Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 25, 2020

To the editor:

I am disappointed and dismayed at the editorial process that led to the publication of Peter C. Hermans LAffaire Krug and Contemporary Wokeism.

What standing does Herman have to write on this topic? He appears to be a scholar of the Renaissance. I am confident that if Inside Higher Ed sought to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Jessica Krugs decision to pass as Black, you could have found any number of scholars who specialize in ethnic studies or fields more closely related to contemporary race identification questions.

It is reflective of Hermans lack of facility in the questions he engages that he cites Shakespeare but fails to account for some of the ideas raised in The Merchant of Venice. Shylock, yes, asks questions that point to the social construct of race. But the point that Herman leaves out here is one that historians and scholars of race raise as well (and do so without falling back on anti-Jewish stereotypes): What is the purpose of the construction of race? See, for example, scholar Barbara Fields on this question.

The construct of race was not formed to offer people a broader variety of socially determined performances but the subjugation of groups of people for the consolidation of economic and political power. The determination of individuals, such as Krug and Rachel Dolezal, to present themselves as belonging to racial and ethnic groups to which they do not belong, reinforces this dynamic. Those determinations donot, as Herman suggests, contribute to some sort of eliding of problematic segregation. The case of Krug is particularly egregious as her identification allowed her access to resources specifically marked for people from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.

Herman makes a dangerous equation between gender -- a characteristic that is individual -- with race -- a social construct, yes, but one reinforced by familial heritage, physical appearance, and societal recognition. Racial and ethnic identity is rhizomatic, with vertical and lateral roots; gender identity is often assigned at birth, but that assignment is sometimes incorrect or incomplete, and it is healthy and good that people can later take steps to embody the gender identity that is right for them. Many thinkers -- Crissle West, Meredith Talusan, Samantha Allen -- publishing on a range of platforms have articulated the reasons that this equation is wrong.

Rather than returning to the outdated idea that recognizing racial differences creates further segregation and oppression such that we should just start ignoring race -- a convenient strategy for a white man, who has almost certainly benefitted from the privileges whiteness affords -- thinkers such as Ibram X. Kendi suggest that we should instead recognize the ways that racism is upheld through policy. We need to then take steps to dismantle those racist policies, such as housing segregation, school segregation, preference for legacy students and high test scores (even on tests that have been recognized to have racial bias) in higher education admissions, and replace them with antiracist policies.

Hermans concluding call that we ignore race in addressing issues of class and global climate change misapprehends these problems as separate when they are intrinsically linked. We know, for example, that the wealth gap between white and Black households is approximately tenfold (Brookings); that is, white households have an average net worth of $171,000 while Black households typically have $17,150. Stanfords Open Policing Project finds significant gaps in police stops of white people versus Black people. The Sentencing Project documents longstanding disparities in criminal justice outcomes for African-American and Hispanic people compared to white people (https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/un-report-on-racial-disparities/). And did we not learn after Hurricane Katrina that natural disasters, on pace to occur with increasing frequency, will disproportionately affect nonwhite people because of historical instantiated policies on housing and segregation?

I also take issue with several statements in this piece that reflect sloppy, sometimes racist, logic on the part of the writer:

His biography on the NYU website:

I ask that you revisit the process by which this piece was approved for publication, and consider what steps might be appropriate to correct some of the issues in this piece, as well as to take steps to publish work that better reflects the conclusions that scholars in identity studies have reached.

With best regards,

Carolyn Caine

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A misguided analysis of the Jessica Krug affair (letter) - Inside Higher Ed

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Posted By admin on September 25, 2020

Democratic Party activist Linda Sarsour urges Muslim Americans to vote for Joe Biden, during Emgage Michigans virtual gala on 20 September. (via YouTube)

Muslim American and Palestinian rights groups are under growing pressure to cut ties with Emgage, the US Muslim organization whose leaders maintain cozy ties with Israel lobby groups.

On Tuesday, American Muslims for Palestine broke its official silence on the matter, saying that it was aware of and is addressing the grave allegations about Emgage.

This comes two weeks after The Electronic Intifadas expos of Emgage leaders connections with anti-Palestine organizations.

AMP takes a simple, strong, and principled position prohibiting covert and overt alliances and normalization with Islamophobic or Zionist organizations and elements, as well as any hateful individuals and groups, American Muslims for Palestine said.

All members of the US Council of Muslim Organizations adhere to these principles and this was made patently clear to Emgage when it sought membership in the USCMO, AMP added.

Both Emgage and American Muslims for Palestine are members of the US Council of Muslim Organizations.

AMP said it would wait until an official report by USCMO about Emgage, but that in the meantime it would continue to impose a prohibition on a collaborative relationship with Emgage.

It is unclear when this report will be issued.

As The Electronic Intifada has reported, Emgage leaders have collaborated closely with Israel lobby groups that are waging a relentless campaign against Palestine solidarity activism, especially the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

These groups include AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee.

Emgage board members and personnel have participated in the Muslim Leadership Initiative junkets to Israel operated by the Shalom Hartman Institute, an organization which has close ties to the Israeli military and shares a major funder with some of the most Islamophobic organizations in the United States.

Emgage has endorsed Joe Biden and its longtime board member and former Pentagon official Farooq Mitha serves as the Democratic nominees Muslim engagement adviser.

Raja Abdulhaq, executive director of Majlis Ash-Shura: Islamic Leadership Council of New York, welcomed AMPs statement as a powerful and principled position and urged other national Muslim organizations to follow.

But for many, American Muslims for Palestine and other USCMO members have not moved fast or far enough.

On Sunday, Hatem Bazian, American Muslims for Palestines board chair, published a note on Facebook reacting to the Emgage controversy.

Bazian said he had been involved in discussions with Emgage leaders and was unsatisfied with their responses thus far.

Bazian has been a leading voice warning about the dangers of faithwashing projects like the Muslim Leadership Initiative that co-opt US Muslim activists into pro-Israel propaganda.

But now Bazian is urging that the best approach is to postpone further discussions about Emgage until after the November election.

This drew a sharp response from commenter Laila al-Arian, who called it stunning that asking Muslim American groups to dissociate from Israel lobby organizations is seen as such a tall order.

Al-Arian added that it is clearly a strategic blunder to wait until after the elections to hold Emgage accountable and have them disassociate from Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian groups.

The Drop Emgage campaign is also pushing for stronger action.

On Wednesday, the campaign said American Muslims for Palestine had taken a critical step towards dropping Emgage USA entirely.

Drop Emgage called AMPs move a step in the right direction.

More than 200 Palestinian and Muslim activists have signed Drop Emgages open letter demanding that Emgage sever all ties with Israel lobby group and respect the Palestinian BDS call.

Drop Emgage is now urging the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim American Society and others to immediately suspend all collaboration until Emgage meets demands to end its normalization activities with Zionist groups.

CAIR is among several Muslim American groups taking part in Emgages voter mobilization drive.

In August, CAIR redacted criticisms of Emgages ties to Zionist groups made by Palestinian scholar Sami al-Arian from a video of an online seminar.

A request for comment was acknowledged by CAIR, but no response has been received.

Another group partnering with Emgage is MPower Change, led by Linda Sarsour, a high-profile Palestinian American activist in the Democratic Party.

Sarsour participated in a virtual gala hosted by Emgages Michigan chapter last Sunday.

I came here to support the leadership of Nada al-Hanooti and her work as the Emgage executive director of the Michigan chapter, Sarsour began offering praise while deftly avoiding a full-throated endorsement of Emgage as a whole.

But Sarsour did not address any of the controversy surrounding Emgages connections to anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic groups, focusing instead on urging Muslim Americans to vote for Biden no matter what misgivings they may have.

Give me Joe Biden. Joe Biden is a neoliberal, he is a conservative Democrat, and yes he does not align with us on many issues, Sarsour said.

In return for electing Biden, Sarsour promised to stay on these streets and fight harder than I ever have, even harder than I fought under the Trump administration.

Sarsour offered a version of the perennial election-time pitch: Vote for the Democrats now because this is the most important election in our lifetimes. Well hold Obamas/Clintons/Bidens feet to the fire later.

But according to Black Agenda Reports Margaret Kimberley, We will hold their feet to the fire, is one of the saddest or perhaps funniest of all quadrennial proclamations.

Anyone who actually votes for a Democrat yet ends up pushing back against them is in a very distinct minority, Kimberley adds. Most Americans have been so bullied by the system that their political activity is already limited to voting.

Liberation cant come from electoral politics, Kimberley writes. The mass movement comes first and electoral successes may follow.

One conclusion is that if voting gives people any leverage at all, it is by demanding concessions from politicians before the votes are cast, not after.

Another, as the Emgage debacle shows, is that trying to build a mass movement around Muslim American identity cannot succeed if it fails to adopt and abide by clear principles on the question of Palestine.

Sarsour and MPower Change have not responded to requests for comment.

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US Muslim groups face pressure over ties to Israel-friendly Emgage - The Electronic Intifada

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Posted By admin on September 25, 2020

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) Hispanic Heritage Month coincides with the Jewish High Holidays.

CBS2s Steve Overmyer reports on the complex history of the two cultures intersecting.

Something thats pretty unique about being a Latin American Jew is that we tend to always connect with each other very easily, said Judith Ghitman, whos from Venezuela and moved to New York in March.

She said it was a challenge to find the citys Latin American Jewish community during the coronavirus pandemic.

I got a chance to connect with a few people and I got their phone numbers, and were in touch. That makes me a little more excited for what my social life will look like in a couple months, she said.

Latin America is home to the 3rd largest Jewish community in the world.

It was tough to find that community in New York until 12 years ago, when Rabbi Mendy Whiteman founded the Jewish Latin Center.

We have this Latin American community that has the warmth and the values and the traditions coming from South America to create a home and a community where they can bring that culture, that warmth and incorporate it with Jewish traditions, celebration and values. It really makes an amazing experience, said Rabbi Mendy Shuchat, who is Venezuelan.

During the Spanish Inquisition, those of Jewish faith were forced to flee. Their new home was in Latin America.

Today, one out of every four Latin Americans has at least 5% Jewish DNA.

Were talking about Jews that immigrated from Spain, starting to Brazil and later came to New York, said Rabbi Shuchat.

In fact, the first synagogue in New York was founded by a Jewish Brazilian refugee of the Spanish Inquisition.

Past the layers, past the colors, past the passports, theres an essence within each and every single one of us a godly essence and thats what were trying to reach and celebrate, said Rabbi Shuchat.

Discovering that shared ancestry helps to understand and embrace the history.

Click here for more Hispanic Heritage Month coverage.

You can get the latest news, sports and weather on our brand new CBS New York app. Download here.

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Hispanic Heritage Month: Exploring The Connection Between Latin Americans And Judaism - CBS New York

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Posted By admin on September 25, 2020

With help from Cristiano Lima and John Hendel

Editors Note: POLITICO Tech is a free version of POLITICO Pro Tech's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the days biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.

Liability legislation incoming: A soon-to-be-released bill would compel internet companies to report major crimes online to federal authorities by hitting them where it hurts: their prized legal immunity.

Facebooks year-long dilemma: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last year that his social network should not regulate political ads. This month, it started regulating some political ads. Heres why.

TikTok countdown: A federal court has given the Trump administration a choice: delay or defend its move to ban video-sharing platform TikTok from U.S. app stores. A decision is due today.

ITS FRIDAY. WELCOME TO MORNING TECH AND THE WEEKEND! Youve got co-hosts Alexandra Levine and Steven Overly today. Were bidding adieu to our Morning Cybersecurity colleague, Tim Starks, who signs off today after five years at the helm of that newsletter.

Got a news tip? Write to Alexandra at [emailprotected], or follow along @Ali_Lev and @alexandra.levine. An event for our calendar? Send details to [emailprotected]. Anything else? Full team info below. And don't forget: Add @MorningTech and @PoliticoPro on Twitter.

A message from Ericsson:

5G will accelerate innovation and provide transformative use cases across multiple global sectors. It will also bring new security challenges with broader attack surfaces, more devices and increased traffic loads. We must have networks that are trustworthy, resilient, and secure by design all on day one. Learn more.

SCOOP: INCOMING MANCHIN BILL TARGETS CRIMES ONLINE, SECTION 230 Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is set to unveil a long-awaited bill as early as next week aimed at curtailing major crimes online such as the sale of illegal drugs by amending the internet industrys legal liability protections. The so-called See Something, Say Something Online Act, would require companies shielded under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to report to the Justice Department suspicious activity by users that could be linked to major crimes, or lose their immunity over third-party content, according to a new dispatch by Cristiano.

A bid for bipartisan Section 230 reform: Its the latest proposal in Washington to set its sights on the legal shield. As the Internet rapidly changed, we failed to keep up. Now we must amend Section 230 to reflect the way the Internet impacts our lives today both good and bad, Manchin told POLITICO. Thats why I am planning to introduce bipartisan legislation that would require companies to say something when they see something illegal online.

A concept years in the making: Manchin first raised the specter of tweaking Section 230 to hold social media platforms more accountable for the sale of opioid drugs online at a 2018 hearing. Manchin told MT last September he had a bill prepared and ready to go and would release it if he felt online platforms hadnt done enough to curtail drug sales. The proposal also raises the prospect that if companies fail to exercise due care in reporting criminal activity, Congress intends to look at removing liability protections under the Communications Decency Act of 1996 in its entirety.

HOW FACEBOOK SHIFTED ON POLITICAL ADS For nearly a year, Facebook stuck steadfastly to CEO Mark Zuckerbergs position that it should not police political ads. Then, that suddenly changed. This month has been an about-face: First, Facebook announced that it is banning new political ads in the week before Election Day to prevent last-minute attempts to deceive voters. Then this week the company took it further, saying it will reject ads that claim victory prematurely as worries rise that President Donald Trump might do just that, Nancy reports.

But the move wasnt as sudden as it seemed. Those involved in the discussions over political ads say Facebook officials spent nearly a year wavering between its founders declarations on free expression and a desire to avoid becoming a presidential-election villain yet again. Read more about how Facebook came to change its mind.

TIKTOKS LEGAL TICK TOCK The Trump administration must decide today whether to delay its order banning TikTok from U.S. app stores or defend the move before a federal judge this weekend. In a hearing Thursday, District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, gave the government until 2:30 p.m. to choose. If the administration opts not to delay, Nichols said he plans to rule on TikToks request for a preliminary injunction before the app gets booted from U.S. app stores at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Postponing the ban would mark yet another blow to President Donald Trumps efforts to hobble Chinese tech companies. It also comes as a deal allowing TikTok to continue to operate in the U.S., which seemed settled over the weekend, remains up in the air.

MEET THE UNOFFICIAL REAL FACEBOOK OVERSIGHT BOARD A group of civil rights leaders, academics and big tech critics today are launching what theyre calling the Real Facebook Oversight Board an independent, unsanctioned alternative to the Facebook-approved organization, which will soon launch and be able to overturn the social networks content decisions. The group said in a statement that it plans to sound the warning about Facebooks role in the upcoming election and challenge Facebooks failure to launch its own Oversight Board. The announcement comes a day after Facebooks actual oversight board confirmed plans to launch ahead of Election Day.

Introducing the real board: The unofficial cast includes leaders of the #StopHateForProfit movement, which has organized boycotts of Facebook and its subsidiaries, among others, such as: the heads of the NAACP, Color of Change and the Anti-Defamation League, as well as Yael Eisenstat, former head of elections integrity ops for political advertising for Facebook; and Roger McNamee, an early Facebook investor-turned-prominent-critic.

Facebooks board wont provide sufficient oversight, they say. Facebooks Oversight Board is a distraction, not a real solution, McNamee said in a statement. No amount of spin can hide the damage Facebook does every day to public health and democracy through amplification of hate speech, disinformation, and conspiracy theories.

WICKER EYES TRUMPS NEW FCC PICK Senate Commerce Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) is planning on moving forward with Trumps recent nomination of Nathan Simington, a Commerce Department staffer that Trump chose to take over the seat of GOP veteran Mike ORielly, a senior Commerce Committee aide told John.

Wicker met with Simington Wednesday evening in a meeting that the senior aide called highly detailed. The nominee was scheduled to meet with Senate Commerces policy and legal teams on Thursday evening, and Wicker is urging all panel Republicans to meet with Simington, the aide added. No word yet on a possible confirmation hearing or vote.

Many observers question whether Congress will have enough time to process Simingtons nomination before the end of the year. Controversy lurks given the abrupt way Trump yanked ORiellys nomination this summer following his pushback about regulating social media companies. Simingon worked in a supporting role on the Commerce Departments summer petition seeking an FCC crackdown on online liability protections, a National Telecommunications and Information Administration spokesman told John.

TECH QUOTE DU JOUR At Facebook I believe we sought to mine as much human attention as possible and turn it into historically unprecedented profits. To do this, we didnt simply create something useful and fun. We took a page from Big Tobaccos playbook, working to make our offering addictive at the outset, Tim Kendall, Facebooks first and former director of monetization who appeared in the hit Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, testified Thursday at a House Energy & Commerce hearing on extremism on social media.

SCHAKOWSKY SOCIAL MEDIA BILL INBOUND Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), chair of the House E&C consumer protection subcommittee, teased plans Thursday to circulate a draft bill next week that will fundamentally alter [social media] companies' business models and give consumers and regulators the recourse when these compes fail in their stated basic commitments to consumers. Schakowsky, whose panel has jurisdiction over a range of key tech issues, did not elaborate on the scope of the bill. But for months she has signaled plans for legislation targeting the internet industrys legal liability shield, Section 230.

STOP THE POLITICAL ADS, AMERICAN VOTERS SAY More than half of U.S. adults believe social media platforms should make a blanket decision to stop running political ads, according to new data from the Pew Research Center. An even greater portion almost 80 percent feel that these tech firms should not be using users data (from what people do online) to target the political ads they see. Republicans and right-leaning Americans are generally more in favor of allowing political ads on these sites than are Democrats and left-leaning Americans. Facebook announced recently it would refrain from running any new political ads in the week before Election Day; Twitter almost a year ago decided to wipe political ads from its platform altogether.

LEGISLATION ON THE MOVE The Senate agreed Thursday to extend the SAFE WEB Act, which originally passed in 2006, for another seven years. The House passed its version of the SAFE WEB Extension Act, H.R. 4779 (116), in December, so the bill now heads to Trumps desk. That law gives the FTC greater power to fight online fraud and deception across borders.

Spotify, Epic Games, Match Group and Tile are among the members of the new Coalition for App Fairness, a group that launched Thursday to preserve consumer choice and a level playing field for app and game developers that rely on app stores and the most popular gatekeeper platforms.

POLITICO scoop: The Senate Commerce Committee will vote next week on Republicans' attempt to subpoena the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter, a committee aide told POLITICO. John has the details for Pros.

The Great Twitter Hack: Wired examines how Twitter survived a cyber attack that targeted some of its most-followed users, and how it is planning to stop something similar from happening on Election Day and beyond.

A message from Ericsson:

Network security = national security. With any nascent technology, security cannot be an afterthought. Networks must be trustworthy, resilient, and secure by design all on day one. Ericsson is working with the O-RAN Alliance and others to incorporate security best practices into our integrated and open network solutions built upon a flexible, high-integrity supply chain, which will allow our customers to deploy robust, secure and trusted 5G networks. Learn more.

Who sat out Voter Registration Day?: A new site launched by digital rights group Fight for the Future tracks which tech companies are using their reach to get Americans to vote and which did not promote voter registration efforts this week. Amazon and Apple were among those who sat it out, per the tracker.

Tech group blasts EO: The Information Technology Industry Council criticized Trumps recent executive order that prohibits government contractors from offering certain workplace training related to race and gender. CEO Jason Oxman called the order an affront to our industrys core values, an attack on free enterprise and, most importantly, an unacceptable step backward for racial equity. ITIs members include Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and others with federal contracts.

That Cambridge Analytica guy: Alexander Nix, the former Cambridge Analytica boss who got caught up in the global data scandal, has been banned from serving as director of another company for seven years, British authorities decided. More from The Guardian.

Tips, comments, suggestions? Send them along via email to our team: Bob King ([emailprotected], @bkingdc), Heidi Vogt ([emailprotected], @HeidiVogt), Nancy Scola ([emailprotected], @nancyscola), Steven Overly ([emailprotected], @stevenoverly), John Hendel ([emailprotected], @JohnHendel), Cristiano Lima ([emailprotected], @viaCristiano), Alexandra S. Levine ([emailprotected], @Ali_Lev), and Leah Nylen ([emailprotected], @leah_nylen).

TTYL.

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Manchin Section 230 bill inbound - POLITICO - Politico

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Posted By admin on September 25, 2020

CHICAGO (CBS) Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old from Antioch charged with killing two people and wounding another during protests in Kenosha last month, plans to fight extradition from Lake County to Wisconsin, his attorneys told a Lake County judge on Friday.

Rittenhouse is charged with shooting three people with an AR-15 rifle on Aug. 25, during a night of widespread civil unrest in Kenosha days after white Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey shot 29-year-old Black man Jacob Blake in the back.

Rittenhouse faces one count of first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a life sentence; one count of first-degree reckless homicide, which carries a prison sentence of up to 60 years; and one count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. He is also charged with one count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, and two counts of recklessly endangering safety.

He was arrested in Antioch the morning after the shooting, and is being held at the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center near Vernon Hills.

During a status hearing in his case on Friday, defense attorney John Pierce said they intend to challenge extradition back to Wisconsin, and need to review the arrest warrant before filing their petition.

Lake County States Attorney Mike Nerheim said such challenges are quite rare.

In 20 years I havent seen one where somebody challenges extradition, especially once the governors warrants been issued, he said.

Lake County Judge Paul Novak gave Rittenhouses defense team until Oct. 9 to file their petition, and then the judge will set a schedule for arguments.

Prosecutors have said at 11:45 p.m. on Aug. 25 hours after an 8 p.m. curfew had gone into effect for Kenosha County east of Interstate 94 due to civil unrest Rittenhouse shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, of Kenosha, at the Car Source used car dealership at the northwest corner of 63rd Street and Sheridan Road in Kenosha.

Rosenbaum was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 12:47 a.m. on Aug. 26.

Prosecutors said cellphone video obtained and reviewed by police showed Rittenhouse running southwest across the eastern portion of the Car Source parking lot holding a long gun which was later recovered by police and identified as a Smith & Wesson AR-15 style .223 rifle.

Rosenbaum is seen following Rittenhouse, and trailing behind them is a reporter identified as Richard McGinnis, who interviewed Rittenhouse for the Daily Caller.

The video showed as they all crossed the parking lot, Rosenbaum appeared to throw a plastic bag at Rittenhouse, but the bag did not hit him, prosecutors said.

Rosenbaum appears to be unarmed for the duration of the first video, prosecutors said.

A second video showed Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum continuing to move across the parking lot and approach a black car parked in the lot. A loud bang is heard, and then a man shouts, F**k you! prosecutors said. Afterward, Rosenbaum approaches Rittenhouse and gets close and four more loud bangs are heard, prosecutors said.

Rosenbaum then falls to the ground, and remains there as Rittenhouse circles back behind the black car and approached him, prosecutors said. McGinnis also approached Rosenbaum, removed his own shirt, and tried to render aid, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, Rittenhouse appeared to get on his cellphone and make a call. As another man approached, Rittenhouse ran from the scene, and as he was heard saying on the phone, I just killed somebody, prosecutors said.

A Kenosha police detective interviewed McGinnis, who said he was a trained medic. McGinnis also told the detective he had handled many ARs and that Rittenhouse was not handling the gun he was holding very well, prosecutors said.

McGinnis said as he and Rittenhouse were walking south, another armed man who appeared to be in his 30s joined him and said he was there to protect Rittenhouse, prosecutors said.

McGinnis said before Rittenhouse reached the parking lot and ran across it, Rittenhouse had moved from the middle of Sheridan Road where Rosenbaum initially tried to engage him, prosecutors said. Rosenbaum was trying to get a closer look at Rittenhouse and advanced, at which point Rittenhouse did a juke move and started running.

Others were also moving quickly toward Rittenhouse as he tried to evade them, McGinnis told prosecutors.

McGinnis said once Rittenhouse got to the black car in the parking lot, he had the gun raised, but pointed downward. Rittenhouse then brought the gun up, stepped back, and apparently fired three rounds in rapid succession, McGinnis told prosecutors.

McGinnis said he was behind and slightly to the right of Rosenbaum at the time and wondered whether he himself had been shot when he felt something on his leg. McGinnis had been in the line of fire, but the gun was aimed at Rosenbaum, prosecutors said.

McGinnis said he did not hear Rosenbaum and Rittenhouse exchange any words, and said Rosenbaum was trying to get Rittenhouses gun, prosecutors said.

Dr. P. Douglas Kelley of the Milwaukee Medical Examiners office determined that Rosenbaum suffered one gunshot to the groin that fractured his pelvis, another to the back which perforated his right lung and liver, another to the left hand, a superficial gunshot wound to his lateral left thigh, and a graze wound to the right side his forehead.

In a third video, Rittenhouse is seen turning north on Sheridan Road after he shot Rosenbaum, prosecutors said. The street and sidewalk are full of people who are running behind Rittenhouse one is heard apparently saying, Beat him up! and another says, Hey, he shot him! prosecutors said.

In a fourth video, someone says, Get him! Get that dude! prosecutors said. Afterward, a man in a light-colored top runs toward Rittenhouse and appears to swing at him knocking his hat off, prosecutors said.

Afterward, someone says, Whatd he do? and someone else answers, Just shot someone. Then, a man is heard yelling, Get his ass! prosecutors said.

At that point, Rittenhouse trips and falls to the ground. Another man in a dark-colored top and light-colored pants jumps over at Rittenhouse, and based on the positioning of Rittenhouses gun, it appears he fires to shots in quick succession at that person, but does not hit him, prosecutors said.

Just after that, another man, Anthony Huber, 26, of Silver Lake, approaches Rittenhouse, who at this point is still on the ground on his back, prosecutors said. Huber has a skateboard in his right hand and appears to be reaching for Rittenhouses gun with his left as the skateboard makes contact with Rittenhouses left shoulder, prosecutors said.

Huber looks to be trying to pull the gun away from Rittenhouse, and Rittenhouse rolls to his left side, prosecutors said. The gun is then pointed at Hubers body as Rittenhouse fires one round, prosecutors said.

Huber staggers away, takes several steps, and collapses, prosecutors said. He went on to die of the gunshot wound.

Dr. Kelley at the Milwaukee Medical Examiners office also conducted an autopsy on Huber, finding he had suffered a gunshot wound to the chest that had perforated his heart, aorta, pulmonary artery, and right lung.

RELATED: Girlfriend Of Victim Anthony Huber Speaks Out About Suspect Kyle Rittenhouse

After shooting Huber, Rittenhouse took a seated position and pointed the gun at a third man Gaige Grosskreutz, 26, of West Allis who had also begun to approach him, prosecutors said.

When Rittenhouse shot Huber, Grosskreutz froze, ducked, and took a step back with his hands in the air, prosecutors said. Grosskreutz then moved toward Rittenhouse, and Rittenhouse fired one shot at him, striking him in the right arm, prosecutors said.

Grosskreutz appeared to have a handgun in his right hand when he was shot, prosecutors said.

Grosskreutz ran south on Sheridan Road away from Rittenhouse, screaming for a medic, as Rittenhouse started walking north, prosecutors said. Rittenhouse then turned around and started walking backwards with his gun in the ready position pointed at people in the roadway, prosecutors said.

Police did not arrest Rittenhouse at the scene. CBS 2s Chris Tye reported that at the end of the night, video shows Rittenhouse was able to walk right out of the Kenosha hot zone.

Rittenhouse was able to return to Illinois. He was arrested Wednesday morning in Antioch, and he was taken to the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center near Vernon Hills.

In a photo posted on Rittenhouses now-deleted Facebook, hes sporting a long gun. Based on his social media posts, he appears to have been a former police explorer a program for kids considering a career in law enforcement.

The Anti-Defamation League said there is no indication from his social media footprint that he was connected to any extremist movements.

Police so far have not commented on where Rittenhouse got a gun. Illinois law prohibits anyone under 18 from preventing a handgun.

Speaking to CBS News last month, defense attorney L. Lin Wood denounced the charges against Rittenhouse.

This young boy was not only attacked on the streets of Kenosha, hes been attacked in the media and social media all over the damn world, Wood said. Its wrong. Hes a 17-year-old boy. He was not there to create trouble, but he found himself with his life threatened and he had the right to protect himself with self defense and now he finds himself accused of murder.

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Kyle Rittenhouse, Charged With Killing Two In Kenosha, Will Fight Extradition To Wisconsin - CBS Chicago

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Posted By admin on September 25, 2020

George Soros may draw some of the most vociferous criticism, but hes hardly the biggest political donor in this cash-heavy election cycle Democrat or Republican.

In fact, Soros is 24th on the largest givers in this cycle, and Jewish donors on both the right and left populate the list above him.

Thats according to Open Secrets, which provides the top 100 individuals or married couples donating to the 2020 campaign. Among the top 25 on the list, 15 are Jewish or of Jewish origin.

They include Tom Steyer, No. 1 on the list, and Donald Sussman, who have joined Soros in the litany of Democratic donors criticized by Republicans. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson are No. 5 their money goes exclusively to Republican candidates. Plus theres a host of Jewish donors who have drawn little public attention despite giving in the multimillions.

The Open Secrets rundown is up to date as of Sept. 8. With the final weeks of the campaign seeing an accelerated fundraising push, the rankings are likely to change.

Heres what you need to know about the big-spending Jewish donors seeking to influence this years high-stakes elections, especially those whose giving has made the most waves.

Amount given so far:$54 million to Democrats

Steyer tops the list by far. The hedge funder, who was among the candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, has donated over $54 million to Democrats and, intriguingly, $35 to Republicans.

Lest you think Steyer is leading this cycle because of his own campaign, he has resided in the top three since the 2014 congressional cycle, and most of his money has gone to outside groups backing an array of Democratic candidates. (Steyer has endorsed Joe Biden and is fundraising for him.)

Steyer, whose father was Jewish and who identifies as ethnically Jewish, is a practicing Episcopalian, although in his youth he practiced Judaism and included a rabbi in his wedding.

Amount given so far: $28.4 million to Republicans and $8,400 to Democrats

Stephen Schwarzman is CEO of Blackstone, an investment management firm, and served on one of Trumps council of business advisers until they all shut down after the deadly neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville in 2017. Trump equivocated in condemning the rioters, and businesses came under pressure to cut ties with the administration.

Schwarzman told Reutershe got messages calling him a Nazi.

It was pretty clear that the country itself felt like it was going out of control, he said at the time. We decided there was too much pressure for too many people all running public companies.

His first major donation to Israel was in 2018,when he gave the National Library $10 million.

Amount given so far:$28 million to Republicans

Sheldon Adelson, 87, is a Las Vegas-based casino magnate and Miriam, 74, is a physician. They are major givers to an array of Jewish and pro-Israel causes, as well as to medical research.Adelsons endorsement of Trump in May 2016 opened the floodgates to Jewish donors who until then had been skeptical of the candidate.

Their ongoing support for Trump has been in question: Trump reportedlyberated Sheldon Adelson last month for not giving enough to the campaign as Bidens fundraising began to outpace the incumbents. But Adelson bellied up this month and has pledged $50 million to elect Republicans and send Trump back to the White House.

Adelson may be hedging his bets: He reportedly haspaid $87 million for the residence of the U.S. ambassador in suburban Tel Aviv, possibly as a means of preventing Biden from moving the embassy back to that city (although Biden has said he has no intention of doing so). Trump says his move of the embassy to Jerusalem was one of the highlights of his presidency.

Amount given so far: $22.3 million, all to Democrats save for $5,600 to Republicans

Sussman, 74, launched his investment career at age 12, in 1958,when he bet that the Cuban revolution would drive up the price of sugar. Hes known for his close ties to the Clintons he was a major backer of Hillarys 2016 presidential campaign. Sussman saidhe was dumping money into her campaign because of her pledge to take money out of politics, and he acknowledged the irony.

In his charitable giving, he appears to be particularly proud of his relationship with Israels Weizmann Institute, listing his position as deputy chairman of its international board of governors and his honorary doctorate from thereon his official bio.

Sussman was married to a Maine congresswoman, Chellie Pingree, from 2011 to 2016 and continues to be heavily involved in the state. Hehas given $100,000 to groups backing Sara Gideon, who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Despite his stakes in the New England state (he is on friendly terms with his ex, and for a period owned MaineToday, a media company) Republicans therehave endeavored to depict Sussman as an interloper, or in the states lingo, from away. In a radio interview, Collinssingled out three from away Jews, including Sussman, as backing Gideons campaign.

Amount given so far: Nearly $21 million to Democrats

James Simons has been called one of the smartest Wall Street financiers of all time, thanks to his contributions to string theory and his application of mathematical breakthroughs to investment banking. Born to a Jewish family in the very Jewish Massachusetts suburb of Brookline, Simonsnet worthis over $23 billion. He and his wife set up the Simons Foundation, one of the largest charity groups in the U.S., in 1994.

Amount given so far:$19.3 million to Democrats

Bloomberg, who runs an eponymous media empire, was a three-term mayor of New York, elected as a Republican and then as an Independent. He endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and in his speech at the Democratic convention excoriated Trump as a con man, earning the Trump sobriquet Mini Mike. Bloomberg, 78, mounted a campaign for the presidency this year and initially polled well until he waseviscerated in his first debate by a rival, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who depicted Bloomberg as Trump lite.

During his run, Bloomberg had pledged $1 billion to electing whomever won the nomination. Once he quit the race, however, he seemed to have forgotten his promise (and also a vow to pay the salaries of his staffers through the election, whatever happened).

But hes back: Bloomberg said this month thathe will spend $100 million in Florida, a swing state won by Trump in 2016 and critical to his reelection.

He has already donated $16 million for paying the fees of former felons. (Floridians voted overwhelmingly in a 2018 referendum to allow former felons to vote, rolling back a Jim Crow-era law.Jewish groups backed the initiative. The GOP-led legislature effectively scuttled the initiative by passing a law requiring that the ex-felons pay outstanding fines and court fees. Challenges are wending their way through the courts.) Floridas Republican attorney general says Bloombergs donation may be criminal and wants the feds to investigate.

Amount given so far:More than $13 million, mostly to Republicans

Jeffrey Yass, a trader who co-founded the Susquehanna International Group, is the lone libertarian on the list. In the 2016 cycle he gave $2.8 million to Kentucky Sen. Rand Pauls campaign. Major beneficiaries of his largesse include Save the Children and the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

Amount given so far: $12.5 million to Democrats

Simon is the daughter of Mel Simon, the billionaire businessman and movie producer who was involved in Jewish philanthropy. Deborah Simon and her sister, Cynthia Simon-Skjodt, have long given to progressive and Jewish causes such as the Anti-Defamation League.

Based in Indiana, Simon has been alongtime ideological opponent of Mike Pence, the vice president and former governor of the state known in part for his anti-abortion stance. This year, she has said she will do anything to unseat Trump.

Simon also donates to the U.S. Holocaust Museum andtalked with the museums magazinethis summer.

The Holocaust was a formative part of my Jewish identity, she said. The danger of xenophobia and the rising hatred were seeing around the world and in this country is very troubling to me.

Amount given so far:$11.8 million to Democrats

Henry Laufer worked closely with James Simons at his pioneering Renaissance Technologies, a quantitative hedge fund, and also became a billionaire. Marsha Laufer, his wife, was the Democratic Party chair in the Long Island, New York, town of Brookhaven for seven years. Outside of the presidential race, the Laufers have given to several individual Democratic politicians, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Amount given so far:Nearly $11 million to Democrats

Joshua Bekenstein is a co-chairman of Bain, the global finance company co-founded by Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential candidate and now Utah senator. Along with his wife, Bekenstein has given to an array of candidates and PACs this cycle, as well as to the Democratic Party. Residents of suburban Boston, they also operate a donor-advised fund through the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston.

Amount given so far:$9.7 million, all to Republicans save for $6,900 to Democrats

Marcus, 91, co-founded Home Depot and has long been a major donor to Jewish causes,looming large in the Atlanta area. This yearhe took on the Jewish Future Pledge, dedicating at least 50% of his charitable giving to Jewish causes, and his eponymous foundation gave $20 million to the Jewish Education Projectto help lower the cost of youth trips to Israel.

Marcus is all in for Trump. His pro-Trump posture he gave Trumps campaign $7 million in 2016 has led to boycotts of Home Depot, although he retired as the hardware chains chairman in 2002. The New York Times, reporting this week that the Republicans were trying to get the Green Party on the presidential ballot to siphon votes from Biden, revealed that Marcus funded an identical campaign in 2016. It may have worked:The votes for the Greens were greater than the margin of Trumps key victories in Wisconsin and Michigan.

Marcusalso backs congressional candidate Laura Loomer in South Florida. Mainstream GOP Jews have endeavored to ignore Loomer, who is Jewish and a self-declared Islamophobe. Shes run a campaign that has incurred the wrath of mainstream Jewish groups for likening Democrats to Nazis. Trump has enthusiastically endorsed Loomer he lives in the district.

Amount given so far: $8.8 million to Republicans

Singer, 76, is a hedge funder whoeased the Republican Party (somewhat) into accepting rights for LGBTQ people (his son is gay). He has a tenuous relationship with Trump and was theinitial funder of the opposition research that led to revelations about Russian attempts to infiltrate the Trump campaign. But by last year he was on the Trump train, saying Democrats posed a socialist threat to the United States.

Amount given so far:$8.8 million to Democrats

Stephen Mandel, a hedge fund manager, and his wife both grew up in Jewish families. Their philanthropic giving has centered on education issues. This year, in addition to donating to Democratic candidates across the country, Mandel has donated $2 million to the Lincoln Project, a PAC founded by former Republicans to prevent Trump from winning reelection.

Amount given so far: $8.2 million to Democrats

Soros, 90, is a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor who made his billions as a hedge funder. He launched his philanthropy in the 1970s, advancing democratic movements in South Africa and then as the Soviet empire began to crumble, in Central and Eastern Europe. His emphasis was the introduction of free markets, which first earned him praise from conservatives.

That dissipated once he turned his attention to liberal and Democratic politics, and especially when he spoke out against the Iraq War launched by President George W. Bush in 2003.He spent a record $27 million in 2004 to oust Bush, including millions on MoveOn, the group that along with the Howard Dean campaign set the standard that year for online fundraising.

(Adelson has said that Soros outsized 04 spending spurred his own big spending: In the 2008 cycle, the casino magnatespent $30 million on Freedoms Watch, a failed effort to set up a conservative counterpart to MoveOn, and Adelson broke spending records in 2012 in a losing bid to unseat Barack Obama at least $100 million, possibly as much as $150 million.)

Soros within the Jewish world has staked out a confrontational posture,deriding AIPAC in 2007as overly influential andthe next year becoming the main funder of J Street, a liberal rival to the pro-Israel giant. His foundation, Open Society, has also funded civil society groups in Israel that are sharply critical of its government.

As his ranking suggests, Soros has not been as major a player in presidential fundraising this year as he has been in the past. His focus in recent years has been on funding candidates for prosecutor who favor justice system reforms. In July, Open Societypledged to spend $220 million over five years to fund racial justice groups, its response to the protests this summer against police brutality.

Soros newsworthiness this cycle has less to do with what hes given and more to do with how he has become a target. Some on the right, including Trump, have leveled baseless slanders against Soros, accusing him of everything from being behind illegal immigration to rioting in cities, as well as having been a Nazi collaborator. The smears led to a failed bombing attack on Soros in 2018 and helped spur the gunman who slaughtered 11 worshippersat a Pittsburgh synagogue the same year.

Amount given so far:$7.5 million to Democratic groups

Steve Ballmer is the former Microsoft CEO and current owner of the NBAs Los Angeles Clippers. His mother was Jewish and, through her, he is related to the late Jewish comic Gilda Radner. At Microsoft, he sat on a council of world leaders convened by the Jewish National Fund and mademultiple trips to Israelto ramp up Microsoft operations there. He alsoreportedlyprepared as an adult to have a bar mitzvah ceremony.

This year, almost all of Ballmers giving $7 million went to Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund, the PAC associated with the gun control advocacy movement. Connie Ballmer gave $500,000 to Unite the Country, a PAC that is supporting Biden.

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Meet the top 15 Jewish political donors of the 2020 election cycle J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on September 25, 2020

Candidates seeking a seat on the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board answered a wide range of questions about their views including how board members should engage with staff and community members, during a virtual public forum sponsored by local teachers.

Monday nights forum was hosted by the Columbus Educators Association with logistical support from the Indiana State Teachers Association. Registration to view the event live was limited to the first 1,000 attendees, but the CEA plans to upload a recording of the event on its social media accounts.

There are candidates for three BCSC school board seats on the fall election ballot, including:

District 3 James Persinger (incumbent), Todd Grimes, Mike Jamerson

Story continues below gallery

District 5 Jennifer Corsi (incumbent Pat Bryant is running for re-election but did not participate in the forum due to a family emergency.)

District 7 Nicole Wheeldon, Lacretia Ulery (School board president and District 7 incumbent Jeff Caldwell is not running for re-election and did not participate in the forum.)

During the forum, candidates answered 10 questions gathered from submissions by teachers belonging to the CEA, in addition to making opening and closing remarks.

One of the questions addressed a controversial BCSC policy which has been interpreted by school corporation teachers to mean that all communication between school employees and school board members must go through the superintendent. According to the question asked of candidates, the policy goes as far as outlining how students, school staff and school board member may speak to each other if they happen to bump into each other in public.

Candidates were asked if BCSC school employees should be allowed to communicate with school board members, and whether, as a school board member, would they support revising or eliminating the policy.

Grimes said that the board needs to examine the policy, discuss it and revise it to meet current needs. He also said that there need to be open, honest communication lines.

Jamerson said that in his experience working on local, regional and national boards, there are always policies for how employees can voice their concerns, and these policies always go through the chief administrator (in this case, the superintendent).

There are some issues that I would consider redoing, but I think its always important to welcome discussions about pedagogy, technology, new models of instruction, he said. However, those discussions cant be about personnel issues or workplace issues, because those need to follow established policies and procedures to ensure that individuals are treated fairly and that the issues are resolved.

Persinger said that he and Bryant are working on changing the policy and that he hopes to do so before the end of 2020. Persinger said that he has submitted a proposal to eliminate sections of the policy and is working on rewriting another section of it.

Corsi expressed a desire to revise the policy but also noted that staffs requests to board members should be reasonable.

Use that time to speak to the board members wisely, she said. What are the things that are going to be key to then increase the satisfaction that you have as a teacher and increase your effectiveness as a teacher?

Wheeldon said that enacting disciplinary measures as result of a mere conversation seemed harsh.

I think a revision of it makes total sense, she said. However, I do think that with a voice comes an obligation to be part of the solution.

She also said that there needs to be a structure and process in place for communication.

Ulery said that she believes in the chain of command and that, typically, individual school principals have the knowledge to address most issues that come from their staff. In the event they are not able to do so, the conversation then moves up the chain of command.

As a board member, I understand the need for me to be a part of the policy-making, as the board has no authority for administrative actions, she said. But if this policy needs to be reviewed and language be refreshed, then that should happen. I would hope that there could be more open communication agreed to in the future.

Candidates were also asked about topics in the national and local community conversation about racism and racial justice, and what BCSC should do to address the needs of students of color and to combat racism.

We need to have the hard discussions that make people uncomfortable, Grimes said, who recently attended a conference organized by the Anti-Defamation League.

Jamerson said that addressing implicit bias is important, as is using the Universal Design for Learning to examine areas of cultural responsiveness and improve the school corporation. Its unfortunate that Mr. Bryant couldnt join us tonight, as the only person of color whos on the board today, he added. And I think its important to listen and speak with them, as opposed to just trying to decide what we need to do for them.

Persinger said everyone has implicit bias and that bias needs to be recognized. He also said that its important to talk with people from other ethnic or racial groups and to help kids become involved with other cultures at a young age.

The most important thing is to admit that there is a problem, especially, you know, as we see nationally, racism is unfortunately alive and well in this country, he said.

Corsi emphasized the importance of addressing ones own implicit bias.

You cant just gloss over and say, We should all just get along, she said. You have to dive deep into who you are as a human and how you can help others.

Wheeldon said that its important to educate students on racism. I also think that creating experiences for kids to really understand how these things play out in real life, what is their role as a growing member of society, is really important, she added.

Ulery said that a first step should be implicit bias training for every staff member. She also said that the school corp. should examine the diversity of its staff.

I would ask the question, Does our staff reflect our community? she said.

Another question addressed the beginning of this school year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Candidates were asked about parents concerns about a lack of equity among the choices offered to BCSC families for in-person or virtual learning.

I have a real respect for the school board and the administration in the central office that spend inordinate amounts of time planning and making sure that we have the best interests of kids in mind, Grimes said of the opening of the school year.

There have been difficulties for teachers tasked with in-person and BRIDGE instruction, Jamerson said.

Stating his opinion that in-person learning was a mistake, Persinger said the school year should have begun with online learning before moving into offering the three different learning options for students.

I think that wouldve given our teachers more adequate time to prepare for the school year, he said. I think that it was rushed. I think thats why we had so many issues at the beginning and still continue to do. He added that there shouldve been more transparency and communication between the administration, staff and community.

Corsi said that in her discussions with teachers, most said they didnt feel as though they had enough time to prepare.

I wouldve liked to have more time for the teachers to prepare for this, because thats a big transition, when youre teaching in-person and online, she said. Like Persinger, she also expressed a need for transparency from the administration.

Wheeldon said that the litmus test of reopening is to ask how students are feeling about it. In her case, her daughter was thrilled to go back to school.

However, Wheeldon also noted that BCSC should continue to improve the reopening plan, ask important questions, receive feedback and listen to (and meet) teachers needs.

Ulery said that some students are struggling with virtual learning and that the school corp. needs to make readjustments as needed rather than go with a uniform approach across the board.

We may want to consider more training for students and parents or possibly a list of helpful resources like study groups or tutors that they may reach out to themselves, she said. But we should continue to look for those that struggle and are falling through the cracks.

How to watch

The Columbus Educators Association will upload a recording of the public forum to YouTube and then share it on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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School board candidates participate in forum - The Republic

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Posted By admin on September 23, 2020

Most Zionist diplomacy takes place in secret, through corruption and blackmail (euphemistically called lobbying). But sometimes it is deemed appropriate that some statement be written down by some government representative in support of Zionism. The Goyim who write these statements may think them of little consequence, but Zionists know very well how to capitalize on them.

The most famous such document is the short letter written by the British Foreign Minister Lord Arthur Balfour to Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, president of the Zionist Federation, on November 2, 1917. Prime Minister Lloyd George later explained the deal in those terms:

Zionist leaders gave us a definite promise that, if the Allies committed themselves to give facilities for the establishment of a national home for the Jews in Palestine, they would do their best to rally Jewish sentiment and support throughout the world to the Allied cause. They kept their word.

Less known than the Balfour Declaration is the letter obtained by Nahum Sokolow, head of the World Zionist Organization, from the French Foreign minister Jules Cambon. Dated June 4, 1917, it not only anticipated the Balfour Declaration but cleared the way for it. It states that the French government feels sympathy for your cause, the triumph of which is linked to that of the allies. The cause in question is the development of the Israeli colonization in Palestine and the renaissance of the Jewish nationality in that land from which the people of Israel were exiled so many centuries ago. Back in London, Sokolow deposited the Cambon letter at the Foreign Office, where it stimulated a spirit of competition. In January 1918, he returned to Paris, this time with the aim of securing a public French declaration in support of the Balfour Declaration. A magnificent example of the efficiency of Zionist transnational diplomacy for war profiteering.

If Balfour thought that, after the war, his letter, cautiously worded and typed on unmarked paper, would be of little consequence, he was wrong. Zionists made it a cornerstone to their project. When the British government proved reluctant to deliver after the Versailles Treaty, they invested on the ambitious, unscrupulous and bankrupt Winston Churchill (1874-1965), whose thoughts were, in his own words, 99 percent identical with Chaim Weizmanns.

During WWII, Churchill and Weizmann conspired to repeat the winning strategy of the Balfour declaration in WWI, attempting to monetize Jewish influence to bring the United States into the war. In a letter to Churchill dated September 10, 1941, Weizmann wrote:I have spent months in America, traveling up and down the country []. There is only one big ethnic group which is willing to stand, to a man, for Great Britain, and a policy of all-out-aid for her: the five million American Jews. [] It has been repeatedly acknowledged by British Statesmen that it was the Jews who, in the last war, effectively helped to tip the scales in America in favor of Great Britain. They are keen to do itand may do itagain.

As soon as he had become Prime Minister in May 1940, Churchill instructed his War Cabinet member Arthur Greenwood to craft a document assuring the Jewish elites that a winning Britain will give them not only Palestine but a major share in the new world order to compensate for the wrongs suffered by the Jewish people. Although it is little known, this Greenwood Pledge is, according to Zionist Rabbi Stephen Wise, of wider and farther reaching implications than the Balfour declaration. The New York Times published it in its October 6, 1940 edition, under the amazing title New World Order Pledged to Jews (reproduced here and here).

The recipient of the declaration, here presented as Dr. S.S. Wise, was a major player in Zionist deep politics since the time of Theodor Herzl, and a close collaborator of Louis Brandeis, Felix Frankfurter, and Samuel Untermeyer. He was the founder of the New York Federation of Zionist Societies in 1897, the first seed for the Zionist Organization of America, of which he was president. In 1917 he participated in the effort to convince President Woodrow Wilson to approve the Balfour declaration. In 1936, he was a co-founder of the World Jewish Congress, dedicated to rallying world Jewry against Hitler.

Here is the full text of the New York Times, introducing the Greenwood Pledge:

New York Times, October 6, 1940

NEW WORLD ORDER PLEDGED TO JEWS;

Arthur Greenwood of British War Cabinet Sends Message of Assurance Here

RIGHTING OF WRONGS SEEN

English Rabbi Delivers to Dr. S.S. Wise New Statement on Question After War

In the first public declaration on the Jewish question since the outbreak of the war, Arthur Greenwood, a member without portfolio in the British War Cabinet, assured the Jews of the United States that when victory was achieved an effort would be made to found a new world order based on the ideals of justice and peace.

Mr. Greenwood, who is Deputy Leader of the British Labor party, declared that in the new world the conscience of civilized humanity would demand that the wrongs suffered by the Jewish people in so many countries should be righted. He added that after the war an opportunity would be given to Jews everywhere to make a distinctive and constructive contribution in the rebuilding of the world.

The message was delivered last week to Dr. Stephen S. Wise, chairman of the executive committee of the World Jewish Congress, by Rabbi Maurice L. Perzweig, chairman of the British section of the congress. Rabbi Perizweig arrived from England Monday evening.

Intention to Right Wrongs

Comparing the statement with the Balfour Declaration of 1917, D. Wise declared that in a sense it had wider and farther reaching implications, as it dealt with the status of Jews throughout the world. He said that Mr. Greenwoods message could be interpreted as a statement of Englands firm intention to help right the wrongs which Jews have suffered and continue to suffer today because of Hitlers disorder and lawlessness. Mr. Greenwood, sending the Jews of America a message of encouragement and warm good wishes, wrote:The tragic fate of the Jewish victims of Nazi tyranny has, as you know, filed us with deep emotion. The speeches of responsible statesmen in Parliament and at the League of Nations during the last seven years have reflected the horror with which the people of this country have viewed the Nazi relapse into barbarism.

The British Government sought again to secure some amelioration of the lot of persecuted Jewry both in Germany itself and in the countries which were infected by the Nazi doctrine of racial hatred. Today the same sinister power which has trampled on its own defenseless minorities, and by fraud and force has temporarily robbed many small peoples of their independence, has challenged the last stronghold of liberty in Europe.

New World Order Forecast

When we have achieved victory, as we assuredly shall, the nations will have the opportunity of establishing a new world order based on the ideals of justice and peace. In such a world it is our confident hope that the conscience of civilized humanity would demand that the wrongs suffered by the Jewish people in so many countries should be righted.

In the rebuilding of civilized society after the war, there should and will be a real opportunity for Jews everywhere to make a distinctive and constructive contribution; and all men of good-will must assuredly hope that in new Europe the Jewish people, in whatever country they may live, will have the freedom and full equality before the law with every other citizen.

In an interview at the Hotel Astor, Rabbi Perlzweig declared he was certain Mr. Greenwood speaks for England. There is a clear realization, he added, that freedom and emancipation for the Jewish people are tied up with emancipation and freedom for people everywhere. The message, Rabbi Perlzweig remarked, was the subject of earnest consideration by the British Government. This is a declaration on behalf of the whole world, he observed. Here the British Government expresses clearly what it hopes will take place after the war is won.

[1] According to a 1937 report of the Palestine Royal Commission, quoted by Alfred Lilienthal, What Price Israel? (1953), Infinity Publishing, 2003, pp.18-21.

[1] Martin Kramer, The Forgotten Truth about the Balfour Declaration, June 5, 2017, on mosaicmagazine.com

[1] Martin Gilbert, Churchill and the Jews: A Lifelong Friendship, Henry Holt & Company, 2007.

[1] David Irving, Churchills War, vol.2: Triumph in Adversity, Focal Point Publications, 2001, pp.7677.

[1] Thanks to M.S. King, who made this information known here: http://www.tomatobubble.com/nwo_jews.html

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New world order pledged to Jews 80 years ago - Tehran Times

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Posted By admin on September 23, 2020

AP

The main entrance at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland, with the inscription, 'Arbeit Macht Frei', which translates into English as '"Work will set you Free", Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019. On Jan. 27, 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated the Auschwitz death camp in German-occupied Poland. Auschwitz was the largest of the Germans' extermination and death camps and has become a symbol for the terror of the Holocaust. On Monday 75 years after its liberation hundreds of survivors from across the world will come back to visit Auschwitz for the official anniversary commemorations. In advance of that, Associated Press photographer Markus Schreiber visited the site. Using a panoramic camera with analog film, he documented the remains of the camp in a series of haunting black and white photos. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Its December 1942.

A cattle car is slowly winding to a stop, lightly tapping the end of a railroad track in front of one of the most notorious places on Earth.

European Jews spill out of the cattle car, many getting their first glance at what will soon become their final resting place.

Without even mentioning the name, I would assume the vast majority of Americans know exactly where that cattle car stopped. I would be wrong.

Earlier this week, I stumbled upon a deeply upsetting nationwide survey conducted by The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or Claims Conference (CC). The CCs survey was branded as the first-ever 50-state survey on Holocaust knowledge among Millennials and Gen Z.

The survey was randomly conducted with approximately 11,000 individuals 200 from each state between the ages of 18-39. It was meant to get a general sense of how much, or little, Millennials and Gen Z know about the Holocaust. The results are appalling.

63% of respondents didnt know that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust. In fact, 36% thought it was less than 2 million. 48% couldnt name a concentration camp. 40% couldnt even name what war the Holocaust was associated with (22% thought WWI, 10% werent sure, 5% thought the Civil War, and 3% thought the Vietnam War).

Pennsylvanias numbers werent any better; 59% didnt know 6 million Jews were killed, 33% believed it was less than 2 million, and 40% of survey respondents did not know what Auschwitz was.

We promised to never forget. We are failing.

With World War II having ended 75 years ago, there are incredibly few Holocaust survivors left. Vital information, stories, and ties to the Holocaust will soon be gone. Generation Z has a moral obligation to honor these survivors and the millions who were executed. We can not continue the dangerous patterns shown in this survey and allow us to collectively forget what happened to the Jewish community and the world in the 1940s.

If more and more of us forget, then, as shown through the survey results, Naziism and Holocaust denial will run rampant. 49% said theyve seen Holocast denial on social media, and at least 44% in every state reported seeing Nazi symbols in their community or online in the past 5 years.

As former director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Walter Reich laid out in his piece marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, anti-Semitism has returned, in part, because the general publics knowledge about the Holocaustof what exactly it was, who exactly was murdered in it, how many were killed, and how anti-Semitism spawned ithas diminished.

If such large percentages of people are uneducated about the Holocaust, then there will be an alarming scarcity of those who are knowledgeable enough to speak out and correct those who perpetrate lies denying the reality of Hitlers orchestrated executions.

As Reich reflects on the rise of anti-semitism so soon after the end of the Holocaust, he wonders Could never again, vowed so solemnly and so repeatedly after the Holocaust, revert to yet again?

Im not asking everyone to become a Holocaust expert, just to educate yourselves and know the very basics of what happened, so yet again never becomes a reality.

Go read Night by Holocaust Survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel.

See the alarming rise of antisemitism here.

Learn something by visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Listen to the survivors.

Never forget.

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EDITORIAL: We're forgetting to Never Forget The Knight Crier - Knight Crier

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Posted By admin on September 23, 2020

A rabbi in Israel, as part of his rabbinical freedom of expression and in keeping with his role, is permitted to speak from his own religious-Zionist perspective, to say words of Torah as he understands them, and to convey to his adherents who are not considered a captive audience any halakhic message he sees fit, so long as it is indeed a halakhic message that is truly and in good faith being promulgated as such.

That is the convoluted conundrum presented by Justice Alex Stein in his ruling regarding a petition against Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu. Eliyahu will be subject to a disciplinary hearing, small consolation to anyone who was horrified to hear the unadulterated racism, aglow with holy fire, that has spewed from his mouth for a long time. But even the slap in the face delivered by the High Court of Justice to former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, when it ruled that her decision not to subject the rabbi to a disciplinary hearing reflects a substantial flaw in judgment and is extremely unreasonable, cannot cover up Justice Steins fundamentally flawed decision.

For example, to what extent must the ayatollah deviate from his assertion that Nowadays we must try to make sure that anyone who raises a hand against a Jew in order to kill him, will be avenged. Even if he didnt kill but just hit [a Jew] or wanted to kill him which served Stein as an example of a forbidden statement so that his words fall within the category of rabbinical freedom of expression, which Stein considers legitimate.

If we want to be optimistic, we can rejoice for a moment that an ordinary person, who is not a rabbi, wont be able to enjoy the wide open spaces of freedom of expression that Justice Stein granted to Eliyahu, even if he has a religious Zionist mission. The problem lies in the dark aspect of Steins interpretation. Stein is holding a particularly thick needle in order to sew a nonexistent gap between a halakhic message that is conveyed truly and in good faith and a religious Zionist perspective as though these two foundations did not emerge from a single womb, which grants permission to a rabbi and his adherents to do whatever they please.

Anyone who enjoys splitting hairs can claim that from now on anyone who wants to incite, to taunt and to encourage murder will have to meet two conditions: a religious Zionist perspective, and an adherence to it truly and in good faith. In other words, if a rabbi truly and in good faith believes that the halakha requires killing a prime minister, and he expresses his opinion in public based on that same perspective, he should not be accused of bloodshed, but should be offered the portion of rabbinical freedom of expression to which he is entitled.

That is precisely Justice Steins sleight of hand. In a Jewish state there cannot be a perspective that is not religious Zionist, the bedrock of Israeli politics, and there is no room in the country for anyone who doesnt truly and in good faith believe in that perspective. And why should only rabbis deserve this hallucinatory protection from God. Arent politicians, politicos, not to mention a prime minister, worthy of using the name of the halakha or seizing onto that same religious Zionist perspective as protection from the law against incitement and against racism?

Because whats the difference between the statement of Rabbi Eliyahu and the ruling of Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who in 2016 asserted that Every terrorist should be shot in order to kill him, no matter what the High Court of Justice says, and between them and the statement by former Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich, to the effect that a terrorist who harms civilians must be killed, or the words of then-Minister Naftali Bennett in 2013, that If we catch terrorists, we simply have to kill them.

None of them was prosecuted, there wasnt even a complaint lodged against them. Why was Eliyahu of all people burnt at the stake? After all, all he did was to disseminate a halakhic message in the context of rabbinical freedom of expression, which apparently has no boundaries, and reflected the feelings of most of the public.

And what about the ordinary citizen? The one who in the name of religion/nationality shouts Death to the Arabs? Will the escape hatch opened to halakhic scholars by Justice Stein be closed only to him? God forbid. In the Israeli democracy everyone has the right to incite.

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To Murder, but only according to Jewish law - Haaretz.com

Category: Zionism | Comments Off on To Murder, but only according to Jewish law – Haaretz.com
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