Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on January 26, 2022

Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, joined CNNs Newsroom on Tuesday to discuss a new report published by the ADLs Center on Extremism detailing 2022 midterm candidates with ties to extremist groups in the United States.

Anchor Jim Sciutto began the interview by asking Greenblatt about some recent flyers blaming Jewish people for the Covid agenda and just how worrying that kind of rhetoric is these days.

Very worrisome, Greenblatt responded. Considering were already living in a moment where weve seen a large rise in anti-semitic incidents. Double the acts of harassment, vandalism, and violence than we did just a few years ago, and this weekend, we had these antisemitic flyers drop in six different states.

Theres a particular nasty white supremacist group that has been coordinating this leafletting through Gab and their own sort of platforms and Telegram. We watch them and monitor them through our center on extremism. The fact they feel so empowered to do this, so emboldened is really quite frightening, Greenblatt added before the conversation turned to the ADLs new report.

Sciutto then asked Greenblatt to explain how the report connects candidates to extremist groups, particularly how QAnon devotees are often linked to white supremacist groups.

This report, I think, is really very important. The ADL Center on Extremism has been tracking extremists of all variety, across the spectrum, for decades. Weve never seen a moment like this, Jim. Weve tracked now a list thats expanding on a daily basis, over 100 candidates running for office across 32 states who have explicit extremist ties to groups like the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, ex-KKK, ex-Neo Nazis.

Greenblatt continued, calling these candidates a mlange of really bad actors who he noted are running for congress, state office, secretary of state. So that they can influence the ability of elections to be implemented effectively in the years ahead.

Sciutto followed up, asking Greenblatt, In your view, has the GOP been complicit in this, either through silence or through active support for these candidates or at a minimum, insufficiently aware of this and doing something about it?

Greenblatt responded:

Well, there is no question that neither side of the spectrum is exempt from intolerance. You can hear crazy anti-vaxxer Holocaust distortions from Robert RFK Jr. this past weekend or Naomi Wolf. But to your question, yes, when people like Boebert (R-CO) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) sit in the well of the house under the banner of GOP and espouse very kind of evil ideas about QAnon, making ugly comparisons to the Holocaust and just literally, were just in a moment where that silence, a conspiracy of silence has allowed conspiracy-minded people to affect the public conversation.

Watch the full interview above via CNN

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'Never Seen a Moment Like This': ADL Chief On Report That Over 100 Candidates for Office in 2022 Have 'Explicit Ties' to Extremism - Mediaite

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Posted By admin on January 24, 2022

To the Editor:

Re Captives Made Daring Escape From Gunman (front page, Jan. 18):

Particularly as a member of the Jewish community, I thank God that the hostages taken at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, on Saturday were able to get free.

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker is a hero. He deftly used the skills he had learned in security training to choose the proper moment to divert the attacker and escape, and he did so because he sensed that the perpetrator was becoming increasingly agitated and dangerous. Deserving of honorable mention are the law enforcement officials who negotiated with the gunman and were no doubt prepared to rush in to carry out a dangerous rescue mission if necessary.

While the outcome was the best possible under the circumstances, I am saddened and outraged that the country has experienced yet another senseless assault on peaceful people at worship that will surely haunt those involved and Jews throughout the country, and bring a heightened concern for safety to those of my faith who wish to be able to worship without fear.

We live in a country in the midst of a new era of hatred and intolerance, including a rising level of antisemitism and anti-Asian prejudice that manifests itself in harassment and assaults on innocent people who are simply going about their daily lives, posing no threat to anyone.

My synagogue now imposes a supplemental fee to our membership dues for security, and government appropriations have been provided to endangered houses of worship in an effort to keep congregants safe.

May people of good will somehow bring us back to the values and ideals of America. May we all be able to someday live in a country defined by tolerance, acceptance of others and peace.

Oren SpieglerPeters Township, Pa.

To the Editor:

Re Woman Killed After a Shove in the Subway (front page, Jan. 16):

On Saturday a 40-year-old woman was shoved to her death in front of a subway train by a random stranger. This man is homeless and known to have mental health problems. And the public outcry has been predictable: We need more assistance for the mentally ill, for the homeless. We have to do better with violent subway crime, etc.

But honestly there is a fairly simple solution to this that other cities such as Paris and London have found. Many stations are lined with glass doors. When the train pulls in and aligns with the doors, they open. There is simply no way that you can shove a person onto a subway track in any of Pariss heavily traveled stations.

I love New York City, but we should not be a city in which waiting for a train while going about our ordinary business becomes a matter of life and death. People slip and fall. People drop something onto the tracks or they are pushed to their death by a stranger just as the train pulls in.

We absolutely must deal with the issues of mental illness, homelessness and subway violence, but those are deep-rooted and complex issues. Glass doors are a very simple solution to a terrible problem that will make us all feel much safer as we go about our lives.

And given that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is about to get a $6 billion federal assistance grant, I think some of that funding should go into glass doors. As we tackle our bigger problems as a city, lets find a simple solution to this one.

Mary MorrisBrooklynThe writer is the novelist and travel memoirist.

To the Editor:

Re Stories of Entwined Families in Close-Knit Community (news article, Jan. 17):

In a year when so little seems to have gone right in my life (or the world), I was moved by your photographs of those who died in the Bronx fire that took 17 lives. The wide-eyed, sweet face of Ousmane Konteh, 2; the downcast eyes, but a grin ready to erupt, on the face of Omar Jambang, 6; the broad, gleaming smiles of young women ready to take on the world and embark on their futures all members of a tight-knit immigrant community with hopes and dreams of their own in their newfound country, America.

However crimped my life has been by Covid, however saddened I am by the losses of aging, how dare I complain.

To the Editor:

Re Trump Isnt the Only One to Blame, by Osita Nwanevu (Opinion guest essay, Jan. 5):

The essay avoids the elephant in the room when it attributes Republican success to structural advantages, such as the malapportionment of the Senate that benefits red rural states. The real issue is why Democrats cant compete in those red rural states, and why Democrats cant win a majority of state legislatures so they are not victimized by gerrymandering and voter suppression laws.

Complaining about how unfair the rules are is an admission that the Democrats have nothing to offer voters in red states and dont want to compete for them. In the 2022 midterms, the real danger is not that Republicans will cheat to win, but that they wont have to.

Alan DraperSaratoga, N.Y.The writer is a professor of government at St. Lawrence University.

To the Editor:

Those in G.O.P. circles, especially Donald Trump, are asserting that the vice president has the authority to reject any electoral votes considered to be suspect.

Maybe they are forgetting that for the 2024 election that vice president will be Kamala Harris.

Orin HollanderJamison, Pa.

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Opinion | The Attack at a Synagogue in Texas - The New York Times

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Posted By admin on January 24, 2022

TORONTO Over the past 50 years, Canadian super-agent Michael Levine has helped bring hundreds of fiction and non-fiction books into the world. None, though, have had as much personal connection for him as one published earlier this month.

Titled The Cigar Factory of Isay Rottenberg: The Hidden History of a Jewish Entrepreneur in Nazi Germany, its about a Dutch relative who, until recently, Levine didnt even know existed.

A few years ago, Levine learned he was related to a family in Holland, where two distant cousins had written The Cigar Factory, a national bestseller there. Through the book, Levine discovered that 55 of his distant relatives perished in the Warsaw Ghetto under the Nazis. The storys poignancy and unexpected link to his extended family led him to have it published in English.

Until this book, I wasnt aware that the Holocaust had directly touched our family, Levine told The Times of Israel in a recent interview in his downtown Toronto office. One of the key questions in life is, Who am I? Ive always loved history, so knowing where I came from and where I belonged has always been interesting to me.

Books comprise only part of Levines career as an entertainment lawyer, executive producer and chairman of a top literary agency. Showing little sign of slowing down at age 78, hes adding to his formidable track record forged as a consummate dealmaker. Levine currently represents many of Canadas leading cultural, media, political and business figures in projects that include films, live theater, TV, ballet and podcasts.

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He cited several of his current projects in quick succession handling a contract for former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harpers memoirs; being an executive producer on the first movie of Sacha Trudeau, brother of Canadas prime minister, Justin Trudeau; selling the rights to Indigenous author David Robertsons latest work to a Hollywood actress and closing the deal with Disney; and crafting a deal between Indigenous author Tanya Talaga and Hillary and Chelsea Clinton for a documentary film.

Dutch co-authors of The Cigar Factory of Isay Rottenberg and distant cousins of Michael Levine, Hella Rottenberg, left, and Sandra Rottenberg hold the English-language edition of their book in December 2021. (Courtesy)

Im busier than ever, Levine said, adding that just a month earlier, a younger friend whod been chief legal counsel to IBM before retiring dropped dead on the golf course a few days after they met for lunch. Im convinced the more active youve been in your lifetime, the more dangerous it is to retire.

Levine said he generally avoids the spotlight, preferring to be the man in the shadows. This didnt prevent him from dropping names; over the course of the hour-plus interview, he mentioned nearly 60 prominent people he has associated with, including Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Pierre Trudeau, Adam Gopnick, Malcolm Gladwell, Mordecai Richler, Sir Martin Gilbert, Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas.

Michael came out of the womb name-dropping, former CBC journalist Hana Gartner once told the Globe and Mail newspaper. Im sure he was a strange and precocious baby.

Canadian author Mordecai Richler, center, with his family and with agent Michael Levine, right, in this undated photo. (Courtesy)

If Levine takes umbrage at such comments, he doesnt show it.

Hana said that lovingly, Levine said with a smile. Look, name-dropping is an occupational risk when you deal in the world I deal in, which often involves interacting with celebrities. It can sound arrogant, which isnt my intention.

When it comes to names, Levine has more than 6,000 on his personal contact list. With a knack for keeping track of most of them in his head, hes been referred to as a human switchboard.

Canadian agent Michael Levine with Elizabeth Taylor, left, and Carol Burnett on the set of the HBO film Between Friends, in Toronto, 1983. (Courtesy)

Central to his success is his gift for dealing with a wide range of personalities, including those with inflated egos and artistic temperaments.

Humor, patience and being a good listener are key, said Levine. I listen a lot and I just try to steer people when theyre acting against their own self-interest. One of my favorite books is Barbara Tuchmans The March of Folly about how nations operate against their own self-interest. I cant tell you how many human beings, even extremely intelligent ones, act against their own self-interest. Part of my job is to minimize that possibility for my clients.

Toronto-based Michael Hirsh, a leading figure in the international cartoon and animation industry, has worked with Levine several times since they met 30 years ago.

In Canada, where Michael has long been the most connected person representing top talent and major politicians, hes unique in his ability to function as a powerbroker connecting all parties in a deal, said Hirsh, who recently retained Levine as his agent to secure a publishing deal for his memoirs.

Michael Levine in front of the Westwood Creative Artists office in Toronto, October 2021. (Robert Sarner)

Michael has encouraged me to write my memoirs for many years, said Hirsh. Hes extremely helpful and a supportive sounding board to test my thoughts about my story and how best to tell it.

Levines insight into human behavior serves him well.

I think the most important Jewish profession is psychiatry, said Levine. When I started my work, my second client was a man named Robert Ramsay, who to this day remains one of my closest friends. The first week I was in practice, he printed up a business card for me that said, Michael A. Levine, Psychiatrist at Law. If theres any explanation to my success, its that Im pretty nonjudgmental.

Born in Toronto during World War II, Levine felt the sting of prejudice while growing up in what was then a parochial, predominantly white, Protestant city.

Toronto was still quite toxic with antisemitism, said Levine. As a young man, I was told the things I couldnt do the clubs I couldnt belong to, the law firms I couldnt join, and other restrictions. My determination was, Im going to change this, Im not going to live this way.

At an early age, a cousin made a lasting impression on Levine. Allan Levine was a reform rabbi extremely active in the fight for Black civil rights in the United States. He was friends with Martin Luther King Jr., and they were arrested together during a protest march in Mississippi.

Allan was a seminal figure for me, said Levine. The inspiration of this very liberal cousin combined with personally experiencing antisemitism affected my whole life.

Michael Levine on the Fall 1998 cover of Lifestyles Magazine. (Courtesy)

Levine attended the University of Toronto, where he received his BA in political science and economics in 1965 followed by a law degree three years later. He and his first wife then spent a year in Tanzania doing international aid work. After returning from Africa to Toronto, Levines interest in Canadian culture led him to the then-emerging field of entertainment law. He spent much of his career as a partner at Goodmans LLP, one of Canadas top law firms.

Today, Levine is chairman of Westwood Creative Artists (WCA), Canadas leading literary agency. His office in the historic Chelsea Shop building across the street from his alma maters main library is lined with shelves upon shelves of books by WCA clients. The agency represents 420 writers and also negotiates film, TV and multimedia rights for their intellectual properties.

Levine has initiated many Jewish-related projects including A Coat of Many Colours: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada, a museum exhibition and companion book. Sponsored by his friend and client Charles Bronfman, the exhibition was shown at Tel Avivs Diaspora Museum in 1993.

Levine, whos been to Israel eight times, first traveled there with Bronfman nearly 35 years ago.

I found it diverse, complex, charming and safe in a kind of emotional safeness because Im a student of history, said Levine. For example, I made a film with Barry Avrich based on Sir Martin Gilberts Churchill and the Jews. Churchill was largely responsible for the creation of the State of Israel against the wishes of the British establishment. In my visits there, Ive become very enamored of Israel.

He credits his good health and boundless energy to regularly working out, playing tennis, and the satisfaction he derives from his work and family life the children from their first marriages have provided Levine and his second wife with a combined 14 grandchildren.

Levine has a deep affinity for Canadas Indigenous community, working with many of its writers, some of whom have become close personal friends, while drawing attention to the persecution First Nations, Metis and Inuit have suffered for centuries.

In many ways, my values are strongly reflected in Indigenous values, said Levine. The indigenous storytelling history, the way they communicate, their attitude to the land, the way they forgive; when you study them, theyre brilliant. We as a nation in Canada missed it. We didnt understand how valuable these people were.

Weve been so tone-deaf to Indigenous values and how they were victims of colonization by a very arrogant group of people, he added. Ive likened it to Hitlers eugenics. We were the role models for apartheid. We were just as bad as the Nazis except we murdered the Indigenous people more slowly.

Michael Levine, right, with former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, center, and television producer Michael Proupas, right. (Courtesy)

Just ahead of the publishing of The Cigar Factory, Levine was hopeful it would be well received, citing as one reason the books protagonist, Isay Rottenberg a compelling figure who showed great courage and resilience in standing up to the Nazis to keep his successful cigar factory in Germany open, and later in his fight for restitution of the facility after it was confiscated.

Equally captivating for Levine is how the books co-authors, both journalists, recount their journey of discovery about their heroic grandfather about whom they knew little at the outset. Levine likened the story of their quest to uncover Rottenbergs life to a first-class mystery thriller.

In the process, they shine a light on Rottenbergs family history, which Levine found intriguing as it introduced him to ancestors he wasnt previously aware of.

It gave me a much deeper sense of my identity, said Levine. My hope for the book is that it will acquaint my multiple cousins around the world with a piece of their heritage and act as a metaphor for other immigrant groups and their families dispersed around the globe. We all have lost roots and, sadly, so many people find themselves within a serious ethnic divide.This article contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something, The Times of Israel may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

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Top Canadian agent smokes out long-lost relatives with new title The Cigar Factory - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on January 24, 2022

Here's a look at what's happening this week in Cincinnati. Due to the surge in new COVID-19 cases and uncertainties surrounding events during the pandemic, be sure to double-check with venues before heading out.

MUSIC: Danish String Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. $40.memorialhallotr.com.

RECREATION: Skiing, Snow Boarding and Snow Tubing, noon-9:30 p.m. daily, Perfect North Slopes, 19074 Perfect Lane, Lawrenceburg. 22 trails, two terrain parks, large beginner area, and one of the largest tubing areas in the country. Lessons, equipment rental, concessions and ski lodge. 812-537-3754; perfectnorth.com.

MUSIC: Jazz at the Memo: The Keigo Hirakawa Quartet, 7 p.m., Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. Series features some of the finest of Cincinnati's thriving jazz scene. $8, $6 students. memorialhallotr.com.

MUSIC: Music Live at Lunch: The Faux Frenchmen, 12:10 p.m., Christ Church Cathedral, 318 E. Fourth St., Downtown. Free. 513-621-1817; cincinnaticathedral.com.

THEATER: Banachek's Mind Games Live in Cincinnati, 8:30 p.m., Ghost Baby, 1314 Republic St., Over-the-Rhine. One-night-only performance from world-class performer who shares telekinetic powers and magic with audience. $75. ghost-baby.com.

VIRTUAL: Union Terminal, 2 p.m. via Zoom. Learn about the history of this iconic Cincinnati building. Register: cincymuseum.org.

COMEDY: Hannah Berner, Funny Bone Comedy Club, 7518 Bales St., Liberty Township. Ages 21-up. liberty.funnybone.com.

LECTURE: Holocaust Survivor Eva Schloss, 11 a.m. via Zoom. On the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, survivor Eva Schloss, step-sister to Anne Frank, shares her powerful story live. Free. Register: holocaustandhumanity.org.

MUSIC: Albert Lee Band with the Cryers, Southgate House Revival, Sanctuary, 111 E. Sixth St., Newport. $30. southgatehouse.com.

SPORTS: Cincinnati Cyclones vs. Wheeling Nailers, 7:30 p.m., Heritage Bank Center, 100 Broadway, Downtown. cycloneshockey.com.

COMEDY: Sean Donnelly, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday,Go Bananas, 8410 MarketPlace Lane, Montgomery. Ages 18-up; ages 21-up Saturday. $10-$15. 513-873-7233; gobananascomedy.com.

DANCE: Dancing With the Stars: Live!, Taft Theatre.

MUSIC: Umphrey's McGee, PromoWest Pavilion at Ovation.

MUSIC Tim Reynolds & TR3, Ludlow Garage.

THEATER: Beehive, The Musical, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday,Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, 4990 Glenway Ave., West Price Hill. Runs Jan. 27-Feb. 20. Audio-described performance for the visually impaired on Jan. 29. $31, $28 seniors and students. cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com.

ART: Summerfair Select, Weston Art Gallery, 650 Walnut St., Downtown. Celebrates one of the most coveted and enduring arts grants in the region, this exhibition features12 artists who received Summerfair Aid to Individual Artists Awards from 2016-2018. Runs Jan. 28-March 13. cincinnatiarts.org.

ART: Final Friday, 5-9 p.m., Pendleton Art Center, 1310 Pendleton St., Pendleton. Over 250 artists throughout four buildingsopen their studioson the final Friday of the month for the public to view and purchase art directly from the artists. Artist of the month: Michael Colbert, studio 509B. Free admission, valet parking available for $10 at the door. 513-421-4339; pendletonartcenter.com.

MUSIC: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, 7:30p.m. Friday-Saturday, Music Hall, 1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. Program: Pintscher premiere and Rachmaninoff. cincinnatisymphony.org.

MUSIC: Alice Cooper, Andrew J. Brady Music Center.

FAMILY: Mister C: Full Steam Ahead Live! Air is Everywhere, 7 p.m., Fairfield Community Arts Center,411 Wessel Drive, Fairfield. $17, $12 ages 12-under. fairfieldoh.gov/tickets.

FESTIVAL: Meltdown Winter Ice Festival, Friday-Sunday, Jack Elstro Plaza, 47 N. Sixth St.,Richmond, Ind. Watch ice carvers wielding chainsaws, handsaws, chisels and blow torches create stunning ice sculptures before your very eyes. Family fun includes games made from ice, a giant ice throne for photo ops, and scavenger hunt. Hot chocolate, food trucks and more. Meltdown Throwdown happens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday followed by fireworks. 800-828-8414;richmondmeltdown.com.

SPORTS: Cincinnati Cyclones: Marvel Super Hero Weekend, 7:30 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday, Heritage Bank Center, 100 Broadway, Downtown. Cyclones play Wheeling Nailers on Friday and Indy Fuel Saturday. cycloneshockey.com.

ART OPENING: The Teachers' Lounge, 6-8 p.m., Kennedy Heights Art Center, 6546 Montgomery Road. Works by the center's art instructors past and present. Masks required inside building regardless of vaccination status. Free. kennedyarts.org.

CHARITY: Greater Cincinnati Polar Plunge, The Banks, Downtown. Raise at least $75 to take a chilly winter dip for Special Olympics. Prizes for best individual and group costumes. greatercincinnatiplunge.com.

COMEDY: Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood: Scared Scriptless, 7 p.m., Aronoff Center for the Arts, 650 Walnut St., Downtown.

FAMILY: Maple Syrup Making and Guided Sap Collecting Hike, 10 and 11 a.m., 1, 2 and 3 p.m., Cincinnati Nature Center, 4949 Tealtown Road, Milford. Guided interactive maple hike. $10, $6 children. cincynature.org.

FESTIVALS: Garage Brewed Moto Show, noon-midnight, Rhinegeist Brewery, 1910 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. See what's brewing in Midwestern garages at this invitational motorcycle show. Free. garagebrewed.com.

FESTIVALS: Jewish & Israeli Film Festival, via Eventive. Virtual film festival runs through March 5. Opening film."Persian Lessons," screening Jan. 29-31. Special discussion with film director Vadim Perelman at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31. mayersonjcc.org.

MUSIC: Kentucky Symphony Orchestra: Parting Opus, 7:30 p.m., Greaves Concert Hall, Northern Kentucky University, Nunn Blvd., Highland Heights. The KSO returns to the venue of its very first concert in 1992 for Gustav Mahler's final complete composition: Symphony No 9. Enjoy the concert live in-person, or via livestreaming from your home. $35. kyso.org.

MUSIC: Big Mountain, Ludlow Garage. With Mighty Mystic.

MUSIC: 38Special, Hard Rock Casino Ballroom.

RECREATION: Winter Hike, 10 a.m., Shawnee Lookout, 2008 Lawrenceburg Road, North Bend. Hike winter landscape and enjoy bowl of chili and crackers at the end. $9, free ages 12-under with paying adult. greatparks.org/winter-hike-series.

THEATER: Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Playhouse in the Park, 962 Mount Adams Circe, Mount Adams. It's 1973, and the Irish-Catholic O'Shea family muddles through a series of hilarious mishaps that jeopardizes their reputation and souls. Runs Jan. 29-Feb. 27. cincyplay.com.

THEATER: The Sound of Music, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, The Carnegie Theatre, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington. One of the most beloved musicals of all time! In Austria, 1938, an exuberant young governess brings music and joy back to a broken family, only to face danger and intrigue as the Nazis gain power. Featuring an iconic score including My Favorite Things, Sixteen going on Seventeen, and Climb Every Mountain. This family-friendly favorite shares a meaningful story to share with all ages. Runs Jan. 29-Feb. 13. $32, $29 Carnegie members, $25 students, $15 children. thecarnegie.com.

MUSIC: Railroad Earth, Madison Theater.

We Mean Business Virtual Conference, Feb. 15-17. Registration open for conference presented by Minority Business Assistance Center Cincinnati, African American Chamber.hopin.com/events/we-mean-business-2022-virtual-conference.

Women of Distinction Luncheon, Feb. 24, Lawrenceburg Event Center. Sponsored by Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce. 812-537-0814.

Concert for the Kids, Feb. 26, Great American Ball Park. Benefits Hope's Closet. hopes-closet.net.

Donald and Marian Spencer Spirit of American Awards Dinner, May 10, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza. Benefits Cincinnatus Association. 513-939-2652; cincinnatusassoc.org.

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Things to do in Cincinnati this week: Jan. 24-30 - The Cincinnati Enquirer

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Posted By admin on January 24, 2022

(This article originally appeared in the Jewish Currents email newsletter; subscribe here!)

DESHARON TODOS LOS PERROS I GURSUZES, my friend Karen Geron arhon said. They let all the dogs and good-for-nothings out. But Karenthe editor of El Amaneser, the worlds last Ladino periodical, and one of the best teachers of the Sephardic Jewish language working todaywasnt speaking as Karen. She was speaking as an innkeeper in the first episode of Netflixs The Club, part two of which was released on January 6th.

As a Sephardi born and raised in Istanbul, it was jarring to see my friend and to hear the quiet beauty of Ladinothe sh sound (uncommon in Spanish), its mix of words from Hispanic and Turkish originson a streaming platform accessible to millions of people around the world. I was not the only person I know who spotted a friend; many minor characters in The Club, a Turkish production set in 1950s Istanbul, are played by community members rather than professional actors. Based on a true story of a Sephardic mother and daughter working in the citys entertainment scene whose lives are thrown asunder by antisemitism, the show immediately differentiates itself from most productions in Turkey, which, if they acknowledge Jews at all, often depict us using caricatures of evil bankers. The creators efforts to involve the community signal a new approach to chronicling Istanbuls multicultural past.

Even more meaningful than the thrill of glimpsing familiar faces onscreen is the intimacy of hearing a language that is not often amplified outside homes and community spaces. The use of Ladino declined precipitously after the mass extermination of its speakers by Nazis in France and the Balkans and the repression of religious minorities in Turkey, which spanned much of the 20th century. By the 1980s, it was no longer the lingua franca of Sephardic communities; in Istanbul, which contains the largest Jewish community in its region of origin, Ladino is rarely the primary language spoken inside the home. Among younger Sephardim, Ladino is mostly known for its many proverbs and colorful insults, while the abundant archives of Ladino literature wait to be rediscovered. Though people across the world have recently expressed increased interest in studying the language, others, even in Jewish studies departments, continue to dismiss it as unworthy of deep engagement, as the Sephardi scholar Devin Naar has observed.

For all these reasons, it feels refreshing and timely to see a major production in Turkey put genuine effort into getting this language right, including by hiring older community members as consultants and language teachers. These local speakers input is visible in moments when the characters effortlessly mix Turkish and Ladino. For example, characters refer to Israel as Medina, and to their Turkish neighbors as vedres. Both terms were adopted by Jews to avoid detection, and The Club nods to this history by choosing not to explain them to the uninitiated viewer. By preserving their secretive quality while nodding to Sephardim who will quickly recognize their meaning, the show prioritizes a full engagement with its Ladino-speaking audience, while registering Ladinos presence for a global audience.

The quotidian use of Ladino in The Club is particularly poignant alongside visible traces of the Citizen, speak Turkish! campaign, whose effects stretched from the late 1920s into the 1960s. As part of Turkificationa set of policies designed to homogenize TurkeyCitizen, speak Turkish! mandated fines and even arrests for ethnic minorities caught speaking their first language in public. Such prohibitions would have fallen heavily on people like the characters in The Club, which follows the oft-forgotten workers of an upscale establishment, a glitzy jazz bar and salon called Club Istanbul. In the mid-20th century, most of those workers were Jews, Armenians, or Greeks. In one scene, the main character, Matilda, a Sephardic woman who has recently been released from prison, climbs the hills of the working-class Jewish neighborhood La Kula, and we overhear conversations in Ladinokids calling their friends out to play, families inviting each other to dinner. Within a few decades, dispossession and pressures to assimilate pushed most of these families to emigrate, putting an end to this vibrant neighborhood life.

The show more explicitly takes up two of the most disastrous Turkification policies. In part one, the course of Matildas life changes when her family is subjected to the discriminatory Wealth Tax. The 1942 law was ostensibly designed to raise revenue during wartime, but its true purpose, made explicit by the prime minister in a closed-door party meeting, was to transfer property from Jews and Christians to true Turks. While taxes on Muslims were assessed at single-digit percentages, most religious minorities were forced to pay sums totalling more than 100% of their wealth. These predatory practices reconfigured the lives of many Jews and Christians, leaving them penniless. Radios, carpets, and fridges littered the streets of La Kula as families rushed to sell as much as they could. My own grandfather, whose father was a dressmaker in Istanbul, vividly remembers waking up to an auction in his living room. His wooden horse and colored pencils were among the possessions sold to cover the familys massive debt. When this was not enough, his father was arrested and deported to a forced labor camp in eastern Turkey along with several hundred other religious minorities. Left destitute by the Wealth Tax and searching for a new beginning, half of Turkeys 90,000 Jews left the country between 1947 and 1950, mostly settling in Palestine. Despite the devastation it caused Turkeys small Jewish community, the Wealth Tax is largely absent from Turkeys contemporary public memory. When it is remembered at all, the discriminatory policy is often defended as a wartime necessity. The show enters the private trauma of Jewish families into the public record, refusing to collude with sanitized accounts of the past.

Part two of The Club features a tragedy that is more commonly remembered, though still not taught in schools: the 1955 Istanbul pogrom. After a newspaper intentionally published a false story claiming that Atatrks home in Salonica had been bombed by Greeks, an organized mob descended on the Greek areas of Istanbul. The violence quickly spread to target Armenians and Jews, as well. Thousands of homes and businesses, numerous churches and cemeteries, and one synagogue were destroyed. Physical and sexual violence were rampant. In The Club, the events of the pogrom are carefully recreated, spliced with archival photos of the destruction. The show confines itself, however, to Club Istanbuls immediate vicinity, eliding the true extent of the violence and leaving the most horrific scenesthe arson of churches, the desecration of the tombs of Greek patriarchs, a game of soccer played with looted skullsoutside the frame. As the pogrom ends, the characters set the table for a candlelit dinner while a voiceover describes them as a chosen family. This sudden change in tone belies the actual mass exodus that followed the pogrom: Almost half of the Greek population fled the country, and there were significant, though smaller, waves of emigration among the Armenian and already-diminished Jewish populations, as well.

Today, among the 10,000 Jews still living in Turkey, conversations about leaving remain ubiquitous. The legacies of Turkification policies linger, underwritten by a whitewashed retelling of history. In many quarters, we continue to be regarded as guests, welcomed at the mercy of our hosts, the Turks. Though legal citizens, we are not supposed to make demands of equal citizenship; we are only allowed to ask our gracious hosts for tolerance. Imperfect as it is,The Club punctures Turkeys official narratives to present a more complicatedand realisticpicture of a Jewish world, and a Jewish language, that has endured enormous pressure yet continues to live on in new forms.

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The Club Recreates the Ladino-Speaking World of Jewish Istanbul - Jewish Currents

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Posted By admin on January 24, 2022

In 1492, the Catholic Monarchs issued the order to expel the Jews from Spain, forcing thousands of people who refused to embrace Christianity to leave their homes and start a new life elsewhere, mainly in North Africa and the Balkans.

In these new homes, the Jews expelled from Spain (called "Sephardim") not only imported their Spanish customs and traditions, but also language. More than 600years later, the language they spoke in their homes 15th century Castilian Spanish is still a living language, passed down from generation to generation as a way of preserving their Sephardic identity.

One of the peculiarities of Ladino is its archaism. Some of the words that Ladino preserves from the past are old words or voices that are not used in today's general Spanish, such as conducho ("supplies"), mancebo ("young man, boy"), or preto ("black").

Butas happens in all languages, "Judeo-Spanish has undergone an internal and external evolution, thanks in the latter case to contact with other foreign languages, especially the native languages of the areas where they were established," explainedElisabeth Fernndez Martn, professor and researcher in the Spanish Language Department at the University of Almera, in a recent article in The Conversation.

At present, the exact number of people who speak Judeo-Spanish is unknown. The Ethnologue website, quoted by Fernandez Martin, noted that there were 133,000 Ladino speakers worldwide (125,000 in Israel).

Figures provided by the National Academy of Judeo-Spanish (Akademia Nasionala del Ladino, or ANL), the institution responsible for studying and advising on the use of the Ladino language,are more optimistic: about 500,000, 300,000 of them in Israel.

Professor Fernndez Martn admits that the number of speakers suffered a major setback in the 20th century, mainly due to the Holocaust, emigration,the existence of weak social networks, the influence of modern Spanish itself, and the disinterest of some Sephardim to maintaintheir own language.

However, we are facing an evident revitalization, especially thanks to the Internet, as well as the appearance of multiple courses, conferences or workshops which have proliferated during the COVID-19 pandemic and are making more and more people interested in learning or recovering the language.

"It cannot be said, therefore, that Judeo-Spanish has disappeared and that today it is not a living language in the world," she concluded.

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What's the future of the Judeo-Spanish Language? | AL DA News - AL DIA News

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Jewish intergenerational trauma has become a phrase widely used by Jewish activists worldwide. Its no secret that mental illness including anxiety, depression, and obsessive control disease (OCD) are issues that our community faces. This isnt to feed into the stereotype of the neurotic Jew that is often portrayed in media but is to call out a phenomenon that has been occurring within the Jewish community, even before the Holocaust occurred.

The latest attack on the Texas Synagogue where four hostages were held at gunpoint reminds me of the reality that our community has been facing for millennia. The repeated persecutions, attacks, and genocides that we have faced have left their mark and seems to have been passed down through the generations.

My family has had its share of trauma and tragedy, ending with two great-uncles, brothers, committing suicide. My father, their nephew, spent time in between American orphanages as a child in the 1930s and 1940s because his parents, Sephardic immigrants from Izmir, Turkey, lost custody of him. He developed severe anxiety, depression, and OCD. So, when I was diagnosed with those same mental illnesses in my twenties, it wasnt a shock.

But why has mental illness become so prevalent in my family? When I think about my grandparents and their relatives, I think about the experiences they were going through and the thoughts they must have had. The paranoia. The fear. The sadness. What really made my great-uncles commit suicide? And why couldnt my grandparents take care of my father?

In the 1930s, the Great Depression occurred, causing my family to lose their business. My great-grandparents resorted to selling boyos, a Sephardic dish, on the streets of Manhattan just to survive. This pattern of poverty rippled throughout my entire immigrant family. At that time, another disaster was occurring: the rise of the Nazi party. Only a decade later, both of my grandparents, great-aunts, and great-uncles watched in horror as our relatives in Southern Europe and France were persecuted by the Nazis for being Jewish: Many of them died. The mix of poverty and horror of the Holocaust was only the tip of the iceberg, because this wasnt the first persecution or hardship that my family had faced. In fact, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews had been persecuted in the Iberian Peninsula and Southwest Asian North African regions for centuries before that, causing them to be in a perpetual state of fleeing for their lives.

Did the Holocaust and Great Depression cause my great-uncles to commit suicide, one dying alone in a mental institution in the 1970s? Did these events cause my grandparents to lose custody of my father, continuing a devastating chain of mental illness? Did these events cause me to save a bottle of prescription pills in my dresser when I was in the throes of my own great depression, leading me to call the suicide hotline number?

Looking at the antisemitic attacks that keep occurring today, whether they be on college campuses, online, or on our synagogues, I cant point my finger at just the Holocaust or Great Depression and say thats why. All I see is a continuing chain of great loss and grief that our community has been going through since the Torah was written. I feel paranoia. I feel unsafe. Like my life doesnt matter. Especially with the lackluster response on the rising antisemitism worldwide by the non-Jewish community, and even the denial that antisemitism exists. The apathy is part of what pains me the most.

Loneliness is a mountain. And even though the Jewish community is beautiful and vibrant, and above all supportive of those in need, the dark shadow of intergenerational trauma remains. The mental illness and immense pain remain. The mountain remains. And with every new attack on our community, that mountain becomes a little higher, making it harder to breathe for those like me.

Not all Jews are the same. Not all Jews have mental illness. But for those of us who do have mental illness, whether from Israel or the diaspora, intergenerational trauma is very real, and its terrifying.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day. (USA)

Elizabeth Danon is a masters student at Georgetown University, an environmentalist, and an author. Marrying into an Indian family, she is outspoken on issues about antisemitism and hindupbohia. She is a fellow for the American Sephardi Federation.

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The Texas Synagogue Attack: A Mountain of Jewish Intergenerational Trauma - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on January 24, 2022

Home Entertainment the key to the anne frank mystery January 21, 2022

Manuel P. VillatoroFOLLOW, CONTINUE

Updated:21/01/2022 02:41h

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mario escobar could not imagine that his new novel, Childrens house (Editions B) was going to be so fashionable these days. In full effervescence of the figure of Anne Frank after it has been revealed who was the traitor who handed her over, the prolific historian a Stakhanovist of letters presents a book that recounts the adventures of a Sephardic Jewess who saved more than six hundred children in Nazi-dominated Holland. True facts to which I apply some fiction, as he reveals. The work runs through the same streets that the most famous girl of the Second World War stepped on. And not only that; It also discusses the importance of the Jewish Council, which these days has risen to fame for being a key player in the Vince Pankoke investigation.

I like to talk about these issues because the public who is interested in Anne Frank will find in my novel a story of overcoming many similarities, he explains to ABC.

Are you a supporter of the theory that solves the mystery of Anne Frank?

I think there are many others that may be valid. There is another older one that talks about a friend who knew her from before she locked herself up. And another that explains that the family was seen through the only window of the hideout. It is difficult to know because most of the SS reports on the Jewish archives in Amsterdam were destroyed. The Germans thought that the city was going to be conquered. In any case, we must wait.

Why did the character of Anne Frank become so important?

Anne Frank became a personalization of the Holocaust. One of the problems with the systematic killing of Jews is that we tend to approach it from a statistical perspective. This girl, with her diary, put a face to the persecution in Germany and the Netherlands. The sad thing is, if he had held out a little longer, he would have survived because the Allies were about to hit the field. At least the diaries came to light thanks to his father. At first he did not want to make them known because there were parts that spoke of his sexual awakening, but in the end he decided.

What was the Jewish Council that is talked about so much these days?

A body that was chosen by the Nazis themselves. It was formed, forced, by the most important people in the city. Its mission was to concentrate the registration of Jews from all over Holland, make them go to Amsterdam and take them to the Westerbork transit camp. What must be clear is that they collaborated because they had no other choice, but they did not agree with the Nazis. It was that or die. They knew that Hitler would kill people, but that it would not be an extermination. They could not imagine what they had in store for the Jews.

Do you find it strange that the new investigation into Anne Frank uses as its cornerstone lists of places where Jews were hiding that the Council allegedly had?

Is rare. In the case that I know of, that of the Pimentel nursery, they never informed the Jewish Council. They could have said they were saving children, but they didnt because they knew they were collaborating with the Nazis. His maxim was that no one find out because that protected them and helped the children to meet their parents. There were many hunters of Jews, and it was dangerous to make known what was being done.

Why such a big hunt for Dutch Jews?

The Dutch Nazi party put a price on the head of the Jews. Economic rewards were given to civilians in return. That made many people rat on their neighbors to get some money at a time when there was a brutal crisis. On the other hand, the Dutch Jews had money and many inhabitants tricked them into hiding them in their houses, handing them over and keeping their possessions. Hunting was sadly a very lucrative thing. There was even a mobster who had lived in North America and who used criminal techniques to trap refugees.

Lets get into the novel. Spanish Sephardim in the Netherlands

The Sephardim, after the expulsion by the Catholic Monarchs, went mostly to Portugal, France and North Africa. It is logical because they thought it was going to be something provisional, as had happened other times. But it didnt last. On the one hand, the Portuguese and Gallic monarchs also expelled them from their territories; on the other, the Muslims persecuted them because they saw them as Christians. Most of those who had to leave the Peninsula then went to the Netherlands because of their relationship with the Portuguese kings.

How was the evolution of this community in the Netherlands?

Most settled in Antwerp and Amsterdam. The second city, in fact, was one of the most respectful towards foreigners. Already in the 17th century they began to allow them to exercise any type of profession, organize their communities in a semi-dependent way that is why the Jewish Committee was created~ and build their own temples. That is why it has one of the largest synagogues in Europe. Interestingly, the Sephardic community was very important here. They stood out for their experience in jewelry and trade thanks to their connections with the Americas. This made it easier, being a minority group which reached 4,000 at its peak, it could have great economic influence in the kingdom. They were great patrons, lenders to kings And they never lost their Spanish identity. They always saw the king as theirs and, until the arrival of the Nazis, they published a newspaper in Spanish with news from the Peninsula.

Did they keep their traditions?

Jewish Castilian was heard in the streets of Amsterdam, the recipes kept from the time on the Peninsula were smelled and romance songs were sung. Going through his neighborhood and feeling that there was a part of Spain there must have been exciting. This is what I wanted to convey in the novel.

Ana Frank ABC

I understand that, by the surname, one of the protagonists is Spanish

Yes. Pimentel came from a Malaga family that tried to withstand the pressure until the 17th century. They then decided to move to Amsterdam. His father was a diamond polisher. She was a woman ahead of her time who was allowed to study pedagogy at the university. Soon she became in charge of directing one of the most important Jewish schools in the city at the nursery and primary level. She was recently recognized for her schoolwork in the Netherlands. He knew how to speak Spanish and had that Castilian culture in his DNA.

Lets go with World War II. How was the invasion of the Netherlands?

The Netherlands had declared itself neutral in World War I. Therefore, there was no idea of revenge that Hitler did have with Poland or France. The government did the same in 1939 and hoped that the Reich would bypass them. They always harbored the hope of not being invaded; to such an extent that they did not organize any defense plan. Their pacifist tradition endorsed them. When the Nazis invaded Holland, Blitzkrieg caught them by surprise. They tried to resist, but they were intimidated by bombings like the ones in Rotterdam. That made the monarch give up.

And the Nazi policy with the country?

It was smooth. From 1941 Hitler avoided repressing society and tried to turn it into a Nazi because they were convinced of its Aryan origin. With the Jews something different happened and, that same year, there were the first arrests. What is surprising is that the Dutch people went on a general strike when they learned that 2,000 Semites had been taken to camps; it was one of the few countries where it happened. That surprised a Reich that did not want to keep troops in the country because they needed them to march on the USSR. Although in the end they ended up giving up due to the white glove treatment of the Reich. They assumed the conquest to such an extent that the Netherlands was one of the states that gave the most volunteers to the Germans in World War II.

How many Jews were in the country?

Some 160,000, 25,000 of them of German origin. It was the country in which the most Jews were murdered in relative numbers: more than 70%. To such an extent that only about 30,000 survived, and thanks to the help of people who hid them. In France, in return, 50% died; and in Denmark, 10%. The same thing happened with the Sephardim: they were exterminated and only 800 remained. The reality is that the Dutch people ended up abandoning that resistance they had had.

Did the theater that acted as a registration point for the ghetto Jews really exist?

Its true. When the Jews began to concentrate, several registration points were set up in the city. They were temporary prisons to take them to Westerbock, the main concentration camp in the country. One of them was a theater that was in the Jewish quarter. Being in the ghetto made it easy for the Nazis. They put in command Walter Sskind, a German Jew with a Dutch father who had been the director of a butter company. This happened a lot: they did not put a Nazi, but a local businessman to try to reassure the population. He accepted because he knew he could try to do something for the inmates.

Walter Sskind

How did Sskind start saving children?

When the special envoy for the registration of all Jews in Holland arrived, a convinced Nazi, they discovered that they had been classmates in a small border town. That empathy was used by Sskind to deceive him. Walter and one of his secretaries noticed that the Germans were leaving the registration to the Jews. In practice, this meant that children could be removed from the list without their knowledge.

Where were they sent?

Walter saw the long queues in front of the theater and that families spent weeks sitting in the seats without hygienic measures, and he knew how to use it to his advantage. He convinced the director of the SS in The Hague that the youngest children be temporarily sent to a nursery across the street. It was the one that ran Pimentel. Putting them in kept them out of sight of the Nazis and gave them a chance to get them out.

How did they get them out of the system?

Thanks to a third coincidence. Wall to wall with the nursery was a Protestant school run by Johan van Hulst, a very young pedagogue who had just entered the post. When he saw the situation he spoke with Pimentel. They devised a simple plan: pass the children through a wall and they were taken out by the teacher in a thousand ways. In backpacks, in shopping carts If they were older pretending to be someones children Thats how they saved some 600 people.

What did they do with them?

Most of the children they could save were blond and Aryan-looking. They were integrated, through resistance groups, into families located in the outskirts and willing to collaborate. They said they were boys who came from the big cities fleeing the war.

Was anyone suspected?

Yes. There was pressure for the children to be annihilated in the extermination camps. That made him want to speed up the process. The SS investigated the nursery but, finding no evidence, took Pimentel and the remaining children to an extermination camp. What happened with them and with the rest of the protagonists was narrated in the novel.

How was the Dutch resistance?

It was even smaller than the French one. It is true that the country is more urban, which made it difficult for the partisans to hide. There were also elements that prevented it, such as local agents who infiltrated it to blow it up. Something could be done with arms shipments, but what demonstrates its scant effectiveness is that it was the last country in Europe to be liberated. What there was was a lot of passive resistance like that of Pimentel, people who fought daily to save prisoners.

How would you define the Netherlands?

There was a very collaborationist minority, a large passive majority and a small minority that resisted. Almost everyone adapted to the circumstances. In the end, the Germans only needed a tiny number of people to make the country work. The rest just stayed out of trouble and waited for the Nazis to be shot down.

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the key to the anne frank mystery - The Times Hub

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Posted By admin on January 24, 2022

Maintaining a sense of perspective was always going to be hard. After touching down on foreign soil for the first time in two years, I was sorely tempted to kiss the tarmac at Madrid airport in the fashion of Pope John Paul II. Throw in some proper T-shirt-and-shorts weather in mid-October and I was already riffing with headlines such as Spains plains reign.

Nevertheless, Toledo would impress in any circumstance. If ever there was a time to stand and stare, it was when we first saw the city in all its panoramic glory, from a viewing point across the river Tagus which loops around it on three sides en route to Lisbon, offering the natural protection that established it long ago as a citadel.

To my shame, apart from the expression Holy Toledo, possibly popularised by Batman and Robin, I knew nothing about this beautiful, intimate city, less than an hour by train or car south of Madrid, its successor as Spains capital. It is indeed a sacred place, a palimpsest of Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions, whose legacy today is a wonderful and unusual melange of architecture accessed via a warren of winding, narrow streets. However, the renaming of buildings such as the 10th-century Mosque of Cristo de la Luz and the 13th-century Synagogue of Santa Maria de la Blanca leave one in no doubt as to which religion ended up the dominant one.

The cathedral, built in the High Gothic style from 1226 with some Mudejar or Iberian Muslim influences, is truly magnificent, replete with treasures such as local maestro El Grecos masterpiece The Disrobing of Christ and a truly monumental monstrance. (In the interests of balance, however, there is a comically bad painting of a horse in the vestry that makes Donkey from Shrek look good.)

The El Greco museum nearby is a suitable shrine to the artists work. The Jewish quarter is also well worth a visit, especially the Sephardic Museum in the 14th-century Synagogue of El Transito, which tells the history of Jewish people in Spain. The carved wooden ceiling is inspiring.

Toledo is famous for its damascened or engraved metalwork and steel, so if you need a new set of knives or a sword, say, this is the place.

Several city gates survive, dating back as far as the 10th century, and the Alcntara Bridge, which dates back to Roman times, is awesome. A more modern alternative to crossing the Tagus is offered by Fly Toledos Tirolina urbana or urban zip-line. (I was saving myself for Cuencas famous high-wire bridge over the river Jcar, however).

We have a wonderful meal on a restaurants roof-top terrace overlooking the city, then a nightcap in a nearby bar. The city centre feels safe and relaxed, still lively after midnight but not rowdy.

History is everywhere. The Puy du Fou theme park just outside Toledo hosts spectacular stage shows recounting classic Spanish tales such as El Cid but the lack of an English translation rendered it more entertaining than educational. Segobriga archaeological park, by contrast, provides English-speaking guides who walk you through the genuinely impressive remains of what was once a major Roman city, complete with theatre, amphitheatre, circus, forum, baths, aqueduct and necropolis, like an ancient ghost estate. Belmonte castle is another impressive site.

My favourite attraction, however, was undoubtedly Campo de Criptana, whose now iconic windmills inspired the famous chapter in Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote where our hero mistook them for giants and engaged them in battle.The whitewashed walls topped with black sails set on barren soil against a vast blue sky are incredibly photogenic.

We were also treated to a visit by an impressively mad-eyed Don Quixote and his long-suffering sidekick Sancho Panza, whose English-language double-act was impressive and entertaining. If you are of a shy disposition, however, stand back, lest you find yourself enlisted as a spear-carrier or mistaken for the Dons love interest Dulcinea.

Cuenca is the region of Castile-La Manchas other must-see town. Famed for its hanging houses, perched on a hilltop you can smell the scorched tyres of visiting drivers struggling with the vertiginous bends overlooking the most gorgeous of gorges, with an artificial sandy beach, it is Spains fourth-highest town, made rich by wool in the Middle Ages, which accounts for the magnificence of its architecture.

It has a wonderful modern art museum, the Museo del Arte Abstracto. Sadly the rather terrifying bridge over the gorge to our parador is closed after a landslide so I must walk down and back up instead. I pause to listen to a buskers beautiful flamenco guitar, but mostly to get my breath back.

The country has been hard hit, like Ireland, by rural depopulation, known as la Espaa vaciada, or empty Spain, but this region appears less affected, the towns bustling with nightlife, the countryside full of olive groves and vineyards.

We visit two immaculate vineyards, Bodegas Mont Reaga and Finca la Estacada, where we sample the local produce and make the most of our check-in baggage allowance. I would not perhaps have had such a large lunch if I had known there would be jamon iberico and herb-infused manchego to accompany the wine but mercifully they were wafer-thin.

Is there a greater feeling of serenity to be had than wine-tasting outdoors as the sun sets over vines stretching to the golden horizon? Our guide is reciting the wine regions of Spain like a litany of saints or a Friel character remembering the names of townlands. I feel right at home.

HOTELS Hotel Boutique Adolfo, Toledo

A fine, four-star hotel, named after its owner, local celebrity chef Adolfo Muoz, which overlooks the pretty central square Plaza Zocodover.

Hotel Palacio del Infante Don Juan Manuel, Belmonte

A former monastery, the hotel is very grand, with a glazed-over courtyard at its centre, and a curious miniature village exhibition.

Parador de Cuenca

Overlooking the town centre from the other side of the gorge, its a thing of beauty itself, part of Spains national network of upmarket paradors.

RESTAURANTS

Teraza Azotea de Carlos V, Toledo

As well as a fabulous panoramic view of Toledo, this place does a mean cocktail and the food is first rate.

Las Musas, Campo de Criptana

Windmill-tilting is hungry work. Food fit for a Don. The lamb is superb. The three-course lunch for 16.50 a steal.

Raff San Pedro, Cuenca

Great regional restaurant owned by chef Jos Ignacio Herriz, a native of the town whose CV includes a stint at El Bull

Finca La Estacada

An upmarket vineyard with indoors and outdoors dining. Lunch was top-drawer, the patatas the most bravissimas I have ever tasted. Even the cheaper vintages are excellent. A good place to stock up on wine and olive oil.

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Feeling right at home in Toledo - The Irish Times

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Posted By admin on January 24, 2022

When Mendy Levy was 15 years old, he had never thrown a baseball, seen a stuffed animal, watched television or held a cellphone.

Born into the extreme fundamentalist Jewish sect of Lev Tahor, he was, he told The Post, raised to distrust outsiders and to believe that Childrens Protective Services wanted to take Jewish children from their families and have them brought up as gentiles.

But the teenager reached his breaking point in September 2018. Lev Tahors leader, Nachman Helbrans (whose late father, Shlomo Helbrans, founded the group), allegedly commanded Levy to marry his 12-year-old first cousin.

I knew it was wrong. After a Friday night service, Nachman [gathered us] to make an engagement, Levy, now 18, told The Post. His young cousins face was covered as is the Lev Tahor tradition for females, who wear long, black robes. She was crying loud, and I didnt want to do it. Finally, at 7 oclock in the morning, we agreed verbally, but not emotionally. The rabbi dipped a piece of bread in borscht, gave it to me and said, Mazel tov, you are engaged.

Levy didnt feel he could say no. I feared, I would be charim [Yiddish for ostracized], he said. I feared that they could lock me up and beat me.

According to sources, Lev Tahor was formed in Israel during the 1980s with the intention of practicing Judaism as it was 5,000 years ago.

Levy was far from the only member who claims he was forced into or threatened with marriage at a young age.

This past November, a federal jury in New York convicted Nachman Helbrans and co-leader Mayer Rosner on charges including conspiracy to transport a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. They are awaiting sentencing. The Department of Justice alleges that Helbrans arranged for his 13-year-old niece from Woodridge, NY, to marry a 19-year-old man and begin a sexual relationship with him for the purpose of procreating. Young mothers in Lev Tahor, according to the DOJ, were made to deliver babies in private homes so as to hide their ages.

Nachman Helbrans attorney declined to comment for this story. Lev Tahors leaders have previously denied accusations of wrongdoing or mistreatment of its members.

One Brooklyn-based source who has worked to free followers from Lev Tahor told The Post that the group has a convoluted interpretation of Judaica, which believes that when a boy or girl hits maturity, at 12 or 13 years old, they have an obligation to get married.

Nothing about this cult is unique or creative. But it became more archaic and problematic when Nachman took over. He is a complete sociopath, said the source, who asked not to be named because he fears it will hinder his rescue work. One of their big things is extortion: telling people, for example, that if they want to talk to their children before Yom Kippur, they have to donate money.

It all began with just six members including Levys grandparents, who were followers of Shlomo Helbrans who moved from Israel to the United States around 1990. Four years later, Shlomo was convicted in the US and served two years in prison for kidnapping a 13-year-old boy. Shlomo later fled to Canada and regrouped Lev Tahor in the mountains north of Montreal, where Levy was born in 2003.

Youd get up in the morning and be taught religious lessons until 8 oclock at night. Your mom filled out a form, which we brought to school each day and gave to the rabbi, Levy recalled. If you had prayed and behaved, she made a check. If you did something wrong, she made an X. If there were Xs on your form, the teachers hit you They enjoyed it. If I laughed during class, I got smacked in the face. Then you might be made to stand in front of the class with a pacifier in your mouth. They humiliated you.

They said that for doing the wrong things, you would go to hell. And the sins were removed when they hit you.

In 2014, questions from Quebec authorities over the groups lack of secular schooling, according to Levy, led the 300 members to orchestrate a nighttime move to Ontario.

I was so excited, said Levy, who traveled in one of three buses full of congregants. It was the first time I saw highways and farm animals. We booked two floors of a hotel in Toronto. The TVs were unplugged and cables taken out. I knew that televisions were not Jewish that they showed things I shouldnt see.

After a year, the group relocated to Guatemala, where, Levy said, they believed they could practice more freely.

They traveled via plane, with the kids wearing modern-style clothing for the first time, in an effort to blend in. We were told to not tell anyone anything about being hit, said Levy, who recalled being instructed to tuck his payess curls under a cap. I was beginning to understand the outside world.

In Guatemala, they occupied tents on a tree-less swath of land purchased by Lev Tahor. It was horrible, said Levy. There were pregnant 14-year-olds walking around and armed security guards. I killed some snakes with rocks.

Life there was difficult for Levy, especially after his father died from a disease in 2016 it was so secretive that Levy doesnt know the exact cause, but attributes his fathers passing to the groups aversion to hospitals. At that point, he said, he and nine of his 10 siblings, excluding an infant,were made to live with other families in the camp. They said that my mother would not be able to discipline us in a religious way, he recalled.

Then he was called to meet with the groups leaders, along with his cousin.

Levy said that he was told: You do not need to marry her here. First we will send you to Canada. Then we will send her. You will live a beautiful life there.

After being handed a travel document supposedly signed by his mother, giving him permission to travel alone It was done so quickly that they had me [listed] as a girl Levy spent a night in an empty house with no windows and security guards outside, so I could not leave.

He saw his mother one last time. She was crying and did not know what they would do with me. But she and I did not hug. You are not allowed to hug your mother.

Levy was then taken to a hotel and given a phone that he was shown how to answer, so they could call me in the event of an emergency, he said.

A leader checked him into a room. Before leaving me, Levy said, he told me that I cannot go out of the room. And Im sure he thought that I never would. The teen was afraid of being beaten, locked away or worse if he tried to escape: I had a fear that they would maybe kill me.

But, alone with a phone for the first time, the 15-year-old finally opened the device. There were some contacts [programmed] inside, he said. I pressed one and there was no answer. The second number, a guy answered. He told me he used to donate money to Lev Tahor. He was in another country. I told him who I am, what my situation was, and that I need to get out.

The man asked Levy for his location. But Levy, who now believes that the phone contained old contacts yet to be deleted, had no clue. The man promised to find somebody who could help.

A few minutes later, a former Lev Tahor sympathizer called. He wanted to pick me up but needed my address; I didnt have it; he told me to go to the front desk. I was so scared. My heart was thumping, Levy recalled. I slowly opened the door to see if anyone was in the hallway. I was afraid that somebody from Lev Tahor would be there.

Looking over his shoulder, he made his way downstairs and handed the phone to a front-desk clerk, who gave the address to the man on the other end of the line. Shortly after, Levy said, A taxi pulled up and I jumped inside.

The car took Levy to the mans house, where the teen stayed for a few months. It took a while to adjust, though. I was afraid to eat [the rescuers] food. It was kosher, but I thought it wasnt kosher enough; I was brainwashed, he said. Once in the house, Levy added, I was afraid to be outside.

Finally, it was arranged for the Canadian embassy to send him to Quebec. If not for the Orthodox community, I never would have gotten the help to move on, Levy said of his rescuers. The Hasidic community has nothing to do with Lev Tahor.

Levy is now finishing high school in Quebec and lives with a foster family that follows the tenets of Chabad-Orthodox Judaism. He DJs, takes photos and plays keyboards. Hes developed a love of pizza, has been on dates with secular Jewish girls and regularly posts motivational videos that encourage positivity on Instagram. Hes also cut off his payess.

These days, Levy attends synagogue voluntarily: I go for fun. I have friends there and I live a secular, open-minded life.

As to what happened to his first cousin, Levy has no idea. Theres been no contact at all, he said of his family, including his mother. Lev Tahor once told me that I could speak with her if I send $200. It was all the money I had and I sent it. Then they told me, no, I cant talk to my mom.

Nine of his siblings remain in Guatemala with Lev Tahor, while his older brother managed to escape to Israel. Recently the two met in Guatemala to give testimony to legal authorities about what goes on there with Lev Tahor, Levy said.

At home in Quebec, Levy is planning to attend college and perhaps major in psychology. I went through a lot, he said. I think I can help people.

See the article here:

I escaped a Jewish cult that wanted me to marry my 12-year-old cousin - New York Post

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