Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

When Palestinian boys, the majority teenagers, stand up to protect their homes and land, the Israeli army responds by beating them, and throwing stun grenades and tear gas at them. It is nothing short of a full-scale assault.

"The majority of the Palestinian children who are targeted by the Israeli occupation forces are young males," says Ayed Abu Eqtaish, the accountability programme director at Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP).

According to a DCIP report, 15 Palestinian children have been killed by occupation forces since the start of the year.

The victims included: Muhammad Akram Ali Abu Salah, 16, Sanad Muhammad Khalil Abu Attia, 16, Muhammad Hussein Muhammad Qassem, 16, Shawkat Kamal Shawkat Abed, 17 and Amjad Walid Hussein Fayed, 16.

DCIP added that on 13 February an Israeli sniper shot 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Salah, a resident of Al-Yamoun village in Jenin, in the eye, killing him.

"The violation against Palestinian children's rights are caused by the presence of the Israeli occupation forces in the occupied Palestinian territories," says Ayed.

Despite the many legal instruments and the standards that the international community has tried to put in place to protect the rights of children, the amount of child violations is getting increasingly worse over the years.

"For example, last year we documented the killing of 78 Palestinian children at the hands of the Israeli army. Sixty-one of those children were from the Gaza Strip and 17 were from the West Bank."

"Sixty of the 61 children who were killed in the Gaza Strip were killed during the military assault against Gaza in May 2021. But most importantly, we see from our documentation that there was no need to shoot to kill towards Palestinian children, because they did not pose any threat to the lives of the Israeli soldiers."

Israeli air and artillery strikes during the 11-day assault killed 253 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,900 people.

DCIP documents the arrest, injury, death and incarceration of Palestinian children and youth, and offers legal defence to those prosecuted in Israeli military courts.

"During the last ten years, only one Israeli soldier has been indicted for the killing of a Palestinian child, for which the punishment he received is less severe than what a Palestinian child is punished with for throwing a stone at an Israeli vehicle."

For Ayed, this is a painful but perfect microcosm of Israel's policy of total impunity and its corrupt legal system, and of the bitter frustrations of the Palestinians' struggle to live in their homes on their land.

The main issue, he explains, is centred around the level of accountability and impunity the soldiers enjoy in the eyes of the international community. "International impunity is the backbone of Israel's occupation," he stated.

READ: Israel detains 20 Palestinians in West Bank raids

Soldiers serving in the occupied territories know very well that nearly anything they do will be excused. They will never be punished, not by Israel, not by its authorities nor by anyone else.

The occupation forces' killings, nightly raids and arrests and detentions without trial, collective punishment, home demolitions, land confiscation, settlement expansion and exploitation of natural resources are repeatedly left unchecked.

Data collected by Israeli rights group Yesh Din shows that only two per cent of complaints against Israeli soldiers filed by Palestinians lead to indictments. Meanwhile, over 80 per cent of cases are closed without a criminal investigation ever taking place.

"Despite the many violations of international human rights laws, Israel has not been held to account for any of its brutal practices and believes its has a green light to proceed in its killing and violating the rights of Palestinian civilians, including minors."

Adding to its neglect, Ayes accused the international community of openly applying double standards in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. There is no difference between Moscow's invasion of Kyiv, he explains, and Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.

"There is no political will from the international community to abide by its legal obligation, which is to punish and sanction Israel for its illegal practices. All it's doing is sacrificing its human rights responsibilities in order to maintain good political and diplomatic relations with Israel."

He also called out the UN for failing to punish Israel accordingly, particularly for refusing to

include Israel in its list of violators of children's rights and report on Children and Armed Conflict, after one of the deadliest Israeli wars on Gaza in 2014.

"The number of Palestinian children who were killed that year was the biggest on the international level and despite our persistence to the UN to add Israel to the list of armies and armed groups who violate the rights of children, they repeatedly declined."

READ: Israel's colonial violence must be named as the cause of Palestinian suffering

Every year, DCIP collects hundreds of statements from Palestinian children who were arrested and subjected to long periods of interrogation without the presence of a parent, guardian or lawyer.

Children are often coerced into signing false confessions, in documents written in Hebrew, a language most Palestinian children do not understand.

Moreover, while Israeli military and civilian law stipulates the minimum age of criminal responsibility as 12 years old, DCIP says that Israeli forces routinely detain Palestinian children younger than this.

"The statements we collect give an idea how the system is operating and the types of ill treatment and torture the children are exposed to, which we then use to compose our advocacy campaigns," says Ayed.

What we found is from the moment of their arrest, Palestinian children encounter ill-treatment and torture at the hands of Israeli forces. Three out of four experience physical violence during arrest or interrogation, involving slapping, kicking, punching and forcing children to sit in stress positions.

All the while, children detained by Israel also suffer from intense psychological abuse, consisting of solitary confinement, threats against their family and intimidation and being jailed without conviction under administrative detention.

Moreover, there are no counsellors in the prisons and, despite their age, they are often held alongside Israeli criminals. Their arrests are frequently at night and involve inhumane means of restraint and transport intended to destroy their spirit. The whole process has a profound psychological, physical and social effect on them.

"Psychological methods of torture are used to put as much pressure on the person, who is under interrogation, as possible to break their resistance," explains Ayed.

"We believe that every child who passes through this system will be psychologically affected, because Israel's whole system is designed to attack not only physically, but mentally and the psychological well-being of these children. They want to break them from within."

Read more from the original source:

'International impunity is the backbone of Israel's occupation,' says rights group - Middle East Monitor

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Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

With a name like Bridges Israel, its no surprise that the three managing partners of this local impact investment fund come from varied backgrounds and bring a wide array of skill sets to their joint mission.

Gal Hayut, who holds a degree in computer science, comes from the venture capital and tech industry, Sandrine Montsma, who served as CEO and board member in various companies and industries, comes from a management background, and Ran Grodecki has extensive private equity experience from years of leading local investment funds. Gal has experience in investing in startups and I have experience investing in more mature companies, says Grodecki. Together with Sadrine, who brings her vast corporate managerial experience, we compliment each other very well. The three of us have worked closely together for several years now, so we are a well- balanced team.

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Bridges Israel Managing Partners (from left) Gal Hayut, Sandrine Montsma, Ran Grodecki

(Photo: Nir Slakman)

Established in 2018, the fund invests in Israeli businesses with the aim to generate competitive financial returns alongside significant measurable social and environmental impact. CTech sat down with two of the managing partners, Gal Hayut and Ran Grodecki, to learn more.

What does the term impact investment mean to you?

Hayut: Thats a very important question. For us impact investment is the combination between, on the one hand, addressing the global issues - as defined by the UN, including SDGs (sustainable development goals) in a measurable and significant way and turning things in a positive direction - and on the other hand investment that comes along with uncompromised financial returns. This last point is very important because we are out to prove that investing in impact is not inferior - and in many cases is superior - to other investments. The combination of these two sides of our goal, addressing global issues together with uncompromised returns, is what will make this impact investment market large and successful.

Grodecki: When you think about it, impact investment is looking to solve some of the worlds biggest problems. If you are an entrepreneur who has been able to solve a large global problem, and you have a competitive advantage (product, IP, distribution, brand - it doesnt matter what it is), and a fund can invest in you to fund your future growth, its a business opportunity for the entrepreneur and an investment opportunity for the fund. Thats what we look for, situations where we can generate significant impact and growth. So, yes, impact is a driver, but we also believe its a huge business opportunity.

Why does Bridges Israel choose to specialize in investing in certain fields (ag-tech, water-tech, climate tech, healthtech, etc.) as opposed to others?

Hayut: First, theres the advantages of the Israeli tech market. We look at the global issues and see what advantages our local hi-tech entrepreneurs bring to the table globally, because this is where these companies can be very successful. Thats why we have chosen to invest in the fields of ag-tech, water, digital health, and climate in general. So our criteria in selecting companies to invest in is through determining where the big issues and opportunities are and what can be brought from the local market technology to address these challenges globally.

Grodecki: Because of our impact lens, we tend to invest in sectors of basic needs, so if you look at our portfolio we invest in agriculture, water, cement, food, digital health, in the things that we believe are less sensitive to market fluctuations, because the underlying demand will always be there and in a way the risk associated with these types of companies is a bit lower.

Where does ESG (environmental, social, & governance) come into play?

Hayut: Regarding ESG, I would not say it is an investment theme. It is a criteria inside investment, a subcategory, if you will. Its very important, of course, we strive for all the companies we work with to be ESG compliant. However, ESG alone is not making an impact, but rather it makes the company comply and operate in the way we expect them to.

So, what are you looking for in a startup to invest in?

Hayut: There are two main themes in our guidelines which all of our investments fall under. One, is the planet crisis - and I say planet crisis rather than climate crisis because it goes beyond climate. It can be agriculture, it can be food, and it can also be climate, but not limited to climate. The second theme is social gaps, which has become a very serious issue in the world, and that has many dimensions which we examine carefully.

Grodecki: As far a criteria goes, we are looking for excellent companies and excellent motivated entrepreneurs. Its not enough that an Israeli startup has a very impactful product, because for example, if the market niche they approach is too small, or if their go-to market strategy is not supported by a detailed plan and concrete business leads, they will not be able to scale and their impact will be limited. We want to invest in the best. We are looking for the best companies in every segment. When you have not only a very strong product solution, but also the right business strategy and the right distribution channels, strong team, IP, proper funding, and all the advantages a company needs to succeed, then you can scale both commercially and also make a huge difference with regards to your impact. So we look for the best in every area that we consider.

Youve both had experience investing in other fields, whats a key differentiator when it comes to impact investing?

Hayut: I think one main differentiator is the entrepreneurs. We look for entrepreneurs that have impact on their mind and that their personal and their companys alignment with our goals are high. We are looking for entrepreneurs looking to make a big change. Its something thats got to be part of their core values.

Dont get me wrong, we focus on creating strong businesses, but underneath that the theme of impact and being aligned together must remain. When we proceed to invest with them we come to an agreement of how we will measure these achievements. While a typical investor will measure the financial side, we at Bridges Israel measure both, financial on one side and the other side the KPIs of impact. And of course, we have to be able to work well together.

How does Bridges Israel operate?

Hayut: First of all, although we are part of the larger Bridges organization, we have a dedicated Bridges fund for Israel. We invest in Israeli companies and the whole fund of $80 million is exclusively for Israel - although we do work very closely with our Bridges Fund Management partners from the UK, US and Australia. Our investment portfolio currently contains 12 Israeli startups from a variety of fields. Our sweet spot is to invest in A rounds, primarily in companies that have commercial traction, which really helps a lot when we are looking at more than one segment to validate companies through their customers and validate the commercial attractiveness of their solution. We care a lot about what our startups customers say about them too.

Our sweet spot in our initial check is $3 to $5 million, and from A round all the way through exit we always expect additional rounds of funding. We are constantly involved in the ongoing business of the startups we work with and always look to be a significant, if not the significant investor in their company.

Big picture, how has the current financial crisis affected Bridges Israel?

Hayut: I would say that even before the current crisis, we saw companies priced at unrealistic valuations and we reduced our investment pace because of that. We may not have foreseen the crisis looming, but we certainly saw what was happening, that the expensive pricing did not reflect the true business status. So we encouraged our companies to raise capital when they could, which they did and still do.

Weve also encouraged our companies to have a longer runway, meaning that if they could reduce some of their cost, they should do so. We never forced anyone, but we helped them decide when and where they could cut costs, without jeopardizing their strategic business direction. .

We did not have a dramatic reduction on the business side because we have seen much less of a crisis. Our portfolio companies are addressing needs that do not disappear, such as global warming, water, food, health, etc., so if anything, they continued to thrive during the pandemic and the financial crises.

Kando: Predicting Covid-19 outbreaks

Israel, by the way, is the world leader in treating sewage and utilizing it. But besides controlling pollution, when the pandemic hit, Kando realized that by analyzing the wastewater of the 150,000 residents of the Ashkelon area, where there was an outbreak, they demonstrated that Covid-19 hotspots could be detected down to specific streets and neighborhoods. As a result, the Israeli government has been using Kando technology to pinpoint where an outbreak of Covid-19 cases will happen 5-6 days before regular tests can, which is very significant.

Nazid: Healthy food & fair employment

What about Bridges Israels effort to close social gaps and help those in Israels periphery? What do you mean by impact growth vs impact tech?

Grodecki: First of all, regarding impact growth and impact tech, we view these as two separate things - and we invest in both. Any company we deal with is typically dealing with one facet or the other. Ill give you some examples. We invested in a company called Nazid Impact Food, which is a catering business providing healthy meals to schools and businesses across the underserved communities in Israel while also providing fair employment to Bedouin men and women. The company is owned by a Bedouin entrepreneur, Ibrahim Nassasra, and the CEO is a religious Jew, Shay Amira who work together in harmony for the success of the business.

The impact we found was the ability to employ (mostly) Bedouin women near their homes in a way that was suitable for their culture, while the company also provided opportunities for growth and promotion from within. To be clear, this is a top of the line food manufacturer in a state of the art facility employing 100 locals using the latest technology, not a mom and pop operation. The employees are producing top-ranked healthy meals and supporting themselves financially thanks to the company. And when you talk about literal impact growth, they have grown as their first facility was established in southern Israel and the second one, due to great demand, has just been opened in Taybeh, which is in the center of the country. This is just one example of closing social gaps with impact, so that poor students should not go hungry, but also, and equally important, fair employment for the local Bedouin population - and of course, it is also a business opportunity too. The company is growing very nicely.

From startup nation to impact nation

In conclusion, where is impact investing in Israel heading?

Hayut: When we first started Bridges Israel around five years ago, we had to explain what impact investing is and why its not social investment or philanthropy. It was an educational process. There was very little awareness about it at the time and that was a challenge. But today, we see a totally different situation, as when you talk to investors they understand what impact investing is and how important it is, as well as its potential to generate strong financial results. So we see a gradual improvement and the change is coming slowly, but surely.

We also see our role at Bridges Israel to be an example for others as to what successful impact investing can be, making a social and environmental impact while also providing strong returns.

We are already the startup nation but we can become the impact nation. Its all part of the concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world), its in our DNA.

Here is the original post:

Bridging the gap: Impact investor Bridges Israel crosses the social and environmental divide - CTech

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Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

No country has quite mastered covert operations like the Israelis. The Jewish states Special Forces are comprised of highly specialized units that function domestically, regionally and abroad. The breadth of units in Israels Special Forces ranges from intelligence gathering, counter-terrorism operations, rescue missions, and more. Generally, the Special Forces are responsible for maintaining Israels security by mapping out how to prevent adversaries and nearby terrorist organizations from gaining more traction. While Israels Defense Forces primarily function to carry out combat operations in wartime or during exchanges of fire, the Special Forces never stop working even in peaceful interludes.

Israels Special Forces What We Know

The history of Israels Special Forces dates back before the countrys 1948 founding. At the end of World War I, the allied powers placed Israel under the British Mandate. Throughout the 1920s, clashes between Jewish and Arab citizens in Palestine led to violence, which British forces were unwilling to contend with. During a particularly bloody riot in 1921 in the Old City, British troops were accused of withdrawing from the scene and failing to cease the violence. At this point, Jewish citizens recognized that the British would not protect them, spurring the inception of underground resistance movements. The most effective militia that functioned following the riots was the Haganah. By 1941, the organization formed Israels first underground Special Forces Units, called Smash Companies. Carrying out covert operations to acquire and transfer weapons, the Smash Companies helped protect the Jewish citizens until the Israeli state was officially formed.

Israels first Prime Minister Ben-Gurion transformed the Haganah into the IDF in 1948. Without a need for underground, covert defense forces, the Smash Companies disbanded shortly after. However, in 1953, Ben-Gurion established Israels first Special Forces Unit- Commando Unit 101. The following year, the unit was merged into Israels 890th Paratroop Battalion. The Unit 101 has significantly impacted Israels infantry-oriented forces over the years, its legacy still active in the IDF today. Shortly after its establishment, however, Unit 101 was disbanded following a series of operational failures. Sayeret Matkal, the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, emerged as the Jewish states next Special Forces Unit. Modeled in part after the British Special Air Service, this elite unit conducted dangerous operations in enemy territory. The Unit led successful missions in the 1960s and early 1970s. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Sayeret Matkal adapted to perform counter-terror capabilities in light of the rise of Arab terrorism in the region.

Israels position surrounded by hostile adversaries has led the country to adopt a unique special forces hierarchy. Unlike other national defense organizations, the Jewish state does not possess one centralized Special Operations Force. Israels Ground Forces, Air Force, Navy, Northern Command and Military Intelligence Directorate make up the IDF umbrella. Each of these command forces has its own special forces units that function independently of each other. Four special forces units report to Israels Ground Forces- Duvdevan, Maglan, Egoz and Rimon. Operational units include Oketz, Unit 669, Shayetet 13 and Sayeret Matkal. Additionally, the IDF has other specialized forces within its land, air and naval forces. These include Shaldag, YALTAM unit, Alpinist unit, Yahalom Unit, and Skylark & Moran units.

Sayeret Matkal is perhaps the most recognizable special forces unit in Israels cache. Tasked with carrying out counter-terrorism and hostage rescue missions beyond Israels border, Sayeret Matkal is behind some of the Jewish states most daring operations. One of its most notorious missions occurred at Ugandas Entebbe Airport in Uganda in 1976. Dubbed Operation Thunderbolt (also known as Operation Entebbe), Sayeret Matkal helped recuse more than 100 Air France passengers whose plane had been hijacked by terrorists. Ultimately, 52 enemy combatants were killed, in addition to only three hostages and the assault element commander. The flight had originated in Tel Aviv and the hijackers had targeted the Jewish and Israeli passengers, leading to Sayeret Matkals involvement. Details of the heroic mission have been outlined by the IDF.

A second Special Forces Unit that is known for its clandestine operations is Duvdevan. The Netlix drama Fauda is based on the high-risk and complex operations this special forces unit is tasked with carrying out. A former member of the unit, Garret Machine, has detailed how Duvdevan operates: Duvdevan is a special forces unit within the Israeli Defense Forces, directly subordinate to the West Bank Division. Duvdevan is particularly noted for conducting undercover operations against Palestinian militants in urban areas within the PA-controlled West Bank. During these operations, Duvdevan soldiers typically drive modified civilian vehicles and wear Arab civilian clothes as a disguise. The unit can perform high-risk arrests, raids, targeted assassination, kidnappings and a range of other urban warfare operations.

Israels top-tier depot of Special Forces Units maintains a critical role in preserving the countrys security. While a lot of the inner workings of these units remain classified, the public details conveying their significant contributions to Israels missions are truly heroic.

Maya Carlinis a Middle East Defense Editor with 19FortyFive. She is also an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel.

Originally posted here:

Israel's Special Forces: The Best on Earth? - 19FortyFive

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Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

One of the most pertinent issues discussed at the recent International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) conference in Stockholm, Sweden, was the harmful effects of Holocaust distortion and denial across society. And it is a narrative that is all too familiar to Canadians.

Canadas long and very public history of people who promoted Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories continues to tarnish our collective memory.

In the 1980s, Canadas most notorious denier, Ernst Zundel, was one of the most prolific international producers of hate material. Toronto became a hub for this activity as Zundel disseminated his own brand of conspiratorial antisemitism and Holocaust denial from his downtown home.

In Eckville, Alta., school teacher James Keestraga taught that the Holocaust was a fraud, while in Moncton, N.B., Malcolm Ross taught and produced hate literature that targeted Jews and the Holocaust. And in 2019, Joseph DiMarco, a teacher of 15 years in Timmins, Ont., had his license revoked for promoting Holocaust denial and conspiracies.

Canada is in the process of legislating Holocaust denial as a criminal act a part of Bill C-19, which received royal assent at the end of last month.

Making the criminality of Holocaust denial part of Canadas budget helped define it this is necessary, and has been a long time coming. Many Canadian Jewish groups have long advocated for this measure as one more tool to counter rising antisemitism.

As a researcher who specializes in the Holocaust and genocide education, I see the the importance of criminalizing Holocaust denial as a measure to counter antisemitism while helping protect our democratic processes and institutions.

Criminalizing hate speech is actually good for free speech because it helps shape an environment in which vulnerable communities feel safe, and therefore more likely to participate in public discourse, politics and the democratic processes.

By embedding the resolution in the budget, Canada took an important step in identifying what behaviours fall outside the norms of civil society.

In a country that is known for respecting diversity, protecting minorities and the marginalized, there is no place for the Holocaust denial. By taking this action, Canada is demonstrating that an abuse of freedom of expression will not be tolerated.

The Canadian legislation comes at a critical time. Holocaust history has come under attack through online campaigns of misinformation and distortion across platforms like 4Chan and Telegram.

These platforms often see vulnerable minds manipulated for conspiratorial, antidemocratic thinking which result in real acts of violence offline.

During the pandemic anti-vax protesters regularly wore yellow stars like those that Jews living under Nazi occupation were forced to wear. This trivialized and denigrated the history and memory of the Holocaust. And in some Canadian cities, Nazi swastikas were waved when the so-called freedom convoy rolled through city streets.

When far-right movements co-opt these symbols, they cause real harm.

Hate isnt always as easy to identify as it was in the days of Zundel. Today Holocaust denial, distortion and misinformation is often disguised as plausible deniability and humour. This necessitates the creation of continual monitoring and education that Canada unfortunately lacks.

If anyone doubts how deeply this disinformation is entrenched online, you need only to visit Canadas first national-context and most comprehensive database of hate symbols, Hatepedia.

While decoding symbols and memes may not always be easy, it is a necessary step in identifying how they are used and who they target. Many are rooted in Holocaust iconography or Nazi symbols and ironically draw upon the Holocaust, which it simultaneously attempts to deny.

Contextualizing Holocaust denial, distortion and misinformation against the content that they often appears alongside is equally vital as they can play a significant role in conditioning antisemitic and conspiratorial beliefs.

These beliefs then polarize society and nurture divisions with the goal of undermining democratic processes and institutions.

For example, some former Soviet bloc countries like Hungary have condoned challenges to Holocaust history preferring not to deal with it. And historian Jan Grabowski who has encountered relentless critique for examining Polands role in the Holocaust, becoming the target of hate campaigns.

In the broadest sense, Holocaust denial has a corrosive effect on civil society. It simultaneously creates an atmosphere of distrust, and wrongdoing that erodes public confidence in our democratic institutions. It leaves Jewish communities and those with historic roots in countering fascism vulnerable.

Canada actively working to prohibit Holocaust denial is not about limiting freedom of expression, rather it is about preventing hate speech, fascism and protecting the history of the Holocaust, free speech rights and safeguarding democracy.

See the rest here:

Criminalizing holocaust denial in Canada will protect democracy and free speech - The Conversation

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Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

New Delhi: Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri had, on May 26, 2022, put out a tweet regarding the itinerary of his Humanity Tour, which featured an event at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. The Wire reached out to the museum to confirm this event, and received a statement from the press office of the Jewish Museum (Stiftung Jdisches Museum Berlin), rebutting this, saying, There is no event planned with Mr. Agnihotri from our side, nor are we aware of any official visit to the museum,

The Wire published this information in a news item, Jewish Museum in Berlin Rebuts Vivek Agnihotris Claim of Organizing Humanity Tour Event, noting that this contradicted the public statement issued by Agnihotri.

On June 24, The Wire received an email from Agnihotris team alleging bad faith on the subject of his Humanity Tour.

The Agnihotri team letter and The Wires response are appended below.

Letter from Ajay Chowdhry, EU-Coordinator-Humanity Tour

This is with reference to your news report Jewish Museum in Berlin Rebuts VivekAgnihotris Claim of Organising Humanity Tour Event published on 19th of June 2022.

I am the Europe coordinator of the Humanity Tour which began on the 26th of May 2022 in the United Kingdom with subsequent multiple events in the UK. The tour then went on to mainland Europe, with events in Den Haag on 17.6.22.

The tour continues till the third week of June, with the concluding event scheduled in Bremen, Germany on the 25th of June 2022.

A tour of such spread across a continent, organised by selfless volunteers, involves extensive logistics planning and implementation at multiple levels.

It is not an event or PR agency coordinated program and hence alternations in the schedule are bound to occur every now and then depending on logistics, availability of host-invitee-guests and support system.

We wish to unequivocally state that :

1. Mr. Vivek RanjanAgnihotriand the Jewish community have mutual respect for each other. He has been visiting Holocaust museums across the globe in solidarity with the persecuted minorities of the world. The global Jewish community has appreciated The Kashmir Files and extended full support to Kashmiri Hindu community.

2. We had planned a meet-up of Jewish community and local Kashmiri Hindus at the Jewish Museum, Berlin. However, when during their recent visit to Scotland, Mr.Agnihotriand Ms. Joshi were invited by Mr. Harvey Chaplin, the Director of the oldest Jewish Synagogue and Holocaust Museum in Glasgow for an official visit on the 3rd June 2022 (videos and photos are in the public domain), we chose to avoid repetition and went ahead with another already scheduled event at Tegelerseeterassen, Alt Tegel, Berlin, instead of the Museum. It was addressed by Mr. Nico Bauch-German Jurist , a holocaust surviver and intellectual , and Dr. Amjad Ayub Mirza, a victim of Mirpur Genocide. This event, held on the 20th of June, was attended by people from various ethnic communities and local populace.

3. Mr.Agnihotri and Ms. Joshi are our esteemed guests. You have distorted a well considered change in itinerary by the tour organisers .Your story, therefore, reeks of malice and goes against all media ethics. You could have simply connected with the organisers of the tour before jumping to pre-determined conclusions.

4. The news item in The Wire is misleading. Instead of trying to paint Kashmiri Hindus, organisers of #HumanityTour, who are also the victims of Genocide, as liars, you could have reached out to ascertain facts. If you are unable to have empathy for us, the least you can do is to not violate our safe spaces to share our pain with those who have empathy and compassion for our mass PTSD afflicted community.

5. We perceive your malicious, non-factual hit job as soft targeting of a victimised community and soft Genocide denial.

Kindly take down the misleading article and publish another piece with the facts provided.

Looking forward to an actual report on the issue instead of the misleading post.

Naomi Barton and Alishan Jafri respond:1. Mr Chowdhry has alleged that The Wire has distorted a well considered change in itinerary by the tour organisers. Your story, therefore, reeks of malice and goes against all media ethics. You could have simply connected with the organisers of the tour before jumping to pre-determined conclusions. In fact, The Wires Naomi Barton reached out to Vivek Agnihotri on WhatsApp and on SMS the day before the article in question went to print.

Bartons question said, Hi Mr Agnihotri, my name is Naomi Barton and Im getting in touch about a story. I contacted the Jewish Museum in Berlin with regards to the event your promotional materials have said will be taking place there, and they have said that they are not aware of any event or official visit by you. Would you care to comment? and was sent at 5.33 pm, on 18/06/2022 on WhatsApp, and received no response.

The Wire waited until 1.30 pm of 19/06/2022, the next day, to go live with the article, giving Agnihotri ample time to respond.

The Wire has, to that end, fulfilled its obligation to connect with the subject of the story in question to get their side of the story before publishing. This despite the fact that the claim about an event at the Jewish Museum had been made directly by Agnihotri on Twitter.

The story also avoided any conclusions, and stated the facts, which were that a piece of information put into the public domain by Agnihotri was inaccurate.

The article went on to provide relevant context regarding the other overseas institutions that have either (a) explicitly distanced themselves from being associated with Agnihotris promotion in the way in which he has positioned it (see, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University), (c) Implicitly denied Agnihotri affiliation and amplification after having made a commitment (see, Oxford Union, Oxford University, Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC), and (c)Explicitly established that Agnihotris film is antithetical to the furtherance of religious amity (See, Singapore.)

All of these are facts, not conclusions.

2. In his letter to The Wire, Chowdhry says:

We had planned a meet-up of Jewish community and local Kashmiri Hindus at the Jewish Museum, Berlin. However, when during their recent visit to Scotland, Mr. Agnihotri and Ms. Joshi were invited by Mr. Harvey Chaplin, the Director of the oldest Jewish Synagogue and Holocaust Museum in Glasgow for an official visit on the 3rd June 2022 (videos and photos are in the public domain), we chose to avoid repetition and went ahead with another already scheduled event at Tegelerseeterassen, Alt Tegel, Berlin, instead of the Museum. It was addressed by Mr. Nico Bauch-German Jurist , a holocaust surviver and intellectual , and Dr. Amjad Ayub Mirza, a victim of Mirpur Genocide. This event, held on the 20th of June, was attended by people from various ethnic communities and local populace.

However, Agnihotris change in public engagements, notwithstanding the motivations behind them, were not communicated to the public.

Even if Agnihotri had made a public statement regarding his change in commitments, this statement implies that a choice was made to avoid repetition by holding an event at the Jewish Museum, Berlin, as stated in the itinerary. However, no such event had been planned with the Jewish Museum itself so the claim of a change in plans still does not address the fact that the event did not exist in any real form, and as such, its presence on a tour itinerary was misleading at best.

3. Chowdhry says:

The news item in The Wire is misleading. Instead of trying to paint Kashmiri Hindus, organisers of #HumanityTour, who are also the victims of Genocide, as liars, you could have reached out to ascertain facts. If you are unable to have empathy for us, the least you can do is to not violate our safe spaces to share our pain with those who have empathy and compassion for our mass PTSD afflicted community. We perceive your malicious, non-factual hit job as soft targeting of a victimised community and soft Genocide denial.

At no point in the article has The Wire painted Kashmiri Hindus as liars. What was said was that certain information put into the public domain by Vivek Agnihotri about his tour was false. The Wire also rejects the idea that it could have violated a safe space given that its report was specifically regarding an event which had not even been organised, rendering the safe space in question non-existent.

It is also on record that both reporters affiliated with this story, Naomi Barton and Alishan Jafri, have previously spoken on the truth of the violence that the film the Kashmir Files has portrayed.

To quote from a review by Naomi Barton published 20th March:

There is also much that is based on facts the main characters are a mashup of militant leaders Bitta Karate and Yasin Malik. The brutal bisection of a Kashmiri Pandit woman after her disrobing can be seen as a reference to Sarla Bhats gang rape and bodily mutilation.

Slogans calling for the creation of an Azad Kashmir without Hindu men, with Hindu women, have also been reported by some of those who were there in their narratives, albeit a few years after the exodus. As Sanjay Kak notes in his review of Ankur Duttas On Uncertain Ground: Displaced Kashmiri Pandits and the Jammu Camps (2017):

The proximity to truth that this film has is best left to those Kashmiri Pandits who are in possession of this haunting legacy of memories. To elide the truth of the brutalities that informed the Kashmiri Pandit exodus is unambiguously wrong; for the criticism of this film, it is also unnecessary.

To quote from a review by Alishan Jafri published 29th March:

A film based on an extreme human tragedy ideally should lead to reconciliation and reflection. Filling powerless minority groups with vicarious guilt and shame for the tragic exodus of Kashmiri Pandits while simultaneously erasing and often celebrating the immense violence (like Gujarat 2002) the minorities have historically faced

The gut-wrenching story of Kashmiri Pandits should not be weaponised for stoking anti-Muslim violence.

Apart from refuting Chowdhrys assertion that our story amounted to soft targeting of a victimised community and soft genocide denial, we would like to say that the idea that the marketing team of Kashmir Files, as well as Vivek Agnihotri himself, are the sole spokespersons of the entire Kashmiri Pandit community is misguided and contributes to the harmful idea that there can be a monopoly on a narrative as complex as this one.

A prominent Kashmiri Pandit activist has alleged harassment by workers of the BJP due to his remarks against the film, and many Kashmiri Pandits have gone on record to speak out against the explicitly anti-Muslim stance the film takes.

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Vivek Agnihotris Team Accuses The Wire of Soft Genocide Denial'; The Wire Responds - The Wire

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Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

"The core tenant of this museum is that we are about St. Louis survivors and in the first gallery is where you will be introduced to those voices and those stories."

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. We're getting the first look inside the new St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, which opens to the public in November.

"The core tenant of this museum is that we are about St. Louis survivors and in the first gallery is where you will be introduced to those voices and those stories," explained Helen Turner, the Director of Education.

When it opens, the expanded 36,000-square-foot facility in Creve Coeur, will be four times the size of the previous museum, which served the community for over 25 years.

"So instead of a museum of numbers, facts and dates, we will also be about choices and human beings," added Turner.

And in many ways, the Holocaust is a deeply personal story.

"So this is Evelina," said archivist Diane Everman as she showed us a doll.

As people cleaned out their closets and attics during the pandemic, Everman received dozens of new artifacts from the families of survivors like Evelina.

"The doll was given to one of our local survivors in Berlin," explained Everman. "It was before Evelina, the little girl who lived down the street, was deported to Auschwitz and murdered there."

There was also a letter sent by the Daniels family to relatives in Vienna.

"And then it was sent back to them and they immediately thought the worst," said Everman. "Which was confirmed later on. Her entire family had been murdered."

After the Holocaust people said, "never forget". But it seems people are forgetting.

"The Holocaust keeps coming up in pop culture. It's being misused and misrepresented and Holocaust denial and distortion is being used in a very real way," said Turner.

Learning the truth serves as an important warning about injustice and bigotry and what happens when people stay silent. The goal of this museum is to empower its visitors.

"Young, old, everybody has a role to play sharing this story and making active change in our communities and the world today," said Turner.

Bringing to mind, that the only cures for hatred and intolerance are education and remembrance.

The new St. Louis Holocaust Museum opens in November. It will be a place of both heartbreak and hope and serve as a reminder that we can and must do better.

"It is not enough to simply say never again," said Turner. "You have to live it. You have to be it."

Do you know someone Making A Difference? Let Mike know by filling out the form below, or emailing Mike at mbush@ksdk.com.

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Fighting Hate: A look inside the new St. Louis Holocaust Museum - KSDK.com

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Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

Rabbi Stephen Weiss pleaded not guilty to three charges at his arraignment July 1, and his attorney said hes hoping to resolve the case prior to trial.

Weiss was previously indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury on June 16. He was arrested April 18 after allegedly engaging in explicit online conversations with an undercover investigator posing as a 15-year-old boy.

His arraignment was scheduled for July 11, but was moved up to July 1 on the day before, according to Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas records. Weiss attorney, Michael Goldberg of The Goldberg Law Firm in Cleveland, said he moved up the date to quicker obtain the discovery, or evidence the state shares with the defense.

We are working very hard on putting his case forward, his side of things, and well see if we cant resolve this without having to go to trial, Goldberg told the Cleveland Jewish News July 7. Im hoping we can.

Weiss is charged with one count of attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, one count of importuning and one count of possessing criminal tools.

Weiss was senior rabbi at Bnai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike. He was suspended April 19 and resigned April 21. Bnai Jeshurun completed its own investigation last month, finding no evidence Weiss engaged in illegal, illicit activity within its congregation.

Court records showed he posted a $50,000 bond April 19. According to the court docket, as a condition of his jail release, he is required to wear a GPS standard monitoring device and to have no contact with any victims.

Goldberg filed a motion July 5 to amend his bond to terminate the GPS monitoring detention. According to court records, Goldberg argued since Weiss has no prior criminal history, has not violated conditions of the bond, and as his phone was seized and completely analyzed and where no evidence of any other illegal activity was located, removing the GPS restriction would allow him to help care for his 90-year-old father.

Additionally, Goldberg wrote, Prior to this incident, Mr. Weiss was the leader of a Cleveland area synagogue. As a result of this matter, Mr. Weiss has resigned his position to concentrate on dealing with the present matter and to maintaining his family through this difficult time. Being released from home arrest would allow him to do that without requiring 48 hours advanced notice to go anywhere. Mr. Weiss presents absolutely no risk of flight or a threat to the community.

The judge has asked the prosecutor to respond to the request, Goldberg said.

The counts Weiss is facing together carry a maximum of 3 years in prison, Lexi Giering, communications specialist for the prosecutors office, previously told the CJN.

Judge Emily Hagan was assigned to the case.

Evidence from the states case was shared with the defense, according to the court records, which included a CD/DVD interview, telephone records, search warrant and inventory, statements, social media chat history on Grindr and Wickr Me, and witnesses the state planned to call.

Goldberg said the case is set for court in a week or two.

Right now, its very standard you filed your discovery, you get whatever there is we dont have everything yet and its going to take a couple weeks at this point to figure out where its going to go, Goldberg said.

This is a developing story.

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Rabbi Weiss pleads not guilty; lawyer hopes to avoid trial - Cleveland Jewish News

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Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

(July 8, 2022, Los Angeles, JNS Wire)

American Friends of the Hebrew University (AFHU) has appointed Justin Pressman as Executive Director of its Western Region, which encompasses Southern California and the Southwestern states.

In his new position, Pressman will develop regional strategic campaign plans, as well as implement and evaluate major giving campaigns in support of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israels premier academic institution and research powerhouse.

We are thrilled to welcome Justin to our team to lead AFHUs programming and fundraising efforts in the Western Region, says AFHU Chief Executive Officer Joshua Rednik. With his experience and contacts along with our longstanding presence in the region, we believe we are well positioned for future growth and greater awareness of meaningful philanthropic opportunities in support of the Hebrew University.

A consummate fundraising professional, Pressman previously served as West Coast Executive Director for American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic, one of the worlds foremost orchestras. During his tenure, he mobilized national and regional leadership cohorts to exceed ambitious fundraising goals, launched new chapters in San Diego and Dallas to expand the institutions donor base and leveraged the Philharmonics virtual and live programming to reach new and diverse audiences.

I look forward to expanding AFHU programming and building even greater support for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the Western Region, says Pressman. This role aligns my passion for Israel with the universitys research and entrepreneurial advancements.

Pressman began his career with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

As a Fulbright scholar in 2012-13, he researched the administrative and concert-going culture of Russias musical institutions and specialized in the Russian operatic and ballet repertoire as a conducting student at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory and Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Pressman is a graduate of the University of Miami, where he received a Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance. He lives in Los Angeles.

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American Friends of the Hebrew University appoints Justin Pressman as Western Region Executive Director - JNS.org

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Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

The Stanley Cup was in Vail on July 2, courtesy of Colorado Avalanche general manager and former star Joe Sakic.

And among the Vail locations the cup traveled was Meadow Drive, via dolly, where it had to roll right past a trio of on-duty firefighters at Station No. 2.

A Joe Sakic sighting in Vail isnt terribly uncommon, hes been known to frequent the area, but seeing Sakic in Vail with the Stanley Cup in tow is right up there with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Its worth a try to say something to him in the moment to create a memory.

Those were some of the thoughts flashing through firefighter Josh Hebrews head as Sakic and the Stanley Cup dolly rolled down Meadow Drive in front of him.

Firefighters, like any first responders, are required to have a degree of situational awareness while on duty. Seeing whats happening around them, and pointing out those observations to each other is part of the job.

Hebrew said the trunk where the Stanley Cup is stored was fresh in the minds of his colleagues at Station No. 2 after watching the Stanley Cup finals.

We watched them on TV taking the Stanley Cup out of the box that carries it, its a large black box that has stickers on it, so when we saw the case coming down the road, we recognized the case, Hebrew said. It was one of those things where we were like That looks like the Stanley Cup, and then pretty quick we recognized Joe Sakic right away, and it kind of dawned on us that we were looking at the Stanley Cup inside of the case.

Theres not a whole lot to say in the moment, but what they came up with sufficed.

We just said Nice job guys,' Hebrew said with a laugh.

There was a small entourage surrounding Sakic and the cup.

They recognized that we were the fire department, Hebrew said, and one of the people in the group asked if they wanted to take a picture.

Instantly all of the three of us that were here very authoritatively said yes, Hebrew said.

According to the National Hockey League, the Stanley Cup in its varying forms has stood as the symbol of excellence in the game of ice hockey since 1893, and the league champions get to keep the cup for a year following their win.

In 1995, a new tradition was started: Making sure every Stanley Cup-winning player has a chance to have the Cup for a day, according to an NHL.com story from 2007. Gone are the days of players kicking the Stanley Cup into Ottawas Rideau Canal after a night of carousing.

Sakic is now the teams General Manager; hes best known for scoring 120 points in 82 regular-season games and leading the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship during the 199596 season. It was the franchises first year in Denver.

When the Avalanche came to town way back when I was a fairly avid hockey fan, I really watched them for those first few seasons, Hebrew said.

Hebrews colleague Airek Streetz is also a hockey fan and attended one of the NHL finals Game 2 in Denver in June.

So it came full circle for (Streetz) to see the cup in Vail and actually get to touch it, Hebrew said.

While he watched only the late-season games this year, Hebrew said after his experience with the cup will hell likely go into next season as excited to watch games as he was following Sakics historic 1995-96 season.

I guess Im more of a hockey fan again now, he said. It was a neat experience that will certainly be once in a lifetime for us.

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How a group of Vail firefighters received an unexpected photo op with the Stanley Cup - Vail Daily

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Posted By admin on July 10, 2022

Hagit Zeev, 54, an Israeli-born psychotherapist living in Los Altos Hills, is enthusiastic about Waldorf education, a nontraditional method of teaching characterized by integrating the arts, movement and imagination in the classroom.

Prevalent across the Bay Area and also popular in Israel, Waldorf schools are known for their holistic approach to trauma-informed education which equips teachers with the knowledge to recognize trauma and strategies to support students who experience it.

Zeev, a Jew who grew up in Haifa and Tel Aviv, co-led a research team that in June published the findings of a 21-month study into Waldorf education in Israel. The research explored the factors that contribute to a lack of opportunities for Arab and Palestinian citizens of Israel to access the Waldorf education available to their Jewish peers.

Closing the Gap: Increasing Access to Trauma-Informed Education for PCI/Arab Communities in Israel Through Waldorf Education was published by reGeneration Education, a Southern California-based nonprofit that seeks to address toxic childhood stress in Israel and the West Bank through the development of new schools, teacher training and building interfaith networks in the United States.

Theres a bomb shelter in every school and every house, Zeev said of growing up in Israel. The threat of war is just part of life, she added.

Muneer Waheed, 59, who identifies as Christian, grew up in Israel-occupied Gaza. He recalls the fear he experienced as a boy one morning as he approached the car taking him to school.

Im rushing in the morning, Im late, I want to get in the car, and I find myself right in the middle of this group of [Israeli] soldiers, he said. The soldiers were much bigger than he was, and they carried guns.

So I panic, Waheed said. Then he saw one of the soldiers kneel down, smile and wave as he entered the car.

That gesture didnt dispel Waheeds fear of Israeli soldiers, but it did leave an impression that, years later, inspired him to want to build better relationships between Arab citizens of Israel and their Jewish counterparts.

Waheed, who lives in San Jose and serves on reGeneration Educations board of directors, teamed up with Zeev to lead the research into Waldorf education in Israel. The team conducted more than 70 hours of interviews with 17 Jewish and Arab Israelis engaged in a movement to build more Waldorf schools for Arab communities in Israel. Currently, close to 200 Waldorf schools, more than 150 of them kindergartens, serve Jewish Israelis. However, only four Waldorf kindergartens and just one Waldorf elementary school serve Arab Israelis. A second Waldorf elementary school serves Palestinians in the West Bank.

After extensive negotiations between the Waldorf Association of Israel and Israels Ministry of Education, all of the nations Waldorf schools as of 2017 are considered recognized and official, with full ministry funding while retaining pedagogical autonomy, according to reGeneration Educations report. Despite government recognition, efforts to fund and open additional Waldorf schools serving Arab Israelis have been rejected by the ministry and local municipalities, the report found.

Interviews conducted by reGeneration Education revealed a groundswell of support among both Jewish and Arab Israelis for more Waldorf schools for Arab communities in Israel. However, the report also found that individuals who have attempted to create Waldorf curricula and fund Waldorf education for Arab Israeli communities have run into bureaucratic red tape that stymied their efforts when dealing with the Ministry of Education.

Additionally, no Israeli teachers college or university provides trauma-informed Waldorf teacher training that is culturally relevant to Arabs or taught in Arabic. Approved Waldorf education materials exist exclusively in Hebrew, so Arabic-speaking teachers are forced to translate textbooks themselves. The most alarming criticism voiced in the paper pertains to how Israel funds Arab schools disproportionately to Jewish schools.

[A] disparity in funding which has yet to be rectified, despite legislation passed in 2016 to that effect results in Arab sector schools receiving half funding per student in comparison to Hebrew sector schools. This pushes Arab schools to devote the majority of their funding strictly to academic programs at the expense of other activities which could support trauma-affected students, such as art or music, the report found.

Arab Waldorf schools must, except in rare circumstances, hire teacher applicants chronologically from a hiring line composed of all Arab Israelis who are waiting for a teaching job in Israel, regardless of their qualifications. Therefore trauma-informed Arab Waldorf schools are often staffed by Arab teachers who are not trained in Waldorf education prior to being hired. Currently, more than 14,000 Arab Israeli teachers are waiting in the hiring line, while Jewish Waldorf schools are facing a teacher shortage, the report found.

It was hard for me to be exposed to that [criticism], Zeev said, citing frequent political instability in Israel as a factor causing funding roadblocks across the board.

Everything is in chaos, not just education, she explained.

Both Waheed and Zeev enrolled their children at the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, which has a lower-school campus in Los Altos, and a second campus in Mountain View for grades 6-12. Waheeds wife, Cathy, teaches at the school, and Zeev spent three years in teacher training there. Zeevs daughter was in Cathys class from third through eighth grades. (In Waldorf schools, students have a core teacher who stays with them in grades 1-8 to foster deeper student-teacher relationships.)

Waheed and Zeev have seen firsthand in their children the benefits of Waldorf education, and theyre convinced that these schools are an antidote to toxic stress in Israel.

One of the things that reGeneration Education believes in [is that] having a peaceful childhood helps promote a culture of peace. And when you have children that can deal with their own trauma, and they can heal themselves, they are already leaps and bounds ahead of others to be able to become healthy members of society, Waheed said.

Now that the results of the study are public, Waheed and Zeev hope the report can spur a dialogue with Israels Ministry of Education and create a leadership incubator to support Israeli advocates, with reGeneration Education serving in a consultant role. Theyre also hoping their research leads to growth in funding from generous donors in the United States who appreciate the work and mission of reGeneration Education.

The long-term outcome, Waheed stated, is to build connections between Jewish and Arab Israelis that arent based on shared trauma, but on shared healing.

Using the humanities to connect people and create a healing space is really our vision, Waheed said of the movement to expand Waldorf education for Arab communities in Israel. Thats certainly one key part, he added, of creating a better future he envisions for the area.

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Israeli and Gazan researchers study Waldorf schools for Arab Israelis J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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