Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

Hardings presidency marked a turning away from the government activism of the reform era, as he embraced a renewed isolationism and adopted laissez-faire policies both on economic and social policy. Domestically, he signed the first federal child welfare program; backed striking mining and railroad workers; supported a standard 8-hour workday; established the Bureau of the Budget; and fought for civil rights for African Americans. In foreign affairs, he rejected the League of Nations; signed a separate American WWI peace treaty with Germany and Austria; and advanced a successful world naval program.

However, he is best known for the infamous Teapot Dome Scandal, which involved the acceptance of bribes by Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall, who later became the first Cabinet member to be sent to prison. Various other administration officials, some of whom committed suicide, were convicted of fraud and taking kickbacks and, although he was a very popular president, many historians rank him among Americas worst chief executives. However, as we shall see, his enthusiastic support for the Balfour Declaration and for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Eretz Yisrael established an important precedent for American Zionism and played an important role in the birth of Israel.

Nonetheless, Harding (1865-1923) often acted contrary to the interests of American Jews. As a senator, he voted against the confirmation of Louis Brandeis for the Supreme Court and, in a stunning blow to Jewish interests, the newly elected president called a special session of Congress to enact legislation that would greatly curb immigration. He went on to promptly sign the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, which reduced to a trickle the number of Jewish immigrants from eastern and southern Europe. During his administration, quotas were imposed on Jewish students in American colleges and universities; antisemitic activity, which had been largely dormant, grew significantly, including the growth of the Ku Klux Klan; and antisemitism was publicly spread by Henry Ford, among other staunch Harding supporters.

Notwithstanding Hardings general apathy toward the Jews, however, he knew where to find them when he needed them. In the July 1, 1920, letter exhibited here, Harding writes to famed censor Will Hays, then his presidential campaign chairman, referring Hays to Adolph Danziger who, he believes, can help immensely. He will come to you with this note. I am sure he has been helpful in the past, and can help us. Hays writes in response Dear Senator: I have your note in re Mr. Danziger and am delighted to meet with him.

Adolphe Danziger (de Castro) (1859-1959) was a journalist, author, poet and noted Jewish scholar who wrote several books on the Talmudic tradition, including Jewish Forerunners of Christianity (1903), a well-regarded book on the Jewish patriarchs of the Second Temple period, beginning with Hillel and ending with a chapter on Rabbi Judah the Prince, the compiler of the Jerusalem Talmud. He was elected the first president of the Sephardic Community of Los Angeles (1920).

William H. Hays (1879-1954) served as chairman of the Republican National Committee (1918-1921); as campaign manager for Hardings successful 1920 campaign for the presidency; and as the presidents Postmaster-General (1921-1922), in which capacity he became well known as an outspoken opponent of obscenity. He is perhaps best known, however, as the first president of the Motion Picture Association of America (1922-1945) and as the namesake of the infamous and highly restrictive Hays Code, which remains controversial to this day.

However, despite his general apathy for the national interests of American Jews, Harding surprised them with his heartfelt support for a Jewish homeland in Eretz Yisrael. Soon after he succeeded Woodrow Wilson as president, he made clear that he would unreservedly support Zionism and its lofty aims; in a July 1, 1921 correspondence, he wrote to the chairman of the Reception Committee of the ZOA:

. . . I want to add an expression of my most friendly interest in and for the Zionist Movement. It is impossible for one who has studied at all the services of the Hebrew people to avoid the faith that they will one day be restored to their historical National Home and then enter on a new and yet greater phase of their contribution to the advance of humanity. Please assure those who will be gathered at the luncheon today of my continued concern for the cause in which you are so zealously laboring.

Harding made a point to meet with Chaim Weizmann and Albert Einstein in March 1921 when they came to the United States to launch the Keren Hayesod drive to raise funds for the settlement of Eretz Yisrael. The president, who presented the two great Jewish leaders with an award from the National Academy of Sciences, may have received them as an expression of his gratitude to American Jews for giving him a 43 percent plurality of the Jewish vote in the 1920 election, a very rare accomplishment for a Republican before or since.

During an hour-long meeting with Harding at the White House on January 13, 1922, Nahum Sokolow, then president of the Executive Committee of the World Zionist Congress, briefed the president on the persecution of Eastern European Jews and updated him on settlement progress in Eretz Yisrael. The president reiterated his sympathy for Zionism and promised the further support of the United States government and, in a May 11, 1922 correspondence, he expressed support for the pioneers of Eretz Yisrael:

I am very glad to express my approval and hearty sympathy for the effort of the Palestine Foundation Fund on behalf of the restoration of Palestine as a homeland for the Jewish people . . .I have always viewed with an interest, which I think is quite as much practical as sentimental the proposal for the rehabilitation of Palestine and I hope the effort now being carried on in this and other countries in this behalf may meet with the fullest measure of success.

In a July 25, 1922, correspondence to the Zionist Organization of America, he expressed his Zionist sentiments perhaps even more forcefully:

A long-time interest, both sentimental and practical, in the Zionist movement causes me to wish that I might meet the members of the organization and express the esteem which I feel in behalf of the great movement.

On August 21, 1922, the president sent the following Rosh Hashanah greetings to American Jews, which was received with great delight:

The commemoration this year of Rosh Hashanah, the New Year day of the Jewish people, will mark the end of a year peculiarly notable in Jewish annals. It has seemed the definite assurance to the Jewish people that their long aspiration for re-establishment of Jewish nationality in the homeland of this great people is to be definitely realized. This is an event of notable significance, not only to the Jewish people but to their friends and well-wishers everywhere, among whom the American nation has always been proud to be numbered.

But Hardings greatest contribution to Zionism was his enthusiastic signing of the Lodge-Fish Resolution on September 20, 1922, in the face of hostile opposition from the two leading anti-Zionist institutions of the day, the U.S. State Department and the New York Times, owned by Jewish arch-anti-Zionist Adolph Ochs. Passed unanimously by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, it repeated the Balfour Declaration virtually verbatim:

Favoring the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the United States of America favors the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which should prejudice the civil and religious rights of Christian and all other non-Jewish communities in Palestine, and that the holy places and religious buildings and sites in Palestine shall be adequately protected.

By enthusiastically embracing Lodge-Fish, Harding legitimized American Zionism and made it possible for Jews and others who had been reticent about publicly expressing their support for the Zionist cause to rally for the creation of a Jewish state. His support of the Resolution which was never repealed and is still law effectively rooted a Zionist ethos in successive American administrations and served as the basis for the birth of Israel in 1948.

Hardings Zionism may be rooted in his Baptist faith and his knowledge of the Bible and, over and above his support for a Jewish homeland in Eretz Yisrael, he often expressed positive sentiments about the Jewish faith. For example, shortly after becoming the Republican nominee for president, he declared, It is my conviction that the fundamental trouble with the people of the United States is that they have gotten too far away from Almighty G-d. In a beautiful January 10, 1923, correspondence apologizing for being unable to attend the Golden Jubilee Dinner of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations which was printed verbatim in the January 25, 1923, New York Times he emphasized the importance of religious faith in general and his admiration for the Jewish faith in particular:

Messrs. Adolph S. Ochs. Louis Marshall, Henry M. Morgenthau, Daniel P. Hays, David M. Bressler:

Receipt of your committee of the cordial invitation to the Golden Jubilee dinner of the Union of American Hebrew Congregation imposes on me a duty which brings both embarrassment and regret. Embarrassment, because at one time I made to you a tentative promise to participate on this occasion if personal circumstances permit; regret, that I am to be denied the pleasure I anticipated. The illness of Mrs. Harding, which for several months has rendered impossible any engagements requiring me to travel outside Washington, continues to interpose the same obstacle, and therefore compels me to ask you to excuse me.

I had hoped to take part in this commemoration because it seemed to afford occasion for saying some things which have been much in my thoughts of late. One of the marvels of humanitys story has been the strength and persistence of the Jewish faith and the continuing influence and power of the Jewish people. I cannot but feel that these things are in large measure owing to the Hebrew conception of a personal G-d and of the individual accountability of men and women. There is evident almost everywhere in the world the need for a restoration of the soul of religious devotion . . .

Feeling thus, and recognizing the great debt that other religions owe to the Hebrew faith, I would have been glad to avail myself of the opportunity which you have tendered to express somewhat my convictions in this vital department of human concern. The world needs the renewed assurance of faith in the Almighty, and the tranquility which comes of that faith. There will be among those taking part in your notable commemoration many better than I to express these thoughts, so I can express no more sincere wish than that the gathering may inspire some of them to voice in words of conviction and power the thought I have sought to convey.

With all assurances of my sympathetic interest in behalf of your splendid purposes,

In 1905, Florence Harding, the presidents wife, had a kidney removed, one result of which was an increased susceptibility to infection for the rest of her life. In late 1922, she contracted chronic kidney disease followed by sepsis, which brought her close to death and kept the president at her side. Although she ultimately recovered, her kidney condition later returned and she died of renal failure fifteen months after her husbands death from a heart attack on August 2, 1923.

Although Harding did not seem to have any personal relationships with individual Jews, he appointed Rabbi Joseph Saul Kornfeld (1876-1944), a reform rabbi ordained by the Hebrew Union College in 1899, to serve as United States Minister to Persia (Iran), the first rabbi ever to represent the U.S. in a foreign diplomatic post. During his time in Iran (1922-1924), Kornfeld was in frequent contact with the Iranian Jewish community, helped to fight antisemitism there, and prevented attacks against the Jewish community on several occasions.

In one particularly notable case, Kornfeld saved the Jews in Tehran from a certain pogrom. On September 4, 1922, the custodian of a yeshiva in the Tehran ghetto stopped a donkey on which a servant of a Tehran mullah was riding to prevent it from colliding with children leaving the school. When the Islamic cleric was advised that he had been held up by filthy Jews, he demanded revenge against them for their sacrilegious act; local goons armed with sticks and clubs beat up Jews in the street, and thousands of armed rioters encircled the ghetto. Kornfeld interceded with the Iranian Minister of War, Reza Khan Pahlavi, who dispatched a military force to disperse the rioters, and calm was restored with no loss of Jewish life. (Three years later, Pahlavi would seize power and become the Shah of Iran.) As a token of its gratitude, the Persian Jewish community presented him with a silver plate engraved with the Ten Commandments and, in an allusion to the Purim story, which took place in Persia, he was hailed as the Present Day Mordechai.

Harding also appointed Albert Lasker (1880-1952), an American businessman who, as the father of modern advertising, is credited with transforming advertising from simple informational announcements to an advanced form of promotion and salesmanship that revolutionized the entire industry. As a key advisor to Hardings presidential campaign, he designed new and successful ways to advertise, effectively employing newspaper and magazine ads, billboards, and motion pictures, all of which played an important role in the presidents sweeping victory. Harding appointed him as chairman of the U.S. Shipping Board and, as only the third Jew to be appointed to such a high post in the federal government, his accomplishments as chairman included developing a national maritime policy, refitting the SS Leviathan for passenger service, and originating ship-to-shore telephone service.

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Jews of all denominations and all political affiliations, both in America and overseas, joined in expressing deep sorrow at Hardings passing. In the exhibit shown here, for example, American citizens in Carlsbad, Czechoslovakia, adopted a resolution mourning the loss of our beloved president, which was transmitted to the Secretary of State. The prayer at the memorial services was led by Rabbi Samuel Reich, who became the chief rabbi of Vrbove in Slovakia in 1902 and held office until the dissolution of the entire community by the Nazis and the deportation of its Jews to Auschwitz in 1942. Rav Reich was one of the few Jews of Vrbove to survive the Holocaust, after which he made aliyah to Jerusalem.

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The Zionism Of Warren G. Harding - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

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Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

On Thursday, April 21, the air in MIT room 3-270 was electric with excitement, as poet and novelist Elizabeth Acevedo took the floor, along with student moderator Nailah J. Smith 22. Acevedo is Afro-Latinx, born in Harlem, New York, to Dominican parents, and one of the most acclaimed young Latinx writers on the contemporary literary scene. A dynamic speaker, she is a national poetry slam champion, young-adult novelist, and the winner of prestigious literary awards, including the National Book Award for Young Peoples Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Carnegie Medal. Smith, her student interlocutor that day, is herself a budding novelist and an award-winning writer, having garnered prizes such as the Louis Kampf Writing Prize (2019) and the Ilona Karmel Writing Prizes (2021 and 2022) at MIT.

The two women had been brought together before an in-person audience of some 50 people, with an additional 90 participating online via livestreaming for the MIT Reads programs spring 2022 event, A Conversation with Elizabeth Acevedo, co-sponsored by the Program in Womens and Gender Studies, MIT Global Languages, the MIT Libraries, the Committee on Race and Diversity, Hermanas Unidas, My Sisters Keeper, and Latino ERG.

By inviting Acevedo to speak at MIT and showcasing her work, MIT Reads and the event co-sponsors sought to engage the campus community with a writer whose person and works provide vital insight into a crucial, yet often overlooked, aspect of U.S. history and society: the influence of the Caribbean diaspora and the rich stories, traditions, and cultures of the Dominicans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans who have shaped the character of their adopted homeland.

Acevedo had come to campus to read from her novel Clap When You Land (2020). The novel-in-verse probes the events surrounding the Nov. 12, 2001 crash of American Airlines Flight 587, the second-deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history, in which 260 passengers on the flight and five people on the ground perished. Over 90 percent of the passengers on the flight, which was bound for Santo Domingo, were of Dominican descent. Thirteen years old at the time of the crash, Acevedo later wrote Clap When You Land as a way of reflecting upon the schism she noted between the devastation the crash caused within the Dominican-American community and the relatively fleeting coverage by major U.S. news outlets of the crash, overshadowed as it was by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Clap When You Land is thus a work that considers who matters and deserves attention in the media, as Acevedo writes, while also exploring related issues of race, social class, and trauma.

The idea to invite Acevedo to MIT first arose when Spanish lecturers Liana Ewald and Ana Yez integrated selections of her novel The Poet X (2018), translated into Spanish, into the Spanish language curriculum in MIT Global Languages. Together with Portuguese lecturer and advisor to the MIT collaborative initiative Hermanas Unidas, Nilma Dominique, Ewald and Yez approached MIT Reads with the idea of selecting a work by Acevedo for its spring 2022 program. As Nina Davis-Millis, director of community engagement for the MIT Libraries recalls, there was not a moment of hesitation amongst the library staff: In choosing titles for the MIT Reads program, were looking for books that explore social justice themes, have literary merit, and are appealing enough to tempt busy MIT people to read them.Clap When You Land richly meets these requirements its lyrical, thought-provoking, and somehow just plain fun despite its dark themes.

The event, A Conversation with Elizabeth Acevedo, represented a perfect melding of the aims of the campus units and groups that sponsored it. MIT Reads seeks to bring the campus community together through shared reading and discussion of books centered on diversity, inclusion, and social justice. Womens and Gender Studies trains students to think critically about gender equity. Global Languages strives to educate students in languages, cultures, and intercultural communications. The Committee on Race and Diversity aims to foster racial and cultural diversity on campus, with a special emphasis on cultivating communication among different campus constituencies. Hermanas Unidas, Latino ERG, and My Sisters Keeper are organizations dedicated to supporting Latinas, Black women, and Latinx members of the MIT community.

On that sunny day in April, Acevedo held her audience spellbound as she read from the opening chapter of Clap When You Land, which evokes the Dominican homeland of Camino Rios, one of the two sisters and teenage female protagonists of the novel:

I spend nights wiping clean the bottoms of my feet,soiled rag over a bucket, undoing this mark of place.To be from this barrio is to be made of this earth & clay:

Dirt-packed, water-backed, third-world smacked []

Following the reading, Smith skillfully guided the Q&A session, observing, for example, how women constantly show up for each other in 'Clap When You Land' and asking Acevedo to reflect upon the use of gender in her novels. The audience seemed at times both giddy and overwhelmed, as members took turns inquiring about issues such as the nature of the lesbian relationship at the novels center, and making more personal inquiries, for instance, about how Acevedo navigates predominantly white, elite spaces in her appearances as a writer and widely sought-after public speaker. The event closed with an impromptu recital by Acevedo of a poem praising her Afro-Latinx ancestors, which was met by raucous applause.

As for Smith, the formative role of humanistic study and inquiry on this recent MIT graduate is clear. She is jubilant in reflecting about the event and her participation in it:

As someone passionate about literature and writing, I've watched countless talks like this, both in-person and online, but it was a completely different experience to be the one front-and-center, and to have the chance to connect with the author on a personal level. Acevedo is an amazing speaker, and I discovered just how much we have in common as writers. Her care for people and their lives is clear in her characters and the passion she puts into her work. My favorite part of the event was the Q&A and witnessing how many people felt seen by her work and moved by her words.

As a double major in electrical engineering and computer science and creative writing, Smith will carry with her what she has learned at the Institute at large, and in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences specifically, in her next endeavors. She spent much of her final semester at MIT penning her senior thesis, the initial chapters of a novel she is writing under the direction of Professor Helen Elaine Lee. Her Spanish studies through Global Languages have inspired her to continue advancing in the language, which she will do as the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship to Colombia next academic year. While in Colombia, Smith plans to pursue a personal and intellectual interest in Afrolatinidad, which she first nurtured while studying in Brazil during Independent Activities Period 2021 in MIT literature lecturer Joaquin Terrones course, Race, Modernity, and Migration in the Americas.

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Novelist Elizabeth Acevedo's work reflects the rich stories, traditions, and cultures of the Caribbean diaspora - MIT News

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Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

Can diaspora bondsbonds funded by Africans living in the diaspora, primarily in middle-income and high-income countrieshelp drive new investments in the continent?

There is no question that the African diaspora in the United States has reached a new level of influence. In fact, last year, Dana Banks, senior director for Africa at the National Security Council, stated at a press briefing focused on U.S.-Africa trade that the Biden administration will provide targeted support to small- and medium-sized businesses with a specific focus on the African diaspora and their businesses and investors across the United States.

The Biden administrations attention to the African diaspora is recognition that the Black immigrant population in the United States has increased fivefold since 1980, with much of this growth fueled by increasing migration from sub-Saharan Africa. Today, approximately 2 million sub-Saharan Africans live in the United States, an increase of 52 percent since 2010. (Note: These figures do not account for the U.S.-born children of these African immigrants.) As might be expected, the largest share of African emigrants to the United States come from the most populous countries, including Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Kenya. More than half of African immigrants became naturalized U.S. citizens by 2017; others who have acquired legal lawful residence (i.e., a green card) did so by arriving as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, obtaining refugee status, or winning the Diversity Visa lottery.

Furthermore, the African diaspora community in the United States has specific traits that have helped to broaden its influence economically and politically. The Migration Policy Institute notes that, compared to the total foreign-born population in the United States, sub-Saharan Africans are better educated, tend to participate in the labor force at higher rates, and are more likely to speak English at home. As of 2017, 40 percent of sub-Saharan Africans aged 25 and over held a bachelors degree or higher, compared to 31 percent of the total foreign-born population and 32 percent of the U.S.-born population. Sub-Saharan Africans also participate in the civilian labor force at high rates, mainly in the fields of management, business, science, and the arts.

Sub-Saharan African immigrants living in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere send back significant amounts in remittances to the continent. In 2021, that amount was $46 billionan increase of 6.2 percent over 2020, when remittances were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, however, remittances to low- and middle-income countries remained surprisingly resilient over the last two years.

The total amount of foreign direct investment in the region in 2021was $88 billion. The volume of FDI was inflated by a single intra-firm financial transaction in South Africa in the second half of 2021. The FDI volumes into Africa for 2019 and 2020, respectively, were $32 billion and $29 billionor less than diaspora remittances.

With the improvement of financial technology, a more conducive regulatory environment, and an increase in African migration over the past decade, remittances have become one of the leading sources of foreign exchange revenue, according to the World Bank. In addition, while the volume of remittances is small, it is significantcontributing to about 2 to 3 percent of sub-Saharan Africas GDP.

While, traditionally, diaspora remittances support the immediate needs of family members, related tools like diaspora bonds can facilitate far-reaching positive impacts for local and national communities. According to the Migration Policy Institute, a diaspora bond is a government debt security with investors drawn from the countrys nationals living abroad, their descendants, or those with another connection to the nation. Diaspora bonds could allow governments and potential project sponsors or corporates to diversify their funding sources while borrowing at below-market rates and longer tenors, as these bonds are offered at a patriotic discount or during times of fiscal crisis. Diaspora bonds can also raise money for larger projects, such as infrastructure and social safety net programs, while satisfying the desire of diaspora communities to contribute to improving their countries of origin.

Given Africas economic development needs, such as building roads, strengthening telecommunications networks, and improving access to electricity, diaspora bonds can help to kick-start long-term and costly projects.

African governments have increasingly taken steps to attract investment, tourism, skills, and networks from their citizens and the broader African diaspora (including descendants of enslaved persons in North and South America). For example, Ghana updated its policy on dual citizenship in 2000 and now allows Ghanaians to maintain their citizenship while also acquiring secondary citizenships. Ghana also hosted the successful Year of Return in 2019 to attract Ghanaian immigrants (and the broader Black diaspora) to visit the country, including some from the diaspora community who were granted citizenship.

Ethiopia has a long-established special residency permit for members of the Ethiopian diaspora with foreign citizenship to live, invest, and work in the country of origin. Recently, banking regulations have been liberalized to permit the Ethiopian diaspora with foreign citizenship to invest and buy shares in private commercial banks, set up lending businesses in the state-dominated financial sector, and contribute to major infrastructure projects. In fact, the country issued a diaspora bond in 2008 to finance projects for Ethiopian Electric Power, a state-owned entity, and again in 2011 to finance the GERD. However, both attempts failed to achieve expected results due to real and perceived risks. In particular, investors lacked trust in the government: According to the Anti-Corruption Center of Transparency International, between 2005 and 2014, an estimated average of between $1.2 billion to $3.1 billion dollars left Ethiopia as illicit financial flows every year. Moreover, the government then also failed to meet local regulations, such as registration of the bond with SEC.

Nigeria is also an interesting test case of diaspora bonds in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, the country raised nearly $300 million in its first-ever diaspora bond, which speaks to the strength and size of its expatriate communities. However, a recent Sdwind Institut report highlighted that the amount raised is impressive at a transactional level, it is way below the $25 billion in remittances reported in 2018. The government will repay the diaspora bonds principal next month, on June 27. Press reports indicate that the government is considering a second diaspora bond to off-set the countrys budget deficit, which will rise in part due to the impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict on commodity prices.

These figures show the potential of tapping the diaspora for further financing, contingent, of course, upon multiple factors.

Despite their potential, diaspora bonds remain underutilized and face significant limitations. First, although several African countries (e.g., Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria), have attempted to utilize diaspora bonds, only two countriesboth outside Africahave established multiple successful rounds of diaspora bonds: India and Israel.

One characteristic of the Indian and Israeli bonds is that both countries relied upon various institutional mechanisms that enabled their success. For example, Israel registered its bond with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), while India relied on a global network of Indian and foreign commercial banks that specialized in dealings with Indians in the diaspora to facilitate uptake. Conversely, of the African countries that have experimented with diaspora bonds, most have only gone through one relatively successful round (Kenya, Nigeria) or the funds have failed to attract much interest (see below). Moreover, the risk of defaulting on diaspora bonds, volatility in African financial markets due to overreliance on commodities (such as oil in Nigeria), and lack of transparency and confidence in domestic financial markets have decreased diaspora interest in these instruments.

Given the potential for these bonds to support development on the continent, African governments can actively take several measures to improve the investment appetite for bonds initiated by the African diaspora. First, bond issuers should endeavor to strengthen the governance of the bonds, including reporting in detail how the proceeds are used. Second, policymakers should clearly demonstrate the link between the bonds and a credible country development strategy that advances sustainable economic growth and fosters a conducive investment climate. Third, policymakers should target specific projects or enterprises that produce sufficient economic value to support repayment of the bond, as well as meet significant needs of the broader population, such as telecommunications or infrastructure. Fourth, and most importantly, governments and bond issuers should work to enhance the credit of bonds in line with the standards of international development agencies and financial institutions. Finally, to be successful, any bond will have to conform with the governance and transparency standards of the SEC.

Western governments and financial institutions also have a role to play in diaspora bonds. They should consider lending their expertise and funding to African governments as they launch diaspora bonds, as this represents new sources of investment capital that can be channeled to development projects.

Given the challenges faced by many African governments in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising cost of commodities due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, enhanced engagement with the diaspora could lead to new sources of investment capital, and diaspora bonds could play a useful role in this context.

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Diaspora bonds: An innovative source of financing? - Brookings Institution

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Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

(May 31, 2022, JERUSALEM, JNS Wire)

More than 1,000 gap-year yeshiva and seminary students celebrated Yom Yerushalayim at a pep rally sponsored by Masa Israel and hosted in partnership with World Mizrachi, designed to inspire and energize them into ambassadors for Israel as many plan to return home and get ready for college campuses in the Fall.

Back-to-back events at Heichal Shlomo, held separately for men and women, were awash with music, singing, dancing and food to commemorate the anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.

The event and new program are part of Mizrachis Flying the Flag initiative, an ongoing campaign aimed at solidifying the spiritual connection gap-year students develop with the Jewish state in order to cultivate a generation of Zionist ambassadors who will champion Eretz Yisraels reputation in the next phases of their lives. The initiative comes as rising antisemitism and the Boycott Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement challenge Jewish communities both generally across the globe and specifically on college campuses, where many of the event attendees are headed in just a few months.

Masas facilitation of the separately gendered programming was a first on their part as they now endeavor to appeal to a more religiously diverse audience.

The consecutive festivities began at 4 p.m. for men and 8 p.m. for women, with both events featuring the world renowned contemporary religious singer Shlomo Katz for musical entertainment and a dairy spread. Keynote speakers included World Mizrachi CEO Rav Doron Perez at the mens event and Rabbanit Shani Taragin for the womens event who both focused on the critical impact that each student can and must play in maintaining a thriving Jewish community, whether it be in Israel or in the Diaspora. Short video presentations and other speeches followed featuring descriptions of World Mizrachi and other programs in place that are specifically geared towards engaging former gap-year students and maintaining their spiritual and Zionistic high. Options presented included making Aliyah, joining the Israeli Defense Forces as well as partaking in college campus initiatives abroad such as Heart to Heart and OU-JLIC.

World Mizrachi plans to maintain relationships with all participants to maximize their ongoing contributions to both their local and greater Jewish communities as well as defense of the State of Israel.

With antisemitism and defamation of Israel being one of the greatest threats to the Jewish people, we want to produce an army of soldiers who will be empowered to address these challenges on campus, said World Mizrachi CEO Rav Doron Perez. Masas partnership with us on this initiative marks a historic collaboration to develop a generation of leaders dedicated to advancing the Jewish communities abroad and their connection to Israel. We are extremely grateful for their partnership and for sharing our collective responsibility to invest in a robust Jewish Diaspora.

The burst of enthusiasm and ruach expressed by our young leaders tonight promises a flourishing future for Eretz Medinat Yisrael, said Religious Zionists of America Executive Vice President Rabbi Ari Rockoff. The gap-year experience for many young men and women is the pinnacle of their religious and Zionistic personal growth. This is a pivotal opportunity to secure their current and future participation in Jewish communal life which includes the advancement of Americas Zionist movement.

Participating institutions included: Yeshivat Hakotel; Midreshet Lindenbaum; Tiferet Center; Shaalvim for Women, Neve Yerushalayim, Yeshivat Ashreinu; Machon Maayan; Yeshivat Torat Shraga; Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi; Midreshet Torat Chessed; Yeshivat Lev HaTorah; Midreshet Eshel; Midreshet Emunah vOmanut; Midreshet Emunah Torah VAvodah; Baer Miriam Seminary; Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim; Stella K. Abraham Beit Midrash at Migdal Oz; Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh and Nishmat.

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Mizrachi recruits 1000 gap year students to serve as religious emissaries when they return to the diaspora - JNS.org

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Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

In what is believed to be a unique initiative, the Mayo diaspora estimated to total some 3.5 million people globally has been asked to work collectively to help address climate and the biodiversity crises.

Speaking at an inaugural gathering of Mayo change-makers in Ballina, Kenyan ambassador to Ireland Michael Mubea welcomed the initiative. The world was more local than people thought, he said, while deploying the Irish Meitheal tradition could help meet the challenges of global warming.

Already the potential from this type of collaboration was demonstrated by the successful establishment of a population of the Mayo cow on Kenyan farms, courtesy of Mayo farmers, he confirmed.

Torn between giving food to their families and their animals, Kenyan farmers face an unenviable dilemma in handling the impacts of climate change that are the result of actions in the global North, he told the conference. In contrast, Ireland might not be in the direct firing line of climate disruption, but it would be affected.

Climate change is an emergency which calls for urgent collective global action. The least contributors will unfortunately be most affected, he said.

Nature is very unforgiving of our mistakes, and I urge you all to be that agent of change to protect our environment, Mr Mubea told delegates, most of whom had Mayo roots including leading scientists, energy experts, biodiversity researchers and climate activists who tuned in online from abroad.

Participants explored themes including leadership in local and global communities, innovation and research, and featured change-makers already tackling climate and biodiversity issues including community groups in the county.

Former head of the Defence Forces, retired vice-admiral Mark Mellett, who is from Castlebar, emphasised the issue at hand is a people issue. It is essential for us to bring together governments, civil society and enterprise to help solve the greatest challenge of our society.

Climate activist Theo Cullen-Mouze, who is from Clare Island and a founder of School Strikes 4 Climate Ireland, underlined Irish people could make a meaningful response to the climate crisis at an individual level but also by influencing leaders locally, nationally and on the international stage.

The network is being facilitated by a partnership between the Mary Robinson Centre (MRC) in Ballina and Mayo County Councils climate action office, with support from Atlantic Seaboard North CARO.

Mayo TD Dara Calleary said the initiative was rooted in communities. Each and every one of us has to lead in our communities, in our workplace and in every sphere of our lives. We can no longer delay change, he said.

Mayo prided itself in its environmentalism going back more than 5,000 years, he said, but it had to act now to ensure its environment and land was passed on in a healthy condition to those living 5,000 years hence. If it did not act with greater urgency, there would be no Mayo, he predicted.

The objective was to create a global network of Mayo people working, studying and researching in this space for collaborative and knowledge-sharing opportunities across the world, while having a conversation on how we can work together in supporting the global goal of carbon neutrality, said MRC project manager Susan Heffernan.

Mayos national and overseas diaspora associations were some of the strongest and most active; well-connected to home and eager to support, connect and celebrate the green and red where they can.

We might have the countrys first climate diaspora association emerging here, she said.

Mr Mubea is also undertaking a two-day visit to Mayo, learning about Irish farming practices, land use and climate initiatives that could be applied in Africa, and sharing Kenyas perspective on climate change.

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Mayo diaspora urged to join forces to address climate and biodiversity crises in 'unique' initiative - The Irish Times

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Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) New York and Hawaii may be a world apart, but the two states face very similar issues when it in comes to the socio-political issues of gentrification and housing.

The same way New Yorkers are slowly being displaced from theirlong-termneighborhoods because of rent hikes, Hawaiian natives are also being priced out of their homes andforced to flock elsewhere due to localeconomicissues.

Today, about half of all Native Hawaiians live outside of Hawaii. As a result, those born and raised in Hawaii are struggling to keep their culture alive in the diaspora.

To wrap up Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, in this very special In Depth Podcast, 1010 WINS takes a closer look at the Native Hawaiian community in New York City.

Listen as host Jill Webb unearths the issues that made some natives feel like they had to leave and learn why there truly is no place like home for the displaced.

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PODCAST: The Native Hawaiian diaspora in NYC - 1010 WINS

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Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

It's been 69 years since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquered Mount Everest, and the Nepali community in Auckland came out in force to celebrate.

There was food, dance performances, auction andspeeches by dignitaries including Sir Edmund's son, Peter Hillary, Auckland mayor Phil Goff and Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon.

Addressing the more than 300 crowd at Fickling Centre in Three Kings, Hillary paid tribute to theNew Zealand-Nepal partnership that conquered the world's highest peak in 1953.

Arvind Kumar

Nepali dancers perform at Everest Day celebrations in Auckland.

READ MORE:*Everest Day celebration plans reach new heights for 69th anniversary*Sir Ed Hillary's grandsons planning to conquer Everest together*Tenzing Norgay's sons visit mountain training ground*Sir Edmund Hillary's legacy lives on in Nepal*Sir Edmund Hillary's legacy lives on in Nepal on the eve of his 100th birthday

"So often in life we hear just one name, one person achieved,but the great thing about the first ascent of Mount Everest was that it was Hillary and Tenzing, that great partnership, and when they got to the top of Mount Everest, they literally put New Zealand on the map, and Nepal too," he said.

Hillary, who is also chair of the Himalayan Trust set up by his father, said it was important for New Zealanders to be aware of the strong bond between the two countries united by one great achievement.

Arvind Kumar

Dignitaries and part of the crowd at Everest Day celebrations in Auckland.

While Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Bay of Plenty marked the event on May 29, a bigger celebration will take place in Wellingtonon Tuesday, May 31, at Parliament.

This was the first time Everest day was being celebrated in six cities across the country as the Nepali community gearedup for the 70th anniversary celebration next year.

Hillary had said earlier that while this year's celebrations had been escalated by the organisers, next year's Everest Day would be on an even bigger scale with international events planned in Kathmandu, New Delhi, London and New York.

Arvind Kumar

Auckland mayor Phil Goff addreesses attendees at the 69th Everest Day celebrations.

As part of the fundraising drive by the Himalayan Trust, two different campaignshave been running at each celebration city in a bid to raise $150,000 to fund school projects in Nepal.

The first is an auction of a portrait of Sir Ed and Norgay called "A Moment in History", signed by Sir Ed and the artist Craig Primrose. There's also a $5 note signed by Sir Ed up for auction.

The second campaign is "Give a Fiver for Ed" where a $5 note (or more) can be donated towards the Himalayan Trust. Visithimalayantrust.orgfor details or email nrnanzinc@gmail.com

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Nepali diaspora marks 69th Everest Day with celebrations around the country - Stuff

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Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

At the forefront of Turkeys cultural and social outreach to communities it has historic ties, the Presidency of Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) boasts expanding projects to the countrys close ally Pakistan.

In a statement on Wednesday, YTB said it runs diverse projects in a wide array of fields in Pakistan and for Pakistani citizens. One of them was the Istanbul-Lahore Leadership Program, which was the result of an agreement between the YTB and Pakistans Punjab province. The program offered Turkish language classes to 25 Pakistani nationals who were invited to Turkey to learn the language and for a tour of the country.

YTB was also behind a protocol with the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, signed during President Recep Tayyip Erdoans visit to the Asian country in February 2020. The protocol involves cooperation on diaspora affairs and exchange of experience in the field and aims to strengthen ties between Turkish and Pakistani diaspora abroad and developing joint mechanisms for the fight against their common problems, particularly xenophobia and anti-Islam sentiment.

The presidencys probably most popular project for Pakistan is Trkiye Scholarships. State-sponsored grants that draw huge interest from international students every year, were delivered to thousands of Pakistani students. Between 1992 and 2022, there were 95,891 applications to the Scholarships from Pakistan and 1,371 students benefited from scholarships. Overall, 1,547 Pakistani students are now alumni of Turkish universities. A Pakistani alumni association for those who studied at Turkish universities established in Islamabad in 2020 also helps cementing ties between the two countries.

Elsewhere, as part of YTBs programs for improving bilateral relations between Turkey and Asia-Pacific countries, Future Generations Academies, established in 2019, offers education and training to the youth from those countries, including Pakistan, on leadership, social media, journalism and history. The YTB also offered an online media training program for those countries and online workshops for people from countries including Pakistan as part of the Asia Anew initiative of the Foreign Ministry.

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Turkeys YTB helps in boosting ties with Pakistan | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah

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Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st May, 2022 ) :Senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Hameed Lone said that Overseas Kashmiris and Pakistani citizens would play their full role in highlighting the Kashmir issue and the atrocities committed by the Indian Army in occupied Kashmir in the changed circumstances.

The Pakistani and Kashmiri community abroad would also highlight the Kashmir issue and recent unfair and decision of Indian Kangaroo courts during the major event of common wealth games in London.

He said that "I have visited the UK last month, where I met with decision makers and legislators, including leaders from the Pakistani and Kashmiri communities. He also organized rallies and demonstrations at various places to highlight the importance of Kashmir issue".

Demonstrations were held on Ten Downing Street on April 25 during Modi's visit to Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. According to the protesters, Modi's hands are stained with the blood of innocent Muslims and other minorities. And Modi's fascist government has broken all records of human rights violations.

The dire situation in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir was also discussed with various broadcasters.

He said the present political crisis should come to an end in the country and our focus should be on core issues.

He said Yasin Malik was sentenced in a mock court. He said that there is no justice at all as India violating international laws. He said Yasin Malik's only crime was to speak for the Kashmir people.

He said Zardari claimed himself to be a friend of Biden. So he should play his role. He said PM visiting Turkey and he expressed the hope that he should raise his voice for Kashmiri prisoners who are kept in death cell in IIOJK.

He said Yasin Malik's case would also be raised in Geneva.

He said we should expose India's dirty face in front of the world. He said Indian forces were involved in war crimes and killing innocent people. We should take them to the international court of justice.

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Kashmiri Diaspora To Highlight Kashmir Issue During Common Wealth Games: Hameed Lone - UrduPoint - UrduPoint News

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Posted By admin on June 2, 2022

A tablescape of Hyungi Park's full incense setup.

Hyungi Park grew up with an affinity for the digital spacefrom computer programming lessons with her mother at age 10 to crafting Powerpoints for school book reports. She took her interest in computers and design and decided to pursue sculpture at VCU Arts, which is where her story of incense and craft making began to bloom.

What started with incense in performances and installations grew into a deep curiosity about its origins. She began shaping incense into flowers or braided sticks, twists on traditional cone incense. Im creating my own fusion of traditional-modern-American-Korean-abstract-Frankensteined, she says.

While developing her work, Hyungi also became fascinated by the ways in which different Asian cultures applied incenseparticularly citing how geisha used the burning of incense to indicate the cost of their entertainment and how Chinese working-class families let it be their version of an alarm clock. In a way, incense was a conduit for education, and Hyungi has taken that mode of learning a step further by opening the Baboshop storefront in Los Angeles. The space has become a hub for emerging craftspeople, with workshops that cover some of Hyungis latest self-taught formswhich now extend to bookbinding, laser-cutting, and tattooing.

A custom cake inspired by the colors of a Arcmanoro Niles painting.

You likely recognize Amy Yips cakes from her ever-so-circulated Instagram page, @yip.studio. Between mossy, rocklike green works and lumpy pieces covered in strawberries and bright reds, Amy has created a name for herself when it comes to aesthetically pleasing baking. The New Zealand native comes from baker parents and actually avoided the career path at first, having seen all the physical labor that went into her familys business. She started off in art school and then worked as a textile designer for six years; but when she eventually discovered a way of connecting [art and baking], Amy became fascinated.

Nearly two years later, Amy began her practice. The rock geometry of her cakes is quite intentional, derived from her moms enthusiasm for crystals; she also often takes inspiration from the florals present at events where she is the pastry partner. The design of Amys cakes is just the start, as the flavor profiles span yuzu shiso, oolong rose and lychee, brown butter and Japanese sweet potato, and more. I always wanted Asian-inspired cakes for my birthday, [but] it was always hard to find those cakes and textures, she says.

Not only does Amys studio tout the flavoring of her heritage, but Amy shares that she intentionally used her surname for the business. While she was growing up, her parents chose to name their own business after a New Zealand local; in the mid-90s, she wasnt as proud or vocal about her identity as 66% Chinese and 33% Vietnamese. I wanted a different surname, like SmithI wanted to blend in, she says. Now, she is happy to take something that I was embarrassed of and show how proud I am.

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8 Asian American and Pacific Islander Creatives on the Relevance of Heritage | Architectural Digest - Architectural Digest

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