Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on November 11, 2020

On the night of Nov. 9, 1938, Nazi leadership in Germany orchestrated widespread violence against Jewish communities, with mobs vandalizing and looting more than 7,000 Jewish businesses, damaging or destroying some 1,400 synagogues and killing hundreds of Jewish people.

On Tuesday night, the Keene State College Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies hosted its annual remembrance of those events, known as Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass.

On that dreaded evening in 1938, if you had been listening, you would have heard the sound of breaking glass, Peter McBride, the new director of the Cohen Center, said during the event, the theme of which was What Does Kristallnacht Teach Us Today?

Our job today is to listen for the sound of breaking glass in our modern society, McBride continued. What are the symbols of exclusion, what are the symbols of prejudice, what are the signs of discrimination going on around us? Therefore, we remember Kristallnacht to remind ourselves to care for one another, to build peace, to be a community in which compassion is shared between all of us, with respect and justice for all.

The event typically draws hundreds of people to the Colonial Theatre, but due to COVID-19 pandemic, it was held virtually, and streamed live on the Cohen Centers website.

Although we could not be together in downtown Keene, we hope that you will feel a sense of community, and a renewed energy for building a better future for ourselves and for our children, Tom White, the Cohen Centers coordinator of educational outreach, said at the end of the hour-long program. We will continue to remember and to teach.

White added that the history of Kristallnacht, which is viewed as a prelude to the Holocaust, should prompt Americans to confront their own nations history of systemic racism.

Kristallnacht was a threshold moment for Nazi Germany. It was organized, it was public, it was personal, he said. There could be no more denial of government intentions, as buildings burned and neighbors screamed. Kristallnacht reminds us of the lethal, self-destructive and devastating history of systemic white supremacy and white nationalism.

We force ourselves to acknowledge our own countrys history of racism, bigotry and anti-Semitism in order to build our capacity to work toward a more just future.

This work, White added, is difficult, but necessary.

Remembrance should unsettle us, he said. It should challenge us. It should make us nervous and uncomfortable. What we choose to remember, how we use its legacy to challenge ourselves, who we choose to stand with, matters.

The Cohen Centers Kristallnacht remembrance normally fills the Colonial Theatre with the glow of candles lit in memory of victims of the Holocaust and other atrocities, and in hope for the future. During this years virtual event, people from around the world sent videos of themselves lighting candles, and offering their remembrances.

I light this candle because all are vulnerable to injustice, to those who target, divide and oppress, said Elke Heege, a representative of Keenes partner city of Einbeck, Germany. Other people lighting candles included leaders from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and survivors of the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, among others.

As we witness their candles of memory, and of hope, we ... see that our work is ongoing, and that we are connected by friends around the globe who share the same vision and mission of the Cohen Center, White said.

The evening concluded with a recorded panel discussion, in which several Keene community leaders reflected on the importance of commemorating Kristallnacht and how this remembrance should rouse action. For Ritu Budakoti, who is president of the Keene India Association and serves on the citys Human Rights Committee, that means teaching future generations about the power of unity.

Im going to do everything in my capacity to educate our young minds and let them feel the power that we are ordinary people. We may be ordinary, but when we come together, boy, we can move mountains, she said during the panel discussion.

Pierre Morton, who serves on the Keene Racial Justice and Community Safety Committee, said Tuesdays event was his first time participating in the Kristallnacht remembrance. Reflecting on the history of that night, Morton said he wants to be a model for his son of someone who continues to stand, even when standing is not popular, standing for my beliefs.

Keene Mayor George Hansel, the third participant in the panel discussion which was moderated by Keene State Associate Vice President for Institutional Diversity and Equity Dottie Morris added that the lessons of Kristallnacht are accessible for everyone.

I dont have to fully understand someones experience to stand with them, he said. I dont have to have every answer. You dont have to be an expert to be an advocate.

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At virtual vigil, speakers apply lessons of 1938 Nazi violence to today - The Keene Sentinel

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Posted By admin on November 11, 2020

Two years ago, barrister and TV personality Robert Rinder appeared on a moving episode of Who Do You Think You Are? to trace the fate of his mothers family during the Holocaust.

Understandably, the experience had a huge impact on Rinder and My Family, the Holocaust and Me was a way both to deepen his own understanding of what happened and to widen the conversation out to other families similarly affected.

i's TV newsletter: what you should watch next

Rinders mothers family, with the exception of his grandfather Morris, was murdered in Treblinka Camp. His Lithuanian ancestors on his fathers side were buried in a mass grave in Belarus. In this opening episode of the documentary Rinder travelled to Lithuania to follow in the footsteps of his fathers relations next week he will visit Treblinka with his mother Angela but the main focus was on other families still struggling to come to terms with their own loss and grief.

For psychologist Bernie Graham, the Holocausts shadow, its dark impact has affected everything, its shaped my entire family. Bernies mother arrived in England on the Kindertransport at the age of eight, his grandfather Solomon survived Buchenwald concentration camp but his grandmother, Sabina, died elsewhere and the uncle Bernie was named after apparently took his life in Dachau before his 19th birthday. Growing up, those deaths haunted the family: I feel in some ways that I was born into a state of bereavement.

Because of this, he had never visited Germany. Now almost 60, he headed to Frankfurt for the first time to uncover the truth. A harrowing journey followed, as Bernie discovered that his grandmother, along with a thousand other people, was forced to pay her own fare to Sobibor Extermination Camp where she was murdered. As Bernie broke down in tears, it was impossible for the viewer at home not to join him.

As Rinder aptly concluded after a powerful, emotional and timely hours television, it was hard not to feel that what we were watching was the most articulate expression of human evil that could be imagined.

Thei on TVnewsletter is a daily email full of suggestions of what to watch as well as the latest TV news, opinions and interviews.Sign up hereto stay up to date with the best new TV.

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My Family, the Holocaust and Me, BBC1, review: An emotional and timely film from Robert Rinder - iNews

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Posted By admin on November 11, 2020

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. The Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown St. Petersburg reopens Monday, November 9, after the pandemic kept doors closed for about eight months.

Executive director Elizabeth Gelman says museum members will be the first wave of guests allowed to return. First responders will be included in the next group, followed by the general public in January.

BayCare Health helped the museum safely reopen with new social distancing floor markers, certain rooms closed to guests and a new self-guided tour available on your smartphone.

Monday's reopening will feature a commemoration of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, an infamous date in the Nazi genocide of Jewish people.

Gelman says this is an appropriate time in our history -- a divided angry nation -- for the museum to start welcoming guests back.

"It's not the division in the country that's the problem," she says. "It's the chaos that allows forces of hate and violence to rush in.....Everything we do here is to prevent another atrocity."

To take a virtual tour of the Florida Holocaust Museum, click here.

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Florida Holocaust Museum reopens Monday after being closed for eight months due to the pandemic - ABC Action News

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Posted By admin on November 11, 2020

The Arkadi Monastery ( ) is one of Cretes most venerated symbols of freedom.

By the mid-19th century, the Ottomans had occupied Crete for more than two centuries, despite frequent bloody uprisings by Cretan rebelsdetermined to win independence and union with Greece.

During the Cretan revolt of 1866, the Arkadi monastery played an active role in the Cretan resistance of Ottoman rule. It was manned by 259 armed men (including 45 monks) and sheltered 943 Greeks (mostly women and children) seeking refugee from the encroaching Turks.

On the morning of 8 November, an army of 15,000 Ottomans and 30 cannons, directed by Turkish commander Suleyman, arrived on the hills of the monastery. Suleyman sent a last request for surrender, however the Cretans responded with gun fire.

The battle stopped with nightfall, and began again in the evening of November 9. Cannons destroyed the doors of the monastery and the Turks made it into the building. At the same time, the Cretans were running out of ammunition and they were forced to battle with only bayonets or other sharp objects. The Turks had the advantage.

The last Cretan fighters were finally defeated and hid within the monastery. Thirty-six insurgents found refuge in the refectory, near the ammunitions. Discovered by the Ottomans, who forced the door, they were massacred.

Meanwhile, the women and children were hiding in the monasterys storage room. The Turkish soldiers had them surrounded. That is when Cretan patriot Konstantinos Giaboudakis gathered the consensus of all inside to do the unthinkable- set the barrels of powder on fire and die, choosing to sacrifice themselves rather than surrender. The explosion also killed more than 1,500 Ottoman soldiers.

Of the 964 people present at the start of the assault, 846 were killed in combat or at the moment of the explosion. 114 men and women were captured, but three or four managed to escape, including one of the messengers who had gone for reinforcements. The remains of numerous Cretan Christians were collected and placed in the windmill, which was made into a reliquary in homage to the defenders of Arkadi.

The Ottomans considered taking Arkadi a big victory and celebrated it with cannon fire. However, the tragedy of Arkadi turned world opinion on the conflict. Volunteers from Serbia, Hungary and Italy arrived on the island.

Frenchman Gustave Glourens, a teacher at the Collge de France, enlisted and arrived in Crete by the end of 1866. He formed a small group of philhellenists with three other Frenchmen, an Englishman, an American, an Italian and a Hungarian. This group published a brochure on The question of the Orient and the Cretan Renaissance, contacted French politicians and organised conferences in France and in Athens.

Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi wrote letters praising the patriotism of the Cretans and their wish for independence.

Letters written by French poet Victor Hugo were published in the newspaper KleioinTrieste, which contributed to the worldwide reaction. The letters gave encouragement to the Cretans and told them that their cause would succeed. He described the tragedy of Arkadi: One knows this word, Arkadian, but one hardly understands what it means. And here are some of the precise details that have been neglected. In Arkadia, the monastery on Mount Ida, founded by Heraclius, six thousand Turks attacked one hundred ninety-seven men and three hundred forty-three women and also children. The Turks had twenty-six cannons and two howitzers, the Greeks had two hundred forty rifles. The battle lasted two days and two nights; the convent had twelve hundred holes found in it from cannon fire; one wall crumbled, the Turks entered, the Greeks continued the fight, one hundred fifty rifles were down and out and yet the struggle continued for another six hours in the cells and the stairways, and at the end there were two thousand corpses in the courtyard. Finally the last resistance was broken through; the masses of the Turks took the convent. There only remained one barricaded room that held the powder and, in this room, next to the altar, at the center of a group of children and mothers, a man of eighty years, a priest, the hegumen Gabriel, in prayerthe door, battered by axes, gave and fell. The old man put a candle on the altar, took a look at the children and the women and lit the powder and spared them. A terrible intervention, the explosion, rescued the defeatedand this heroic monastery, that had been defended like a fortress, ended like a volcano.

Not finding the necessary solution from the big European powers, the Cretans sought aid from the United States. The Americans became sympathetic toward the Cretans efforts and many American philhellenes arrived to advocate for the idea of Cretan independence.

In 1868 a question of whether to recognise Cretan independence was addressed in the House of Representatives, but the majority ultimately voted not to intervene in Ottoman affairs.

In 1898, with help from Greece and the Great Powers (England, France, Italy and Russia), Crete won its independence and the Turks withdrew from the island, which they had held since 1669.

Then in 1913, the long-fought-for goal was achieved and Crete was united with Greece.

The Arkadi Monastery became a national sanctuary in honour of the Cretan resistance. 8 November is a day of commemoration. The explosion did not end the Cretan insurrection, but it attracted the attention of the rest of the world.

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November 8, 1866: Commemorating The Holocaust Of The Arkadi Monastery - GreekCityTimes.com

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Posted By admin on November 11, 2020

Dora Apel, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, will present a Displaced and Dreaming in Postwar Germany: Memory, Photography and My Parents as Displaced Persons, a free Zoom workshop on Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 5 to 6:15 p.m.

This program is being hosted by South Jersey Holocaust Coalition and New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, with additional funding from One Jewish Community-Jewish Federation of Cumberland, Gloucester & Salem Counties.

Apel is the W. Hawkins Ferry endowed chair professor emerita in modern and contemporary art history at Wayne State University in Detroit. She is an art historian, cultural critic and author whose work focuses on issues of trauma, memory, gender, race, national identity, globalization and the ruins of capitalism.

Apel, who grew up in Vineland on a poultry farm, has written about her parents' Holocaust experience and its traumatic effects, among other topics, in her recent book Calling Memory into Place. She examines memorials, photographs, artworks and her own experiences of illness and recovery to explore strategies for unforgetting the past, building on the trauma and the resilience inherited from her mothers survival of the Holocaust, as Marianne Hirsch notes.

Educators, students and the public are invited to take part in the session; 1.5 Professional Development hours will be granted to professionals by state Commission on Holocaust Education.

Registration (password protected) is required at holocaustcoalition.com.

For more information visit the website, South Jersey Holocaust Coalitions Facebook page at South Jersey Holocaust Coalition or by emailing holocaustcoalition@gmail.com.

Send community news to south@njadvancemedia.com.

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South Jersey Holocaust Coalition hosts online program with daughter of Holocaust survivors - nj.com

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Posted By admin on November 11, 2020

The world media is abuzz with news about the presidential elections in the United States, the fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh and the upcoming second wave of the COVID-19 epidemic. That being said, the situation in Syria remains very much in the focus of attention of analysts and political scientists.

Recently, against the backcloth of the developments in Syria, media outlets have increasingly been discussing issues pertaining to relations between Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI).

It is no secret that Iran was the first country to join the civil war in Syria that erupted in 2011. It was Tehran that provided emergency assistance to President Bashar Assad, preventing his overthrow by the opposition forces. What happened next did not unfold in a way Tehran expected though.

By the summer of 2014, The Islamic State terrorist organization (aka IS, ISIS, Daesh all banned in Russia) had taken control of the eastern part of the country, announcing the creation of a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq with its capital in Raqqa.

In 2015, the Syrian government forces, the military contingent of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), led by General Qasem Soleimani, the Lebanese Hezbollah, as well as the pro-Iranian multinational Shiite formations suffered a series of serious setbacks putting in question the very existence of President Assads regime

Trying to save the situation, General Soleimani pays two visits to Moscow in late July and early August 2015, to discuss the situation in Syria.

Shortly after, Russia receives an official request for assistance from Damascus, and on September 30, the Russian Aerospace Forces launch military operations against ISIS terrorists, and ultimately crush the terrorist groups in Syria and preserve the countrys sovereign status.

In view of the anti-terrorist forces successes in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was now time to withdraw all foreign armed forces from Syria.

We believe that after the Syrian armed forces significant victories in the fight against terrorism, and with the start of a more active phase of the political process there, foreign armed forces will be withdrawn from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, President Putin said when meeting with Bashar Assad in Sochi on May 17, 2018.

Putins statement caused a mixed reaction in Tehran, with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stating that Iranian forces were in Syria with the official permission of the authorities, and hinted that Tehran was not going to leave the Syrian territory, adding that it was too important for Iran geopolitically.

Russia views Syria as a multinational, multi-confessional, and at the same time a secular state, which maintains friendly relations with Moscow and respects its interests both in that country and in the Middle East as a whole (including the Russian air force base in Khmeimim and the naval station in Tartus.) Equally important for Russia is the fact that Syria has normal relations with its neighbors, primarily Israel and Turkey. With the destruction of the Islamic State organization, Moscow believes that the formation of a new Syria can only be ensured by peaceful means through activating the constitutional process that would involve all interested parties, including those opposed to Bashar Assad, whose continued stay in power is not something Russia will necessarily insist on in the future.

Meanwhile, with the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee facing serious hurdles due to the deep divisions among its members, President Assad remains the only symbol of Syrian statehood. Moscow is fully aware of this and despite various views about Bashar Assads political future, is making every effort possible to strengthen Syrias sovereign status. Armed forces subordinate to a legitimate leadership are a very important factor of sovereignty and statehood, and in this sense Russia has done a lot for Syria and its future.

During the five years of its presence in Syria, Russia has been working hard to reorganize, modernize and equip the Syrian army, improving its professional level, restoring the chain of command and combat readiness. Russia also helped with the formation, training and equipment of the 4th and 5th corps of the Syrian army, helped reorganize the Power of the Tigers elite unit, which scored numerous victories over the terrorists. This means that by reviving the armed forces subordinate exclusively to the Syrian state, Russia strengthened not the regime of Bashar Assad, but the Syrian statehood.

Iran, for its part, sees Syria as an outpost in its strategic struggle against Israel and misguided Muslim regimes that have sold themselves out to world Zionism and American imperialism. Tehran has made huge human and material sacrifices to erect this fortress, losing during its the nine-year participation in the Syrian war thousands of its fighters, including 11 generals. In addition, since 2011, Tehran has reportedly spent between $5 billion and $20 billion annually in assistance to Damascus.

Iran is paying such a high price in Syria for a reason, however, since it views the Arab country as a golden link a term proposed by Ali Akbar Velayati, the foreign policy adviser to Irans Supreme Leader in a Shiite chain stretching from Iran westward across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. This chain is also called the Shiite belt or axis of resistance (apparently to the United States and Israel). As Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the Aerospace Forces of the IRGC, explained very frankly, all members of the Axis of Resistance are united, and we must join together to withdraw the American forces from the region and destroy the Zionist regime Iran stretches from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean and from Ansar Allah in Yemen to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

For Iran, the loss of Syria would mean a rupture of this axis of resistance, the loss of land routes to Lebanon and to its creation, Hezbollah, it would mean the loss of control over the Syrian-Israeli border, a serious loss of credibility among Shiite groups in the Middle East, and, in general, a weakening of Tehrans positions in the region.

Tehran intensified its activity in Syria following the destruction of the main terrorist forces, working on several tracks.

First, Iran has deployed in Syria the elite units of the Quds Special Forces, which are part of the IRGC and are fighting on the ground. Their officers also act as commanders of Shiite groups , as well as instructors and advisers to pro-Iranian armed formations subordinate to Damascus.

The Iranian-controlled Lebanese Hezbollah is the largest and most combat-ready of the Shiite organizations, boasting significant resources, including its own army, financial structures, and a large network of representative offices in the region. Hezbollah is one of the most powerful actors in the Syrian conflict.

In Syria, the Iranians are establishing their military bases in the most strategic areas and building warehouses with weapons, ammunition and material and technical means.

The IRGC is setting up all kinds of staging posts and warehouses for Hezbollah, which accumulate and store weapons and ammunition, including for further transportation to Lebanon. This is often done close to Russian military installations in order to secure against military strikes by Israel, which is also active in the region against Iranian military units, primarily Hezbollah. Tehran knows that the Israelis will not launch missile and airstrikes on Russian servicemen and thus ensures the security of its facilities.

In its efforts to rebuild the Syrian armed forces, Iran, unlike Russia, is creating parallel non-state military structures not directly subordinate to Damascus, but answering to pro-Iranian Syrians or directly to IRGC officers. The Iranians are also trying to establish closest possible contacts with the Syrian army by offering the services of their commanders. The 4th Division is exactly one such formation.

Secondly, Iran is exercising a large-scale economic expansion in Syria, with its representatives actively buying real estate, various industrial enterprises (even those damaged by war), and land.

Deals are made either for Iranians or Syrians, representing Tehrans interests in Syria primarily Shiites and, to a lesser extent, Alawites. For example, in the capital Damascus, one can see a lot of advertisements and shop signs in Persian (Farsi). Iran is most actively expanding its presence in many of Syrias economic sectors.

Thirdly, this is certainly an ideological expansion. The Iranians are actively promoting Shia principles among the Syrian population. Converting Sunnis to Shiites may not be easy, but in principle, it is possible. Before the events of 2010-2011, Syria was not a very religious country. Therefore, Syrians without any clear religious affiliation are the primary objects of Shiite proselytizing. Moreover, the Iranians are actively handing out various economic and financial privileges to many Syrian demographics, above all Alawites and Shiites, in the form of humanitarian aid, and carry out large-scale propaganda and PR work, and with good results too.

The Iranians enjoy strong positions in the highest echelons of the countrys military-political establishment, including members of President Assads inner circle and his security services. A prominent role here is played by Assads younger brother, Maher, a pro-Iranian politician, who commands many in Syrias security forces.

As for Turkey, Sunni Arab countries, the United States and Israel, they are all wary of Tehrans policy towards Syria.

Iran and its satellites see Israel as their main adversary in the region. For Russia, Israel is a reliable partner with the two countries having shared views on many aspects of the Syrian problem. So, shortly before the start of the Russian aerial campaign in Syria (September 30, 2015), Russia and Israel set up a special coordination center to ensure interaction between their militaries in this region.

Russia and Israel maintain close political and economic ties, including permanent contacts at the very top, interaction in the war on terror, in the field of security and intelligence, in the military-technical sphere and in space exploration. In 2019, Russias trade with the Jewish State stood at $2.25 billion, while with Iran only $ 1.59 billion. Incidentally, Israel has a population of just 9.1 million, compared to 83.1 million in Iran.

Humanitarian ties between Russians and Israelis are also developing fast. And with good reason too, since there are around one million Jews currently living in Russia, while in Israel, Russian-speakers (immigrants from the former Soviet Union), according to various estimates, account for between 15 percent to 25 percent of the countrys 9.1-million-strong population. The countries also have a visa-free regime.

For several years now, Israeli warplanes have been striking Iranian and Hezbollah installations in Syria about once a week. When this happens, Russian air defenses do not fire at Israeli combat aircraft because Moscow wants to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

Russia is contributing heavily to the reduction of tensions between Israel on the one side and Iran and its satellites on the other. In September, Lebanese Hezbollah units were said to be leaving Syria in what observers said was the result of tacit agreements between Moscow, Tehran, Damascus and Ankara. There were objective reasons mainly the tense political situation in Lebanon that necessitated Hezbollahs pullout from Syria, of course, but there is no denying Russias positive role in this.

Moscow also negotiated with Damascus and Tehran the withdrawal of pro-Iranian militias and armed units from southern Syria from the border with Israel and their replacement with pro-Russian units. In practice, this never happened though.

The Iranians and their supporters regard their presence in southern Syria near the Israeli border as a strategic asset in their standoff with the Jewish State since the Syrian-Israeli border is a very important psychological barrier in the Iranian-Israeli confrontation.

Even though there is no serious confrontation between Moscow and Tehran in Syria, of course, the past few years have seen occasional clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Iranian security forces there. However, this certainly cant lead to a direct regional confrontation between Russia and Iran.

Many factors of Irans presence in Syria raise a lot of questions. This is clearly demonstrated by the interview that the former head of the Russian Reconciliation Center (2016), retired Lieutenant General Sergei Chvarkov, gave to RIA Novosti.

In August 2018, Damascus and Tehran signed an agreement on military cooperation, which provides for Irans assistance in rebuilding the Syrian defense industry and the countrys infrastructure, Sergei Chvarkov pointed out. When implemented, the agreement can, on the one hand, strengthen the Iranians positions in Syria and further Assad regimes dependence on Tehran. On the other hand, Iranian financing of Shiite groups and attempts to spread Shiism in originally Sunni territories can stoke up tensions with the Sunnis and Kurds inside Syria. Any further large-scale Iranian penetration into Syria will create a number of serious obstacles to the advancement of reforms and the development of the political process in Syria, and complicate relations with Israel, the United States, Turkey and the Sunni Arab countries. This will complicate the task of finding alternative foreign sources for rebuilding the country, since the efforts by Iran and Russia will clearly not be enough.

Here we will interrupt General Chvarkov and recall the words of President Assad, who said that the restoration of the infrastructure of the Syrian Arab Republic would cost around $400 billion, which, according to his estimates, will take from 10 to 15 years. Experts put the cost of rebuilding the country at $1.2 trillion. A colossal amount of money that will prove hard to line up even by joint efforts of many countries.

And the lack of funds will prevent achieving any visible success in restoring the countrys infrastructure, moving forward the political process, bringing back the refugees and reforming the army and special services, General Chvarkov continues. Moreover, the expansion of Irans influence in Syria will rule out the lifting of the US-imposed sanctions and prevent the supply of modern technologies and equipment needed to restore the economy and virtually all other spheres of state activity in Syria.

Talking about the future, experts on Syria and Iran argue that Tehran is unlikely to exit Syria anytime soon. As General Chvarkov emphasized, the fact that Iran has come to Syria to stay is evidenced by the treaties that have recently been signed between Syria and Iran.

Well, Iran could possibly withdraw from Syria in case of a serious deterioration in the socio-economic situation back home. Tehran could indeed pull out some of its units primarily Shiite ones, but in any case, Irans political, military, economic and ideological influence in Syria will not go anywhere.

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India, Saudi Arabia and the Riyal 20: The Intent and the Repercussions - Modern Diplomacy

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Posted By admin on November 9, 2020

BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE

Bruce Springsteen

First, let us consider the staggering array of online workouts available these days, especially those geared toward seniors who might have mobility issues. Chair workouts and zero-impact aerobics (ZIP) dominate the list. There are stand-alone companies like GrowYoung Fitness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQn6LXA4_2c), along with the Ys, private health clubs big and small, yoga studios, and single personal training entrepreneurs. I should warn you that a lot of these apps advertise themselves as being free but are not. Free to download is the modern equivalent of pure and natural. What it generally means is that you download it, use it for a few seconds, and then it says you can use it free for a week or two and then be automatically subscribed. Some of the monthly charges are quite high. So, beware. However, the YWCAs and Silver Sneakers videos are free even if youre not a member, as are all the things you can find on YouTube. Im not sure how long that will last; it was due to COVID that all this took off.This exercise excursion made me think about Jane Fonda. Shes not going to be one of my exemplars (sorry, Jane) but I do recommend her work in Grace and Frankie (Netflix), especially the parts where she and Lily Tomlin are trying to market a special senior vibrator design to their old networks. Comedy gold.To be on my select list of inspirational folks, a person has to meet my strict criteria: Older than me (I will be 68 by the time you read this) Well known enough that this wont be the first you have heard of them Still alive at the time of writing Have some ineffable quality that inspires me.

Stevie Nicks

I discovered lots of cool life stories about my inspirations that I hadnt known before. Like that Yoko Ono went to elementaryschool with the future emperor of Japan. But anyway, lets jump into the list of inspiring cultural icons of elder status.Well start with none other than the honorable U.S. senator from Vermont, Bernard Sanders (born Sept. 8, 1941). Reasons to admire and emulate Bernie Sanders: He has stayed remarkably true to his best principles but does learn from his mistakes. He is not at all a utopian dreamer, as his opponents portray him, but is rather as acute a pragmatist as one can be and still have principles. Consider this quote from his Senate.gov biographer: The Almanac of American Politics calls Sanders a practical and successful legislator. Throughout his career he has focused on the shrinking American middle class and the growing income and wealth gaps in the United States. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, Sanders in 2014 passed legislation reforming the VA health care system. Congressional Quarterly said he was able to bridge Washingtons toxic partisan divide and cut one of the most significant deals in years. He is lovable (remember the bird incident? And the meme contrasting little kids reactions to Bernie and to Trump?) and very quotable. He seems to have real compassion for the downtrodden working class that he works so tirelessly for, and he has a wonderful self-deprecating air about him that bespeaks true humility.My second inspirational icon is a total pivotStephanie Lynn Nicks (May 26, 1948), better known as Stevie Nicks. Its funny that I chose her from out of many female rock stars that I have listened to and been a fan of far more. But her record in the music world as a tireless creator and a pioneer for women in rock pretty much persuaded me. Nicks only got into what had previously been a British band, Fleetwood Mac, because her musical and romantic partner, Lindsey Buckingham, said they were a package deal. But Nicks made Fleetwood Mac stars. Her distinctive voice is whats mainly associated with their sound, and she wrote most of their biggest hits. Perhaps this is why she is the only woman to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the second time for her sometimes rocky but successful solo career. And this is also a big reason to admire her, especially with the fact that shell keep creating until she drops, and that she is truly generous to all those protegees who look up to her.

Brad and George Takei

My third inspirational icon is another rock and roll Hall of Famer. I listened to him a lot from the early 1980s right up to today, unlike Stevie Nicks, whom I am only now appreciating. He was highlighted recently by Rolling Stone, for his new album, and by The Atlantic, for aging gracefully, so then, of course, AARP had to pick him up. I am referring to the Boss, Bruce Springsteen (Sept. 23, 1949). He is another one, like Sanders, who developed a moral compass early and sticks to it religiously. Thats one of his inspirational traits. Also, like Nicks, he is incredibly prolific, hard-working and selfless in his rock and roll life. He is still true to his bedrock working-class heritage and is one of the few megastars who would be genuinely embarrassed by all the glamour and bling that a lot of them thrive on.My fourth guiding light in the world of aging well is the oldest of my picks. (She was born a month before my late mother.) She is also a lyricist and performer, mainly associated with rock and jazz, as well as an avant-garde artist, a philanthropist, a peace activist, and one of the most famous (and controversial) widows in the world. I am speaking, of course, of Yoko Ono (born Feb. 18, 1933.) Although shes not in the Rock Hall of Fame, she has plenty of awards. Double Fantasy (with John Lennon) alone won two top awardsthe Juno International Album of the Year, and the Grammy Album of the Year. Her 2001 video about the making of Imagine also won a Grammy. She has also amassed six Lifetime-, Outstanding-, or Humanitarian-type awards from organizations like ASCAP and the Observer newspaper. Reasons to love Yoko Ono: She has experienced a ton of heartbreak all her life (just read her Wikipedia bio to see) and yet you wouldnt dream of pitying her and she wouldnt let you. Trouble makes her stronger, and strength makes her beautiful.

Walter Mosley

For my fifth inspiration, I am pivoting to the world of literature. Here, I want to shine a light on a writer who is well known,celebrated, the source of good movies, etc., but still, I think, somewhat underappreciated: Walter Mosley. Mosley was born in California on Jan. 12, 1952. His parents, an African-American man from Louisiana and a white Jewish woman, were not married at the time solely because they couldnt get the state of California to issue them a license. You probably know Mosley as a writer of detective story series, but he is also a writer of Afrofuturist science fiction, various non-genre novels, stand-alone mysteries, a bit of erotica, at least two plays, and left-wing political analysis with a sort of Wobbly anarchist bent. (One of his wildest characters is a detective self-named Archibald Lawless, Anarchist-at-large). Reasons to admire Walter Mosley are all found in his writing. I defy you to read him and not admire what he does.My sixth inspirational figure is most well known as an actor, but is also something none of the others are (including another actor who will be the seventh and last in my list): a social media superstar. At the age of 83 no less! This is the Japanese-American actor and activist George Takei (born Hosato Takei on April 20, 1937). The second oldest figure in my gallery, he is in many ways the most modern. Possibly being from the future, i.e., the Star Trek universe (Takei played Mr. Sulu), accounts for that. He is loved and admired by many as a legend on Facebook and Twitter, where his most famous meme is Oh! M-y-y-y-y! But he has a serious side, also admirable. As a gay man, happily married, and as a former internee in American concentration camps for Japanese citizens, he is an outspoken activist. He wrote a well-received play on the former subject called Allegiance.My seventh and last inspirational figure (and being last does not mean least; quite the contrary) is truly an underappreciated genius in my view. This is the actor and activist Anna Deavere Smith (born Sept. 18, 1950.) Known for her roles as NSA Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in The West Wing, hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the series Nurse Jackie, and U.S. District Court Clerk Tina Krissman on For the People, she started her career as a stage actor and went on to act in TV and films, and to be an award-winning playwright, a professor of drama at three universities, and an all-round champion of the arts and humanities. (One of her early TV roles was a long stint in the soap opera All My Children.) She has been much on the streaming airwaves recently, not only for the reunion show of The West Wing, but also because two of her plays from the early 1990sFires in the Mirror about the Crown Heights riots, and House Arrest about the U.S. presidencyhave enjoyed recent revivals as timely quarantine streaming events. Check out this YouTube interview where she discusses identity and disruption: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7DwiD_gfqI.

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Some inspirational folks who are aging gracefully; plus, explosion of senior workouts online - Southside Pride

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Posted By admin on November 9, 2020

One of Polands most prominent Jewish citizens and Holocaust survivors has added his voice to the growing controversy over the appointment of Effi Eitam, former politician and military commander, to the top position at Yad Vashem.

In a letter sent several days ago to President Reuven Rivlin, historian and journalist Marian Turski warned that Eitams appointment as chairman of the Yad Vashem directorate would greatly undermine Yad Vashems authority around the world.

Faced with the global rise of nationalism and populism, a renewed wave of antisemitism and the return of Holocaust denial propaganda, the chairman of Yad Vashem needs to have impeccable moral authority, he wrote in the letter, which was also addressed to Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, chairman of the Yad Vashem council, which oversees the Jerusalem-based museum and commemoration center. When the moment comes to stand up against xenophobia, racism and antisemitism in the international arena, who the chairman of Yad Vashem is will be extremely important if we dont want Yad Vashem to be limited only to the state of Israel but to remain a leading worldwide moral authority.

Turski, 95, is a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Buchenwald. In addition to heading the council of POLIN, the relatively new museum of the history of Polish Jewry based in Warsaw, he has served as chairman of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland and is a member of the International Auschwitz Memorial Council. Turin (who was born Moshe Turbowicz) has lived in Warsaw since the end of World War II.

He emphasizes in his letter the strong ties that have hitherto existed between Yad Vashem and Polish institutions active in commemorating and researching the Shoah.

In his letter to Rivlin and Lau, Turin beseeches them to use their influence to prevent decisions that can only hurt the Jewish cause in international public opinion,noting that Eitam is "known as a person of extreme views."

As reported in Haaretz, the Anti-Defamation League, in a rare move last week joined the campaign against Eitams appointment citing his problematic moral record. The ADL was particularly concerned about Eitams calls for the mass deportation of Palestinians from the West Bank and his description of Arab Israelis as a fifth column. It is almost unprecedented for the ADL , which monitors antisemitism worldwide, to intervene in appointments at other Jewish organizations and institutions.

In a letter to Lau, Carole Nuriel, the head of the ADL office in Israel, also expressed concerns about an incident in the 1980s in which soldiers under Eitams command beat to death a Palestinian prisoner. They later testified that they had received their orders from Eitam.

After retiring from the military, Eitam served as head of the National Religious Party and was known for his close ties to the settler movement.

Before his appointment comes up for a final vote in the cabinet,Eitam must be vetted by a special committee tasked with screening candidates for top jobs in the public sector.

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The appointment has also sparkedoutrage among prominent Holocaust survivorsin Israel, the organizations that represent them and members of the so-called second generation.

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Revered Polish Jew, Holocaust survivor joins protests over top appointment at Yad Vashem - Haaretz.com

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Posted By admin on November 9, 2020

Sacha Baron Cohen. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Sacha Baron Cohen must be thrilled that Donald Trump, the subject that sparked most of Borat Subsequent Movefilms hijinks, has officially lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

But the master prankster has no shortage of targets; Baron Cohen celebrated Trumps humiliating defeat by posting a picture on Twitter, depicting Trump and Zuckerberg together with a caption that reads: One down, one to go.

I cant think of a better subject for an elaborate, televised prank than Mark Zuckerberg, the awkward Facebook founder with the uncanny-valley haircut; the man would practically short-circuit when faced with one of Baron Cohens hilarious alter-egos.

But Zuckerbergs inability to mimic normal human behaviour isnt what makes him the perfect target for Baron Cohen (although, it certainly doesnt hurt). Rather, it's the fact that he, along with most of our other billionaire tech overlords, has greatly contributed to the spread of misinformation and bigotry that led to the election of Trump, along with all of the deranged conspiracy theories that followed.

It was only recently that Facebook banned Holocaust denial content (imagine allowing such a hateful belief to spread, unchecked, on the most popular social media platform in the world), after years of letting poisonous neo-Nazi propaganda spread to the public.

In an op-ed for Time, Baron Cohen previously described Facebook as the greatest propaganda machine in history, and a megaphone that historys worst autocrats could only dream of. Its algorithm deliberately amplifies content that generates more engagement Not surprisingly, most days the top 10 Facebook posts are overwhelmingly from right-wing pundits and outlets.

Its true - despite conservative cries of censorship, Facebook boasts extraordinarily high levels of engagement on right-leaning pages, while Zuckerberg himself enjoys dinners with reactionary media figures like Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro.

Borats time is (probably) over, but Im sure Baron Cohen has many more provocative personalities up his sleeve, and perhaps one will manage to expose Zuckerbergs true priorities, on camera.

And, no doubt, make us laugh in the process.

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After The Defeat Of Donald Trump, Sacha Baron Cohen Turns His Attention To Mark Zuckerberg - Forbes

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Posted By admin on November 9, 2020

By Alya Zayed

The University of Cambridge has agreed to a new definition of antisemitism, with some clarifications to protect free speech.

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances (IHRA) definition of antisemitism was adopted in full last week.

The definition is a tool to understand how antisemitism can manifest itself and will be used as a test to establish whether behaviour that is in breach of the universitys rules is antisemitic.

Examples of antisemitism given by the IHRA include, but are not limited to, making dehumanising or stereotypical allegations about Jewish people, such as the myth about Jewish people controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions; calling for or justifying the killing or harming of Jewish people; and Holocaust denial.

Regarding Israel, the definition also includes denying Jewish people the right to self-determination, such as by claiming the existence of the state of Israel is racist; accusing Jewish people of being more loyal to Israel than their own nation; applying standards to Israel that are not expected of other nations; comparing Israeli government policy to Nazism; or holding Jewish people collectively responsible for Israel.

However, the university has also made some clarifications to ensure that freedom of speech is maintained in the context of discourse about Israel and Palestine, without allowing antisemitism to permeate any debate, as recommended by the Home Affairs Select Committee in 2016.

The clarifications are: It is not antisemitic to criticise the government of Israel, without additional evidence to suggest antisemitic intent and it is not antisemitic to hold the Israeli government to the same standards as other liberal democracies, or to take a particular interest in the Israeli government's policies or actions, without additional evidence to suggest antisemitic intent.

The IHRAs working definition of antisemitism has received some criticism from campaigners. In February 2017 243 British academics wrote in an open letter in The Guardian to say the definition is anti-Palestinian and may silence campus discussion about Israel, including its violation of the rights of Palestinians.

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Cambridge University agrees to International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism - In Your Area

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