Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

Volunteers needed Sunday to help clean explosion site

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Updated: 2:42 PM EDT Aug 14, 2020

Volunteers are sought to help clean up the site of Monday's explosion in northwest Baltimore.City Councilman Isaac Yitzy Schleifer announced Friday that volunteers are needed to help clean the explosion site on Sunday.Schleifer said volunteers are needed from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday to assist with low-level cleanup. There will be someone to provide clear direction along with any supplies needed.The effort is in partnership with Suburban Orthodox Synagogue.Anyone who is available to help is asked to sign up online here.

Volunteers are sought to help clean up the site of Monday's explosion in northwest Baltimore.

City Councilman Isaac Yitzy Schleifer announced Friday that volunteers are needed to help clean the explosion site on Sunday.

Schleifer said volunteers are needed from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday to assist with low-level cleanup. There will be someone to provide clear direction along with any supplies needed.

The effort is in partnership with Suburban Orthodox Synagogue.

Anyone who is available to help is asked to sign up online here.

This content is imported from YouTube.You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

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Volunteers needed Sunday to help clean explosion site - WBAL TV Baltimore

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Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

Brandi Chambless

America cant breathe right now. We cant breathe.

Following the death of George Floyd the world has simply changed. As if walking around wearing a mask while shopping for toilet paper wasnt enough to indicate there is a major shift going on, could we have possibly needed just one more reminder to expose whats on the collective inside of us?

On the inside, there is racially charged outrage at every turn. There is every kind of outrage at every turn. There are COVID-19 conspiracy theorists taking swings at the mainstream media. There are those oppressed and those entitled. There is an election looming. Kanye West seeks a possible presidential bid, but nobody knows for sure if he is serious. CNN credited Nikki Haley for throwing her own name in the hat for VP again in 2020, with mysterious White House leaks to blame according to Never Trumpers. Meanwhile, Pence is still being applauded by Evangelicals. Biden is biding his time, hoping for a November he can remember. Long-time civil rights leader John Lewis makes his journey into eternity in a time when his entire lifes platform is finally on the world stage. This list of mayhem and bizarre news continues. Even the murder hornets have said peace out.

It was 1965 when then 25-year-old Lewis once led the crowds of Selma across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, getting his skull cracked open with a billy club. Bloody Sunday they called it. Lewis lived a full life and died still fighting for social justice, yet our nation is still bloody. We are bloodier than we have ever been. Blood on the hands of corrupt policemen and blood on the hands of the general looting public is not the only massacre.

Supreme Court Justice John Roberts turned his back on now disgruntled advocates for women who have labeled him as a disgrace for overstepping his reach into the will of the people of Louisiana. A fifth vote denying women the right to immediate hospital admission by an abortion provider following the injury and trauma of botched abortions, he has suddenly become the most popular liberal conservative justice to ever legislate from the bench according to pro-women and pro-life groups. Roberts earlier admission of getting it wrong on a similar 2016 Texas-based ruling was a sign that he would like to make things right when women were being left to bleed, but it was not to be. He didnt want to say what has effectively become the dirty words that all lives matter, including that of a hemorrhaging mother, the great majority of abortion recipients being women of color.

These subjects are the talk of the town. The world is upside down irrespective of the aisle. Its become the new hows the weather, the state of this world only to be safely discussed among friends. American lives matter, but we cant breathe. George Floyd we are still saying your name. It is a name that trumped even a global pandemic in making the world stop for just a moment. We cant breathe. We all cant breathe. Your life mattered for many reasons, but it is safer to say that you mattered because of your skin. These are the things we discuss and the things we cant discuss. These are the things we need to discuss and the things we need to stop discussing. While we are deciding what to do, we mask up. Or we dont. It depends on what the law or what the political persuasion of the day is.

Dear Reader, in light of the state of the upside down world news, I want to tell you about another name of another man that people have never stopped saying.

Our story begins with a woman. She was a woman considered so unclean by society and afflicted for life for she, too, was a hemorrhaging woman like some that have made the news recently.

Twelve years prior a little girl was born to a synagogue ruler named Jairus. Nobody knows really what her life was like other than a normal happy childhood, loved by her father who was prominent in the city gates. Around that same year the little girl was born, this woman in a nearby town developed an infirmity known publicly as an issue of blood. She was so shunned by society that her emotional state suffered much more than her physical state of being. So for the twelve years that this little girl lived her normal childhood as the daughter of the synagogue ruler, the bleeding woman was not welcomed into the synagogue. She was unwelcome. It was a state of being. Unwelcome.

One fateful day, the daughter of Jairus died at the age of twelve. A doctor named Luke later wrote that, when she was near death, Jairus went to find the man he knew of only as a healer to present his plea for help. On the way to see the dying girl, the healer encountered the unwelcome onethe bleeding woman. Though time was of the essence for the little girl, the healer stopped to heal the bleeding woman. When the healer asked who touched him, it became obvious that the bleeding woman was instantly healed. The friends of Jairus arrived just then and said, your daughter is dead. It was too late.

The rest of the story is about the healer visiting the now dead little twelve year old girl. The breath of God visited her lungs that day. She woke from the dead when she heard the words, Talitha Koum! Little girl, I say to you, get up!

Though the healer ordered the parents of the girl not to tell anyone what had happened, the name of Jesus has been on the lips of people of 2,000 years. It is a name that trumps every other name.

In the case of our nation gone awry, I say to you, Talitha Koum, America! It is time to rise up in faith that there is a Healer among us. The breath of God into injustice, the breath of God into opinions, and the breath of God into failed humanity are the only hope for America.

While it is a mystery why some suffer a lifetime of infirmity and others suffer just one unfortunate life-changing event, the one thing that is certain is that the divine breath and blood of God has the ability to heal instantly. The breath of God gives life. The breath of God gives understanding. The blood of Jesus is a peacemaker. The blood of Jesus can reconcile.

I believe George Floyds death will not be in vain, not because he was a martyr for the cause heard around the world. But because he was a human in need of a Savior. I believe his death, along with all of the other world-altering events of 2020, has exposed us to ourselves. We cant do it without the Lord in these perilous times. In the midst of chaos, when we feel we cant breathe, we cant. But God can.

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The Soapbox: The Blood and the Breath of America - The Cross Timbers Gazette

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Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

Uighar prisoners in Xinjiang Re-education Camp Lop County 2018 - Wiki image

Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, Archbishop of Jakarta, Indonesia and Cardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon and President of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, Myanmar are among 80 Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist faith leaders who have condemned the persecution and genocide of the Uyghurs in China in an open statement.

The full text of the statement follows:

As religious leaders and leaders of belief-based communities, we come together to affirm human dignity for all by highlighting one of the most egregious human tragedies since the Holocaust: the potential genocide of the Uyghurs and other Muslims in China.

We have seen many persecutions and mass atrocities. These need our attention. But there is one that, if allowed to continue with impunity, calls into question most seriously the willingness of the international community to defend universal human rights for everyone - the plight of the Uyghurs.

At least one million Uyghur and other Muslims in China are incarcerated in prison camps facing starvation, torture, murder, sexual violence, slave labour and forced organ extraction.

Outside the camps, basic religious freedom is denied. Mosques are destroyed, children are separated from their families, and acts as simple as owning a Holy Quran, praying or fasting can result in arrest.

The world's most intrusive surveillance state invades every aspect of life in Xinjiang.

Recent research reveals a campaign of forced sterilization and birth prevention targeting at least 80% of Uyghur women of childbearing age in the four Uyghur-populated prefectures - an action which, according to the 1948 Genocide Convention, could elevate this to the level of genocide.

The clear aim of the Chinese authorities is to eradicate the Uyghur identity. China's state media has stated that the goal is to "break their lineage, break their roots, break their connections and break their origins." As the Washington Post put it, "It's hard to read that as anything other than a declaration of genocidal intent." High-level Chinese government documents speak of "absolutely no mercy"

Parliamentarians, governments and jurists have a responsibility to investigate.

As faith leaders we are neither activists nor policy-makers. But we have a duty to call our communities to their responsibilities to look after their fellow human beings and act when they are in danger.

In the Holocaust some Christians rescued Jews. Some spoke out. To quote Dietrich Bonhoeffer, "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act". After the Holocaust, the world said "Never Again."

Today, we repeat those words "Never Again", all over again. We stand with the Uyghurs. We also stand with Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and Christians throughout China who face the worst crackdown on freedom of religion or belief since the Cultural Revolution.

We urge people of faith and conscience everywhere to join us: in prayer, solidarity and action to end these mass atrocities. We make a simple call for justice, to investigate these crimes, hold those responsible to account and establish a path towards the restoration of human dignity.

Signatories:

Imam Daayiee Abdoul, Executive Director for Mecca institute, Washington DC, USAMufti Shareef Ahmad, Imam Al Madni Center, Lawrenceville, Georgia, USAThe Reverend Jonathan Aitken, London, UKSheikh Rashad Ali, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, UKImam Shamsi Ali, New York, USASayed Yousif Al-Khoei OBE, Director of Centre of Academic Shia Studies, UKArchbishop Angaelos, Coptic-Orthodox Archbishop of London, UKDr Khalid Anis, Islamic Society of Britain, UKRabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen, Manchester Reform Synagogue, UKImam Qari Asim, MBE, Chair, Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, UKRabbi Charley Baginsky, Interim Director of Liberal Judaism, UKQari Zeshan Balooch, Imam, Ghousia Mosque, Leeds, UKRabbi Dr Harvey Belovski, Senior Rabbi, Golders Green Synagogue, UKThe Reverend Dr Andrew Bennett, Director and Senior Fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute, and former Canadian Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, CanadaRabbi Miriam Berger, Finchley Reform Synagogue, UKDesmond Biddulph CBE, President of the Buddhist Society, UKCardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon and President of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, MyanmarImam Dr Mamadou Bocoum, Muslim Chaplain and Lecturer in Islamic Studies, UKThe Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark, UKImam Irfan Chishti MBE, Chashtiah Educational Trust, Rochdale, UKAndrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UKThe Bishop of Coventry, UKSheikh Imtiyaz Damiel, CEO, Abu Hanifah Foundation, UKRabbi Joseph Dweck, Senior Rabbi, S&P Sephardi Community & Ecclesiastical Authority of The Board of Deputies of British JewsThe Reverend Dr Joel Edwards CBE, UKCanon Dr Giles Fraser, Rector of St Mary Newington, UKSonam T Frasi, FCA, RAS, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Northern Europe, Poland and Baltic States, London, UKRabbi Dr Moshe Freedman, Senior Rabbi, New West End Synagogue, UKRabbi Paul Freedman, Senior Rabbi, Radlett Reform Synagogue, UKRabbi Aaron Goldstein, Chair of Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors, UKRabbi Herschel Gluck OBE, UKImam Dr Usama Hasan, London, UKSheikh Saeed Hashmi, Imam Shah Jahan Mosque, Woking, UKShaykh Sultan Niaz ul Hassan, Chairman, Bahu Trust, UKThe Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, MBE QHC, Bishop of Dover, UKImam Sheikh Mohammad Ismail DL, Lead Imam, Birmingham Central Mosque, UKImam Dr Abdul Jabbar, Atlanta, USARabbi Richard Jacobi, East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue, UKRabbi Dr Margaret Jacobi, UKRabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism, UKRabbi Dr Elliott Karstadt, Alyth North Western Reform Synagogue, UKImam Adam Kelwick, Muslim Chaplain, UKThe Reverend Cindy Kent MBE, UKFr Nicholas King, SJ, Assistant Catholic Chaplain, University of Oxford, UKBishop Declan Lang, Catholic Bishop of Clifton, UKRabbi Josh Levy, Principal Rabbi, Alyth North Western Reform Synagogue, UKAl-Haj U Aye Lwin, Chief Convenor, Islamic Centre of MyanmarUstadh Dawood Masood, Al-Hira Mosque, Luton, UKRabbi David Mason, Muswell Hill United Synagogue and Executive Member of the Rabbinical Council of United Synagogue, UKRabbi Monique Mayer, Liberal Judaism, UKThe Reverend Dr Russell Moore, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention in USAThe Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, Chair of UK FoRB Forum and former Chair of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Independent Review for the Foreign Secretary of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians, UKRabbi Lea Mhlstein, Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue, UKImam Abdul Malik Mujahid, Washington, DC, USAThe Rt Rev Michael Nazir-ali, former Anglican Bishop of Rochester, UKRabbi Baroness (Julia) Neuberger, UKFr Uche Njoku, Parish Priest, St Joseph's Church, New Malden, UKImam Yahya Pallavicini, President of COREIS Islamic Religious Community, ItalyThe Rt Rev John Perry, former Bishop of Chelmsford, UKShaykh Umar Hayat Qadri, Chair, Suffah Foundation, UKMufti Abdul Rahman Qamar, Madni Masjid, LaGuardia, New York, USAFr Timothy Radcliffe, former Master of the Dominican Order, UKImam Nabel Rafi, Director of the International Centre for Tolerance UKDr Sheikh Ramzy, founder, Oxford Islamic Information Centre, UKImam Ghulam Rasool QTS, Trustee Bahu Trust UK network, UKImam Yusuf Rios, Three Puerto Rican Imams Project , Islamic Learning Foundation Chicago, USAFr Dominic Robinson, SJ, Parish Priest, Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception and Chair, Justice and Peace Commission, Diocese of Westminster, UKAbdurahman Sayed, CEO, Al-Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, London, UKImam Mustaqeem Shah, Abu Bakr Trust, Walsall, West Midlands, UKImam Zaid Shakir, California, USAThe Rt Revd Alan Smith, Bishop of St Alban's, UKDr Muzammil Siddiqi: President Fiqh Council of North America and Religious Director, Islamic Society of Orange County, Garden Grove, California, USACardinal Ignatius Suharyo, Archbishop of Jakarta, IndonesiaCanon Dr Andrew White, Ambassador of Jerusalem MERIT, UKThe Rt Hon and Rt Rev Lord Williams of Oystermouth, former Archbishop of Canterbury, UKRabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Senior Rabbi for Masorti Judaism, UK

Tags: Uyghurs, China, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong, Faith Leaders, Cardinal Bo, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo

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Two cardinals among 80 faith leaders demanding justice for Uyghurs and other persecuted groups in China - Independent Catholic News

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Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

Squirrel Hill residents are raising concerns about the safety of a neighborhood intersection but city officials say they might not have the money just yet to fix it.

Rick Wice, who has attended services at Congregation Poale Zedeck at the intersections of Shady, Phillips and Tilbury avenues for more than 10 years, said the arrangement and timing of lights at the site is an accident waiting to happen.

Its a bad intersection the city knows it, the people know it, said Wice, a Squirrel Hill geologist who teaches part-time at Carnegie Mellon University. Were lucky no ones been hurt there.

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The intersection is a strange one, with three lights at three different nearby junctures. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission completed a road safety audit, which included the intersection, in 2019.

Two intersections operate from one traffic signal controller, the report read. The signal is old and lacks detection. Shady Ave. turns as it travels through the intersection with Tilbury, which lacks warning and is unexpected by unfamiliar drivers. The intersection with Tilbury lacks crosswalks across all approaches. ADA accommodations are not adequate.

Despite these warnings, Pittsburgh officials say they do not know when they will manage to upgrade the intersection.

The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure plans to replace the traffic signals at this intersection once the funding becomes available, said Tim McNulty, a spokesperson for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. Obviously, budgets are rather tight right now due to the pandemic so we do not have a timeline on when the upgrades can be made.

Wice said we do not have a timeline isnt good enough. He remembers, a few years ago, when a car speeding through the intersection hopped over the sidewalk near Poale Zedeck synagogue.

He almost drove up all the steps of Poale Zedeck, Wice said. Imagine that happening on a Saturday.

Several recent posts on the Facebook page Jewish Pittsburgh cited numerous examples over the years of accidents occurring at the intersection caused by cars running red lights there, with members of the group encouraging one another to make 311 calls to complain.

Pittsburgh Police in Zone 4, which is headquartered in Squirrel Hill, say they are aware of the problem but it has not become a severe one, said Maurice Matthews, a public information officer for the citys department of public safety.

We have had a few minor collisions but nothing too serious, Matthews told the Chronicle. Matthews confirmed recent accidents at the intersection but said Zone 4 had no record of pedestrians ever being struck there.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey OConnor, whose district includes Squirrel Hill, said his office has heard concerns about the intersection.

Its a very busy intersection, its a very awkward intersection [and] we see a lot of speeding on Shady Avenue, OConnor said.

Uniformed Zone 4 police sometimes station themselves at the intersection to deter speeding.

Obviously, our officers cant sit there all day, OConnor said.

Despite the COVID-19-related financial crunches that could delay repair or upgrade of the intersection, OConnor said he would like city officials to look into alternative methods of controlling traffic there, such as installing speed bumps or working on the timing of the lights.

We need out-of-the-box thinking to slow people down, he said. PJC

Justin Vellucci is a freelance writer living in Pittsburgh.

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Squirrel Hill intersection a growing concern to residents - thejewishchronicle.net

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Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

Campuses have long been a breeding ground for radical, even completely illogical, anti-Israel bigotry. But as an alumna of the University of Southern California (USC), I always took solace in the fact that my alma mater had my back as a Jewish student and as a leader in the pro-Israel activities on campus. Unlike the University of California schools, USC was a stalwart for Jewish students. Not so anymore. The dramatic change in campuses like USC that were previously beacons of hope for Jewish students demonstrates how severe the situation is with rise in antisemitism. The toxic campus culture has become so radical it is targeting even people who are fighting for equality and social justice.

Last week, Rose Ritch, the (former) vice president of the universitys undergraduate student government, resigned from her position in a poignant letter after enduring a months-long online bullying and harassment campaign against her to impeach her. Ritchs crime was nothing more that being a Jew and a Zionist two things that have apparently become unsafe to be on USCs campus today.

In Ritchs letter, she explained, Ive been told that my support of Israel has made me complicit in racism and that, by association, Im racist... Students launched an aggressive social media campaign to impeach my Zionist a**... My Jewish and Zionist identity has helped shape every part of who I am, and they cannot be separated. The targeted harassment of Ritch is nothing more than pure unadulterated antisemitism, and here is why: no other student would be canceled, harassed, bullied and pushed out of office for supporting any other country in the world. Even horrendous human rights abusing regimes like Syria, Iran, or China. There are no campus groups focused solely on combating human rights violations in Iran, on boycotting China or on holding Syria accountable. Only the Jewish state.

Similarly, no other liberation movement is subject to the level of fomenting rage and irrational criticism that Zionism is. Only Zionism, the movement for Jewish self-determination which for the record, again, is not mutually exclusive and does not negate the right to self-determination for any other people invokes fury from the Left and the Right.

How dare the Jews the most systematically oppressed minority from all of human history have independence? Todays anti-Zionism is evidence that classic antisemitism hasnt gone anywhere. The West, in particular, is quick to condemn antisemitism, but for a Jew to demand equality? That threatens the deeply rooted colonialist mindset of so many who believe theyre doing us a favor by condemning Jew hatred today. They will nod and agree that antisemitism is bad, discuss how the Holocaust was terrible, pay lip service to Never Again, but all of that is meaningless if they only support us when we are dependent on their protection.

There is a reason the majority of Jews support Zionism: Because the human drive for independence and self-determination is innate, and thousands of years of history prove that we are the only ones capable of defending our right to exist. Zionism demands that the Jews be treated as any other nation, no more and no less. As Zeev Jabotinsky wrote, We do not have to account to anybody, we are not to sit for anybodys examination and nobody is old enough to call on us to answer. We came before them and will leave after them. We are what we are, we are good for ourselves, we will not change, nor do we want to. It is only someone with hate in his heart for the Jewish people who is threatened by Zionism, because to be anti-Zionist isnt to dislike Israels policies, its to be against the Jewish right to self determination. That is antisemitism.

It deeply saddens me that a student leader at USC experienced abuse at a level that necessitated her resignation from a student group, to protect her own mental health and personal safety and all for no other reason that she is a Jew who believes in the liberation movement of the Jewish people Zionism. USC has already pledged to fight antisemitism, but the university must take action to correct the cultural hostility and ignorance surrounding anti-Zionism or antisemitism will only intensify.

The writer is the CEO of Social Lite Creative LLC.

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Ignorance on Zionism leads to antisemitism - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

Brussels is funding an anti-Israel agenda that is unprecedented in its desire to mitigate the influence of pro-Israel voices, according to a recent report in which the Foreign Ministry reprimanded Brussels for its shameful behavior. The country has continued to plow funding into anti-Israel causes, often under the guise of legitimate non-governmental organizations that end up moving the money toward more radical activism.Israeli Ambassador to Belgium Emmanuel Nahshon complained to the Belgian Foreign Ministry about the explicitly anti-Israel agenda. According to a report in The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, the ambassador received an answer from Belgium saying that it does not intervene in the legitimacy of the goals of these organizations. The ministry added that it does not necessarily share the goals of the organizations that it funds, and that it opposes racism, antisemitism and discrimination.Israels Foreign Ministry was rightly displeased by the answer and decided to reprimand Belgian Ambassador to Israel Jean-Luc Bodson.While Belgium added the boilerplate claim that it is against antisemitism and discrimination, the fact that its funding appears to target Israel in a manner that is inconsistent with the peaceful tolerant dialogue between nations, undermining pro-Israel voices and potentially leading to incitement or delegitimization, is not helpful. In this funding, the government of Belgium is hurting the discourse of understanding and reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians, an Israeli Foreign Ministry source told the Posts Lahav Harkov.Brusselss funding of the NGOs that claim among their goals mitigating the influence of pro-Israel voices appears to be part of a larger blind spot in Belgium that is also, at times, widespread across Europe.It includes funding for nationalist Palestinian causes under the guise that they are merely critical of Israel. However, Belgium would not fund other similar groups, such as Catalan separatists or Kurdish groups under the same logic. In fact, Belgium has been harsh on Israel in other ways as well, inviting anti-Israel voices to speak at events and leading the charge against assertions that Israel might annex the West Bank.We hope that Belgiums decisions reflect not having enough information about where the funding goes and the way in which some Palestinian groups use the money they receive through legitimate charities in Europe to disseminate extreme anti-Israel content produced in Ramallah and spread around the world.For many years there has been a disturbing trend of funding that is bilked out of the European Union and used for incitement that has set back peace efforts and educated people toward extremism. This is unfortunate because a better use of Europes funds could have been to support engagement, peace, tolerance and bridge-building across Israel and the Palestinian territories. That would be a productive way to try to advance reconciliation between two sides that have been embroiled in conflict for too long.Europe knows too well the results of fueling irredentism and extreme nationalism. Unfortunately, many Palestinian groups, such as the PFLP, have wrapped themselves in a false flag of human rights, and even children and womens rights, so they can systematically hijack international forums to advance their extreme anti-Israel agenda.This is not how countries show respect for one anothers sovereignty and claim to want to have a future of fraternal relations. Belgium needs to understand that the goals of these groups are clear: When they use maps that do not show Israel or celebrate martyrs who murdered civilians, they are not partners to work with to advance human rights.In the past, Israel tended to ignore this funding and not challenge it, not seeing the full forest of implications that it had on the education of future generations.We now know better. Our Foreign Ministry is right to reprimand and hold accountable the funding from Belgium and other states. For many years, groups like NGO Monitor have documented the trees in this forest. Now is the time to shed light on them and also promote engagement and peace through dialogue and understanding.Belgium has a choice. It can join Israel in being a light unto the nations and help promote tolerance or it can stand on the wrong side of history by funding groups out to silence the Jewish state. Which will it be?

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Belgium's choice: Join Israel in promoting tolerance or fund anti-Zionism - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

The code of ethics at the University of Southern California states: We nurture an environment of mutual respect and tolerance. As members of the USC community, we treat everyone with respect and dignity, even when the values, beliefs, behavior, or background of a person or group is repugnant to us.

USC should consider amending that statement and add: with the exception of Zionists who believe that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state.

That is because it has become clear that USC does not nurture an environment in which Zionists are treated with respect, dignity, mutual respect and tolerance.

Last February, Rose Ritch, a proudly Jewish and Zionist student ran for the position of Vice President of USCs Student Government. During the campaign it became clear that there was significant opposition to her candidacy. Her campaign signs were taken down numerous times, she was labeled a pro-Israel white supremacist online, and during the debate a student openly asked her how she could represent all USC students given the fact that she supports Israel. Despite this antagonism, Rose was elected.

The opposition to Rose holding this position quickly turned into a campaign to impeach her. Rose was accused of being a racist because of her pro-Israel stance and a process of shaming, invalidation, and even dehumanization gained steam on campus online forums. People opposing Rose went so far as to claim that they felt unsafe on campus with a Zionist in such a prominent position. At no point did anyone ask Rose to engage in conversation or even a debate about her pro-Israel stance. No one asked to learn more about Israel and the very complex, nuanced Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

They simply chose to cancel her out, in complete violation of the USC Code of Ethics.

Rose stepped down last week, explaining in her resignation letter that this was: The only sustainable choice I can make to protect my physical safety on campus and my mental health.

In her missive, Rose explained what being a Jew and a Zionist means to her:

My Jewish and Zionist identity has helped shape every part of who I am, and they cannot be separated. Nearly 95 percent of American Jews support Israel as the Jewish state, inherently connected to our religious history and communal peoplehood. An attack on my Zionist identity is an attack on my Jewish identity. The suggestion that my support for a Jewish homeland would make me unfit for office or would justify my impeachment plays into the oldest stereotypes of Jews, including accusations of dual loyalty and holding all Jews responsible for the actions of the Israeli government.

Related Reading: Israel Apartheid Week: The Smear Disguised as a Human Rights Campaign

I was elected to represent all USC students. In fact, the values of social justice I ran on and hold dear are born out of my Judaism and Zionist beliefs. Through the teachings of Kavod Bariot, dignity for all, I understand we have an obligation to stand with our fellow humans to ensure an end to all injustices throughout our campuses and our communities. The value of Lo Taamod, You Shall Not Stand Idly By, is what drove me to march with my fellow Trojans and Angelinos to protest injustices toward the Black community. And the suffering of the Jewish people the persecution, massacres, and genocide we have experienced throughout our history has taught me to speak out for all those who are mistreated.

In response to Roses resignation, USC president Dr. Carol Folt announced a new initiative by the USC Shoah Foundation called Stronger than Hate.

She explained:

This program serves as a call to counter hate with tangible action. It represents the work of many of our university leaders including students, staff, and faculty who have come together to support and amplify our collective struggle against hate. Through meaningful exhibitions, programs, and workshops, this initiative is designed to help foster a campus culture of connection and compassion that empowers us to listen, learn, heal, and dream together. We hope that as we listen to each other, we can move beyond stereotyped beliefs that lead to implicit and explicit biases, and instead foster a respectful and supportive campus culture.

Dr. Folts announcement is most certainly welcome. Speaking out against antisemitism and organizing workshops and exhibitions against hate are positive developments. But this still does not address the elephant in the room the acceptance of the premise that Zionists are racists. Criticism of the policies enacted by Israels democratically elected government should never be silenced. But until university leaders openly declare the legitimacy of Zionism the position that the Jewish people have a right to their own state in their ancient homeland, while, of course, providing equality for all its citizens they are complicit in the attacks and the silencing that Rose experienced.

Not denouncing the vicious falsehood that Zionism equals racism and Zionists are racists, goes against the very fabric of what universities should be places of intellectual curiosity and robust debate.

Found this article informative? Follow the HonestReportingpage on Facebook to read more articles debunking news bias and smears, as well as others explaining Israels history, politics, and international affairs. Clickhere to learn more.

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Harassed for Being a Zionist: The Resignation of USC's Rose Ritch - Honestreporting.com

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Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in Tehran on Saturday in separate meetings with Naser Abu Sharif representative of the Islamic Jihad Movement and Khaled al-Qaddumi Head of Hamass Office in Tehran.

In the meetings, Amir-Abdollahian pointed to the dire consequences of compromise with the Zionist regime and added, Normalization of UAEs ties with the fictitious and usurping Zionist regime will not lead to peace and stability in the region, rather, it will increase the brutality and criminality of Zionists.

This strategic mistake is tantamount to turn back on the Palestinian cause and move away from unity and amity of the Islamic world in the face of the oppressed Palestinian people, he emphasized.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Iranian Parliament Speaker's Special Aide for International Affairs reiterated, Abu Dhabi's destructive and nonconstructive behavior in its friendship with occupiers of Holy Al-Quds has no justification and this country will suffer badly from its friendship with the Zionist regime.

Khaled al-Qaddumi Head of Hamass Office in Tehran, for his part, pointed to UAEs secret relations with Zionists which hadalready begun and added, The agreement made between UAE and the Zionist regime was not surprising and its expression by US President Trump is a media and propaganda move for the upcoming US Presidential Election.

Naser Abu Sharif representative of Islamic Jihad Movement in Tehran also termed the normalization of ties between UAE and Israel as an American-Zionist plan and added, The aftermath of US president's blatant defeat in the West Asiaas well as service of Arab rulers in line with safeguarding interests of the US and the Zionist regime is a way to move out of the current situation for giving prestige to the Global Arrogance.

In this meeting, representatives of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas movements expressed their thanks to the unsparing support of Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Iranian people and government in supporting Palestinian cause and highlighted that the Palestinian nation will not be affected by the treacherous acts and will continue the path of Resistance Front with full power.

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UAE to suffer severely for normalizing ties with Zionists - Mehr News Agency - English Version

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Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

Tehran A Saudi political analyst, Ali Hashim, is of the opinion that "The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are basically part of the Zionist project in the Middle East (West Asia), and it can help to show their true faces to all Arabs and Muslims."

It was announced on Thursday that Israel and the United Arab Emirates had reached a deal that will lead to full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two sides.

The deal came after a phone call between United States President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

The agreement requires Israel to put West Bank annexation on hold, but Netanyahu says it's temporary.

The UAE is the first Persian Gulf state that rushed to normalize ties with the Zionist regime. It had normalized the relations with Israel a long time ago, not when Trump announced the agreement.

Hashim tells the Tehran Times that the deal between the Emirates and Israel was announced by Trump to help Trump and Netanyahu in their election campaigns, as the Emirati regime wants to see Trump re-elected president for a second term.

"Mohammed bin Zayed believes that Trump will guarantee him the rule in the Emirates and to succeed his brother," Hashim adds.

"Bin Zayed knows well that if Trump loses in November's presidential election, the new American administration will work to exclude him and Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, as all candidates competing with Trump consider bin Zayed and bin Salman accountable for their crimes in Yemen and in several Arab countries," he maintains.

Pointing to the case of the Emirati girl who was killed in prison in the UAE while she was tied to a torture bed, and Jamal Khashoggi, who was dismembered with a chainsaw in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, Hashim says, "We should not be surprised by the normalization of (ties between) the Emirates and Saudi Arabia with Israel."

"They are basically part of the Zionist project in the Middle East (West Asia), and it can help to show their true faces to all Arabs and Muslims," the Saudi analyst says.

Asked about Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech on Friday night, Hashim notes that the normalization of ties between Arab states and Israel cannot undermine the region's resistance movement.

"The Axis of Resistance has a strong base not only in Lebanon but among all Arab and Islamic peoples around the world," the Saudi writer emphasizes.

"The word of secretary-general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement was a strong statement, including a warning to the enemies and their allies, as it hinted that Israel might have a role in the massive Beirut blast.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned in his speech if Israeli involvement is proven, the Zionist regime would receive a response as big as the explosion that could have occurred if the entire amount of ammonium had exploded.

Hashim maintains that Nasrallah's word brings peace and tranquility into the region and lifts fear in everyone's hearts and gives them confidence, especially when he spoke about ships and soldiers in Beirut port and said, "Do not be afraid. The resistance is present, and we are stronger."

Hashim points to the victory of Hezbollah in the 33-Day War as a great achievement for every Arab and Muslim that no one can deny it throughout history.

"The Zionist army, which calls itself invincible army that has defeated all Arab armies, was defeated in Lebanon by Islamic resistance movement Hezbollah which expelled Israeli forces from Lebanon and humiliated it," the Saudi analyst recalls. "All the Arabs and Muslims will protect this victory and celebrate it every year to declare their support for the Islamic Resistance Hezbollah in confronting the American-Zionist plans in the Middle East (West Asia)."

Hashim also says the U.S. is not able to defeat Hezbollah militarily, either through the Zionist regime's army or through terrorist organizations in Syria and northern Lebanon.

"Therefore, it sought to destabilize Lebanon, hoping to create an atmosphere that would turn against Hezbollah at home," he explains. "It failed and worked through its agents inside Lebanon to set off a revolution inside Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah, but it has also failed, and any attempt to disarm Hezbollah will be fruitless."

Regarding the American reaction to the Beirut explosion, Hashim says the U.S. administration that does not care about the lives of the Lebanese or anyone else tried to exploit the disaster in Lebanon, which caused great damages to parts of the Lebanese capital and led to the death of more than 200 people and injured 5,000.

"From the moment of the explosion, the U.S. has been working to politically exploit this tragedy against Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon and against the Lebanese state, neglecting the disaster," Hashim stresses.

"America just wants to incite the Lebanese people in the streets against Hezbollah through its allies and agents in the Persian Gulf states and media outlets," the Saudi analyst says. "But as Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said they have failed, and they will be disappointed."

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UAE and S. Arabia are part of the Zionist project in West Asia: Saudi analyst - Tehran Times

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Posted By admin on August 16, 2020

A University of Southern California senior from San Francisco resigned from her student government position last week after intense backlash for her pro-Israel and Zionist views.

Rose Ritch, who was elected vice president of USCs Undergraduate Student Government in April, said she was sent a wave of harassing messages over social media starting in late June, accusing her of being complicit in racism and unfit for the role in part because of her support for Israel.

In her resignation letter posted on Facebook on Aug. 5, Ritch said the aggressive social media campaign waged against her crossed the line into antisemitism.

An attack on my Zionist identity is an attack on my Jewish identity, she wrote. There is a disturbing lack of nuance or willingness to grapple with the messy complexities of an issue, and there is no longer any room for change or growth. Students made presumptions about my Zionist identity and leapt to unfair conclusions.

USC President Carol Folt responded in an Aug. 6 statement, condemning the anti-Semitic attacks on [Ritchs] character and calling the behavior unacceptable. Folt also used the occasion to announce a new on-campus initiative sponsored by the USC Shoah Foundation aimed at fighting bias and hate.

With about 20,000 undergrads, the schools Jewish student population is around 9 percent, according to a Hillel study.

In an interview with J., Ritch described what happened to her as frustrating but not surprising.

This is not an uncommon story for Jewish students, she said. This is a very normal thing.

Born and raised in the citys Castro District, Ritch and her family are longtime members of the Conservative synagogue Kol Shofar in Tiburon, where her parents were married and where she celebrated her bat mitzvah.

Ritch, a double major in sociology and law, history and culture, is involved with a number of Jewish campus organizations, including Hillel, Trojans for Israel and Nice Jewish Queers.

My Zionism should not and cannot disqualify me from being a leader on campus, nor should others presume what that means about my position on social justice issues.

She began her run for student government in January, campaigning on a ticket with fellow student Truman Fritz, who was running for president. They were elected in April; in June, senior Abeer Tijani accused Fritz of having made racially insensitive comments during his campaign and started a petition on Change.org calling for his resignation.

Tijani also filed an impeachment complaint with the student government, seeking to have Fritz removed as president, and another seeking Ritchs removal as vice president for her complicity around her running mates alleged comments.

In calling for Ritchs ouster, Tijani also charged that she has been outspoken on issues that alienate Palestinian [students]. She later apologized on Instagram, clarifying that the complaint was about Ritchs failure to take action against Fritz, not about her views on Israel.

Fritz resigned on July 7. Shortly after, the university administration and student government suspended the impeachment proceedings against Ritch and announced they would be reviewing the rules surrounding the process.

Ritch said she decided to resign a month later when the ongoing harassment became too much. One message called for the student government to impeach [Ritchs] Zionist a.

The suggestion that my support for a Jewish homeland would make me unfit for office plays into the oldest stereotypes of Jews, including accusations of dual loyalty and holding all Jews responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, she wrote in her resignation letter. My Zionism should not and cannot disqualify me from being a leader on campus, nor should others presume what that means about my position on social justice issues.

It was just a buildup, she told J. about her decision. And a realization that I could not stay safe mentally or physically if I stayed in this role.

Ritchs letter got over 1,000 likes and nearly 100 comments on Facebook. Bari Weiss, a former New York Times opinion writer, urged her 235,000 Twitter followers to read Ritchs powerful letter. Weiss resigned from the Times in July after claiming she was bullied by her colleagues and accusing the paper of intolerance against her intellectual curiosity.

The incident at USC comes as American universities continue to grapple with antisemitism on their campuses.

A recent report from the Amcha Initiative, a California-based nonprofit that combats antisemitism at institutions of higher learning, found that harassment incidents related to Israel increased by 59 percent from 2018 to 2019. Amcha has reported 26 incidents of antisemitism at USC since 2015.

In July, a new Instagram page surfaced called Jewish on Campus, which features anonymous stories by Jewish college students about antisemitic incidents. The page has nearly 14,000 followers, and its founders say theyve received about 800 stories, including a handful from USC students.

Ritch believes what happened to her is part of a larger phenomenon of students on college campuses being unfairly canceled for their views. She said she wishes her critics would be willing to sit and have a conversation with her about Israel.

Its easier to cancel than to have those conversations, Ritch told J., and to have real, honest conversations that create that vulnerable space. She believes the increase in online communication during the coronavirus pandemic has heightened the chances of words or views being misinterpreted.

USC students will start remote classes on Aug. 17. While Ritch said she wants to move past the harassment that led to her resignation, she also is willing to continue to be involved on-campus and engage in conversations about antisemitism, albeit from her laptop.

It still needs to be talked about, she said.

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SF native resigns from USC student government over Israel views J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

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