Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 14, 2021

All those wondering why US President Joe Biden has still not called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more than three weeks after being sworn into office would do well to take a look at the Facebook page of Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid.

There, as the pages banner photo, is a picture of a smiling Lapid in a light, chummy moment with Biden in what appears to be Bidens office. The picture is somewhat fuzzy, and it is not clear when it was taken or what position Biden occupied at the time. But the message is clear: Lapid knows Biden, and they get along just swimmingly.

Why hasnt Biden called Netanyahu yet? Likely because he does not want to give Netanyahu anything similar to put on his Facebook page, or to use in the upcoming campaign.

In the 15 days prior to the April 2019 election, the first in this dizzying dance of one election after another, Netanyahu pulled off an astounding trifecta: meetings with US President Donald Trump in Washington, Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro in Jerusalem, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. And the message Trump, Bolsonaro and Putin all sent with those meetings was clear: We like Netanyahu, we want Netanyahu.

That is a message Netanyahu campaigned on in that election, as well as in the two that quickly followed. As the prime ministers campaign slogan put it for the September 2019 election: Netanyahu, in a different league.

This time Biden isnt playing ball. The new US president will not do anything now that could be interpreted as interfering in the election, or that could be used by Netanyahu to boost his campaign.

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The Biden-Netanyahu non-call, which has spawned much media speculation and been the subject of queries at a White House news conference and in interviews with top administration officials, is not as some would argue about Israel.

It is not a sign that the relationship between Israel and the US is no longer special. It is not a sign of Washingtons anger at Israel, or trying to take it down a notch, or recalibrating the relationship.

If it were about Israel, then Secretary of State Antony Blinken would not have already talked to Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi not once, but twice; National Security Advisor Jake Sullivans third call in office would not have been to his Israeli counterpart, Meir Ben-Shabbat; and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would not have already spoken with Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

No, all those calls show that Bidens failure to phone yet is not about Israel. Its about Netanyahu and the upcoming election, with Biden not wanting to do anything that might ease the prime ministers path to victory.

And this should not really have taken anybody by surprise.

Netanyahu did manage to gingerly sidestep a trap former president Donald Trump set for him in a video call just days before the US election in November, when Trump asked whether Sleepy Joe a reference to Biden could have ever brokered the normalization of ties between Israel and Sudan. (Netanyahus diplomatic response: Well, Mr. President, one thing I can tell you is, we appreciate the help for peace from anyone in America.)

But the prime minister did praise Trump on numerous occasions including in the months leading up to the American balloting as the best US president for Israel in history.

Israeli and US politicians have a practiced record of making clear whom they prefer in the other countrys elections: ambassador to the US Yitzhak Rabin clearly preferred Richard Nixon over George McGovern in 1972; Bill Clinton made no bones he wanted Shimon Peres over Netanyahu in 1996; Netanyahu did little to hide his longing for Mitt Romney in 2012; and Barack Obamas distaste for Netanyahu was widely known before the election here in 2015. This type of interference has long been a feature of US-Israel relations, and the only thing that has changed is how blatant that intervention becomes.

Bidens people might argue that by not calling Netanyahu now, the new president is merely trying to stay out of Israels campaign. But the lack of a call has itself become a form of intervention, though no worse than Netanyahus favorable comments about Trump during the US campaign.

Additional evidence that the current non-call is not about Israel but, rather, about Netanyahu and the campaign is that Biden spoke with Netanyahu on November 20, just two weeks after he beat Trump.

Biden had no problem talking to Netanyahu then because that was a month before the Israeli government fell and a new election was called. There was no fear of the call being used in the prime ministers election campaign, because at that time there was no election campaign. But that is not the case now, something which goes a long way toward explaining why such a call has not yet taken place.

If a call does come before the March 23 election and it might, because the president may want to talk to some Mideast leaders over the next six weeks, and will have a tough time doing so without also talking to Netanyahu it will likely be perfunctory, in order to prevent the Netanyahu camp from making political hay out of it.

Biden, it seems, can live with a picture of himself in the banner photo on Lapids Facebook page. Chances are that seeing himself somehow used in Netanyahus campaign would thrill him much less.

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Israel not the reason Biden hasn't called Netanyahu. What is? - analysis - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on February 14, 2021

Following the election of Joe Biden as the next US President, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan has set the eyes of an increasingly diplomatically isolated nation on its regional neighbour and former ally. Israel, spurred by the threat of Iran in the region, has also sent signals that rapprochement with Turkey is on the cards. Can the two countries mend their fraught relationship?

At a press conference following Friday prayers on 25 December 2020, President Erdoan declared that Turkeys relations with Israel had not stopped, they continue, pointing out that the issues remained with the people at the top. Earlier, on 9 December, sources indicated that Ankara had appointed Ufuk Ulutas as the new Turkish Ambassador to Israel after a two-year absence. Ankaras moves suggest that Turkey, after a decade of friction, is seeking to resuscitate its diplomatic relationship with the Jewish State.

Turkeys relationship with Israel reaches back to 1949 when Turkey became the first Muslim-majority country to formally recognise the newly created Jewish State. However, Ankaras relationship with Israel worsened after 2010 when the Israeli military stormed six civilian aid ships on their way to Gaza in international waters, killing nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists. This act was described by Erdoan as state terrorism, causing a rapid deterioration in relations between the two countries, and leading to Ankara expelling the Israeli Ambassador to Turkey in September 2011. In May 2018, an Israeli attack on a Palestinian protest in the Gaza Strip, as well as US President Donald Trumps decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, further damaged the relationship between the two nations, leading to the withdrawal of diplomatic envoys from both countries.

In the current situation, Erdoans public statement, as well as the appointment of Ufuk Ulutas, suggest that Turkey is investing in improving relations with Israel after becoming increasingly isolated on the international stage. This is especially so in the light of the US presidential election victory of Joe Biden, who is known for his critical stance towards Turkey, as well as Israels success in establishing formal ties with several Muslim states in its vicinity in the latter half of 2020, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

In response, on 30 December 2020, the Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi reportedly held a meeting to discuss the remarks by the Turkish President. According to sources present at the meeting, Ashkenazi decided to send quiet feelers to Ankara via various channels to assess the seriousness of Erdoans statements. In addition, the Turkish intelligence service has reportedly been holding secret talks with Israeli officials concerning the normalisation of relations. Nonetheless, Israeli officials remain wary of Erdoans true intentions, contending that relations with other key countries in the region, including Greece and Cyprus, remain too valuable for Israel to risk in order to get closer to Turkey. Finally, Israel has long been irked by Turkeys support for Hamas and has accused Turkey of granting citizenship to at least twelve senior Hamas members, allowing them to plan attacks on Israel from their base in Istanbul. Concurrently, during his speech, Erdoan highlighted that Turkey would not tolerate Israels behaviour towards the Palestinian State, making it clear that Israels merciless acts there are unacceptable.

Ankaras novel diplomatic game plan also hinges on Qatars recent reconciliatory breakthrough at a summit with the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on 5 January 2021 and its decision to lift the blockade imposed on Doha since May 2017. Turkey has maintained a military base in Qatar since 2015, and the Gulf nation has been an important ally of Ankara. Qatars reconciliation process with the other Gulf states, most importantly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, also holds the potential for Turkey to reach a rapprochement with Israel after some of Qatars Gulf allies have already done so. In addition, some analysts believe that Doha could become a crucial intermediary not only between Jerusalem and Ankara, but also between Turkey and the Emirates, which have been embroiled in a political disagreement over the past few years.

Nonetheless, it appears that the majority of states in the region, including Turkey, are merely rushing to find a place in the sun with the incoming Biden administration by approaching Americas most important ally in the region. However, being perceived as fence-mending certainly plays out well for Turkey on an international level, allowing Erdoan to gain much-needed credit not only with Washington, but also with the increasingly antipathetic European Union. Very recently, in December 2020, EU leaders agreed to impose sanctions on an unspecified number of Turkish officials and entities involved in gas drilling in Cypriot-claimed waters. However, EU officials postponed larger decisions such as trade tariffs or an arms embargo until they could be discussed with the incomingBiden administration.

Notwithstanding, Turkeys present overtures are unlikely to convince Israel of any future resolutions without reassurances on Ankaras part on the Hamas issue, a topic Ankara has thus far remained silent on. A letter by Hamas to President Erdoan that surfaced on 21 December 2020 explicitly stated Hamas discomfort over the Turkish normalisation process with Israel, asking Ankara to enact laws that defend the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. Turkeys ambitions in the Eastern Mediterranean a Turkish crescent shaped trading route between Libya, Syria and North Cyprus are bound to pose a further obstacle to normalising ties with Israel.

There remains, however, potential for the two countries to take further steps to improve their relations, with the prime catalyst stemming from the upcoming Iranian presidential elections in June 2021. While Turkey and Israel are presently neither friends nor enemies, Ankara does not consider itself as a friend of Iran either. A conservative Iranian election victory would undoubtedly edge the two countries closer together, and realpolitik may provide the final impetus for Erdoan to give reassurances on the Turkish Hamas base issue in favour of an Israeli-Turkish defense agreement, which would evidently outweigh any prior antagonistic sentiments.

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A place in the sun? Assessing the Turkish governments olive branch to Israel - Global Risk Insights

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Posted By admin on February 12, 2021

Maariv, Israel, February 4

Since the European Court of Justice ruled last December on kosher slaughter, newspaper headlines have claimed that the EU bans kosher slaughter and outlaws Jewish religious practices, signaling that Jews are no longer welcome in Europe. But this is explicitly untrue. Under current EU law, kosher slaughter is allowed, but national government bodies are given wide discretion regarding the need to bridge the gap between animal welfare and the preservation of religious freedom. The question of where to draw the line is the subject of a heated debate among Europeans, and the judges of the European Court of Justice have decided to leave the answer to this sensitive question at the doorstep of the EUs 27 member states. The ruling caused frustration among the Jewish community. The European Union is based on democracy and the rule of law, and we are committed to adhering to all decisions of the court. At the same time, the union is fully committed to ensuring that Jewish life continues to prosper, and that every Jew feels at home and welcome in Europe. As the Council of the European Union concluded a month ago: We are grateful that 75 years after the Holocaust, Jewish life, in its various shades and manifestations, is once again thriving in Europe. It is our constant and shared responsibility to actively protect and support Jewish life. And yet, the myth that the European Union outlawed the practices of the Jewish religion continues to resonate, and this kind of misinformation is detrimental to the cultivation of Jewish life and the fight against anti-Semitism. The European Commission is currently working on developing a comprehensive strategy to combat anti-Semitism; it will be the first of its kind and will be published soon. For a long time, we have been funding many projects with the aim of securing Jewish institutions and restoring Jewish heritage sites. Ill mention just a few examples: last year, the commission earmarked over 11 million euro for projects designed to improve the protection of religious places of worship, including synagogues. The union also provides significant financial support to the European Cemeteries Project in Europe. In addition, we are funding a digital project for the restoration of Jewish cultural assets, as part of which we are developing a comprehensive database of Jewish-owned cultural assets looted by the Nazis. We are allocating over 9 million euro for the establishment of a European infrastructure for Holocaust research. We completely reject suggestions that the European Court of Justice is guided by anti-Semitic sentiments. The fact that the union is fully committed to the lives of Jews, including the fight against anti-Semitism, has received the approval of the Israeli authorities and Jewish groups around the world. On January 8, after the European Commission published a guide to the practical definition of anti-Semitism, as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the Israeli Foreign Ministry expressed its appreciation for Brussels uncompromising commitment to combating the phenomenon of ugly and dangerous anti-Semitism. Recently, the president of the World Jewish Congress, Ron Lauder, praised the commission for its conclusions and called them a significant step forward in making Europe a better place for Jews. At the same time, we must remain attentive to the concerns of the Jewish community regarding its religious traditions. European Muslims have also been harmed by the tribunals ruling, which could create opportunities for a Jewish-Muslim partnership to explore possible solutions that guarantee religious freedom while minimizing animal suffering. To this end, the European Commission maintains a constant dialogue with representatives of the Jewish community. The debate over the right balance between animal welfare and religious freedom will continue to exist within our societies. Our uncompromising commitment to cultivating Jewish life in Europe remains a non-negotiable commitment. Emanuele Giaufret, EU ambassador to Israel (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)

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Despite the Court Ruling, the EU is Still Committed to Ensuring Jewish life in Europe - The Media Line

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Posted By admin on February 12, 2021

The COVID-19-spurred lockdown was the push Naamah Segal Karas needed to become more observant.

I started trying to keep Shabbat in 2018, and we became more observant in 2019, but that was a very hectic year, she said. When COVID came, it was like Shabbat was the only thing that broke up that monotony.

Stuck at home, many in the Jewish community began to engage with their faith differently in the past year.

The pandemic has kind of empowered Judaism to come back home, said Robin Meyerson, co-director of Project Inspire Arizona and chair of the Shabbos Project Arizona. Once restrictions on gatherings took effect, people approached her with questions about keeping a Jewish home. Others, with more time on their hands, wanted to learn about their Jewish heritage. Its everyone its families, its elderly people, she said, Theyre feeling so reinvigorated in learning.

The first four months of the pandemic, Karas, her husband and her three children ages 14, 8 and 1 started learning Hebrew together on Aish.com, in addition to the virtual weekly learning she was already doing with Meyerson. Pre-pandemic, Project Inspire offered programming once a month. Now Meyersons hosting multiple weekly virtual programs.

In the last year, we have reached 10,000 people on Zoom, she said, noting that virtual programming has also expanded her audience, since she is able to partner with other organizations and connect with people across the world. A year ago, if you would have told me I would have reached 10,000 people, I would have laughed.

Naamah Segal Karas welcomes Shabbat after lighting candles on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021.

Synagogues are different too. Instead of serving as a gathering place, they turned to virtual programming and services to encourage congregants to practice their Judaism at home.

Meri Thomason finds that engaging virtually with Rabbi Alicia Magal and the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, has meant becoming more intimately connected to her Judaism. She even created a dedicated corner for that purpose in her home.

For Zooming, the rabbi encourages us to have an area that is more sacred, she said.

Even with COVIDs hardships, Chabad of Prescott Rabbi Elie Filler believes the pandemic has brought the idea of celebrating at home back into focus.

Throughout history, what kept Judaism alive is Judaism at home, he said.

Filler recounted that when he first moved to Prescott from New York and held a service in his home, someone asked, Wow! In New York, they do this every week? To which he responded, No, every day, three times a day. He finds that people are pleased to discover all that can be done at home, up to and including making ones own Shabbat candles.

Those revelations are what he called a hidden blessing of COVID. Even amid all the suffering, there may be a deeper Jewish connection that people are gaining, he said. Discovering they can fulfill mitzvot at home has been a salve for several people hes met this year.

The pandemic has radically transformed Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitzs family Shabbat experience, he said.

We havent gone to synagogue once since the pandemic broke, he said. We miss our communal prayer and our community gatherings, but we kind of double down on that during the week virtually and really embrace the reflective, regenerative and quieter family time on Shabbat.

Yanklowitz noted he used to host community members for meals. That part has totally stopped, which is a huge loss, he said.

At the same time, the rest of the week he is able to enjoy the virtual classes and prayers at Valley Beit Midrash, where he is president and dean. He thinks virtual offerings are here to stay.

Clockwise from top left: Robin Meyerson, Daron Kormbluth and Yossie Friedman participate in a Zoom class called The Jewish Concept of the Afterlife and the Anguish of Cremation on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020.

The Jewish world is undergoing a similar reevaluation as the business world, said Meyerson, when it comes to determining the future balance of virtual and in-person meetings. Some people cant wait to get together back in person and other people do like the Zoom, she said. I think well probably have a hybrid.

Karas said keeping Shabbat is now a value and a habit one she intends to build on post-pandemic. Post-COVID God willing tomorrow my vision is that were just going to be as observant as we can be, she said. I have this firm belief that Shechina aligned all of this in my life for me, so that I would just end up in this direction, anyway, she said. JN

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Celebrating Judaism at home is a pandemic silver lining - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix

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Posted By admin on February 12, 2021

Dean-Paul Stephens|Times-News

The Jewish faith needs to expand its reach, believes Elon University Rabbi Sandra Lawson.

To that end,Lawson soon plans to take on a national role as Reconstructing Judaism's inaugural director of racial diversity, equity and inclusion. It'sa position she believes has positive implications concerning the future of her faith, and as a queer black woman, it is a role for which she is uniquely qualified.

"Diversity and equity positions are relatively new positions that address diversity, equity and inclusion within an organization," Lawson said in an interview. "I added ... 'racial' to the [diversity, equity and inclusion] part because I don't want the racial component to get lost."

Reconstructing Judaism is an international organization that represents followers of the Jewish faith's Reconstructionist movement.

"The Reconstructionist movement is my home, Lawson noted in a news release. I believe in our movement. I believe in our values. We have ahuge impact on the Jewish world.

Lawson said she took the new position because she believes in Reconstructing Judaism's intentions.

"I really want us tolive up to our values and do better," she said."Putting people in positions like this sends a message that its time to start doing better.

An Elon University rabbi since 2018, Lawson has managed to build a following that is equal parts online and offiline. On top of her usual Rabbi work, Lawson is known for using social media for both outreach and activism.

jewish: Jewish couple recounts journey at Elon University

"Currently, I'm the campus rabbi at Elon University," Lawson said, adding that her new position will allow her to do more activism work.

"My job at Elon was very time-consuming and I often felt that there was a lot of stuff in the community that I couldn't do,"Lawson said, adding that she still plans on doing work in Alamance County."I'm hoping to do more in the community, I'm hoping to be more of a clergy member in the community. My wife and I bought a house so we're invested in living here."

A lifelong member of the Jewish faith, Lawson admits that part of the reason she became a rabbi was due to a noticeable dearth of rabbis within the Jewish faith that shared her identity as a queer black woman.

"I came from a community ... called the Congregation Bet Haverim," Lawson said. "It was a pretty cool synagogue in Atlanta. I was a member and then I was a vice president and I started doing more social justice-related work. I started thinking about going to rabbinicalschool.

"I didn't know any black rabbis at the time and I kind of wondered if that was a good thing to do. And so I decided to go for it and apply to the college and today I'm a rabbi."

According toLawson, citing recent studies,people of color make up 12-15%of Judaism. In spite of this, people of color have always played a prominent role in the faith, Lawson said.

"I think, sadly, many in the United States, when they think of who is an American, are still thinking of white people," Lawson said. "Many Jews in the United States, when they think of who is a Jew, there is this idea that all Jews come from Eastern European heritage. That actually has never been true ... the majority of Jews in the world come from all over the world."

It's this and similar messages she hopes to convey in her new position, which begins next month.

"The Jewish community, just like the rest of America, is beginning to realize that diversity matters," Lawson said. "If you give people an opportunity, if you cast a wide enough net, you will get the most qualified people and you will get the most diverse group of people. What's important about my role is to make sure that all of our processes around hiring, around applicants, are equitable for everyone, to help people move past their biases."

Lawson said that the position she is preparing for likely wouldn't have existed 15 or 20 years ago.

The Jewish community, much like much of America, didn't think of this 15 or 20 years ago," Lawson said. "This is about making sure that all people have the same opportunities. I don't think this was on anyone's radar 15 years ago."

On their part, Reconstructing Judaism officials are excited to have Lawson on board.

"Reckoning with racism both systemic and personal is one of the moral demands of our time. Sandra has the substance, the experience, thepassionand the compassion to help lead our movement in this challenging and necessary work,"said Rabbi Deborah Waxman, president of Reconstructing Judaism. "I am thrilled to work with and to learn from her."

Thank you for being a subscriber! We rely on your support more than ever. It helps fund great community journalism.

Dean-Paul Stephens is a lifelong North Carolina resident who has covered communities throughout the state. He currently covers racial justice in the region. If you have racial justice related tips send an email to dstephens@gannett.com

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Gay, black Elon rabbi to take job that seeks diversity within Jewish faith - Burlington Times News

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Posted By admin on February 12, 2021

Noa Katzover does not seem like the typical student of spoken Arabic. An organizational consultant, she lives in what she calls the City of David, and most call the Arab neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem. Her family is one of about 100 Jewish families amid tens of thousands of Arab families.

I live here for ideological reasons, she tells The Jerusalem Report. I think there has to be a Jewish presence in east Jerusalem. This is the most ancient place in the state of Israel. King David established the Kingdom of Judah from here.

I live in a mixed neighborhood of Arabs and Jews and to have good neighborly relations, you need to know the language, she says.

Arabic is a difficult language and a challenge, she admits, but her neighbors appreciate her efforts.

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Katzover is not alone. More Jewish Israelis are taking classes in spoken Arabic than ever before, both in formal and informal frameworks. One of the largest informal frameworks is Madrasa, a free online site which has 80,000 registered users and a wide social media presence.

Gilad Sevitt, the founder and professional director of Madrasa, says that at least 250,000 people are exposed to the sites materials every month. The Arabic is taught in transliteration, so there is no need to learn the Arabic letters. Each lesson is broken down into digestible videos, most four or five minutes long, including dialogues and explanations of grammar. There is no charge to register for the courses.

After six years of learning Arabic in school and three years in the army in a job that entailed using the language, I couldnt actually speak to anyone, Sevitt tells The Jerusalem Report. I decided I wanted to share my knowledge of Arabic as a means of communication.

Sevitt was referring to one of the most frustrating characteristics of Arabic that every student of the language encounters. Arabic is not really one language, but a series of languages. There is classical Arabic, which is the language of the Quran, as well as modern Standard Arabic (fusha), which is the language of newspapers and radio broadcasts. Then there are a series of dialects of spoken Arabic (Amiya) including Palestinian, Lebanese, Jordanian, Egyptian, Iraqi, and Moroccan.

While most native Arabic speakers will understand you if you speak in modern standard Arabic, they might laugh at you. Its a little like using Biblical Hebrew to order a falafel. The dialects also differ, sometimes to a large extent. Many years ago, I spent a year living in Egypt and studying Egyptian Arabic. When I spoke in Egyptian Arabic in Jerusalem, people would burst out laughing, saying I sounded like an actor in the melodramatic Egyptian films that were once screened on Israel Television on Friday afternoons.

Israeli schools, if they teach Arabic at all, teach Modern Standard Arabic. Students spend the better part of a year learning the alphabet and often finish without being able to speak to anyone. That lack of communication intensifies the separation between Jews and Arabs, says Gilad Sevitt of Madrasa.

We dont speak the language of 20 percent of Israel, and almost 40 percent of the people of Jerusalem, he says, referring to the fact that a fifth of Israels nine million citizens are Arab. This is not Chinese. Its a language that is part of the Jewish tradition and Jewish experience. Almost half of Jewish in Israel originated in Arabic-speaking countries and a lot of our religious texts were written in Arabic. Arabic was a crucial part of the Jewish heritage.

Sevitt says that Madrasa has helped make Arabic cool, and it is catching on among many young Israelis.

I named my book that because I tried to put in all the idioms I could find and explain them as well as I could, Berman says, arguing that idioms are one of the best ways to learn a language. Like most creators, I invented something that I wanted for myself. I realized that idioms in any language are important if you want to speak fluently. I collected 1,000 idioms over many years.

The idioms in the book are not proverbs which sometimes have a taint of Orientalism, and focus on camels and coffee, Berman says. Rather, they contain cultural and language-specific words that are not meant to be understood in their literal form.

As an example, he tells the story of when he first made aliyah and told an immigration clerk At noheget li bananas, meaning Youre driving me crazy in Hebrew. She, of course, didnt understand the reference as there were no bananas in sight.

Berman says there has been a dramatic increase in Israelis studying spoken Arabic. He adds that his language study has also moved him to the left politically.

There has been a breakout of private teachers, tutors, and an explosion of institutions that teach Arabic, he says. I find that the higher you go in Arabic, the more left-wing you become. The more you speak the language and are able to speak with Arabs, you realize that the situation is not black and white.

The Jerusalem Intercultural Center, which runs the Arabic language center, has more than 200 students annually, although this year it is closer than 170, as some students said they didnt want to learn on Zoom.

The centers director, Hagai Agmon Snir, says that the population studying Arabic at the center has changed significantly.

Years ago we assumed that most people studying here were from the left, he says. Now we have as many people from the right and we even have a few settlers who learn with us.

Snir says that there are sometimes political arguments in class, which is fine with him as long as the arguments take place in Arabic.

He says that the reason that most people study Arabic has also changed a change he welcomes.

Until ten years ago people learned Arabic because of ideology, he says. Now most people who learn it do it because they need the language either for work or volunteering. Arabic is hard, and that is a better motivation.

They were the most serious students Ive ever had, he says.

Miller started his project in 2017 after realizing that a large number of Arabs and Muslims are very curious about Judaism but do not have anyone to ask as there are almost no Jews left in the Arab world.

The breeding ground for hatred, extremism and violence is ignorance of the other, he says. Religion is a powerful humanizing vehicle especially in the Middle East where so many people are traditional.

Miller says language is also a unifying force and he has seen a significant growth in the number of Israelis who want to learn Arabic.

There is a large wave of interest especially among younger Israelis who suddenly come to realize that Israel is in the Middle East and is both surrounded with Arabic speakers and has Arabic speakers inside it, he says. I dont think it happened in one day. Its a social process, and is a maturing of Israels Jewish society.

Perhaps ironically, the growing interest in Arabic comes as the prospects for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement are receding. It has also been a relatively quiet time in terms of terror attacks.

Theres a sense that Arabic is less threatening, and the bite of Arabic may be less sharp, Miller says. It allows Israelis to relate to it as the language of the neighbors and not just the language of the enemy.

For some students, it is specifically violent Palestinian attacks that pushed them to intensify their study of Arabic.

Michal Shuster, who teaches community interpreting at Bar Ilan University, has always had many Arabic speaking students. She used Arabic during her army service, but hadnt taken an Arabic class in many years.

But in 2015, when lone wolf Palestinians began attacking Israelis, she decided to start speaking more Arabic to friends and colleagues as a way to bridge the mutual fear that Arabs and Jews felt during that time.

Palestinian friends said they were afraid to speak Arabic in the street, she says. My response was to start speaking Arabic with friends and colleagues, even if I make mistakes. I wanted to dome kind of trust-building measure using the language to connect. I decided to take the Arabic out of my head and I waited for the opportunity to start learning again.

This year, with the classes of the Jerusalem Intercultural Center on Zoom, she joined an Arabic class. She said many Arabs are surprised when she approaches them or answers them in Arabic. She said there is an Arab restaurant in the Galilee that she often stops in. A few months ago, she said she was able to have a real conversation with them in Arabic, and the owners encouraged her to keep studying Arabic.

It is such a shame that not many Jewish Israelis speak Arabic, Shuster says. It shouldnt be so exceptional but it still is.

Osher Seaton, a lawyer and activist, has been studying Arabic for five years, and runs a Hebrew-Arabic language exchange. When she moved from Modiin to Jerusalem she heard much more Arabic in the bus, the park and the mall and she wanted to be able to speak with people. Seaton believes that language is also the best way to learn about Arab culture.

There is so much to learn about Islam and Palestinian culture, she says. And Palestinian culture is different depending on whether you are from east Jerusalem, the Galilee, or Bedouin from the south.

In one of Israels recent elections, Seaton says, she had a chance to practice her Arabic for a good cause. During the recent Israeli election, she volunteered to drive Bedouin women in southern Israel to the polls.

They are dependent on their male family members to get driven places and they dont always prioritize women getting to the polls, she says. The men wanted to interview me to make sure I was OK, and I was able to speak to them in Arabic.

While there are a lot of places to learn basic Arabic, she says, there are not enough opportunities to learn advanced Arabic. In her language exchange, she observes, the Hebrew speakers want to talk about politics much more than the Arabic speakers do.

Almost 40 percent of Jerusalem residents are Palestinians, and many, especially the women, do not know Hebrew. As a result, there is a growing demand for both Hebrew and Arabic teachers in Jerusalem.

In addition, an increasing number of Israelis are learning Arabic so that they can speak to locals when they visit the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and Morocco, which all recently established relations with Israel, and host guests from those countries.

I feel it is important to be able to speak with people in their own language rather than requiring them to speak my language, Shuster says. But I find practicing enough to be a real challenge.

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More Israelis are learning to speak Arabic than ever before - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on February 12, 2021

We all know the saying: two Jews, three opinions. But for once, the controversy around Californias Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum seemed to be an exception.

In 2016, California passed legislation requiring that the state Board of Education adopt an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, or ESMC, for high school students, hoping to better represent the diversity of students within the state. The first draft, released in August 2019, unfortunately contained antisemitic and anti-Israel content. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have made ethnic studies a high school graduation requirement, notingin a September statement that the model curriculum still needs revision to ensure that the draft Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum achieves balance, fairness and is inclusive of all communities.

A third draft was released in December. Californialaw requires the state Board of Education toadopt an Ethnic StudiesModel Curriculum by March 31. While the ESMCs critics continue to cite objectionable or outright bigoted language from the initial draft, the reality is thatbecause ofJewish communal unity in Californiawe have madetremendous progressin getting major changes made.

Since 2019, Jewish and interfaith groups throughout California successfully united to remove antisemitism and the erasure of Middle Eastern minorities from the proposed curriculum, turning what had been a hurtful document into a model for how to include content about Jews in the contemporary classroom. I know because I have been deeply involved with this process.

As the executive director of JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, an organization created to raise awareness of these 1 million Jewish refugees and their Sephardic and Mizrahi descendants, I organized a coalition in 2019 of 11 California-based Sephardic organizationsto respond to the problematic first draft of the curriculum and to stay engaged in helping the state create a less divisive curriculum.

Together we shared our deep concerns and hopes for a curriculum that followed the statutory guidelines created by the state Board of Education for the ESMC to be balanced, inclusive, rigorous and most importantly, free of discrimination and bias.

Our journey has not been without challenges. Jewish communal leaders and volunteers across the state have studied and debated thousands of pages and multiple drafts and navigated the too frequent affronts to our work by those still not quite ready to find space in schoolbooks for our diverse Jewish-American ethnic groups and experiences.

Our efforts bore fruit: Thanks to the tremendous work of StandWithUs, the American Jewish Committee, the Israeli-American Council, Jewish Community Relations Council, interfaith allies, JIMENA and our partners, we mobilized diverse Jewish communities throughout California and worked with the California Department of Education not only to remove antisemitic content, but to add lesson plans about Jewish Americans and antisemitism.

Despite reports to the contrary, the latest draft of Californias Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum does not teach the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Students will not be taught the lie that Jews are somehow foreign interlopers in our ancestral homeland. Instead, students will learn that all Jews are indigenous to Israel, they will study the realities of contemporary antisemitism, hear about the diversity of Jewish life in America and be exposed many for the first time to the stories of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish Americans.

The inclusion in the curriculum of JIMENAs lesson plan, Anti-Semitism and Jewish Middle Eastern Americans, represents an achievement for the Mizrahi and Sephardic community in America. For the first time in U.S. history, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish Americans will be explicitly represented in the statewide K-12 curriculum, and California public school students will have the opportunity to learn about our communities and hear our stories. Los Angeless Iranian Jewish community is one of the largest Middle Eastern diaspora communities in the world, and we are proud that through modifications to the curriculum, students from this community will see themselves reflected in their studies.

Our success is also a testament to inter-community organizing: We and other members of Advocates for Inclusive Middle Eastern Education, an interfaith coalition of MENA minority communities that represents the 60 percent of Californias MENA population, advocated for an inclusive curriculum that doesnt overlook the states Iranians, Kurds, Assyrians, Bahai, Yezidi and other non-Muslim Middle Eastern minority communities.

The new draft curriculum is one that represents and celebrates all Jews, and provides critical resources and contexts to the current struggle against antisemitism. Perhaps most crucial, through JIMENAs lesson, the Ethic Studies Model Curriculum for the first time canonizes the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism considered the gold standard by international governments, organizations and much of the Jewish-American community in K-12 education in the biggest state in the country.

It is unfortunate and counterproductive that after years of hard work and toil, some in the Jewish community wish to undo these advances and discredit the Ethnic Studies curriculum outright including eliminating its important lessons on antisemitism. Citing outdated material and misrepresenting the lessons content commentators have styled themselves as defenders of Jews in the classroom.

In reality, they are erasing the combined labors of countless Jews in California, and the consensus efforts of Californias communal Jewish organizations, which have ensured that Jews of all backgrounds will see themselves reflected in the Ethnic Studies curriculum.

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California Jews should be proud of updated ethnic studies curriculum - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on February 12, 2021

The Israeli Health Ministry is using its resources to fight a dangerous and quick spread of vaccine misinformation in the country's haredi (ultra-Orthodox) communities. The ministry's department for the education of the ultra-Orthodox public gave examples of the misinformation that is spreading which includes insisting that senior haredi rabbis who have publicly supported the vaccine do not support it 'in reality,' as well as presenting information to look medically accurate that advocates against vaccination.According to the department, the small, fringe group that is spreading the misinformation is denying infection rates, insisting that the virus is only a light flu, and that the pandemic is a conspiracy. The group also insists that those who are sick turn only to "doctors they can trust." To begin to combat this, the Health Ministry's department will publish and disseminate a book of halachic responses that will tackle each of the claims made by vaccine-deniers one-by-one, with reliable sources from the field. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, told Jews everywhere to get the vaccine if they could, saying that it is obligatory according to Halacha. In December, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, one of the leading Ashkenazi haredi rabbis, received his vaccine, and urged the public to follow. Just last month, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the most senior ultra-Orthodox rabbis in the world, called for the second time to the ultra-Orthodox community to seek out the vaccine. And, on Thursday, schools urged teachers and students over 16 to go get vaccinated.

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Posters & books: Health Min. fights vaccine misinformation among haredim - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on February 12, 2021

The following is a compilation of leading rabbinic voices outlining the halachic imperative to take the coronavirus vaccine. The list is far from exhaustive and does not include scores of other leaders who have vaccinated and who agree that taking the vaccine is a halachic obligation. The list below includes statements by the following rabbis:

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, R David Lau. Sephardic Chief Rabbi, R Yitzhak Yosef. Former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. Chief Rabbi of England, R Ephraim Mirvis. The Orthodox Union and Rabbincal Council of America. R Chaim Kanievsky. Rabbi Gershon Edelstein. Rabbi Asher Weiss. Rabbi Hershel Schachter. Rabbi Mordechai Willig. Chief Rabbi of Tzfat. Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu. Rabbi Avraham Rubinstein, mayor of Bnei Brak. Rabbi Meir Mazuz, head of Yeshivat Kisei Rahamim.

In addition to all the rabbis above, the follow rabbis (among many others unlisted) publicly vaccinated: The Chief Rabbi of Turkey, Rabbi Isak Haleva. The Vizhnitzer Rebbe. The Erlauer Rebbe. The Boyaner Rebbe. The Gerer Rebbe. The Belzer Rebbe. Rabbi Shalom Cohen, senior Sephardi Haredi Rabbi. Rabbi David HaCohen, head of the Hebron yeshiva.

Statements from top rabbis & leading halachic authorities:

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, R David Lau: With Gods help, we have gotten here. After months of the coronavirus raging, there is a vaccine available that can help contain the virus. Everyone who can be vaccinated against the virus according to doctors instructions needs to do so. COVID is a certain danger, compared to minor concerns about side effects.

Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, R Yitzhak Yosef: I am calling on our brethren in the Holy Land to follow doctors instructions. Allow them to heal us Now that we have learned that a vaccine has been found that prevents COVID, and all the necessary trials were conducted and experts say that the vaccine is effective in stopping the pandemic and is not danger each and every person must be vaccinated in accordance with doctors orders.

Former Chief Rabbi of Israel, R Yisrael Meir Lau: You must not be afraidVaccination is an obligation for all of usI very much hope that this vaccine will bring complete health to all of us. We are all in this together, it is not a matter of right or left, religious or no, Jewish, Arab or anything else.

The Orthodox Union (OU) and the Rabbinical Council of America ruled on December 15, 2020 that the Torah obligation to preserve our lives and the lives of others requires us to vaccinate for COVID-19 as soon as a vaccine becomes availableWe strongly encourage all those eligible to access the COVID-19 vaccination to do so. We hope and pray that such steps will help bring to an end the tragic toll that the pandemic has taken on our community and beyond.

R Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of England: We should recognize Hashem is calling upon us to be His partners. He wants us to have hishtadlut, our efforts to behave with responsibility, at this critically important time to ensure that we dont take any risk with regard to our health and that we responsibly safeguard and protect the lives of othersWhen a vaccine will be offered to you, you have a religious imperative to take it, to look after yourself and to look after those around you.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky said that everyone needs to be vaccinated to stop the spread of the virus. When one of his followers said some people are reluctant to be vaccinated out of fear it will harm them, the rabbi responded one should not be afraid. The group of followers and Kanievsky concluded the meeting with a blessing for health and the success of Israels vaccine campaign.

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein: The vaccine is a great salvationthere is no danger from it and there should be no concern about the safety of the shots. The principles of caution (of the government health regulations) are a great halachic obligationIf someone is not cautious, then he harms others and puts them in danger. Someone who is not cautious sins [and violates the religious precept] of you shall protect your own lives and is deserving punishment.

Rabbi Avraham Elimelech Firer, speaking on behalf of three major Haredi leaders Rabbis Kanievsky, Edelstein and Shalom Cohen: Everyone who is able to be vaccinated, should do so.

Rabbi Asher Weiss: When we deal with the question [of whether] to take the vaccine: Yes. Definitely yesEvery new medicine or medical procedure might have long-term effects, but we always try to strike the right balance between what is needed now and what might, theoretically, happen in the futurePeople are dying, people are suffering, and we could alleviate this pain, and diminish the suffering and save many people. This is a safe vaccine as far as we could know.

Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu: I tell everyone to take vaccines. Those harmed by vaccines are very few and it is not at all certain that they died because of the vaccine. On the other hand, most people are cured and live thanks to vaccines and health systems. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the health systems that save lives. We must not speak badly of them. We must not hear anyone who tells us how bad they are and how malicious their intentions are toward us. Medicine and vaccines prove themselves. All those who speak badly about them have not proven themselves in saving lives. Therefore the halakha (Jewish law) says that you trust vaccines, you trust drugs. You trust the health systems. You do not hear at all people who scare and encourage not to get vaccinated. They are playing with the lives of others, and perhaps also their own lives.

Rabbi Hershel Schachter: I highly recommend everyone should take the vaccine.[Hashem] gave us such chochmah (wisdom) to develop the vaccine we should use it. It can protect us and protect the whole community.

Rabbi Mordechai Willig: Any clarity you receive from me is a result of my training from my Rebbe, Rav Soloveitchik, who told us as rabbonim that there are fields we dont know too much about and we are duty-bound to listen to those who are experts in that field.

Rabbi Avraham Rubinstein, mayor of Bnei Brak, said upon getting vaccinated. Go and get vaccinated to protect yourselves and your loved ones.

Rabbi Meir Mazuz, head of Yeshivat Kisei Rahamim, stated: any allegations against the vaccine were built on imaginary evidence.

These are only a sampling of the multitude of rabbis from across the Orthodox spectrum who have come out unequivocally in support of the coronavirus vaccine. This list is not meant to be exhaustive. If you have statements from other leading rabbis please do include them in the comments below and/or send them to me at chaya@shalevcenter.org

May these voices of rabbinic authority be helpful guides to those questioning the rightness of this vaccine. And may the world experience a speedy and total healing.

Psychotherapist, inspirational speaker, wordsmith, performance artist & Co-Director of Jerusalem's Shalev Center. Chaya lives in the heart of Jerusalem with her husband R'Hillel & their 4 energetic children. Read more pieces like this in real-life book form: https://www.amazon.com/Lit-Poems-Ignite-Jewish-Holidays/dp/1623930219

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Top rabbis rule on the need to vaccinate - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on February 12, 2021

Dr. Jeff Hersh| Daily News Correspondent

Q: My neighbors son was diagnosed with Mediterranean fever even though he has never left the country. Is this contagious?

A: The "full" name for this condition is Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), and it is an inherited condition which is not contagious.FMF has an autosomal recessive inheritance, so both parents must be carriers for a patient to have the disease. There is variable penetrance of this disease, so even having two copies of the gene does not always mean the patient will be affected. The Mediterranean part of the name is because of the increased incidence of this familial condition in people with Turkish, Armenian, Sephardic Jewish, Arab, North African and/or other Mediterranean descent, with up to 1 in 500 people or more with this direct heritage affected.The number of people with a more mixed heritage that is affected is much lower. For example, for Ashkenazi Jews with a European heritage (the heritage of most American and European Jews) only about 1 in every 75,000 is affected.

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FMF is an episodic condition, with recurrent bouts of fever and serositis (inflammation of the tissue membrane that lines one or more of the bodys organs), for example the lining of the heart (pericarditis), lungs (pleuritis), abdomen (peritonitis), a single joint (mono-arthritis), or others.

The first flareup of symptoms in patients with FMF is before the age of 10 in two-thirds of patients and before the age of 20 in over 90 percent. The remaining 10 percent of cases manifest in adulthood, and rarely even as late as age 50 or older.

The symptoms of FMF include fever in over 90 percent of bouts (hence the name). Pain/other complications from the serositis in the abdomen, chest, joint(s), muscles, genitals, head or other locations, and sometimes certain skin lesions, occur in most episodes, although episodes of just fever with no other symptoms can occur.

There is no specific test for FMF during an acute bout so the diagnosis is made based on the history and physical exam, although general blood tests to look for inflammation can be helpful.However, because the symptoms may mimic many other conditions (for example fever and abdominal pain may mimic appendicitis), other tests are often done. Genetic testing for FMF is now possible to confirm the diagnosis.

During an acute FMF attack treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms. Colchicine (a medication best known as a treatment for gout since it helps reduce inflammation and the buildup of uric acid crystals) is the first line treatment to prevent attacks and reduce inflammation (and hence the development of complications). The roughly 5 percent of patients who do not respond to colchicine treatment, and the additional 2 to 5 percent who have severe side effects (usually gastrointestinal symptoms) may be treated with other anti-inflammatory medications such as interleukin-1inhibitors or others.

Complications from FMF may include scarring from the repeated bouts of inflammation (for example leading to adhesions in the abdomen which can cause small bowel obstructions), amyloid build up (possibly leading to amyloidosis), infertility in women (from scarring and adhesions), and/or certain organ dysfunction (such as kidney compromise).

A "typical" attack of FMF includes a serositis and fever for a duration of 12 hours to 3 days in a patient who has had similar bouts 3 or more times in the past.Some patients may have several types of typical attacks, for example sometimes having peritonitis and sometimes having pleuritis or other serositis flare-up. A typical attack is a major diagnostic criterium for FMF (the diagnosis may be made based on this alone), whereas non-typical attacks (for example lasting less than 6 hours or more than four days) are considered a minor criteria; two minor criteria are required for the clinical diagnosis. Other criteria that support the diagnosis include a family history of FMF, severe symptoms (especially if symptom-free between attacks), overall responsiveness to colchicine treatment (such as decreased frequency and/or severity of attacks) and/or other symptoms (for example episodes of blood or protein in the urine).

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FMF patients typically have multiple attacks at an early age, and usually can identify a family history of this condition. Although there is presently no cure for FMF, patients who have anti-inflammatory colchicine started before they develop certain complications (for example protein in their urine or amyloidosis complications) and respond to this therapy (as most patients do) have an overall normal life expectancy.It is therefore very important for the diagnosis to be made as early as possible.

Jeff Hersh, Ph.D., M.D., can be reached at DrHersh@juno.com

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What's Up Doc? Mediterranean fever mimics many other conditions - MetroWest Daily News

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