Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on August 24, 2020

A few weeks ago, David Arias, the rabbi of our synagogue, talked about how praise from an opponent had more power than the same from a friend. With that in mind, I want to say that Im grateful to the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) and happy they have political clout here in Israel, because it is they who forced our government to take prayer seriously and to allow people to congregate in their synagogues. If it werent for the zeal and the power of the Haredim, rest assured that communal prayer in these times of the coronavirus would be banned. After all, what use is prayer? Does it help the economy? No. Does it put food on the table? No. Is it a necessary part of democracy, like mass protests? No.

Yet, communal prayer is essential to my well being. It is not obvious that I would feel this way. I was raised without religion. Growing up, I was taught nothing of my Judaism. The first time I entered a synagogue, I was already in my mid 20s, when getting ready to marry my husband.

My parents had high regard for critical thought and logic. Intense take no prisoners debate, with the development of erudite arguments, was the foundation of my education at home. It is not surprising, therefore, that I grew up to be a rationalist and eventually a scientist. If someone had asked me as a young woman what prayer was, I would have answered something like, Please God, help me. In other words, the involuntary exclamation that a person makes when in extreme pain-like stomach cramps. No doubt that is a kind of prayer, but it is not the prayer Im talking about.

It started with beauty.

When my sons were studying for their bar mitzvah ceremonies, I took them to synagogue weekly. During that time, I began to appreciate the music, and gradually the poetry, and, finally, as I became more familiar, I saw that, depending on who led prayers, our services were as uplifting as going to a high priced concert. So I continued to go to services, even after the bar mitzvah ceremonies of both my sons were finished.

Subsequently, I fell into a short discussion with one of my mothers neighbors, who was a religious guy. He asked me how I was and I answered that I felt thankful to have so many good things in my life. He answered, That is so Jewish. I asked him what he meant, and he told me that the word Jewish in Hebrew (Yehudi) might have the same root as the word to thank does. And we Jews are the people who give thanks. His words resonated. Id been worried about taking things for granted. I wanted to be aware of what I had. So I started a new routine. When I went to my concert at the synagogue, during the silent standing prayer called the Amidah, I would recite to myself everything I had to be thankful for. It turns out to be a long list. And it was almost a shock to find that the first thing on that list was gratitude towards my husband. It required an enforced period of introspection to recognize the obvious. Really? How weird is that!

In the fullness of years, my mother and then my father, of blessed memory, died. I was by then a regular at the synagogue and truly part of the community. With great difficulty, I learned how to say the mourners prayer (Kaddish). I found comfort in the learning of it and in the public recitation of it in front of a congregation of people who showered me with consideration. Once a person has died, you cant help them, you cant do anything for them anymore; theyre gone. But in that year of saying the Mourners Kaddish, first for my mother and then my father, irrational though it might be, I felt I was doing something for them. And, certainly, I was honoring their memory.

(courtesy)

Maybe of most importance, I started studying. With the help of a patient and talented teacher, I began learning how to chant small portions of the Torah, learning both the melody and each word. And then I studied the siddur (the Jewish prayer book), and with greater understanding, I have found a deeper meaning to my life. Slowly, it has become apparent to me that the Jewish scriptures are the manual of how to live a righteous, meaningful life, sometimes written in such succinct language that a few lines can direct you. For example:

It has been told you, Man, what is good, and what God requires of you. Only to do justly, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

I hope I have shown that communal prayer is after all useful: it provides uplift, which is important in the terrible times were living through; it comforts us; and finally, it sculpts us into better people. And better people are helpful for the economy, for putting food on the table and, most assuredly, better people make a better Democracy.

Postscript:What is missing from my personal way of praying is God. When I talked with my mothers neighbor, what he meant was that we Jews are the people who give thanks to God, not just give thanks. I knew that even if he didnt say it explicitly. Im convinced that if I could believe in God, Id pray better. And Lord knows I want to believe in God, and there are times I get close, really close, but I keep coming up with rational explanations. That is the way I was raised and it is difficult to leave your mothers house. Lech lecha!

(courtesy)

Diana Barshaw was a research scientist and professor in the field of behavior and ecology from 1988 to 2004. Starting in 2005 she spent two years writing a novel while working for Berlitz and the Berlitz Virtual Classroom as an English teacher and as the supervisor and trainer of English teachers. She also wrote a monthly column for the Jerusalem Post called Wild Israel. Currently Diana explores the wild parts of Israel and guides hikers. She has her own website (www.DianaBarshaw.com) where she describes the Israel National Trail, writes articles about Israeli wildlife, and where she is compiling a guide to hiking the trails of the Carmel Mountains.

Continued here:

Beauty, thankfulness, comfort and study: The power of prayer - The Times of Israel

Category: Synagogue | Comments Off on Beauty, thankfulness, comfort and study: The power of prayer – The Times of Israel
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 22, 2020

Vandals have scrawled graffiti denying the Holocaust on a wall in the village that was the site of the Nazis biggest massacre of civilians in France during the second world war.

The justice minister vowed on Saturday to bring those responsible to justice.

Officials in Oradour-sur-Glane, near Limoges in central France, put up a tarpaulin to cover the graffiti discovered on Friday on the wall at the entrance to the Centre de la Mmoire (Centre for Remembrance). The word lie was scrawled on the wall, along with other graffiti, according to the regional paper Le Populaire du Centre. The inscription Village Martyr was crossed out.

Shame on those who did this, the justice minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti, tweeted. All will be done to find and judge those who committed these sacrilegious acts.

The interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, denounced the abject filth on Friday night, while the prime minister, Jean Castex, said the graffiti dirties the memory of our martyrs.

Troops from the fanatical SS Das Reich division killed 642 villagers on 10 June 1944, herding them into barns and a church and setting the town on fire. While a new village has been built, the ruins of the old town have been left untouched as a testimony to Nazi horrors.

The massacre occurred four days after the allied D-day landings in Normandy. The killings were believed to have been ordered in retaliation for the kidnapping of a German soldier by the French resistance.

Read more here:

Holocaust denial graffitied at site of Nazi massacre in France - The Guardian

Category: Holocaust Denial | Comments Off on Holocaust denial graffitied at site of Nazi massacre in France – The Guardian
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 22, 2020

Well, you know how it is. Head out the door for a long-planned vacation, pray nothing major erupts before you get back, and before you can so much as pack a suitcase the president announces that ByteDance must sell TikTok or else TikTok will be banned in the United States.

The timing was abrupt. The authoritarian cast of President Trumps remarks on the subject was disturbing. And yet, for those of us who have followed TikToks trajectory this year, nothing that has happened over the past two weeks can truly be said to be surprising. I wrote this here on January 7th:

I imagine that most within ByteDance would still rather avoid any of these scenarios, and just keep running TikTok as it is.

And yet how likely does it seem to you that ByteDance will ultimately have that option? The company hasnt caught a break on the regulatory front in recent memory. The trade war with China shows no signs of ending or even de-escalating this year. It no longer seems unlikely to me that TikTok could be reborn as an American citizen. And it might happen sooner than we all expect.

And then, sure enough, on Friday evening Trump citing the results of a review by the Council on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS ordered ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok and any data it had gathered on Americans. This was the second time Trump had ordered a sale of the app in as many weeks; he previously gave the company 45 days, and it was revealed that Microsoft is the most likely prospective buyer.) Heres Nicole Sperling in the New York Times:

President Trump doubled down late Friday on his previous actions against TikTok by formally giving ByteDance, the Chinese owner of the popular video-sharing app, 90 days to divest from its American assets and any data that TikTok had gathered in the United States.

There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that ByteDance, which merged TikTok with the American lip-sync app Musical.ly in 2018, might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States, Mr. Trump wrote in an executive order issued at 7:45 p.m.

How do we feel about this? As a rule of thumb, I only trust peoples opinions on TikTok if they are mixed. Alex Stamos made a nice Venn diagram last month that captured some of the ambiguities involved here. On one hand, with 100 million Americans using the app regularly, TikTok represents a vibrant hub of all kinds of speech some thats political, and much that isnt and to kill it off would represent a dire suppression of speech. That Trumps decision appears to have been influenced by a recent stunt in which TikTok users registered en masse for one of his rallies and then no-showed only underscores the dangers of having national tech policy set by a thin-skinned strongman.

At the same time, as Ive written here, TikToks biggest problems are largely outside its control. Despite a recent and noble offer to open up its algorithms for inspection, ByteDance suffers from the strong (and, I believe, justified) belief that the company could not withstand any serious effort from the Chinese government to obtain and misuse American user data or use it as a channel to manipulate our public discourse. Imagine the 2016 election, except Facebook was incorporated in Moscow this is the basic fear that has driven much of the discussion around TikToks future and I cant say that it feels particularly unjustified.

The best outcome here would have been a rigorous investigation, and possibly Congressional hearings, followed by a public report and set of recommendations for how to proceed. But Trump chooses to rule by chaos, crisis, and whim, and so now we have these artificial deadlines. Microsoft has utterly abased itself in its public actions to date, bizarrely promising to make a contribution to the US Treasury in order to secure the deal. (No less than Bill Gates has called the prospective TikTok acquisition a poisoned chalice.) But the outcome also seems preferable to TikTok disappearing entirely putting thousands of employees out of work, roiling its nascent community of influencers, and making the world of consumer social apps even less competitive than it already is.

Its for that reason that some tech reporters have mused that Facebook must be loving TikToks struggles. But as I first reported last month, Mark Zuckerberg has told employees that a TikTok ban would represent a terrible precedent. Zuckerberg echoed those comments in an internal meeting last week, Ryan Mac and Craig Silverman reported at BuzzFeed:

I just think its a really bad long-term precedent, and that it needs to be handled with the utmost care and gravity whatever the solution is, Zuckerberg said. I am really worriedit could very well have long-term consequences in other countries around the world.

When Facebook was founded, the idea of a truly global social network has seemed obvious inevitable, even. Chinas decision to ban American social networks clouded that vision, though, and in the years since the splintering of the internet has only accelerated. Now a single social network, TikTok, may find itself splintered into different companies all around the world. And given the high level of government outrage at Facebook and other tech platforms, it seems unlikely that TikTok would be the last. The splinternet is coming for every big tech company, and its not clear what will save them.

Today in news that could affect public perception of the big tech platforms.

Trending up: Facebook launched a voting information hub that will centralize election resources for US users. The goal is counter the platforms ongoing misinformation epidemic. (Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch)

Trending up: YouTube updated its policies on deceptive videos to ban videos containing information that was obtained through hacking and could meddle with elections or censuses. This includes hacked campaign emails with details about a candidate. Its worth saying that this is a more forward-thinking policy than a lot of mainstream news organizations have! (Richard Nieva / CNET)

Trending down: Black employees at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) are speaking out about the organizations blind spots in regards to race and racial justice. Some say Mark Zuckerbergs philanthropic efforts are stymied by the same desire to appear unbiased that critics of Facebook claim is causing real-world harm to Black communities. (Nitasha Tiku / The Washington Post)

Trending down: Googles advertising platform algorithm is blocking articles about racism. The company does not allow advertising on content that disparages people on the basis of race, gender, or sexual orientation but the system doesnt always take context into consideration. (Aaron Mak / Slate)

Trending down: Pinterest employees staged a virtual walkout on Friday to protest discrimination at the company. The news follows allegations by three former employees about race and gender inequity. (Zoe Schiffer / The Verge)

Facebooks algorithm actively promotes Holocaust denial content, according to an investigation by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). The UK-based group found that typing holocaust in the Facebook search bar brought up suggestions for denialist pages, which in turn recommended links to publishers which sell denial literature. This story got a good bit of attention even though Facebooks decision to allow Holocaust denial on the platform is more than a decade old. Heres The Guardians Mark Townsend:

The ISD also discovered at least 36 Facebook groups with a combined 366,068 followers which are specifically dedicated to Holocaust denial or which host such content. Researchers found that when they followed public Facebook pages containing Holocaust denial content, Facebook recommended further similar content.

Jacob Davey, ISDs senior research manager, said: Facebooks decision to allow Holocaust denial content to remain on its platform is framed under the guise of protecting legitimate historical debate, but this misses the reason why people engage in Holocaust denial in the first place.

The renewed onslaught of fake news about Kamala Harris highlights how Trump and his campaign are eager to use misinformation to try to win in November. Some media outlets, including the zombie remnants of what used to be Newsweek, have shown that theyre willing to participate. Heres Rebecca Heilweil at Recode:

There has been a significant spike in misinformation about Harris in the few days since she was made the VP candidate. According to research from the media intelligence firm Zignal Labs, there have been more than 150,000 instances of people sharing, discussing, or promoting misinformation online related to Harris in the past week. Meanwhile, the progressive research group Media Matters found that right-leaning Facebook pages they analyzed posted about Harris twice as much as left-leaning groups in the past week, and the right-leaning posts saw 50 percent more engagement than those on more liberal pages.

With Marjorie Taylor Greenes primary victory in Georgia, QAnon has officially gone mainstream. An internal Facebook investigation also found millions of members across thousands of QAnon groups and pages. (Charlie Warzel / The New York Times)

QAnon has emerged in recent months as a centralized hub for conspiracy and alternative health communities. Users who started off in wellness communities and religious groups on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were introduced to extremist groups like QAnon during the pandemic, and helped fuel the anti-mask phenomenon. (Ben Collins / NBC)

Facebook announced a new policy to crack down on political content disguised as local news, but its not as strict as it appears. The rule wont touch sites funded by political actors, only those they own or lead. (Rob Pegoraro / Forbes)

After Facebook determined that T. Raja Singh, a prominent Indian politician, had violated the companys hate-speech rules and should be banned from the platform, he remained active on both Facebook and Instagram. The companys top public-policy executive in the country opposed the ban, saying it would damage the companys business prospects in the country. (Newley Purnell and Jeff Horwitz / The Wall Street Journal)

Tech platforms should commit to protecting democracy and democratic participation as an expression of their own values, argues this opinion writer. The right to vote is no less fundamental a right than free expression. Platforms should embrace them both. (Eileen Donahoe / The Hill)

Heres what Big Tech is doing to counter election misinformation on their platforms. Theyre going all in on civic engagement efforts ahead of Novembers election. (Sara Fischer and Ashley Gold / Axios)

Joe Biden outspent President Trump on Facebook ads last week, for the first time since June 6th. The news follows Bidens selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate, an announcement that could drive fundraising. (Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC)

Congress still has questions for the Big Tech CEOs in the wake of the antitrust hearing. Among them: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) asked Facebook whether the company has made any concessions to political organizations to address perceived political or ideological bias. (Cristiano Lima / Politico)

Canadas antitrust watchdog launched an investigation into Amazon, to see whether its behavior has hurt consumers and smaller companies. The bureau is examining whether sellers can operate a successful business on the marketplace without using Amazons fulfillment or advertising services. (Annie Palmer / CNBC)

Germanys anti-trust authority has launched an investigation into Amazons relationship with third-party selling. Its looking at how the company influences how sellers set prices on the platform. (Reuters)

Google gave detailed personal information about far-right users to law enforcement agencies working on counter terrorism, according to leaked documents. In some cases, Google didnt ban the users they reported. Some still have accounts on YouTube and Gmail. (Jason Wilson / The Guardian)

Google removed 197 links that previously came up as search results related to a German princesss rant about killing Muslims. Her family used Europes right to be forgotten law to try and make the content disappear. (Jordan Wildon / Vice)

The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, established in 2017 by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube, has been called the most underrated project in the future of free speech. Today its making some of the most consequential decisions in online speech governance without the scrutiny of the public. (Chloe Hadavas / Slate)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed a contract with the facial recognition company Clearview AI for mission support. In May, Clearview said it would stop selling its app to private companies. (Kim Lyons / The Verge)

The Secret Service bought location data from a service called Locate X. The service, from Babel Street, tracks devices anonymously using data harvested by popular apps installed on peoples phones. (Joseph Cox / Vice)

The man who helped rally India against Facebook now says the country has gone too far in the direction of digital nationalism. Hes calling for India and other democratic governments around the world to work together to build a better internet, rather than building walls around their own national versions of it. (Will Oremus / OneZero)

TikTok is partnering with the music distribution company UnitedMasters to allow artists to share their songs directly from the app to streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube. It may be the most significant transaction to date for Kevin Mayer, TikToks new CEO. The New York Times reports:

Despite the uncertainty of TikToks fate in the U.S., the UnitedMasters deal shows that the company is not standing still, even if the benefits of the new partnership will probably accrue to a new owner.

Its an effort to deepen relationships with influential artists who use the app. TikToks young and engaged audience has helped songs go viral, jump-starting the careers of musicians like Lil Nas X and BMW Kenny. Trying to keep these creators engaged with the app is particularly important as TikTok faces competition from deep-pocketed rivals like Facebooks Instagram, which recently launched a TikTok clone called Reels.

Facebook is testing short-form videos in the Facebook app in India, its biggest market by users. The Short Videos feature has a dedicated section within the news feed. (Manish Singh / TechCrunch)

Telegram launched one-on-one video calls on both its Android and iOS apps. The company said 2020 had highlighted the need for face-to-face communication. (Kim Lyons / The Verge)

The Army and Navy have both resumed streaming on Twitch in an effort to recruit Gen Z. The groups were criticized for banning users who asked about war crimes, a move that was categorized by some as violating users First Amendment rights. (Shannon Liao / CNN)

Pinterest appointed Andrea Wishom, President of real estate company Skywalker Holdings, to its board of directors. The appointment makes her Pinterests first Black board member and third female board member. (Megan Rose Dickey / TechCrunch)

Google is lobbying Australian consumers against a proposed regulation that would make it pay media outlets for news content. A pop-up on the Google homepage reads the way Aussies use Google is at risk and their search experience will be hurt by new regulation. Just their opinion! (Jon Porter / The Verge)

Heres how social media platforms manipulate you into giving away more of your data. The tactics known as dark patterns persist even as companies say theyre giving users increased control over their information. (Arielle Pardes / Wired)

Send us tips, comments, questions, and what you did on your summer vacation: casey@theverge.com and zoe@theverge.com.

Originally posted here:

How the forced sale of TikTok could splinter the internet - The Verge

Category: Holocaust Denial | Comments Off on How the forced sale of TikTok could splinter the internet – The Verge
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 22, 2020

What's OnThe antisemitic tweets from the rapper has resulted in a permanent ban from a variety of social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram and TikTok

Wednesday, 19th August 2020, 4:33 pm

British rapper Wiley posted a thread of antisemitic comments on his Twitter account which has resulted in getting banned from various social media platforms.

The incident also saw calls for social media platforms to tighten their policies around hate speech - including from Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Heres what you need to know.

Wiley is the stage name of British rapper Richard Kylea Cowie Jr.

He is regarded as a pioneer of the British underground music scene and considered a key figure in the world of grime.

He is often referred to as the Godfather of Grime.

In the 2018 New Years Honours, he received an MBE for his services to music.

What did Wiley say on Twitter?

Taking to Twitter, Wiley shared various conspiracy theories and insulted Jewish people, accusing them of being snakes and suggesting that they are at war with black people.

He wrote: There are 2 sets of people who nobody has really wanted to challenge #Jewish & #KKK but being in business for 20 years you start to understand why. Red Necks Are the KKK and Jewish people are the Law Work that out.

He also tweeted: If you work for a company owned by 2 Jewish men and you challenge the Jewish community in anyway of course you will get fired.

Amongst his tweets, Wiley also wrote that Jewish people should hold some corn which is a slang expression meaning to be shot. He added: Jewish community you deserve it.

As a result of his tweets, Wileys management company, A-List Management have cut all ties with the rapper.

John Woolf, who is Jewish, wrote on Twitter: Following Wileys antisemitic tweets today we at @A_ListMGMT have cut all ties with him. There is no place in society for antisemitism.

However, in a video posted on Instagram, Wiley claimed it was he who cut ties with his management, not the other way around.

Why was Twitter accused of ignoring antisemitism?

While a number of tweets from the musician have now been removed, and the 41-year-old has been issued with a seven-day ban from the site, his tweets remained visible for 12 hours after first being posted.

He was initially banned from Twitter for only a few hours, but on Saturday (25 July) morning he tweeted to his almost 500,000 followers that he was back in action and continued with his antisemitic tweets.

Then, he was banned again for seven days, however it has now been revealed that the rapper has been issued a permanent ban from the social media platform.

Twitter was accused of ignoring antisemitism, with various MPs criticising the company for allowing the tweets to remain online for as long as they did.

Labour MP Jess Phillips said on Saturday: Just seen all the Wiley stuff. Why on earth have @Twitter left up such blatant antisemitism and hatred? It hits all the dangerous beats, Jews get things you dont get, they are in control, they think they're better This is dangerous stuff. Surely it should come down.

Fellow Labour MP Neil Coyle also wrote: His management appear able to act quicker than @Twitter emphasising, once again, that legislation (including the Online Harms Bill) should ensure social media platforms are not used to spread hate.

The governments independent adviser on antisemitism, John Mann, said that the tweets demonstrated precisely why the law needs changing to hold them to reasonable account.

Wiley was also issued a seven day block on his Instagram account as well.

Facebook, which owns Instagram, issued a statement, saying that there is no place for hate speech on Instagram.

How did Priti Patel respond?

Home Secretary Priti Patel took to Twitter to demand a full explanation from Twitter and Instagram as to why the posts from the rapper were not dealt with faster.

She wrote: The antisemitic posts from Wiley are abhorrent. They should not have been able to remain on Twitter and Instagram for so long and I have asked them for a full explanation.

Social media companies must act much faster to remove such appalling hatred for their platforms.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also said that the steps taken by both Twitter and Instagram were not enough.

Is Wiley being investigated by the police?

A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said: Our crime unit has reported this matter to the Metropolitan Police Service as we consider that Wiley has committed the offence of incitement to racial hatred, which can carry a substantial prison sentence.

The spokesperson also said that the CAA have contacted the honours forfeiture committee at the Cabinet Office to ask that Wileys MBE be revoked.

On Saturday, Londons Metropolitan Police Service said: We have received a number of reports relating to alleged anti-Semitic tweets posted on social media.

The MET takes all reports of anti-Semitism extremely seriously. The relevant material is being assessed. Anyone with further information can report it online or via 101 with reference 4219917/20.

Why are people boycotting social media?

Following the Wiley incident, politicians, celebrities and other high profile figures are participating in a 48 hour boycott of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, which happened from 9am on 27 July.

Both sites were heavily criticised for their slow response to the anti-semitic posts by Wiley.

The hashtag #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate has trended on Twitter, with users announcing their support for the boycott.

Many tweeting about their involvement in the boycott also included a picture that has been widely circulated which features an emoji with a zipped mouth and reads: Silence talks. Starting Monday 27th at 9am leave Twitter for 48 hours to protest their inaction on anti-Jewish racism #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate

The Holocaust Educational Trust (HET) tweeted: We are joining a 48 hour @Twitter @Instagram walk out from 9am today. Holocaust denial, racism and hate have no place in society and no place on social media platforms.

@Twitter and @Instagram need to do better. #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate.

Actor Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter franchise, The OA) tweeted his support, writing: Im in. Or Out, rather. Im so used to antisemitic hatred, caricature and conspiracy theories from governments, looneytunes, the left, right and reasonable middle that I long ago lost hope for change online or in life. Maybe theres a window. #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate.

MP Jess Phillips was also among those who tweeted support for the movement.

She said: "From 9am tomorrow I am joining the boycott of @Twitter for 48 hours to protest their inaction on antisemitism. This platform has been a safe haven for hate speech for too long. @jack must act #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate"

Conservative MP Chris Clarkson also tweeted: Ill be joining the 48 hour walkout. @Twitter has failed to act in the face of blatant hate speech and racism. Users agree to abide by certain terms & conditions as community members but those rules arent being applied consistently or robustly enough. #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate.

Speaking with Sky News, the rapper apologised for the tweets, and also that he would hand back his MBE.

Wiley said: I just want to apologise for generalising and going out of the people who I was talking to within the workspace and workplace I work in.

"My comments should not have been directed to all Jews or Jewish people. I want to apologise for generalising and I want to apologise for comments that were looked at as antisemitic.

The rapper explained that he is not racist and that his comments should have stayed between him and his manager.

Wiley tried to clarify his comments about hold corn, saying: Im an MC. Stop trying to take my stuff and make me into Saddam Hussein. Im an MC. We speak like that, hold some corn. It doesnt mean shooting. It means hold some corn lyrically. Stop trying to be clever.

Has Wiley been banned from YouTube?

The rapper has been banned from various social media platforms following his antisemitic tweets, with YouTube being the latest platform to remove him.

A YouTube spokesperson said: Following repeated violations, YouTube has terminated Wileys channels from our platform.

According to YouTube, Wiley had two videos struck from his channels due to hate speech content, and he had been banned from uploading for seven days.

However, the rapper attempted to get around the ban by uploading content to a new channel.

A spokesperson from CAA said: Following contact between Campaign Against Antisemitism and Google, Wiley has now been banned from YouTube.

"This should have happened faster but we are pleased that this now means that Wiley can no longer incite antisemitism on any of the major social media platforms and has lost the ability to broadcast his hatred to the hundreds of thousands of people who followed him.

Wiley has also reportedly been banned from another video sharing social media platform TikTok.

TikTok have no confirmed officially if the rapper has been banned, but the news circulated when fans noticed that his account was gone.

Original post:

What did Wiley say on Twitter? Antisemitic tweets from the grime rapper explained as he is banned permanently from social media platforms - The...

Category: Holocaust Denial | Comments Off on What did Wiley say on Twitter? Antisemitic tweets from the grime rapper explained as he is banned permanently from social media platforms – The…
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 22, 2020

Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges once said, I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library. Books have always been considered a natural asset of the Jewish people, the People of the Book. One could expect a national library to be a must for the rebirth of the Jewish nation.Well, it should be, but it is far from being so, David Blumberg, chairman of the National Library board of directors, said this week following the drastic cut in the financial support provided by the government even before eventual further cuts due to the pandemic. Blumberg expressed concern that this cut in the NLI budget might serve as a precedent. In a dramatic move highlighting its precarious financial situation, the NLI closed its doors last week until further notice, although it seems this period wont extend beyond August. The first blow to the NLI came before the pandemic. The budget as the year began was set at NIS 86 million, of which 80% comes from the Education Ministry and 20% from the Hebrew University, which uses its facilities for research. When the government cut the budgets of all ministries in January, the Education Ministry cut its contribution to the NLI from NIS 53.5m to NIS 46m. The NLI derives additional revenues from its activities and projects, but when all cultural events, exhibitions and more were canceled due to coronavirus restrictions, an additional estimated NIS 3.5m. was lost, raising the NLI deficit to an estimated NIS 15 million. Accordingly, last week the NLI sent its 300 employees out on halat forced vacation without pay). This saves the NLI a million shekels, which ironically, the government is paying the employees through the National Insurance Institute a sum that could have been added to the NLI budget instead of sending people home. THE STATE of Israel lacks the consideration it should have for its own cultural and spiritual assets, Blumberg told In Jerusalem. In fact, at first Israel didnt have a National Library at all. Until 2007, there was only a university library that served scholars and researchers but was not open to the public. In 1950, the State of Israel was just emerging from the War of Independence with many casualties, facing a large wave of immigrants with no budgets and structures. Nevertheless, in March 1950 prime minister David Ben-Gurion urged treasury minister Eliezer Kaplan to designate a significant sum of money to track down Jewish manuscripts around the world and bring them to Israel. These manuscripts were the core of what became later the Center of Jewish Photographed Manuscripts here. That was the mood and understanding of Ben-Gurion, but it got lost over the years. "So today, when the government faces a crisis, it seems normal to cut the budget of the National Library, as if its just another budget cut. The National Library of Israel, until 2007 called The Jewish National and University Library, is dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of our Jewish heritage. Located on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University, it holds more than five million books. It has the worlds largest collections of Hebraica and Judaica, and is the repository of numerous rare and unique manuscripts, books and artifacts. In a way, it all began with an idea of Joseph Chazanovitch to create a home for all works in all languages and literatures that have Jewish authors, even if created in foreign cultures. Chazanovitz collected some 15,000 volumes, which upon his death in 1919 became the core of the collection, whose first home was in the B'nai B'rith library, founded in Jerusalem in 1892 and located near the Russian Compound. In 1920, when plans were drawn up for the Hebrew University, the Bnai B'rith collection became the basis for a university library, and the books were moved to Mount Scopus when the university opened five years later. In 1948, when access to the university campus on Mount Scopus was blocked, most of the books were moved to the Terra Sancta building in Rehavia. For lack of space, since by then there were already more than a million books, some found a home in storerooms around the city. It was only in 1960 that all the books were gathered together in the building in Givat Ram, where the library continues to operate. The new building under construction near the Knesset is scheduled to be ready next year. In 2007, the Knesset enacted the National Library law, thus officially recognizing it as a national institution separate from the university. The law changed the librarys name to National Library of Israel and turned it into a fully independent entity jointly owned by the Government of Israel (50%), the Hebrew University (25%) and other organizations.TWENTY YEARS ago, Blumberg continues, when the Supreme Court building was inaugurated, Lord Jacob Rothschild, a major figure behind that project in terms of grants and involvement, said it was time to launch another major cultural project. A committee was formed to work on the issue and included personalities from abroad, such as directors and chairmen of the national libraries of Germany, France and more. They came up with the proposal for an Israeli national library, which required a special law for a separate institution differentiated from the Hebrew University. "This was the birth of a new paradigm a national library to serve the local and global public, laypersons and scholars. Later came the project of digitalization, to make all these treasures more accessible than ever. This is the core of the vision and the mission. Today, the construction on the new building located on Balfour Road, next to the Knesset and overlooking Givat Ram and the museums is progressing separately from the present situation of the NLI, on a separate budget, with about 95% of the funding coming from donations from Jewish and even non-Jewish donors. But for Blumberg, this achievement which is in a large part the result of his neverending efforts and involvement is also the core of the problem. I am very concerned that the funds for such highly important projects should come from philanthropy. Thats wrong in my eyes. There is always room for philanthropy, but such a major and important asset as an institution that collects and gathers all the cultural and spiritual assets of the Jewish people cannot be only in the hands of private donors or foundations. The State of Israel has the obligation to be the leading factor.THE TASKS of the NLI are many. A central mission is to secure: 1) copies of all material published in Israel, in any language; 2) all publications on the subject of Israel, the Land of Israel, Judaism and the Jewish people published in any language in any country in the world; and 3) all material published in Hebrew or any of the languages spoken in the Jewish Diaspora (such as Yiddish and Ladino). By law, two copies of all printed matter published in Israel must be deposited in the National Library. In 2001, the law was amended to include audio and video recordings and other non-print media. Additionally, many manuscripts, including some of the librarys rare volumes such the 13th-century Worms Mahzor, have been scanned and are now available online. The NLI also has special collections, such as the personal papers of hundreds of outstanding Jewish figures, the National Sound Archives, the Laor Map Collection and numerous other collections of Hebraica and Judaica. The library also possesses some of Isaac Newtons manuscripts. That collection, donated by the family of collector Abraham Yehuda, includes many works by Newton about theology, mysticism, analyses of holy books, predictions about the end of days and the appearance of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. It also contains maps that Newton sketched about mythical events to assist him in his end-of-days calculations. The library also houses the personal archives of philosophers Martin Buber and Gershom Scholem. It completed gathering the collection of the Max Brod archive in August 2019, which includes all the archives and legacy of famed writer Franz Kafka for whom Brod was both friend and biographer because clearly, Kafka belongs here, Blumberg points out. Another aspect of what can be found at the NLI is the libraries of Arabs who left in 1948. About 30,000 books removed from Arab homes in the Jerusalem area were transferred to the national library, plus 40,000 additional books from other cities in Mandatory Palestine. Thousands of these books, indexed as abandoned property, are cataloged and regularly consulted by the public, including Arab scholars from around the world. There is also a collection of rare Islamic artifacts and books, including editions of the Koran, from the late Avraham Shalom Yehuda, a scholar in Islamic studies, who donated his collection to the NLI. IT IS our duty and task to reach out and bring here all the spiritual treasures that belong to the State of Israel and the Jewish people, continues Blumberg. Too often such treasures fall into private hands and are lost forever to us. We need to track them, reach them and get them here where they belong. "This is not easy; it takes time, knowledge and above all money. This is the responsibility of the State of Israel, but too often I have the sense that Israel hasnt fully grasped the tremendous importance of that task." "I am outraged when I hear that cutting the budget of the National Library is just like any other budget cut," he declares. "This is awful; it says something about the society in which we live. This is our heritage; we have to foster and preserve it and make it accessible to all, and while we have so far obtained generous donations and grants, it is not acceptable that the State of Israel does not give its share. It is wrong to rely on philanthropy in this context. "In order to understand what is at stake here, we should consider the National Library in Jerusalem as the Beit Hamikdash of our days until the day come that we will have a Beit Mikdash again.

Read more from the original source:
National Library of Israel and the books of the people - The Jerusalem Post

Category: B'nai B'rith | Comments Off on National Library of Israel and the books of the people – The Jerusalem Post
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 22, 2020

ANN ARBOR, MI While a federal judge has concluded protests outside an Ann Arbor synagogue amount to free speech, Rabbi Nadav Caine argues its still hate speech.

It may well be that the court has made a correct decision according to the law, but the proceedings show that the protesters are liars and charlatans, said the rabbi at the Beth Israel Congregation on Washtenaw Avenue, which has been targeted by weekly anti-Israel protests for over 16 years.

They fill our sidewalks with hate speech to harass our worshippers, and then claim its just a good public location, Caine said in a statement this week.

They portray themselves as kindly types who bring their detractors tea and wish them a nice day, while they espouse Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic global conspiracy theories, he continued. And their hate fails to alarm some progressive leaders who would be rightfully shouting from the rooftops if this were a mosque. I suppose Im less disappointed in the Court of Law than I am in the Court of Public Opinion.

First Amendment allows anti-Israel protests outside Ann Arbor synagogue, judge rules

Marvin Gerber, a synagogue member, filed a lawsuit over the protests last year, arguing they amount to hateful, anti-Semitic speech. The protest messages offend and anger him, cause extreme emotional distress, significantly diminish his enjoyment in attending sabbath services and adversely affect his willingness to attend, the lawsuit stated, also raising concerns about the impacts on children in the congregation.

Miriam Brysk, identified in court records as a Holocaust survivor and member of the Pardes Hannah Congregation located in an annex next to the synagogue, joined as a co-plaintiff.

Protest signs have carried messages such as Resist Jewish Power, Jewish Power Corrupts, No More Holocaust Movies, Boycott Israel, Stop U.S. Aid to Israel and End the Palestinian holocaust.

In an 11-page order Wednesday, Aug. 19, U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts said the First Amendment more than protects the expressions by defendants.

The judge also found the plaintiffs failed to assert a concrete injury and lacked standing to sue. Legal counsel for the plaintiffs are now asking for reconsideration.

Plaintiffs take issue with judges dismissal of Ann Arbor synagogue protest lawsuit

Henry Herskovitz, leader of the protest group, has said his groups demonstrations are peaceful vigils in support of Palestinians who are being killed by the Israeli military and he denies being anti-Semitic.

Were not there because theyre Jews. Were there because theyre Jewish Zionists, he said, complaining the synagogue displays the Israeli flag and prays for Israel.

Herskovitz has said he is Jewish and used to attend Beth Israel, but he had a falling out with his faith years ago.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

City administrator finalists explain why theyd be a good fit for Ann Arbor

Over 400 apply to get on Ann Arbors new affordable housing waitlist, but only 8 units available

Vintage photos offer look back at 1960s origins of Ann Arbors Lurie Terrace

Dingell presses HUD to address concerns at Washtenaw Countys Sycamore Meadows

New playground design revealed for Ypsilantis Parkridge Park

Originally posted here:

They fill our sidewalks with hate speech, Ann Arbor rabbi says in response to court ruling - MLive.com

Category: Synagogue | Comments Off on They fill our sidewalks with hate speech, Ann Arbor rabbi says in response to court ruling – MLive.com
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 22, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO (J. the Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) When the evacuation orders came last night, Guerneville resident Sonia Tubridy and her daughter packed the car and left, joining a caravan of vehicles fleeing the North Bay area and the fires that threatened to engulf them.

Tubridy, cultural director of the Russian River Jewish Community, was among the thousands of people ordered to evacuate from fires burning 46,000 acres across a vast area covering five counties and stretching from Vacaville north to Lake Berryessa and out to the Sonoma County coast. Dubbed the LNU Lightning Complex by Cal Fire, the danger zone has required mandatory evacuations in Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties and continues to expand.

Tubridy described the evacuation process as hectic.

We were in a stream of traffic leaving River Road, she said from near Bodega Bay, where she and her daughter were temporarily taking refuge for the day. Thousands of cars going five miles per hour.

With hot and windy weather forecast, more evacuations are expected, especially for areas south of the fires, according to a Cal Fire press conference this morning.

If you think youre in danger, please be ready to go, Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said.

Rabbi Chaim Zaklos of Chabad of Solano County is one of those who was prepared and waiting for the call this morning. As the fires bore down on Vacaville overnight, Zaklos got ready.

The Torah has been packed up and ready to go, he said. All the other holy artifacts have been packed up.

Zaklos added that it was literally raining ashes.

You can see the red in the sky, he said.

In addition to the LNC Fire, other large fires are burning near Santa Cruz, and hundreds of smaller blazes are being fought in San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.

This all makes this time of year quite Biblical in feel, said Rabbi Niles Goldstein of Congregation Beth Shalom in Napa.

He said that some of his congregants who live outside the city limits have had to evacuate, although the synagogue isnt threatened at the moment.

There is some smoke and ash, but the city of Napa is safe so far, he said.

E. Michle Samson, president of Congregation Shir Shalom in Sonoma, also felt a Biblical pull.

Oh my god, can you believe this? she said. Its like the next thing is going to be boils or locusts. She added that the synagogue wasnt in the path of the fire for now.

Today, I think were OK, she said.

Rabbi Stephanie Kramer of Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa also said her synagogue was not currently at risk from the fires, but that the homes of some of her congregants are threatened.

The fires have been bringing back traumatic memories for many.Last year, the Kincade wildfire torched over 66,000 acres in mostly rural Sonoma County, destroying roughly 100 buildings and forcing 185,000 people to evacuate.The destructive Tubbs Firehit Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties in 2017.

Its making everyone quite anxious and brings up memories, Kramer said.

Shomrei Torah was a major point of relief during the 2017 fire, when the synagogue opened its doors andbecame a huband command center, offering shelter, food and counseling during the crisis and for months after. But she said this time, any efforts to help will be hampered by coronavirus concerns, as people can no longer be packed into small spaces.

It will not look the same in a pandemic, Kramer said.

At Congregation Beth Ami in Santa Rosa, whichwas similarly affected by the states 2017 wildfire season, president Carolyn Metz recalled how four families lost their homes, and said the current crisis is bringing up feelings of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Beth Ami had planned to open its preschool on Aug. 17 but postponed until Aug. 24 because of the heat advisory now affecting the region. Metz described the delicate balance of dealing with the fires and the pandemic as daunting.

Tubridy, who will be staying in a Santa Rosa hotel tonight with her adult daughter, described the situation as layer upon layer of challenges. Not only are they escaping the fires, she said, but also trying to stay safe from Covid-19. The pandemic is not gone.

See more here:

Torahs packed and synagogues on high alert as wildfires bear down on Northern California - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Category: Synagogue | Comments Off on Torahs packed and synagogues on high alert as wildfires bear down on Northern California – JTA News – Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 22, 2020

(JTA) As night falls on the second night of Rosh Hashanah this year, Rabbi Adam Zagoria-Moffet and two shofar blowers will ascend the 144-foot tower of St. Albans Cathedral, the 11th-century church that dominates the skyline of this city of the same name 20 miles northwest of London.

As members of Zagoria-Moffets 200-family synagogue assemble at a safe distance in the large grassy area below, the blowers will sound the rams horn meant to rouse people to repentance at the Jewish New Year.

Catastrophe is absolutely the mother of creativity in Jewish life, said Zagoria-Moffet, a Phoenix native who has led the St. Albans Masorti Synagogue for three years.

Peoples hopes and dreams have changed. Their assumptions about their lives have changed. And religion has to respond to that and not just sell a nostalgia for the near past.

By all indications, the tiny British Masorti movement the equivalent of American Conservative Judaism is taking Zagoria-Moffetts advice.

In the run-up to two of the most important dates on the Jewish calendar, the movement is in the midst of a broad effort to reimagine what the High Holy Day experience can be. Members are being encouraged to make their own shofar and learn to blow it themselves, to conduct long contemplative nature walks on Yom Kippur and to generally take ownership of their own High Holy Day experience.

I think its going to build greater Jewish literacy in some perverse way, and that is kind of an exciting thing, said Rabbi Zahavit Shalev, one of the rabbis of the New North London Synagogue, the largest Masorti congregation in the country. I kind of feel positive about the empowerment.

The effort is driven in large part by the British rejection of a decision by the American movements religious law authorities earlier this year to permit the livestreaming of synagogue services on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. That decision, widely seen as a rubber stamp on a practice already adopted by many American Conservative synagogues, paved the way for the widespread embrace of livestreamed High Holy Day services.

While the decision was greeted with a shrug in the United States, in England it upset a delicate balance within a movement that has long walked a fine line between its progressive impulses and its quest for legitimacy in the eyes of the Orthodox mainstream. Masorti rabbis largely opposed the change, which they saw as undermining traditional Shabbat observance and straying too far from the strictures of Jewish law.

But some lay leaders felt the streaming of services was integral to maintaining community in an unprecedented moment and felt newly empowered to push for it.

It basically created a new reality where if there were members who were looking for that to happen, or if there were more liberal parts of the community who were interested in that happening but the leadership was not considering it, it suddenly changed the dynamics, said Rabbi Chaim Weiner, the director of Masorti Europe and the head of the movements European rabbinical court.

Catastrophe is absolutely the mother of creativity in Jewish life, said Rabbi Zagoria-Moffet, a Phoenix native who leads the St. Albans Masorti Synagogue.

Seeking to forge a new consensus, Masorti rabbis put out a statement of their own in June that permitted passive streaming in a manner that requires no human intervention. They explicitly rejected the use of Zoom and other interactive platforms that provide for active streaming as violations of Jewish law. The passive setup will be prepared before the holiday and be a one-way stream meaning congregants will only be able to watch the streamed service to avoid interacting with peers.

Only two British Masorti synagogues will be streaming services on the High Holy Days this year, though as it happens they are the two largest: Shalevs New North London Synagogue and the New London Synagogue, the movements oldest congregation. Both synagogues will be holding abridged in-person services with limited attendance.

Recognizing that most congregants will only be able to attend a highly limited in-person service at best, and with most of its sister congregations eschewing livestreaming entirely, New North London has set to work on a range of supplementary programming, including a 50-page booklet to help guide community members through the holiday period. The book, which is being distributed around the country and translated for other European countries, aims to explain High Holy Day basics to assist with home observance while offering innovative alternatives, like a meditation guide on the theme of repentance.

Synagogues are also ramping up their pre-holiday learning opportunities, including daily classes during the month of Elul, the Hebrew month leading up to Rosh Hashanah. Recordings of familiar holiday tunes are being uploaded to the internet so people can learn to sing them at home. And with communal shofar blowing posing unique health risks this year, congregants are being encouraged to make their own using a rams horn, a saw and a drill.

You can get a rams horn on eBay, said Joel Levy, the rabbi of Kol Nefesh Masorti Synagogue in north London. I acquired 10 yesterday just to bump up our numbers.

In St. Albans, Zagoria-Moffet has launched a web portal, DaysOfAwesome.uk, to guide his community through the holiday period, complete with a London-style Tube map to help them navigate among events organized along three tracks: prayer, community and learning.

Among his plans are a WhatsApp group with daily inspirational messages, a pre-holiday communal honey cake bake via Zoom and a virtual Rosh Hashanah Seder, a Sephardic tradition built around symbolic holiday foods. Zagoria-Moffet is also asking his community to write anonymous confessions on postcards and send them to the synagogue, a contemporary take on the practice of confession that is a hallmark of the Day of Atonement.

I dont know if this will work, Zagoria-Moffet said. If people dont engage, then they get nothing. Its this or nothing.

But while a cloud of uncertainty hangs over the entire enterprise, rabbis are candid both about the imperfection of what they can offer and their hope that some of the creative ferment of this year will remain after the pandemic has passed.

There might be that things happen this year that we choose to carry on and bring back into our lives, Levy said. I hope that we have an experience that is one we can draw on in the future.

The post Homemade shofars and passive Zooming: How some British synagogues are adapting this High Holiday season appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Follow this link:

Homemade shofars and passive Zooming: How some British synagogues are adapting this High Holy Days season - Cleveland Jewish News

Category: Synagogue | Comments Off on Homemade shofars and passive Zooming: How some British synagogues are adapting this High Holy Days season – Cleveland Jewish News
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 22, 2020

Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Antisemitic slogans scratched outside the Philadelphia house of prayer widely known as the Synagogue of the American Revolution are being investigated by local police.

The messages Jews are Scum and Long Live Hitler alongside a Nazi swastika were scratched onto a sign outside the synagogue. After the scrawls were discovered by an employee of the synagogue, police opened an investigation.

Itvery sad that there is hate in the heart of people, the synagogues rabbi, Albert Gabbai, told the local Fox News affiliate on Monday.I pray to God people will learn how to tolerate each other how to respect each other.

In a separate interview with the Jewish Exponent, Rabbi Gabbai noted that 20 years had passed since the last act of antisemitic vandalism at the synagogue, when a swastika was daubed on a statue commemorating the fallen Israeli military officer Col. Yonatan Netanyahu.

August 22, 2020 3:37 pm

Dating back to 1740, Mikveh Israel is the oldest synagogue in America. It gained its revolutionary reputation during the War of Independence, when Jewish patriots from cities along the East Coast fled to Philadelphia to escape the British, converging on the synagogue.

It was also during this period that the synagogue adopted the Spanish and Portuguese tradition it still retains.

Continued here:

'Synagogue of the American Revolution' in Philadelphia Defaced With Antisemitic Graffiti - Algemeiner

Category: Synagogue | Comments Off on ‘Synagogue of the American Revolution’ in Philadelphia Defaced With Antisemitic Graffiti – Algemeiner
Tags:

Posted By admin on August 22, 2020

When the evacuation orders came last night, Guerneville resident Sonia Tubridy and her daughter packed the car and left, joining a caravan of vehicles fleeing the North Bay area and the fires that threatened to engulf them.

Tubridy, cultural director of the Russian River Jewish Community, was among the thousands of people ordered to evacuate from fires burning 46,000 acres across a vast area covering five counties and stretching from Vacaville north to Lake Berryessa and out to the Sonoma County coast. Dubbed the LNU Lightning Complex by Cal Fire, the danger zone has required mandatory evacuations in Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties and continues to expand.

Tubridy described the evacuation process as hectic.

We were in a stream of traffic leaving River Road, she said from near Bodega Bay, where she and her daughter were temporarily taking refuge for the day. Thousands of cars going five miles per hour.

With hot and windy weather forecast, more evacuations are expected, especially for areas south of the fires, according to a Cal Fire press conference this morning.

If you think youre in danger, please be ready to go, Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said.

The Torah has been packed up and ready to go, he said. All the other holy artifacts have been packed up.

Zaklos added that it was literally raining ashes.

You can see the red in the sky, he said.

In addition to the LNC Fire, other large fires are burning near Santa Cruz, and hundreds of smaller blazes are being fought in San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.

This all makes this time of year quite Biblical in feel, said Rabbi Niles Goldstein of Congregation Beth Shalom in Napa.

He said that some of his congregants who live outside the city limits have had to evacuate, although the synagogue isnt threatened at the moment.

There is some smoke and ash, but the city of Napa is safe so far, he said.

E. Michle Samson, president of Congregation Shir Shalom in Sonoma, also felt a Biblical pull.

Oh my god, can you believe this? she said. Its like the next thing is going to be boils or locusts. She added that the synagogue wasnt in the path of the fire for now.

Today, I think were OK, she said.

Rabbi Stephanie Kramer of Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa also said her synagogue was not currently at risk from the fires, but that the homes of some of her congregants are threatened.

The fires have been bringing back traumatic memories for many. Last year, the Kincade wildfire torched over 66,000 acres in mostly rural Sonoma County, destroying roughly 100 buildings and forcing 185,000 people to evacuate. The destructive Tubbs Fire hit Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties in 2017.

Its making everyone quite anxious and brings up memories, Kramer said.

Shomrei Torah was a major point of relief during the 2017 fire, when the synagogue opened its doors and became a hub and command center, offering shelter, food and counseling during the crisis and for months after. But she said this time, any efforts to help will be hampered by coronavirus concerns, as people can no longer be packed into small spaces.

It will not look the same in a pandemic, Kramer said.

At Congregation Beth Ami in Santa Rosa, which was similarly affected by the states 2017 wildfire season, president Carolyn Metz recalled how four families lost their homes, and said the current crisis is bringing up feelings of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Beth Ami had planned to open its preschool on Aug. 17 but postponed until Aug. 24 because of the heat advisory now affecting the region. Metz described the delicate balance of dealing with the fires and the pandemic as daunting.

Tubridy, who will be staying in a Santa Rosa hotel tonight with her adult daughter, described the situation as layer upon layer of challenges. Not only are they escaping the fires, she said, but also trying to stay safe from Covid-19. The pandemic is not gone.

See the original post here:

Synagogues on high alert as wildfires bear down on Northern California - The Jerusalem Post

Category: Synagogue | Comments Off on Synagogues on high alert as wildfires bear down on Northern California – The Jerusalem Post
Tags: