Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

Suzanne Busdiecker arrived at her first ever Birmingham school board meeting two weeks ago to thank members for issuing a district-wide mask mandate.

But once she arrived and saw that separate rooms existed, for those wearing masks and those who were not, she realized the atmosphere was not what she expected.

As the meeting started going on, the environment was not conducive to speaking for masks or saying Thank you, she said. It was pretty toxic, actually.

Busdiecker and others watched a video broadcast of the live meeting from one room, noticing that pro-mask parents were being heckled and could barely get through their statements.

I knew right then and there it was not going to be a night where there would be understanding on either side, Busdiecker said.

Still, at one point she approached the podium with a friend, a flight attendant who is mandatorily tested for COVID-19 twice a week as part of her employment. According to Busdiecker, who stood behind her friend for moral support, the heckling continued until the pair left the podium.

When we turned around to leave, there was a portion of the room you couldnt see on film, she said. There was a man that gave the Heil Hitler and said it very loudly. Im Jewish, I took great offense to that. I was stunned that someone at a board of education meeting on school property would do that.

Busdiecker said the man in question made the Nazi salute gesture when he yelled the phrase. Another pair of individuals allegedly joined in yelling the phrase.

When she and her friend returned to their room, others said they heard the man and saw him make the gesture on video both of which have been subsequently edited from the districts meeting broadcast on YouTube.

Some witnesses, including Busdiecker, approached a police officer on duty at the meeting.

The police officer acted like it wasnt really a big deal, she said. He didnt ask us if we wanted to make a police report.

Busdiecker said that the man who made the salute was reportedly escorted out of the meeting chamber, but was not forced to exit the building.

A week after the meeting in question, Busdiecker said she had not heard anything regarding ramifications for the mans actions, whether police took action or whether there was a police report filed.

Beverly Hills police have not returned repeated calls for comment.

I think as a community we need to stop invoking Hitler and trivializing millions of people who died of state-sponsored genocide, she said.

Condemnation for the action

Embekka Roberson, superintendent, and Lori Ajlouny, board president, issued a statement via email to district parents on Wednesday, Aug. 18, saying the salute was made in front of numerous community members that included Jewish and Black attendees.

Birmingham Public Schools emphatically denounces and will not tolerate any act of racism, disrespect, violence, and/or inequitable treatment of any person, including actions and statements made at board of education meetings, the statement read. It is in situations when people feel strongly about a matter, and emotions run high, that we most need to model appropriate behaviors for our students. As a National District of Character, we teach our students to listen empathically, think critically, and at times, disagree respectfully. Last nights meeting did not consistently display the behaviors that we expect from our students and community.

Busdiecker was glad the district issued the statement.

Gestures made to equate our current health crisis with Nazi regimes should not go unnoticed and should not be tolerated at the school or anywhere for that reason, she said. Its good they set the tone that they will not tolerate it.

State Sen. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, issued a statement Aug. 19, commending the district and board for standing strong against the tide of bigoted, anti-science, and completely ahistorical hate spewed against them and for protecting individuals from the ongoing virus.

I am shocked and appalled to see the use of racist, Nazi language and imagery in our community, particularly by parents attending a school board meeting, Manoogian said. Let me be clear: racism, anti-Semitism, and any other forms of bigotry and hate have no room in our discourse or our community, and I forcefully condemn the use of this phrase and gesture at yesterdays board of education meeting.

For the last 18 months, our state, country, and world have suffered a collective trauma. But the use of Nazi phrases and gestures is beyond the pale in any context; it disrespects the memory of those murdered in the Holocaust and dishonors the values of our community. Actions such as these must be forced out from our society at every level, and we must resume engaging with each other in the spirit of understanding, kindness, and mutual respect themes which form the core of the values taught within BPS.

State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, said in a statement also issued Aug. 19 that he had family members who suffered at the hands of Nazis and that a school board meeting cannot be compared to the Holocaust.

Im proud of our bipartisan efforts a few years ago to require historically accurate instruction of the Holocaust in Michigan school curriculum so Birmingham Schools students, and students all throughout Michigan, will understand its lasting lessons and that protesting health measures during a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic is not one of those lessons, Moss said.

Local Jewish organization disgusted

Lauren Herrin is associate director of the Jewish Community Relations Council/American Jewish Committee, headquartered in Bloomfield Hills. It serves the Jewish population in metro Detroit, including establishing relationships with other ethnic, racial, civic and religious groups.

Were disgusted, were saddened, Herrin said. Like anybody who opposes hate, its absolutely abhorrent that somebody would be making that saluteeverything that (it) means, especially at a school board meeting when youre talking about children.

According to a 2018 study conducted by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, there were about 83,800 people living in 31,500 Jewish households. Of that, 70,800 people, or 85%, identified themselves as Jewish.

There is no place for hate, no place for bringing in the Holocaust and what that meant, ever especially in this situation, Herrin said. People are likening vaccines and vaccine cards to wearing the Yellow Star. Its obviously very hurtful to many in the Jewish community because you cannot equate those two things.

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Jewish community members react to Nazi salute at Birmingham school board meeting - The Oakland Press

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

Christine Giordano

Just like everyone else in the world, celebrities come from a breadth of different backgrounds. And while you might think you're privy to the in's and out's of their very public lives, there's still a lot you probably don't knowincluding their faiths and the way religion may (or may not) impact them.

Some celebrities readily share what it was like growing up with certain religious or cultural influences, while others tend to be more private about those details (and understandably so!). For example, comedic writer and actor Seth Rogen openly explores his relationship with Judaism (among other things) in his memoir, Yearbook. However, you might not know that other stars, such as Daniel Radcliffe, come from a Jewish background as well. And some artists, including Ilana Glazer from Broad City, for example, put their Jewish upbringings at the forefront of their art. Like most things, the way religion fits into someone's life isn't one-size fits all.

Whether you're just curious about the personal history of celebrities, or if you're Jewish yourself and want to know which stars are also members of the tribe, check out these list of 18 Jewish celebs who have have spoken about their relationship with the culture and religion. From Maya Rudolph and P!nk to Mila Kunis and Dan Levy (just to name a few Jews!), you'll discover some big names with big accomplishments who serve as reminders to why representation is still so important.

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1Ilana Glazer

If you've ever watched her hit show Broad City, you'll know that Ilana Glazer has been making art about her Jewish identity for yearsand it was deeply appreciated by fans of the show.

2Sarah Silverman

Comedian and actor Sarah Silverman has been super open about being a Jewish actor in Hollywood. "The parts I get to play, you're either a sassy friend of the main character who's just in charge of expositionor you're that guy's sleazy book agent, or scumbag executive," she said in an interview on the Howard Stern show, about her frustrations with being typecast.

4Seth Rogen

"Being Jewish is complicated," Seth Rogen said in an interview with Marc Maron. "And being a famous Jewish person is, in some ways, a little bit more complicated," he noted, stating it can sometimes be tough to balance preserving Jewish history, culture, and values while "keeping an eye toward" the progressive causes he's passionate about.

5Rashida Jones

Yes, Rashida Jones also has roots in the Jewish community. "I am a product of slaves," she told Net-a-Porter in 2018. "I am also a product of Jewish immigrants and Holocaust survivors. I have a responsibility to represent those things. The possibility of me being alive is so slim," the actress said.

6Mila Kunis

In 2018, actress Mila Kunis, who has a Jewish family background, spoke with Dax Shepard about how she and husband Ashton Kutcher observe Shabbat in their own way with their kids. On Friday nights, their family rule is that they all eat dinner together: "We're all just going to talk," she said. "We're going to talk about the week... We're going to reconnect."

7Barbra Streisand

Singer and actress Barbra Streisand has always been open about the way her Jewish background influenced her life. "I was raised in a religious home," she told Refinery29 in 2019. "The Sabbath was always honored, candles were lit. My grandfather went to synagogue every Saturday and he would take me along."

9Beanie Feldstein

Actress Beanie Feldstein and her brother, Jonah Hill, were raised Jewish. She was recently cast to play the lead in Funny Girl on Broadway, a show about Jewish actress and comedian Fanny Brice, which is a dream come true. Beanie's been emulating Barbra Streisand (who played Fanny on Broadway and in the film adaptation) since youth, per this Instagram post.

10Jack Black

Jack Black was raised Jewish and attended Hebrew school throughout his childhood. "I had my bar mitzvah, and then I immediately bailed on the whole enterprise," he said in 2018 while being interviewed on the H3 Podcast. He noted that while he no longer practices the religion, he still remembers some of the Hebrew he learned in school.

11Adam Sandler

Comedian and actor Adam Sandler has been super open about his Jewish upbringing and faith over the years, and being Jewish has played a part in many of his iconic roles. It's even influenced his music careerwho could forget his iconic Hanukkah song, "Eight Crazy Nights"?

His wife, Jacqueline Samantha Titone, even converted to Judaism before the two married in 2003.

12Daniel Radcliffe

Though he currently identifies as atheist, Daniel Radcliffe's family has a Jewish background. "There was never [religious] faith in the house," Daniel told Parade in 2012. "I think of myself as being Jewish and Irish, despite the fact that Im English."

13Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman was born in Israel, and she's spoken openly about her faith, culture, and what it means for her to be Jewish today. "My great-grandparents were killed in the camps, and my grandfathers younger brother was shot in Poland during the war," she told Harper's Bazaar UK in 2019, speaking on the importance of her family's history.

14Dan Levy

Because of his interfaith family (his mom is Protestant and his father is Jewish), Dan Levy has said before that he practices both religions. His show, Schitt's Creek, also pays homage to interfaith families on multiple occasions.

15Troye Sivan

Troye Sivan grew up in a conservative Orthodox Jewish community in Australia, and he still values the role religion plays in his life today.

"To be completely honest, I could do without saying the prayers and whatever, but getting the family together and not turning on our phones for a Friday night, connecting, is something I really cherish," he told Vice in 2016.

17Jeff Goldblum

Yes, Jeff Goldblum has a Jewish background, though he's said in a PBS interview that while he enjoyed studying the Torah (which inspired him to become an actor), he encountered a bunch of bullies while attending Hebrew school. (Don't worry, though, his mom taught him how to fight them off.)

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io

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18 Jewish Celebrities You Might Not Know Are Members Of The Tribe - Women's Health

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

Irans new government includes two men who have been implicated in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.

On Wednesday, the parliament approved Ahmad Vahidi as interior minister and Mohsen Rezai as vice president of economic affairs among the 19 nominations by President Ebrahim Raisi.

In its investigation of the bombing, which also injured 300, Argentina has said Vahidi and Rezai played key roles. Both are listed by Interpol with red alerts, meaning they are wanted for arrest internationally.

Since 2010, Vahidi has been the subject of sanctions by the United States, which seek to freeze any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction. He headed the Quds Force, the paramilitary arm of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard, at the time of the 1994 attack, and was Irans Defense Minister between 2009 and 2013.

Jewish institutions in Argentina and Israel, as well as the Argentine government, criticized the Vahidi nomination.

This decision once again exposes the Iranian governments contempt for Argentine Justice and the victims of terrorism, DAIA, the Argentine Jewish umbrella, said when Vahidi was nominated for the cabinet position two weeks ago.

Argentinas Foreign Ministry in its statement Wednesday demanded that Iran fully cooperate with the Argentine courts, allowing the people who have been accused of participating in the attack against the AMIA to be tried.

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Iran's New Government Appoints Two Suspected in 1994 Buenos Aires Bombing - Jewish Exponent

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

The mayor of Amsterdam announced on Thursday that she had begun discussions to turn over a painting by the Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky to the heirs of a Jewish couple who had owned the work before the Nazi takeover of the Netherlands.

The work, Painting With Houses, was acquired during an auction in 1940 by David Rell, director of the Stedelijk Museum, which is responsible for the City of Amsterdams present-day art collection of about 95,000 works.

Though it is unclear who decided to sell the painting, the auction took place just months after the Nazi invasion and the Stedelijk has acknowledged it is possible that this had been an involuntary sale.

Heirs asked for the return of the work several years ago, arguing that the sale was motivated by Nazi persecution. But in 2018 the Dutch Restitutions Commission, a national panel that handles claims of Nazi looting, said that the painting could remain with the museum. A court later upheld that decision. More recently, however, a committee convened by the Dutch minister of culture advocated a new approach in handling restitution requests.

In announcing the discussions Thursday in a letter, the mayor, Femke Halsema, and the citys alderman for art and culture, Touria Meliani, cited the importance of righting wrongs, according to a translation provided to The New York Times.

A return of the painting would be contingent upon the approval of Amsterdams City Council, said two people involved in the discussions over the Kandinsky. James Palmer of the Mondex Corporation, which is assisting the heirs, said his understanding was that after the mayor and heirs reach an agreement, its terms would be sent to the council for review.

The story of the painting has drawn wide attention because it is seen by some as emblematic of shifts within the Netherlands related to how the country has handled requests for the return of works believed to have been plundered by Nazis, or sold under duress.

For many years, the country was seen as being at the forefront of efforts to return stolen works to the heirs of their rightful owners. Over the last decade or so, critics have taken issue with a balance of interests criteria that the commission used in an effort to weigh the value of the work to the museum against claims by heirs.

After considering the case of the Kandinsky, the restitutions commission wrote that the sale of the painting cannot be considered in isolation from the Nazi regime, but added that it had also been caused to an extent by the fact that its owners, Robert Lewenstein and Irma Klein, had experienced deteriorating financial circumstances that predated the German invasion.

The commission also wrote that while one claimant, an heir to Ms. Klein, has no special bond with the painting, that the work has a significant place in the Stedelijks collection.

The culture ministers committee recommended in 2020 that the balance test be abandoned and called for a more empathetic approach, saying that the restitutions committee needed to become less formalistic in its responses to claims. Shortly afterward Ms. Halsema, and several other officials, known collectively as the College of Mayor and Alderpersons, called for the painting to be turned over to the heirs.

The suffering inflicted on Jewish citizens in particular during the Second World War is unprecedented and irreversible, they wrote in February, adding that society had a moral obligation to redress that.

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Amsterdams Mayor Announces Talks With Jewish Heirs on Kandinsky Claim - The New York Times

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

The Fourteas has denied kicking the family out (Picture: Google Maps/Getty Images)

A 1940s-themed teahouse has been accused of booting out a Jewish family after they asked for non-kosher chicken sandwiches to be left off their high tea plate.

Jonathan and Shayna Evans visited the Fourteas, in Stratford-upon-Avon, over the bank holiday weekend with their two-year-old daughter on their way back from a trip to Wales.

They say they offered to pay the same price if staff swapped the chicken sandwiches for cucumber ones as part of their afternoon tea, in keeping with their religious dietary requirements.

Jonathan says he even offered to pay full price for a plate with no chicken and no replacement, or to pay a higher price for a different selection of food on a high tea server.

But he claims the teahouse refused, claiming it could not accommodate individual preferences.

Jonathan, 32, told them this was a religious belief rather than a preference and pointed to a part of the menu saying adjustments could be made for allergies, but still staff refused to budge.

He told Metro.co.uk: We gave them three different options, all of them would have been quite easy for them to do.

All they had to do was substitute the chicken sandwich for a cucumber one, because there were four sandwiches being offered as part of the set tea, which were cheese and pickle, smoked salmon, cucumber and coronation chicken.

Weve been in many establishments in the past and no ones ever denied it when weve asked them do to it.

Id imagine its cheaper to serve cucumber rather than chicken, so it doesnt make any economic sense from their perspective.

Im not asking them to serve kosher food. Im not criticising them for not offering kosher food, thats not what Im doing at all.

He says they were told if they wanted their own selection of sandwiches theyd have to order of the la carte menu, but they declined to serve them on a traditional three layered platter.

Jonathan added: It seemed quite quaint, quite charming, nostalgic place. We have a two-year-old daughter we just wanted her to be able to pick the sandwiches from different levels.

We said Were not happy about it, we do feel were being discriminated against due to our religious beliefs, we will be leaving a Tripadvisor review about it, which were fully entitled to do.

It wasnt a threat. It was saying we were going to leave a factual report about our experience.

Jonathan says the owner then showed up and opened by saying: I understand youre using the threat of a bad review to get your own way.

The 34-year-old Londoner says he responded: No, weve already accepted were not going to be able to have the same experience as other people, but we do feel discriminated against because of our religious beliefs, and we are entitled to leave a review to reflect that.

Jonathan says he was immediately asked to leave, which left him feeling taken aback as he has never been kicked out of a restaurant before.

He added: He then threatened to call the police to remove us from the restaurant.

Being Jewish, when youre in a 1940s themed restaurant and youre being told youre not going to be served because of your religious belief and then them threatening to call the police to remove you from the establishment, it has a different context to it.

In his TripAdvisor review, he said: The waitress stated that the only way in which afternoon tea is served is with four sandwiches, which includes chicken.

She said there were no alterations that can be made to it. She pointed to some small print on the menu which stated that preferences cannot be accomodated.

He says Tripadvisor contacted him to alter the review because he had put one star for both service and food when he hadnt been given the opportunity to eat any which is why his is no longer on the site.

The restaurants response to the family on Tripadvisor had previously been deleted.

In it, the business said: The Fourteas TeaRoom will not tolerate the threat of the posting of a deliberately bad social media review, as a means of imposing unacceptable and abusive behaviour towards its hard working personnel.

We are proud of our staffs work and professional ethics, as acknowledged and approved by the vast majority of our clientele.

We also regret that we cannot accommodate mindsets seeking refuge behind imaginative cultural or religious reasons, to justify selfish and arrogant attitudes. Respect and appreciation works both ways.

Picking up on claims their reasons were imaginary, Jonathan said: That was indicative of their approach to us on the day.

Its mocking, its dismissive. The 1940s theme took on a more sinister theme than one that was nostalgic.

In an updated statement yesterday, the cafe denied asking the family to leave over their request for an adjusted meal.

It said it was working with the local Jewish community to resolve any concerns.

The management added: Referring to the day in question, we would like to put on record that the family were asked to leave due to their behaviour and out of respect to the other customers.

ZeniosLoucas, who runs the cafe, told Metro.co.uk that he was unaware the family was Jewish until the matter had already escalated to shouting causing other customers to feel uncomfortable and distressed.

He said: Our business is a themed Tea Room which coincidentally refers to the 1940s. She, regrettably, picked that characteristic up and tried to compare us to the Nazis and the fascists of that era. We find this ridiculous, and we have no hesitation in unequivocally declaring that we condemn any form of racism or discrimination against anybody. Our multiple, cosmopolitan clientele is the answer to whoever thinks the opposite.

The menu stated it would not be possible to change that particular dish, but they were offered other options instead, he said.

He also shared a screenshot of a separate review removed from TripAdvisor posted by another customer, who claimed they witnessed the incident.

They said that they were not sure why the sandwiches could not have been changed, and that the business should think about that for future customers.

However, they added that the mother was shouting extremely loudly as the staff remained calm and quiet but did politely ask her to leave.

Mr Loucas said: I can also say, that had they not presented us with the sheer blackmailing of you either do what we want, or we shall write for you a bad review we would have gone out of our way to do exactly what they had asked for. Probably more!

As far as we are concerned, it was clearly a question of two individuals who caused a scene unnecessarily, showing no respect or appreciation for the people who were serving them and expected the whole of the restaurant to listen to their shouting and abusive behaviour.

He added that since the media attention they had received threats and other abusive messages, either by email or by phone, which cause serious concerns about our safety and the security of the Tea-Room.

Jonathan said he denied the allegations made about his family and responded: Their response to us on Tripadvisor where they referred to not accommodating our imaginative cultural or religious reasons belies his statement that he was unaware we were Jewish and demonstrates his attitude towards us.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this,check our news page.

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Teahouse 'kicked out Jewish family after refusing to remove non-kosher chicken from plates' - Metro.co.uk

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

Last years High Holidays followed a summer filled with racial justice protests, as many Jewish communities reckoned with their treatment of Jews of color and broader history on issues of race.

Amidst this tumult, Aaron Levy Samuels, a co-founder of the media company Blavity, began to write a new poem, titled Forgiveness. The poem ties the atonement rituals of Yom Kippur to the fight for racial justice, exploring along the way the emotional space Jews occupy during that holiday.

The poem has now been brought to life in a short film made in partnership with Reboot, a Jewish arts and culture nonprofit, and Hillel International. In it, Samuels, who is Black, speaks about walking through a metal detector on his way into a synagogue, comparing his fear in that moment to the experience of being pulled over by the police, or being looked at suspiciously while buying candy in a new neighborhood as a child.

And he juxtaposes the rituals of Yom Kippur with the murder of Black people at the hands of the police, their names chanted over and over during the summers protests just as we repeat our sins during prayers.

Elements of the poems words deal with, at different points of times, being a Black Jewish person engaging in a larger white Jewish community, said Samuels in a Reboot discussion with poet Mahogany L. Brown. In making the film, he said, he wanted to center images of Black Jews, to show that their stories are worthwhile to tell in and of themselves.

The poem ends by examining the very concept of atonement, wondering whether it is truly possible to be forgiven for wrongs we committed knowingly. Its an ambiguous conclusion: Poems arent meant to have answers, necessarily, Samuels said.

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Reckoning with racism on the High Holidays a poem - Forward

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

JTA Vanessa Wrubles progressive activism burst into public consciousness in late 2018 when she withdrew from the Womens March, the progressive organization founded in the wake of Donald Trumps election, citing antisemitism she said she experienced within the groups leadership.

Since then, Wruble, who is Jewish, has continued to organize progressives through a separate group, March On. This weekend, March On will draw people concerned about Republican-led efforts to limit voting access to rallies in Washington, DC, Atlanta and dozens of other communities across the country, as well as online.

The Union for Reform Judaism, the National Council of Jewish Women and the Anti-Defamation League are among the many organizations supporting the march, and Randi Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers president who is married to a rabbi and says Jewish values animate her activism, is speaking in Washington. Organizers said late Friday that Rabbi Jonah Pesner, who heads the Reform movements Religious Action Center, would speak on the main stage Saturday afternoon, as well.

The rally, which kicks off a push to register 2 million voters in advance of the 2022 midterm elections, is timed to the 58th anniversary of the March on Washington when Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous I Have a Dream speech, galvanizing the civil rights movement. Wruble said the voting rights push is an extension of that movement, which included substantial Jewish participation.

This is our struggle. This is the most important thing we can fight for right now, Wruble told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. And this march is very welcoming to all people, including the Jewish community.

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We spoke with Wruble about her experience planning this march, why she believes voting rights is a Jewish issue and what she would tell Jews who are concerned about antisemitism in progressive spaces. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

In this Aug. 2, 2021, file photo, voting rights activists march outside of the U. Supreme Court, during a voting rights rally on Capitol Hill, in Washington. In the nations capital on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, multiracial coalitions of civil, human and labor rights leaders are convening rallies and marches to urge passage of federal voter protections that have been eroded since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

JTA: Why is this issue worth convening people for at this time? What should people expect to see? And what effect do you hope the march has?

Wruble: This is really the fight. Without voting rights, it sends us back in time. Nothing that we want as progressive people who are focused on equity and justice and keeping our world alive given climate change we cant do anything about it, without having our voting rights.

We have four flagship marches. The biggest ones will be in Atlanta in Washington DC, and in addition to that we have 85 smaller events around the country, in 38 states. And we have a lot of virtual events going on for those people who dont want to go out in the midst of the pandemic.

People are outraged and they need a catalyst for that energy and thats what weve created about whats happening in terms of voter suppression.

From here, we can put pressure on Congress to pass federal voting rights laws. In addition, we can really get ourselves heard about DC statehood thats 750,000 people who do not have a voice. It is also my hometown so it is very personal for me. And we need to start organizing for 2022. We need to get people out to vote. Thats the only way that we have representative government, which is hugely important.

Why do you think Jews specifically should be paying attention to this issue and be part of this movement?

The Jewish people, though were not a monolith, have been part of the civil rights struggle from the beginning. This struggle is our struggle. We were there with Dr. King, we were there in Selma, we were there in the Freedom Summer, and were still there today. Our freedom and equity is tied up in everyone elses. For me personally, theres no division.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. links arms with other civil rights leaders as they begin the march to the state capitol in Montgomery from Selma, Alabama, on March 21, 1965. The demonstrators are marching for voter registration rights for blacks. Accompanying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (fourth from right), are on his left Ralph Bunche, undersecretary of the United Nations, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, and Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. (AP Photo)

Our readers learned about you in 2018 when you left the Womens March over antisemitism. How would you compare this experience? And what would you say to Jews who cite that as a reason to feel nervous about participating in progressive activism?

The coalition has been amazing. Different groups have been enormously supportive of each other and really there has not been any kind of rift between different groups. That has been amazing, and the coalition will continue on in that way.

I do think antisemitism is a problem. I think its growing. I think its mostly growing on the extreme right, and in some places like New York or D.C. where I grew up, we dont feel it. But someone said to me, try being a Jew in the South. I think thats terrifying. I also know that on the progressive left on the deep, deep left sometimes Judaism is equated with support for the Israeli state and for the settlements, and I think that conflating those two is incorrect and damaging.

I think I would remind [Jews who have concerns about antisemitism in progressive spaces] that this struggle is our struggle and the progressive movement is wide and deep. And so if there are issues in small circles, there arent going to be issues in other places. Just look at what were doing this weekend. Martin Luther King III and his wife Andrea I will be introducing Andrea King theyre deeply supportive of Jews and other people coming together in this fight. Reverend Al Sharpton is deeply supportive. So if there are some fringe elements here and there, its best to just ignore it and join the rest of us.

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Meet the longtime Jewish activist behind this weekends US voting rights marches - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

(JTA) Irans new government includes two men who have been implicated in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.

On Wednesday, the parliament approved Ahmad Vahidi as interior minister and Mohsen Rezai as vice president of economic affairs among the 19 nominations by President Ebrahim Raisi.

In its investigation of the bombing, which also injured 300, Argentina has said Vahidi and Rezai played key roles.

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Both are listed by Interpol with red alerts, meaning they are wanted for arrest internationally.

Since 2010, Vahidi has been the subject of sanctions by the United States, which seek to freeze any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction. He headed the Quds Force, the paramilitary arm of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard, at the time of the 1994 attack, and was Irans Defense Minister between 2009 and 2013.

This decision once again exposes the Iranian governments contempt for Argentine Justice and the victims of terrorism, DAIA, the Argentine Jewish umbrella, said when Vahidi was nominated for the cabinet position two weeks ago.

Argentinas Foreign Ministry in its statement Wednesday demanded that Iran fully cooperate with the Argentine courts, allowing the people who have been accused of participating in the attack against the AMIA to be tried.

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Irans government appoints 2 suspected 1994 bombing Buenos Aires Jewish - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

It is not always that you come across a person who knows 12 languages. But then again,Thapan Santhoshis not your everyday person either. Why, you wonder? Thapan has been teachingHebrew to those who desire to go to Israel. But get this, he hasn't learnt Hebrew formally but still speaks it fluently.The 23-year old computer applications graduate says that he was drawn to languages due to his love for world history.He talks about his experience of learning Hebrew on his own, the lessons that he takes for aspiring caretakers and his long-term plans. Excerpts:

1. How did you learn Hebrew in the first place?

I come from a Judaic family, so Hebrew hasalways been close to me. I have been exposed to Hebrew liturgically. I then started to learn it academically by myself in 2014. It actually began from an unlikely source when my father first brought a sheet containing the Cyrillic alphabet. So I tried my hand at Russian first. I was very intrigued and enamoured by it. But then I realised that I should be learning the language of my people, Hebrew.

2. How easy or hard is it to learn a language by yourself? What methods did you use?

I wanted to learn Hebrew bymyself. The methods that I used were quite simple. I fell back on the universityof the poor man the internet and I started talking to some of the rabbis in Mumbai and some of my friendsin Israel. Some of them know English as well so I learnt it using that medium. I used to make tons of mistakes but my friendswould patiently sit with me and correct them all.

3. Tell us about your experience teaching Hebrew.

I think that came about when I first returned from London in 2019where I was involved with the technical intelligence department of the British Army.I always wanted to teach Hebrew to people but never thought that I would begin it as a formal class or something like it. What happened was that my uncle was approached by a person asking him to teach Hebrew. My uncle could not find the time to do it so he referred the person to me. I was not doing anything of significance at that time soI readily tookit up. I started with about six students, most of them wanting to go to Israel as caretakers.As of now the classes are all virtual and I have around 35 students. It takes them about 2-3 months to attain basic fluency.

4. What are people's experiences of learning a new language?

Most of the nurses who graduate look for employment in any of the English-speaking countries. The thought of Israel never comes to them. Secondly, there is a negative public image of Israel being a war-torn country. People think that it is not very safe to live in Israel. Nowadays, though, there are more people heading for Israel. One factor is that the paperwork required for immigration is minimal compared to many English-speaking countries. There is an interview where you need to give verbal answers in Hebrew and that is it. Since the mid-90s, there has been an increased demand for Indian caretakers, nurses and paramedics.

5. What has been your experience as a learned person of Hebrew? How have you practically used it?

The full potential of my Hebrew is never realised while talking to people in India. There are very few Indian Jewish people who know the language. The only people I can talk to in Hebrew are those from Israel and America. Whenever they come to visit our synagogue in Kochi, I talk to them in modern Hebrew. I get ecstatic when I meet them. It is like a camel who finds an oasis after many days in the desert. Even my phone's default language is Hebrew. My friends hate how much I love the language because they constantly advise me that in case of emergency, no one would be able to make a call from my phone because quite simply, they won't understand a thing written on the screen! (laughs)

6. What are your plans for thefuture?

I speak 12 languages with varying proficiency. Hebrew is just one side of the cube. My dream is to start a language learning centre where I can teach people different languages and make a career out of it. It is a service I can provide to people and I am good at it. This is my long-term plan.

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This youngster from Kochi who teaches Hebrew wishes to open his own language learning academy. Read to find more - EdexLive

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

The Jewish holy month of Tishrei, and Rosh Hashana, begin on Sept. 7 this year.

Editor's Note: The video in the player above is from October 2016.

Story from The Conversationby Samuel L. Boyd, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies, University of Colorado Boulder.

Over the next few weeks, members of the Jewish faith will observe the High Holy Days in the month of Tishrei in the Jewish calendar, usually in September and October. These holidays commemorate concepts such as renewal, forgiveness, freedom and joy.

As a scholar of the Bible and the ancient world, I am continually impressed with how the history of these festivals offers consolation and encourages people toward living well, even during a pandemic.

What are the High Holy Days?

Of the two main High Holy Days, also called the High Holidays, the first is Rosh Hashanah, or the New Year celebration. It is one of two new year celebrations in the Jewish faith, the other being Passover in the spring.

The second High Holiday is Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.

In addition to the main Holy Days, there are other celebrations that occur as part of the festival season. One is Sukkot, or the Festival of the Booths, during which meals and rituals take place in a sukkah, or a makeshift structure constructed with a tree-branch roof.

The second entails twocelebrations, which in some traditions are part of the same holiday and in others occur on two separate, consecutive days: Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

Shemini Atzeret is Hebrew for eighth (day of) assembly, counting eight days from Sukkot. Simchat Torah is Hebrew for joy/rejoicing of the Torah the Torah being the first five books of the Bible, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, believed to have been revealed to Moses.

Of particular interest for the High Holy Days in 2021 is that Rosh Hashanah also begins a yearlong observance known as the Shmita.

Commemorated once every seven years, the term comes from a Hebrew phrase that appears in the Bible in a number of passages. Some of these passages command that the farmer drops or releases his crops. Another verse associates the act with the forgiveness of debts. In another passage in the Bible, the Shmita is connected with the reading of Gods revelation in the law.

The exact nature of the action denoted by Shmita is debated, but the idea is that some portion of the food is left behind for the poor and hungry in society.

In this manner, the beginning of the High Holy Days in 2021 is a reminder to care for those who have been struggling.

Why celebrate these festivals?

The origins and reasons for the High Holy Days are in some fashion encoded in the Bible and in the agrarian and religious culture that produced it. The millennia of Jewish tradition between the Bible and the present has informed many of the celebrations as well, in ways that go beyond the biblical texts.

The first holiday, Rosh Hashanah, celebrates renewal. It involves the blowing of the shofar horn, itself connected to the ram sacrificed instead of Abrahams son, as God had commanded Abraham to do. Important activities include attending synagogue to hear the shofar, as well as eating apple slices with honey, the former representing hopes for fruitfulness and the honey symbolizing the desire for a sweet year.

It also often involves a ritual of throwing bread onto running water, called a tashlich, symbolizing the removal of sins from people.

Rosh Hashanah is believed to mark the date of the creation of the world, and it begins the Days of Awe, a 10-day period culminating in Yom Kippur.

The term Days of Awe itself is a more literal translation of the Hebrew phrasing used for the High Holy Days.

Concepts of repentance and forgiveness are particularly highlighted in Yom Kippur. Its origins are found in the Hebrew Bible, where it describes the one day a year in which premeditated, intentional sins, such as willfully violating divine commands and prohibitions, were forgiven.

Intentional sins were envisioned as generating impurity in the heart of the temple in Jerusalem, where God was thought to live. Impurity from intentional sins was believed by Israelites to be a threat to this divine presence since God might choose to leave the temple.

The biblical description of Yom Kippur involved a series of sacrifices and rituals designed to remove sin from the people. For example, one goat was thought to bear the sins of the Israelites and was sent off to the wilderness, where it was consumed by Azazel, a mysterious, perhaps demonic force. Azazel consumed the goat and the sins that it carried. The term scapegoat in English derives from this act.

Yom Kippur is both the holiest day of the Jewish calendar and also one of the most somber, as the time for repentance includes fasting and prayer.

Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah

The Festival of Sukkot likely began as an agricultural celebration, and the booths were shelters in which farmers stayed during the collection of grain, which was to be processed for the year.

Vestiges of this agricultural commemoration appear in certain passages in the Bible, one of which indicates that the festival is to last seven days to mark the time period in which Israelites dwelt in booths, or makeshift dwellings with branches, when leaving Egypt.

This feast was known as zeman simchatenu, or the time of our rejoicing, hearkening to the themes of gratitude, freedom from Egypt and the reading of Gods revelation as found in the Torah to all Israel.

Such a time of rejoicing contrasts with the somber repentance and fasting that feature in Yom Kippur. So vital was the Festival of Booths that it is also known as simply the chag, or the feast, a word related to the more familiar hajj pilgrimage in Islam.

This period of seven days ends with Shemini Atzeret on the eighth day, both a connected celebration capping off Sukkot and a festival in its own right.

The annual reading of the Torah ends with the final text of Deuteronomy. The beginning of the next annual reading cycle, starting with the first book Genesis, is also celebrated. This act of beginning a new year of reading the Bible is commemorated in the festival called Simchat Torah.

The observance of Simchat Torah was a later innovation, described already in the fifth century or so but not formalized or identified by this name until the medieval period.

Why do they matter?

Religious calendars and festivals can force people to encounter certain ideas in the year. For example, they can enable them to face the more difficult dynamics of life like repentance and forgiveness, providing avenues to reflect on the events of the past year and to find courage to live differently in the next year where needed.

In this manner, structuring the celebration of the new year around remembrances of a variety of human experiences, both sorrow and joy, entails a profound recognition of the complexity of relationships and experiences in life.

In particular, the High Holy Days as illustrated in the renewal of Rosh Hashanah, the somber reflection of Yom Kippur as well as the joyous celebrations in Sukkot and Simchat Torah, offer a means to remember that time is itself healing and restorative.

As such, the High Holy Days and the holiday season in Tishrei help to mark the year in meaningful ways and to highlight our moral responsibility toward one another.

This article is fromThe Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organization dedicated to spreading ideas from experts. Republished under a Creative Commons license.

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What are the Jewish High Holy Days? A look at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur - ABC10.com KXTV

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