Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

I am an Israeli and a Zionist who loves the State of Israel. I dream every night in Hebrew. As a father I taught our children that this is the place to live because, for us, there is no other. And as one who hoists the State flag with great pride and who celebrates the exquisite, unequivocal and dazzling success of the Zionist dream, as all of these things, I believe that we need to update the ethos of the Zionist Movement, and do so without fear.

When Zionism first took shape and form, the ethos of Shlilat HaGalut (literally Negation of the Exile, the Zionist ideology which holds that no other option apart from living in Israel has true meaning) was not only necessary but crucial. Without this commitment we might not be here today. Today, however, after almost 75 years of independence, with more than 40% of the Jewish People living in the Jewish homeland; when the centrality of the State of Israel in Jewish identity and discourse can no longer be contested; when the number of Jewish works (in literature, poetry, music and philosophy) published each year attests to the undeniable victory of the Zionist dream over its adversaries Zionism has finally found a solid footing, so much so that I am confident enough to say that the time has come to adopt a broader approach to the original ideology which was crucial to our Zionist existence.

Fortunately, language beat us to it. The word Exile (galut) has long been replaced by Diaspora (tfutzot) a word which should be devoid of negative connotations. And from a place of Zionist confidence I am more than willing and happy to celebrate the success and prosperity of Diaspora Jewry. I do so without feeling threatened or undermined in any way for the choices I have made and the path I have chosen as a Zionist.

Moreover, from a historical perspective, after fulfilling the Zionist dream, which turned out to be far more successful than its greatest visionaries had ever imagined, one might cautiously say that two miracles befell the Jewish People in the 20th Century. One might even call them resurrections. The first, of which I am most proud, is the Zionist resurrection of the Jewish People returning to its homeland, Israel. The second is the Jewish civilization that developed and flourished in North America: the spiritual, religious, academic, cultural, political and economic achievements of the greatest Jewish Diaspora.

Between the years 1880-1940, approximately 270,000 Jews migrated from Europe to the Land of Israel and remained (I use this term because a significant number of those who came during the five aliyot, the waves of immigration, left soon after). In that same period of time, about 2.7 million Jews immigrated to America you heard right, tenfold.

That was the biggest wave of immigration in Jewish history. Did we learn of this massive immigration in our Israeli schools? Were we told of this dramatic event in our peoples history? Hardly. We were taught (and justly so) about the minutest detail and every iota of information concerning the five aliyot to the Land of Israel. Our teachers were right in wanting us to be proud, and indeed we were and are. However, they were so focused on disclaiming our existence in exile (i.e., outside the Land of Israel), that they did not want to teach about the multi-faceted success and the way Jewish life developed in North America. I dont blame my teachers. Those were different times. But the Zionist Movement today is so firmly rooted that it should be confident enough to also commend the second pillar of the Jewish Peoples resurrection.

The achievements in the Diaspora are enormous. We are talking of a Jewish civilization that is both energetic and fascinating: philosophy and reasoning; Torah and Halacha; culture and music; literature, feminism and law; Brandeis; Pulitzer; Wise; Rebecca Gratz; Schechter; Szold; Heschel; Annie Leibovitz; Kaplan; Gershwin; Betty Friedan; Isaac Stern; Emma Lazarus; Saul Bellow; Bella Abzug; Kissinger; Spielberg; Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Leonard Bernstein; Streisand; Leonard Cohen; Arthur Miller. This is only a fraction. Twenty five percent of Americans who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature were Jewish. 40% of Americans who received the Nobel Prize in Science and Economics were Jewish.

I am proud of my brothers and sisters. We are one family despite any difference of opinions, our place of residence, or the synagogues we go to (or do not go to). We are brethren even when we are angry at each other. This kind of love is called Peoplehood. Zionism 2021 has to raise the banner of Peoplehood.

I fullheartedly celebrate the success of North American Jewry, and it makes me no less of a Zionist. Our resurrection here in Zion is my personal resurrection. I live in Jerusalem. But Babylon is no less worthy in my eyes. Not only in retrospect, but right from the outset. Let us not forget that some of the great Jewish philosophers and scholars throughout the generations would not have been who they were, had it not been for the constant contact with other nations, and the reciprocity that existed between Jews and Gentiles. Maimonides would not have been Maimonides if he had not been familiar with the beauty of Japheth and made a place for it in the tents of Shem. We might find an allusion to this very idea in the words of our Sages (tractate of Pesachim 87:2): An act of charity it was that God dispersed the People of Israel among the nations.

Does all this mean we forsake aliya? Of course not! God forbid! The Zionist Movement must continue to invest in aliya, in immigrants, and in practical Zionist fulfillment an ideology responsible for bringing most of us here. But this should not be carried out with an air of arrogance; nor with the belief that we are better than those who live in the Diaspora; nor with the assumption that Israel is the only place where Jews and Zionists belong. There are passionate Zionists who do not live in Israel.

We cannot keep holding blindly onto the belief that bringing all the Jewish People to the land of its forefathers should be the ultimate goal of Zionism in 2021. The Jewish People is strong enough and Zionism is sufficiently firm and stable to celebrate Jerusalem while commending Babylon.

Dr. Yizhar Hess is the vice-chairman of the World Zionist Organization

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Its time to update the Zionist ethos - Haaretz

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Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

On November 10,1975, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Zionism as racism. Led by Arab states, the resolution passed with 72 votes in favor, 32 abstentions, and 35 votes against.

Most of the votes in favor came from the Communist bloc and countries carved out of states formerly controlled by imperialistic empires. So the national movement espousing a state for the Jewish people, carved out of the British Empire, was voted to be racist by countries established in the same way.

This hypocrisy was condemned severely by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then the U.S. ambassador to the UN, and by Israels Chaim Herzog, who decried the fact that the resolution was introduced on the eve of the 37th anniversary of Kristallnacht. It is indeed fitting that this draft should come up for debate on this day which recalls one of the tragic days in one of the darkest periods of history, Herzog said. It is indeed fitting that the United Nations, which began life as an anti-Nazi alliance, should find itself on its way to becoming the world centre of anti-Semitism.

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After his speech, Herzog unceremoniously tore the paper containing the text of the resolution. Sixteen long years later, the UN revoked the resolution.

Its instructive to note which states voted against the revocation; the list includes virtually all the Arab states, as well as Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Iraq. All are exemplars of tyrannical rule.

And now, three decades, later were witnessing the Zionism-is-racism canard displayed literally every day. After Israels genocidal neighbor, with a charter that notes its commitment to annihilating Israel and Jews everywhere, attacked it with 4,000 rockets, that neighbor, Hamas, is celebrated in mass rallies all over the world. Placards calling for Palestine from Sea to Sea, which would eliminate Israel as a state; labeling Israel as genocidal and an apartheid state, and positing Zionism as a tool of white colonialism and therefore racist, abound. Simultaneously, violent attacks against Jews in New York and Los Angeles by pro-Palestinian demonstrators caused shockwaves within the Jewish community.

When coupled with defaming whiteness as inherently racist and requiring daily al chaits; defining Jews as whites and therefore not deserving full-throated sympathy; and declaring that the Jewish State was born out of white imperialism to displace a dark indigenous population, its no wonder that Israel is used as a cudgel in social media, academia, and the press. Characterizing Israel as an apartheid nation is almost a reflex in BDS debates in colleges, mainline Protestant church national conventions, and increasingly in teachers unions and other unions, once traditional friends of the Jewish state.

This calls for a united front in the Jewish community. There was a recent effort to hold a rally against anti-Semitism in Washington. The idea originally was conceived by a right-of-center Zionist group. The only requirement for sponsorship was that a group had to be Zionist. More than 100 groups signed up, including all the religious denominations and legacy organizations. But as reported in the Forward, when Israel was included in the rallys program, J Street, Truah, and Americans for Peace Now declined to participate. Hadar Susskind, head of Americans for Peace Now, said: Weve seen a push that started with the right but has encompassed a large, large breadth of the community to very intentionally conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. Its quite likely that youre going to see a lot of that there.

So Jews are attacked because of Israels actions against Gaza, Israel being defamed as an apartheid state is increasingly gaining currency in left-wing circles, the Nazi-lite Hamas is now championed as the protector of the Holy Mount and the Palestinian people and conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism is a rationale for not participating in a Jewish rally? Even the U.S. State Department accepts this conflation as anti-Semitic. Besides, Israel is the homeland of almost half of world Jewry. If theyre threatened, thats not anti-Semitic. As the child of Holocaust survivors, I know too well that if the British Peel Commission recommendations of 1937 had been implemented for a Jewish state, hundreds of thousands if not millions of European Jews could have been saved.

The double standard applied against Israel is breathtaking. More UN resolutions condemning Israel have been passed than against all the worlds worst human rights abusers, including Russia, which seized the Crimea from Ukraine; China, which herds millions of Uighur Muslims into concentration camps and vanquished Hong Kong; Cuba; North Korea; and all the despotic countries, which are too numerous to mention. Are any of them on the hit list of BDS campaigns on college campuses?

What other countrys right to defend itself against vicious rocked attacks is condemned for responding to an enemy that uses civilians as shields, inevitably resulting in unintended civilian casualties? What other country is savaged for its military occupation of territory seized in a defensive war and was rebuffed four times for its offer or concurrence with a Palestinian state by war, intifada, and deafening silence?

Despite the hardships of Israeli military control, the standard of living in the West Bank is among the highest in the region. And Israels land for peace offer in Gaza was greeted by rocket attacks and incendiary balloons by an implacable enemy.

There is much diversity of opinion on how to move forward on future peace plans. Certainly Israel has made its share of mistakes, as chronicled by its free and vibrant press. But facts cant be changed with todays fashions.

Were losing the war in social media, and the New York Times is obsessed with demeaning Israel, as it made clear by its publication of an anti-Semitic cartoon. Abe Rosenthal must be turning over in his grave. A recent poll shows a frightening distance to be traveled with young Jews, 25 percent of whom view Israel as an apartheid nation. We need to make Zionist education a priority for all our institutions. We need to galvanize the hundreds of thousands of Birthright Israel alumni to engage in the social media wars defending Israel against the vicious lies that spread like a virus on the internet. We need Israel to step up its public diplomacy and use its technological prowess to educate young minds.

The drumbeat of Zionism is racism is haunting us in too many sectors of our society. Is it too much to ask for a united Jewish front to address this scourge.

If not now, when?

Max L. Kleinman of Fairfield was the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest from 1995 to 2014 and he is the president of the Fifth Commandment Foundation.

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The Zionism-is-racism canard is alive again - The Jewish Standard

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Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

Weve had enough of Peter Beinart.

There was a time where the contrarian views of the left-wing Jewish public intellectual were thought provoking. Beinart was a lightning rod in the American-Jewish community for his outspoken analyses of the community and its relationship to Israel. Early on, Beinart identified himself with the Zionist left, and was a strong advocate for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His articles were articulate and many of his points well-taken, even if they infuriated the Jewish establishment and those on the right.

About a decade ago, Beinart published The Crisis of Zionism, a critique that endorsed an economic boycott of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, but not of Israel itself. The message was clear: Israel is legitimate; the settlements are not.

Then, last year, Beinart questioned Zionism and disavowed the two-state solution, writing that reality has not respected the foundations of liberal Zionism: two states for two peoples; a secure Israel alongside a Palestinian state with dignity for the Palestinians. And he continued: I have begun to wonder, for the first time in my life, whether the price of a state that favors Jews over Palestinians is too high. After all, it is human beings all human beings and not states that are created btselem Elohim, in the image of God.

Finally, Beinart published Its Time to Name Anti-Palestinian Bigotry earlier this month, in which he asserted that those who accuse the Squad, Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) of antisemitism are themselves anti-Palestinian. And while he claimed that the evidence that the Squads critics are anti-Palestinian is far stronger than the evidence that the Squad is anti-Jewish, he offered none. Instead, he wants us to trust him to help us understand our own bigotry, simply because he says its so.

Beinart seeks to equate anti-Palestinian sentiment with antisemitism. He argues that, just as definitions of antisemitism have proliferated some of which have been used to equate anti-Zionism with Jew-hatred Palestinian intellectuals have begun mulling a definition of anti-Palestinian bigotry. He identifies the elements of anti-Palestinianism as: Prejudice, hostility or discrimination against Palestinians. Denial of the Nakba. Accusing a Palestinian of latent racism(s) without cause. Allowing Palestinian exception to all other held liberal or left values/politics.

Antisemitism and anti-Palestinian sentiment are not the same. Opposition to the Palestinian cause or even antagonism to actions by Palestinians is wholly different from the sustained, centuries-long hatred and genocide of the Jews. No one is calling for the death or destruction of the Palestinian people. No one hates Palestinians just because they are Palestinians. Negative sentiment is generated for what certain Palestinians do and where certain elements of Palestinian leadership are trying to take them.

Unfortunately, Beinart does not examine these issues. Instead, he seems more focused on disruption through accusation, without much more. New York Times columnist Bret Stephens called Beinarts The Crisis of Zionism an act of moral solipsism. In his latest diatribe, Beinart sinks deeper into the self-absorbed muck. JN

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Beinart is wrong, again | Opinion | jewishaz.com - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix

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Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

EL CAJON

Mike Pompeo, the former CIA director and secretary of state under Donald Trump, will be the keynote speaker Sunday at an event in El Cajon billed as a rally against antisemitism.

A slate of conservatives and self-described Zionists are also expected to speak at the We Are Israel rally, including radio host Larry Elder, a Republican running in the California gubernatorial recall election, and El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells.

Mike Slater, the conservative host of a weekday talk radio show on AM760, will host the event, planned for 3 p.m. at the Prescott Promenade off East Main Street.

Eli Ben-Moshe, chairman of Shield of David, the nonprofit that organized Sundays rally, said its intent is to unite Jews and non-Jews together against antisemitism. He said more Christians than Jews are expected to attend.

A rally and march protesting the event is scheduled for 2 p.m., with protest organizers saying Shield of David and the We Are Israel rally falsely conflate anti-Zionism and anti-Israel sentiment with antisemitism. The San Diego chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement is leading the protest along with roughly a dozen other co-sponsors and endorsers, including the San Diego chapter of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace.

The events message conflates Israel with all Jews, an antisemitic trope in and of itself that attempts to silence any voices that criticize Israels ongoing colonization and apartheid policies, read a statement from the groups opposing the rally.

Online, members of the right-wing group Defend East County have said theyll be in El Cajon to counter the protest march, sparking concerns about the possibility of clashes between the groups.

I think that would be wrong, El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells said Friday. I hope they dont do that.

El Cajon police Lt. Jeremiah Larson wrote in an email that his department is planning to have a significant police presence in and around both events.

He said police are expecting about 1,000 attendees at the We Are Israel rally, and that its organizers submitted a request for a permit. As of Thursday night, Larson did not know how many protesters were expected, though he said he was trying to contact the organizing groups.

As with all scheduled events, our goal is for a safe event for all involved and in the surrounding areas, Larson wrote. The rally in the Promenade, and the counter rally, will both be closely monitored. If there is an indication any criminal activity may occur, we will have officers available to respond accordingly.

Shield of David became a federally recognized nonprofit in 2020, according to tax records. Ben-Moshe and the organizations CEO, Brian Blacher, both describe themselves as Zionists and said the rally is in support of Judeo-Christian values.

Ben-Moshe and Blacher said they started Shield of David to combat antisemitic attacks through education on college campuses. They are trying to educate people against the false narrative that Israel is an apartheid state, Blacher said. Earlier this year, both Human Rights Watch and the Israeli human rights group BTselem released reports calling Israel an apartheid state.

Jeanine Erikat, a leading member of the local Palestinian Youth Movement chapter, said her group and others were planning to protest because Zionism is rooted in White supremacy ... and a settler-colonial ideology. She said Shield of David doesnt have a presence in El Cajon, and it is a provocation to hold the event in an area with a large Middle Eastern and Islamic population thats often called Little Baghdad.

It really feels like this is a response to the rise of pro-Palestinian support, Erikat said.

The nearby East County city of Santee experienced two high-profile racist and/or antisemitic incidents last year. In May 2020, a shopper wore a Ku Klux Klan hood into a Santee store. Less than a week later, a couple wore Swastikas affixed to their facemasks. The husband claimed to sheriffs investigators that his Swastika was meant as a protest against mask regulations, but a review of his Facebook page showed it was filled with anti-Black, White supremacist and antisemitic postings.

The rally also comes days after John T. Earnest, 22, pleaded guilty to murder and hate crime charges in the shooting at Chabad of Poway that killed one congregant and injured three others on the last day of Passover in 2019.

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Pompeo scheduled to speak at 'We Are Israel' rally in El Cajon; protest expected - The San Diego Union-Tribune

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Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

A pro-Israel rally titled "We Are Israel" took place in El Cajon, California, with participants clashing with pro-Palestinian protesters.

There had been few experiences in my life as moving as the first trip that I took to Israel, Pompeo said.

It is because I am a Christian and American that I was proud to lead the fight for the defense of Israel, the Jewish people, and the perennial cause of religious liberty around the world.

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After the events started, helmeted police could be seen lining a portion of Main Street in El Cajon.

The rally was organized by the Shield of David group, whose press release read: "With a rise of recent Jewish hate crimes, Shield of David wants to empower all people to be proud of their heritage and fight for ideals of truth, justice and liberty."

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Rally-goers and protesters clash at 'We Are Israel' event - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

TEHRAN Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Major General Hossein Salami has castigated the United States and Israel, saying that Lebanons Hezbollah stands ready to foil any Israeli plot.

Speaking at a ceremony in Kermanshah province, the IRGC chief commander said, Today, Lebanon and Hezbollah are standing strong against the Zionists, and whenever the enemy wants to move, Hezbollah suffocates them from the very beginning.

Saying that the United States has done nothing for all the nations of the world except poverty, backwardness and plunder of their wealth, General Salami pointed out that Iran is no longer affected by the U.S. propaganda.

Now that the enemies have realized that they cannot defeat the Iranian nation through hard war, they have resorted to other conspiracies such as economic sanctions and want to take the nation away from this establishment by imposing sanctions and economic pressures.

He added though economic sanctions may seemingly put pressure on the nation, they will lead to the victory of Islamic Iran, Tasnim reported.

Earlier on Sunday, General Salami hailed the Iranian nations vigilance against the hostile plans for inciting insecurity and creating problems in the country.

Afflicting insecurity on Islamic countries borders, including those of Iran, has invariably formed one of the enemies and foreigners strategies, he stated.

However, they will take this dream to their graves, he added.

Our borders are safe and strong, and the Islamic Irans youths are standing strong and preserving the security, he noted while visiting the western border province of Kordestans Sanandaj County.

The commander made the remarks during a ceremony entitled to commemorating those who have been martyred in the service of defending the country.

He acknowledged the provinces decades-old sacrifices in the face of the vehement invasions that the global arrogant powers have been waging against the country on various fronts, Press TV reported.General Salami also paid tribute to the provinces ongoing endeavors towards ensuring the countrys security.

Earlier this week, General Salami also paid a visit to the protest-stricken province of Khuzestan, where he said that the IRGC will stay with the people of Khuzestan until problems in the southwestern province are resolved.

Speaking on the sidelines of his visit to Khuzestan on Saturday, Salami said the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters has laid hundreds of kilometers of water pipes in different areas and stationed tankers in villages to alleviate the water shortage problem.

Regarding the sewage system in Ahwaz, the provincial capital of Khuzestan, the Khatam al-Anbia Construction Headquarters has signed a contract and provided equipment for the project, he added, according to Press TV.

The important point I want to make is that we are committed and loyal to these people. We will not leave them alone and we will stand with them during hardships, as was the case in the 2019 flood, Salami asserted.

"We will work with these people until the work is done and we will never leave them alone."

Referring to Khuzestans resistance during the eight years of war imposed on Iran by Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein, the IRGC chief said the province is not only important but also sacred to us."

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Hezbollah will nip any Zionist move in the bud: IRGC chief - Tehran Times

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Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

Womens International Zionist Organization (WIZO) announced today that it received a $1 million gift from the Los Angeles-based Younes and Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation to open a new state-of-the-art day care center in Tel Aviv.

The facility, which was dedicated last week in Tel Aviv, is named the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Day Care and Early Childhood Education Center. The ceremony was attended by Soraya Nazarian and her daughter Dr. Sharon Nazarian, WIZO President Esther Mor and Chairperson Anita Friedman among dozens of others.

Research has shown that the investment in children between birth and five years old is critical, and that if you start that young, the rest of their lives will be a path to success, said Dr. Sharon Nazarian in her remarks at the ceremony. This facility, and the staff and teachers who are so loving, are the insurance policy of the future of the State of Israel.

Anita Friedman, WIZO Chairperson, added: The partnership between the Nazarian family and WIZO, born of a love for Israel, its children, and a deep concern for its future, has given birth to this magnificent act of generosity, in support of this new center, which is all about our love for Israel, its children, and its future.

WIZO operates 183 day care centers throughout Israel, caring for 14,000 children ages 3 months to 3 years. The new Nazarian Center will have four classes, with a total of more than 100 children.

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Women's International Zionist Organization Receives $1 Million Naming Gift from Younes and Soraya Family Foundation - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

The Jewish Council For Racial Equality (JCORE) has expressed dismay after failing in its bid to join the Board of Deputies in a meeting where the Zionist Central Council of Manchester (ZCC) was also rejected.

Amid a renewal of infighting between deputies aligned to the left and right that came to the fore during recent presidential elections, both groups failed to secure the two-thirds of votes necessary to join the Board at a meeting on Monday.

Langdon, Kisharon, Jewish Small Communities Network, the Jewish Police Association and GIFT were all admitted after securing over 90 percent backing.

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Its understood that JCORE, which campaigns on issues around racial equality and justice for refugees, attracting 52 percent support after deputies opposed to its joining raised questions about its commitment to the IHRA definition of antisemitism. One Deputy later remarked that it was farcical to hear Jewish organisations being questioned over their commitment to fighting antisemitism.

In a statement on Tuesday, JCORE said it was dismayed by the result, which comes only months after the Board of Deputies received widespread acclaim for its landmark report on racial inclusivity in the community.

Adam Rose, Chair of JCORE, said: It was extremely disappointing that certain deputies felt it appropriate to make misleading allegations, thus encouraging enough deputies to block JCOREs membership application.

I was pleased that a majority of deputies backed JCOREs application for membership. JCORE will continue to work closely with the Board, with widespread support from across the Jewish community and beyond, to ensure that its work for good race relations and for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers continues.

Rose faced claims his organisation did not support IHRA from the Deputy Ric Cooper and that it had given help to the enemies of the Jewish people.

Lord Dubs with campaigners for refugees in January, including Edie Friedman of JCORE

Rose responded by saying he did not know on what basis you say we dont support the IHRA definition and said JCORE had just never discussed this.

The Deputy Gideon Smith intervened to say the majority of groups on the Board took no position on the IHRA definition.

The ZCC attracted 42 percent support, vowing immediately to apply again.

In Mondays occasionally tense session, a number of young deputies pointed to claims of past associations between members of the ZCC and the far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson.

The ZCCs Raymond Solomon confirmed on social media that Robinson had approached the group in the past but added: I challenge those people who voted today against the ZCC to provide any proof that the ZCC is a supporter of Robinson. Addressing concerns the organisation had failed to condemn Robinsons presence at a central London rally supporting Israel during its recent anti-terror operation against Hamas, he wrote: The ZCC did not comment about Robinsons appearance at the ZF event because the BOD and the ZF had already commented.

Speakers including Joe Grabiner also pointed to lawyer Robert Festenstein, who is president of the ZCC, in expressing opposition.

After appearing in a video put out by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon who is also known as Tommy Robinson on YouTube in 2017, Festenstein denied that the far-right activist was his client. He said at the time: I was interviewed by Mr Robinson in connection with a matter where I am instructed by a client who has a potential dispute with Sunderland City Council. Mr Robinson is not my client. I have no association with him.

Asked by Grabiner how he could reassure deputies Tommy has nothing to do with the ZCC, Meehan responded: There is no connection whatsoever between the ZCC and Tommy Robinson. We are totally appalled by the type of person he is.

The Board President then intervened to bring up the fact that the ZCC had failed to condemn the presence of Robinson at a central London rally in support of Israel during the recent anti-terror operation against Hamas. Marie van der Zyl said there were a lot of questions about the group.

Marie van der Zyl

One Deputy, who asked not to be named, told Jewish News: There was a sizeable rebellion against the ZCC being admitted from those on the more liberal wing of the Board.

But its fair to say the right showed they still hold plenty of clout after JCOREs application to join was voted down.

In a statement, Board Interim Chief Executive Michael Wegier said he welcomed the five new member organisations. He said: This brings the Board of Deputies up to 208 member organisations and synagogues making the organisation the key forum to discuss the issues of the day and giving us unparalleled legitimacy to speak on behalf of the community.

While two organisations, JCORE and the Zionist Central Council, will be disappointed at being unable to achieve the two thirds majority set out in the Board of Deputies constitution, the result does not preclude these organisations re-applying at a later date. The demand to join our organisation and to be a part of the democratic representative organisation of Jews in the UK has never been stronger and there are plenty more applications to be considered.

David Meehan, of the ZCC, addressed Mondays meeting, said the groups main objective was to defend the democratic state of Israel and that the ZCC were inclusive and accepting.

Joe Grabiner of Alyth synagogue, said some were horrified that the ZCCs President Festenstein had appeared in the video with Tommy Robinson.

He continued:How are you able to reassure us Tommy Robinson has nothing to do with your organisation? And is there a connection between those two individuals and your organisation?

Meehan responded by claiming: There is no connection whatsoever between the ZCC and Tommy Robinson. We are totally appalled by the type of person he is.

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JCORE and Manchester Zionist group fail in bids to get on Board of Deputies - Jewish News

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Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

Hanin Majadli accused chef Naama Shefi and Ashkenazi Zionists in general of cultural and culinary appropriation (Israel's guide to foodwashing Palestinian culture, July 23). In her view, presenting Palestinian foods as Israeli cuisine reflects the injustices of the occupation, discrimination and cultural erasure of the Palestinians in Israel. Also included among Majadlis appropriators were Jewish cuisines from Arab countries and North Africa that developed amid the surrounding Arab cuisine.

Her claim about North African cuisine is apparently about couscous, a dish Ashkenazi Zionists have come to love. Couscous is made of cooked semolina a kind of flour known as solet in Hebrew that is mixed with oil.

Israel goes to the Olympics with high hopes, American ringers and no Arabs. LISTEN

But couscous was known thousands of years ago as the grain offering that was sacrificed in the Temple in Jerusalem: And when anyone brings a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour [solet]; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon (Leviticus 2:1). Incidentally, frankincense was added to the recipes spices.

As for Palestinian freekeh (toasted green wheat), wheat and roast barley, they were all mentioned among the courtship customs of the Biblical Boaz, who gave roasted grain to Ruth the Moabite in the fields of Bethlehem. It was from their relationship that the House of David arose.

Nor is there any need to go back as far as the Bible. In southeastern Turkey, kubbeh, the glory of the Palestinian kitchen, is called Jewish kofta that is, Jewish meatballs.

Jews invented kubbeh because it was their custom to eat meat on Shabbat, but it is religiously prohibited for them to slaughter animals or cook on that day. Before the refrigerator was invented, the solution was to wrap ground meat in dough and fry or bake it on Friday, so it wouldnt spoil over Shabbat.

Similarly, eggplant and hummus, also ostensibly from the Palestinian kitchen, are mentioned in the records of the Spanish Inquisition as characteristic Jewish foods that could be used to identify people who formally converted to Christianity but secretly remained Jews.

As was proven by the late Prof. Menachem Felix and many other people, there is almost no vegetable, fruit, spice or cooking method now ascribed to the Syrian-Palestinian kitchen that is not mentioned in the Bible or the Mishnah, and that didnt migrate with the Jews when they were exiled from their land. Even in the cold climates of Eastern Europe and Ashkenaz (the medieval Jewish term for what is now Germany), where the Jews were unable to use their original raw materials, they maintained the principles of their cuisine until they returned to their homeland.

Thats how the ancient Jewish cuisine of the Land of Israel turned into one of the cuisines appropriated by Muslim nomads after they burst forth from the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century, conquered the entire region from Mesopotamia to Egypt and appropriated the foods of all the peoples who lived there.

The greatest irony of all is olive oil, which has become the symbol of the Palestinian people. Olives are one of the seven species the Bible cites as acceptable offerings in the Temple, but they had a special status in the Bible because olive oil was used to anoint kings and priests and to light the menorah in the Temple. King Solomon paid with olive oil for the cedar trees he bought from King Hiram of Tyre to build the Temple (I Kings, 5:25).

Pliny the Elder wrote in the first century, in his book Natural History, that olives from the Land of Israel were beautiful and full of oil, and therefore they were imported to Rome (Nissim Krispil, A Bag of Plants, p. 169 in Hebrew). And theres a hypothesis that the Roman occupiers uprooted the Jews olive trees to destroy their olive oil industry, which competed with their own.

Fortunately for us, Islam forbids drinking alcohol, so the Muslims definitely did uproot the vineyards of the Land of Israel and destroy the wine presses. Therefore, Majadli cant claim that Israels flourishing grape-growing and wine-making industries are also an appropriation of the Palestinian kitchen.

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Actually, it's the Palestinians who are appropriating Jewish culture - Haaretz

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Posted By admin on July 28, 2021

Jackie Mason died on Saturday, and if you only learned who he was during the last five years or so, you might have thought "Good riddance." By the end of his life, Mason an accomplished Jewish comedian with a legendarily up-and-down career had become a Trump supporter known for cantankerous appearances on conservative talk shows. His early years, however, were marked by a triumph over antisemitism. Still, by the time he passed away at 93, whatever remained of his great comic gifts timing, wordplay, and brio had become tools of the worst sort of Zionist propaganda.

When he was young, comedy was a secret life that Mason whose given name was Yacov Maza had to hide from his family. The Mazas were members of an Orthodox rabbinic dynasty from Eastern Europe, renowned for their learned wisdom. His older brothers became respected scholars, just like their father Eli, but young Yacov's dream was to make people laugh. For a while, though, he tried to live up to his family's expectations.

While studying at Yeshiva to become a rabbi, Yacov spent summers working in the Borscht Belt. To avoid his father's wrath, he had to pretend the experience was only a well-paying hobby. He started as a schlepper (a handyman and waiter), moved up to tummler (a jokester whose job it was to keep guests happy), and finally emerged as a full-fledged comedian. His speech rhythms and thick accent couldn't have been any more Jewish, but in the Catskills, where many resort patrons spoke Yiddish, he fit right in.

One year, between gigs, Yacov attended the live broadcast of a radio show that invited audience members to perform on the air. He was lucky enough to get selected, but the host hassled him about his name, eating into his precious air time. In desperation, he blurted out that "Yacov Maza" was a joke, and his real name was Jackie Mason. In what may have been his one and only capitulation to antisemitic pressure, Maza became Mason for the rest of his public life.

After he graduated from Yeshiva, Mason moved to North Carolina to work as a rabbi. At the same time, he continued to book gigs as a comedian, traveling widely to perform, living a divided life. When his father died, he decided to turn to show business full-time. "I wasn't comfortable being a rabbi," he wrote in his autobiography. "I wasn't that religious, which is a handicap in that profession." Returning to the Borscht Belt, he took a job at one of the top resorts, the Concord, where he pulled double duty. On Friday nights, it was "Thou shalt not kill." On Saturday nights, he did his act and killed.

Honing his skills in the Catskills, Mason started to get better reviews, but he couldn't get bookings elsewhere. Club owners refused to hire him, objecting to his accent. He was too Jewish, they argued, for their non-Jewish audiences. Sometimes they didn't say so directly, but he knew what they meant when they saidhe was "too ethnic" or "too urban."

The strongest objections, curiously, came from Jewish bookers. American Jews had so internalized the antisemitism of the dominant culture that they became vicious in their self-censorship. Mason received horrible letters and telegrams from fellow Jews even from his own Jewish agent insisting that he destroy the identity they shared. Mason refused to assimilate any more than he already had by taking an Americanized name. He clung to his Jewish identity, his accent, and his pride.

His tenacity paid off. After a triumphant appearance on "The Steve Allen Show," Mason became an overnight American success story, an immigrant who stayed true to himself and became a star, overcoming bigotry and pulling himself up by his own bootstraps.

Soon, though, Mason's pride became arrogance, and his arrogance inspired aggression. Not long after he cracked a cruel joke about Frank Sinatra's relationship with a young Mia Farrow, shots were fired through his hotel window. When the censors at CBS cut a couple of his jokes from an appearance on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," he sued the network for $20 million, claiming a violation of his First Amendment rights. (He was no Lenny Bruce; his rights had not been violated.) As egregious as that claim was, however, it wasn't the first lawsuit he filed against someone who interfered with his work.

That dubious honor belonged to the host of the top-rated television show of the period: Ed Sullivan. Mason logged several successful Sullivan appearances during the early 1960s. Then, during a spot in 1964, President Johnson decided to address the country right in the middle of Sullivan's time slot. That evening's program had to be shortened, and the change put Sullivan completely on edge.

A few minutes later, during Mason's set, an off-camera Sullivan held up two fingers to tell the comedian he only had two minutes left. Mason thought Sullivan's gesture pulled the audience's focus off stage, costing him laughs. Furious, he made his own finger gesture in response. He long held that he was only wiggling his digits to mock Sullivan, but Sullivan was sure Mason flipped him the bird on live television. (The tape is inconclusive.) As soon as the show was over, Sullivan berated Mason with a profanity-laden diatribe, barred him from the show, and threatened to blackball him from television altogether.

Overnight, Mason's career collapsed. Many of his bookings were canceled, and audiences for the shows he managed to keep were half-empty. He sued Sullivan for $3 million, claiming defamation and harm to his career. Eventually they settled out of court, and Sullivan brought Mason back on his show to apologize live on TV, but the damage had been done.

As if his own problems weren't enough, Mason worried about Israel's, too. By the late 1960s, Israel had been a state for two decades, but Egypt was gathering its forces in the Sinai for an attack to crush the upstart Jewish nation. In a surprise move, the Israelis struck pre-emptively, catching the Egyptians by surprise and decimating their air force. The Six-Day Warhad begun.

Mason couldn't join the Israeli army, so he decided to do the only thing he could instead: become a Jewish Bob Hope. Pulling some strings Bobby Kennedy played a part he made his way into Israel. Government officials in Tel Aviv had no use for him, so they sent him to a just-secured Jerusalem, where Israeli troops, grimy and exhausted from battle, were taking a brief respite. Mason found a corner where he could create a makeshift stage, then did his act. Unfortunately, few of the soldiers spoke English. For those who did, moreover, Mason's European Yiddish accent was undecipherable to Middle Eastern ears. No one understood his jokes. Even in Israel, Mason was too Jewish.

By the time he got home, he had become persona non grata. Clubs wouldn't book him anymore. Even the Catskills resorts thought he was too old-shul. After a dismal stage show and a failed movie, with few friends and fewer opportunities, Mason thought his career was kaput.

A decade later, however, the comedian who refused to give up his Yiddish accent had his career resurrected by two geniuses whose legendary character the 2,000-year-old man spoke the same way. First, Carl Reiner cast Mason in Steve Martin's film "The Jerk," and then Mel Brooks included Mason in the Spanish Inquisition sketch in "History of the World, Part I."

Reintroduced to American audiences, Mason parlayed the exposure into a one-man show, "The World According to Me," which made it to Broadway in 1986 and earned him a Special Tony Award. In 1992, he earned an Emmy Award for voicing Rabbi Krustofsky on "The Simpsons." Over the next several decades, he made regular appearances on Broadway and cable television. His bona fides as an early supporter of Israel and as a proud Member of the Tribe endeared him to Jewish audiences.

Despite his second-chance successes, the bitterness of his early years intensified. His muscular Jewish pride transformed into a poisonous stew of exclusionary Zionism. Racist jokes in his act grew uglier. Most notably, in one performance he used a common Yiddish slur the rough equivalent of the N-word to refer to Barack Obama. Years earlier, he had used the same term to refer to New York City mayor David Dinkins, responding to criticism by saying "anybody who calls me a racist should be shot like a horse in the street." He seemed to have learned nothing in the intervening decades.

By the end of his career, Mason's work as a comedian took on a darker tone: the white rage of contemporary politics. He started to use comedy as a bludgeon, wielding it against whoever was in reach, and his commentary on conservative platforms grew completely unhinged. In a video for World Net Daily, he referred to Nancy Pelosi as "a deranged pig in heat," suggesting that "Democrats should be tortured, and deserve to be tortured." As if to demonstrate how completely out of touch he'd become, he told TMZ he believed that "If it's a racist society, the White people are the ones being persecuted."

Given all of that, you may not be surprised to learn that Mason, a longtime acquaintance of Donald Trump, supported Trump's candidacy and his administration. The irony of a comedian who refused to surrender his immigrant identity yoking himself to a president who was defined by (among other things) his visceral hatred of immigrants seemed to be lost on Mason. After a lifetime of making people laugh by pointing out the world's inconsistencies, as any good comedian does, he clearly could no longer see them in himself.

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Jackie Mason's thorny career: Once a beacon for Jewish pride, the comedian later turned to bigotry - Salon

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