Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on March 10, 2022

Rarely does a week pass by where we don't see Israel tightening its grip on Palestine through its apartheid system of domination and control, or new revelations about the detrimental effect this is having on Palestinians.

This week it was the news that the occupation state has introduced a set of procedures that will make Israel the arbiter of who can and cannot teach in Palestinian universities and the revelation that an "extremely arbitrary" travel ban imposed on Palestinians has prevented thousands from going abroad.

In the new procedure, which is one of many that will come into effect in May, Palestinian institutions of higher education will only be permitted to employ lecturers from overseas only if they teach in fields that Israel has designated essential. Only authorised persons at the Defence Ministry's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) will be allowed to approve the entry of a tutor "after they have proven to our satisfaction that the lecturer will make a significant contribution to academic education, to the regional economy or to the promotion of regional cooperation and peace."

In essence what this means is that the Israeli army officers will get to decide for Palestinian universities which fields of academic studies are "required" and who will be allowed to teach them. The policy is one of many Israel deploys to hinder Palestinian academic freedom. Others include raids on university campuses, arrests of student leaders, blocking access to external resources and faculties.

Speaking to Haaretz about the procedures, Israeli attorney Ben Hillel said that that they show "just how far Israel refuses to let go of the desire to control every component of the lives of Palestinians and their families." Hillel had filed a petition against tightened policies and restrictions.

READ: Cooking helps them through the crisis days in Gaza, say the founders of its first cookery school

As for this week's revelation on the detrimental impact of procedures designed to limit Palestinian freedom, is the news that nearly 10,600 Palestinians were issued travel bans by Israel in 2021. The figures were released by the Israeli Civil Administration following a freedom of information petition by human rights group HaMoked. Details of the released figures show that Israel barred 10,594 Palestinians from traveling abroad due to "security reasons." The latest figures do not include individuals who turned up at a border unaware of their ban. Only those imposed with a travel ban by Israel are on the list, which means that the figures are likely to be much higher.

Reasons for the travel bans are said to be "extremely arbitrary." There are instances where a single sentence stating, "You are a Hamas activist," is mentioned. Others have been banned for simply being an employee of human rights group Amnesty International. A lecturer from the Nablus area was denied travel overseas to participate in a masterclass for short-story writers in Germany. There is also the appalling case of a Palestinian who wanted to visit his cancer suffering brother but was denied pass at the King Hussein Bridge (Allenby Crossing).

"At any given moment, there are more than 10,000 people on the Shin Bet's blacklist, which prevents them from leaving the West Bank to travel abroad," Jessica Montel, executive deputy director of HaMoked, is reported saying. "This is without any prior notice, explanation, or hearing. For the most part, the reason is only revealed when someone turns up at the Allenby Bridge, with a suitcase and a flight ticket they have purchased on their way to visit family, to study, work, or for medical treatment."

These are just two of the latest examples of how every aspect of Palestinian life is subjected to Israel's system of domination and control. No Palestinian is free. Whether it's the two million besieged in Gaza; three million living in occupied West Bank and Jerusalem; two million residing as second-class citizens in Israel "proper"; or the five million refugees denied their right of return; every Palestinian is subjected to Israel's system of domination and control in some shape or form, to maintain what has been labelled by B'Tselem as a system of Jewish supremacy.

They are examples of the "suppression of Palestinians' human development" described in detail by Amnesty International in its report on Israeli apartheid. Decades of deliberately unequal treatment of Palestinians in all areas under the control of Israel has left Palestinians marginalided and subject to widespread and systematic disadvantages in all areas of life including education. Discriminatory treatment, says Amnesty, and allocation of resources by Israeli authorities for the benefit of Jewish Israeli citizens in Israel and Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories compound the inequalities on the ground.

READ: US university returns $5m donation over professor's criticism of Israel

In controlling who can and cannot teach at Palestinian universities Israel has further tightened its grip on Palestinians whose living standards have been stagnating or

deteriorating with access to healthcare, employment, education and housing being particularly affected.

Proponents of Israel regularly deflect the apartheid label saying, amongst other things, that Palestinians are free to run their own affairs. In theory, under what is by any stretch of the imagination a defunct Oslo Process, the Palestinian Authority oversees the police force in their jurisdiction as well as coordinating state services such as education, health and transportation. In reality that is not the case.

Israel is the only power in complete control of historic Palestine, all the territory west of the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Of the 12 million people living in the territory, the lives of six million non-Jews are controlled within a system with multiple jurisdictions. While Israel's six million Jewish citizens move freely and enjoy all the freedoms as though they were living within a single territory, Palestinians can only dream of such a reality. Their lives are fragmented in every sense, from where they can travel to which freedoms they can enjoy.

This system, which all major rights group say is a form of apartheid, has been built and maintained over decades by successive Israeli governments across all territories they have controlled, regardless of the political party in power at the time. In that time Israel has subjected different groups of Palestinians to different sets of discriminatory and exclusionary laws, policies and practices at different times, responding to the territorial gains it made first in 1948 and then in 1967, when it annexed East Jerusalem and occupied the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Over decades, Israeli demographic and geopolitical considerations have shaped policies towards Palestinians in each of these territorial domains.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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Israel deciding who can teach at Palestinian universities is another nail on the apartheid regime - Middle East Monitor

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Posted By admin on March 10, 2022

In the wake of Unesco adding Palestinian embroidery to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list last December, the Palestinian Museum announced a collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London to conserve traditional textiles thanks to a $484,298 grant from the Aliph Foundation (the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas).

The first partnership between the two museums aims to develop the capacities of the Palestinian Museum's collections department, establishing the first dedicated textile conservation studio in Palestine. The project began in January and will continue until December 2023.

This month, three Palestinian conservatorsincluding a newly hired textile specialistwill visit the V&A for textile conservation and collections management training. Initially led by V&A experts, conservation work will start in the autumn at the Palestinian Museum. A parallel public programme at the museum will include workshops, lectures and outreach with local communities.

Conservation of a Palestinian embroidered thobe from Bir al-Sabi (1940s) at the Palestinian Museum in 2021 Photo: Hareth Yousef; the Palestinian Museum

The Palestinian Museum says in a statement that it aspires for this studio to be the first local and regional hub of excellence to meet textile conservation needs and to provide best practices training to institutional and private Palestinian collectors. It will document and conserve the regions material heritage endangered by conflict, particularly thobestraditional colourful embroidered dresses that are powerful symbols of Palestinian culture.

Around 100 dresses were recently donated to the museum by Palestinian and Arab-American women from the US-based Committee for the Preservation of Palestinian Heritage, as well as by a collector in France. They narrate the stories of cities, towns and villages through intricate folk art motifs. Some of the symbols are said to date from Canaanite times (1800-1200BC) but thobes originated in the early 19th century and came of age as symbols of Palestinian nationalism after the Nakba in 1948.

For the Palestinian Museums project manager Ruba Totah, whose mother and grandmother passed on the art of embroidery to her as a child, the creation of the conservation studio is a form of cultural resistance. The Aliph grant will, she says, help preserve and promote the beauty of our textile art both inside and outside Palestine.

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Saving the art of Palestinian textiles: West Bank museum and V&A join forces to create new conservation studio - Art Newspaper

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2022

To run, or to drop, cover and hold on. That is the question, argues earthquake geologist and Pacific Northwest resident, Chris Goldfinger.

By Chris Goldfinger, Ph.D., Oregon State University (@goldfinger300)

Citation: Goldfinger, G., 2022, Opinion: When the next Cascadia megaquake strikes, heres what Ill do, Temblor, http://doi.org/10.32858/temblor.242

On a Friday afternoon in March of 2011, a group of earthquake geologists, myself included, gathered in Kashiwa-Chiba, Japan at the Ocean Research Institute to discuss the 2004 magnitude-9.2 Sumatra earthquake. My talk at this meeting was coming up soon, so I was thinking about what to say.

While Indonesian colleagues were changing slide presentations at the podium at precisely 2:46 p.m. an earthquake began. This was the third earthquake that week, and I hoped it would stop soon so we could get on with the meeting. An earthquake as a hazard did not really occur to me, as we were congregated in a new and very stout looking building in Japan, known for its seismic resiliency.

For a full minute, light shaking persisted. Then, it got stronger. At that point, we did what most people naturally do in an earthquake we left the building. Once outside, we watched the magnitude-9 earthquake unfold during the three minutes of the mainshock, knowing we were seeing a paradigm change for northeastern Japan in real-time. A recording from the meeting captured the beginning of the earthquake and our departure. The initial shaking was so light that the stabilizer on the camera removed it!

Then, a horrible disaster unfolded; a towering tsunami inundated the coast, followed by the meltdown of the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant over the next several days.

We were fine. There was no local damage, and we were inland of the tsunami zone. But the same could not be said for much of northeastern Japan. Transportation was shut down. The tsunami larger than expected had devastated the coastal zone.

UK search and rescue team searches a destroyed building in Unosumia, Japan, a suburb of Kamaishi on Thursday March 17, 2011. Credit: UK Department for International Development (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia commons

At the airport terminal, I watched the Japanese trying to stop the Fukushima meltdown on a jumbo screen. As I flew home, I began to settle down. I also began to see a little bit of light in the tunnel of this disaster. As bad as it was, Japans remarkable resilience to earthquakes was apparent.

An engineer shows Goldfinger and others the base isolation system underneath the Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital, which suffered no damage in the 2011 Tohoku quake. Credit: Ed Jahn

I began to think that a similar response to an inevitable major earthquake in the U.S. Pacific Northwest where I live might be more tractable that Id thought. If Japan can be this resilient, other countries can be as well. Of course, Japan has a head start of more than a thousand years; their resilience is no accident.

In the U.S., recommendations for protective actions during earthquakes come from state, local and federal agencies. The primary recommendation is an action known as DCHO, or Drop, Cover and Hold On, which is printed universally across circulars, pamphlets, websites and other media. But whether DCHO is the best option for the Pacific Northwest, as well as regions with a similar mix of older and newer buildings, is up for debate.

In the fall of 2011, mere months after what came to be known as the Great Tohoku Earthquake, I found myself under my desk in the annual Shake Out earthquake drill, which many people sign up for and promptly ignore. I thought about the Tohoku earthquake, and wondered how long Id have to wait under my desk for the damaging surface waves to arrive should a similarly destructive earthquake strike the nearby Cascadia Subduction Zone. Some quick calculations showed there should be between 45 and 60 seconds of light (P-wave) shaking for an event originating offshore, west of Corvallis, followed by heavy shaking from stronger secondary waves. Our oceanography building is a lift-slab type constructed in the 1960s likely at risk of collapsing. I knew this and planned to escape from the second-floor window in the event of an earthquake. But there I was, under my desk, practicing something that wasnt actually in my plan at all.

The disconnect became apparent.

Should an earthquake strike offshore in Cascadia, my experience would likely mirror how my colleagues and I experienced the 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. Corvallis is well inland, and its residents would feel the light shaking ahead of the trailing, damaging waves. With the advent of the Earthquake Early Warning System (EEW) another minute or even two could be added to the warning time.

After my Shake Out experience that year, I thought about the fact that I knew what a magnitude-9 event felt like. My building would likely not collapse in that initial light shaking. However, under the heavy shaking that would chase the initial tremors, I wasnt so sure the building would endure.

Forecasted shaking intensity for the Pacific Northwest

Would I wait under my desk for collapse? Over time, I thought about this a bit more. What about the warnings to avoid evacuation because of the risk presented by falling objects likely to be encountered outside? One day, I walked around the building and found no parapets, large plate glass windows or other obvious falling hazards. The building has parking lots on two sides and open streets on the other two. There were few potential neighboring hazards.

At that moment, I hatched a new plan: At the first light shaking, I would leave the building, grabbing as many of my colleagues as I could on the way out.

But what about local crustal earthquakes those that strike, not within the subduction zone, but along smaller, onshore faults? That minute of light shaking, typical of offshore events, wouldnt exist because these events strike much closer to populated areas and the stronger secondary waves would arrive much faster. These earthquakes can nonetheless be damaging, and DCHO is the safest option, because evacuation cant happen fast enough.

In my experience during similar local quakes in California, by the time shaking ends, Im usually still processing what is happening and what to do. This is likely true for most people. Decision time barely exists for nearby crustal earthquakes.

Would I have to decide what type of earthquake I felt to know what action to take? I had to incorporate this into my plan as well. If I found myself on the floor, wondering what was going on, Id drop, cover and hold on. On the other hand, if I had time to think possible with light shaking Id leave. However, I realized that my evolving personal plan was not recommended by any cognizant entity that I knew. When I spoke to people in emergency management, I got eye-rolling as assurance that DCHO was demonstrably the best protective action.

Taking that as a challenge, I searched the scientific literature for data supporting DCHO. Thats when the surprise came: such literature is very thin and often narrowly focused on the demographics of injuries.

Great volumes of informal websites, pamphlets and PowerPoint presentations point to DCHO, but nearly all these sources reference other agencies, and posit very little data. I found that there is good reason for this information gap.

In many countries, after an earthquake, no one is directly responsible for tabulating what happened to people, or why. Engineers survey damage to assess the performance of structures, not people. Medical records tabulate injuries, but may or may not reference linkages to the earthquake or individuals actions when shaking struck. Kano (2005) reviewed injuries from the 2001 magnitude-6.8 Nisqually earthquake that rocked the Seattle-Tacoma area and the 1994 magnitude-6.7 Northridge earthquake that struck Southern California. The papers author notes that the extent of injuries resulting from large earthquakes are poorly known because estimates come from incomplete datasets and inconsistent methodologies.

For Nisqually, few details of injuries are available, so how casualty estimates were derived is not clear. Kano cited earlier work that found a higher fatality risk for individuals in multiple-unit apartment buildings and commercial structures where most of the deaths occurred (Peek-Asa et al., 2003; Mahue-Giangreco et al.; 2001, Durkin, 1996). Being hit or trapped by buildings or debris was the most common cause of fatal injuries. Being struck by falling objects accounted for only 13.2% of non-fatal injuries, whereas falls were the most common cause of lesser injuries, accounting for 27.1% (Durkin and Theil, 1992). Based on these observations, Durkin and Theil (1992) recommended strengthening evacuation routes out of unreinforced masonry buildings as a potentially effective measure to reduce injuries for those trying to evacuate.

A large van was crushed by earthquake debris in a Seattle parking lot following the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Credit: Kevin Galvin/FEMA (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons

Shoaf et al. (1998) investigated injuries from several California earthquakes Northridge, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake and found that injuries from falls and falling objects dominated. They investigated demographic factors for such injuries, but did not address fatalities. Similar results were documented by Basharati et al (2020) for the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The psychological and demographic factors of injuries are reported extensively in McBride et al., (2021).

In my search, I found literature on demographic factors influencing injury rates and types broadly characterized as minor. But, I found very little information regarding protective action outcomes and fatalities. I began to suspect that DCHO was simply an extension of the Cold War recommendation for nuclear attacks by Civil Defense, which, in fact, it is as illustrated in this 1952 film Duck and Cover. As the cold war moderated, emphasis shifted from nuclear attack to all hazards, including tornadoes and earthquakes (e.g. VA emergency management, 2015; Homeland Security, 2006).

Theatrical release poster of the 1952 film Duck and Cover. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

If little actual evidence supports DCHO, what other protective actions exist, and who advocates for these alternatives?

Both Mexico and Israel have policies that involve a more diverse, situational response, based on their populations experiences. In Mexico, a country that has had an earthquake early warning system for more than two decades, the government recommends DCHO for those in second floor or higher locations, and evacuation for people on the ground floor (Godby, 2017). These are the actions practiced by the populace during Mexico Citys annual earthquake drill. Policymakers tailored this response to Mexicos tectonic setting an offshore subduction zone with nearby onshore faults. This setting differs distinctly from the settings of the Northridge, Whittier Narrows, Loma Prieta and Christchurch earthquakes. Mexicos recommendations also consider their earthquake early warning system (SASMEX) as part of the equation.

Recently, Israel also altered its policy. Following a national study informed by the experiences of Israeli teams sent to aid China, Haiti and other locations after earthquakes, Israel dropped the universal DCHO in favor of evacuation. They reasoned that injuries may occur during evacuation, but are typically minor a conclusion also shown for the Northridge and Loma Prieta events (Rapaport and Ashkenazi, 2019). On the other hand, about 5,000 children died under desks inside collapsed buildings during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, or shortly after while awaiting rescue (Rapaport and Ashkenazi, 2019). An expert panel reviewed the extant policy and recommended changes for kindergartens and primary and secondary schools. Specifically, the panel recommended evacuation to an open space at the first sign of tremor. If students cannot get outside, they should get to a safe space inside the building. Only if neither of these options is available within a few seconds are students to get under heavy furniture, which is generally unavailable (Rapaport and Ashkenazi, 2019). One factor in Israels decision is data from recent earthquakes in countries such as Japan with a population drilled in protective action that shows the actual instinctive response of people is to flee (Rapaport and Ashkenazi, 2019 and references therein). In the case of Israel, which also has an earthquake early warning system, warning time may not play a significant role as their hazard is generally crustal earthquakes at shorter ranges, similar to Californias quakes.

Sichuan Province after 2008 earthquake. Credit: Wu Zhiy/World Bank (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The emerging evolution of protective actions in earthquake emergency management appears to be situational awareness, which includes a locally derived assessment of the expected earthquake types, the condition of relevant structures, time available for action and other factors. This concept comes from aviation, which requires a constant effort to be aware of all factors to prevent a routine flight from becoming a disaster. With only 120 years of history, our society has had a compressed timeline to make aviation safe, following crash after crash where lessons were learned and improvements were made.

With earthquakes, the process is just beginning, and is much more extended in time. In part, this is because devastating earthquakes dont happen that often typically every few hundreds of years for subduction zones and major plate boundary fault systems. The lack of information requires the polar opposite of the one-size-fits-all recommendation of DCHO. An understandable desire for simple messaging dominates the recommendations for DCHO. Some countries have realized that this may not be the best practice given a diverse built environment that includes structures at risk of collapse. In what may be a first in the U.S., the Beaverton School District in Oregon, the third largest in the state, has recently adopted a policy similar to that of Israel. They will use evacuation for older structures without retrofits, and DCHO for newer structures built to modern earthquake codes (P. Jewell, pers. comm. 2021).

Fortunately, a comprehensive study that discusses the situational-awareness-approach is available for review. Geohaz (2018) was a report commissioned by the U.S. government through USAID to help work through this complex and confusing issue. The authors intent was to produce a document for Haiti and other developing countries, where buildings are generally more prone to collapse. The study reviews and incorporates the material cited above, and much more. Their recommendation, reviewed by a broad panel of experts, is a clear endorsement of the situational awareness approach.

Until earthquake-prone regions such as the Pacific Northwest are as resilient as Japan, they are vulnerable to catastrophic building collapse similar to Haiti, Mexico City and other locales. In such places, simply getting under a desk is likely not adequate. We need an interim solution that has the best chance of saving lives, and a situational awareness approach deserves consideration.

Basharati, S., M. Ardagh, J. Deely, N. Horspool, D. Johnston, S. Feldmann-Jensen, A. Dierckx, and M. Than, 2020, A research update on the demography and injury burden of New Zealand earthquakes between 2010 and 2014: Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, 24, 904 65-73.

Department of Homeland Security, 2006, Civil Defense and Homeland Security: A Short History of National Preparedness Efforts, Washington DC, 26 pp. https://training.fema.gov/hiedu/docs/dhs%20civil%20defense-hs%20-%20short%20history.pdf accessed Feb 9, 2022.

Durkin, M. E., and Thiel, C. C., 1992, Improving Measures to Reduce Earthquake Casualties: Earthquake Spectra, v. 8, no. 1, p. 95-113.

GeoHazards International, 2018, Developing Messages for Protective Actions to Take During Earthquake Shaking, GeoHazards International, Menlo park, CA, USA, 79 p.

Godby, S., 2017, This is not a drill: how 1985 disaster taught Mexico to prepare for earthquakes, The Conversation, Sept. 22, 2017.

Goltz, J. D., Park, H., Nakano, G., and Yamori, K., 2020, Earthquake ground motion and human behavior: Using DYFI data to assess behavioral response to earthquakes: Earthquake Spectra, v. 36, no. 3, p. 1231-1253.

Kano, M., 2005, Characteristics of earthquake-related injuries treated in emergency departments following the 2001 Nisqually earthquake in Washington: Journal of Emergency Management v. 3, no. 1, p. 33-45.

Mahue-Giangreco M, Mack W, Seligson H, et al.: Risk factors associated with moderate and serious injuries attributable to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, Los Angeles, California. Ann Epidemiol. 2001; 11(5): 347-357.

McBride, S. K., Smith, H., Morgoch, M., Sumy, D., Jenkins, M., Peek, L., & Wood, M. , 2022, Evidence-based guidelines for protective actions and earthquake early warning systems: Geophysics, 87(1), WA77-WA102.

Peek-asa C, Ramirez M, Seligson H, et al.: Seismic, structural, and individual factors associated with earthquake related injury. Inj Prev. 2003; 9(1): 62-66.

Rapaport, C., and Ashkenazi, I., 2019, Drop down or flee out?: International journal of disaster resilience in the built environment, v. 10, no. 1, p. 52-64.

Shapira, S., Aharonson-Daniel, L., and Bar-Dayan, Y., 2018, Anticipated behavioral response patterns to an earthquake: The role of personal and household characteristics, risk perception, previous experience and preparedness: International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, v. 31, p. 1-8.

Shoaf, K. I., Nguyen, L. H., Sareen, H. R., & Bourque, L. B. (1998). Injuries as a result of California earthquakes in the past decade. Disasters, 22(3), 218-235.

Tornado Drill. VA Emergency. Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.

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Opinion: When the next Cascadia megaquake strikes, here's what I'll do - temblor

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2022

When the Elm Duo sings these words on March 18, Mike Bell will be thinking of his grandfather, and millions more:

Sorrow, sorrow, for my beloved

For my cherished native lands

Sorrow, sorrow, my heart does weep so

Never will I be able to see it again

The words are translated from the Ukrainian song Hej Sokoly, which Bell and his daughter Eleanor Mayerfeld, the other half of the Elm Duo, will perform later this month at North Street Cabaret.

Musicians from left, Elm Duo members Mike Bell and Eleanor Mayerfeld, and Yid Vicious band members Anna Purnell, Daithi Wolfe, Greg Smith, Kia Karlen and Geoff Brady gather on the steps of the state Capitol after Saturday's Rally in Support of Ukraine.

The show will feature the father-daughter duo as well as the Madison klezmer group Yid Vicious, and is a benefit for the humanitarian aid nonprofit UnitedHelpUkraine.org.

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Musicians from both groups also were at Saturdays Rally in Support of Ukraine on Capitol Square. Four members of Yid Vicious horn and accordion player Kia Karlen, percussionist Geoff Brady, clarinetist Greg Smith and vocalist Anna Purnell played with the Forward Marching Band to welcome hundreds of participants to the rally.

Anna Purnell, center, sings with the Forward Marching Band before the start of Saturday's Rally in Support of Ukraine on Capitol Square. Purnell and several other of the band's musicians also perform with Yid Vicious, a klezmer group co-headlining a benefit for Ukraine March 18 at North Street Cabaret.

I think its really important for the artistic community here in Madison to band together and show support for artists and everybody in Ukraine, Karlen said.

Yid Vicious also will perform March 19 at the International Festival, a free, annual, all-day event that is returning to the Overture Center after a pandemic-induced hiatus.

The festival fills Overture with concerts and performances by local artists featuring arts and cultural traditions from around the world. That includes the UW Russian Folk Orchestra, a long-standing feature of the festival.

Honestly, I hate whats going on in Ukraine, said Victor Gorodinsky, founder and director of the UW Russian Folk Orchestra, who placed a We stand with Ukraine! message on the orchestras Facebook page.

Its absolutely horrific. I have friends in Ukraine, he said.

The UW Russian Folk Orchestra plays music from across eastern Europe, including Ukraine.

About the music

Still, Gorodinsky felt compelled to reach out to his orchestra members and to International Festival organizer Karra Beach to make sure they were comfortable with the idea of the orchestra performing.

Weve played the International Festival for years, Gorodinsky said of his apolitical group. I assume most people who attend our concerts are smart and intelligent enough to realize that all we do is play music.

Backed by musicians of the Forward Marching Band, Nataliya Akulenko, a native of Ukraine who lives in Madison, waves the Ukrainian flag before the start of Saturday's Rally in Support of Ukraine.

The orchestra plays some Russian music, but we also do some Ukrainian numbers, as well as music from Poland and other eastern European countries, said Gorodinsky, who emigrated from Russia to the U.S. 40 years ago. Our programs are always mixed.

The 36-member UW Russian Folk Orchestra, composed of UW-Madison students, retired faculty and community members, has been around for 25 years and plays music on traditional instruments. The Slavic-style costumes the group purchased just before the COVID-19 shutdown were made in Ukraine, Gorodinsky said.

Overtures International Festival is designed to create a safe space for community performers and cultural traditions to come together, Beach said. Although performers are bound by their contracts not to make political statements at the festival, Beach said she would not be surprised if some express sympathy for the people of Ukraine from the stage.

I dont consider that political, she said. Its solidarity.

Klezmer roots

The Elm Duo used to play more bluegrass and Americana music, but about two years ago Mayerfeld became increasingly interested in Yiddish and klezmer music, which draws on the traditions of Ashkenazi Judaism and eastern European folk music.

Supporters of Ukraine following the invasion of that country by Russia rally Saturday outside the state Capitol.

Bells grandfather, Joshua Beliavsky, was from Lubny, Ukraine, but left in 1903 for the U.S. rather than fight in the Russian czars army.

A lot of klezmer music comes from that area, Mayerfeld said. A lot of songs, both in Yiddish and Ukrainian, talk about exactly my great-grandfathers experience of having to go out and fight this war and be separated from your family for a cause that means nothing to you, but you have no choice in the matter.

Eleanor Mayerfeld, left, and her father, Mike Bell, make up the Elm Duo.

A former Wisconsin state fiddling champion, Mayerfeld teaches voice and violin, sings in the Madison Opera Chorus and next year will enter a masters program in classical voice. Her father, who plays guitar in the duo, is a sociology professor at UW-Madison and a part-time composer.

Madison klezmer band Yid Vicious plays many benefit concerts, including an upcoming benefit for humanitarian relief for Ukraine.

When Elm Duo and Yid Vicious decided to share the bill at the March 18 show at North Street Cabaret, the venue was excited to have an-all klezmer evening, Bell said.

Some of the music Yid Vicious will perform comes from the region that is modern-day Ukraine, Karlen said.

Wed like to make it into a celebration of resilience and keeping the culture alive, she said, and doing what we can to help.

The Memory Project's Ben Schumaker grows his "family" with efforts to bring an Afghan family to the United States.

Jim Wildeman's amazing Bubblemobile is a perennial hit at the Willy Street Parade. We took a look under the hood.

I love reading the letters we receive each year for Helping Hands. Hundreds of area schoolchildren reveal to us their dreams, their worries, a

The early days of the pandemic were positive in one way: People headed outdoors in droves.

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Watch now: Ukraine is on the minds of these musicians - Madison.com

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2022

When romance and snowflakes mingle in the air, we cuddle up with our loved ones. And theres nothing better than a happily-ever-after combined with three of my greatest loves: genre fiction, mythology, and cold weather. Here are some stellar mythological and fairy tale retellings set against wintry backdrops, that will make you fall in love with the protagonists and their loved ones.

Novik weaves a rich tapestry in thai book, intertwining the harsh lives and cultural concerns of Eastern European Jewish life with the eerie and otherworldly ice kings. These creatures, called the Staryk, are slowly suffocating Miryems homeland with winter. Shunned for her familys moneylendingbased on the historic rejection of Jews for engaging in that tradeMiryem sets out to make a success of herself and save Lithvas. But when she develops feelings for the Staryk king while transforming silver into goldchanneling Rumpelstiltskincan she reconcile her two worlds?

Miryem puts everything on the line for both her countrymen and the Staryk even as these opposing groups, who also hate one another, do not accept her. Her heartwarming desire to help others, even those who shun her, resonates with historic anti-Semitism, while Novik threads in elements of Eastern European monsters who send a chill down the readers spine.

Paige offers a unique take on the Snow White story with Stealing Snow. Teenagers and BFFs Bale and Snow are both patients at the Whittaker Psychiatric Institute, and the story opens with their kiss, centering the characters strongly in their fairytale antecedents. But rather than creating a happily-ever-after, this kiss fractures a relationship. Just after he embraces her, Bale turns violent, and Snow thinks, Not like a prince at all. Now, Snow must try to make sense of Bale, her own past, and an unknown orderly who hints at a destiny she never imaginedall while venturing into a magical and deadly land named Algid. While some readers might be taken aback by Snows feelings for Bale, someone who harmed her, the heroine quickly becomes just one of a vividly-drawn cast of characters who populate her Through the Looking Glass-style journey into Algid.

Jewish sisters Liba and Laya have lived sheltered lives in this historical fantasy inspired by Ashkenazi history and Eastern European myth. But the real world intrudes on their forest home when the sisters discover that shapeshifting ability runs in their family. Liba and Laya must come to terms with their own burgeoning powers while newcomers to town encroach on their haven and everything they hold dear, including growing love. Rossner grounds a thoroughly magical story in well-wrought emotional ties between two siblings who would risk it all for one another. The interweaving of real questions of safety and identity amidst the threat of pogroms ground this fantasy in heartrending reality.

This lesbian Cinderella retelling finds our heroine, Ash, bereft at the loss of her father in her freezing family home. Her truly wicked stepmother torments her; in true meta fashion, our fairytale heroine finds solace in mythical stories her mother told her. But two women entering Ashs life turn it upside down, for better and worse.

The fairy Sidhean seems to offer Ash everything the orphan could want, but do sinister possibilities linger behind the fae? Grounded in the real world is the Kings Huntress, Kaisa, who ensnares Ashs heart. But when Sidhean stakes her claim on Ash, the reader is swept along on a magical journey of love, loss, and finding ones place in the world. Lo creates a sweet-yet-heartbreaking growth journey for Ash, making this book a standout.

This story isnt rooted in a classic fairytale, but in a legendary period of Russian history. Patrick injects a supernatural sense into the fall of Russias last tsars, adding a magical note to the famous Faberge eggs beloved of the Romanovs. At one of the final balls, the Tsarevich Alexei shows his teenage sweetheart Natalya a special egg; as long as its in the hands of the Romanovs, the dynasty is safe, Alexei proclaims.

But then Russia falls to the rebels and the egg goes missing. To save her beloved, Natalya must navigate a new world, trek through the iciest weather, and square off with dangerous enemies, even creating bonds with those she never expected to care for. Patrick builds a tale worthy of Anastasia the movie, filled with worlds colliding, passion, peril, and power.

This Nutcracker reimagining is an inventive take on a traditional tale. In Gilded Age New York, Clara leads a double life: the mayors dutiful daughter by day, rebellious teen taught self-defense by the toymaker Drosselmeyer by night. When her father is kidnapped by supernatural enemies and her sisters life is threatened, Clara works with the cursed prince Nicholas to get justice for her familyeven as a deadly witch queen threatens their progress. The chemistry between the protagonists in the story is electric, the suspense palpable and creepy, and the continual allusions to a story traditionally relegated to just Christmas delightful.

A public historian, Carly Silver has written for BBC News, History Today, Smithsonian, Atlas Obscura, The Atlantic, Narratively, ThoughtCo/About.com (for which she served as the ancient/classical history expert), Biblical Archaeology, Eidolon, All Thats Interesting, and other publications. She works as an associate editor at HarperCollins and resides in Brooklyn, New York.

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2022

Paula Vogel's drama "Indecent" embodies a heated argument familiar to anyone who studies theater or literature.

"Why must every Jew onstage be a paragon?" asks a playwright who's just written a provocative work.

"This is a play written by a Jew who hates Jews," says a respondent who didn't enjoy the provocation.

But "Indecent," fashioned from the bones of a Yiddish theater classic, is also full of love stories: the love two women share, the love of a simple tailor for a life in theater, and the love of a people for the language they brought from the shtetls of eastern Europeto cities around the world.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre begins performing "Indecent" March 11.

"Indecent"dramatizes the sagaof "God of Vengeance" ("Got fun nekome"), Sholem Asch's 1907 landmark Yiddish theater play.In Asch's drama, a Polish Jewish father who makes a living from the brothel in his basement wants to marry his virgin daughter to a pious Jewish groom. The father even commissions a Torah scroll, which he places in the daughter's room as a form of protection. But she has fallen in love with one of the prostitutes downstairs.

Both agentle love scene between the women and the father's explosive confrontation with his daughter recur in "Indecent," as the audience sees actors perform it in a salon and then Europe before it arrives in New York. After "God of Vengeance" opened on Broadway in 1923, cast members and the producer were arrested for "participating in an obscene, indecent, immoral, and impure drama or play," resulting in a trial, convictionsand eventual successful overturn on appeal.

Any marginalized group Jews, Blacks, Asian Americans, LGBT people has internal discussions like the ones in "Indecent," said Joel Berkowitz,director for the Center for Jewish Studies at UWM. A scholar of Yiddish theater, Berkowitz is serving as dramaturg for Milwaukee Chamber's production, advising on cultural and literary points.

"Look, it's one thing for us to have these discussions in-house," Berkowitz said in summarizing in-group opposition to putting troublingbehavior onstage. But opponents of such literary frankness worry that "it's going to get misused if it leaves this room," giving ammunition to our enemies, he said.

But "Indecent" is more than a debate about artistic norms and transgressions. For one, it's a fast-moving acting challenge, with Chamber's actors transitioning rapidly in scenes from playing characters to playing actors playing characters. MusiciansLodewijk Broekhuizen, Jason Gresl and Christie Chiles Twillie serve as the onstage klezmer band, playing thematic musicincluding Yiddish musical theater's worldwide hit, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schn."

And while it is performed in English, "Indecent" is frequently punctuated with Yiddish, the language spoken by millions of Ashkenazi Jews before the Holocaust and still spoken today.

As someone who works on Yiddish theater and culture, Berkowitz loves that "Indecent" pays homage to the language and the world it was embedded in.

His father was born to Polish Jewishrefugees who ultimately made their way to the U.S., so Yiddish was in his background. But he truly embraced it in graduate school whileworking on his doctorate in theater. When he took a month intensive program in Yiddish, "it was like falling in love… you're a bit gaga," he said. His infatuation deepened into further study, a doctoral dissertation (and first book) on Shakespeare on the American Yiddish stage, and co-founding the Digital Yiddish Theatre Project, which is hosted by UWM.

Berkowitz was Yiddish consultant for four previous productions of "Indecent," including its premiere at Yale Repertory Theater.

"Indecent" touches on "how vitally important Yiddish theaterwas to millions of Yiddish speakers" not only in eastern Europe, but also in other parts of Europe, the U.S.and Canada,and elsewhere,he said.

A common misconception is that Yiddish has had its time and that's past, Berkowitz noted. "There's so many reasons sort of to challenge thatthinking," he said. He finds the persistence of "Vengeance of God" to be a "beautiful and powerful" demonstration of the Yiddish metaphor ofdigoldene keyt, the golden chain of Jewish tradition continuing from one generation to the next.

"Certainly 'Indecent'serves to bring awareness of ("Godof Vengeance") to a whole new audience," Berkowitz said. But even apart from "Indecent," the earlier play has had striking, modern Israeli and Polish productions. "Like any classic play, they find different ways to tell the story," he said.

Contact Jim Higgins at jim.higgins@jrn.com. Followhim on Twitter at @jhiggy.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre performs "Indecent" March 11-27 at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, visitwww.milwaukeechambertheatre.org or call (414)291-7800. Proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test required. Masks required.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

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A UWM scholar is lending his Yiddish expertise to the provocative drama 'Indecent' at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2022

Over a year into the biggest vaccination campaign in history, more than 10.7 billion doses have been administered across 184 countries, following a record vaccine development period of less than 12 months. As reference, the relatively fast development of the mumps vaccine took 4 years. Weve seen this before: catastrophes often spark innovation, let alone global catastrophes that impact every genius around the globe:

Times of Crises Drive Innovation

The American Civil War gave the world the telegraph, the Second World War contributed mass production of Penicillin, Blood Plasma Transfusion, Microwaves and, well, the atomic bomb. The financial crisis in 2008 was a golden era for innovation: Netflix filled consumers desire for cheap entertainment by introducing video streaming and increased its stock price by 57%. Building on the same crisis were Uber and Airbnb (in times of crisis, we apparently share). Eventually, breakthroughs come when an urgent need aligns with the maturity of a field of research or technology.

Vaccines, Networks and Computer Processors: Technological Advancements Also Rely on Timing and Previous Breakthroughs

But heres the point: Catastrophes arent enough. They need to happen at a point in time that is just right: coinciding with enough technological advancements. Tech revolutions dont happen in a day; they more often take years of small, incremental revolutions to materialize. Some would argue that had that Wuhan bat (lets stick to that theory) emerged merely 5 years before it did, the vaccine development time would easily triple. If we look at the vaccine example and wonder how on earth did a process, typically averaging 10 years, shorten into less than a year - The answer is: it didnt.

True, the first case of Covid-19 was identified in December 2019 and by December 11, 2020, the FDA approved an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer vaccine. But the science and technology worlds have been preparing for this moment for decades. This is what we already had by December 2019:

Tons of data: For over 50 years now, scientists have been studying coronaviruses. In 2003 it took months after the discovery of SARS to sequence its full genetic code. Since then, sequencing technology has dramatically improved; within less than two weeks after the first reported pneumonia case in Wuhan scientists already circulated the genetic sequence of the coronavirus behind Covid-19. The viral genome was then shared globally, enabling tests to be developed and vaccine research to start.

Money: With vaccines development costs in the high tens of millions of dollars, funding (from sources ranging from the government to the private sector) was critical in making Covid-19 vaccines.

Synthetic generation, advancements in AI, mRNA: Technology (the vaccine platform that serves as the backbone for the most advanced vaccines had been under development for years, and already tested in humans) and even innovation around clinical trials all were enablers of this incredible achievement.

Its not just vaccines.

Have you ever wondered how we woke up to a world with the internet?

The internet got its start in the United States in the 1960s as a government weapon in the Cold War. It began as an initiative driven by the U.S. governments fear about what might happen in the event of a Soviet attack on the nations telephone system, which could disable long-distance communication. Only 20 years later (January 1, 1983, to be exact) the official birthday of the Internet was celebrated, together with the presentation of its new communications protocol (TCP/IP) which allowed different kinds of computers on different networks to talk to each other.

The ARM technology, in 2022 the basis for 95% (!) of the smartphones in the world was born in 1983 through a (failed) British government initiative to put a computer in every classroom. Only in 1990 was the company officially established, structured as a joint venture between Acorn Computers, Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) and VLSI Technology.

Emerging When Conditions Have Already Matured

When you pitch your idea, every investor you meet will either ask you or themselves Why now? and the answer will typically not be because this is the first time in history someone came up with this phenomenal idea. It will be because social, technological, and regulatory circumstances have only now materialized to enable it. Israeli entrepreneurs, who created more unicorns than all of Europe combined in 2021, are masters in identifying that sweet spot convergence in time: Think about the evolution of Waze for example. In its early days there were no 3G or 4G networks available, so when people wanted to add maps as they were driving, they did it offline. Technology and industry trends enabled users to contribute in real-time, and build a popular app that people use all over the world. Mobileye and Mobileye-like sensors, mandatory in Israel for all cars imported from 2018, wouldnt become a reality if it wasnt for the maturity of innovative graphic engines, advanced cameras, and real time processing. Looking for a SaaS example? Papaya Global, one of the most exciting Israeli unicorns of 2021, has very accurately identified the massive work from anywhere and global workforce societal change, with more and more companies choosing to employ people in other countries and requiring solutions that will allow them to pay these employees in their local currencies according to the laws in the countries where they live.

Technological revolutions have many fathers and mothers and many years of small successes and huge failures behind them. Think about it the next time someone says something about record time. You should probably ask when they started recording.

Renana Ashkenazi is a General Partner at Grove Ventures

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Whats between a vaccine, the most common smartphone processor, and autonomous vehicles - CTech

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2022

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

The correlation of Hamans sons to the Nuremberg Nazis, ys, is eerie. It is also what can be called an emunahbuilder. One could perhaps suggest that it is coincidence, but the combination of all of these coincidences in one area, particularly when they are otherwise unexplained, is perhaps too much of a coincidence.

Why The Extra Words?

Lets look at the listing of the ten sons of Haman as they are being hanged at the end of theMegillah. There are two columnsthe names are to the right side. On the left side is a series of ten of the same wordsves.

Why not just have the connectingvavappear before each of the ten names? Why the ten extra words?

To answer this question, we go to one of theTannaim, either Shimon HaAmasuni or Nechemiah HaAmasuni (a debate in the Talmud). He was a second-generationTannaand perhaps even the person known as Nachum Ish Gamzu according to some sources. The Gemara inPesachim(22b)and inKiddushin(57a)discuss him and his method of exegesis. He looked at every es in the Torah and stated that it comes to include something else. But what? Or who?

The Four Strangely-Sized Letters

Now lets take a deeper look at the letters of the hand-writtenMegillahitself. There are four unexplained irregularities in the orthography of the letters. Three letters are written in a significantly smaller size. One letter is written in a much larger size.

The Smaller Letters.In the listing of the ten sons of Haman(Megillah9:79), there are three letters that are written smaller: thetafof Parshandasa, theshinof Parmashta, and thezayinof Vayzasa. Thegematriavalue of these smaller letters is 707.

The Larger Letter.In that last son of Haman, Vayzasa, thevavis written much larger. Rav Michel Dov Ber Weissmandel,ztl, atzaddikwho saved thousands of people during the Holocaust and who tried to save hundreds of thousands of others, made the following discovery:

If thisvavrepresents the sixth millennium of creation, and the other three smaller letters represent the years, the total is 5707; 5707 corresponds to the year 1946the year that ten Nazis were hanged at the Nuremberg trials.

The Hanging Date

Although the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg delivered its verdicts sentencing the leaders of the Nazi party to death by hanging on October 1, 1946, they were hanged on October 16, the 21st of Tishrei. That date corresponds to the final judgement day of the Hebrew yearthe point of no return, Hoshana Rabbah.

The Bizarre Declaration

Kingsbury Smith of the International News Service, who was chosen by random lot [pur in Hebrew] to represent the American press at the execution of the ten Nazis wrote as follows:

Julius Streicher made his melodramatic appearance at 2:12 a.m. While his manacles were being removed and his bare hands bound, this ugly, dwarfish little man, wearing a threadbare suit and a well-worn bluish shirt buttoned to the neck but without a tie (he was notorious during his days of power for his flashy dress), glanced at the three wooden scaffolds rising menacingly in front of him. Then he glanced around the room, his eyes resting momentarily upon the small group of witnesses. By this time, his hands were tied securely behind his back. Two guards, one on each arm, directed him to Number One gallows on the left of the entrance. He walked steadily the six feet to the first wooden step but his face was twitching He was pushed the last two steps to the mortal spot beneath the hangmans rope. The rope was being held back against a wooden rail by the hangman.

Streicher was swung suddenly to face the witnesses and glared at them. Suddenly he screamed, Purim Feast 1946.

This is very strange. Why would he scream that?

The Request

And the king said to Esther the queen, The Jews have slain and destroyed 500 men in Shushan the capital, and the ten sons of Haman Now whatever your petition, it shall be granted; whatever your request further, it shall be done.

Esther responded, If it is pleasing to the King, let it be granted to the Jews that are in Shushan to do tomorrow also as this day, and let Hamans ten sons be hanged upon the gallows (MegillasEsther9:1214).

Our sages tell us that every place in theMegillahthat it mentions the king, it also refers to Hashem, the King. Esthers request, or prayer, was also directed to Hashem Himself, the Ultimate King.

A Correlation Between The Nazis And The Ten Sons of Haman?

The great Kabbalist SasonbenMordechai Shanduch (17471830), who lived in Iraq, in hisseferDavar BIto, provides a Hebrew root that indicates the specific evil quality inherent in each of the original ten sons of Haman. Based on Rabbi Shanduchs writings, we can perhaps conjecture which each of the sons of Haman comes to include:

1.Parshandasais one who ismafrisha person from the religion (dasa). This possibly refers to Alfred Rosenberg,ys, chief Nazi theoretician and ideologist. In his 1920 book,Immorality in the Talmud, Rosenberg identified Jews and Judaism as evil incarnate. Publicly, Rosenberg attributed what was wrong with Christianity to the influence of Judaism. He initiated many of the anti-Jewish laws. He was also the head of the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories, where he oversaw the establishment and administration of the extermination camps.

2.Dalphonis a person who is adeles, a door topnios raos, bad directions or steps. Possibly this refers to Alfred Jodl,ys, chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command, who signed the Commissar Order of 6 June 1941 (in which Soviet political commissars were to be shot) and the Commando Order of 28 October 1942 (in which Allied commandos, including properly uniformed soldiers as well as combatants wearing civilian clothes were to be executed immediately without trial if captured behind German lines). He also signed the surrender documents of Nazi Germany.

3.Asaftais a gatherer. Ernst Kaltenbrunner,ys,obergruppenfhrer(general) in the SS was the chief of theReichssicherheitshauptamt(Reich Main Security Office). According to former SS-SturmbannfhrerHans Georg Mayer, Kaltenbrunner was present at a December 1940 meeting among Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, and Heydrich where it was decided to gas all Jews incapable of heavy physical work. Under Kaltenbrunners command, the genocide of Jews picked up pace as the process of extermination was to be expedited and the concentration of the Jews in the Reich itself and the occupied countries were to be liquidated as soon as possible. He oversaw the rapid gathering of Jews in order to exterminate them.

4.Porasaalludes to untoward and unchaste behavior. While overseeing the Dutch, Arthur Seyss-Inquart,ys, an Austrian Nazi politician, worked with Hitler to create the Anschluss. After Germany invaded Poland, he served in the General Government of Poland. He was alsoreichskommissarin Holland. He behaved in a manner that compromised many Dutch women.

5.Adaliarefers to one who lifts himself up with arrogance and haughtinesslikely Joachim Von Ribbentrop,ys, Nazi Germanys foreign minister. In his arrogance, he added the fake title Von to his name. When he was an ambassador to England, virtually everyone commented about his complete arrogance.

6.Aridasais one who scares others like a lion. Possibly this refers to Wilhelm Frick,ys, Reich minister of the Interior of Nazi Germany and then the last governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. He used ruthless methods to counter any dissent.

7.Parmashtais one who rips apart (porem) the inner fabric, theshasi(the crisscross of the garment), of the Jewish nation. This could possibly reference Wilhelm Keitel,ys, field marshal and chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces. He issued a series of criminal orders from April 1941. The orders went beyond established codes of conduct for the military and broadly allowed the execution of Jews, civilians, and non-combatants, for any reason. Those carrying out the murders were exempted from court-martial or later being tried for war crimes. The orders were signed by Keitel.

8.Arisaiis one who possesses the venom (aras) of a snake. Perhaps this refers to the venomous nature of Julius Streicher,ys, early member of the Nazi Party and founder and publisher ofDer Strmer, which encouraged the hate toward Jews.

9.Aridaiis one who subjugates people (rodeh). This best references Fritz Sauckel,ys, Gauleiter of Thuringia and the General Plenipotentiary for Labour Deployment from 1942 until the end of the war. He worked directly under Gring through the Four Year Plan Office, directing and controlling labor. In response to increased demands, he met the requirement for manpower with people from the occupied territories. Voluntary numbers were insufficient, and forced recruitment was introduced within a few months. Of the five million foreign workers brought to Germany, around 200,000 came voluntarily, according to Sauckels own testimony at Nuremberg.

10.Vayzasais one who symbolizes the bitter and warped judgment of an olive (zayis). It is likely that this references Hans Frank,ys, Hitlers personal lawyer and Nazi Germanys chief jurist in German-occupied Poland. He served as the warped judge that allowed many Nazi goals to become law.

Perhaps the correlation of the original ten sons of Haman to the modern sons of Hamanthe Naziscould be tweaked bit better, but the ten prominent Ves additions in the left column do indicate that it comes to include specific people.

The author can be reached at[emailprotected].

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2022

In the wake of yet another scandal involving a therapist abusing his clients, it is time to reassert the importance of yichud, the prohibition of unrelated individuals of opposite genders being alone together. This is true not only as a matter of halacha; Jewish law has always required adherence to this principle, even if it has been disgracefully disregarded.

What is further necessary here is a reassertion of the value of yichud, an understanding and clear application of its underlying concepts and messages. The point here is not merely to advocate for practical compliance, as crucial as that is, but also to fully internalize and institutionalize what yichud represents.

To be perfectly clear at the outset, nothing here is meant to imply, chas vshalom, that had the victims of abuse been more careful about yichud, then they would not have been victimized. The duty to ensure that abuse is not even a remote possibility is on the therapist, and certainly not on the therapists vulnerable patient.

At first glance, yichud is a safeguard, a protective measure to prevent forbidden physical relationships from taking place, uninhibited by the presence of uninvolved parties. Safeguards are common in Jewish law, mandated by the Torah and the Talmud (See Pirkei Avot 1:1, and the Gemara in Yevamot 21a). They are a frequent function of rabbinic legislation, and are even present among Torah prohibitions as well.

While many of the laws of yichud are quite complex and detailed and beyond the scope of this brief essay the basic concept is intuitive, and has indeed been independently adopted by those unversed in Torah law, and unconnected to Judaism. In the twentieth century, the evangelical pastor Billy Graham has had a policy of not spending time alone with a woman other than his wife attributed to him, and more recently the practice has been associated with former Vice President Mike Pence.

However, there are opinions that yichud is more than a safeguard, that it constitutes an inherent transgression, separate and apart from the likelihood that it may lead one to further sin. While this may be a minority opinion, it is reflective of a possibility that yichud contains elements that set it apart from other safeguards, even in the area of forbidden relationships.

One distinction of yichud, both in the eyes of halacha and of society, is that it has the power to confer suspicion upon its violators, even if in actuality, no further transgression took place. Jewish law incorporates this fact into the ritual of the Sotah, the possibly adulterous wife, who is only considered sufficiently mistrusted to undergo the process once she has been established to have secluded with an identified man other than her husband.

Further, yichud may be, as implied by the Talmud and accepted by some rabbinic authorities, not only a rabbinically mandated safeguard, but one ordained by the Torah itself. In numerous places in the rabbinic texts, yichud is associated with an unexpected verse, one seemingly unrelated in context. This verse (Devarim 13:7), deals with one who entices another to worship idols, known as a meisit, and the highlighted words are Ki yesitcha achicha ben imecha when your brother, the son of your mothershall entice you secretly

Whether or not this constitutes a genuine source for a Torah prohibition; it is noteworthy that the Talmud refers to it as remez, a hint or allusion. If it is not a direct source, at a minimum it bears some thematic relevance, and it seems reasonable to assume that there is additional significance in associating yichud with the enticer to idolatry. Yichud is, in many ways, fundamentally different than other safeguards against forbidden relationships. Other prohibitions, such as affectionate contact or overly familiar interactions, are problematic because of the temptations they magnify or the slippery slope they represent. Yichud is that and more. At the outset, it establishes a sinister tone, similar to that of the inciter. The door that shuts out observers declares that judgment and the standards of society may be left outside as well.

It is noteworthy that during the times that a married couple is prohibited to each other, there are safeguards imposed upon them that exceed those applied to an unmarried pair. They are, however, permitted to be alone together. Yichud generally does not apply to those whose cohabitation is innocent, even if physical intimacy is prohibited between them. The application of yichud to a relationship is meant to automatically convey that seclusion is inherently inappropriate and transmits a tone of lawlessness.

In the context of a therapeutic relationship, this takes on greater significance. The therapist is there to assist. Certainly, there is a dynamic of inequality, one which may inhibit the client from resisting or even objecting to any inappropriate advance. More egregious, still, is the inversion of the purpose of the relationship. A therapist who locks the door, who secludes with a vulnerable client, is transmitting the message that in the place of facilitating emotional stability, he is creating a context of added vulnerability for the client, conveying a disregard for communal standards, announcing that should the clients trust be broken no one will be able to come to the rescue. Further, to the extent he bears any moral authority, he is instilling a fundamental confusion as to the basic principles of right and wrong, and the rule of religious law. It is a devastating form of moral gaslighting.

In that vein, there is an additional symbolism being conveyed by linking the secluder to the inciter of idolatry. R. Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenberg, in his HaKetav VHaKaballah, notes that there is a specific meaning to the root of the word meisit. It is distinct from the word mefateh, which denotes seducer. The seducer accomplishes his goals by convincing his target of the great pleasure or personal benefit that comes from the transgression. By contrast, the meisit convinces his target that the act is not merely desirable, but that it is ethically correct. It is a nefarious act of moral manipulation. Linking this status to that of the secluder sheds light on the particular damage that can occur when the one closing the door carries any veneer of religious authority or influence.

Of course, the therapist must create a safe space for the client to speak openly and with the necessary guarantee of confidentiality. Nonetheless, there can be no safety of this type in a space that is, at the same time, in any number of ways, horribly unsafe.

While the halachic responsibility in the area of yichud is bilateral, the moral weight is on the therapist, who creates the environment and controls the expectations of what is and isnt acceptable. To hold the client responsible to serve as the voice of propriety in this dependent situation is to add another layer of victimization.

The neglect of yichud in therapeutic or mentorship contexts has always been an unacceptable halachic violation. It is increasingly clear, moreover, that the themes and messages embedded within yichud and its sources are instructive as to what is necessary to create a supportive environment, and, conversely, what destroys one. One who would purport to heal must make unquestionably clear that first, he intends no harm.

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Yichud And Its Messages For Therapists - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

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Posted By admin on March 8, 2022

I am sickened by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons recently announced nonbinding opinion regarding gender-affirming care, which states that medical treatments used in the transition process for transgender minors (ie: those whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth) ought to be defined as acts of child abuse.

I am equally horrified by Gov. Greg Abbotts follow-up mandate to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) ordering them to prosecute both doctors and parents who provide or seek this potentially lifesaving gender-affirming care.

I live in Texas, and my adult son is transgender. As a religious leader, I am generally mindful of my emotions when speaking about important issues publicly and approach conversations from a place of curiosity and openness. But at this moment, my childs life is being threatened.

The Torah commands us to protect the stranger and all who are marginalized, unheard or treated unjustly. This past year alone, Texas introduced over 40 bills more than any other state in the country targeting transgender youth. Topped only by California, Texas also has the second-highest population of trans people in the country, and has reported the most trans killings of any state in the last five years.

The Talmud tells us that if we save one life, its as if weve saved the whole world. And right now, here in Texas, Abbotts statement is a direct threat to young trans lives. So whether its from the bimah or the rooftops, as a Jew, and as a human being, I am compelled to speak this truth to anyone who will listen.

It is reckless, ignorant and irresponsible for Gov. Abbott and AG Paxton to claim that gender-affirming care irreparably harms children. According to Equality Texas, a statewide nonprofit advocacy organization for the LGBTQ+ community, Every major medical association in the country recognizes that gender-affirming care is necessary and lifesaving for transgender people, including transgender youth.

It makes me wonder if Gov. Abbott or AG Paxton have ever had a heart-to-heart with a transgender person of any age. I wonder if they have listened to any of the testimony that courageous trans kids like Kai Shappley have given at the Texas Capitol.

Shappley sat before the Senate Committee on State Affairs and boldly stated, Texas legislators have been attacking me since Pre-K. Im in 4th grade now. It makes me sad that some politicians use trans kids like me to get votes from people who hate me just because I exist. God made me. God loves me for who I am. And God does not make mistakes. I cant imagine anyone hearing Shappleys statements and being unmoved or unwilling to question their embedded and misguided assumptions.

My son Preston has heard too many of these stories while employed as a crisis worker for The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ national suicide prevention hotline. Hes literally had to talk desperate young people out of taking their own lives. I wonder if Gov. Abbott and Attorney General Paxton have done a modicum of research into the agonizing decisions loving parents of trans children have had to make over the years as weve seen our childrens health deteriorate without trans-affirming care, and the lengths theyve gone through to give their child a chance at a happy life.

Preston came out as trans five years ago when he was 24. My husband and I were a bit surprised, but we celebrated and affirmed Prestons identity. Preston had been unhappy with who he was for a long time, so we were grateful that he discovered the source of his suffering and began the journey toward living as his true self.

Prestons journey has been a blessedly smooth one because he has had the unconditional support of his family as well as his friends, both personal and professional. He is confident, proud and unafraid to speak truth to power.

I credit that not only to his own emotional strength but to all those who have validated and celebrated his right to be a strong, trans man. If the Governors directive wouldve been in place when Preston was in his teens and living at home, I cant imagine how desperate and frightened we would be, knowing that our attempts to help our son would be viewed by the state as criminal acts.

The science behind transgender medicine does not lie, despite what the Governor and Attorney General seem to believe. They are fixated on the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans children, despite the fact that puberty blockers have been used for decades for cisgender children to prevent early or rapid puberty.

In his formal opinion, Attorney General Paxton wrote that surgical procedures such as vaginoplasty or hysterectomies constitute child abuse, yet trans children cannot have medical gender-affirming surgeries until they turn 18 and are legally an adult. Its absurd to suggest that surgical intervention on children is any sort of norm.

Even though the Attorney Generals opinion is simply an opinion and not law, that doesnt discount the damage his statement and Gov. Abbotts directive will do to trans children in Texas. When the governor of your state declares that those trans children lucky enough to have loving family support ought to be torn from their families, and their loved ones prosecuted for child abuse, it is a horrific abuse of power. On every level, medically and morally, these directives are wrong.

I pray that the DFPS will ignore the shameless and uninformed opinions of our state leaders, and instead, listen to the voices of medical professionals who assert that gender-affirming treatment can help save lives. The real child abuse here would be to take children away from those who love them, and who are providing a safe place for them to be exactly who they are.

If this happens, I fear I know that some of these children will end up taking their own lives. And that will be an unspeakable tragedy.

To contact the author, email editorial@forward.com.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward.

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Im a cantor in Texas and parent of a trans child. My states assault on trans youth is terrifying - Forward

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