Jewish American Heritage Month

How SJP’s anti-Semitism and harassment threaten Jewish students – JNS.org

Posted By admin on May 10, 2022

(May 10, 2022 / JNS) In his Israel Apartheid Week address at Duke University a few weeks ago, radical Palestinian poet Mohammed el-Kurd advocated Palestinian liberation,telling his cheering audience, We want our land back from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea.

When asked what would happen to 7 million Israelis who live on most of this land, el-Kurd replied, I dont care. I truly, sincerely, dont give a f. Hooting, laughter and thunderous applause.

El-Kurdwho claims Zionists have an unquenchable thirst for Palestinian bloodand most other speakers at the anti-Israel event were sponsored by the notorious Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

SJP currently lists active chapters at some 200 U.S. colleges and universities, and while the group officially claims to oppose anti-Semitism, its members and sponsored speakers routinely oppose Israels existence and support the BDS movementboth universally accepted hallmarks of anti-Semitism.

Ironically, the Duke student government recently voted to support the International Holocaust Remembrance Association (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which condemns most ideas espoused at Israel Apartheid Week. In fact, apparently oblivious to the contradiction, the DSG spent $16,000 supporting the IAW program, including $5,000 for el-Kurd.

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The Duke event serves as an alarming example of the Jew-hatred rampant on American campuses and the double standard applied to itespecially compared to the instant condemnation and canceling of any teacher, student group or speaker who offends other ethnic minorities.

The damage done to Jewish students by SJP members and its activities is real, not theoretical.

For most Jews worldwideand certainly for most American Jewish college studentsIsrael represents the pinnacle of national self-determination and refuge, the achievement of a millennia-long yearning of the Jewish people to return to its ancient homeland.

Yet SJP communications consistently accuse Zionists of being racist and assert that one cannot be a good Jew and support Israel. Jews are frequently barred from serving in student government or participating in social justice activities simply because they are Jewish and may sympathize with Israel.

This demonization of Jewish identity resembles nothing more than the ostracization of Jews during Hitlers Third Reich.

Some 100 New York University law students recently demanded that their university condemn list-serv posts by NYU Law SJP and affiliated groups. These students correctly cited references to Zionist-funded U.S. and Western media, the Zionist grip on the media and Ashkenazi Jewish whiteness as evidence of classic anti-Semitic racism.

While SJPs spewing of slanderous anti-Israel accusations and outright Jew-hatred is morally despicable, the groups harassing efforts to shut down Jewish and pro-Israel opinion clearly violate free speech civil rights.

A YouTube video of screaming SJP protesters at a 2017 pro-Israel event at UC Irvine gives a flavor of the thuggish, vitriolic tactics the groups members employ. Speakers at that eventas at many such campus forumshad to be escorted from the venue by police to protect them from violence.

During an SJP-sponsored protest in New York City, student leaders of CUNY Laws SJP chapter asserted that Zionist professors are not welcome on campus, and demanded that Zionist students be banned from spaces where Palestinian students are.

Not surprising, a recent survey by the American Jewish Committee revealed that almost 23% of American Jewish millennials agreed that the following statement describes their own views very well or somewhat well: An anti-Israel climate, on campus or elsewhere, has forced me to hide my Jewish identity.

According to a study conducted at Brandeis University, one of the strongest predictors of students perceiving hostility because of their Jewish or pro-Israel identity is the presence of an SJP chapter on their campus.

AMCHA, a non-profit that fights anti-Semitism on campus, reports that SJP and other anti-Zionist student groups are a major source ofanti-Semitic rhetoric and behaviorat many schools.Reports analyzing anti-Semitic incidents indicate a significant increase in actions which directly harm or threaten Jewish students, including physical and verbal assaults, destruction of property, harassment discrimination and suppression of speech, at schools with an SJP or similar anti-Zionist chapter.

Despite SJPs consistent promotion of anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish speech and its harassment of pro-Israel speakers, few of its chapters are ever censured, let alone shut down by school administrations or governments.

One exception is New Yorks private Fordham University, which after many legal appeals was granted the right to ban SJP on its campuses because of the groups threatening anti-Semitic activities.

At the New York Supreme Court, Fordhams counsel, Jim Ryan, attested that Dean of Students Keith Eldredge did extensive research and had concluded that SJP chapters regularly disrupted and interfered with students and campus operations. The promotion of BDS was the cause of many of the safety and security issues associated with other SJP chapters.

Thus, the crisis on college campuses for Jewish students has two dimensions:

First, Jews and Israel are attacked relentlessly with anti-Semitic slanderboth traditional tropes of Jew hatred (e.g., Jews control the media), as well as attempts to delegitimize (and therefore destroy) the Jewish state. Such attacks are usually excused by administrators as mere exercises of free speech.

Yet similar free speech attacks on black or transgender students would never be tolerated by administration officials, let alone by student governments. This free-speech double standard adds injury to insult for Jewish students.

Solution: Hate speech on campus must be regulated consistently and fairly. No exceptions for anti-Semites.

Second, most campuses helplessly permit harassment of Jewish students and pro-Israel speakers. While many schools pay lip service to safe environment and anti-harassment policies, they usually offer protection from violent speech disruption only if the victims are members of a protected class.

According to the interpretation of most schools, physical harassment of Jewish students for their support of Israel does not qualify for protection either under religious or ethnic grounds.

The obvious solution is to forbidand harshly punishall physical harassment or speech disruption of any member of the campus community, whether student, professor or visiting speaker.

We should make two things clear to university administrators and our elected representatives: a) Its unjust to permit hate speech against Jews and the Jewish state on campus, while banning hate speech directed against other minorities; and b) all harassment or disruption of free expression on campus should be forbidden and strictly enforced.

James Sinkinson is president of Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME), which publishes educational messages to correct lies and misperceptions about Israel and its relationship to the United States.

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Jewish Senior Connection adds in-person schmoozing during its second year – St. Louis Jewish Light

Posted By admin on May 10, 2022

Betsy Enger leads a cooking demonstration during a Jewish Senior Connection program in April. Photo: Bill Motchan

A few days before Passover, a half dozen people gathered to learn an important skill: how to make stuffed dates and other delicious holiday dishes. It was one of the first meetings of Jewish Senior Connection, now back for a second year.

April 2021, the social gathering program for Jewish seniors was launched by Congregation Bnai Amoona, Traditional Congregation and Kol Rinah. The 2022 version will have a few modifications, but the goal remains to connect people in a setting conducive to schmoozing.

That was more challenging when COVID inhibited in-person gatherings. Zoom meetings were a useful alternative, but virtual coffee klatches arent quite the same as playing mah-jongg with friends on an actual table. Emerging from a pandemic cocoon is just one advantage of the revamped program, according to its coordinator, Marcia Mermelstein from Bnai Amoona.

Outreach and communication were challenging, Mermelstein said of the initial effort.

She said because the ages of the group ranged from seniors in their late 70s to early 80s, some werent comfortable using email and online registration tools. Mermelstein and her team looked at ways to generate more participation and offer a welcome opportunity for Jewish seniors to hang out together. They decided to eliminate a formal registration and payment requirement and let people attend in a casual and welcome setting. The recently remodeled Bnai Amoona building made the perfect spot to host the weekly gatherings.

Theres a new space in the entryway, a bright open atrium with groupings of chairs and tables and high-top tables like you see in a coffee shop, Mermelstein said. You could probably have 50 or more people sitting in the atrium area chatting. Theres another space in the community room down the hall, with couches, chairs and tables, where 25 or 30 people can sit and have coffee.

This month, the new, improved Jewish Senior Connection kicks off on Tuesday afternoons at Bnai Amoona, funded as it was last year by a JCA Charitable Foundation grant. The weekly gathering offers more regularity than the 2021 version, which met once a month.

Mermelstein anticipates the format will be attractive to seniors who are eager to resume social in-person gatherings after more than two years of sheltering. The use of the Bnai Amoona facilities takes advantage of a concept known as a third space. This is a sociocultural term that describes a communal space, separate from home (first space) or work (second space).

Connect with your community every morning.

That space can be used for visitors to sit and chat or if they like, use the communal space for crocheting, knitting or other crafts. Tables can be reserved to play mah-jongg or other board games by contacting Mermelstein in advance.

Each week, participants can enjoy coffee and kosher snacks. The program will also host films, cooking demonstrations and other features.

Tuesday, May 10

Linda Koenig will offer a verbal tour of Jewish St. Louis.

Tuesday, June 23

Rabbi Neal Rose from Bnai Amoona will offer a conversation entitled You Can Only Say It In Yiddish!

The Jewish Senior Connectionprogram is open to any member of the St. Louis Jewish community. While there is no registration required, Jewish Senior Connections planners ask that attendees RSVP to Marcia Mermelstein at 314-576-9990, ext. 139 or by email at [emailprotected]

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And Then: What Jewish Law Says About My Abortion – jewishboston.com

Posted By admin on May 10, 2022

Here is a story Ive heard all my life: Before my grandmother delivered my mother prematurely almost 87 years ago, the doctor came to my grandfather and told him he might have to choose between the life of his wife or that of his unborn child. My grandfather, the son of a rabbi, immediately decided to save his wifethe mother. My grandmother delivered my mother with complications, but both mother and child survived.

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Here is another family story: My paternal grandmother tried to self-abort. There were whispers that her brother, a doctor, medically intervened on her behalf. My grandmother was thrown in cold showers and told to get a hold of yourself as she crouched in a dark pit of anxiety and depression. She endured a crude version of electroconvulsive therapy, losing her memory but regaining some of her life back. In the end, none of this was her choice.

Twenty-seven years ago, I obtained the safe, legal abortion denied to my grandmother. I had a 6-month-old daughter and was struggling emotionally as a new mother. I knew I could not handle two babies less than 15 months apart. More importantly, I worried for my daughter that I could not be the mother I wanted and needed to be to her. My decision was heart-wrenching, but I remember from that hazy time that my Judaism unequivocally supported my choice not to have a child. My health, which included mental health, was a priority, as was my life in all its facets and complexities.

This past week, The Boston Globe reported: The 2019 Reproductive Privacy Act protects the right to an abortion in Rhode Island, but high costs, a limited number of clinics, and other issues make accessing services difficult or impossible for many women. Despite Martin Luther King Jr.s iconic quote, the arc of the moral universe is not currently bending toward justice.

Considering last weeks shocking but not unexpected news that the Supreme Court will almost certainly overturn Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for almost a half-century, I researched what the various branches of Judaism and communal organizations have to say about abortion and reproductive freedom.

Let me contextualize these views, which are not as far apart as you might think: A 2015 Pew Research Center survey found that 83% of American Jews strongly support legalized abortion. Jews were first among other religious groups in the survey to say that abortion should be legal in all/most cases. That is not to say there are no gradations and outright differences among the branches of Judaism. But everyone seems to consider that the mothers life is the highest priority. This is buoyed by the fact that, unlike abortion opponents and right-to-life Christian sects, rabbinic sources do not consider life beginning at conception or believe a fetus has the same protections as human beings. Again, interpretations vary.

In some of the internet rabbit holes I fell into, I learned there is a biblical precedent in Exodus that informs Jewish law about abortion. Exodus 21: 22-23 relates the case of two men who are fighting and causing a woman to miscarry. The verse says that if no other harm is done to the woman, the person who caused the miscarriage is liable for damages. But if there is further harm, he should be put to death. Further harm is not specified. This brings us to the rabbinic idea that the loss of a fetus is property damage, rather than murder. Like many rabbinic opinions, it has a cut-and-dried tone.

Over the decades, non-Orthodox denominations have consistently supported keeping abortion legal and accessible. The Union for Reform Judaisms public advocacy started as early as 1958, when the rabbinate asserted that abortion is allowed in cases where the mothers mental well-being is an issuethey noted there is a strong preponderance of medical opinion that the child will be born imperfect physically and even mentally. In 1985, the movement formally extended that opinion to cases of rape or incest.

The Rabbinical Assembly, the halachic or legal seat of the Conservative movement, similarly understands that the threat to a mothers life includes psychological conditions. In 1983, the assembly declared that abortion was permissible if a continuation of pregnancy might cause the mother severe physical or psychological harm, or the fetus is judged by competent medical opinion as severely defective.

Orthodox opinion about abortion is highly nuanced and in many instances is judged case by case. Some Orthodox rabbinic sources permit abortion when a mothers health is in danger even if her life is not at risk; when a fetus is conclusively determined to suffer from severe abnormalities; when a mothers mental health is in danger; or when the pregnancy is the result of a forbidden sexual union. However, its crucial to understand that Orthodox rabbis do not unanimously endorse these exceptions. Many of them prefer to judge cases individually rather than pronouncing fixed laws.

There has also been Jewish communal support for abortion access. These groups include the National Council of Jewish Women, Jewish Women International, Hadassah and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. In addition, the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League have joined amicus briefs filed with the United States Supreme Court supporting access to abortion.

Jeremy Burton, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC), said in a recent interview with WGBH Radio that Jews do not necessarily embrace the position of conservative Christians that life begins at conception. That belief is not a scientific data point. Within Jewish tradition, we have a different approach to understanding the beginning of life, and different approach to understand how one balances the value of the fetus and the value of the person who is pregnant. He added, I think its disconcerting, even almost disorienting, to be realizing that were in a moment where some of that long arc of history seems to be bending backward.

Three years after my abortion, I had a beautiful son. The moment I held him, I knew he completed our family.

The National Council of Jewish Women is mobilizing The Jewish Rally for Abortion Justice in Washington, D.C., on May 17. Get more information about this powerful moment of collective action.

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Couples’ puzzling aspects revealed in Jewish Theatre’s ‘The Wanderers’ – The Herald-Times

Posted By admin on May 10, 2022

Connie Shakalis| Guest columnist

What do you get when five people do a new play by Anna Ziegler at Jewish Theatre of Bloomington in May?

The answer will stay a mystery until the end of "The Wanderers," because as artistic director Audrey Heller said, "I forgot to respond to your 'puzzle' interview question, but if I had, I'd have given away the twist in the story!"

Playwright Ziegler tells the story of two vastly different couples as she examines yearning, faith, senses of purpose and tacit cultural expectations.

Local news: City parks' performing arts series returns May 12, complete with food trucks

Esther and Schmuli are Satmar Hasidic Jews. Esther, witty and tradition-bucking, wonders, Who really understands whether or not they are happy? in this funny but dramatic play about our tendency not to be satisfied.

We also have Abe and Julia, two celebrities looking outside of their marriages for flirtation. At first, the two couples differ completely. However, hidden associations begin to appear.

According toForward.com, The Satmars support Hasidism Orthodox Judaism and have different groups that often reject modern culture, following the teachings of their rabbi-leader, or rebbe.

Here's where the puzzle, drawing in the audience, begins.The couples, it turns out, actually have much in common. They want recognizable function in their lives, and they want their marriages to be fulfilling. They are people who think there must be something more to life. Their situations differ, but they have the same wandering restlessness.

"I know people in arranged marriages,"Heller said. "My husband once asked a relativewhose marriage was arranged how he felt about it. His response was 'What did I know about girls? I had no experience dating.' Asan ultra Orthodox Jew, the focus of his life wasreligiousstudy inan all male Yeshiva (school) with no room or opportunity for cultivating female relationships."

The thoughtful, excellent'The Wanderers,' Anna Zieglers accomplished, tightly knit Chinese puzzle box of a play, is a treat for the eyes and the heart, saidThe Jerusalem Post

The "puzzle" in the play may be a secret for now, but Heller was more than willing to share what she looks for when choosing plays to produce.

"Excellent writing with dialogue that is how people really talk." She looks, too, for themes to which a diverse audience can relate, while also highlighting the Jewish experience.

Returning to live theater after these past two quiet COVID-19 years is fearsome."What with the threat of COVID constantly hovering and threatening to close down the show if actors get sick."

Management is taking all possible precautions, even hiring extra people in case someone does get sick. "Lots of unknowns," hover.

Martha Jacobs directed and looked for strong, experienced actorsbecause in the play all five roles are challenging and demand big emotional ranges.

"As always, each role has specific demands in age and appearance," Jacobs said, "but we were also looking for people who would make a good ensemble."

The play's two couples are Jewish, and Heller thinks about two-fifths of Jewish Theatre of Bloomington's audiences are not Jewish.

"The general community has been so very, very supportive of us all along," Heller said.

Performers include Indianapolis' Jen Johansen; actor, director, playwright and voice-over artist Grant Goodman;Indiana University Theatre MFA grad Isabelle Gardo;Bobby Ayala Perez, IU MFA grad student; andMinka Wiltz. The cast is strong, with two members belonging to Actors Equity Association.

WHAT: "The Wanderers" by Anna Ziegler, a new funny drama about modern love

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. May 12, 14 and 3 p.m. May 15

WHERE: The John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S .Walnut St.

TICKETS:For tickets, go tohttps://bit.ly/3vRMXpaor call 812-323-3020.

MORE INFO: http://www.jewishtheatrebloomington.com

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History of the Jews of Yemen – aish.com – Aish

Posted By admin on May 10, 2022

An ancient Jewish community that survived all odds and came home.

A lone Jewish person remains in Yemen, down from seven in February, according to a new United Nations report about the treatment of religious minorities in conflict zones. (Gabby Deutch, Jewish Insider March 14, 2022) In the early 20th century, Jews in Yemen numbered over 50,000; today, there is one Jew left. There are reportedly a handful of hidden Jews in Yemen who have converted to Islam but secretly practice Judaism.

Yemenite Jews have a unique religious tradition that separates them from Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and other Jewish groups. The roots of the Jews in YemenTeiman in Hebrew can be traced back to Biblical times. Yemen is mentioned in Jewish scriptures in various places. It is noted as the place of origin of Jobs friend Eliphaz. Additionally, the famed Queen of Sheba, discussed in the Book of Kings where she visits King Solomon, is said to have heard about King Solomon from Jews in Yemen, which was located near the kingdom of Sheba.

Al Ajar, Hadan, 1984, Photo: Miryam Tangi

Although the province is not mentioned in the Mishna or the Talmud, there is an assumed reference in Josephuss book, The Jewish War. Josephus states that he had informed the remotest Arabians regarding the destruction, and the assumption is that he is referring to the Jews of Yemen.

The immigration of the majority of Jews into Yemen appears to have taken place at the beginning of the 2nd century. In the ancient Jewish cemetery at Beth Shearim, there is an inscription in one of the rooms, describing those buried there as people of Himyar (the Yemenite Kingdom). The assumption is that their bodies were sent from Yemen for burial in Israel, not that they died while visiting Israel, just as many people today ask to be buried in the Land of Israel.

There are fascinating legends regarding how the Jewish community in Yemen was founded.

One local Yemenite Jewish tradition says that Jews came to the Arabian Peninsula at the time of King Solomon. Some say this was because King Solomon sent Jewish merchants to Yemen to prospect for gold and silver to use for the Temple in Jerusalem. Others say Jewish artisans were sent to the region when they were requested by the Queen of Sheba, during that same time period.

Al Ajar, Hadan, 1984, Photo: Miryam Tangi

Another tradition, that of the Jews of Saana, states that their ancestors settled in Yemen 42 years before the destruction of the First Temple. It is also said that in the time of the prophet Jeremiah approximately 75,000 Jews, including Kohanim and Levites, traveled to Yemen.

The tradition of the Jews of Habban (southern Yemen) is that they are the descendants of the tribe of Judah that belonged to a brigade dispatched by Herod the Great to assist the Roman legions fighting in the region. The tradition is that they arrived in the area before the destruction of the Second Temple, and did not return to the Land of Israel.

Jews that lived in the Arabian Peninsula before the Roman period concentrated mainly in two areas Yemen and Hejaz (today's Northwest Saudi Arabia).

There is a fascinating story regarding the King of Himyar and the Jews. Apparently, King Abu-Kariba Assad laid siege to Yathrib (modern-day Medina) to avenge the death of his son who had been killed by the inhabitants of the city. During the siege, the king became deathly ill and two medically knowledgeable Jews from Yathrib, Kaab, and Assad, entered the enemy camp and saved his life. After hearing the king, they pleaded with him to lift the siege and make peace with the city.

Al Ajar, Hadan, 1983. Photo: Miryam Tangi

Not only did the king end the war, but he was also so impressed with the Jews that he embraced Judaism, along with his entire army. Upon his return home, he brought two Jews back with him to teach the populace and insisted that all his people convert to Judaism. The conversions, however, were not total, and there remained as many pagans as Jews in the land. There is also debate whether he converted out of genuine belief or out of political expedience. It is clear though that Judaism flourished in Himyar at this time, and many inscriptions with Jewish terms (God of Israel) are found dating to the 6th and 7th centuries.

The size of the Jewish population of Yemen for the first five centuries C.E. remained steady at about 3,000. The Jews were scattered throughout the country but carried on extensive commerce with other locations, and thus the Jews possessed many Jewish texts, and were knowledgeable of their heritage, although there were few scholars at that time.

In 628 CE, some of non-Jewish Yemenite leaders and tribes converted to Islam. Shortly afterward, Mohammed sent his cousin Ali to Sana'a to create a strong Islamic central authority in Yemen.

During this period of Muslim rule, the Jews were designated as Ahl al-Kitab, protected People of the Book. They were granted freedom of religion conditional on their paying Jizya, a poll tax. Active Muslim persecution of the Jews began in full force under the Shiite-Zaydi clan (the sect currently followed by the fanatical anti-Semitic Houthis in Yemen), when they seized power from the more tolerant Sunni Muslims early in the 10th century.

Under the Zaydi rule, which lasted nearly 1,000 years, Jews were treated as second-class citizens and were oppressed by the rulers and population. They were considered impure, and could not touch a Muslims food, had to walk on a Muslims left side, could not build houses higher than a Muslim's or ride a camel or horse, and when riding on a mule or a donkey, they had to sit sideways. Upon entering the Muslim quarter, a Jew had to take off his footgear and walk barefoot. If attacked with stones or fists by Islamic youth, a Jew was not allowed to defend himself.

Al Ajar, Hadan, 1983. Photo: Miryam Tangi

The Orphans Decree was a law that if a father died, his children were to be taken by the state and forcibly converted to Islam. Although this law was largely ignored during Ottoman rule, during the period of Imam Yahya (19181948) in 1922, the cruel law was enforced with strictness. Orphaned Jews were abducted from the community, and neither pleas nor bribes were accepted to release them. The community and relatives of the orphans searched for ways to save the children from this tragedy, and at times were able to prevent the forced conversion by marrying off the children quickly, as a married person was considered an adult and not able to be taken by the state. Sometimes the children were able to be moved to a large city and hidden with a Jewish family and other times they were taken out of the country.

In the late 12th Century, a false prophet arose in Yemen and proclaimed that Judaism and Islam were now one and the same. He used quotes from the Torah to prove his claim, and since the majority of the population was not that learned, he was very influential. The greatest Torah scholar of Yemen, Yaakov ben Natanel al-Fayyumi, wrote to the Rambam (Maimonides) in 1172 to ask for his response. The Rambam responded with the soon-to-be-famous Iggeret Teiman, Letter to Yemen, elaborating on the answer and clarifying the foundations of Jewish belief. This letter made such an impression on the Jews of Yemen that they included the name of Rambam in the addish prayer, praying that he live a long life and his name be blessed.

Following his Letter to Yemen, the rabbis of Yemen would send letters to the Rambam, and he would teach through the letters he sent. He also sent them a copy of his Mishneh Torah the codified Jewish law, and this magnum opus was copied meticulously in Yemen. In the Geniza in Cairo, many letters from the 12th century and onward were found, demonstrating the close connection between the Cairo community and the rabbis in Yemen that began with the Rambam.

Despite their geographic isolation, the Yemenite Jews maintained contact with important Jewish centers, particularly with Egypt and Babylonia. Throughout their history, they had great scholars.

In the 14th century, Rabbi Nathanael ben Isaiah wrote an Arabic commentary on the Bible. In the second half of the 15th century, Rabbi Saadia ben David al-Adani was the author of a commentary on the Bible, and Rabbi Abraham ben Solomon wrote on the Prophets.

Study in the mufredj while the father is making tsitsit, Beit Sinan, Arhab, 1986. Photo: Miryam Tangi

Rabbi Shlomo Adani (born 1567) was also a native of Yemen and is considered one of the greatest commentators on the Mishna. He was born in Sana'a, Yemen to Rabbi Yeshua Adani, a leading rabbi of the city. The family immigrated to the land of Israel in 1571, where he completed his book entitled Melechet Shlomo in 1624. His work is considered a classic and is partially printed in most of the editions of the Mishna with commentaries. There are also streets in Jerusalem, Beersheba, and other Israeli cities named after Rabbi Shlomo Adani.

Rabbi Shalom Sharabi, born in Yemen in 1720, is considered the father of all contemporary Sephardic kabbalists. After he was miraculously saved from a difficult situation, he fulfilled his vow to go to the Holy Land of Israel and to live in Jerusalem.

When travel became easier with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Jews began to emigrate from Yemen to then-Palestine. Many of the Jews that moved during this time, which was approximately 10 percent of the population, settled in Jerusalem, Jaffa, or in agricultural settlements.

In 1922, when the government of Yemen began to harshly enforce the Orphan's Decree, as discussed in this article, even more Jews sought to immigrate.

Following the partition vote of 1947 in which the UN voted to split then-Palestine and give a country to Jews, Arab Muslims in Yemen, assisted by the local police force, began rioting and murdering, killing 82 Jews in Aden and destroying hundreds of Jewish homes. This paralyzed the Jewish community financially and frightened the Jews regarding their future in Yemen.

This increasingly perilous situation led to the emigration of virtually the entire Yemenite Jewish community between June 1949 and September 1950 in Operation Magic Carpet. During this period, over 50,000 Jews emigrated to Israel.

A more minor, continuous migration was allowed to continue until 1962 when a civil war put an abrupt halt to any further Jewish exodus.

Today the overwhelming majority of the half a million Jews worldwide of Yemenite descent live in Israel. They are the legacy of 2,000 years of Yemenite Jewry.

With thanks to the photographer Miryam Tangi for granting permission to use her photos. Click here to read her article about Yemenite Jews.

Summer camp for trans kids run by Jewish camp vets sold out in weeks J. – The Jewish News of Northern California

Posted By admin on May 10, 2022

Shira Berkowitz was building a career in Jewish camping when a summer camp told them not to return.

It got around that I was that was queer, and that that wasnt appropriate for me to be a program director for girls, Berkowitz said. And that was really harmful to my identity. I went back in the closet for a few years.

Berkowitzs career and personal identity recovered, and they went on to work at Camp Sabra, Missouris biggest Jewish overnight camp, which they described as far more accepting.

But I was also very aware that there was almost no queer staff, except for myself and one or two other people, Berkowitz said.

Now, Berkowitz is working to create a different kind of summer camp experience for children and staff who are LGBTQ. The senior director of public policy and advocacy at PROMO Missouri, an LGBTQ advocacy group, Berkowitz is one of multiple veterans of Jewish summer camps on the founding team of Camp Indigo Point, a new camp that caters to trans children at a time when many children who are gender non-conforming are facing fierce attacks by conservatives in their own communities.

Berkowitz and longtime camp friend Daniel Bogard, a St. Louis rabbi who is raising a transgender child, dreamed up the camp late last year, as the Missouri legislature was gearing up for a session in whichthree anti-trans bills were introduced within the first month. Another three were added in February, and last week, the Missouri House of Representatives passed two bills that would limit trans childrens participation in sports.

This year has already seen a record amount ofanti-LGBTQ legislationnationwide. Republicans inat least 30 states have specifically introduced bills to bar trans children from school sports; more than 300 introduced bills would constrain how gender and sexuality are taught in schools and prevent access to gender-affirming medical care for trans children.

The climate has made Camp Indigo Point a hot destination, and its one-week session in June filled with 93 kids from 27 states in just weeks.

More than 50 children are on a wait list, and 135 people have applied for the 29 staff positions, according to Bogard. Meanwhile, trans comic book artist and writerLilah Sturgesoffered to give the camp signed copies of one of her comics.

Its just really cool to see the response. Its magical, Bogard said, adding, Next year clearly we are going to have to expand.

Like Berkowitz, Bogard went to Camp Ramot Amoona for much of his adolescence,which he creditswith setting him on the path that led him to become a rabbi. As a young adult, he became a song leader there and later took a job as assistant director at Camp Sabra. He is the only non-LGBTQ member of Camp Indigo Points leadership team, a role that hes taken on in addition to his work as a rabbi at Central Reform Synagogue in St. Louis.

The parent of a trans grade-schooler, Bogard has become a prominent trans rights activist in Missouri,frequently testifying at the state capitolin Jefferson City. His Twitter threads about the legislative threats facing trans children in his state have gained him a national platform.

Theres not a family of a trans kid in a red state in this whole country whos sleeping well at night, Bogard said. This is not hyperbole. Im having panic attacks at night, like, do we need to flee the state?

Despite it not actually being a Jewish camp, the staff and incoming campers at Indigo Point are largely Jewish and steeped in Jewish camp experience. Its host space, Camp Manitowa in Southern Illinois, was also founded by two veterans of the Jewish camping movement seeking to create an inclusive camp environment. After the 2014 murder of Michael Brown Jr. by police in Ferguson, Missouri, Camp Manitowa opened Camp Ferguson to host children affected by school closures in the area.

Its no surprise that alumni of Jewish camps are leaders in the effort to create inclusive camps, said Jeremy Fingerman, CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

Jewish camp has long been recognized for the leadership skills problem solving, communication, creativity, independence, critical thinking which are developed and refined as a camper or as a counselor, he wrote in an email.

In the last decade, weve seen tremendous growth in the field of specialty camps opportunities for meaningful Jewish experiences and community building for campers of specific demographics or with interests in specific skill development, Fingerman added.

Meanwhile, many Jewish camps are making efforts to accommodate LGBTQ campers. In New York, Camp Eden Village, an environment-focused camp,launched an all-gender cabin three years agofor children who are gender non-conforming and their allies.So did Camp Tawonga, the 90-year-old Jewish camp near Yosemite. A day camp on Long Island, also in New York, caters to LGBTQ children.

The Foundation for Jewish Camp recently hosted a day of learning for more than 100 Jewish camp professionals focused on mental health, gender identity and sexual orientation.

The efforts could yield a different experience for todays campers from that of Berkowitz and others whose own Jewish camping experience was inspiring but not gender-affirming.

For a lot of us millennials who went to summer camp and struggled with being transgender, gender non-conforming kids in such a binary Jewish summer camp structure, we wanted to be able to provide something else, Berkowitz said.

At Camp Indigo Point, campers will experience traditional camp activities such as archery, canoeing, arts and crafts, and sports. But there will also be special programming for LGBTQ community-building, as well as attentiveness to the medical issues children might be bringing with them.

Campers may need privacy and a safe environment to remove their binders or undergarments, as well as nursing staff capable of providing hormone therapy and support for the needs specific to trans kids.

The camp aims to serve children who might not otherwise be headed to camp this summer. Priced at $575 for one week, the camp is less expensive than many summer camps but still unaffordable for many families, and Bogard said it had doled out $12,000 in scholarships already.

Berkowitz said they want Camp Indigo Point to be a place where kids can find some of the support and the love and the likeness around their peers, where they can just have a really awesome, fun summer camp experience.

They added, I think a lot of kids want to know that theyre going to be accepted in their cabins.

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Summer camp for trans kids run by Jewish camp vets sold out in weeks J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Recipe: T’beet, an old Iraqi-Jewish chicken and rice dish, is still appealing today – The Boston Globe

Posted By admin on May 10, 2022

Serves 6

In this famous Iraqi-Jewish dish, a whole chicken is almost buried in rice mixed with spices before it goes into the oven. The traditional dish, called t'beet (from the Arabic word "tabayit," which means to stay overnight) was sent into a low oven before the Sabbath so it was ready the next day for the midday meal. Old recipes called for stuffing the bird with uncooked rice, then completely covering it with more rice, which turned the grains into a soft, savory pudding after its long stay in the oven. This more modern version cooks the chicken more quickly without stuffing the bird, though it still takes more than an hour to bake after lots of prep. This is slow food and you have to give it time. You need a large flameproof casserole or Dutch oven (4 to 5 quart capacity) that will hold the whole chicken with space around it. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and brown the bird, which will take about 10 minutes. As you turn the browning chicken, don't move it until the skin releases from the pan without prodding or you may tear the skin off. Parboil the rice before adding it to the pot. Then saute an onion, add plenty of spices and some canned tomatoes and chicken stock. Nest the chicken in the rice mixture. If you're worried that the pan lid will touch the chicken, cover the chicken with a round or oval of parchment paper the same size as the pan. After cooking covered for an hour or more, the grains should be done and the chicken cooked through (165 on a meat thermometer). Remove the lid and slide the pot under the broiler for a minute or two to brown or char the chicken and the top of the rice. In the end, the rice is tender, soft in places and crusty in others, infused with the taste of the warm spices and poultry juices.

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon of the salt. Add the rice and return to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. The rice will not be cooked through. Drain the rice into a fine-meshed colander or strainer; set aside.

2. Remove the chicken from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to cook it. Pat the chicken dry. Remove the fatty flaps and gizzards from the chicken cavity. Sprinkle the chicken inside and out with about 1 teaspoon of the salt and the black pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.

3. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Have on hand a large flameproof casserole or Dutch oven (4 to 5 quart capacity) that will hold the chicken with space around it.

4. In the casserole over medium-high, heat the canola or vegetable oil. Brown the chicken well all over, about 5 minutes on a side. Brown one side of the breast first, then the other side, and finally the middle. It's not necessary to brown the backbone side. Turn the chicken with 2 large kitchen spoons but do not move it until it releases from the pan without much prodding or you may tear the skin. Transfer the chicken to a bowl.

5. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, or until the onion softens. Stir in the paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and the remaining 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Stir in the tomatoes.

6. Add the rice and stock to the pan. Stir well until they are thoroughly combined.

7. Make a large well in the center of the rice. Place the chicken on the rice, breast-side up. Add any juices in the bowl to the pan. The rice will come up the sides of the chicken but not completely cover it. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Cover the chicken with a piece of parchment paper if it looks like chicken breast will hit the lid when you set it on. Set on the lid and transfer to the oven.

8. Cook the chicken for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the rice is tender and a meat thermometer inserted into several places, including the thickest part of a thigh, registers 165 degrees.

9. Turn the oven to broil. The rack should be about 12 inches from the element. Uncover the pan and discard the parchment paper, if using. Broil the chicken for 2 minutes, watching the pan carefully, or until the top of the rice and the chicken are lightly charred.

10. Sprinkle with parsley. Use scissors to cut the chicken in the pan (this is messy but easier than lifting out the bird). Serve with rice from the top and bottom of the pan.

Sheryl Julian