Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

Marc Gellman| Monroe News-Star

Q: From L: God created us all the same and as his children. How has it gotten to the point where we are killing each other just based on the color of our skin being different. God is a loving and forgiving person who doesnt judge, why is it so hard for us to do the same?

A: I am sure that your question of God is also Gods question of all of us. The basic reason for our failure to see the divine spark in every other person and love our neighbor as we love ourselves is that we are made up of two very different substances. We are partly like angels and partly like animals. Sometimes our angelic nature prevails, and we produce acts of kindness, generosity and love. Other times our animal nature prevails, and we produce acts of jealousy, cruelty, bigotry, and violence. There is an old Cherokee legend that the chief told his grandchildren about two wolves fighting within us. The good wolf and the bad wolf. A grandchild of the chief asked him, Grandfather, which wolf will win? He answered, The wolf that wins will be the wolf you feed. So, dear L, feed the right wolf and your question will be answered.

Grade: A

Q: From J: If reincarnation is real, then how come we wouldnt remember our old life? Thank you!

A: After you there are only three possibilities: either there is nothing and the worms eat you up and that is the end of you; or your soul goes to Heaven or Hell either directly or after a time and your soul remains there forever; or your soul is cleaned up and shined up and put into the body of a new baby and given a chance to live another life. That third possibility is called reincarnation. It comes with several obvious problems, one of which you have identified. If we remember our previous lives, we would freak out because we could never really live a new and unencumbered life. Fears from our old life would infect our new life. Also, if a newborn babys first words were, I want a pizza! that would freak out the delivery room staff. So that is why we cant be allowed to remember the other lives we may have lived. Hinduism and some Christians and Jews believe in reincarnation, but they are in a minority. I am not sure. I would like to believe that we get another chance to make a better life, but I am also fairly sure that we would make the same mistakes in our next life that we have made in this one.

Grade: A

Q: From L: What would you say is key to maintaining a healthy relationship with God? How can you become more sensitive to the voice of God?

A: Easy. Say 100 thank you prayers every day. Do not let a single blessing in your life pass unnoticed. Say thank you to God for everything. This habit of saying thank you for everything helps you to see everything in your life as gift. This transforms a life of entitlement and selfishness into a life of gratitude and thankfulness. The medieval mystic Meister Eckhart taught that, If the only prayer we ever say is thank you it will be enough. Thank you prayers are the best spiritual vitamins for a healthy relationship with God.

Grade: A

Q: From O: What made you believe that the teachings of Judaism is a core religious belief?

A: I love Judaism because I believe it teaches me how to live a good life, love God, and leave the world a little better than it was when I was born. I love that Judaism discovered and taught in the Ten Commandments the truth of how to live a good life that every other religion and philosophy also accepted as true. I believe in Judaism because it teaches that all people are made in the image of God and have equal sanctity and equal dignity. I believe in Judaism because it teaches that our souls go to Heaven after we die along with the souls of all the righteous people anywhere in the world. I believe in Judaism because it is the religion of my ancestors back to Abraham and Sarah in the Bible. I believe in Judaism because I believe that there is something bigger than us and that something is God. Judaism is my way of connecting to God. Albert Einstein once said that he was sad that he was born a Jew because it prevented him from choosing to be a Jew. I was born Jewish, but every day I choose to be Jewish.

Grade: A

Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email atgodsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman.

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God Squad: Yes, still more theology questions from the theology class at Mercy High School in Middletown, Conn. - The News Star

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

This year seems to have traveled at warp speed. It seems like just yesterday that I was focused on the Days of Awe, both professionally and personally. And I cant help but experience a bit of dj vu, to be faced with the confusion and quandary of mask or not, in or out, all over again.

Which one of us isnt slightly disarmed, even acutely disturbed, anxious, or fearful as COVID remains our collective and universal nightmare? Yet despite this constant threat to our health and future, we need to navigate life while attending to what the High Holy Days demand of uspersonal accountability, inner awareness, and movement toward change. Taking action to heal our pain, guilt and shame, as well as our relationships (familial, personal and collegial) we must acknowledge the bigger picture that often brings out the worst of who we are: tense, snippy, and impatient, or just plain out of sorts.

The connection between national, environmental and political crises and our own personal behavior is often more pronounced than we realize. The demands, restrictions and unknowns become internalized stressors, often leading us to behave in unrecognizable ways. The lens through which we see the world becomes foggy or negatively tinted. As we take account (Cheshbon HaNefesh) of our inadequacies, bad behavior, and errors of judgments, we must see the context of this past year and its overriding impact. The decline in mental health, including sleep and eating disorders, is alarming. Perhaps a little more rachmunos, compassion, is in order this year.

It is easy to fall prey to hopelessness when confronted with difficulty or a powerful adversary like COVID. But Proverbs teaches, Hope deferred sickens the heart.

Celebrating the Birthday of the World affords us new eyes to see ahead. It gives us a pathway that generates optimism, Judaisms core ingredient for sustainability, strength, and resiliency. It gives us, most of all, the possibility of hope. It is easy to fall prey to hopelessness when confronted with difficulty or a powerful adversary like COVID. But Proverbs teaches, Hope deferred sickens the heart. We need this medicinal tonic to guide our fragile souls and hold us in trying times. In fact, the root for the word tikvah, hope, (koof-vav-hay), is the same root for mikvah, ritual bath. They both bring healing for the spirit. And the two letters, koof-vav, signify a measuring line. It is the Kabbalistic description of the direct line from the Divine into the vacated space (tzim tzum) where G-d emanated and birthed Creation. What we all need right now is to be immersed in the healing waters of mikvah, the radiant light of Tikvah, while reconnecting to the One, the kav of renewal, rebirth and imagination.

What we all need right now is to be immersed in the healing waters of mikvah, the radiant light of Tikvah, while reconnecting to the One, the kav of renewal, rebirth and imagination.

How do we find hope when reality seems bleak and unrelenting? I asked this question frequently when trying to understand my parents, and other survivors of the Shoah, who held on during the worst pandemic of all, hatred of the Jew. With nothing to clutch, something within pulled these souls forward. This is as extreme as it gets, but we, too, grieving the comfort and familiarity of our past, need to find ways to enjoy the present and see potential for a future.

Both Jewish tradition and the growing field of Positive Psychology instruct us. This new discipline reflects a change from traditional psychology, which focuses on mental/emotional illness and fixing deficits, to emphasizing thinking patterns and behaviors that move us ahead. Circumstances may not change, but how we see them determines our response. Professor Carol Dweck teaches that we have either a fixed-unchangeable mindset or a growth-developing mindset. One holds us back while the other moves us forward. Our own thinking can undermine our capacity for hope.

Dr. Dan Tomasulo teaches that we can learn hopefulness by shifting perspective, since perceptions impact outcomes, the self-fulfilling prophecy. Seeing obstacles and setbacks as opportunities for growth repurposes reality. Hope is activated when we reduce our negativity bias. The name G-d gave the Israelite slaves was a transformative verb, Eheyeh Asher Eheyeh: I will be that which I will become.

Hope is believing in ourselves, our capacity to transform and influence the future. Charting our strengths and moments from our past when we overcame the impossible reminds us of what we are made of. Judaism offers a new start every morning when we say, Modeh Ani Lfanecha BChemlah Rabba Emunatehah, Thank you G-d for returning my soul with your great mercy and faith in me. We frame the day from strength and optimism.

What if this Rosh Hashana we not only focus on deficits and sins, but also create a Cheshbon HaHoda-ah, an accounting of gratitude? There is a reason the tradition teaches us to say 100 blessings a day. The rabbis understood this would keep us hopeful. List the moments over the past year that were positive, growth-full, nurturing, and accomplishing; examine your qualities and strengths and use them as agency for change and creative solutions. Go to those you treasure and say, Thank You! Focus not only on apologies and mending the pain youve caused, but also forgive and let go of anger and disappointment, freeing up energy for good.

There is hope for a tree; if it is cut down it will renew itself; its shoots will not cease. The Jewish people have been repeatedly cut down and yet stubbornly renew themselves. Every catastrophe has brought regeneration. We must choose to see possibility and renewal: not just survive, but thrive.

Mask in one hand, sanitizer in the other, we share the journey in a room together or smiling across a screen. Our world has changed, yet truly expanded. We study with people across the ocean or share wine with friends across the country. Our homes are our sanctuaries and nature, solace for the soul.

During the first exile, the Prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the people in Babylonia telling them to make the best of every moment. Build houses gardens multiply seek peace, while G-d says, Seek Me I will return you. In this exile, within our own land, find the strength to lift yourself, see the beauty and grace in unexpected moments, see light and hope through optimistic eyes, and seek G-d. Reconnect to the kav, the umbilical cord of the Divine, and find hope.

Eva Robbins is a rabbi, cantor, artist and the author of Spiritual Surgery: A Journey of Healing Mind, Body and Spirit.

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Finding Hope When We Can't See Much of It - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on September 2, 2021

Rev. Dr. Lillian H. Lammers| Guest Columnist

COVID hospitalizations in Shelby County hits 'unfortunate milestone'

Shelby County reaches 'unfortunate milestone' with COVID hospitalizations

Nate Chute, Wochit

"There were many times in the Bible where Jesus broke the law in order to feed people or care for people, as a way of teaching others that sometimes the law can get in the way of doing what is right.

This isaquotefrom a statementthat I made at a press conference on Aug.19that was published in Tennessee pastors speak about Gov. Bill Lee's order to allow mask opt-outs in schools.Thisquote deserves a little more context, and that context provides an even greater indictment of our state leaderships response to the COVID-19 crisis.

This quote read alone, without an understanding of Jesus in the New Testament,can lead to amisinterpretation ofhisactions. There are multiple times intheBible that Jesus is accused of breaking Jewish Lawtouching a person with leprosy andhealing the sick and disabledorrefusing to condemn those who are hungry and picking grains on theSabbath.

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However, Jesus didnotactuallybreak Jewish Law. He disobeyed thefalseapplication oftheTorah by those in positions of religious authority.Jesus was correcting the incorrectapplicationsof the law, not rewriting it.

Jesuspubliclydisregardedharmfulhuman-made rulesfromthose inpositions ofauthority. He was a devout Jew, and time and againoffered powerful examples ofhow Judaism commands love of neighbor and stranger.Those in positions of religious authorityduring his timecreated rules that ultimately undercut the call to love and care for others.

By breaking these rules, Jesus ultimatelyembodiedtheJewishLawwhileeducating those around him in the process.What the illustration of the rule-breaking Jesus offers us is a reminder that the overall ethos of the gospel is one of love for neighbor and stranger, just as it is with the Torah.

As Inotehow Jesus was responding to the errant teachings of those in positions of authority, I cannot help butdraw a parallel to the leadership of Governor Bill Lee, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and Speaker Cameron Sexton.

These threesit in positions of authority andtout their Christianity, even naming the churches they attend on their websites.Yet, as our state finds itself in midst of a devastating surge of the delta variant, these leaders continue to spread misinformation and createand support legislationthat endangerstheir constituents.

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The recent executive order signed by Governor Lee and endorsed by the majority of our state leadershipbanning local mask mandates in schoolsis not only foolish, itis incompatible with Christianteachings.

The state of Tennessee shows up on national graphs as one of the hot spots forCOVID-19 infections. To date, over 13,000 Tennesseans have died, and cases and hospitalizations are rapidly increasing.Thenumber of children getting sick from this new variant is significantly greater,and children have died from COVID-19 infections.

Lee, Johnson, Sexton and many other state leaders who claim to be Christians need a strong reminder thatleadership that does not value thehealth andsafetyof our neighborsis irresponsible, immoral and certainly not Christian.

There is nothing in the Bible thataccounts for their dismissal oftheGod-givenwisdom of doctors, scientists and public health professionals, or that prohibits prioritizing public health over individual preferences.

Rather,the Christianfaith requires that we take care of one another. Jesus repeatedly offers this as the best example for how to love God and how to be his follower.

I continue to call on people of faith in this state to demonstrate love of theirneighborsby wearing a mask, getting vaccinated when eligible, and seeking to protect one another from this deadly virus.

Rev. Dr. Lillian H. Lammersis associatepastorofFirst Congregational Church of Memphis.

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Tennessee's GOP leaders need to be reminded of what Jesus stood for | Opinion - Commercial Appeal

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Posted By admin on August 31, 2021

Philip Nasisi, a senior majoring in secondary education, is a researcher on theUkrainian diaspora oral history project.

The best way to unpack history is often by listening to those who have lived it.

When he begins his teaching career next year, senior Philip Nasisi plans to pass along what he's learned from listening torecordedinterviews withNick Mykola, a Ukrainian immigrant who fled the Soviet Union. Nasisi is researchingMykola's story as part of an ongoing oral history project taking place at the College of Education and Human Services. "As a future educator," Nasisi says, "Nick's life story made me consider the role of culture in education. His first-hand account of his journey is an invaluable source of historical information."

The Ukrainian Diaspora oral history project is an outgrowth of a 13-year collaboration between the College's Secondary Education Program and the Borys Grinchencko Kyiv University. Under the leadership of Professor James Daly, the project was launched with funding from a digital humanities grant from Seton Hall. In addition to documenting first-hand historical accounts of the immigrant experience, the partnership hosts virtual seminars, and is developing an interactive web site to display research related to the history of Ukrainian immigrants to the U.S. Participants have also published a digital magazine series examining global topics related to education, science and social issues.

A Journey Rooted in Faith

There are currently more than one million Ukrainian Americans living in the United States -- over 73,000 have made New Jersey their home. The Ukrainian Diaspora project has enabled students, faculty and alumni researchers to document the Ukrainian immigrant experience through the lens of the community's deeply religious roots.

Her work on the oral history project has enabled 2018 graduate Ellen Bacon to stay connected with her alma mater.

The U.S. headquarters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, located in nearby South Bound Brook NJ, was a starting point for the project. Researchers from Seton Hall have met with UOC archivist, Michael Andrec, who led tours of St. Sophia's parish, its museum, and the archives of the Ukrainian History and Education Center. The oral history interviews were conducted at Holy Ascension Church in Maplewood, NJ.

The team also engaged with local UOC churches, documenting the experiences and life stories of clergy and parishioners. Interviews took place after Sunday services and were recorded, edited and made available through a new website. Kalliopi Logothetis, B.S. E. 19, who contributed to the oral history project, says that capturing the stories of community members from Holy Ascension parish, and hearing about their ancestors' experiences, had a tremendous impact. "As a history teacher," Logothetis explains, "these are the stories that I can bring to my students. Oral histories are an invaluable part of learning about a specific moment, culture, or phenomenon in history. Without those real-life stories, we miss out on the humanity of history."

The research team has created an interactive timeline on Ukrainian immigration, It has mapped the location of Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in New Jersey, and shared video and photographs from the headquarters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Earlier this year, the group published a digital magazine 'Young Scientists Grinchenko Seton International Journal, which encourages and supports students from universities in Europe and the U.S. as they research essential issues facing education, science, and the world.

Ellen Bacon, B.S.E. '18, got involved in the Ukrainian Diaspora oral history project during college and has continued to contribute as a Seton Hall alumna. "Working on this project as a student challenged my technical skills and interpersonal communication savvy," says Bacon. "It has been an honor to work on the project after graduating as it helps keep me connected to the Seton Hall community and revitalizes my vigor for history and learning."

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Following the Path of the Ukrainian Diaspora - Seton Hall University News & Events

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Posted By admin on August 31, 2021

In his new book, The Irish Diaspora, Turtle Bunbury explores the lives of men and women whose pioneering journeys beyond the Irish shore played a profound role in world history. Here, he shines a spotlight on figures from County Clare.

COUNTY Clare contributes some of the earliest stories to The Irish Diaspora through the story of St Donat (Donagh), also known as Donatus of Fiesole, who is said to have both studied and taught at the monastic island school of Inis Cealtra in Lough Derg. Donat and St Andrew Scotus, a fellow Irishman, were returning from a pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles in Rome, writes Bunbury.They called into Fiesole, a town north of Florence, where the citizens were just preparing to elect a new bishop. As Donat entered the cathedral, all the bells began ringing and the lamps and candles burst into light. The congregation, not unreasonably, deduced that the intrepid Irishman should become their bishop. Given that they had drowned their previous bishop, it is possible that demand for the job was not high.Shortly before his death in about 876, Donat reputedly founded a hospice at Piacenza, in Italys present-day Emilia-Romagna region, for the use of Irish pilgrims and dedicated to St Brigid of Kildare. Donatus remains one of the most popular saints in Tuscany where his name is to be found in numerous churches and place namesWhile the OBriens ruled the kingship of Munster in the 12th century, they were also patrons of the Benedictines in Bavaria and paid for the rebuilding of the splendid church at Regensburg in 1166, cloister, viaduct and all. Such patronage was honoured by the Regensburg scriptorium where the Benedictines produced the stories of two new County Clare saints, namely Flannn mac Toirrdelbaig of Killaloe and Mochuille of Tulla. For good measure, they had Flannn travel all the way to Rome in 640 to be consecratedas the first Bishop of Killaloe by the short-lived Pope John IV.The missionary zeal would continue into the 17th century when Anthony OHicidh (Hickey), scion of a celebrated bardicfamilyfrom County Clare, became one of the first lecturers at the Irish College in Rome, the subject of another chapter in this book. Fortunately there is no statue in Ennis to Richard Brew, one of the most notorious slave-traders of the 18th century. His father, a Protestant gentleman, ran a malthouse and brewery in Ennis in partnership withNicholas Bindon, High Sheriff of County Clare.Clare has produced its share of fighting men over the centuries. When the 87th, known as the Faugh a Ballaghs, overwhelmed their French opposition with a series of grim but effective bayonet charges at the battle of Barossa in 1811, many of its men were from the Banner County. When Sam Houston defeated the Mexican general de Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto in 1835, his army included the four Bryan brothers of County Clare.A chapter of the book is dedicated to John Phillip Holland, the bespectacled, moustachioed submarine inventor who was raised in a humble cottage, still standing today, at Liscannor, near the Cliffs of Moher.A lesser known Clare connection was Margaretta Eagar, who served as governess to the doomed young daughters of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his German wife, Tsarina Alexandra. She was 17 years old when her parents moved to the West End, Kilkee, a popular seaside resort. She had her first encounter with royalty when the young Prince of Siam (later Rama VI, king of the country now known as Thailand) came to visit in the 1890s. The Shannonside town was also abuzz in the wake of a visit by Prince Louis of Battenberg (grandfather of Prince Phillip), whose wife was an older sister of the Russian Tsarina. Prince Louis, a naval officer, called by Moores Hotel in Kilkee one night when his ship was anchored in the Shannon. Not realising who her guest was, Mrs Moore shovelled him into a twin room with a passing commercial traveller. When the prince requested a room of his own, Mrs Moore grumpily directed him to an empty cottage nearby. When the prince signed the visitors book the following morning, Mrs Moore finally twigged. She nearly fainted on the spot and apparently spent the remainder of her days convinced that she would be arrested at any moment for her discourtesy. Many years later, Margaretta met Prince Louis who confirmed the tale.Annie Moore was the firstimmigrant to the United Statesto pass through federal immigrant inspection at theEllis Islandstation inNew York Harbour. In 2008, her small grass-covered grave in New York was marked with a monument of Irish Blue Limestone by master carverFrancis McCormackof Tubber.Much the loudest speaker at the 2020 Republican National Convention was the attorney and former Fox News presenter Kimberly Guilfoyle, the partner of Donald Trump junior, whose father emigrated from Ennis in 1957. Donald Trump has no Irish blood although he, of course, owns the Trump International Golf Links & Hotel at Doonbeg. By a remarkable coincidence, Doonbeg is the very same village from which two of Mike Pences great-grandparents emigrated in the 1890s.Among the other Americans of Clare pedigree in this book are Jackie Kennedy (whose mother Janet Lee was the granddaughter of Thomas Merritt and Maria Curry from County Clare) and Muhammad Ali (whose great-grandfather Abe Grady was reputedly from Ennis, which is why the three-time World Heavyweight Champion travelled to the County Clare capital in 2009 and became its first Honorary Freeman.)

The Irish Diaspora: Tales of Emigration, Exile and Imperialism by Turtle Bunbury is published by Thames & Hudson http://www.turtlehistory.com

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The Irish Diaspora: Tales of Emigration, Exile and Imperialism - Clare Champion

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Posted By admin on August 31, 2021

John Edmonds. Tte de Femme, 2018. Archival pigment photograph.

In 2019, the Brooklyn-based photographer John Edmonds was awarded the Brooklyn Museums inaugural UOVO Prize. The annual accolade, which is awarded to an emerging Brooklyn-based artist, serves as a collaboration between the Museum and the New York art storage facility, UOVO. Winners are granted a public installation on the facade of UOVO: Brooklyn, as well as a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum. Edmonds resulting exhibition, A Sidelong Glance, opened on October 23, 2020. Drawing inspiration from an essay by the same name, written by the art historian Krista Thompson, the exhibition juxtaposes African art objects with Black subjects, initiating a dialogue about how such artifacts challenge our understanding of the Western art canon, its institutions, and the Diaspora. This March, Edmonds was awarded theFoam Paul Huf Award, and is at work preparing for an upcoming solo show at the Amsterdam gallery. Below, Edmonds discusses A Sidelong Glance, the role of natural hair in his work, and why Blackness is not a monolith.

JULIANA UKIOMOGBE: Hi, John. I know we featured you back in 2019, so welcome back.

JOHN EDMONDS: Thank you!

UKIOMOGBE: In that story, we ran the image of Two Spirits, which is also included in your Brooklyn Museum exhibition. Regarding that image, you said: Many masks and objects have been taken out of their original context and history, and as an African American, Im interested in handling that. Is A Sidelong Glance the product of that investigation?

EDMONDS: This exhibition is me parsing out the relationship between the Black human subject and the African art object. Im parsing out some of the gaps that have largely affected the dislocation of the African art object in visual history and culture.

UKIOMOGBE: How does the title of the exhibition relate to the art historian Krista Thompson? I read a bit about how her essay [A Sidelong Glance: The Practice of African Diaspora Art History in the United States] inspired you.

EDMONDS: Firstly, the title can be taken literally: Im looking at the African art object, the role of the museum, and that ongoing dialogue with a level of suspicion. A Sidelong Glance is a look at something with a level of inquisition. Krista Thompsons essay is about the ways that African art and diasporic histories have been framed in the West. Since were in the West, Im acknowledging that in the show and in the show title.

UKIOMOGBE: When did you begin curating the show?

EDMONDS: The curatorial process began sometime in 2019. Every show is an ongoing process in terms of how certain works change with context. This is something that you can see throughout A Sidelong Glance. You can also very clearly see the importance of the juxtaposition of the Black human subject and the African art object. In retrospect, the curatorial process started with me photographing Ralph Ellisons African art objects that are housed in the [Brooklyn] Museum. I wanted to look at this collection because its been housed in the museum for quite some time. In the past, the museum has invited other artists to do projects that were interpretations of Ellisons African art collection and Im the first artist that has, so its a great honor.

John Edmonds. Two Spirits, 2019. Archival pigment photograph.

UKIOMOGBE: What is it about masks that inspires you?

EDMONDS: Im interested in their formal beauty. The woodcarving that you see throughout the show is very much tied to specific cultures, especially in West Africa where many of the objects are from. The formal beauty and the actual technique in the craft are very striking to me. I wanted to look at that closely in my documentation of these objects.

UKIOMOGBE: Do you collect African art yourself?

EDMONDS: Yes, I do. I have my own small collection that began in 2018. Collecting African art objects isnt something that I view as separate from my art practice. Its all within the scope of my lifes work, which is to use photography to reaffirm these histories.

UKIOMOGBE: For you, what do these objects represent?

EDMONDS: So many different things. Thats something that A Sidelong Glance is really successful at exploring. The way that African art has typically been shown and displayed within museums is in a high-art way. But, many of the objects in the show are utilitarian and are used on a day-to-day basis. In many ways, Im interested in that lived experience, which means Im also creating a certain level of interrogation of these objects. Theres no monolithic way to look at African art, in the same way that theres no monolithic way to look at Black people, in the same way that theres no monolithic way to talk about the Black experience. Thats what the show is very insistent in conveying.

UKIOMOGBE: I want to talk about hair for a minute. In most of the portraits, your subjects are wearing their natural hair, either in finger waves, dreads, or underneath a durag. Was this intentional on your part?

EDMONDS: I am very inspired by hair politics, but in most of my work, Im interested in my subjects coming as they are. Im interested in the ordinary beauty of the Black human subject. Hair is an important aspect in many of the pictures, but there is a range of hairstyles and in how people present themselves. Im not interested in making them someone that they are not.

John Edmonds. American Gods, 2017. Archival pigment photograph.

UKIOMOGBE: In terms of the physical space of the exhibit, did you have a say in where certain photos were placed in the room?

EDMONDS: Absolutely. I worked very closely with the curators to create the pacing of the show thats rooted in both looking back and looking forward. The show takes into account the evolution of African art through visual culture, specifically within the histories of photography and art. There are not many stories, but there are many histories that are being brought to the fore.

UKIOMOGBE: Do you have a favorite photo in the show?

EDMONDS: I dont have a favorite, but there is one image thats very important in the exhibition. Its Anatolli & Collection. This is very important work because its very emblematic of what I, as a maker, have been doing for several years. I collect these objects and look at them with a certain level of discernment and inquisition.

John Edmonds. Anatolli & Collection, 2019. Digital silver gelatin photograph.

UKIOMOGBE: How do you come up with the titles for each work? Do you have a process?

EDMONDS: Since so much of this work is about a scholarly approach, the titles are objective. Theyre direct observations. Sometimes the still lifes and the sculptures are titled indexically in order to clearly distinguish this idea of archive building. All of these pictures exist in a single archive. Throughout time, the meaning may change, but its anchored in a specific context.

UKIOMOGBE: Where did you shoot these images?

EDMONDS: In many different places. I use a makeshift studio, both within the museum and my own living space. Im interested in photographys role in carving out space. This is something that is very potent within the exhibition. Its this idea that work can happen anywhere. Work is not something thats married to one space or place. In the last room of the exhibition, there is a photograph titled Marion & Yaure Mask that was made in the Beaux-Arts Court. Studio work and practice dont have to be married to the studio. I look at A Sidelong Glance as an opportunity to open all of these different doors of interpretation instead of the limitations that are often imposed on conversations around Blackness and diasporas.

UKIOMOGBE: Can you speak a bit more about those limitations?

EDMONDS: Im not talking about the limitations on Black artists, though there are many, but more about the limitations of how Blackness is described, seen, and felt. Often, the audience engages with the surface of the work. My show is very insistent in asking the audience to engage with the subject beyond what meets the eye. Thats why context is so important.

UKIOMOGBE: How has the pandemic altered the way that you work?

EDMONDS: It has really interrupted the way that I use my time. I dont think that it has really changed my interests so much. In many ways, its actually deepened my interests.

John Edmonds. A Guard for the Gods, 2020. Digital silver gelatin photograph.

UKIOMOGBE: Is there a message that you want viewers to take away from the exhibition?

EDMONDS: When they see my photographs, I want them to know that the past is always present. This is something that we cannot get away from. The past has to be dealt with. We have to look at our past in order to understand our present and in order to move forward to a more just and equitable future. At the heart of all of my work, there is a love and an affinity for the subject. I dont mean this in a romantic way, even though sometimes romance is a part of that, but I mean this in the sense that love comes with looking deeper and beyond.

A Sidelong Glance is on view at Brooklyn Museum until September 26, 2021.

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John Edmonds and the Complex Role of the African Art Object - Interview

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Posted By admin on August 31, 2021

This article was originally published here

Int J Equity Health. 2021 Aug 28;20(1):192. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01537-9.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Research indicates the adverse impacts of perceived discrimination on health, and discrimination inflamed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a type of social exclusion, could affect the well-being of the Chinese diaspora. We analyzed the relationship and pathways of perceived discriminations effect on health among the Chinese diaspora in the context of the pandemic to contribute to the literature on discrimination in this population under the global public health crisis.

METHODS: We analyzed data from 705 individuals of Chinese descent residing in countries outside of China who participated in a cross-sectional online survey between April 22 and May 9, 2020. This study utilized a structural equation model (SEM) to evaluate both direct and indirect effects of perceived discrimination on self-rated health (SRH) and to assess the mediating roles of psychological distress (namely, anxiety and depression) and social support from family and friends.

RESULTS: This online sample comprised predominantly young adults and those of relatively high socioeconomic status. This study confirmed the total and direct effect of recently perceived discrimination on SRH and found the indirect effect was mainly mediated by depression. Mediating roles of anxiety and social support on the discrimination-health relationship were found insignificant in this SEM.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest discrimination negatively affected the well-being of the Chinese diaspora, and depression acted as a major mediator between the discrimination-health relationship. Therefore, interventions for reducing discrimination to preserve the well-being of the Chinese diaspora are necessary. Prompt intervention to address depression may partially relieve the disease burden caused by the surge of discrimination.

PMID:34454508 | DOI:10.1186/s12939-021-01537-9

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The pathways from perceived discrimination to self-rated health among the Chinese diaspora during the COVID-19 pandemic: investigation of the roles of...

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Posted By admin on August 31, 2021

HAVERSTRAW Rockland Democrats have planned their nominating convention for Tuesday night in Bowline Park on the Hudson River after settling on precautions concerning COVID-19.

The convention to choose a party chair, recommend an elections commissioner, and fill committee vacancies kicks off at 7 p.m. Committee members are asked to show up at 6 p.m. to sign in. The park is located on Bowline Road off Samsondale Road.

Originally scheduled for last week, the convention got delayed when a faction on the party's executive committee wanted it to be held outdoors and follow specific COVID protocols, including committee members showing proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. The committee voted 13-11 on the precautions, as well as mandatingmask-wearing and distancing if theconvention was held at the West Haverstraw Community Center.

Delay: Concerns about deadly virus force Rockland Democrats to postpone the nominating convention

Convention: Rockland Democrats split over COVID vaccine/testing mandates for convention

COVID: Rockland County offers COVID booster shot for some

TheRockland Democratic Party standoff involving the extent of precautions against the deadly COVID-19 virus is wrapped up in a political split between the party's progressive wing and other Democrats, including the influential Ramapo Party, who are backed by the Hasidic Jewish bloc vote.

The convention is being held as COVID numbers in Rockland increase and areas in the county have full vaccination rates among adults as low as16%.

Acting Chairman Christian Sampson of Ramapo first rejected theexecutive committee's vote. He countered the committee members concerned about COVID could vote by proxy. Proxy voting allows a committee member to submit votes by those who decline to attend.

Sampson, a former Ramapo Town Clerk and East Ramapo School Board member, said the West Haverstraw venue wouldhave mandatory mask-wearing and spacing of seats. He said the building has a state-of-the-art air filtration systemthat kills COVID and many other viruses.

An incorrect address for the center in the convention notification also meant the party members had to be renotified last week.

The Democrats are looking to replace Kristen Zebrowski Staviskyas party chair and elections commissioner. She has beenappointedas the Democratic co-executive director of the New York State Board of Elections.

Sampson is seeking the party chair. Former Rockland Legislator Nancy Low-Hogan of South Nyack has expressed interest in leading the party.

For elections commissioner, the Democrats are likely to choose between Kathy Pietanza, the deputy commissioner and adecades-long elections office employee, and Barbara Petlin, a Spring Valley resident whose spouse Joel is the Kiryas Joel schools superintendent. Petlin has support among Ramapo Democrats.

Republicans and Democrats choose their own election commissioners and deputies. The Rockland Legislature has traditionally approvedthe party's recommendations.

Steve Lieberman coversgovernment, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations.Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com. Twitter: @lohudlegal.Read more articlesandbio.Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

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Rockland Democrats' convention adjusted for COVID concerns - The Journal News

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Posted By admin on August 31, 2021

In another development in the UK Labour party leaderships current struggle to purge antisemitism from the party, a Labour councillor who made antisemitic statements is facing possible expulsion.

Jo Bird was warned she might be expelled from the party due to her membership in the far-left group Labour Against the Witchhunt, which is working to prevent antisemitic members from being expelled.

The group is mostly composed of supporters of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, under whose tenure, many claimed, the party became institutionally antisemitic.

Corbyn resigned as leader after Labours crushing defeat in the 2019 elections and was replaced by Keir Starmer, who has made cleansing the party of antisemitism a top priority.

Jewish News reported Sunday that Bird has called the anti-antisemitism process in Labour a Jew process and warned a focus on prejudice against Jews could harm other groups.

One thing that worries me is the privileging of racism against Jews as more worthy of resources than other forms of discrimination such as against black people, Muslim people and people who have crossed borders to this country, she said.

She has also appeared to compare herself and similar activists to the victims of the Holocaust, rewriting a famous poem about Nazi persecution to say, They came for the anti-zionists, and I stood up because I was not a target, I stood up in solidarity. And then they came for the socialists but they couldnt get us because we were having a party, the Labour Party.

Bird refers to herself on Twitter as a Jewess and has said her grandfather never knew his cousins because they perished in the Holocaust.

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UK Labour Party Councillor Who Referred to 'Jew Process' Facing Expulsion - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on August 31, 2021

(JTA) Zebulon Simantov, Afghanistans last Jew, has not left Kabul, despite the best efforts of some Jewish figures and organizations.

One of them was Moshe Margaretten, a haredi Orthodox fixer whose passion is bringing Jews out of danger.

Margaretten paid Moti Kahana, an Israeli-American businessman who helped extract people from war-torn Syria, to be a middleman and get Simantov out but Kahana told Margaretten what many others had heard: Simantov was not leaving because of his longstanding refusal to grant his Israeli wife a get, or decree of divorce. Simantov feared facing Israels legal system, which penalizes such a refusal.

But Kahana hatched another idea. The team he sent into Kabul to extract Simantov learned that there were plenty of women in danger of being targeted by the Taliban as they assumed total control of Afghanistan among them members of the countrys national womens soccer team, along with judges and prosecutors.

Was Margaretten interested in paying for their extraction?

Absolutely, Margaretten said. Give me 10 hours.

Within a day, Margaretten, who is based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, had drummed up $80,000 from his haredi Orthodox community. He wired the funds to Kahanas consultancy, GDC, and by Wednesday, Kahana was, from his New Jersey farm, coordinating the extraction of at least four soccer players, a judge, a prosecutor and their families, over land and by air. Kahana said they numbered 23 people. Margaretten said the money would also assist the refugees after their departure.

By Friday, Kahana said his team had extracted another 23 people.

Zebulon Simantov touches the grave of his family members in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2009. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Khalida Popal, the former captain of the national womens soccer team who is now based in Denmark and is leading efforts to extract the players, thanked Margarettens nonprofit, Tzedek Association, on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, as the world was reeling from the news of a massive suicide bomb attack on Kabuls airport.

Thank you @Tzedek_Assoc for your incredible help w/ this life-saving rescue effort, including coordination to the airport and other routes, and political connections, she said. Together we are saving lives! (Margaretten said that some of the funds are being directed through Tzedek, and some are going directly to the project to assist the refugees.)

Popal did not add details and did not return requests for an interview, but her expression of relief came after days of tweets expressing anxiety and uncertainty.

This is exactly where our players were last night, she tweeted 90 minutes earlier, attaching a video of the carnage at Kabul airport. I am worried and nervous and feel bad in my stomach. I dont know if some of our players are here. I am worried.

Margaretten was bemused by the trajectory of the week: a failed bid to persuade a recalcitrant husband to flee danger resulted in the successful rescue of women from a repressive society.

He didnt give a get, a divorce, to his wife; she lives in Israel. And because of that hes scared to go to Israel, he said. Thats a very fun story. And he wants money. (Simantov has in the past reportedly demanded money to be rescued and to grant interviews.)

Moti told me, My people there on the ground are telling me there is a group of soccer players, and they are very scared for their lives,' Margaretten said. They believe they will be a big target for the Taliban to get killed. Maybe you want to get involved to save their lives.

Now its become a mission. Margaretten and Kahana say they plan on extracting dozens more people by land and by air; Margaretten said that he projects having to raise more than $2 million for the effort.

Margaretten helped lead advocacy for the passage of the First Step Act in 2018, which creates incentives for federal prisoners to reduce their sentences and helps rehabilitate them once they are out. He was seen as critical in getting congressional Republicans to back the legislation. The act is viewed as one of the major successes of the Trump administration, and for Trumps Jewish son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. Margaretten lit the candles at the 2019 White House Hanukkah party.

Moshe Margaretten lights candles at the White House Hanukkah party in 2019. (Screenshot from YouTube)

Margaretten was moved to get involved in prison reform advocacy after seeing the havoc that imprisonment wreaked on some people he knew in his community. He told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that like the rescue he is funding in Kabul, his advocacy came from a place of seeking to assist Jews, and ending up helping others as well.

Ninety-four percent people who benefited from this legislation, the First Step Act, were from minority groups, Margaretten said.

Hes still looking out for Simantov.

I told Moti Kahana, please have someone to watch on him. He doesnt want to leave but well have some people keeping an eye on him that no one shouldnt harm him, he said.

Margaretten forwarded a photo via WhatsApp of Simantov on Wednesday, draining the blood of a chicken into a metal container.

This is Zebulon Simantov making a chicken kosher! Margaretten said in a voice message.

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After Afghanistan's last Jew refused to leave, his would-be Jewish rescuers helped dozens of other Afghans escape instead - JTA News - Jewish...

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