Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

News 12 Staff

Oct 09, 2020, 10:18pm EDT

Updated on:Oct 09, 2020, 10:18pm EDT

There are concerns about compliance in the Village of Kiryas Joel, a state-designated red zone with a COVID-19 infection rate close to 30%.

Outside of Kiryas Joel's main synagogue on Garfield Road on Friday, there were cars lined along the street, a packed parking lot, white sheets covering windows, and worshipers going in and out of the building.

Under the new state orders that began Friday, no mass gatherings are allowed and houses of worship are restricted to 10 people at a time.

The Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin told News 12 that the governor's orders don't take effect until midnight Saturday.

However, the governor's office confirmed to News 12 that the law kicked in at 12:01am Friday.

Szegedin added, "Today is a special day of prayer dedicated to God, to eliminate COVID-19 and heal all the sick, done in compliance with the governor's existing order of masks and social distancing."

In response, a spokesperson for the state quoted the governor, saying: "The Torah speaks about how certain religious obligations can be excused, if you are going to save a life. This is about saving a life. That's what this is. No large gatherings to save a life."

The village has a history of non-compliance, with schools kept open and maskless gatherings with thousands in attendance.

This time, the state appears to be cracking down, promising fines up to $15,000 while both Hassidic and Catholic leaders are challenging the order in federal court.

County Executive Steve Neuhaus says no matter the zone, everyone should be wearing masks, social distancing and avoiding large groups.

Village leaders say they've distributed thousands of masks and are increasing testing to quarantine the sick.

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Kiryas Joel community gathers at synagogue for holiday amid high COVID-19 infection rate - News 12 Westchester

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Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

HERAT, -- Afghanistans western province of Herat was once home to a thriving Jewish community that has now all but vanished from the region. Its monuments and properties have either fallen into disrepair or disappeared completely, and murky rules of tenure and stewardship of historical sites have left officials and residents arguing over their fate.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Jews escaping religious persecution in Central Asia and Iran fled to Afghanistan, the only Muslim country where they could freely practice their faith. Mostly comprising middle-class traders and artisans, they lived in harmony with their Muslim neighbors for centuries.

But over the course of the 20th century, they left the country. Compelled by the search for a better life, many of Afghanistans Jews started moving to Israel and the United States in the 1940s after initially immigrating to British India.

Muslim-Jewish relations were mostly tolerant and peaceful, says Sara Aharon, a Jewish author whose father was born in Afghanistan. There were 5,000 to 6,000 Jews in 20th-century Afghanistan, so there was no reason to feel threatened by the Jewish community.

Most of the Jewish community had emigrated by the early 1980s before the outbreak of Afghanistans civil war. As the Jewish population continued to decline in Herat over the next few decades, their houses, synagogues, and other monuments were abandoned.

Several synagogues, a cemetery, and a bathhouse remain, according to Herats cultural officials. But existing regulations make it difficult to determine who owns or is responsible for the properties.

One Herat resident claims he is the owner of the public bathhouse. He says he had the 250-year-old property partially demolished.

Zalmai Safa, Herat's director of historical monuments, says the man is the legal owner but was not given permission to tear down the site. He wanted to acquire and reconstruct the bathhouse, he told Radio Free Afghanistan. But due to its antiquity, construction method, and significance to Herats Jewish history, we did not permit its demolition.

Disputed Land, Neglected Property

The revolutions, large-scale displacement, and horrific violence of the past half-century have left a legacy of conflicts at all levels across Afghanistan. Disputes over land and property ownership are the most common kind of conflict between individuals and communities. The fact that Herats Jewish community left decades ago has encouraged some to take over the dilapidated communal properties.

Safa says these properties are relics of the Jewish community and have immense value for Afghans wishing to remember their legacy. His hope is for Afghans to preserve the remaining monuments so that they will exist for future generations as a testament to religious tolerance.

These monuments are important because of their historic heritage. They showcase the tolerance our society had for the adherents of various faiths, he noted. It is our duty to preserve them for future generations just as our ancestors preserved them for us.

Herat officials say that before they fled the country Jews transferred the ownership of synagogues, cemeteries, and other properties to the Afghan government. Others sold them outright.

Herat resident Younis, who like many Afghans goes by one name only, fondly remembers living next door to a Jewish family in the 1970s. He says in those days religious differences were never a topic of discussion.

"There were probably 70 to 80 Jewish families in the area we were living in. We had a good relationship with them, he said. We went to their shops, and they came to our homes. But then the revolution came, and everyone fled; they all moved to Israel, he said of the last few families.

Gul Ahmad, another Herat resident, says Jewish history is a staple of Afghan history. On one side lived the Jews; on the other side was us, he said. Both sides tolerated and respected each other. Our faith was never contentious between us, so it was not discussed, he said.

Following Their Ancestors' Footsteps

Today, Jews travel to Herats old city to see where their ancestors lived for generations and what they left behind.

"Jewish families send their children to come back and visit these sites, to meet us and revisit their roots, Ahmad said.

But many are afraid that the monuments are deteriorating due to neglect and without the proper care will erase the memory of a once-vibrant community.

The synagogues of Yu Aw, Mulla Ashur, Shamail, Golkia, and Georgia, the bathhouse, cemetery, and many mud dwellings are all hanging by a thread. In the old city, three out of the five remaining synagogues have undergone some sort of preservation. Yu Aw, the largest synagogue in Herat and the only synagogue to undergo proper preservation of its original characteristics, has been declared a historic site. Shamail was turned into a school after repairs.

The Mulla Ashur synagogue has remained in shambles without any repairs in sight because of the governments lack of a restoration budget. And Golkia, a former place of worship for the Jewish community, has been turned into a mosque, though its architecture remains the same.

Some of the graves in the Jewish cemetery have been restored with financial assistance from the Jewish diaspora.

Like most Afghans and especially ethnic minorities in the country, Herats Jews were multilingual, speaking their own tongue along with the local language. They could read Hebrew and speak their version of Judeo-Persian, a dialect of the lingua franca of Afghanistan.

Homayoun Ahmadi, a cultural expert in Herat, stresses the need to rebuild and restore the remnants of the Jewish community in order to better attract foreign tourists.

"The existence of synagogues in Herat represents a degree of religious tolerance in Afghanistan, he said. It showcases that the Jews in Herat lived in harmony during many different periods in Afghanistan.

Nilly Kohzad wrote this story based on reporting by Shapoor Saber.

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The Struggle To Preserve Afghanistans Jewish Heritage - Gandhara

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Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

I am not a rabbi but am I proud of my colleagues who are. Along with cantors, soloists, educators, executive directors, board donors and laypeople in hundreds of congregations and spiritual communities, they pulled off one of the most extraordinary historic pivots in synagogue life.

This is epic, Rabbi Steven Leder of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles told me. We, all of us, were handed a ball we didnt expect, and we in the synagogue community delivered, we stepped up to this moment.

That is an understatement. For organizations steeped in tradition, it has never been easy for synagogues to embrace change. At the Synagogue 2000/3000 synagogue transformation conferences I organized from 1995-2015, I often joked that the aphorism inscribed above the Holy Ark on many synagogue pulpits Da lifnei mi atah omeid (Know before Whom you stand) should instead be But, weve always done it that way!

Yet, the COVID-19 pandemic forced seismic changes upon synagogues in March that were unthinkable a month earlier.

Congregations that were barely live streaming worship services suddenly had no choice. Resistance to shortening services, particularly in the Conservative Movement, mostly melted away when it became clear that people would not be able to sit in front of a screen for hours on end. All programming was moved online in a nanosecond. Teachers, many of whom had no training in distance learning, were forced to learn unfamiliar skills and strategies. When it became clear the virus was not magically disappearing, synagogue leaders began planning for the biggest events of the year, the High Holidays.

I eagerly awaited what they developed and when Rosh Hashana arrived, I found myself dipping into services at dozens of synagogues throughout North America. Just the thought that virtually every one of the more than 2,000 congregations in the Conservative, Reform, Reconstructing Judaism, Jewish Emergent Network, ALEPH/Jewish Renewal, and independent minyanim offered some form of online worship was mind-boggling.

I knew what was possible; years ago when I was very sick on Yom Kippur, I tuned in to Rabbi Naomi Levys pioneering live stream from Nashuva in Los Angeles which attracted tens of thousands of participants and loved it. But now, everyone had no choice but to hit the internet.

Image by Nashuva Facebook page

Rabbi Naomi Levy and the Nashuva Band during the Yom Kippur Neilah livestream service

The variety, quality, and creativity on display was spectacular. By all accounts, the sheer number of people who participated in these experiences, either live streaming or through archival views on the most popular distribution platforms Facebook Live, YouTube, and congregational websites was far beyond what would have been expected if services were held in person. Now that the holidays are over, I asked a number of synagogue leaders to reflect on the lessons learned.

We learned that creating intimacy and connection is not just about size or proximity, Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl of Central Synagogue in New York City said. In some ways our community felt smaller as we had members reading Torah and sharing stories from their living rooms, and in other ways, we were reminded of our global Jewish family as we were able to have prayers and songs read from friends in Australia and Jerusalem.

The variety of production values on display ranged from a couple of static cameras to the productions of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York and Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, which were Hollywood-caliber television complete with multiple cameras, lighting, and professional direction.

Some services were totally live and other synagogues pre-recorded everything, rather than risk any technical glitches during live streams. Many decided on a hybrid combination of recorded pieces and live worship. Empty sanctuaries were turned into television studios; others featured clergy and Torah readers streaming in from living rooms or backyards. A few synagogues, like Congregation Bnai Tzedek in Potomac, Maryland invited small groups of congregants to sit socially distant in the sanctuary, led by masked clergy shielded by a Plexiglass-enclosed pulpit.

Image by B'nai Tzedek Potomac Face...

Plexiglass and face masks during Congregation Bnai Tzedek Potomacs Yom Kippur livestream

The creativity on display was inspiring and came from lay volunteers in small congregations to large synagogues with major clergy teams:

At Central Synagogue in New York City while the haunting melody of Kol Nidre emanated from a cello, a modern dance began the Yom Kippur afternoon service.

Image by Central Synagogue Faceboo...

Award-winning dancer and choreographer Jonah Bokaer performs during Central Synagogues Yom Kippur Avodah service.

Rabbi Dan Zemel of Temple Micah in Washington, D.C., blew the shofar in front of the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and at Arlington Cemetery. Services at Temple Sholom in Vancouver began with a video montage of Rabbi Dan Moskovitz bringing a Torah scroll to members homes.

Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, California created a virtual lobby before services with greetings from congregants and adorable preschoolers explaining the meaning of the holidays.

Sinai Temple in Los Angeles featured the Broadway and film actors Ben, Henry and Jonah Platts rendition of Ahavat Olam over a video montage of scenes from Israel.

Dozens of congregations offered drive-by shofar blowing in parking lots, while in Los Angeles a Shofar Wave sponsored by the IKAR congregation and the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles with shofar blowers from more than 50 synagogues blasted notes through neighborhoods from the city to the sea.

Image by IKAR Facebook page

Comedians Jason Sklar, Alex Edelman, and Randy Sklar open IKARs High Holy Day Neilah livestream

There were surprises: Yizkor memorial prayers at Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles recited while photos of those who died during the past year appeared on screen. A Neilah/Havdalah concluding service on Zoom that spotlighted families celebrating the ritual in their backyards. A guided meditation by Rabbi Elie Spitz at Congregation Bnai Israel in Tustin, California. A gift basket of ritual objects delivered from Central Synagogue to members homes for use during the services. At IKAR, Rabbi Sharon Brous and Melissa Balaban, IKARs chief executive officer, invited three comedians to warm up the crowd with a hilarious few minutes of banter: on Yom Kippur morning, one asked, Cmon, be honest. How many people, by a show of hands, ate your toothpaste this morning?

I was curious about how viewers would follow along. Some synagogues distributed prayer books, while a few featured a moving chyron of Hebrew, English and transliteration of the prayers on the screen no book necessary. Liturgy and sermons were shortened to fit what most considered the outside limit of two-hour attention spans on screens. Rabbis accustomed to talking to large crowds were suddenly speaking directly into a single camera, an entirely new skill set not currently in the curriculum of the seminaries. Will one of these rabbis become the Jewish Joel Osteen or Joyce Meyer?

The synagogues faced a tough decision: do we offer the services for free or just for our members? Those congregations that offered full and free access to all their online offerings shattered the limitations of geographic location, some attracting viewers from around the world. Others, such as Wilshire Blvd. Temple in Los Angeles, after a long debate, created password-protected platforms for members only. Membership has to mean something, one synagogue president told me about the decision to limit the live stream to members. But, the very next day, anyone could view our services posted on YouTube and our website for free.

Funding these efforts was a significant challenge. There was no line in most synagogue budgets for television production. Even well-resourced congregations turned to generous donors to underwrite the costs that reportedly ran into tens of thousands of dollars for some elaborately produced services. As usual, during this prime time in the synagogue calendar, there were fundraising appeals. Yet, despite the success in attracting and engaging participants, rabbis and lay leaders told me that the pandemic has taken a toll on both membership numbers and the financial capabilities and contributions of many individuals and families, reminiscent of the impact on congregations during the 2008-2009 recession.

So, did it work?

People were stunned by the intimacy of the experience and by their ability to actually pray with a screen mediating their spiritual encounter, said Rabbi Brous. Most notably, people with mobility challenges told us how grateful they were to be able to access services from their homes and not have to fight for a seat.

On the whole, I would say it was an exhausting, draining, difficult, tricky and mostly triumphant substitution, but like all substitutions, not the real thing, said Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles: I think we came through remarkably well, and I am very proud.

Rabbi Moskovitz in Canada shared a bit of a secret. Im hearing again and again, in whispers, in I-hate-to-admit-it voices that many, many of our members enjoyed the service more from home than they did packed cheek to jowl in shul, he said. They could see and hear the rabbis sermon so clearly, they were not distracted by conversation, or people getting up from their seats. Some will want shul delivered to their homes like a DoorDash meal, all packaged and ready to eat. For them, this may be a wonderful thing. For the future of the synagogue, I worry. But then again, we always worry.

Was this a one-off? Will synagogues go back to their previous ways once the pandemic has subsided, or will they move forward to a new normal?

Theres no going back, Rabbi Ed Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom in Los Angeles, California, said. Weve already contracted with the production company for next year. Even with a vaccine, there will be people hesitant to gather in large groups. I hope we can return to the relationship-building in-person services, but we will continue to offer live streaming. The response of our members has been overwhelmingly positive.

That was the consensus from all of my interviews. I came away proud of how synagogues have stepped up to meet the moment, and I hope those who were touched by the services will be moved to step up and support the congregations. The pandemic has forever shifted the way synagogues reach their congregants and beyond their sanctuaries to a worldwide audience. And there is no going backonly forward.

Dr. Ron Wolfson is the Fingerhut Professor of Education, American Jewish University, and author of Relational Judaism.

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Theres no going back What rabbis learned from the extraordinary High Holidays of 2020 - Forward

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Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

Judaism has no pope. The last time Jewish religious authority was highly centralized was the Gaonate in Babylonia more than 1,000 years ago. The first siddur order of prayer was the result of questions posed by the Jews of Spain around 860 CE to Rav Amram Gaon. While the siddur was important, Rav Saadia Gaon created a successor liturgical masterpiece between 928 and 942. But Rav Amrams response of the responsa literature indicates the reliance of Jews throughout the known world on the leaders of the Babylonian seminaries for conducting Jewish ritual. Rav Amram set the order for most prayer books. Yet, that centralization in Baghdad would soon fade with independent rabbinic establishments along the Rhine River (Ashkenazi) and in Muslim Spain and North Africa (Sephardi). Even with a towering figure like Maimonides in Egypt in the 12th century, rabbis were still independent in their rulings free from any central authority. While the Chief Rabbinate of Israel only has sway in the Jewish state, it should be realized now that, as the Diaspora declines, the Israeli chief rabbis will be the ultimate religious authority in world Judaism. That is dangerous and a break from past Jewish history. While I celebrate the appointment of Rav Abraham Isaac Kook as the first chief Ashkenazi rabbi he certainly deserved the honor this office was granted by the British Mandate and its concept of a Chief Rabbi in England. It was also rooted in the politics and religion of the Ottoman Empire. They have no place in Judaism at all, certainly in the 21st century.The Chief Rabbinate has become more highly politicized with each passing year. It has had nothing imaginative to say about who is a Jew? and has failed to creatively address a host of issues that rabbis in the past have grappled with. Perhaps the onset of modernity and the creation of a state by irreligious socialists and nationalists as well as the different denominations of Judaism in America have them running for the exits. They are here to enforce the status quo. It is a travesty. Hillel the Elder, 2,000 years ago took the daring step of instating prosbul to react to a societal crisis sparked by a commandment in the Torah to remit debts in the shmita year. He dealt with this imaginatively and creatively without subverting Torah Law. The Chief Rabbinate, on a host of issues, lacks the imagination and guts of Hillel. We yearn for better.To the chief rabbis what have you done about the crisis of the aguna the chained woman whose husband refuses to grant her a divorce? She is shackled for years and cannot marry again. She cannot give birth to children. An easy and enduring solution would be an addendum to the ketubah agreeing that the husband will grant a divorce, if that tragically happens. Since when is this considered a radical subversion of Halacha? Hillels prosbul used the court system in a much more radical way to ensure that the poor would receive loans before the shmita year. There is no halachic defense of the failure to prevent the aguna. It is a lack of guts. It is a lack of imagination. It is a lack of creativity.To the chief rabbis what are you doing about those 250,000 Israelis from the former Soviet Union in limbo, caught between the Law of Return and the lack of a religious identity based on matrilineal descent? You demand that potential converts perform every mitzvah or the conversion is not accepted. Do most of those born as Jews according to Halacha perform every mitzvah? It is a double standard. Instead of rewarding these immigrants with a Jewish identity based in Judaism and not solely a political identity you ignore the commitment to the Jewish people they have expressed: making aliyah, serving in the IDF and participating in political, economic and social life. They tell us that to do so would be to go down the slippery slope toward negating all the mitzvot. They are scared. Any creativity in crafting Jewish Law frightens them. They have carved out their seats of power and never want to relinquish them. These issues will never be resolved. And a central body of cowards is not going to resolve them. They care little about the life and spirit of most Jews just as long as they can intrude now and then to perform life-cycle rituals for those who know little about Judaism. How about teaching them? Too much trouble. Rock the Boat. The End. Impossible.One could argue that the decentralization model worked well in the Diaspora of the past but is a necessity in a sovereign Jewish state. The reality is that no one is satisfied, except the establishment rabbinate, its funding, and its bureaucracy. The system will eventually collapse under its own self-importance and lack of imagination. Meanwhile, women remain chained and Russian Jews remain in a state of uncertainty. The Chief Rabbinate can pat itself on the back the institution is a real success. Not in this world.The writer is rabbi of Congregation Anshei Sholom in West Palm Beach, Florida. cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });

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Is this the end of the Chief Rabbinate in Israel? - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

(JTA) Germany has pledged to include Israel in Europes deal for a future vaccine against the COVID-19 virus, in keeping with Germanys special relationship with Israel as a response to the Holocaust.

According to Israeli media, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Health Minister Jens Spahn made the commitment to Israels Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Israels Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff in conversations on Oct. 11.

A Ynet report claims Germany used its influence on the E.U. to bend the rule that a European-produced vaccination would be given first to European countries. Germany justified the decision in part through its historical commitment to support Israel.

Embassy spokesperson Shir Gidon told Globes, the Israel business news service, that Germany sees Israel as part of Europe in terms of procuring the vaccine and therefore it will be permitted to convey the vaccine for use in Israel when it is approved.

The decision, which followed an earlier meeting between Ashkenazi and Maas in Berlin, would allow Israel an associate member of the European Union to purchase some of the 400 million vaccines that the U.K.-Swedish company AstraZeneca is contracted to produce for the E.U., if the vaccine, currently in currently in phase III human trials, is found to be safe and effective.

Ashkenazi told Ynet that an eventual vaccine would allow the economy to return to full activity in Israel, and thanked Issacharoff and the embassy staff for their role in reaching the agreement.

In 2008, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as the first in her position invited to speak to the Knesset, described Germanys special historical responsibility for Israels security as part of Germanys raison detre.

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Germany would share Europe-only COVID vaccine with Israel, citing special relationship - Forward

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Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

The casting of Gal Gadot to play Cleopatra has led to a backlash, but much of the outrage misses the point.

Cleopatra, the ancient Egyptian Queen, and one of the few women remembered from the region's history will be played by Israeli actress, Gal Gadot. Arguments of cultural appropriation, stealing Arab film roles, land, and culture, have already been made on social media.

In retaliation, many have claimed Cleopatras Macedonian/Greek heritage is justification and actually, more accurately represented by Gal Gadot.

Regardless of this tedious conversation, it is, as it generally is, justified to call this out as whitewashing, as regardless of her origins, Cleopatra was Queen of modern day Egypt. And modern day Egypt has a population of 100 million people - and thousands of capable actresses.

Cleopatras origins from her paternal side are Greek, she is thought to have Berber, Syrian, and other ancestry from the general region. There are a number of English-speaking Greek actresses and anything closer to home would have been more appropriate. Gal Gadot is Israeli, an Ashkenazi Jew, meaning her origins are likely European. In an interview, she herself explains she has Austrian, German, Polish, and Czech ancestry.

But the issue here is not ethnically-accurate casting; weve spent decades watching movies where every main character is American and white regardless of the films geographic setting - take for one of many examples, Tom Cruise in the Last Samurai; cinematic magic.

Hollywood has created the myth of Argraba that hangs over the Middle East and South Asia, even the previous Cleopatra was played by Elizabeth Taylor. Inaccurate representation is a long-standing issue with, generally, all ethnicities, despite recent efforts to rectify this.

What is of deeper concern is that two lead female roles have been handed to a former Israeli Defence Forces soldier, specifically, a combat trainer, quite literally responsible for the continuous oppression and colonisation of Palestine in a highly proactive way. This is not only propaganda for Israel and perpetuates the erasure of the Palestinian people, for example, her high profile interviews citing her very Jewish-Israeli upbringing (something largely appropriated from the indigenous people). Particularly when you consider that the Israeli state has appropriated everything from music to hummus from the Palestinian people.

In an interview where she was asked to say two Arabic words she used Yalla and Sababa both Arabic words and referenced her favourite Israeli breakfast as Shakshuka (of Arab-Levantine origin). It is harmful to women, particularly modern-day Arab women when she is actively hijacking their culture, for starters.

The former Miss Israel, teamed up with Wonder Woman director, Patty Jenkins, her husband, Yaron Varsano (and their jointly held production company Pilot Wave), and the scriptwriter, Laeta Kalogridis, the A-team as she calls it.

Looking past the clear nepotism in her casting her for the role, her values as an individual are a poor portrayal of women from or in the region, and women in general. Just as she, because of her individual politics, has shown she is anything but a real Wonder Woman, she should not be allowed to represent symbols of power factual or fictional.

Cleopatra's legacy was not her ethnicity, it is the magical, surreal, and forceful idea of female power, arguably, the same power behind the myth of wonder Wonder Woman. It is therefore critical to cast an individual who can hold to these standards of being role models.

However, instead, for coming generations, we have an individual who in addition to perpetuating violence herself - that has been judged as brutal and inhumane by the international community - also purposefully convoluted violence and sexuality in order to find her way into Hollywood. For this example to be a role model for young girls everywhere, is toxic - especially for these iconic roles.

Furthermore, casting her in these huge roles despite her mediocre performances, Paramount somehow selected her over Angelina Jolie, serves as a huge win for Israeli propaganda.

Two major female leads will forever be remembered as played by an Israeli actress creating a false correlation between the Zionist project and strong women. And in a region where people have falsely deemed women oppressed beyond salvation - enter a very bland Gal Gadot to show the world that Israel is the exception.

Gadot rose to fame through a spread in Maxim Magazine, who, in their own words are, Catering to the modern man with content that promises to seduce, entertain and continuously surprise readers.

The spread issued in 2007 was part of a campaign that Israel was criticised for, for sexualising its military, and particularly female soldiers. The magazine quotes her - "'I taught gymnastics and calisthenics,' says this flawless former Miss Israel. 'The soldiers loved me because I made them fit'."

The subhead of the spread read: Theyre drop-dead gorgeous and can take apart an Uzi in seconds. Are the women of the Israeli Defense Forces the worlds sexiest soldiers? She was a conscious participant in perpetuating the belief that the treatment of Palestinians is justified - even sexy.

She even hailed the military claiming her background helped land her first high-profile role in the Fast & Furious franchise, saying the director found her knowledge of weapons useful. She once again did a spread for Maxim Magazine after the film.

As a self-proclaimed feminist, she said in an interview with Glamour magazine, There are such misconceptions as to what a feminist is. Feminism is about equality. I want all people to have the same opportunities and to get the same salaries for the same jobs. I realize I'm doing what I want to do because of the women before me who laid the groundwork. Without them I wouldn't be an educated working mother who is following her dreams; I wouldn't be here.

She conveniently leaves out generations of women before and after her suffering at the hands of her government, military and her personal actions and advocacy.

While you cannot hold an individual responsible for the actions of their government, in a time where prominent actors such as Nathalie Portman and Seth Rogan speak out against the injustice by the Israeli government, she could take a similar stance and it would be acceptable. However, her stance is made clear, repetitively through almost all public appearances, she is just another cog in the Hasbara machine.

There are many more capable, respectable, and appropriate actresses that could have taken this role, whether from Greece or Egypt. Women who represent ethical values that take on occupation and colonisation - but if we must be technical, in the age of politically correct casting, Cleopatra was not Israeli, and Gal Gadot is no queen.

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT World.

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Its not Gal Gadots ethnicity that's the problem - TRT World

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Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

In years to come, political commentators and analysts will scratch their heads intensely while making what will most likely be a futile attempt to understand why Benny Gantz, currently the alternating Israeli prime minister, dragged his party into a coalition government that was stillborn especially as it was a government that aimed to serve one thing and one thing only: Benjamin Netanyahus attempt to escape from his corruption trial.We may never know the real reason behind Gantzs decision to join the coalition, which was taken in cahoots with his chief partner in the party, another former commander of the Israeli army, Gabi Ashkenazi. Was it the lure of becoming prime minister midway through the term of this government? Was it from a sense of responsibility a wish to not leave the country rudderless after three indecisive general elections? Did he see that the country was on the verge of collapse in the face of the coronavirus disease pandemic and believe that he and his party would be the saviors who would later be rewarded at the ballot box? Or was it a more Machiavellian move, made in the belief that Netanyahu would have to resign or suspend himself in the face of his trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, and power would drop into his lap sooner than agreed?There is probably a grain of truth in all of these possible reasons for Gantz leading his party into a tainted government though it would be more accurate to say half of his party, since the other half opted to stick to its election promise not to join a government led by a defendant in a serious corruption trial and to remain in opposition. However, what Gantz and the less principled wing of the party did was nothing less than write their own political suicide note. If opinion polls are to be believed, that will be at the next election, although it may come sooner rather than later and probably before Gantz gets the chance to replace Netanyahu as prime minister as per the coalition agreement. Gantz will find himself leading a party of about a quarter of the 36 MKs it won at the last general election.Hence, unsurprisingly, in recent weeks Blue and White has been flexing its muscles within government and the Knesset, especially in opposing Netanyahus unrelenting efforts to bend the democratic processes to serve his personal legal needs. Increasingly, Blue and White is serving as a mini-opposition within the government. It is quite astonishing that it has taken Gantz and those who followed him into this government four months to discover what every novice political observer in Israel has known all along: That Netanyahu the defendant has given up on running the country or caring for it and its people. All he cares about is thwarting his trial. But why would a rival party that only a few months ago saw itself as an alternative to Netanyahu let itself be turned into his shield against facing justice in the first place, and in the process compromise its integrity and its chances of ever replacing him?Gradually, the realization that joining the government was a fatal mistake is filtering through to the leadership of Blue and White, and they are now seen by their own constituency as aiding and abetting an allegedly criminal prime minister; one who has also proved himself to be utterly incompetent and negligent in dealing with a deadly pandemic. Acting as an opposition within the government might feel satisfactory for Blue and Whites representatives, but it is not remotely sufficient to serve as a life raft for a party sinking so badly in the polls and, even more importantly, for a society and economy in such dire straits.At this point, all the party can do is limit the damage caused to itself and the country in backing Netanyahu, and it is probably damned if it leaves the government and even more damned if it remains. Hence, Blue and White can either take the honorable route and leave the government, bring it down and form a different one without Netanyahu, or it can open the way to fresh elections that will see it shrink to near-insignificance while losing the prestigious defense and foreign ministries it currently holds.What Gantz and Ashkenazi are gradually and painfully digesting is that, come what may, Netanyahu has no intention of honoring the agreement to rotate the premiership. Consequently, they have been left empty-handed, with no power and no influence, still tainted by their association with a corrupt prime minister, as well as being part of a government that was first in the world to impose a second lockdown due to Israel being third in the unenviable league table of coronavirus deaths per capita. The country is also seeing rising unemployment and has a prime minister who is cynically exploiting the pandemic crisis to prevent street protests and is blocking a new budget bill for selfish political considerations.One Blue and White minister has already resigned from government and another has expressed his desire to do the same. Tourism Minister Asaf Zamirs resignation letter cited distrust in Netanyahu a sentiment shared by the entire Blue and White faction in the Knesset. It seems that, in supporting the legislation to outlaw mass demonstrations, the prime minister has made Blue and White see red. What was supposed to be an equal partnership has become a prolonged humiliation and marginalization.

Gradually, the realization that joining the government was a fatal mistake is filtering through to the party leadership.

Yossi Mekelberg

The partys first act of independence was announced by the justice minister, a Blue and White MK, who has formed a selection committee to appoint a permanent state prosecutor. This was in defiance of Netanyahu, who is desperate to be able to control the selection process, as the next state prosecutor will have the power to decide on indictments over further corruption allegations that are likely to be investigated by the police.Blue and White may have done too little, too late to redeem itself in the eyes of Israeli voters, but it can still do the honorable and responsible thing and fall on its sword. This will offer hope that, after the next election, a government that is genuinely keen to address the rampaging, out-of-control pandemic will emerge, instead of a leader whose legal tribulations have stripped him of all good judgment, let alone integrity or a moral compass.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point-of-view

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Blue and White finally see red over cynical Netanyahu - Arab News

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Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

Tomorrow, the Israeli parliament will be voting on the agreement to normalise relations with the United Arab Emirates. A large majority will approve a hugely favourable step towards the Israeli governments goals: perpetuating its systematic violations of international law and of the Palestinian peoples inalienable rights. Those parliamentarians who believe in justice and equality are going to vote against this agreement. Im afraid, though, that we are a tiny minority.

This week, we were given copies of the agreement, which I read in the three languages (Arabic, Hebrew and English) and figured out a few things. First of all, those who wrote it in different languages tailored it to their audiences. While in English and Hebrew, they repeated the word normalisation several times, it is not even mentioned in Arabic. This is a business deal that merely establishes diplomatic relations, and not a peace agreement. The word annexation (of occupied Palestinian territory) is not even mentioned.

This deal cannot be taken out of the context of the US presidential campaign and President Trumps need for a success story after many failures. The recognition of illegal settlements as part of Israel will not change international law. Similarly, cutting aid to Palestinian hospitals will not force Palestinians to accept Israeli domination. As mentioned in its preamble, this agreement is based on the Trump plan that normalises colonialism, fully endorses the rightwing Zionist narrative, and kills the prospects of an independent state of Palestine. It also threatens the status of Jerusalems holy sites and treats Palestinians as strangers in their homeland. The UAE, an Arab country that claims to care about Palestine, should reject this framework, as most of the international community has done.

The agreements talk about coexistence. Why does Israel talk about coexistence with a country thousands of kilometres away? At the same time, within its borders, 100,000 Arab citizens live in villages older than the state of Israel itself, yet are unrecognised and lack access to essential services such as water and electricity?

Discrimination and racism against Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, an indigenous population that makes up over 20% of the countrys population, is present in every aspect of life. More than 50 laws discriminate against non-Jewish citizens. Israels trains do not stop in a single Arab city. Defense minister Benny Gantz could have become Israels prime minister if he had agreed a partnership with Arab parties. Instead, he preferred to become the junior partner in the current Israeli coalition.

Just look at the large Israeli delegation that went to the UAE in August: not a single non-Jewish official was included. Yes, Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are now tweeting in Arabic, but part of their legacy is the racist Jewish-nation state law that downgrades Israels Arabic language status.

For the UAE, the agreement is in effect a generous donation to Trumps election campaign, while at the same time giving Abu Dhabi more access to weapons and intelligence. A simple review of Israeli media will show how security-related companies are the most excited about this deal.

And what about Palestinian rights? They are not even mentioned. What about stopping Israeli annexation? This week, Israel is set to approve almost 5,000 more units to expand its illegal colonial settlements further.

Perhaps most strikingly, the agreement refers to international law and UN resolutions on international agreements. What about resolution 2334 on the illegality of Israeli settlements? Or resolution 478 calling on all countries to move their diplomatic representatives outside Jerusalem? What about the UN charter urging countries to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace? Trump and Netanyahu are undermining the whole idea of a rules-based world order.

Annexation on the ground continues. Israel continues to demolish Palestinian homes to expand its settlements. However, Israels foreign minister, Gabi Ashkenazi, has been telling his European counterparts that annexation has stopped.

Its for all these reasons that Im saying no to this agreement, as should anyone who cares about justice. Regional peace, security, equality and fulfilment of the Palestinian peoples long-overdue rights: this deal represents the exact opposite.

Sami Abu Shehadeh is a Palestinian MP in the Knesset

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Israel's pact with the UAE is not about peace. It's a business deal - The Guardian

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Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

A new exhibit has opened at the Jewish Museum in the German city of Worms, detailing the rich Jewish history of the three major Jewish cities of the Rhineland region Speyer, Worms and Mainz.The exhibit, called ShUM on the Rhine From the Middle Ages to Modernity, leads visitors on a journey through centuries of Ashkenazi Jewish history that still influences Diaspora Jewry to this day, and includes some of the earliest medieval documentation of Jewish life in Europe.The exhibit takes its name from the Hebrew acronym for the three cities Speyer is Shpira, Worms is Warmaisa and Mainz is Magenza.On September 13, 2020, the exhibition was opened, as scheduled, despite COVID-19 and a very small team. The team was dedicated in a way never seen and experienced before, museum curator Susanne Urban told The Jerusalem Post.It was an exciting time and experience, and the topic bringing ShUM into life and making its outstanding monuments and traditions visible was great.The exhibit leads visitors on a journey through centuries of ShUM's Ashkenazi Jewish history (Credit:SchUM-Stdte e.V.)The three cities were a major medieval center of Diaspora Jewry, and many laws and legal rulings were made there including the Takkanot (enactments) ShUM, which were a set of decrees, some of which are still followed today, such as laws regarding marriage and death. cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); });The exhibit is split into several thematic sections, including women, water and local architecture. It combines contemporary art with historical artifacts donated by German Jews who left Worms for South America or those left behind when the Jewish community was decimated by the Nazis.Certain highlights include a goblet belonging to the communitys chevra kadisha (burial society) which was made by goldsmith Christof Mendt of Frankenthal in 1609 and was used until 1938; a silver spice box from 1733 that bears a sign comparable to the coat of arms of the City of Worms; and stone columns which are the remains of the original synagogue of Worms, containing circulating writing referring to the year 1174/75, marking the start of the synagogues construction, two of which reference the Temple in Jerusalem. The synagogue was destroyed in WWII.The exhibit is split into several thematic sections, including women, water, local architecture (Credit:SchUM-Stdte e.V.)Water plays a large role in the exhibit as well, due to the cities close proximity to the Rhine River and the importance water played in local Jewish life and commerce.Water is meant here as the connection between the ShUM communities through the River Rhine and the mikvaot (ritual baths), which were architectural role models, Urban told the Post. In addition, women were in these mikvaot much more than men, so we have: the communities, architecture and women.We had roughly one year of research and diving into archives etc. and to get the most exciting object on loan Joshua Abarbanels artwork Golem, she told the Post.The "Golem," created by Abarbanel, a US artist, is a stunning creation of a man made out of Hebrew letters, and is the main art piece at the center of the exhibit.US artist Joshua Abarbanel's artwork 'Golem' on display (Credit:SchUM-Stdte e.V.)The exhibit, which is open for five years, is located in a building known as the Rashi House, which stands on the location where the Jewish community building had stood since the 12th century in constant use as a hospital, wedding hall and retirement home until it was used as a transit location for the Jewish community by the Nazis in WWII. The medieval remains of the original walls can still be seen in the basement.The ShUM sites are on a tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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New exhibit in Germany highlights the Rhine's medieval Jewish history - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on October 14, 2020

The plan to defund relatives isnt the latest Windsors invention. It seems to be a repeating pattern of making an example of younger brother. Before the ongoing soap opera with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle there was a story of Prince Andrew. Defunding the parts of the family fprced Prince Andrew to seek for income on the darker side. He attempted a fixer career and met with Timur Kulibayev, a wealthy Kazakhstani billionaire eager to join the very highs of the British society. It didnt go well for both, LeedSTV assumes.

Prince Charles and Prince Andrew had been at odds for years. Now that Charles is preparing for the throne, he would like Andrew out of sight as much as possible along all his controversial ties and connections beginning from Timur Kulibayev and Goga Ashkenazi to Ghislaine Maxwell.

Andrews princely image crumbled quickly, mainly because of his dubious contacts. For example, with Kazakh billionaire Timur Kulibayev. Andrew sold to him Sunninghill Park, the house that he and Sarah Ferguson got as a gift from queen Elizabeth for marriage. Whats more important is that Andrew sold the derelict mansion with a premium of more than three million that the property was publicly advertised. Public conclusion leaned toward the suspicion that Prince Andrew received a bribe from Timur Kulibayev. Prince Andrew dismissed such allegation but instead of distancing himself from Timur Kulibayev he became involved deeply in Kazakhstan affairs. It lead him to dismissal as a UK trade representative in Central Asia. All benefits for Timur Kulibayev were cancelled.

Timur Kulibayev isnt sole controversial figure in prince Andrew deck. He met with the son of Libyan leader Gaddafi and with Sakher El Materi, the son-in-law of the deposed Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. This Sakher was suspected at the time of corruption, large-scale fraud and money laundering. The prince was also friends with the Finnish-Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygrd, who is suspected of raping several underage girls. And, of course, theres the warm bond Andrew maintained with the convicted felon, now deceased, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Prince Andrew and Goga Ashkenazi

Since the age of three, he has been the first in line to the throne, making the Prince Charles (71) the longest waiting crown prince ever in the United Kingdom. His mother, Queen Elizabeth (94), is the longest-ruling British queen; she has been on duty for 65 years. The moment that Charles takes over the throne when his mother dies or, and that must have been forced by circumstances, resigns, is undeniably closer. Charles had been preparing for his future task for years. At the top of his to do list would be to keep the monarchy popular. The British often complain that it costs far too much tax money. In order to keep those voices down as much as possible, Charles decided a few years ago in consultation with his mother to drastically reduce the senior royals club that works for the royal house and receives money for it. This meant that, among others, the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie fell out of the boat and had to build their own career.

That would not have pleased their father Prince Andrew at all. He would have been furious with Charles, for he would have expected his daughters to be given more royal tasks. The British press wrote extensively about it and eventually Andrew felt obliged to officially announce that there was nothing going on and that he felt it was only natural for Beatrice and Eugenie to go to work.

Its rumoured that it is the main reason for the feud. Timur Kulibayev and Gaddafi are unlikely people to be associated with monarchy too.

Timur Kulibayev

Timur Kulibayev failed in his Quest for The West. The involvement in royal affairs gave him nothing for his extra three million paid to Andrew. Moreover he is the person which is considered toxic. His circle is now confined to his compatriots and direct business partners. By the way Timur Kulibayev has finished the construction of new Sunninghill Park and at least may enjoy comfortable stay in it.

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Prince Andrew portrayed as a scarecrow but the reason for it isn't Timur Kulibayev and Goga Ashkenazi connection - EconomicInform

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