Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

An 83-year-old Jewish man from east London has had his second barmitzvah on the same day as his 13-year-old grandson had his first, with a BBC TV crew filming the build-up and after-party for a programme set to air next week.

The run-up to Ivor Lethbridge and his grandson Zaks big day will feature on BBC One in a 45-minute episode called Growing Old: A Believers Guideon 12 April.

Seeing your sons barmitzvah is one of the greatest moments of any [Jewish] parents life, said Zaks dad, Jonny Lethbridge. To have that enhanced by having your fathers second barmitzvah at the same time is something Ive never heard of. A second barmitzvah is incredibly rare, a first barmitzvah is incredibly special.

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A retired market trader with eight grandchildren, Ivor grew up in an Orthodox environment and now lives with his partner Rita in Redbridge, where he attends Woodford Forest Synagogue. He and Rita have been friends for 50 years and became an item 12 years ago, after they both lost their spouse.

My Judaism and my faith increased quite a lot after I lost my wife, said Ivor, who admits to becoming a recluse in the aftermath of her death. Going to the synagogue allowed me to come out of myself. It helped me get over my grief.

Describing himself as a very sentimental person, he said his first barmitzvah was held in the austerity of the post-war years 70 years ago. It was a small family affair, he said. Back then, nobody had big barmitzvahs, whether you had money or not. Now, Ive decided its time to have a party.

Zak, 13, who lives with his mum and dad in north London, told the programme-makers that he had been looking forward to singing the berakhah, haftorah, and maftir prayers in the synagogue in front of his friends and family. It means a lot because it means that I become a man in Judaism, he said.

The programme features recollections and explanations from community figures such as Reform Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, United Synagogue Rabbi Mordechai Wollenberg, and Jewish Care chief executive Daniel Carmel-Brown.

Having a second barmitzvah is a relatively recent phenomenon, due in part to todays increased life expectancy.

It is the third episode in a five-part series, other episodes featuring Christian and Muslim families on topics such as settling down and becoming parents, whereas Ivor and Zaks double barmitzvah and party at Yavneh College for 70 guests highlighted the centrality of simchas to Jewish life.

Having a second barmitzvah is a relatively recent phenomenon, due in part to todays increased life expectancy. It is even more unusual for two members of the same family but different generations to have their barmitzvah on the same day.

Ivor said: I know a few people who have had one and who are having one, but they dont celebrate it like I celebrated it. It was only because Zak and I celebrated it on the same day the same sedra, the same birthdays. Thats a rarity.

Addressing Ivor in front of friends and family on the big day last month, Zak said: Grandpa, we share a love of family, a love of Judaism, and dad tells me that when I am older, we will probably share a double chin.

A few weeks after, speaking to Jewish News, Ivor said: Im still living on Cloud 9. It was a special experience for the whole family. I feel very proud and emotional.

Our birthdays are only a few days apart. His and my Hebrew date was the same. I was just going to have a Kiddush [luncheon] in my shul, lunch with a few friends and family, but it snowballed from there. The BBC got in touch about five months ago. They heard what was happening from Facebook and contacted us.

In shul, Ivor said he got called up and Zak read his parsha. When your grandson says your barmitzvah parsha, it makes you very proud. At the party, I loved seeing my son let his hair down. Hes had a tough few years. I was kvelling.

Jonny described it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that the family had discussed since the start of lockdown, two years earlier. We never knew if it would happen. Even just a few weeks before, we still didnt know if it would happen.

Its something Ive never heard of. In the end, it all just came together. Its something my whole family will treasure, and the BBC programme means its now documented forever.

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BBC One programme, 'Growing Old: A Believer's Guide' follows 83-year-old celebrating second barmitzvah - Jewish News

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Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

Photo by Cnaan Liphshiz

Hungarian Jews celebrate the opening of a new synagogue in Budapest on Aug. 27, 2021.

(JTA) Hungary is nearing one of the most dramatic general elections in its history, so Peter Pretz has given some serious consideration to how hes going to vote on April 3.

The 64-year-old Jewish father of five from Budapest has finally reached a decision: Hes voting for the Two Tailed Dog Party, which was created in 2006 as a parody, with campaign promises of free beer and eternal life.

Id rather vote for a real party, said Pretz, who said he takes the right to vote very seriously because he grew up under communism. But for the first time, Im left without a choice.

This sentiment, which many Hungarian Jews seem to share, is the result of a new political reality in Hungary.

The right-wing populist government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban is in a tight race for power with a newly established alliance of opposition parties whose largest contingent comes from the far-right Jobbik party, which many consider a neo-Nazi movement.

The alliance, called United for Hungary, includes groups from across the political spectrum, and it has taken the unorthodox step of announcing a prime minister candidate before the election, selecting a centrist without a lot of political baggage in a clear signal that it intends to govern from the middle if it unseats Orban. But that doesnt change the fact that success for the opposition alliance would give Jobbik, Hungarys second-largest party, more power than it has ever amassed before.

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Jobbik, whose critics charge is institutionally racist, is responsible for multiple antisemitic scandals, and Mazsihisz, Hungarys largest Jewish group, has called the party antisemitic and fascist.

Pretz is among Hungarian Jews a minority of at least 47,000 people with many political liberals who wont even consider voting for the Fidesz party of Orban, a nationalist who is accused of corruption, whitewashing Holocaust-era complicity and xenophobia, including against Jews. But he cant bring himself to vote for the opposition, either, because of Jobbik.

I am the descendant of Holocaust survivors. How could I vote for fascists? Of course I cannot, Pretz told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

In 2012, one of Jobbiks lawmakers called in parliament for registering all of Hungarys Jews. That lawmaker, Marton Gyongyosi, now represents Jobbik in the European Parliament.

The partys current leader, Peter Jakab, a Catholic who has Jewish roots, in 2014 blamed Jews for antisemitism and abusing the memory of the Holocaust for financial gain. His predecessor, Tamas Sneider, is a former skinhead who confessed to beating a Roma person in 1992 with metal cables in an allegedly racist attack.

Despite this track record, Jobbik in 2019 joined veteran, dyed-in-the-wool leftist parties such as the Green Party and the Hungarian Socialist Party in an opposition alliance that is now running against Orbans party under the ticket United for Hungary.

Jobbik has tried to soften its racist image, including by sending Hanukkah greetings to prominent rabbis in Hungary. The kind of antisemitic expressions which took place in Jobbik earlier are impossible to imagine, a former party leader, Gabor Vona, said in 2017.

Hungarian liberals, Jews and Jewish community leaders have remained skeptical of this about-face by Jobbik leaders, especially since they have coincided with fresh racist scandals.

The stunning cooperation by parties on diametrically opposed sides of the ideological spectrum that for years have expressed seething hostility for each other has been both unexpected and controversial. It has spurred defections and condemnation by hardliners from its two main contingents.

It has also drawn external criticism, including by Orban, for the perceived moral elasticity of its members.

But the alliance has been effective beyond dispute in threatening Orbans leadership. His party won the 2018 elections by a whopping 30 points over the runner-up, Jobbik. Now, for the first time in 12 years in government, Orban is facing the prospect of losing his grip on power.

Photo by Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via...

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks on stage during the closing campaign session of the Fidesz party, April 1, 2022.

The polls give United for Hungary 45% of the vote, only 5 points behind Orban. If the Two Tailed Dog Party, which is not in the alliance but is hostile to Orban, makes it across the 5% electoral threshold and then joins a coalition with the alliance, Orban could be ousted, and Jobbik installed into power.

If that happens, Hungary will become a fascist country for Tomi Rosza, a 52-year-old Jewish financier and father from Budapest who intends to vote for Fidesz on Sunday.

If the opposition alliance, which is completely contaminated by Jobbik indeed, wins, we are going to make aliyah, he said, using the Hebrew-language word for immigrating to Israel. If this happens, I dont want to stay here.

Eszter Sinko is also contemplating aliyah in connection with the elections, but she said shes planning to pack her bags if Orban is reelected. Her main complaint with Orbans government is the corruption she and others see, she said.

She may vote for the opposition alliance, even though she believes Jobbik is antisemitic, or for the Two Tailed Dog Party. Its very sad, Sinko, a 47-yer-old finance professional, said about her countrys political situation.

Even Jewish Orban voters are critical of some of his policies involving Jews. Rosza, for example, believes Orban promoted the whitewashing of Hungarian complicity in the Holocaust with his support for a monument erected in Budapest in 2014. It depicts an eagle attacking an angel in the context of the Nazi occupation of Hungary.

Rosza is among many Jewish critics who view the statue as an attempt to present Hungary, whose pro-Nazi governments helped murder hundreds of thousands of Jews, as mere victims. Orban has rejected this interpretation of the statue, which was erected despite heavy Jewish opposition.

This issue has prompted Mazsihisz, the largest Jewish group in Hungary, to suspend all dealings with the government and has even drawn criticism by EMIH, a Chabad-affiliated Jewish group that has tended to be friendlier than Mazsihisz to Orban. (Chabad, a Hasidic Orthodox movement, tends to seek to work with governments of any orientation, as long as they do not threaten Jews.)

Photo by Cnaan Liphshiz

Both Jewish groups enjoy considerable government funding and have opened at least 20 new synagogues between them under Orban. Many Hungarian Jews are pleased with this renewal and with the fact that, at a time that antisemitic violence is grabbing headlines across Europe, such incidents remain rare in Hungary.

Still, Jewish voters such as Pretz feel as uneasy about Fidesz as they do about Jobbik.

On the right segment of Fidesz, they are too close to the fascists, Pretz said.

Orban has come under attack, including by Jewish community representatives, for rhetoric they fear may encourage antisemitism, including in the government campaign in 2017 and 2018 against the Hungarian-born Jewish billionaire George Soros, a major donor to liberal causes who is critical of Orban. (Soros is a frequent target of antisemitic criticism.)

Rosza rejects these allegations, arguing that, in his view, Fidesz generally does not allow antisemitic speech and generally has a low tolerance to that form of racism.

He also favors Fideszs tax cuts, financial support of large families to encourage reproduction, restrictive immigration policies and opposition to teaching progressive ideas about race and gender in schools, Rosza said.

But most Hungarian Jews seem not to support Fidesz, Rosza said. They traditionally support the left. Even when the left allies with the fascists. I cant understand it, he said. (There are no polls on the voting patterns of Hungarian Jews, who account for less than 1% of the population.)

Judit Csaki, a Jewish cultural journalist from Budapest, proposed an explanation.

At least half of the country thinks Orban is so bad that anybody going against him must be better, she said. Russias war on Ukraine, in which Orban has taken a less firm stance against Vladimir Putin than the rest of the European Union, to which Hungary belongs, further illustrated this, said Csaki, 65.

Im voting for the opposition of course because I want this to end, she said. Its very bad for the country, for my moral scale and for the cultural sector in which I work.

And how would she feel about Jobbik politicians reaching real power as cabinet ministers?

Depends on the ministry, she said. And at least it wont be the whole country in Orbans hands as it is right now.

The post More Orban or a party with a neo-Nazi record? Hungarys Jews dont like their choices in this weeks election. appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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More Orban or a party with a neo-Nazi record? Hungarys Jews dont like their choices in this weeks election. - Forward

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Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

City councils: Lemon Grove, 6 p.m. TuesdaySchool boards: Cajon Valley Union School District (El Cajon), 5:30 p.m. Tuesday; La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, 6 p.m. Tuesday; Lemon Grove School District, 6 p.m. Tuesday

Short-term classes open this week

Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges offer short-term, accelerated classes in person, virtually and in hybrid formats starting Monday for students seeking a variety of ways to advance their education and professional training. Grossmont Colleges list of short-term classes is updated daily at https://bit.ly/3LmoVZB. Find a list of short-term classes at Cuyamaca College at the colleges home page at https://www.cuyamaca.edu. Short-term classes, which help students earn credits quickly, range from four to eight weeks long, much shorter than the 16 weeks usually needed for regular semester-length classes. These short-term classes run from early April to late May, and many earn students the same three credits as the longer-format courses. Tuition is $46 a unit for California residents. Financial aid and the Grossmont-Cuyamaca College Promise program are available to those who qualify. The Grossmont-Cuyamaca College Promise provides two free years of tuition and fees at either college for first-time full-time students. Visit https://www.gcccd.edu/now.

Center offers Ramadan gatherings

The Islamic Center of San Diego East County (El Cajon) hosts several community prayers and gatherings during the holy month of Ramadan, which began April 2. Imam Dr. Saad Eldegwy, director of the center, welcomes everyone to share a special prayer at around 8:45 each evening called Taraweeh, and also a short talk by the imam. Muslims fast from dawn to sunset daily during Ramadan, and break their fasts with an evening meal called Iftar. The center is offering a lite Iftar meal after sunset every night. A big Iftar meal will be celebrated after sunset on April 27. Reserve for that meal to (619) 631-7477. Also, an extra prayer is offered about two hours before dawn each day starting April 20 for the last 10 nights of Ramadan, called Tahajud. A full meal is offered afterward. Ramadan ends on May 2 with a celebration called Eid al Fitr, followed by a prayer and talk by the imam and a light meal. All meals are free on all days and no need for reservations, except for the April 27 meal. These events are open for everyone, said Eldegwy. Come, share, observe. The Islamic Center of San Diego East County is at 833 Broadway, El Cajon. Call (619) 631-7477.

Community Conversation for La Mesa

Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber invites the La Mesa community to a Community Conversation and legislative update from 3-4 p.m. today at La Mesita Park, 8855 Dallas St. Bring your own lawn chair or blanket for comfortable seating.

Synagogue hosts Passover discussions

Tifereth Israel Synagogue hosts several programs this week in preparation for Passover, which begins the evening of April 15:

Tifereth Israel is at 6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd., San Diego. For a list of its Passover programs, services, and more, visit https://tiferethisrael.com/events/passover.

Senior Gleaners seek harvesting help

The Senior Gleaners of San Diego County are looking for help to pick surplus fruit, especially citrus, to prevent it from going to waste. All the food collected by the gleaners is donated to the San Diego Food Bank, Feeding San Diego, churches, food pantries and similar organizations. The volunteer group has more requests for picking trees than current volunteer crews can handle. Most volunteer three to four hours one day per week, but there are no required minimum commitments. Volunteers join crews working near where they live. Some form small groups that set their own schedules. The group also needs people with vehicles that can haul several filled banana boxes of fruit. Most deliveries are within 10 miles of the picking site. To learn more and to register as a volunteer, visit http://www.seniorgleanerssdco.org or call (619) 633-9180.

Earth Day event set for Saturday

La Mesa Park & Recreation Foundation and the city of La Mesa hold an Earth Day Fair from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at MacArthur Park, 4900 Memorial Drive. Free to all ages, activities include a bike rodeo (bring your bike and a helmet), a community garden tour and seed giveaways, electric car displays, fix-it clinic (bring your broken items for evaluation and possible repair), and a tree ID walk. Food truck, kids zone and more. Email friends@lamesaparks.org or call (619) 667-1319; visit https://www.cityoflamesa.us/409/Special-Events.

Volunteers needed for bunny trail

Volunteers are still needed for Santees Hop Down the Bunny Trail from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at Santee Trolley Square, 9850 Mission Gorge Road. The Easter Bunny will be there for photos, along with Primo DJ, fun crafts, carnival rides, and a bunny trail egg hunt. Sign up at https://bit.ly/3qk6MDL. Visit https://bit.ly/3N13Eq1.

Library preparing to extend hours

The La Mesa Branch library will be expanding its open hours starting April 11. The new schedule: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday and Thursday; noon-7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Call (619) 469-2151or visit sdcl.org/lamesa.

Blood drives

The San Diego Blood Bank hosts these blood donation opportunities. Donors will receive a limited-edition T-shirt while supplies last:

Those 17 and older, weighing at least 114 pounds and in good health may be eligible to donate blood. A good meal and plenty of fluids are recommended before donating. Appointments strongly encouraged. Photo ID required. Call (800) 469-7322 or visit SanDiegoBloodBank.org.

Please send items to fyi.east@sduniontribune.com at least two weeks before events are to take place.

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East County Happenings, April 3 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

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Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

TAIPEI, Taiwan (JTA) Two months ago, shortly after the Olympics began in Beijing, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) took a shot at China for its treatment of the Uighur minority group.

At the #Olympics youll see a well-known tradition the torch relay which the Nazis used at the 1936 Olympics for propaganda purposes, the museum wrote on Twitter. Today, we witness how the Olympics can still be used to distract from atrocities, such as the persecution of the #Uyghurs.

Days later, Chen Weihua, a columnist for the Chinese state-run media outlet China Daily, responded: Shame on the Holocaust Museum. Are you saying Nazi Holocaust of Jews was nothing but vocational training? More than 30,000 Jews sought refuge in Shanghai during the war and this is now your appreciation to the Chinese people?

Chens comments sparked outraged responses online and even made some headlines in American conservative news outlets. But the phenomenon a Chinese official channeling the Holocaust and elevating Chinas role in saving Jews who found refuge in Shanghai during World War II was not new, experts say.

Several other countries, including Israel and the United States, often reference their Holocaust records for political clout. But as Chinas relationship with the West continues to sour, state media and diplomats have increasingly used its Holocaust narratives to position China as a savior of Jews at a time when the rest of the world neglected them.

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Engagement with the Holocaust as a representation of bad European history, and the kind of bad representation of Europe, its certainly a way to construct China as a much more civilized place than Europe based upon the idea that it saved Jewish people during World War II, said Mary J. Ainslie, a professor of communications at the University of Nottinghams campus in Ningbo, China.

Illustrative: Student activists, some wearing masks with the colors of the pro-independence East Turkistan flag, shout slogans during a rally to protest the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, outside the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, January 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Russias invasion of Ukraine has offered the opportunity to advance that narrative. China has been walking a diplomatic tightrope as it has tried to balance its interests with both Russia and the West. But the country has definitively pushed and expanded on Russias denazification argument to rationalize the invasion, claiming that Ukrainian Nazis trained by the United States participated in the 2019 Hong Kong protests against Chinas controversial law to extradite political dissenters.

Last week, the Global Times, a Chinese nationalist state media outlet, published a story claiming that an official WeChat account from the US Embassy in China glorified Ukrainian Nazis, by sharing an article about the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America on the Chinese messaging platform.

Chinese diplomats have also evoked the Holocaust in response to sanctions from European states over Beijings treatment of Muslim Uighurs in the Xinjiang region. As Chinas relations with Lithuania declined last year, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian wrote on Twitter: In #Lithuania, there was once massacre of Jews in history. Today, racism remains a grave problem in the country, with Jews and other ethnic minorities suffering serious discrimination.

That comment, I thought, was a way of diverting attention from persecution of ethnic minorities in China to persecution of ethnic minorities in other places, said Steve Hochstadt, a professor emeritus of history at Illinois College who has conducted extensive research on Jewish refugees in Shanghai and whose grandparents found refuge there during World War II.

Illustrative: Jewish World War II refugees cooking in an open-air kitchen in Shanghai. (Courtesy Above the Drowning Sea/ Time & Rhythm Cinema)

Since 2017, China has held a million Uighurs a mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic group who live in the western Xinjiang region in what they call reeducation camps, forcing them to praise communism and learn Mandarin. Rape and suicides have been reported from the camps, and some observers have compared the compounds to Nazi concentration camps. Jewish activists around the world have been on the front lines of protesting the Uighurs treatment.

The USHMM has joined in the criticism, but it has also witnessed an increased use of Holocaust comparisons around the world in the past few years with concern.

The Holocaust should be remembered, studied, and understood so that we can learn its lessons; it should not be exploited for opportunistic purposes, the museum wrote in a 2019 statement. In 2021, a group of Holocaust survivors who volunteer with the museum wrote an open letter asking the public to stop using the Holocaust as a means to promote other agendas.

What we survived should be remembered, studied, and learned from, but never misused, the letter read.

Uyghurs and other members of the faithful pray during services at the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar in far west Chinas Xinjiang region, as seen during a government organized visit for foreign journalists on April 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Chinas Shanghai Holocaust narrative leaves out important facts that do a disservice to survivors, Ainslie said.

The reason why the Jews of Shanghai were able to survive was not due to the Chinese state, she said.

The current Chinese state the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) did not exist until 1949. The city at the time had been ruled by several different powers under the Shanghai Municipal Council, Shanghais joint governing body at the time. But the influx of Jews arrived in 1938, as power over the city shifted from Chinese to Japanese hands.

In short, the chaos created by the war in China made the Jewish refugees flight to Shanghai possible, Gao Bei of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, wrote in 2011.

The number of Jews China claims to have rescued 30,000 also differs from the number most scholars agree upon: around 20,000, according to the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.

People visiting the site of a former synagogue at the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum on the day the museum reopened to the public after an expansion project in Shanghai, December 8, 2020. (Photo by STR / AFP)

China began exhibiting a renewed interest in the Holocaust and Judaism after 1992, when China and Israel established official diplomatic relations. At the time, Chinas main native Jewish group, a community of fewer than 1,000 in the city of Kaifeng, were able to practice their religion relatively openly and receive visits from Westerners who traveled there to teach them Hebrew.

In 2007, a museum commemorating the Shanghai Jewish refugees opened at the Ohel Moshe synagogue. In 2020, it expanded to more than double its previous size, likely a bid for better international recognition of the site, experts say. Since its opening, the museum has served as a platform for constructing links between Israel and the PRC, either cultural or economic.

The Kaifeng Jews have since been forced underground as a result of government repression of many religious groups.

At all points, official Chinese interest in Jews and Jewish history and the Holocaust had a political connection with state policies, Hochstadt said.

Israeli diplomats fully benefit from and engage with Chinas Holocaust narrative, Ainslie said. Take a 2015 video as an example, in which former Shanghai refugees and Israelis, including then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, thank the Chinese people for their friendship and hospitality during our darkest hour.

China has continued to grow closer with Israel in the past few years, even as the United States has raised concerns. China was Israels largest source of imports in 2021.

The reason why the Jews of Shanghai were able to survive was not due to the Chinese state. Thats the importance. And of course, to actually not recognize that does a disservice to the survivors, Ainslie says.

[Conditions were] very, very tough and to say that this was a benevolent act on behalf of the Chinese state, undermines all of that.

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Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

The resolution was approved in the presence of a group of people whosurvived the Nazi genocide that killed around six million Jews, some two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe, during World War Two.

The vote comes on the same day, 80 years ago, during the Wansee Conference, when top Nazi officials discussed and coordinated the genocide of the Jewish people, establishing the system of Nazi death camps.

Introducing the resolution, Israels ambassador to the United Nations, himself a grandson of Holocaust victims, Gilad Erdan, said the world lives in an era in which fiction is now becoming fact, and the Holocaust is becoming a distant memory.

Holocaust denial has spread like a cancer,it has spread under our watch,hewarned.

According to theresolution, this genocidewill forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.

In the text,Member Statesexpress concern about the growing prevalence of Holocaust denial or distortion through the use of information and communications technologies.

ItalsourgesallMember Statesto reject without any reservation any denial or distortion of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or any activities to this end.

The resolution commends countries that have actively engaged in preserving those sites that served as Nazi death camps, concentration camps, forced labour camps, killing sites and prisons during the Holocaust, as well as similar places operated by Nazi-allied regimes, their accomplices or auxiliaries.

It alsoasksMember Statesto develop programsto educatefuture generationsandurges social media companies to take active measures to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial or distortion.

At the United Nations, most educational efforts to combat antisemitism happen through the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The General Assembly today adopted by consensus a resolution condemning, without reservation, any denial of the Holocaust., by Paulina Kubiak

The agencyactivitiesinclude the training of teachers, developing policy guidelines for Ministries of education around the world as well as activitiesto address and prevent contemporary antisemitism, including online.

Last year,the agencyand the World Jewish Congress signed anagreement with Facebookto redirect users searching for terms related to the Holocaust or Holocaust denial toa jointwebsitethat is available in 19 languages.

Following the adoption of the resolution, the agency vowed to continue to teach history and combat all forms of antisemitism, online and offline.

Also on Thursday, theUN High Commissioner on Human Rightsspoke to the Italian Senate's Extraordinary Commission against intolerance, racism, antisemitism and incitement to hatred and violence.

In her speech, Michelle Bacheletrecommendedspecific reforms to build policies and narratives that emphasise our common humanity and rights.

She also said that antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice appear to be growing across Europe, highlighting a survey by the Fundamental Rights Agencys showing that89% of respondents felt that antisemitism had increased in their country.

The former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in southern Poland., by Unsplash/Jean Carlo Emer

According to Ms. Bachelet, political movements that profit from hatred have gathered strength in many countries.

By heightening the emotions of their supporters through campaigns of misinformation and disinformation, they gain media attention, and votes but they also drive deep, violent and profoundly damaging wedges through societies, she warned.

The High Commissioner told Italian senators that the impact of this kind of hate speech is devastating.

It exposes them to humiliation, violence, discrimination and exclusion exacerbating underlying social and economic inequalities, and fuelling deep grievances, she explained.

The Human Rights chief also remembered a quote from Primo Levi, a renowned Italian writer and Jewish Holocaust survivor, who said: "It happened, so it could happen again".

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Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

Winter has come to a close and spring has officially started. Northeastern has several events planned for the next few weeks to welcome the end of the semester.

The university is jam-packed with activities for people to take part in in the months of April and May before the academic year comes to a close and students and faculty enjoy summer breakor return for the summer session.

Lets kick it into high gear to welcome the new season! For the first time since 2019, the Springfest Concert returns. This tradition caps Springfest, a weeklong series organized by Northeasterns Council for University Programs, or CUP.

Springfestis filled with fun activities such as performances, lectures, themed merchandise, and free food. The lineup for the concert includes Quinn XCII, Remi Wolf, Peach Tree Rascals, and DJ Rilla Force. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be held at Matthews Arena.

Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week has started at the university, running from April 4 through April 8. The first event is theGideon Klein Presentation | Syncopating Freedom: The Third Reichs Use of Jazz as Propaganda.

The event will be held by Zachary Richmond, a 5th-year student in the Music Industry program in the College of Arts, Media and Design, who has dedicated his curriculum and co-ops to the field of music rights and representation while participating in various ensembles at the university such as jazz ensemble and fusion ensemble.

The presentation will start at 6 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m. ET on April 4 at Northeasterns Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Complex in room 102.

A virtual lecture will be held on April 5 for Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week and will feature an advocate for social justice, anti-prejudice, and equality, Dr. Agnes Kaposi, a Hungarian-born British engineer, educator, and author.

Dr. Kaposi published her autobiography Yellow Star-Red Star in 2020 about her life as a child in Hungary before and during the Second World War and under Communist rule and her subsequent escape to Britain. The event will be held virtually via Zoom from 12 to 1:30 p.m. ET.

Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week continues with a third-generation student presentation and discussion called Leaving Auschwitz: The George Evers Story by Northeastern student Randall Evers.

The event will be about Everss late grandfather George who was a Holocaust survivor. Those who attend will have the opportunity to listen to a recording of George telling his story in his own words.

The presentation and discussion will take place at 909 Renaissance Park from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET and virtually via Zoom. Refreshments will be provided at the event.

Are you interested in learning about different aspects of Northeastern from people who are closest to the work itself? Join this months presentation of Meet the University, featuring the Burnes Center, Northeasterns new university-wide center for social change and social impact.

This program will allow staff members to learn how to contribute to Northeastern 2025 while also growing the universitys collaborative network. The event is taking place from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET at the Egan Research Center on Forsyth Street in Boston.

For Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week, students and faculty are welcome to visit Armenian Heritage Park, a memorial to the Armenian Genocide. The visit will start at 10:30 a.m. ET and will be guided by Barbara Tellalian and Don Tellalian, the architects of the Armenian Heritage Park.

Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week will also feature a lecture on April 7, From Holocaust Denial to Holocaust Distortion: The State-sponsored Attack on the Memory of the Holocaust in Poland, that focuses on Holocaust denial and distortion that has reached an alarming stage in European countries, especially in Poland.

The lecture features Jan Grabowski, a Professor of History at the University of Ottawa and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, who focuses on the Holocaust in Poland and, more specifically, on the relations between Jews and Poles during the war. The lecture will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET at West Village F in room 020 and will be streamed live.

To end Holocaust and Genocide Awareness Week, students and faculty are invited to join a lunch seminar from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET at 956 Renaissance Park. The seminar will feature Nicole Fox, author ofAfter Genocide: Memory and Reconciliation in Rwanda.

For those who are interested in attending, RSVP is required, emails.rabinovitch@northeastern.edu.

Calling all recipients for the 2022 Compass Awards Program! Its your time to shine and be recognized for the hard work you have demonstrated to Northeastern.

Each year, there are nine Compass Awards presented, with two additional honors made: the Wendy Breen Kline Award, presented to one senior who shows both leadership and volunteer spirit, and the Garnet Award, which is given to one junior or third-year undergraduate student who demonstrates the same core values as the Compass Award recipients.

The event, organized by Alumni Relations, will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. ET in the Alumni Center, on the sixth floor of Columbus Place, 716 Columbus Ave.

A small gesture can go a long way, so get ready to give back! Make sure you mark your calendars for Northeasterns annual Giving Day. On this day, Northeastern will join together for a day filled with challenges and celebrations. The event, organized by Alumni Relations, runs 24 hours long, from 12 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. ET on April 14. Anyone is allowed to participate across the university to help support todays Huskies!

Nearly 400 presenters are ready to showcase their latest research and creative projects to over 100 judges and sponsors April 14. More than 1,000 people have registered to attend the universitys RISE 2022 Virtual Expo event. RISE, the Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Entrepreneurship Expo, now the largest event of its kind in the nation, offers an opportunity to share fascinating, exciting work thats happening at Northeastern. The event, held in the format of an online gallery and Q&A sessions, kicks off at 9:30 a.m. ET.

LGBTQ+ students contributions to Northeastern will be recognized and celebrated at the Rainbow Graduation 2022 on April 21. The ceremony was first established in 1995 at the University of Michigan by Dr. Ronni Sanlo, a Jewish lesbian, who was barred from attending the graduation of her children. She decided to create the ceremony to recognize LGBTQ+ students at their colleges and universities.

The event, which offers a catered dinner, will be held in the Curry Student Center Ballroom, 360 Huntington Ave., from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET.

Distinguished inductees, right this way! The time has come for the Huntington 100, a program sponsored by the Office of Student Life that honors students who embody the mission, ideals, and values of Northeastern. These recipients are chosen for impacting the campus community, demonstrating a level of leadership, showcasing entrepreneurial spirit, and participating in forms of global engagement.

The event, which offers a catered dinner, will be held on the 17th floor conference room in East Village. Inclusion in the Huntington 100 is by nomination only. For more information on the event, those interested can contact Emily Hardman, assistant dean of student programming and communications, at e.hardman@northeastern.edu or 617.373.5720.

This is a day of celebration, not only for Northeastern students, but also for faculty who have demonstrated excellence in scholarships, research, and teaching. The Academic Honors 2022 recognizes exceptional contributions to the university.

Senior Week has arrived with events galore to end the academic year before the big day, Commencement. This week will be chock-full of activities organized by Alumni Relations and the Senior Year Experience Board, so make sure to stay tuned for more information.

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Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

On January 21, 2018, Bible Scholar Nehemia Gordon and his team of researchers discovered the 1,000th Hebrew Bible manuscript containing the original name of God in Hebrew with vowels.

For two hundred years, scholars have believed based on Greek sources and conjecture that the Hebrew name of God was originally pronounced Yahweh. In late 2016, Gordon found never-translated traditional Jewish sources that explicitly identified the vowels of Gods name in Hebrew as Yehovah. This is similar to the English Jehovah, but with a Y and the emphasis on the final syllable.

Gods name, known as the Tetragrammaton, is written in most Hebrew Bible manuscripts with one of its vowels missing, making it unreadable in accordance with an ancient Jewish ban on speaking the name. Despite this, Gordon had previously discovered five Bible manuscripts with a full set of Hebrew vowels proving the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton was known to Jewish scribes as Yehovah.

The project to find new evidence corroborating this discovery, began in February 2017 and in less than one year Gordon found 1,000 more Hebrew Bible manuscripts with the full vowels Yehovah. These included the two earliest known Hebrew Bible manuscripts with vowels, Russian National Library, Evr. II B 100 from the year 894 AD and the Cairo Codex of the Prophets from 895 AD. Gordon and his team also found the vowels Yehovah in three manuscripts written with the lost Babylonian Pointing, discovered in the Cairo Genizah in 1896.

Gordon is the host of the Hebrew Voices podcast, which was downloaded 5.1 million times in 2017. He is also the author of the popular book Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence, which discusses the Jewish ban on speaking the ineffable name. Gordon holds a Masters Degree in Biblical Studies and a Bachelors Degree in Archaeology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has worked as a translator on the Dead Sea Scrolls, and as a researcher deciphering ancient Hebrew manuscripts. Gordon has written two popular books on the Hebrew origins of Christianity and is active in interfaith dialogue, speaking at synagogues and churches around the world.

For more information on this discovery see:https://www.nehemiaswall.com/nehemia-gordon-name-god

Photo caption:The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) in the 10th century Damascus Crown with the recovered vowels of the Tetragrammaton.

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Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

What does Elizabeth mean?

Elizabeth as a girls' name is pronounced ee-LIZ-a-beth. It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Elizabeth is "God is my oath". Can also mean "God's promise", "God's satisfaction" or "God's perfection". The usual English spelling of Elisabeth, which was the usual form until the 16th-century reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England, whose popularity made the "z" spelling more common ever since. See also Elspeth and Isabel. Biblical: the mother of John the Baptist. Actresses Elizabeth Ashley, Elizabeth Hurley, Elizabeth Montgomery, Elisabeth Shue, Elizabeth Taylor; politician Elizabeth Dole; suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

STARTS/ENDS WITH Eli-, -beth

ASSOCIATED WITH 16th century, queen, england, biblical

VARIANTS Alixyveth, Babette, Beileag, Belita, Bell, Bella, Belle, Bess, Bessie, Bessy, Bet, Beta, Beth, Bethan, Bethie, Bethy, Bethzy, Betina, Betsan, Betsey, Betsie, Betsy, Bett, Betta, Bette, Betti, Bettie, Bettina, Bettine, Betty, Bettye, Biff, Biffy, Bit, Bizzy, Buffy, Ealasaid, Ebeth, Eilis, Eilish, Eleisa, Eliasaid, Eliesse, Elikapeka, Elisa, Elisabet, Elisabeta, Elisabete, Elisabeth, Elisabethe, Elisabetta, Elisah, Elisavet, Elise, Elisebeth, Elissa, Eliszabeth, Elixyveth, Eliz, Eliza, Elizabet, Elizabett, Elizabette, Elizabiff, Elizabith, Elizaveta, Elizbeth, Elize, Elizebeth, Elle, Ellie, Ellissa, Elliza, Ellsa, Ellse, Ellsee, Ellsey, Ellsi, Ellspet, Ellyse, Ellyssa, Ellyza, Els, Elsa, Elsabeth, Elsbeth, Else, Elsee, Elsie, Elspet, Elspeth, Elspie, Elsie, Elsy, Elyse, Elyssa, Elyza, Elyzza, Elzabeth, Elzbieta, Erzsebet, Esabeau, Helsa, Ilsa, Ilse, Isabel, Isabella, Isabelle, Isobel, Jelisaveta, Leasa, Leesa, Leeza, Leisa, Leisel, Leizel, Lib, Libbey, Libbi, Libbie, Libby, Libbye, Liesbeth, Lies, Liesa, Liese, Liesel, Liesja, Lili, Lilibet, Lilibeth, Lilo, Lily, Lis, Lisa, Lisabeth, Lisbet, Lisbeth, Lisbett, Lisbetta, Lisbette, Lise, Lisette, Lisel, Lisl, Lissa, Lissette, Lissi, Lissie, Lissy, Liz, Liza, Lizabeth, Lizaveta, Lizbet, Lizbeth, Lizbett, Lizbiff, Lizeth, Lizette, Lizveth, Lizy, Lizz, Lizzi, Lizzie, Lizzy, Lotte, Lusa, Lys, Lysa, Lysbet, Lysbeth, Lysbette, Lyse, Lyssa, Lyssi, Lyssie, Lyza, Lyzbet, Lyzbeth, Lyzbette, Lyzette, Tetty, Veta, Yelisaveta, Yelizaveta, Ylisabet, Ylisabette, Ysabel, Ysabella, Yzabelle

SEE ALSO Ailsa, Elixyvett, Elma, Lezith, Liesl, Lizena, Oleisa, Orszebet, Yelisabeta, Zizi, Zsazsa

MIDDLE NAME PAIRINGSElizabeth Kaleigh (E.K.), ..

Elizabeth is a very prominent first name for women (#5 out of 4276, Top 1%) and also a very prominent surname for all people (#39378 out of 150436, Top 26%). (2000 U.S. CENSUS)

Elizabeth reached its top rank of #4 in the U.S. in the 1880s, and is currently at #13. (TOP 2000 NAMES, 2018)

Isabella (#4 IN RECENT RANKINGS), Lily (#31), Ellie (#37), Bella (#48), Isabelle (#113), Eliza (#131), Isabel (#139), Elise (#176), Elsie (#280), Elle (#380), Elisa (#457), Elyse (#692), Elisabeth (#789), Belle (#859), Elsa (#888), Lisa (#891), Libby (#1088), Lizbeth (#1097), Betty (#1128), Elissa (#1261), Liza (#1662), Lizeth (#1757), Lissa, Liesl, Lili, Lilibeth, Ysabel, Veta, Lyssa, Lizzie, Lizette, Lisabeth, Lizbet, Libbie, Lizabeth, Lisbet, Liz, Lisbeth, Lise, Lissie, Lisette, Lissette, Ailsa, Ilse, Leisa, Bettina, Bell, Bess, Bessie, Beth, Bethan, Bethzy, Betsey, Betsy, Bette, Betti, Bettie, Bettye, Leeza, Buffy, Elizabet, Elizbeth, Elizebeth, Elma, Else, Elyssa, Babette, Isobel, Leasa, Leesa and Ysabella are the prominent varying forms of Elizabeth (#13). Adoption of these forms of Elizabeth reached its apex during the years 1880-1889 (MEDIAN #1300) and is somewhat lower today (#1554, 40.7%). Elizabeth is more universally found than the rest, though Isabella is currently the preferred form, while versions like Bell have lost favor.

Recommended sound-alike names are Annabeth, Clarabeth, Corabeth, Eliane, Elixyvetha (see Elixyvett), Elizah, Elsbet, Lilybeth, Sarabeth and Yelizabet. These names tend to be less frequently used than Elizabeth.

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Elizabeth - Name Meaning, What does Elizabeth mean?

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Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

JERUSALEM, April 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative products for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and other illnesses, announced today that the Company will host an analyst and investors webinar event tomorrow, April 6th, in Hebrew.

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Logo

CEO Amir Reichman will discuss recent business updates including:

The nanosized antibody (NanoAb) pipeline development collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (MPG) and University Medical Center Gttingen (UMG), Germany

In-house preparations for the manufacturing of NanoAbs at the Company's GMP biologics manufacturing facility in Jerusalem

Negotiations regarding restructuring of the European Investment Bank's loan providing continued long-term support for BiondVax

FY'21 financial results

Time permitting the webinar will be opened to questions and answers.

Webinar Details

Recording of yesterday's English-language Webinar

Tomorrow's Hebrew webinar complements yesterday's English-language webinar, which also featured Professor Dr. Matthias Dobbelstein briefly discussing recent NanoAb research results. A recording of yesterday's English language webinar is available at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_e82cz5jMQtGeJc6xUmPjZw (registration required) or from BiondVax's website.

About BiondVax

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Nasdaq: BVXV) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative products for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and other illnesses. Since its inception, the company has executed eight clinical trials including a seven country, 12,400 participant Phase 3 trial of its vaccine candidate and has built a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for biopharmaceutical products. With highly experienced pharmaceutical industry leadership, BiondVax is aiming to develop a pipeline of diversified and commercially viable products and platforms beginning with an innovative nanosized antibody (NanoAb) pipeline. http://www.biondvax.com.

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Contact Details

Company: Joshua E. Phillipson | +972 8 930 2529 | j.phillipson@biondvax.com Investor Relations: Kenny Green | +1 212 378 8040 | kgreen@edisongroup.com

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect," "believe," "intend," "plan," "continue," "may," "will," "anticipate," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected expenses, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding participation in conferences, the timing of future clinical trials, the therapeutic and commercial potential of NanoAbs and execution of a definitive amendment agreement with EIB. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views with respect to certain current and future events and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause the results to differ materially from those expected by the management of BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that the therapeutic and commercial potential of NanoAbs will not be met; the risk of a delay in the preclinical and clinical data for NanoAbs, if any; the risk that BiondVax and EIB will not reach agreement with respect to the restructuring of the loan from European Investment Bank; the risk that BiondVax may not be able to secure additional capital on attractive terms, if at all; the risk that the European Investment Bank may accelerate the loans under its finance contract with BiondVax; risks relating to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic; BiondVax's ability to acquire rights to additional product opportunities; BiondVax's ability to enter into collaborations on terms acceptable to BiondVax or at all; timing of receipt of regulatory approval of BiondVax's manufacturing facility in Jerusalem, if at all or when required; the risk that the manufacturing facility will not be able to be used for a wide variety of applications and other vaccine and treatment technologies, and the risk that drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain outcomes. More detailed information about the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company is contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2022. BiondVax undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.

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BiondVax to host a Hebrew-language analyst and investor webinar on April 6th - Yahoo Finance

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Posted By admin on April 6, 2022

Every language in the world has a different relationship with gender. English sits with Finnish and Chinese with no grammatical gender, while the most commonly spoken languages in Europe and some in the Middle East use gender to classify their nouns.

Its a rule that has seen friction in recent years with the LGBTQ+ community, resulting in a call to rework language to better serve nonbinary and genderqueer communities. One of the languages that faces this issue is Hebrew.

A group of Hebrew scholars got creative on March 13 in a Zoom seminar for the University of Marylands Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies, presenting their ideas on how to foster more gender-inclusive Hebrew for its 9 million speakers. One presenter even introduced new letters to the Hebrew alphabet.

The series of sessions, called Gender-Inclusive and Nonbinary Hebrew was hosted by the universitys Hebrew language program director, Avital Karpman. Karpman brought 10 teachers and experts on Hebrew to examine the intersection between gender language and the studies of society, liturgy and orthography.

Tal Janner-Klausner, a Hebrew teaching coordinator for the Jerusalem branch of the language co-op program This Is Not an Ulpan which is a project that teaches Hebrew and Arabic through a social justice lens uses feminine and masculine pronouns interchangeably when speaking Hebrew and said there are similar instances of that already baked into the Hebrew language.

[Maryland Hillel promotes togetherness with Spin Love, Not Hate on last night of Hanukkah]

For example, milim yafot, which means nice words, combines masculine and feminine sounding suffixes.

But for the most part, gender neutrality in Hebrew often means avoiding gender entirely, such as by referring to oneself only in the past and future tenses, according to Janner-Klausner.

Hebrew is a sex maniac, Janner-Klausner said, quoting the poem Hebrew by Yona Wallach.

Sexism, gender essentialism and the gender binary might seem more natural when they form the very language that we speak, said Janner-Klausner.

However, Janner-Klausner and some lecturers shared optimism when it came to gender-inclusivity in the language.

To tackle just one aspect of the problem, Michal Shomer, a graphic designer, shared her design for several new letters for the Hebrew alphabet she called multi-gender Hebrew.

In the traditional Hebrew if you would say something like this, it would probably say All men are equal or All women are equal, Shomer said while presenting a sentence with the proposed new letters. But here you can see how its written with multi-gender Hebrew, changing the meaning to All people are equal.

[UMD study says gender-affirming policies benefit student mental health]

Pronunciation was a big question Eyal Rivlin, the director of Hebrew at the University of Colorado, Boulder, had to reckon with when in 2017 a prospective student who is nonbinary for Rivlins Hebrew class asked him how they should refer to themselves in Hebrew. While some nonbinary Hebrew speakers use the masculine and feminine forms interchangeably, it didnt sit well with Gross.

My objective was, lets try to find something that feels organic to Hebrew, Rivlin said.

I could have said to Lior: Look, this is how it is in Hebrew. You got to choose either masculine, feminine, Rivlin said. That will be a fixed mindset.

Instead, Rivlin and Gross co-created the Nonbinary Hebrew Project, a community-based project for creating a third-gender grammar system. Using the eh sound in Hebrew, the Nonbinary Hebrew Project offered a grammatical system neither masculine or feminine.

For example, I love you in Hebrew would begin with either ani ohev for a man to say it or ani ohevet from a woman. But a person who is nonbinary, using Rivlins proposed system, would say ani oheveh.

Felicia Shechtman is the vice president of Hamsa, a LGBTQ+ Jewish student group on campus, and has worked this semester with Hillel staff and leaders of on-campus Jewish services to find the right language to call nonbinary people to the Torah for an aliyah.

Shechtman doesnt speak Hebrew fluently, but in response to conversations with Hamsa members about the lack of inclusion in language, Shechtman started researching and found the Nonbinary Hebrew Project.

Shechtman said they got positive feedback from Hillel after presenting their ideas adopted from the Nonbinary Hebrew Project and other gender neutral guides online.

Still, there were limitations with these new ideas, Janner-Klausner said. Theres no word in Hebrew for the word genderqueer. In Israel, they use the English word.

I think we have a lot to do on that, Janner-Klausner said.

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How language instructors are creating a gender-inclusive Hebrew - The Diamondback

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