Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

I discovered the website NationalDayCalendar.com, which lists the titles and historical information of each months days and weeks to be celebrated and commemorated, as well as the various titles given to each month. Examples in May are: Cinco de Mayo (May 5th, annually);Mothers Day (the first Sunday in May); National Blame Someone Else Day (May 13, 2022, which falls on the first Friday-the-13th of a year. It falls on Jan. 13 in 2023.); and Nurses Week (May 5 -12, annually).

Some titles for the month of May are: Get Caught Reading Month; Mental Health Awareness Month; Older Americans Month; Jewish-American Heritage Month; Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month; and Mental Health Awareness Month.

Many of the titles of the days/weeks/months encourage/help folks to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions and history of certain groups. Often, this focus canalsobe an education on the atrocities certain groups have experienced/experience. It is sad that humans continue to abuse/mistreat/abandon others.

The God Was sat shaking its head,distressed by hearing what was saidby humans who lied and distorted facts and unconscionably committed barbaric acts.Compassion and ethics! Where now were they? Why were they so lacking in life today?It seemed that for humans a major new creednow embraced selfishness, cruelty and greedand the worship of humans, who werent very smart, whod destroy the world or at least play a part.

Good brains humans had originally had. Were they now stupid or had they gone mad?

From Our Future, by Peggy Tarr

I am saddened by the senseless attacks on people and/or efforts to exterminate people within and without the USA.

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Peggy Tarr: In the month of May - Evanston RoundTable

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Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Oregon Rises Above Hate announced they are hosting an event in Old Town in honor of Asian American Pacific Islander Month.

The May 14 event, beginning on Flanders Festival Street, will feature local performances, speeches, food carts, and a COVID-19 vigil at Lan Su Chinese Garden.

Additionally, Cultural Heritage Institutions including the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Jewish Museum and Portland Chinatown Museum will be open free to the public.

The Oregon Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs is honored to collaborate with Rise Above Hate for this important event, said OCAPI Co-chair, Susan Soonkeum Cox. The impact of racial hate crimes and actions against members of our community cannot go unanswered. This call-to-action is a critical step, and we invite community leaders throughout the state to get involved.

According to Oregon Rises Above Hate, during the COVID-19 pandemic, hate crimes against Asian Americans surged with more than 10,900 hate incidents in the U.S. since March 19, 2020.

The goal of Oregon Rises Above Hate is to highlight AANHPI issues to the broader community while uniting our diverse and distinct communities of Asian descent together in one voice, Anne Naito-Campbell, organizer of Oregon Rises Above Hate, said. Together, we will rise against hate, we will confront it, and we will rise above it. We will build a future that brings the promise of America to reality.

Elizabeth Nye, Executive Director of the Lan Su Chinese Garden, added we want to make our voice very clear we stand united with the Old Town Chinatown community to strongly condemn racial intolerance and violence wherever it occurs.

Elizabeth Dinh contributed to this story

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Oregon Rises Above Hate to host Old Town event for AAPI Heritage Month - KOIN.com

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Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

An influential journalism professor who helped to run the revived Jewish community in Lincoln has died, aged 80.

Brian Winston taught a generation of reporters at UK universities, many of whom went on to become the cream of the profession.

He also led the Jewish community in Lincoln, which grew from small beginnings in the 1990s the first presence in the city since their explusion 750 years earlier.

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Henry III executed 19 Jews on the false charge that they killed a nine-yearold boy, so he could seize their assets.

Winston wrote the plaque that in 2009 replaced one commemorating Little Hugh of Lincoln, who was alleged to have been killed in a ritual sacrifice the most serious medieval English blood libel.

The death of the boy, whose body was found in a well a month after he vanished, was used as a pretext to execute 19 Jews, including one who was said to have confessed under torture. The events were chronicled by Matthew Paris, a Benedictine monk.

The citys Jewish community now meet in an upstairs room of the Jews House on Steep Hill in the medieval quarter of the city, where Prof Winston would lead services and Seder.

Richard Dale, a lawyer who helped create the Lincoln community, said: Brians services were the most interesting Ive ever heard because of his knowledge of Jewish history.

He was often critical of Israel and keen to share a meal with Muslims and Christians. He was full of energy and always intellectually extremely vigorous. Guide to the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides had a big impact on him.

The academic, who died after complications arising from a fall at his care home, was a specialist in freedom of expression, documentary film and journalistic ethics.

He filmed the Beatles landing in New York for a World in Action documentary, was professor of journalism at the Cardiff University training course and a founder member of the the Glasgow University Media Group, whose books Bad News (1976) and More Bad News (1980) lacerated the British record on impartiality in TV and press coverage.

He grew up in Kilburn where his father worked on a fruit stall before going on to selling shopping trolleys and studied law at Merton College, Oxford, from 1960 to 63.

He was a researcher for Granada TVs World in Action and a producer for the BBC.

He was media course director at Alvescot College, Oxfordshire, then lecturer at Bradford College of Art (1972-73) and Glasgow University (1974-76), in sociology. He was professor at New York University from 1979 and won a 1985 Emmy for documentary series Heritage: Civilization and the Jews for WNET-TV.

He was dean of communications at Penn State University, then ran the journalism schools at Cardiff (1992-97) followed by Westminster University (1997-2002), then Lincoln University, which in 2007, awarded him its highest honour, the title of the Lincoln professor.

He was involved in the prestigious documentary honours the Grierson Awards, and became a governor of the British Film Institute.

The funeral is in Lincoln next Thursday. He is survived by a widow, Adle, son Matthew and daughter Jessica, grandsons Finn and Zac, and his partner, Gail Vanstone.

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Death of journalism professor who helped revive Judaism in Lincoln after 750 years - Jewish News

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Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

(JTA) K.M. DiColandrea had been teaching in New York City schools for well over a decade when he decided to become a student once again.

But just one semester after enrolling at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, DiColandrea, who goes by DiCo, recognized that he had made a mistake.

I realized that the way all my classmates were talking about becoming a rabbi someday was the way I already felt about being a teacher, he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Any lingering doubt DiCo may have had about returning to teaching social studies and debate was erased this week after one of his former students shared a story about him on Humans of New York, the photo storytelling project with tens of millions of followers worldwide.

In the story, Jonathan Conyers, now 27, described his difficult childhood in Harlem and how DiCo, his middle school debate coach, changed his life by helping him see value in his own story and choices. He also reflected on DiCos own life transitions, including his coming out as transgender while teaching at Jonathans school.

Even today I thank God that DiCo was the first person I met who was transgender, Conyers said in the story. This was the only person who really loved and understood me. DiCo could have told me he was a dinosaur, and Id be like: Thats cool. Just stay DiCo. And the rest of the team felt the same way. A couple of the seniors gave him a hug, but then we just got back to debate.

The websites famously generous readers responded to Conyers 12-part story (with two codas from DiCo directly) by donating to the Brooklyn Debate League, a nonprofit that DiCo has run as a passion project and side gig since 2017, through his stints at a charter school, a Hebrew school and rabbinical school. A day and a half into the fundraiser, nearly 30,000 people had donated $1.2 million in total.

We spoke with DiCo about what that money will accomplish, how the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers started him on a path toward Judaism, and what speech and debate have in common with Jewish ritual.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

JTA: How did the Humans of New York story come to be, and what has it felt like to see it strike a chord with so many?

DiCo: It was all Jonathan. He was the one that reached out to Brandon [Stanton, who runs Humans of New York]. And he made a choice. The story didnt have to be about me. Jonathan could just have easily made a whole story about him hes got this amazing story and he deserves so much credit for the phenomenal choices that he made in his life. But thats not Jonathan.

Jonathan told me to brace myself for an emotional rollercoaster. I didnt see the story in advance, so I was also reading it on Monday for the first time. And whatever I was expecting, my expectations were exceeded by a lot. I was blown away by the story. When you live it, you dont stop to think about anything as extraordinary or special. Its just what you do, especially as teachers we do this all the time. I had forgotten some parts of the story to be honest, so when I really heard it from Jonathans point of view, I was really moved.

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Ive been putting in my own money every month [into the Brooklyn Debate League] to cover the payroll for our coaches and college students. Ive been watching my bank account get lower and lower, so I was hoping to get at least paid back. But a million dollars, in a day? Wow.

What does that money mean for the program you run?

I have some ideas, but I want to make sure Im not making decisions by myself. Its important to me that this is not like the DiCo show which is hilarious because its kind of what the HONY story has become. But I really want to make sure that we are making decisions as a community and that lots of different voices are being heard at the table.

Right off the bat, though I want to really up recruitment, and I dont want to wait. I want to do it for our summer program.

Im a New Yorker. Ive lived here my whole life. I love this city. And I want to see what happens when we dramatically expand the access to speech and debate across New York City public schools, and particularly New York City high schools.

We know, from other districts around the country, what that looks like. After the Parkland school shooting in Florida a couple of years ago, you remember those kids that took to town halls and stood in front of thousands of people and were able to take on senators and just were able to speak up? Thats not an accident. The Broward County school district is maybe the only major school district in the country that offers speech and debate in every single school. Kids are given this gift of learning speech and debate as part of their regular curriculum. And I want to know what that would look like in New York.

In the story, Jonathan explores aspects of your identity. But even though a picture of you wearing a kippah appeared in the last installment of the story, your Jewish identity isnt mentioned. What do you make of that?

Theres a simple answer to that. When I taught Jonathan, I wasnt Jewish. I was raised Catholic, and then eight years ago, I converted to Judaism.

A couple things pushed me there. The first strike was Sept. 11. [At the time, DiCo was a junior at Stuyvesant High School in Lower Manhattan, blocks from the World Trade Center; he teaches at Stuyvesant now.] I found myself asking: What kind of God would let this happen? How did I just watch thousands of people diepeople I just took the subway with this morning? Where was God?

That was the first strike and then strike two was related to what Jonathan talked about: coming out. I liked girls in college, and then I liked dressing as a guy after college and then I figured out gender in addition to sexuality. And it felt like there was less and less a place for me to be my authentic self at my church.

I was very religious: I was in my childrens choir from third grade up at church. By the time I was in eighth grade, I was an assistant organist. And by the time I got back from college, I was the assistant director and I was helping to run the childrens choir. I loved religion and my religious community, but when I came out it got a little more complicated.

By the time Jonathan showed up in my life, I was wearing mens clothing, but I would have to change between school and choir practice. So I ended up leaving the church, but I missed having a religious community. I could have gone to just a different [Christian] denomination, but I kept coming back to a college course I took on the New Testament. It was the first time I realized that you could read a religious text analytically. I was like, whoa! This combines two of my favorite pieces of myself: the part that is super spiritual and religious, and the part that is super nerdy analytical, and I didnt know you could do that.

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So when I found myself years later missing a religious community, what I was looking for was a place where I could be in spiritual community with other people and also just be a total nerd about it. I googled Torah study near me and found Congregation Beth Elohim [in Park Slope, Brooklyn]. I didnt know anybody there, but I just kept coming back week after week and loved it. Later, after I converted, I found Svara, the queer Torah camp [now a yeshiva], and that was a total game-changer for me. Now Im studying Talmud every day with another trans Jew, and I am digging it.

Rabbi Benay Lappe founded Svara as a space for LGBTQ Jews to study Talmud. (Jess Benjamin)

But what was really the icing on the cake was when I found out about the origin story of modern Judaism. I learned about the Temple falling and I was like, wait, do you mean to tell me that this is a people that also watched the world fall down and then never forgot about it, but found a way to be resilient and found a way to to live through that and survive that? That was it for me. I was like, Im sold. This is where I want to be.

Catholicism and a lot of Christianity, its all about what happens next, about the next life and redemption that will come later. But having experienced what I did when I was a teenager watching the Twin Towers fall a couple blocks away, I didnt have time to wait. I needed to process this now. I had felt such community with that Torah study group at CBE. But then I started feeling community with, like, Yohanan ben Zakkai and the rabbis of the first century, who had also experienced this trauma and had asked themselves the same questions I had: What the hell are we supposed to do now? How can we move forward from this? They found a way to do it, and that gave me a path to Judaism.

You didnt just become Jewish but you became a professional Jew, including an educator who won a prestigious award from the Jewish Education Project. Can you tell me about that, and also about why you decided that becoming a rabbi wasnt for you?

In 2019, I actually left my school and I left the debate team that I was coaching to go teach at my synagogue. I taught at CBE for a year, and then I became the assistant director of their religious school for another year. [Unusually for American supplemental Hebrew schools, teachers in CBEs Yachad school are employed full-time.] I left from there to go to rabbinical school. I was in rabbinical school for a semester last fall, at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and I loved it. But I realized that the way all my classmates were talking about becoming a rabbi someday was the way I already felt about being a teacher.

Think about the calendar year. My classmates would be talking about how certain seasons would get them excited for certain holidays. For me, certain seasons and certain times of the year get me really excited but about tournaments that are coming up. For my classmates, September is always Rosh Hashanah coming up; for me, September is always the Yale tournament. Decembers Hanukkah but December is the Princeton tournament. It makes sense, because we all mark the passage of time using different rituals.

Or about Saturdays. Ive been working with CBE as a tutor for bnei mitzvah students with their divrei Torah. Obviously I love helping kids write speeches. And I like the Saturdays where I get to be at services. But I have to be at tournaments on Saturdays. Its a similar feeling of, its a ritual. It feels sacred. It gives me purpose, and it grounds me.

You taught in an after-school Hebrew school, a much maligned feature of American Judaism. Whats your prescription for great Jewish learning for kids?

I think not just Jewish education, but all good education, has to prioritize building a positive culture in classrooms. Kids arent going to like your class if they think that you dont like them. Theyre not going to want to be there if they think that you dont want to see them. Good luck getting them to talk if they think you dont want to hear what they have to say.

On top of that, specific to the Hebrew school component, you have to make it fun for them. The kids are in school all day and theyre exhausted. Youve got to bring the energy, to bring whatever invests them. And I find that like a surefire way to make anything fun for a middle schooler or even high schoolers really, is to make sure that theyre doing more talking than you are. If youre asking questions and kids are talking and debating and disagreeing and getting to push their thinking and push other kids thinking, then it gets interesting. The advice that I give to new teachers is: Most of your sentences should end in a question mark.

I didnt go to Hebrew school. But it really seems that everybody I talk to thinks were missing an opportunity to really get Jewish kids excited about their heritage, and specifically in a text-based way. When I talk to Jewish kids about the Torah and Talmud, kids become bananas for it. Most of the time, theyve never learned any of this stuff and theyre like, Wow, thats so cool. I never thought about it that way. Its so rich, and its ours. So I dont think we have to reinvent the wheel here in terms of getting kids invested in Hebrew school Torah is right there, and its so, so interesting. We just have to figure out how do we make it accessible for our kids in a way that gets them excited?

For our New York viewers specifically, is there a moment or a place in New York that has made you think: Im really experiencing the gift of being a New York Jew?

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Well, the best Israeli food in New York is at Miriam in Park Slope.

But my real answer is CBE. My whole Jewish journey happened in that building. Its where I went to my first Torah study and my first services. Its where I converted. Its where I got married. Its where I became a b mitzvah. Its where I ran the religious school and was director of religious school and I taught there and it feels sacred to me, and I miss it. I cant wait for the day when I can be back inside the CBE sanctuary regularly.

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Humans of New York featured this onetime rabbinical student and readers have donated $1.2M to his passion project - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic...

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Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

Published

2022-05-10 14:03

2:03

May 10, 2022

pm

Min Jin Lees novels tell the stories of women at specific moments in time, both historically and personally. The common thread in all of her work is how characters come to see themselves and understand how gender serves as an intermediary tool within larger social transactions of power. As a popular, critically acclaimed author and public figure, Lee regularly writes about her experiences as a Korean American, immigrant, woman and artist and her opinions on current events tend to deeply affect readers of many differently held identities.

For Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, Lee whose novel Pachinko was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2017, and has been adapted into a streaming series that just had its finale on Apple TV spoke with The 19th about how she thinks about the intersections of gender, power, politics and the way we live now as we lean into our own identities and stake them out in our own communities, online, in real life, and on the page.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Jennifer Gerson: Its the start of AAPI Heritage Month in the year 2022 what does that mean right now? AAPI people have historically been through so much in this country, so what does celebrating this month look like given that history in America?

Min Jin Lee: Thank you for recognizing the context of that. The context is really the most important thing about Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians, who are in this incredibly huge tent of what we call Asian Americans. And because its such a huge tent, we have such a varying history. We also have many individuals in this tent who arent even aware that there is a month.

I also want to include those who are LGBTQI as well as trans folks and adoptees. I also think about multiracial people right now and thats really exciting to think about including them as such. [All of these groups] have been excluded traditionally from this tent, and I want to say, Come on in! Lets party!

I could complain and say, No, May is not enough. But instead, I think we should start with the fact that there is a May and there is a movement, and it is important and growing.

It feels like your voice has become the front one of this movement of Asian and Asian-American writers who are saying, Yes we are writers and our work needs to be evaluated as such but have you heard about these other things happening in the world? How does gender intersect with this dynamic?

I have been so profoundly influenced by the feminists that Ive studied with, namely bell hooks, and then all the writers that she introduced me to as a student. And I think that the work that Kimberl Crenshaw and Tarana Burke have done recently really influenced me as a woman and as a woman of color.

Im a global feminist, as a mere matter of fact. In the same way that I cant leave my gender or my race at home, I dont leave the world at home when I think about politics and the things that are going on in the United States. Im American, but Im also Korean-American. Im also Asian-American, which is a political identity. So how can I forget Asia and how can I forget the plight of women in Asia when I speak about anything? When I think about the systems of patriarchy which are really limiting the choices of girls and women, I also think about how the role of gender is so culturally specific and changing.

Gen Z and millennials have taught us that gender fluidity is something that we all should really think about and I think thats a good thing! I want to really respect gender fluidity and I want to really respect gender specificity and culture.

What role do you think novelists have and need to have in reflecting back on the times were living through?

I believe that the novel can change the world.

This may seem completely preposterous, but I believe that storytelling is a powerful way of changing things. That whenever we have a great deal of information and are asking ourselves, What do we do? this question is answered by trying to understand what happened. [We do that by] writing the story of what we think has happened.

My model of fiction has always been the 19th and early 20th-century social novels, because theyre novels of ideas. Thats the reason why I have to be in the world. I have to engage constantly and really listen to the changing tides. And then, my response to that has to be this final product of a story that I make from everything that Im taking in.

Im profoundly glad that millennials and Gen Z have twisted my ear and have served as my teachers because its their world right now. Boomers and Gen X? We are receding. We have to live in a way and produce things in a way that can be of service to the next generation.

Do you feel like there is a wave of progressivism that is happening in the world of writing and art that is in dialogue with what were seeing happen politically right now?

When I wrote and published my first novel, Free Food for Millionaires, it was 2007. Its a novel about capitalism. And heres a spoiler alert: My main character refuses to work in an investment bank. When it came out, many people said to me, Thats a terrible ending! How could she choose to walk away from this kind of premium, white-collar job! Recently theres been this upsurge of interest in this book and now people are saying, Oh of course the moral choice would be to honor her very rich creativity. I think Ive been trying to argue that for a very long time.

As for the work of my peers, the peers I admire right now who are writing fiction are really engaging with the changing times, with technology and isolation and alienation and with the technocracy thats occurring over our lives. Im somebody who is very pro-technology and very anti-technocracy. Its a very different thing to say that I value the fact that my computer can do this and my phone can do that. And yet I refuse to be a tool of these companies and thats whats happening.

Do you feel like were in this moment where Asian and Asian-American writers are not only getting the attention they have long been denied to them because of certain identities, but also leading a charge for what fiction can be and how that intersects with activism?

Right now were only getting a taste of whats to come or what can come. I think the political power of Asians and Asian Americans is growing, and I think its going to grow more only if we really recognize just how diverse we are because, as I previously stated, it is an enormously large tent.

One of the things that I routinely have to do, which does not make me any friends, is that I raise my hand and say, Lets not make generalizations about Asian-American fathers or Asian-American mothers. And very often, the person I am saying that to is not a non-Asian or non-Asian-American person. I will routinely say, I know you are a Korean woman, but before you talk about Korean dads, I want you to really think that through. How many Korean dads do you know? And usually its one. And Ill say to them, Ok so maybe were talking about just your dad and your dad may be fantastic or your dad may be a total jerk or your dad may be just your dad. But lets be more specific.

The integration of more and more specific voices gives us a greater sense of humanity and gives a greater power to our community.

This drive for specificity feels really important within your own work. With the way you use your voice as a public figure now, how do you feel like you use social media and Twitter especially to call attention to the need for specificity?

I think social media is a very, very, very powerful tool. I think were only just understanding a fractional idea of the power it has for good and for evil.

Whether I like it or not, whatever I say, people will go, Oh all Korean people think this! and I can jump up and down and say, No! Min Jin Lee thinks this! And they will still say, No this must be what all Korean people think! As someone who has studied quite a bit of history and the way that propaganda can work, I am that much more respectful of that which I can say and that which I cannot say.

Given the way that your work focuses on the lives of women in very specific moments in history, what are you thinking about as you see the events of today regarding Roe and reproductive rights?

Im shocked and Im angry. One thing I will say, though, is that I do not feel a sense of despair and I do not want to give in to cynicism. The one thing that history can keep teaching us about activism and positive change is that we must constantly work out of love, not hatred and not despair. We have to be very mindful of the fact that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, well-off women and girls and persons who can carry a pregnancy to term who have economic power will absolutely be able to access safe and legal abortion here or elsewhere.

As a practicing Christian who goes to church every Sunday, I do not believe that we should overturn Roe v. Wade at all. To me, doing so is not an act of love.

Me saying this is something that takes on some risk, but it is a risk I am willing to take because we are living in a nation that ties health insurance to certain kinds of employment. And we do not have universal child care, and child care is certainly not affordable to the average woman. Therefore, we are saying, If you are poor and if you are without rights, if you are without access, if youre living in a household in which you are afraid to seek abortion outside of your state because you may have controlling parents if you are these things, then you are out of luck. I do not think that this is in any way philosophically or religiously an act of love.

As a writer who is unabashed about calling attention to identities, what do you hope people take away from your novels?

I think one of the things that weve done in this country which is quite a shame is that Asians and Asian Americans are simply not known. One of the things I thought I would do in my social realistic novels is to call attention to the different kinds of people that I know and love and admire and dislike. I wanted you to know us. I want you to think, Oh, theyre no different than the other people youve asked me to know through fiction. I know a great deal about Russians and French people and Jewish people and Muslims and people from Africa and people from Latin America. Why? Because Ive read novels and Ive read memoirs that have come from those spaces. And Im so glad to have done so. I would like for you to know the people that I know and love and respect. I think to do so is a good thing.

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Min Jin Lee wants to keep building on the Asian-American experience in real life and on the page - The 19th*

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Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

The Saugerties Democratic Committee presents an Assembly District 103 candidates forum with the incumbent, Assemblymember Kevin Cahill, and the challenger, Sarahana Shrestha, on Thursday, May 12, at 7 p.m. at the Saugerties Senior Center, 207 Market Street, Saugerties. For those who cannot make the in-person event, email saugertiesdemocraticcommittee@gmail.com to request a Zoom link.

The Hurley Heritage Society Museum at 52 Main St, Hurley has opened for the season. View the ongoing exhibit Winslow Homer in Hurleyan Artists View. featuring reproductions of the paintings and illustrations Homer created during his visits to Hurley between 1870 and 1875. The exhibition features five new paintings this year..Museum hours are Saturdays and Sundays, from 1-4 p.m.

The Senate House State Historic Site at 296 Fair Street in Uptown Kingston hosts its annual Happy New Year Event Saturday, May 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Outdoor activities are free. Guided tours of the Senate House, available every 30 minutes through 4 p.m., are $7, adults and $5, for seniors.

The St. Remy Fire District Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, May 24, at 6:30 p.m. at the St. Remy Firehouse, Station 1, on Main Street in St. Remy.

The Ashokan Center, 477 Beaverkill Road, Olivebridge, will have its inaugural flea market on Sunday, May 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free to attend. The cost for vendors is $35. Call the center at (845) 246-2121 or visit ashokancenter.org for more information.

Claryville Fire Department, 1500 Denning Road, Claryville, will have an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast on Sunday, June 19, from 8 a.m. to noon at the firehouse, 1500 Denning Road, Claryville. Along with pancakes, there will be three types of eggs, French toast, hashbrowns, sausage, fire department specialties, orange juice, coffee, and tea. Admission is $9 for adults, $5 for children ages 5 to 11. Children ages 4 and under will be admitted free. Take-out orders are available by calling (845) 985-7270.

Thomas Cole National Historic Sites exhibition Thomas Coles Studio: Memory and Inspiration is set to run through Oct. 20, 2022, at the site, 218 Spring St., Catskill. The exhibition examines the famed Hudson River School artists final years before his death in February 1848. For more information and exhibit hours, visit http://www.thomascole.org/visit.

The Rosendale Theatre at 408 Main St., Rosendale hosts its first annual Mushroom Festival on Saturday, May 14, from 2 p.m. to midnight. Enjoy films, food, mushroom ID sessions, expert panel discussions, and meeting with filmmakers. Visit rosendaletheatre.org.

Stone Ridge Orchard, 3012 state Route 213, Stone Ridge, will host Findings, a 40-vendor strong, curated market of specialized growers, boutique nurseries, antique dealers from around the globe and local makers from the Catskills, Hudson Valley and beyond.The market will showcase a plethora of plants, garden antiquities and handcrafted and farm-fresh goods. Tickets are $15 and are available at Eventbrite by visiting https://bit.ly/3kdNPPG

Bard College Senior Francis Karagodins directs an outdoor production of Sophocles Antigone at Opus 40 at 365 George Sickle Road, Saugerties, May 14 and 15, at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $15; $5 for Opus 40 members; free for Bard students. Visit https://opus40.org/events/special-performance/.

The Hudson Wednesday Market returns to the 7th Street Park on Warren Street, Hudson, each Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. from May 25 to Oct. 26. The grassroots farmers market features a diverse group of vendors. Local artisans interested in selling and showcasing their crafts can email upstreetmarket@gmail.com. Visit upstreetmarket.wixsite.com/hudsonwedmarket/

Girl Named Tom performs at the Bardavon, 35 Market, St., Poughkeepsie, on July 15 at 8 p.m. in a special benefit concert for Mid-Hudson Love Inc. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased by calling (845) 473-5288, (845) 339-6088 by emailing boxoffice@bardavon.org, and at the Bardavon and at UPAC in Kingston, 601 Broadway. Tickets can also be purchased at http://www.ticketmaster.com (but fees will apply).

The New York City Opera and Teatro Grattacielo headline the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice in Phoenicia from Aug. 5-7. Featured performances include Teatro Grattacielos production of Mozarts Don Giovani Aug. 5, at 8:30 p.m., New York City Operas Giuseppe Verdis La Traviata Aug. 6, at 8:30 p.m. and Opera in the Movies in partnership with the Woodstock Film Festival on Aug. 7 at 8:30 p.m. Visit https://www.phoeniciavoicefest.org/.

The Rhinebeck Farmers Market has opened for the season in the municipal parking lot at 61 E. Market St., Rhinebeck. The market will take place every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the exception of Dec. 4, through Dec. 18. Visit rhinebeckfarmersmarket.com for more information.

The Catskill Mountain Railroads Catskill Flyer scenic train rides have returned to the rails of the old Ulster and Delaware Railroad. The rides take place Saturdays through Sept. 17. Trains depart from the railroads Westbrook Lane station near the Hannaford Supermarket at Kingston Plaza in Kingston at 11 a.m. 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. for an approximately one-hour ride. Tickets are $16, adults; $10 children (ages 2-12); $15, senior, military and veterans: and free for toddlers 2 and under on lap. Visit catskillmountainrailroad.com/

The Senate House State Historic Site in Uptown Kingston is open. Hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m through Halloween. Tours leave on the hour, with the last tour leaving at 4 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for seniors. Children 12 years of age and younger are free. For more information call (845) 338-2786, or visit https://parks.ny.gov.

The Kingston Farmers Market has returned to its outdoor location in the Ulster County Courthouse parking lot, 285 Wall St. The market will be every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. until Nov. 19.

Bike Friendly Kingston will host monthly evening Slow Rides on the first Thursday of each month through October. The guided rides, ranging from five to 20 miles, depart from the YMCA of Kingston and Ulsters parking lot at 507 Broadway at 6 p.m. Dates are June 2, July 7, Aug. 8, Sept. 9 and Oct. 6. Email eflynn@kingston-ny.gov. for more information.

The Ulster County Jewish Federations Fall For Art juried art show is accepting artist applications through May 15. Fall for Art will be held virtually at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 5 through 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 11. A $40 exhibition fee applies. Online applications are now available at: http://www.fallforart.org/call-for-entry/. For additional information and submission guidelines visit: http://www.fallforart.org or the programs social media profiles on facebook.com/Fall.for.Art or instagram/fallforarthudsonvalley or via e-mail at info@fallforart.org.

The Period Power! Club at Kingston High School is hosting an open mic night May 21, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.. at Good Work Institute, 65 St James St., Kingston as a fundraiser to help end period poverty. Suggested donation at the door is $20. To register for this event visit https://forms.gle/B5cYRxbZpkMU2KZS9 Those interested in performing should visit https://forms.gle/rMih1PgBPKhvtrKs6.

Catskill Mountain Railroads Ice Cream Sundays train rides take place Sundays from May 29-Sept. 18. Trains depart from the railroads Westbrook Lane Station in Kingston near the Hannaford Supermarket in Kingston Plaza at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. for an approximately one-hour ride. Tickets are $20 adults; $14 children (ages 2-12); $19 senior, military, veterans; and free for toddlers 2 and under on lap. Visit catskillmountainrailroad.com.

Maverick Concerts first full season since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic runs from July 2 to Sept. 11 and will feature a mixture of chamber music, contemporary performers, world music and jazz. Maverick Concerts is located at 120 Maverick Road, Woodstock. For more information and advance tickets visit https://maverickconcerts.org/ or call (800) 595-4849. COVID-19 related safety protocols will be announced closer to the season.

Bard SummerScape Festival features Richard Strauss comedic opera The Silent Woman (Die Schweigsame Frau), for five performances July 22, 24, 27, 29 and 31 at Bards Fisher Center at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson as part of Rachmaninov and His World. Tickets start at $25. Visit fishercenter.bard.edu or call (845) 758-7900.

Olana Partnerships 13th annual Panorama Summer Program targeted at children ages 7-11 returns to Olana State Historic Site in July and runs the weeks of July 11-15, 18-22, July 25-29 and Aug. 1-5. Each week runs Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Families should register for a maximum of two weeks. Registration closes on or before June 15. Fees are $350 per week for Olana Partnership members and $400 per week for non-members. Full scholarships and financial support for transportation are available for students who attend Title 1 schools and/or receive SNAP and EBT benefits. Visit olana.org for additional information and to register.

The Fairly New Thrift Shop, 58 Pearl St., Kingston, is open for shopping from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays, and to accept donations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays. Call (845) 481-4171 for more information.

Happy to Help Food Pantry is located at St. James United Methodist Church, 35 Pearl St., Kingston. The food pantry is only open on Sundays, from 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Participants are asked to follow COVID procedures by wearing masks, bringing in their own bags, entering through the Fair Street entrance, and observing social distancing. The food pantry does not deliver food. (845) 331-3030.

The Peoples Place Food Pantry is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m. at 17 St. James St., Kingston. Donations of fresh and shelf-stable foods are being accepted. Call (845) 338-4030.

The Peoples Place Community Caf is open and free to all Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., serving continental breakfast and lunch. Visit peoplesplace.org to view the daily lunch menu and for more information. Call (845) 338-4030 for more information.

The Peoples Place Bounty Table, located just outside the doors, offers free produce, breads, baked goods, dairy items and proteins. The items change daily and are first-come, first-serve during business hours, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Peoples Place Thrift Store and Boutique is open. Hours are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Visit peoplesplace.org for more information.

The Peoples Place Wellness Empowerment Center offers free weekly workshops and all are welcome. The center strives to enhance the quality of an individuals life and help them build a stronger, healthier future through wellness classes, health screenings, nutritional guidance, alternative health modalities, and financial education. For more information and to register for workshops, visit http://www.peoplesplace.org/wellness-empowerment-center/ or call (845) 338-4030. Recurring weekly workshops include Yoga from The Yoga House on Wednesdays from 10 to 11 a.m., Mindfulness for Every Day Life on Mondays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Fitness Fun for Everyone on Wednesdays from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. All workshops take place at 775 Broadway in Kingston. Parking is located in the rear at 17 Saint James St. Facial masks must be worn inside Peoples Place.

The Kingston Library and Peoples Place are presenting a month-long discussion series in honor of Black History month at the Wellness and Empowerment Center, 775 Broadway, Kingston. Each week, participants will talk about a short story by an African American author while sharing a meal provided by Peoples Place Caf, 777 Broadway. Participants can pick up the stories ahead of time at either location or read it while getting lunch. Note that the center is accessible by stairs only. Drop-ins are welcome, although registration is appreciated. Registration can be done at peoplesplace.org/wellness-empowerment-center/.

The Food Pantry at Trinity Lutheran Church, 72 Spring St., Kingston, is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The pantry is closed on Mondays and Fridays. Wear a mask when picking up a bag of groceries at the door.

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Whats open in the Mid-Hudson Valley for May 12, 2022 - The Daily Freeman

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Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Thousands gathered to mourn a slain Al Jazeera journalist in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday, as the head of the Palestinian Authority blamed Israel for her death and rejected Israeli calls for a joint investigation.

Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American reporter who covered the Mideast conflict for more than 25 years, was shot dead Wednesday during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin. Journalists who were with her, including one who was shot and wounded, said Israeli forces fired upon them even though they were clearly identifiable as reporters.

Israel says it is investigating the incident. It initially suggested she might have been shot by Palestinian militants, without providing evidence, but has since backtracked. Israel is calling for a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with it on security.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas angrily rejected that proposal, saying we hold the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for killing her.

"They cannot hide the truth with this crime, Abbas said in an address as her body lay in state with a Palestinian flag draped over it in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where the Palestinian Authority is headquartered.

"They are the ones who committed the crime, and because we do not trust them, we will immediately go to the International Criminal Court, Abbas said.

The ICC launched an investigation into possible Israeli war crimes over a year ago. Israel has rejected that probe as being biased against it.

Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior aide to Abbas, said that the Palestinians would conduct their own independent probe and convey the results "with high transparency. He rejected an Israeli request to conduct its own ballistic analysis on the bullet.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused the Palestinians of denying Israel access to the basic findings required to get to the truth. He called on the Palestinian Authority to not take any steps to disrupt the investigation or to contaminate the investigation process.

Abu Akleh was killed while covering an Israeli military raid in Jenin, which has emerged as a militant bastion in recent weeks as Palestinians have carried out a series of deadly attacks and Israel has launched military raids across the occupied West Bank.

The Qatar-based Al Jazeera accused Israel of deliberately killing her and vowed to take legal action. Reporters who were with her said there were no Palestinian militants in the area.

Israeli officials initially suggested Abu Akleh was struck by militant fire and released a video showing gunmen firing at Israeli forces in a narrow alley inside the Jenin refugee camp. They later backtracked after an Israeli human rights group released its own video showing the site of the shooting was several hundred meters away from where Abu Akleh was killed.

Her death was met with an outpouring of grief across the Arab world. The 51-year-old was well-known as a veteran on-air correspondent for Al Jazeera's Arabic-language channel. Her reporting shed light on the harsh realities of Israeli military rule, which is well into its sixth decade with no end in sight. She was also a U.S. citizen.

Her body was to be brought to Jerusalem, where she was born, for burial on Friday.

The killing sparked international condemnation and widespread calls for accountability. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Gutteres called for an an independent and transparent investigation to ensure those responsible are held to account.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Wednesday promised such an inquiry, saying he was in touch with U.S. and Palestinian officials and hoped for cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians.

We are trying to figure out exactly what happened, he said. I dont have final conclusions.

Abu Aklehs death could draw new scrutiny of Israels military justice system, which is being examined as part of the ICC probe. It also threatened to further strain often rocky relations between the army and the international media.

Rights groups say Israel rarely follows through on investigations of deadly encounters with Palestinians, and that when it does, it often hands down lenient punishments.

Her death comes amid a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence that has been fueled by tensions at a key Jerusalem holy site.

At least 18 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks in recent weeks, as well as more than 30 Palestinians, most of them involved in attacks or clashes with Israeli forces. Among the slain Palestinians were an unarmed woman and at least two apparent passersby, fueling criticism that Israel often uses excessive force.

Krauss reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed.

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Palestinians mourn slain Al Jazeera journalist, blame Israel - ABC News

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Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

Israeli security forces thwarted an attempt to smuggle weapon production materials from the Sinai Peninsula through the Mediterranean Seato the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Stripseveral weeks ago, the military said Wednesday.

Three Palestinians, including one previously jailed in Israel for similar offenses, were arrested when Israeli troops stopped a vessel allegedly involved.

Details of the operation, which occurred on April 8, were barred from publication until Wednesday.

The Israel Defense Forces said the operation was a joint intelligence and operational effort by Israeli Navy forces and the Shin Bet security service, along with Military Intelligence.

According to the military, in the evening hours of April 8, after receiving intelligence information, troops halted the vessel as it attempted to cross into Egypts territorial waters from the Gaza Strip. The three men on board were taken to the Shin Bet for further questioning.

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One of the three was Mahmoud Bakr, whom the military identified as a senior smuggler who worked with a number of terror groups in the Strip. Bakr was indicted in June 2020 after he was arrested during a similar attempt. He was jailed in Israel for a year before being released to the Hamas-run coastal enclave.

The other two smugglers were named as Ahmed Ismail Fasih and Mahmud Nahad Silawi, fishermen and residents of Gazas coastal area, who were also involved in smuggling activities, the IDF said.

Officials did not detail the specific prohibited equipment the three allegedly sought to smuggle to Gaza, only that it was intended for Hamas and in full coordination and directed by Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip.

We hit a significant route that was used to transfer components to manufacture weapons for terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, said Col. Eli Sukholitsky, commander of the Navys Ashdod base. The IDF works constantly to prevent the intensification of terrorist organizations and their infrastructure, he added.

Over the years, Israel has stopped multiple attempts to smuggle military gear and weapons into the Strip, boththrough the seaandvia shipmentsentering the Palestinian territory.

Israel has maintained a naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled coastal strip since the terror group violently took over the territory from the Palestinian Authority in 2007. Israel says the measure is necessary to prevent Hamas from acquiring weapons from overseas. Humanitarian aid is transferred to the Palestinian enclaves through Israeli land crossings.

As part of the blockade, fishing boats and other seagoing vessels are required to stay close to the coast.

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Israel says it foiled Hamas attempt to smuggle arms production parts via sea - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

Qatari emir visits Iran amid deadlocked talks on nuclear deal

TEHRAN, Iran Qatars emir has arrived in Iran for talks with the Iranian president, state media reports, as efforts to save Tehrans tattered nuclear deal with world powers hits a deadlock.

State TV shows the arrival of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Tehrans Mehrabad Airport, where he is received by Irans senior vice president Mohammad Mokhber. The report says said bilateral, regional and international issues are on the agenda during the visit.

The emir will meet President Ebrahim Raisi later today.

The official visit comes as the European Unions coordinator trying to revive the nuclear deal is still in Iran.

Talks in Vienna have been stalled for months, apparently over an Iranian demand that Washington lift a terrorism designation on Irans powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Enrique Mora met with the Iranian nuclear negotiator yesterday to make a diplomatic push, just after Iranian intelligence services announced they had detained two unidentified European citizens. Talks are continuing today, Iranian media reports without giving details.

Qatar hosted Irans President Ebrahim Raisi in February. Despite its small size, the tiny Gulf Arab sheikdom plays a strategic role as a quiet mediator and negotiator in a region rife with sectarian and political conflict. Qatars ties with both Washington and Tehran allow Doha to relay viewpoints between the two.

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Israel authorizes plans for 4,427 West Bank settlement homes - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on May 12, 2022

Over the past year, Israeli forces have killed at least 380 Palestinians, including 90 children, according to the UN.

On April 9, residents of Jenin marked the 20th anniversary of a brutal Israeli assault on the citys refugee camp that has since become a symbol of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation.

On the day of the anniversary, Israeli forces launched a large-scale raid on the camp, shooting dead a Palestinian man and wounding 13 others.

According to data collected by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), over the past year, Israeli forces have killed at least 380 Palestinians, including 90 children. This includes at least 260 Palestinians killed in Gaza during Israels latest assault that lasted from May 10 to May 21, 2021.

Below is a timeline of Israeli raids across the occupied West Bank since April 9:

Israeli forces shoot dead a Palestinian man in the Jenin refugee camp, and 13 other Palestinians are wounded.

Israeli forces storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, injuring more than 150 Palestinians.

Israeli forces kill a Palestinian man in a raid on the Aqabet Jaber refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces shoot dead a Palestinian teenager and injure three youth during a dawn raid in Jenin.

In separate incidents, a Palestinian man and an Israeli guard are killed in the occupied West Bank after Israeli forces raid the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Israeli forces storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as more than 600 settlers infiltrate the holy site.

Israeli forces raid a village in the occupied West Bank and demolish the house of a Palestinian man they say killed an Israeli settler last December.

Israeli soldiers shoot dead a Palestinian man they said tried to enter Israel through a barrier in the occupied West Bank. Another Palestinian man is killed while allegedly trying to enter an illegal settlement in the West Bank.

Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, 51, is shot dead while covering an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp. Al Jazeera, in a statement, said Abu Akleh was assassinated in cold blood and called on the international community to hold Israeli forces responsible.

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Timeline: Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank - Al Jazeera English

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