Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

The two decisions from the International Criminal Court in the last month to move forward on an investigation of war crimes in Palestine have shaken Israel and suggested that the power politics of Israeli impunity are finally going to change.

These decisions have predictably angered Israel undiluted antisemitism and its lobby spurious allegations and been condemned by the American government. They have been welcomed by Palestine, which sought the actions.

But the decisions have put the liberal branch of the Israel lobby in an awkward position. For many years liberal Zionists have offered Israel political support in the U.S. but said that the occupation and Jewish settlement of lands across the Green Line must end in order for Israel to fulfill its promise as a democracy. Americans for Peace Now has diligently monitored settlement activity. J Street has built Congressional opposition to Israeli actions in the West Bank, such as demolitions and annexation.

Youd think that the ICC investigation would give liberal Zionists a place to stand. At last someone is investigating settlements as a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

But none of the leading liberal Zionist groups have hailed the ICC. They have issued dithering statements saying its a sad reflection on the occupation that its come to this, and not a surprise; but theyve stopped short of endorsing the ICC and have even said critical things about the court.

Torn between supporting Israel in the U.S. and trying to stop Israeli human rights violations, the liberal Zionists have chosen Support for Israel. These same organization oppose reductions of U.S. military aid to the country, and have blasted the nonviolent BDS campaign as antisemitic.

Lets look at some of the liberal Zionist comments.

Yesterday J Street issued a statement on the ICC investigation that openly waffles. It takes no position on the ICCs assertion that it has jurisdiction to investigate war crimes in Palestine but says that Israel of course should be accountable under international law. Then it pulls that hope away, saying if Israel would just ask the court to defer to Israels own legal procedures for addressing violations, Such a request would freeze the case and could ultimately even lead the prosecutor to close the case if the investigation is deemed sufficient.

But everyone knows Israel regards the settlements as perfectly legal! And as for investigations of war crimes in Gaza, no one has ever faced accountability.

J Street expresses solidarity with those Israelis:

We understand and deeply sympathize with the fear and concern felt by many Israeli families who have been told by critics of the Court that an ICC investigation could result in the penalization of rank and file soldiers who have served in the IDF.

There is no expression of deep sympathy for Palestinians.

J Streets balancing act also entails keeping right with the Biden administration. Its statement on the ICC last month seemed to affirm the Biden teams stiffnecked response.

The Biden administration has already clearly and definitively stated its disagreement with the Pre-Trial Courts decision on jurisdiction

The liberal Zionist group Truah was also very critical of the ICC while sidestepping the issue of the investigation. Rabbi Jill Jacobss statement last month:

The ICC in its current form is a flawed institution. Some of the worst actors including leaders of China, Syria, and Russia cannot be held accountable, as they are not party to the Rome statute. Nor is the United States a member; thus, high level Bush administration officials cannot be charged with war crimes despite the documented use of torture during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as part of the War on Terror.

But as for Israeli human rights violations, theyre tragic.

The true tragedy is that Israel has reached the point that the ICC would consider investigating possible war crimes. For more than half a century, Israel has carried out a policy of displacing Palestinians from their homes in the occupied territories, expanding settlements, and too easily resorting to deadly and disproportionate force in both the West Bank and Gaza.

Truah concludes, forget about the ICC, Jews need to fix the problem!

Rather than focus on the ICC, which should be the last resort for accountability on human rights, Israeli leaders and Jewish leaders around the world should put our energy toward ending these human rights abuses and pursuing a long-term solution that protects the human rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.

J Street in its latest statement also says with dismay and frustration that Jews (and others) should redouble efforts to reach a comprehensive, mutually agreed solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to end over 53 years of ever-deepening occupation.

Well, its gone on 53 years because theres been no real outside pressure. And things have only been getting worse in the West Bank and Gaza, despite liberal Zionists concerns.

Americans for Peace Now also concluded last month that the ICC investigation was a heartbreaking result of Israels actions; but the investigation provides a moment for reflection, not action. Its president came close to embracing the ICC but couldnt do so.

Hadar Susskind said: The ICCs decision and possible investigations are a sobering reminder for Israels leadership and for the Israeli public that the occupation, the settlements, and the ongoing military rule over a large civilian population are untenable. This 54-year-old status quo may seem to them like a situation that can be sustained in perpetuity, but the ICC decision is a clear example of the fact that the international community will not tolerate it

The prospect of seeing Israel accused of war crimes in an international tribunal is, to me, heartbreaking. But the response to that should not be hollow cries of antisemitism. It should be a national reflection on 54 years of Occupation. It should not be an attempt to delegitimatize international law. It should be a clear-eyed look as to whether the IDF is, as is often proclaimed, the most moral army in the world.'

The contradiction in that stance is that APN has for years nobly documented Israeli army human rights abuses in defense of settlements. Now it asks for reflection on the armys morality? What about action?

Americans for Peace Now also calls on American Jews to flip the script.

The ICCs decision is a clear example of the fact that the international community will not tolerate the occupation. Neither will Americans for Peace Now or the many progressive American Jews who support our organization and Israels peace movement.

A New Israel Fund statement in February also equivocated. Daniel Sokatch cheered the effort to impeach Donald Trump as a demonstration of accountability, and came close to approving the ICC investigation of the settlement project. But he called that a conundrum around power and accountability and proceeded to meditate on-the-one-hand, on-the-other. Excerpts:

The Court was founded to hold individuals accountable for grave violations of international laws when a country lacks the capacity or will to do so itself. And after over 53 years of prolonged military occupation and settlement, the ICCs decision around jurisdiction calls into question who is capable ofand responsible forholding individuals accountable for potential violations of international law in the West Bank and Gaza

[T]he ICCs decision about its jurisdiction turns our attention to the role Israels own courts play in holding Israeli decisionmakers accountable for the states alleged actions in Gaza and the West Bank. [The Israeli High Courts] positionthat Israels settlement policies in the West Bank are political questions that the courts should not rule on opens the question of whether it is up to the task of delivering justice for those living under Israels occupation, and, if not, what alternative recourses to justice exist for the millions of Palestinians in the West Bank.

Sokatch ultimately threw his hands up in the air.

When it comes to Israel and its occupation, the jury is still out on where this critical accountability will come from.

The wishywashyness is understandable because these organizations are in a difficult practical position. Their donors and boards include older Jews who still regard Israel as a miracle and, though critical of the occupation, likely see the ICC probe as singling Israel out. Those donors and others to their right have set the tone for the Democratic Partys response the Ted Deutch/Brad Schneider lockstep statements with Israel, and Biden and Blinkens too. J Street and Americans for Peace Now dont want to be out of step with the Israel lobby broadly, because they would then lose some political access. Peace Now is a member org of the rightwing Conference of Presidents!

Meantime, the progressive base of the Democratic Party likes the ICC decision, and so do young Jews. The left-wing Jewish communal group IfNotNow has repeatedly praised the ICC probe and bewailed the American response. This was how IfNotNow greeted Tony Blinkens opposition to the ICC:

The liberal Zionist organizations are afraid of losing that generation. At its last conference in Oct. 2019, J Street made several gestures towards IfNotNow. For now, though, theyve chosen the conservative generation.

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Liberal Zionist groups oppose occupation but cant bring themselves to endorse ICC probe - Mondoweiss

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

Here is the full statement byIrans permanent representative to international organizations in ViennaKazem Gharibabadi:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

Madam Chairperson,

Director General,

Excellencies,Dear Colleagues,

We are now at a critical juncture in relations with the JCPOA. During the past five years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has proven to be a responsible player by preserving the JCPOA despite all difficulties due to the US withdrawal from thedeal.In such circumstances the EU/E3, apart from issuing numerous political statements in support of the deal, failed to comply with their commitments under the JCPOA and remained inactive.

In this context, to bring back the lost balance to the deal, Iran has taken a series of remedial measures,but has always stressed on the reversibility of all its measures when all participants return to full implementation of their commitments therein.

Madam Chairperson,

Given the circumstances, on 2ndDecember 2020, after about two and a half years of US withdrawal from the JCPOA and lack of practical actions by the E3/EU in meeting their commitments, Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran passed a law entitled Strategic Action to Lift Sanctions and Protect Iranian Nations Interests. Article 6 of this law requires the Government, in case of the continuation of non-compliance of the participants of the deal with their commitments regarding the total normalization of the banking relations and removal of all barriers on the export of oil and oil derivatives and return of revenues in two months after the entry into force of the law, to stop the implementation of all verification and monitoring activities beyond Irans Safeguards Agreement concluded with the IAEA (CSA), including the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol (AP).

Madam Chairperson,

Amidst the situation where the Government was required to execute the law, the Director General of the Agencys request to visit Tehran was welcomed in good-will andin the spirit of cooperation and enhanced mutual trust. As a result of intensive and fruitful discussions between the two sides, a temporary bilateral technical understanding, compatible with the Act passed by Irans Parliament, was reached for a period of up to three months on 23 February 2021.Therefore, Iran continues to implement its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA as before, and the Agency will continue with its necessary monitoring and verification activities for up to 3 months as per technical annex.

Accordingly, for up to 3 months, Iran will maintain the records of the stored data by monitoring equipment and information about some activities as specified in the Annex. Review by the Agency of this data will take place once and if Iran decides, after ceasing all sanctions, to resume its implementation of the relevant nuclear-related commitments, otherwise all collected data will be erased at the end of the third month.

Two months opportunity envisioned in the Parliaments law was augmented by this good-will based mutual understanding for up to three more months. Iran, once again, has opened a new window of opportunity, and now the burden of proof is on others to seize it by practicallyimplementing their commitments.

While the previous US Administration failed in pursuing maximum pressure policy, the new US Administration has yet to take practical measures to alter the path. As our Supreme Leader declared, we will look at the other participants deeds not words, and after corroboration of their actions we will also act accordingly and proportionally. If the sanctions are all removed at once, we are ready to come back to full implementation at once. It was not Iran who left the negotiating table of the Joint Commission and it is upon those who want to rejoin around the table to take proper practical steps to earn it.

In view of the ongoing and constructive cooperation between Iran and the Agency, any politically motivated move and abusing the Agency for political bargaining chip and misleading itis absolutely destructive. It is also immensely counterproductive in relations with the already existing good-will and mutual trust between the Agency and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this context, we welcome the prudence and vigilance shown by all Members of the Agency, especially the Members of the Board of Governors and the Director General in their efforts to prevent the unnecessary tension and maintaining the already existing opportunity for diplomacy.

Madam Chairperson,

Since the technical discussion between Iran and the Agency was raised this afternoon, I would like to welcome a meeting between technical experts in April and at the same time remind that technical engagement between the Agency and Iran has always been active and the two sides are interacting with each other on the remaining safeguards issues for quite a period of time. In this regards, there were several technical meetings held during the past two years and the April technical meeting is also the continuation of such meetings with a view to final resolution of the remaining safeguards issues, and we will continue our utmost common efforts to that end.

Since the E3 countries referred in their Statement to the Board of Governors Resolution GOV/2009/82 (2009) and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1803 (2008), I would like to remind that paragraph 11 of the Board of Governors Resolution GOV/2015/72 (2009) and paragraph 7(a) of the UNSC Resolution 2231(2015) clearly terminated the provisions of those aforementioned Resolutions.

Madam Chairperson,

I would also like to seize the opportunity to raisesome additional and importantissues here.

While, the Islamic Republic of Iran is strongly committed to pursue a peaceful nuclear program, another Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated. There are clear evidencesshowing that Israeli regime is behindthe heinous assassination of Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, and should be heldaccountable for such an inhumane crime.Consideringthe dire implications of such horrific act and dangerous provocations on international peace and securityand that terrorismasaserious challenge to the international community requires collective responses,we call upon Member Statesand the Agencyto uphold their obligations under international law in fighting terrorism and condemn such inhumane actin thestrongestterms.It also should be reminded that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not leave such criminal acts unanswered.

Allow me to register once again the Islamic Republic of Irans principled position about the significance ofprotecting the confidential information, which is made available to the Agency by means of monitoring and verification activities. It is noteworthy that due to wide-range of nuclear activities of Iran in various fields and the broad inspection activities done by the Agency in Iran, as well as various detailed reports prepared by the Agency on the results of verification activities, disclosure of such safeguards-related confidential informationinflicts commercial, technological and industrial damages and brings security threats to the country. In a letter to the Director General of the Agency dated on 4 February 2021, I have expressed our concerns in this regard in four areas and proposed 13 practical solutions to address them. Protection of confidential information is responsibility of both the Agency and the Member States which have access to such information. We hope that the Agency duly and urgently considers these concerns and enters into a proper engagement with the Islamic Republic of Iran in this regard.

Madam Chairperson,

On another note,Israeli regime has recently not only intensified its provocative and warmongering statements against the Islamic Republic of Iran, but also been actively planning to act upon its belligerent threats.During the past 35 days, three Israeli regimes officialsthreatened to attack Irans nuclear facilities. Irans positions over such threats have been well recorded in the history of the Agency and the United Nations. These threats are in gross violation of Article 2 (4) of the Charter of the United Nations which necessitates an appropriate response from the international community.

Furthermore, the practice of international organizations has shown that attack or threat of attack is a clear violation of International Law. In its resolutions, the UNGA clearly stated that such military attack constitutes a violation of the Charter of the United Nations. On the other hand, the IAEA in several decisions and resolutions approved by the General Conference stated that any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes, constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency. The General Conference also emphasized that all armed attacks against nuclear installations devoted to peaceful purposes should be explicitly prohibited.

Likewise, the General Conference in its resolution 533 of 21 September 1990 recognized that An armed attack on a safeguarded nuclear facility, in operation or under construction, would create a situation in which the United Nations Security Council would have to act immediately in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Charter.

In view of the past and present Israeli terrorist behavior, these statements and threats constitute matters of extreme gravity that require urgent and resolute response on the part of the Agency. At the very least, the Agency should react to these threats, by unequivocally condemning them and demanding that the said regime abandon its policy of flouting international law and the UN Charter.

The Islamic Republic of Iran looks forward to effective preventive measures being taken by the Agency and its peace-seeking Member States against such ruthless remarks. The responsibility for any failure in this respect will lie solely with the Agency and others who indirectly render their support by closing their eyes on these remarks.

At the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly warns against any adventurism by Israeli regime and reserves its inherent right to self-defense to decisively respond to any threat or wrongful act perpetrated by this regime.

I thank you Madam Chairperson.

MA/MFA

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Zionist regime behind assassination of Fakhrizadeh - Mehr News Agency - English Version

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

The Zionist circles continued scrutinizing the recent speech of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah in which his eminence warned the Israeli officials against waging an all-out war on Lebanon.

Experts at the Zionist Institute for National Security Studies considered that Sayyed Nasrallah is determined to maintain the balance of deterrence by striking the Israeli cities in response to any aggression on the Lebanese cities and killing an Israeli soldier whenever Israel kills any of Hezbollah fighters.

The experts also indicated that Hezbollah aims at accumulating its military power and focuses on obtaining precision-guided missiles, adding that such capabilities will inflict heavy losses upon the Israeli home front during any upcoming war.

The Zionist experts stressed that Sayyed Nasrallah has consecrated the Spider Web theory in the confrontation with Israel, adding that this notion managed to target the collective conscience of the Israelis.

Source: Al-Manar English Website

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Sayyed Nasrallah Has Consecrated Spider Web Theory in Confrontation with 'Israel': Zionist Studies Institute - Al-Manar TV

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

To read Gil Troys original post, click here.To read Sherwin Pomerantzs response, click here.

Todays thin-skinned culture demands that I be offended that Sherwin Pomerantz disagreed with my recent article, The Non-Negotiable Judaism My Parents Gave Me. But his response thrilled me, even if half his argument misfires.

I hoped my article would trigger debate rather than be squashed by Conservative Jewrys powers that be. Many have spent the last half-century demonizing anyone who dared to yell that the Conservative Emperor had no clothes that American Jewrys once-reigning religious movement had lost its way ideologically and theologically, not just demographically. So I thank Pomerantz for his serious, thought-provoking response.

I also deeply appreciate the many heartfelt often anguished responses I have received since the Jewish Journal published my article. Those of us who grew up in the Conservative movement and went Zionist or Orthodox or both dont delight in Conservatisms drift; most of us lament its inability to inspire others as it inspired us.

So, yes, I agree with Pomerantz that mid-century Conservative Jews central failure was that in the absence of any long-term commitment to religious observance, they had not been able to convey the same level of religious feeling to their children. Traditionally, Jews alternated between fearing God and fearing anti-Semites; in the Conservative world my parents raised me in, many leaders feared their congregants, and most congregants feared their kids. As I argued in my essay, the constant defensive worry about whether they will show up or stay Jewish put too many people on guilt trips without launching enough satisfying, sustaining Jewish journeys, guided by a bedrock faith in God or a non-negotiable commitment to Jewish peoplehood and the State of Israel.

Tragically, as more people drifted away, rather than having the deep, soul-searching, self-critical debate they needed about where they went wrong, too many Conservative rabbis and leaders tended to ask what was wrong with anyone who asked such questions. Before the coronavirus, you could witness what these decades of denial wrought in the many empty seats every Saturday morning, which turned American Jewrys grandest cathedrals into Grand Canyons.

As more people drifted away, too many Conservative rabbis and leaders tended to ask what was wrong with anyone who asked such questions.

Pomerantz and I part ways in two critical junctures. First, he should beware of an uncalled-for Orthodox triumphalism celebrating Conservatisms collapse. The numbers of religious Jews in America and Israel are quite sobering, too. Only 10% of American Jews are Orthodox with a mere three percent identifying as Modern Orthodox. The 2013 Pew study reported that half of those raised Orthodox abandoned it although retention rates among younger Orthodox Jews are improving. The Jewish Virtual Library reports that of Israeli Jews over 20 in 2020, only 11% identify as religious while 10% are ultra-Orthodox.

Most categorically, I reject Pomerantzs claim that the Conservative movement succeeded as a transitional movement that conserved American Judaism for the ultimate resurgence of Orthodoxy. That argument disrespects Conservative Judaisms mission to serve as a sustainable form of Jewish life. Pomerantzs conclusion is like deciding the Boston Red Sox succeeded by cultivating Babe Ruths hitting skills before trading him to the New York Yankees, or that Americans appreciated the military experience they gave Benedict Arnold before he switched over to the British.

This Conservadoxing phenomenon Pomerantz toasts is also quite marginal overall. Although Pew tracked the dramatic drift from Orthodox to Conservative to Reform to unaffiliated to intermarried, the researchers found very little switching in the opposite direction. For example, just 7% of Jews raised in the Reform movement have become Conservative or Orthodox, and just 4% of those raised in Conservative Judaism have become Orthodox.

Jewish historians know that over the millennia, many more Jews left the fold voluntarily by assimilating rather than being bullied or killed by Jew-haters by many orders of magnitude. And American historians know that over the decades, the lure of Americas New World identity has weakened most Americans Old World ethnic and religious ties. Therefore, the challenge from my parents, from the serious Conservative movement of my youth and from my article remains: What positive vision of old-new Pilates Jewishness, strong at its core, shaped by non-negotiable bottom lines, will work not to keep our kids Jewish out of guilt, but to keep them doing Jewish regularly, meaningfully, out of their own pride and passion?

I warmly invite Sherwin Pomerantz for coffee as a fellow Jerusalemite, where we can toast the most wildly successful modern experiment in keeping Jews Jewish from generation to generation, be they secular or religious Zionism!

Recently designated one of Algemeiners J-100,one of the top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life, Gil Troy is a Distinguished Scholar of North American History at McGill University, and the author of nine books on American History and three books on Zionism. His book,Never Alone: Prison, Politics and My People,co-authored with Natan Sharansky, was just published by PublicAffairs of Hachette.

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Comments on: In the Spirit of Debate: My Response to Pomerantz - Jewish Journal

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

Last month, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced the appointment of the first members of his Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm.

Fifteen panellists [the Mayors 6 February communiqu revealed] have been selected to form the Commission and work to improve diversity in the capitals public realm. The Commissions role is to enrich and add to the current public realm, and advise on better ways to raise public understanding behind existing statues, street names, building names and memorials.

The statement went out of its way to emphasise that the commission was not being established to preside over the removal of statues. Nonetheless, one has to ask whether it will be able to resist the temptation to make suggestions relating to sundry statues whose public presence might no longer be thought of at least in certain quarters as conducive to the public good. And having made such suggestions, the commission might well then pluck up the courage to ask rhetorically of course why, therefore, such-and-such a monument continues to occupy a public space.

The background to the establishment of the commission is well known. In the wake of the campaign to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes from the front of Oriel College Oxford, of the violent removal by a baying mob of the statue of local Bristol philanthropist Edward Colston (a slave trader), of the renaming of the magnificent library of All Souls College Oxford (endowed by another slave trader, Christopher Codrington), and of the discrete removal from public gaze of monuments to other philanthropists who had slave-trade and/or colonial connections, the mayor thought it would be a jolly good idea to appoint an expert committee to advise on the public commemoration of existing statues, street names and so on.

So it was that in the autumn of 2020 the Greater London Authority, by public advertisement, solicited applications for the 15 places available on the commission. And on 9 February 2021 the appointments were announced.[1]

There is not one name on that list whom I or the Mayors Press Office have been able to identify as Jewish.

Of course I can hear you ask why should there necessarily be any Jews on the commission? Surely you may insist the appointments [which are unremunerated, incidentally] should have been and were made solely on merit, and strictly on the basis of relevant personal attributes. Thus, for example, we have a heritage consultant, an art historian, a Brixton business owner, the director of Art on the Underground, and a trustee of Culture24, whose website announces that it is a small and dynamic team of writers, thinkers, producers and publishers who believe that cultural organisations have a vital place in a better world.

Then theres Mr Jack Guinness, a member of the distinguished Anglo-Irish brewing family, whom Mayor Khan identifies (correctly) as founder of The Queer Bible. Theres the actor Riz Ahmed, who is of Pakistani heritage and Muslim by faith. And theres the lawyer and academic JasvirSingh, whom Mayor Khans announcement refers to (again, rightly) as the chair of City Sikhs.

The mayors press office points out that commission member the Reverend Professor Keith Magee has previously held the position [of] Scholar in Residence at [the] Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies & School of Theology at Boston University, has written broadly onJewish and African American Relationships, and currently serves as a trustee of Facing History and Ourselves which was founded to teach students about holocaust history and the impacts of racism, antisemitism, and prejudice.

Thats all well and good. But its not the same as having a suitably qualified Jew as a full member of the commission, not least in view of the fact that another original commission member black activist Toyin Agbetu has now had to resign (oh dear!) over claims of antisemitism.

The mayor has insisted [in answer to questions posed by Greater London Assembly member Andrew Dismore] that no appointment to the commission was made on the basis of any protected characteristics. But to argue thus is surely to ignore the need to ensure some measure of broad-based ethnic and religious diversity in the commissions makeup.

Well over half Englands Jews have always lived in London, whose current Jewish population is roughly double the size of Londons Sikh community. There are several London streets named deliberately after leading Jews of yesteryear: Montagu Road in Edmonton, for instance, named after Samuel Montagu, founder of the Federation of Synagogues; Adler Street in Whitechapel, recalling the famous rabbinical dynasty; Schonfeld Square (Stoke Newington), commemorating the fiery Rabbi Dr Solomon Schonfeld, chief rabbis Hertzs son-in-law; and in north-west London, leading to the Kingsbury Synagogue, theres Hool Close, named in honour of the charismatic Maurice Hool, who served as rabbi there from 1959 until 2004.

In New York there is a street named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement. But I have not been able to discover one street, road, square, cul-de-sac or even alleyway in London named after him, despite the fact that his 1898 address to a huge assembly of East End Jews really launched the English Zionist Association. Why not a plaque to commemorate that event?

In Parliament Square there stands a statue of General Jan Smuts. The statue has two Jewish connections. Smuts, a Christian, was a proud Zionist, whose membership of Lloyd Georges War Cabinet was important in persuading that Cabinet to endorse the Balfour Declaration. And the statue itself was the work of the Anglo-Jewish sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein.

But rumour has it that in certain quarters there are ambitions afoot to have the statue removed.

A brilliant Boer commander who fought against the British in South Africa, Smuts later became Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. Although he was not an architect of apartheid, he was nonetheless outspoken in his view that giving the vote to native blacks would result [he reportedly told the Imperial Conference in 1925] in the whites being swamped, a state of affairs to which he was clearly and unashamedly opposed.

Many statesmen of that period held similar opinions. We might regard them as racist now. But they were not so thought of a century ago. And I should add that although Cecil Rhodes believed devoutly in Britains imperial mission, he insisted that the scholarships he endowed at Oxford were to be open to all, regardless of race. I could never accept [he said] the position that we should disqualify a human being on account of his colour.

The public understanding of past and present commemorations in England must involve the countrys Jewish communities and their non-Jewish champions. The failure of Sadiq Khans Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm to include any Jew must therefore be condemned and all the more loudly since it will work alongside a Partners Board that also appears at present to contain no Jewish representation.

We Jews should not hesitate to defend statues of Jewish interest, and to campaign for the erection of new memorials that bear witness to the vital contribution that Jews have made to the work of the country and its capital city.

PS. I applied for appointment to the mayors commission. My application was rejected without explanation.

[1] https://www.london.gov.uk/press-releases/mayoral/mayor-announces-members-of-landmark-commission

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Absence of Jews on mayor's commission is a monumental oversight - Jewish News

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

ByStaffThe Canadian Press

Posted March 1, 2021 12:15 pm

-A

A+

A 28-year-old man charged with trying to set fire to a Montreal synagogue has been found not criminally responsible.

Audrey Roy Cloutier, spokeswoman for the director of prosecutions, confirmed Monday that the court last week declared Adam Riga not criminally responsible after he underwent a psychiatric evaluation to determine if he was fit to be arraigned.

Riga was arrested Jan. 13, shortly after spray-painted swastikas were found on the doors of Shaar Hashomayim temple in Montreal.

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READ MORE: Man charged with attempted arson, uttering threats after graffiti attack on Westmount synagogue

Rabbi Adam Scheier had written a letter to members of the congregation saying the suspect was carrying a gas canister when he was arrested.

Riga had been charged with possession of incendiary materials and with threatening to burn down the synagogue.

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The attack on the temple was widely condemned across the country, including by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Franois Legault.

2021 The Canadian Press

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

THE scale of the death and destruction must never, ever be forgotten, an emotional Josh Frydenberg said this week as he announced that the Morrison government is providing $2 million towards the establishment of a Tasmanian Holocaust Education and Interpretation Centre.

Speaking on Tuesday at Hobart Synagogue, Australias oldest shule, Frydenberg noted, If there was a minutes silence observed for every Jewish life that was lost in the Holocaust it would go for 11 years.

The Treasurer said the new centre which will allow Tasmanian students, teachers and the wider community to better understand the Shoah and its impact on our world will also serve as a warning that such atrocities can still take place.

I still cant fathom how the German people, so cultured and educated, with Mozart and Wagner and many other distinguished names you are familiar with, could descend to such inhumanity to their fellow man, Frydenberg said.

But what it does remind me of is that it can happen again.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg visited Australia's oldest synagogue in Hobart today to announce the Morrison government is

Posted by The Australian Jewish News onTuesday, March 2, 2021

Choking back the tears as he spoke from the bimah, Frydenberg hailed the establishment of the new Holocaust centre. This is an example, he said, of what we can do to ensure that future generations say never again.

Noting that the federal government has committed funding, in partnership with respective state governments, for the construction of similar centres in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT, federal Education Minister Alan Tudge said, We must never forget the tragedy of the Holocaust; we must never forget the evil that underpinned it and the ideology which caused it.

Every student should learn about this so that it is always part of our collective memory.

Stating the Tasmanian government will support the project with a financial and in-kind contributions, Tasmanias Attorney-General Elise Archer who joined a number of other local politicians including Senator Eric Abetz at the shule said the centre would provide a tangible way for our community to reflect upon this incredibly tragic period in world history.

Noting it would serve as a reminder of the importance of fostering and celebrating a respectful and diverse multicultural society, she added, We look forward to working collaboratively with representatives from the Tasmanian Jewish community to develop and progress this important initiative.

Among those who spoke at the shule on Tuesday was 83-year-old Holocaust survivor Felix Goldschmied from Launceston, who was just a small child when his father was put in a labour camp after Germany occupied what was then known as Czechoslovakia.

He came to Australia in 1948 as a nine-year-old with his younger brother.

I was only a child and I didnt comprehend all the ins and outs of what was going on, but I knew that we were being discriminated against in a horrible way, Goldschmied recalled.

My parents were sent to a concentration camp and my family was decimated.

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'Every student should learn about the Shoah' The Australian Jewish News - Australian Jewish News

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

Every so often, its useful to recall the immortal words of novelist William Faulkner: The past is never dead. Its not even past. That insight certainly applies when it comes to our collective responsibility to honor the memory of Holocaust victims and to care for the survivors who are still with us.

Two stories in J. this week describe new local efforts to remember the Shoah.

One is educational: The Tri-Valley area of Alameda County will now be home to the newly formed East Bay Holocaust Education Center, which will conduct outreach to local schools, teaching the lessons of the Shoah largely through the arts.

The second is commemorative: 6 million buttons, one for every Jew killed in the Holocaust, will be installed in a memorial garden at Chabad of Bakersfield, creating the first Holocaust memorial in the Central Valley.

In the Bay Area, we have Holocaust memorials, notably the sculpture outside the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, and the Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove on the campus of Sonoma State University, which includes a sapling cloned from the chestnut tree that grew outside Anne Franks hidden attic in Amsterdam.

We also have educational initiatives. For years, individual survivors have helped tell their stories in person. The Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation, an S.F.-based organization dedicated to remembering the heroics of Jewish partisans, sends speakers to schools and other settings to tell their tales of fighting back against Nazi tyranny. Jewish Family and Childrens Services Holocaust Center in San Francisco runs one of the countrys finest speakers bureaus, counting not too long ago dozens of survivors among its cadre of lecturers.

Today that number is down to 17.

As we have been reporting for years, time is taking its toll on the survivor generation. Every year we lose more of them, and those who remain, now mostly in their late 80s and 90s, are increasingly unable to make public speaking appearances.

Even worse, too many live in poverty. According to Kavod, a national nonprofit that aids Holocaust survivors, of the 80,000 survivors living in the United States in 2019, a third were living at or below the poverty line.

Thats why we need initiatives such as Operation Dignity, a project to help some 150 survivors living in the South Bay. Its a team effort, with Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley and Jewish Silicon Valley (formerly the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley) working hand in hand with Kavod to raise and distribute funds for food, shelter, medical aid and dental care.

It is fitting, and necessary, that we continue remembering the Holocaust and develop new ways of teaching how to identify the warning signs and fend off such horrors in the future.

But the past isnt past. The human needs of those who went through this most terrible period in our peoples history must be front and center in our consciousness. We must do everything possible to guarantee care, comfort and dignity for the survivors among us.

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One third of Holocaust survivors live in poverty. We can't forget them now. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on March 7, 2021

Sandra Scheller had poured so much of herself, her parents and her Jewish community into the Holocaust remembrance exhibit shed been working on for 2020 that when the COVID-19 pandemic put it on hold, she was devastated.

The exhibit was open for 67 days. I dont think I have ever cried as much as I did not for me, but for those that supported this project, she said of the initial shutdown.

One of the many things shed learned from her parents, though, was creativity. So, she got creative. She got as much content as she could online. She shifted her focus slightly and began recording interviews with local Holocaust survivors and uploading those to the Chula Vista Heritage Museums YouTube channel. The reception the exhibition and its accompanying elements have received have been uplifting for her.

RUTH: Remember Us The Holocaust, named for Schellers mother, Ruth Sax, has been extended through December of this year. The exhibit features photos, documents and other items from local survivors, and has been recognized by the University of Southern Californias Shoah Foundation as the first Holocaust exhibit in San Diego County.

Scheller, 66, is also an author, speaker and educator who lives in Chula Vista with her husband, Mark Scheller, and they have two children. She took some time to talk about this labor of love, what she learned from what her parents and others survived, and why shell never forget.

Q: Tell us about RUTH: Remember Us The Holocaust.

A: This exhibit at the Civic Center Library in Chula Vista features the stories of 12 Holocaust survivors who settled in the South Bay and also focuses on the Jewish community in Chula Vista.

My mother was known for her work as an educator and for visiting classrooms and speaking to students and adults about the Holocaust. We both volunteered, and she was still speaking to students up until two weeks before she died. As I was writing my book about her (Try to Remember Never Forget), I noticed all of the photographs a non-Jewish relative had saved. Ruth hadnt gone through the photos, and I knew how important it was to see her past in print. I realized that there were other Holocaust survivors in Chula Vista who probably had photos and such, and that their children might want to know more about their family members and what theyd survived.

Q: Why was RUTH something you wanted curate?

A: I was born out of the ashes of the Holocaust. Having helped my mom until the end of her life, I made a promise to her and other survivors in the community that I would do my part to continue to educate others. This is not a job, it is a way of life. The beauty about this is that I can take time off to get away and see the world, even learn about other Holocaust museums and people who have stories to tell, and I want to be able to hear them. While I was doing research for this project, I went to Terre Haute, Ind., to visit CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center, a Holocaust museum created by Eva Mozes Kor. Eva survived the work that Josef Mengele (the Nazi doctor who was known for performing medical experiments at Auschwitz and was also called the Angel of Death) performed on herself and her twin sister. My husband and I were at CANDLES shortly before Eva took a group of patrons to Auschwitz. She had an amazing amount of energy, just like my mom did, and her drive to keep the Holocaust stories alive was her mission in life. Eva passed away on that trip, and I remember breaking down crying, as if I had lost one of my own family members. It was then, at that moment, when I was driven to continue the Holocaust legacy for my community. This wasnt just for my mom, but for everyone who survived. Each survivor has a unique story to tell, but one thing in common: They survived. They must be heard and this exhibit allows this to happen.

Q: In your TEDx talk Keeping Memories Alive, you mentioned the first time you heard the word holocaust. Can you tell us about what happened that time?

A: Sure. I was about 6 or 7 years old, and I was asleep when I heard my mom scream. I didnt know what my mom went through; she was busy being a mommy hero to me, and I never knew about her past. I went into the room, and there was my dad, hugging my mom and she was so frightened. I will remember this moment until I die. The next morning, my dad explained the dream my mom had the previous night, and the reality of her life before. Someone wanted to kill us for being Jewish? What? Why? I was too young to understand, but then again, Hitler didnt care if someone was 6 or 60 when it came to the Holocaust.

Doing a TEDx talk was probably the hardest and greatest thing I ever did. Its out there and it tells the story in a short amount of time. It validates.

We all grow things. Ms. Kathy has the best macadamia nuts, I grow bananas, my neighbors have lemons and oranges, and we share everything. We greet each other. And now we have a Holocaust exhibit just down the road.

Q: Your mother and father, Ruth and Kurt Sax, were both Holocaust survivors, with your mother surviving three concentration camps? What did you learn about your parents and what they experienced during that time?

A: My father was 16 when the Nazis invaded his hometown. He could no longer go to school and the Nazis took over the place where he worked. Coming to America was almost impossible, but with help, it happened for him in 1939. As for my mom, she was 10 when the Nazis invaded their hometown in former Czechoslovakia on my grandmothers birthday, March 14, 1939. In 1941, my 13-year-old mother and her parents were sent to Theresienstadt. My mom was separated from her father and worked in a childrens garden while my grandmother worked in the kitchen. They came up with the idea to keep the kettles on the burners so they could use the water to bathe on Fridays. They did this for three years. When my mother and grandmother entered Theresienstadt, they were told to find a job around food. Theyd have to eat potato peels, but theyd have some food.

In 1944, my mom and grandmother were sent to Auschwitz. When they arrived, Jewish men shaved them while Nazis stared, pointed and laughed. Then, they faced Dr. Mengele (the Angel of Death) six times. I guess I had a perfect mom and grandmother because he approved them and kept them alive. There werent anymore striped uniforms, so they had to find something to wear from piles of clothes taken from those whod died. My mother threw her dress away after they were liberated, but my grandmother saved hers and now I have it.

Later, my mother was sent to Oederan (in Germany) to a thread factory, and in April of 1945, she was placed in a death march. My mother and grandmother ended up in Theresienstadt to be liberated and my mom believed her father was dead. Someone called out to her to approach the electric fence, and she thought it was her uncle. It was her father. The family had survived and my mom and her parents returned to their village, but everything was bombed. There were 11,000 people who left that village, and only 200 returned. My grandfather took in 20 children whod lost their parents, and my mom remembers sharing everything, including mashing up food so they could all have something to eat.

The anti-Semitism didnt end, though. My mom was 17 and hadnt been in school, so she ended up in a classroom with 12-year-olds. The teacher didnt say things like 1 + 1 = 2 but instead, that one bad Jew, plus one bad Jew, equals two bad Jews. My grandmother was livid and felt she had nothing to lose, so she complained. I guess you could say she was an advocate for education back then. They just went through hell, and hell gave them a voice.

Q: Did what you learned shape how you saw and understood yourself, who you are?

A: Of course. My mom, especially, taught me to never ever give up on anything. I will say this: I dont trust people upon meeting them right away. That is a mom thing for sure. As for my dad, I learned to do the fair thing. It makes one sleep better at night.

Q: The website for the exhibit says that the USC Shoah Foundation has recognized RUTH as the first Holocaust exhibit throughout San Diego County. Why do you think it took until 2020 for this kind of exhibit to open here?

A: That is a good question. There were memorials and monuments, but not an actual exhibit. Maybe no one presented this to San Diego County. I cant answer that, but it feels good to be the first. Hopefully, I can be on the teams to help continue the Holocaust exhibits and museums throughout the county.

Q: What can people expect to see and learn when they visit RUTH?

A: First, an awareness that this happened. Then, the community bond. Theres art from Rich Walker, an incredible and sensitive artist who incorporated the Holocaust in his work. In the exhibit, people will see the survivors from many angles: hiding, escaping, in camps, starving, standing in a gas chamber that didnt work that day, people doused in disinfectant powder, humiliation. They have different stories, but they all survived.

Q: What would you say is your mothers legacy?

A: My mothers legacy is to be kind and never take no for an answer. As Ruth would say, (God) created such a beautiful world, only some people make it so miserable. Surround yourself with positive people. Thats my Ruthie.

Q: What is the best advice youve ever received?

A: Enjoy the silent moments and never give up, from my mentor Marta Becket. The best things have happened from the moments of silence and being alone.

Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?

A: I have a pilots license, and I used to be an assist to a knife thrower. Stood there and trusted someone with 3-foot knives and hatchets. What was I thinking? Oh yeah, trust.

Q: Please describe your ideal San Diego weekend.

A: Walking on the beach or sitting in my lounge chair at the beach with my husband under an umbrella. Maybe horseback riding at the border, boating in Otay and watching the parachuters fall from the sky, going to the desert in Borrego (minus the snakes), hiking in East County, visiting Mission Hills and shopping on Lewis Street. Its all ideal.

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Going through hell gave her family a voice after the Holocaust - The San Diego Union-Tribune

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