewish Week) A synagogue on the Upper West Side has announced that it will no longer serve lox otherwise known as cured salmon during its weekly kiddush lunches that follow Saturday morning Shabbat services.

Rabbi Shuli Passow, the director of community engagement at Bnai Jeshurun, wrote in an article posted on the synagogues website Thursday that the popular Ashkenazi delicacy will be eliminated from the menu so we can do our part to reduce the environmental impact of pollution and overfishing.

We know that for some this is a heretical move, Passow wrote. We are here to support you as you process this change.

The article, The Return of the Community Kiddush, highlighted the reemergence of kiddush, a beloved post-services tradition, which was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the piece, Passow explained that, following small group conversations with multiple sectors of the synagogue, many changes are being made to the meal, including smaller tables and chairs for young families and concluding the meal with a song of gratitude.

While not everyone agrees on what food should be served (no surprise there!), there was widespread consensus that what we eat and how we eat it should intentionally express our values, Passow wrote.

Passow acknowledged this might be in tension with others.

We hope to achieve an overall balance even if one value is sometimes favored over another, she wrote, adding that the congregation will solicit feedback and make further refinements as needed.

According to The World Counts, a data project that brings awareness to environmental damage and climate change, the worlds oceans could be virtually emptied of fish by 2048. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Fisheries division determined in August 2018 that five Pacific salmon stocks are now overfished and one stock is subject to overfishing.

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Lox block: UWS congregation takes beloved salmon off the menu, citing environmental concerns - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By admin on September 11, 2022

Why were European Jews who appeared in court subjugated to humiliating acts like standing bare-chested and bare-headed on a bloody pigskin?

In the year 532 CE, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian proclaimed that Jews could not provide testimony in a Christian court. The prevailing assumption was that the word of a Jew could not be trusted.

A 17th century depiction of a Jew taking the More Iudaico. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

This proved to be a fairly unworkable ban, so over the centuries a bizarre ritual developed, designed to intimidate Jews from their presumed predilection for untruthfulness. Known as the More Iudaico, Latin for Jewish custom, Jews who appeared in court were required to subjugate themselves to a broad array of humiliating circumstances, from calling down Biblical curses upon themselves if they were to lie in court, to standing bare-chested and bare-headed on a bloody pigskin, with one hand on an open Bible, to discourage any possible dissimulation.

Amazingly, some version of the More Iudaico persisted well into the 19th century, even in otherwise enlightened countries like England and France.

That is, until 1838, when young Lazare Isidor appeared on the scene. A graduate of the Yeshivah of Metz, a town in eastern France that was once the home of the great Rabeinu Gershom Meor ha-Golah (Light of the Exile) whose ban on polygamy shaped Ashkenazi for a millennium. In his very first posting in the town of Pfalzburg, barely 24 years of age, Rabbi Isidor came face to face with this medieval indignity when a congregant was ordered to take the More Iudaico as part of required court testimony. As per the local judicial procedure, the oath was to be administered in a synagogue.

Rabbi Lazare Isidor (1806-1888) in later middle age. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Rabbi Isidor refused to allow the sanctuary to be profaned by such an insult to the dignity of a fellow Jew (even if, as was the case under consideration, the Jew was willing to debase himself).

The demand was especially galling, given that the Jews of France had been formally emancipated in revolutionary France for almost half a century. Even though the long-standing and obvious discrimination against Jewish French citizens was such an egregious violation of the principles of Equality, Freedom and Fraternity, Rabbi Isidors opposition brought him a charge of contempt of court.

French Jewry galvanized themselves on his behalf and a young firebrand attorney named Adolphe Crmieux took up the case.

Adolphe Crmieux at the time of the Lazar trial. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Crmieux, who would soon go on to great fame as a fearless advocate of Jewish rights in infamous cases like the Damascus Blood Libel of 1840, mounted a brilliant defense that shamed the French Republic for maintaining this vestige of medieval antisemitism. With ferocious and soaring oratory, Crmieux berated the court:

Do you believe that French Jews are unworthy of equality with French Christians? You say the Jews cannot understand the importance of taking an oath with an upraised hand. How many Christians fail to understand that concept? How many raise their hands and say, I swear, without realizing the sanctity of that holy gesture, that sacred word?

By what right, you judges, do you proclaim yourselves theologians? By what right, as Catholics, do you seek to regulate the conscience of a Jew; as Magistrates, to regulate the conscience of a Rabbi?

Rabbi Isidor was duly acquitted, and within fairly short order, the infamous More Iudaico was abolished.

Rabbi Isidors bold condemnation of the More Iudaico signaled a new direction for French Jewry, asserting their rights as full citizens of the Republic, entitled to equal treatment under the law. As Rabbi Isidor put it, We have shown that we were worthy of liberty, worthy of the title of citizen, and that it was possible to be at once a Jew and a Frenchman.

Installation of the newly elected Chief Rabbi Lazar Isidor from Le Monde Illustre. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

A noted scholar and popularizer of Torah study, he was named Chief Rabbi of Paris at age 33, but this would not mark the pinnacle of his career. For his courageous and consistent efforts on behalf of French Jewry, he was ultimately recognized with the highest ecclesiastical title in the land, becoming Chief Rabbi of France in 1867, a position he held until his passing in 1888.

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Posted By admin on September 11, 2022

Yoni Battats new album his first solo one isnt called Fragments by accident.

In it, Mr. Battat, whose family combines disparate Jewish histories, whose lyrics are based on a range of texts in a number of languages, whose instincts are tempered by study and the application of intellectual knowledge, and whose music is informed by Jewish influences from all over, uses everything he knows (as he must, because its all inside him).

It could also have been called Bridges, or Connections, because he makes them, or Memories, because thats what its intended to evoke.

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Theres a lot there, and thats accurate. Mr. Battat is just 30, but hes done and learned and thought about and created a lot.

So lets dig in.

Yoni Battat was born in Woodbridge, a small Connecticut town near New Haven, to Eitan and Stacey Battat. His mothers background is standard Ashkenazi his grandparents lived in Brooklyn, and the family emigrated from eastern Europe a few generation back, no longer in living memory.

The name Battat means Duck, Yoni said; thats why theres a duck on the cover of Fragments.

His fathers parents, Violet and Abraham Battat, were born in Iraq; they went to Israel in 1951, and then in the 1970s, when Eitan, their oldest, was almost college age, Abraham Battat brought his four children to the United States. Violet and Abraham had not separated, except, for the most part, physically. Violet Battat stayed in Israel for years after her husband left, because she had a big career in Israels Arabic-language radio station as a radio personality, her grandson said. She was very good with language and dialect, so she was able to speak with anyone, regardless of their dialect. So she interview women from around the Middle East. Not just Jewish women my understanding is that she had non-Jewish listeners from around the Jewish world.

I grew up with a lot of Judaism in my house, Mr. Battat said. A lot of Shabbat. A lot of Jewish music. Theres a lot of Jewish community where I grew up. I went to the Solomon Schechter day school in Woodbridge its called the Ezra Academy now and I went to the JCC. We went to synagogue. The shul his family went to was Chabad. Its where my dad felt most comfortable, he said. It most resembled what he knew in Jerusalem.

He also grew up with music. My family is musical, although none of them really play anything, he said. But he started playing violin when he was 4; my parents heard that it was good for babies brain development, he said. And clearly it took.

(Photo by Leah Carnow)

And I grew up with a strong Iraqi identity at home, he added. My dads parents were both part of my life. I heard them speak Arabic. And my dad shared a lot of Iraqi music with me; a lot of Middle Eastern pop music too. And then, outside the house, it was all Ashkenazi.

A lot of fragments, all jostling up against each other.

I started playing Jewish music, and I was a good violinist, Mr. Battat said. My parents wanted that to be part of my identity too. I had the amazing option of joining the local pick-up intergenerational klezmer band called the New Haven Kapelye they still exist and I still play with them sometimes.

When I went to Hebrew high school, I had the chance to play klezmer even more, and I loved it. It became a big part of my musical voice. I even started my own klezmer band with my friends. The Klezmaniacs. We played at our siblings bar and bat mitzvahs; we probably played at about 10 of them.

When I was 16, I had my first engagement with Arabic classical music. Its like my DNA; its the sound of what my ancestors heard in Iraq. Hed been on a family trip to Israel, and my grandfather bought me an oud and took me to a music school where I was about to learn about the modal system. (An oud short-necked, pear-shaped instrument that looks a little like a lute.)

Its an amazing and intricate system, and from both an emotional and intellectual way I was hooked on it. It has much more melodic complexity, and it even has notes that dont exist in Western music. It adds rich opportunities for expression. Its beautiful, and it didnt sound familiar to me.

But other than having the oud and noodling around on it for a couple of years, I didnt have much formal education with it.

During the course of that one year, Mr. Battat got his first oud and started his first klezmer band. Fragments!

Mr. Battat went to college at Brandeis, where he majored in classical viola; he loved the school. (Brandeis isnt a conservatory, but it has a very beautiful, very strong musical program, he said. I was one of maybe five music majors. Its a gogetter, do-it-yourself kind of place, where you had the opportunity to start whatever you want. It was cool.)

I had a klezmer band that I ran there, and I also studied Yiddish, he said. I knew that if I wanted to be a klezmer musician, I had to know Yiddish.

Yoni Battats first instrument was a violin; he began playing when he was 4. (Richard Ijeh)

At the same time, there was a postdoctoral fellow who started an Arabic music ensemble, and I had the opportunity to play oud and violin. That was Dr. Ann Lucas, an ethnomusicologist who specializes in music traditions of the Persian and Arabic-speaking Near East, according to her biography on Boston Colleges website; she teaches there now. She plays the ney, a flute-like wind instrument thats used mainly in Arabic music; she brought in amazing musicians who are experts to play with us, and this was my first formal opportunity to learn and perform this music, Mr. Battat said.

After that experience, he began to study Arabic music in depth. He also continued to play klezmer; he started an ensemble with the marvelous name of Two Shekel Swing. Its a Yiddish swing group; we recorded a little and toured a little, he said. It was fun. And I still was tyring to figure out where there was room for Arabic music.

While he was at Brandeis, Mr. Battat met Leah Carnow and theyve been together ever since; they got married in 2019. They spent a year in Jerusalem; she went to study at a liberal yeshiva counterintuitively named the Conservative Yeshiva, its a Conservative movement outpost in Israel. She wanted to see if she was interested in learning Talmud. She was shes a rabbinical student now at Hebrew College in Boston. When they were there, I discovered an amazing Middle Eastern music school, and I studied there for a full year, Mr. Battat said. I met some amazing people, influential teachers, began performing, and by the end of that year I was gigging with an Arabic orchestra and playing piyyutim from various traditions Syrian, Iraqi, Moroccan. (A piyyut is a chanted or sung liturgical verse.)

I left that year with a much stronger grasp of the musical language. And I also am studying Arabic. Id taken a year of formal Arabic at college but when I lived in Jerusalem I studied colloquial Arabic. So Mr. Battat, the grandson of a woman who could speak many languages and dialects, and did so on the radio, now speaks both formal and colloquial Arabic, Yiddish, and Hebrew, at least well enough to get by.

Now Mr. Battat is back in Israel. Im part of the Dorot fellowship, which is offering me an amazing chance to develop myself, he said. Its an opportunity for a lot of learning and personal growth, and Im excited about immersing myself in Arabic.

It feels like its never enough.

For now, he said, Im intentionally putting Yiddish music and klezmer on the back burner. Not forever I like playing with Two Shekel Swing, and I have ideas for songs I want to write and albums I want to record. But for now, it feels like I need to make space in my life for this different style. It feels like Im making up for lost time.

It feels like I am coming into it as an outsider. It is part of my fragmentation.

The album Fragmentation came out just a little later than Mr. Battat had planned; hed wanted to have his first album released before he turned 30, but it didnt happen until after that birthday. (There was a pandemic on.) The impetus was a fellowship that gave me the kick in the pants I needed to put it together, he said.

That kick came from the Jewish Creative Fellowship; it is funded by CJP thats Bostons Jewish federation, more formally the Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Jewish Arts Collaborative. It helps promote and create Community around Jewish art, Mr. Battat said. I was the first person in its first cohort.

So I had the funding and the time and the administrative support and the resources to make it happen. It really was a miracle.

He encountered some roadblocks that he constructed for himself, Mr. Battat said.

I knew that I wanted it to be in Arabic musical style. I would write something, and I wouldnt know if it was authentic, or good enough, or right. There are rules to this amazing, intricate, beautiful art that I really revered and felt was too special for me.

So I had to reckon with what is my right as a half-Iraqi, half-Ashkenazi American Jew to represent Iraqi culture to an audience that doesnt know much about it.

Arabic music is Jewish Iraqi music, Mr. Battat said. Its the modal system. Its called Maqam, which means place. Thats fascinating, because Makom means place in Hebrew; the two languages are close. And Makom also is a name for God. Its the musical language that all Iraqis grew up hearing for hundreds of years, he said. Muslim music, Christian music, Jewish music it doesnt matter. The words are different but the music would be the same. Its just like American Jews grow up hearing pop music. And of course there is a huge repertoire of piyyutim and nusach thats specifically Jewish.

In this album, my goal was to use the Arabic classical music language, Maqam, as authentically as I can, but with new melodies of my own. Its to make sense of the experience I have with my fragmented identity, and my yearning to connect with my Iraqi roots, but having a hard time doing it.

I didnt grow up with these melodies. I didnt speak Arabic. My grandmother died when I was 10 and my grandfather died when I was 18. So I had this mystery in my head. I was in the weird position of yearning for something that I couldnt possibly grasp, and doing the best that I could do.

How do we reach memory and history? We use our senses. The sound of water. The sound of voices. The sense of smell. Of touch. You can imagine, with the combination of senses, and you can animate your sense of ancestry and of memory.

Its that subconscious sense of memory a sense of tribal memory that Im interested in getting at.

He has a visual example of what he wants to reproduce in sound. I had letters from my grandfather, beautiful letters that he wrote to my grandmother when they were living apart, Mr. Battat said. They were written in Arabic and Hebrew; the alphabet he used would change along with the words. Its very beautiful, he said.

The texts for the songs are in Arabic and Hebrew, with some English; Mr. Battat found them and set them to music. Some are quite old; some were found in the Cairo genizah, the above-ground burial site for sacred texts, he said. Bit by bit I pieced together an album with the theme of memory, and how we work to access those memories. Its about how fragments of memory, fragments of sensual experiences and half-remembered ancestral images, stories, and dreams all come together.

You can hear how Mr. Battat does it by going to his website, yonibattat.com.

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