Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on August 12, 2020

Some are trans Jews of color on the brink of homelessness. One is an African-American man who worked at a Jewish restaurant for decades and was furloughed. Others have had to decide which meals to skip so family members can eat.

These are some of the beneficiaries of the Jews of Color Initiatives COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund for Individuals, a cash assistance program designed to help Jews of color and non-Jewish people of color who work at Jewish institutions who are struggling with rent, food, medical and transportation costs.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect people of color, especially Black and Latino Americans, at disproportionately high rates, so, too has its financial fallout. People of color have been hit harder by unemployment, are more likely to be essential workers working longer hours for less pay, have fewer sick days and are less likely to have cash reserves, according to the Economic Policy Institute. And the strain is showing in the Jewish community, too, with Jews of color seeking out financial assistance through this initiative and others.

While the fund couldnt make grantees available for comment due to issues of anonymity, other Jews of color report feeling alienated by majority-white institutions as members at synagogues and describe instances of being passed on for project funding.

The community needed a racially sensitive and inclusive COVID-19 fund, said Ilana Kaufman, executive director of the Jews of Color Initiative, in an email, so we created one.

How can we raise money for causes we believe in? Philanthropist Lisa Greer, author of the just-released Philanthropy Revolution: How to inspire donors, build relationships, and make a difference (Harper Collins) joins Forward National Editor Rob Eshman and Andres Spokoiny, President and CEO of Jewish Funders Network on Monday, August 31 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. Pacific. Register here.

The fund has received a total of $150,000 in donations, about $120,000 of which has been disseminated to around 70 households, said Kaufman. While the application is temporarily closed as staff process applications and do some fund management, the grants have so far ranged from $250 to $2,500 each.

The large majority of grantees are Jews of Color, who the Initiative estimates make up between 12% and 15% of the American Jewish population, while about 20% are people of color working in Jewish institutions, she said. Many applications come from the Los Angeles area, the New York City area and Madison, Wisc., but the fund has also received applications from San Francisco, Chicago, Portland, Or. and Dallas, among other locations.

While there are multiple COVID-19 relief funds available to Jews, many of the organizations funding them have majority white boards, white staffers and white application review committees, which can create a perceived power imbalance for Jews of color seeking assistance, keep Jews of color from hearing about funds and lead to a lack of shared experience that might make financial need difficult to explain and less likely to be recognized. Some funds are accessible only to insiders with the knowledge to find them.

And another population served by the Jews of Color Initiative fund non-Jewish people of color who work in synagogues, schools, camps and restaurants see few opportunities to get support from the communities they serve.

This fund has vowed to be different: Unlike other assistance programs, it has a shorter application that Kaufman said is easier to navigate. The fund tried to keep the review process straightforward and quick if applicants meet the criteria and have required documentation, theyll be funded. Kaufman and her team tried to reach Jews of color and people of color at Jewish institutions through less traditional avenues Facebook, other organizations for Jews of color and communicating directly with rabbis.

The largest provider of emergency cash for individuals in the Jewish community is the government, through its coronavirus relief programs, like unemployment insurance, said Rabbi David Rosenn, the executive director at the Hebrew Free Loan Society.

Various channels of the UJA-Federation network of agencies also provide assistance, he said. UJA, for example, got $2 million through the New York Community Trust, which is being distributed through cash grants. UJA gave $430,000 to CUNY Hillel for low-income students, $330,000 to six JCCs which are providing support to low-income single parents and $600,000 to local rabbinical associations for rabbis to disseminate to congregational members, said a spokeswoman.

The Hebrew Free Loan Society also offers interest-free loans to individuals, and not just Jews, said Rosenn. They reached out to the Jews of Color Initiative to make sure applicants also knew that loans were available.

Individual synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, federations and donors are offering their own emergency assistance programs as well.

But while those offerings are available, Jews of color have reported difficulty appealing to Jewish organizations for funding, and might seek out something different.

Anike Tourse, a writer, actor, producer and the director of a production company called Mixed Operations, said she had experienced some skepticism from traditional Jewish funders while seeking resources for a film slated for release this fall. Her production costs increased by $39,000 due to the pandemic she must regularly test the crew for the virus, institute new cleaning measures and buy PPE, among other costs.

The film, Americas Family, follows a family broken up by an immigration raid and zeroes in on the father who seeks sanctuary in a synagogue. She said that her projects intersectional approach was seen as the wrong fit for funding from some Jewish organizations.

Theres no question that Im a Jew of color, but I think one of the challenges has been people expecting the work that I do to be only exclusively Jewish and to be geared just toward Jewish community, she said. I have to explain that the work that Im doing is so profoundly Jewish.

And even when Jews of color are not seeking funds, they can be excluded from Jewish institutions, Jewish leaders have said.

A white Reform rabbi at a mid-sized synagogue said she had worked with conversion candidates of color who had been subjected to suspicion at synagogues, had been denied opportunities because of their races and had been questioned by security.

She spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid identifying the people with whom she had spoken.

The rabbi said candidates had experienced knocking on doors of Jewish institutions and their racial or ethnic identity being a barrier for engaging with the community, but said she had also heard from lifelong Jews of color with similar stories.

These were pain points for people who had been part of the Jewish community for their entire lives, she said.

For Kaufman, these types of things might contribute to Jews of color feeling unwelcome seeking assistance outside the Jews of Color Initiatives fund, all the more reason for the fund to exist.

While there are tremendous resources and good intentions focused on COVID-19 relief in the Jewish community, most of those efforts come from organizations not deeply developed through racially inclusive, anti-racist lenses, she said.

Jews of color and people of color in Jewish institutions who are already dealing with the headwinds of racism, she said, are facing them in the Jewish community, too.

Molly Boigon is an investigative reporter at the Forward. Contact her at boigon@forward.com or follow her on Twitter @MollyBoigon.

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Mostly ignored, Jews of color turn to special fund for COVID relief - Forward

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2020

When Shavy Landau fainted in the shower after her third round of chemo in 2015, the last thing she wanted was a man from her ultra-Orthodox Borough Park community to see her bald and naked.

Instead of calling Chevra Hatzalah, the all-male volunteer emergency medical service in New Yorks Orthodox Jewish community, she waited alone for a few minutes until her then 10-year-old son helped her crawl out.

The now 37-year-old single mother of three had never hesitated to call Hatzalah before. She knew the number by heart just one digit off from her own home phone.

When one of her sons choked on a grape, Hatzalah was there. When another son needed stitches, Hatzalah was there.

But when she imagined an ultra-Orthodox neighbor entering the bathroom and seeing her in a non-tzniut (immodest) condition, she panicked.

It was totally unnerving, said Landau, who has since left the Orthodox community because she felt as if she had no identity within the faith. I was thinking Whos gonna help me here? Hatzalah was not even on my mind. I really was uncomfortable with the fact that someone from the community might show up.

Instead, she called Ezras Nashim, an all-female Orthodox volunteer emergency medical service. Within minutes, the ladies of Ezras Nashim piled out of a dark blue Chrysler Pacifica minivan in front of Landaus home.

Ezras Nashim has been responding to emergencies like Landaus fainting episode including COVID-related cases using their own vehicles after being denied an ambulance license last summer by Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of NYC (REMSCO), a nonprofit that coordinates medical services in all five boroughs.

Ezras Nashim appealed the decision to the New York State Emergency Medical Services Council (SEMSCO) in Albany, where an administrative law judge recommended the approval of the groups request over Hatzalahs objections.

A vote is due to take place at the next SEMSCO meeting, but that session has been postponed several times due to the pandemic. In the interim, Hatzalah requested a July 8th public hearing, which got heated.

Now, both Jewish emergency service organizations await SEMSCOs final decision to determine whether Ezras Nashim will get the right to provide ambulatory care in the community.

A Hebrew double entendre that means assisting women and is also the name for the womens section of Orthodox synagogues, Ezras Nashim was created by now-Brooklyn Civil Court Judge Ruchie Freier in 2013 after she noticed a need among Orthodox women for whom modesty is both a religious and cultural requirement.

Women are not allowed to join Borough Parks chapter of Hatzalah.

As coronavirus spread through Borough Parks Hasidic community, infecting more than 6,000 people by its peak in April, calls to Ezras Nashim flooded in, according to Leah Levine, outreach director for the group and a daughter of Freier.

I remember how scary it was, Levine recalled of this past April spent next to her mother and the dispatch radio. The phone was just ringing and ringing and ringing like, Is this ever gonna stop?

Ezras Nashim has a mutual aid agreement with the FDNY. When Ezras Nashim responds to calls that require an ambulance, the group contacts 911, which brings FDNY EMTs to the scene. But relying on another agency for emergency transport means inconsistent wait times.

During the COVID crisis, transport was often not an option with jammed hospitals.

Every patient that wanted to be transported, we couldnt help them, Levine said. It was very hard for us, like we never had to turn away people.

Still, many individuals in the Hasidic community decided against hospital treatment due to overcrowding and neglect, said Levine. Ezras Nashim tended to those who chose to stay home. Even men called Ezras Nashim for help, Levine said.

Levine and the other women of Ezras Nashim cant help but wonder how many more people they would have been able to help with an ambulance.

Were fighting a pandemic, said Paula Eiselt, director of 93 Queen, a documentary that chronicles the formation of Ezras Nashim. In a time of COVID, why on earth would Hatzalah or anyone be trying to prevent more access to healthcare?

Eiselt, who followed the ladies of Ezras Nashim for five years for the film, believes Hatzalahs opposition stems from a traditionally deep-rooted power imbalance between men and women within the ultra-Orthodox community. Throughout filming, Eiselt said she encountered medical suppliers and hospitals that refused to assist Ezras Nashim out of fear of retaliation from Hatzalah.

[Hatzalah] has ambulances, so what is so threatening about a group of women wanting to fulfill a communal need and get one ambulance why is that threatening? Eiselt asked, before answering her own question: They dont want to see women doing this type of work.

Two independent hearing officers with both REMSCO and SEMSCO wrote recommendations in support of Ezras Nashims application for a single ambulance.

However, critics of Ezras Nashim point to Hatzalahs two-minute response time and decades-long legacy. More options could confuse elderly patients, others argue.

Hatzalahs attorney, Jeff Resiner, testified there was no need for Ezras Nashims application, citing Hatzalahs quicker response times and established presence in the community.

Ezras Nashims average response time for emergency calls is 8 minutes and 2 seconds. But group leaders anticipate a faster response time if they become authorized to operate an ambulance service.

Some Ezras Nashim opponents note time is crucial in emergency situations.

This is not like choosing to open another grocery store on 13th Avenue. This is not a choice between buying milk here or buying milk there this is peoples lives and most of the time, seconds count, said one Hasidic woman during the July 8 public hearing.

Hatzalah backers also note that medical emergencies serve as exceptions to traditional rules of modesty.

But modesty is a very real issue for women in the community, said Sarah Weisshaus, 28, an EMT with Ezras Nashim for six years.

Modesty is instilled in the community at a young age, so a woman thats used to being covered all at all times, its a little traumatic for her, Weisshaus said. All of a sudden, shes in a state of panic and exposed to a man that shes not really familiar with or could be her next door neighbor. It could be really uncomfortable for her just to see him afterwards.

According to several people who testified at the July 8 hearing, many Hasidic women would rather suffer than call Hatzalah in an immodest condition.

Weisshaus said her cousin died shortly after falling in the shower, thinking she had enough time to get out and get dressed before dialing Hatzalah.

She died because she didnt feel comfortable having someone come, Weishauss said. Then I realized the significance of what I was doing, and I was like I like this. I want to do more of this.

The fate of a possible Ezras Nashim ambulance now sits in the hands of SEMSCO. A final decision on the application will be made at a meeting that has yet to be scheduled.

Its not up to us to decide if its a stupid thing that a lady feels uncomfortable having a man. Its not up to us, Levine said. But if a lady is telling us that shes traumatized, and she cant get over this, so shes not going to call for help, this is a fact that this is going on, and we have to be there.

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Brooklyn Hasidic Women Battle Male EMS for an Ambulance of Their Own - THE CITY

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2020

During quarantine, I watched the recent Netflix series Unorthodox and the movie The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch. They are examples of a recent trend in romantic comediessee also Shtisel, Menashe, and The Womens Balconyset in Ultra-Orthodox or Hasidic communities. Both Unorthodox and The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch present the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community as an exotic, picturesque, and quasi-primitive society, out of touch with modern values and modern culture.

Since the beginning of cinema, classic rom-coms have followed a set pattern of plot development: A female and a male with seemingly incompatible views or personalities are introduced; some situation throws them together and sparks fly; and then a number of problems, whether external or psychological, threaten to keep the characters apart. Eventually, the two resolve their issues and unite, and the viewer is happy with the resolution. In classic movies like An Affair to Remember, When Harry Met Sally, and Pretty Woman, successful rom-com writers and directors used this basic structure, creatively modifying each step to keep it fresh.

Unorthodox and The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch do away with the usual rom-com structure in favor of a conclusion proclaiming existential freedom, or what Sartre proudly termed Nothingness. The romantic journeys of the past, with their happy endings, have been supplanted by journeys that lead to loveless, passionless experiencesand end with ambiguity or emptiness.

It is obvious why Unorthodox and The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch use Ultra-Orthodox societies for the setting of their postmodern message, and why they portray only the weaknesses of this societynever attempting to show its strengths. As seen through the eyes of Esty, the heroine of Unorthodox, and Motti, the hero of Awakening, religious society is confining, small-minded, anti-liberal, anti-cosmopolitan, and particularistic. Esty is a young girl raised in a cloistered Hasidic community. Her rebellion begins when she reads secular books; she eventually runs away. Motti is similarly awakened from his familys expectations regarding a suitable wife and future lifestyle. These stories attack the Ultra-Orthodox community through ridicule and parody of the parents, rabbis, and adherents, all of whom are turned into a source of laughter. They possess little wisdom, and even less virtue, which gives the writer and director license to extricate the hero or heroine from this outdated prison and bring him and her to the delights of postmodern virtues and morals.

What are the idealized postmodern virtues and morals of these films, and who is the new Moses who leads the hero or heroine into the promised land? After the audience sees how controlling these religious societies are, and how they narrow the expectations of the adherents and surround them with rules, laws, and authority figures, the hero or heroine meets a representative of the outside modern world, whose life appears to be enlightened and superior. This angel of opportunity leads our protagonist out of the community and toward the promise of personal fulfillment. In this outside world, the main character undergoes a detoxing process that involves sexual activity as an expression of his or her new freedom. This new structure thus inverts the structure of older rom-coms (When Harry met Sally, Moonstruck, Philadelphia Story, Sleepless in Seattle), in which romanticism and sensuality depend on the characters restraint, self-discipline, or social situation to hold their passions in check (sometimes with great difficulty), leading to the romantic climax at the dramatic ending.

In Unorthodox and Awakening, the hero and heroine find themselves in bed with strangers during their first outing into this brave new world. In yesterdays romantic comedies, withholding sex provided the mainspring, the tension, and the energy for the story. The plot, therefore, had to be clever, present novel problems and solutions, and hold the audiences attention for ninety minutes: How will the writer move the characters toward the finale? Today, however, there is little need for cleverness; the audience knows that halfway through the film, the two will be in bed together. Even though Unorthodox is ostensibly about a woman seeking fulfillment in a musical career, the clear message is that sexual liberation is the entryway to the new world.

Instead of solving the characters relationship difficulties, these story arcs finish with a burst of freedom. At the end of both Unorthodox and Awakening, the protagonists are alone, adrift in a postmodern society in which there is no need for flirtation, romance, coyness, or even clever conversation. These stories conclude with a surrender to the onrushing cultural tide; the new rom-coms suggest that resistance is useless and counterproductive.

As Allan Bloom wrote in The Closing of the American Mind, America has been infected with German and European postwar philosophy, which celebrates cynicism. Nietzsche and later postwar European philosophers believed the Will to be the highest human virtue, and radical personal freedom the highest goal. This required attacking every institution that inhibited an individuals ability to act out his or her desires. Since there is no Truth in postmodern thought, all religious teachings are only myths for maintaining control. All rules and laws are constraints on personal freedom. Government is just an attempt to subjugate the powerless. The end is always Nothingness.Toward the end of Mottis awakening, he visits a dying friend and fortuneteller, who helps him reframe his recent rejection of family, friends, and religion: Everything is now possible, he explains. There are no limits. In Habits of the Heart, author Robert Bellah notes that Progress, modernitys master idea, seems less compelling when it appears that it may be progress into the abyss. At the end of the movie, Motti sits on a park bench alone, having given up everything that had meaning in his life. He does not realize that a future without limits may mean descent into the abyss.

Photo by Dennis Jarvis via Creative Commons. Image cropped.

Roy Pinchot writes from Netanya, Israel.

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Progress Into the Abyss | Roy Pinchot - First Things

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2020

More than 150 Jewish gravestones have been unearthed during construction work in the Polish town of Lezajsk in recent months, in what is thought to be the biggest such discovery in years.

LISTEN: Seth Rogens post-Zionist pickle meets Bibis protest pandemic

No one had expected such a number, Ewa Kedzierska, an archaeologist overseeing the works, told Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.

The gravestones were removed by the occupying Nazis from the towns Jewish cemetery during World War II to pave sidewalks at the market square. Rubble from a local synagogue that was also demolished by the Nazis was also used as construction material. The citys mayor, Ireneusz Stefaski, wrote in an announcement that the work appeared to have been done in late autumn, 1939.

Lezajsk, in southeast Poland, used to be an important Hasidic center, where about 3,000 Jews lived before the Holocaust, making up about a third of its population. The grave of the prominent Rabbi Elimelech of Lezasjk draws many Hasidic pilgrims to the town every year.

The construction work during which the gravestones were unearthed began in June and is still ongoing, and officials believe more gravestones will be discovered.

Most of the gravestones were found intact, but about 50 of them were broken.

The local Jewish community and local authorities plan to work together on preserving the gravestones. Members of the community told local media that according to Jewish tradition, they should be returned to their original location, rather than be placed in a museum.

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150 Jewish gravestones uprooted by the Nazis found in Polish town - Haaretz

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2020

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are cancer-susceptibility genes, meaning that people who inherit pathogenic* mutations in either one have an increased risk of developing certain cancers. Hereditary (or germline) mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 cause Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome.

Having a pathogenic mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 doesnt mean you will definitely develop cancer, but it does increase ones risk. Individuals with hereditary BRCA1/2 mutations should seek proper genetic counseling and care to be aware of their risks and to take steps to reduce those risks.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 are both DNA-repair genes. They hold the code for BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins, which repair DNA damage in cells. When the BRCA1/2 genes are mutated or abnormal, they create malfunctioning BRCA1/2 proteins, which result inadequate repair of DNA damage. This can cause normal cells to turn cancerous.

In the overall U.S. population, inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations are quite rare estimated to affect one in 400 people, or 0.25%. The rate is higher in some racial/ethnic groups. In the Ashkenazi Jewish population, 2.5% harbor a pathogenic mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. There are also high rates of cancer-related BRCA1/2 mutations in individuals of other ancestries, including French Canadian, Bahamian, Middle Eastern, and Latin American.

Among patients with breast cancer but no family history of cancer, about 5% of cases are associated with BRCA1/2. In women with ovarian cancer, cancer-related germline mutations in BRCA1/2 are detected about 15% of the time. For this reason, guidelines recommend germline BRCA1/2 testing for all women with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Current guidelines consider whether an individual has personally had a cancer diagnosis (and the cancer type), a family history of cancer, or a known BRCA1/2 mutation in the family. For example, if an individual is diagnosed with cancer at a young age and has a family history of cancer, cancer genetic testing could be considered regardless of race, ethnicity, or ancestry.

Germline mutations in BRCA1 or 2 increase the risk of breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancer, as well as melanoma.

The average lifetime risk of breast cancer is 12% until age 80. In women with BRCA1/2 mutations, the lifetime risk of breast cancer is 50-85%. In women with BRCA1 mutations, 69% of breast cancers are hormone receptor-negative cancers or triple negative. In contrast, BRCA2 mutations are associated with hormone-receptor positive breast cancers (77%). Ten percent of all BRCA1 breast cancers are HER2-positive, and 13% of all BRCA2 breast cancers are HER2-positive. Women with BRCA1/2 mutations have a higher likelihood of developing breast cancer in both breasts.

Women with BRCA1/2 mutations have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer or other related cancers of the fallopian tube or peritoneum. The average lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1-2%. This increases to 20-40% with BRCA1 and 10-20% with BRCA2.

For both men and women with BRCA mutations, the lifetime risk of pancreatic cancer increases from less than 1% to 2-5%, and these individuals have a higher risk of skin cancer like melanoma.

In addition to a higher risk of pancreatic cancer and melanoma, men with BRCA1/2 mutations have higher risks of breast and prostate cancer. When men with BRCA1/2 mutations develop prostate cancer, it tends to occur at a young age and is more aggressive.

Genetic testing covers both BRCA1 and BRCA2 and is recommended for people with a high risk of having a mutation in either gene. This includes those who have:

At Dana-Farbers Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic, genetic counselors and physicians help individuals who test positive for BRCA1 or BRCA2 to understand the nature of their cancer risk, how it can be managed, and whether other family members should consider testing.

*Pathogenic mutation inBRCA1orBRCA2increases an individuals risk of cancer.A pathogenic mutation is a positive result and determines that an individual has the Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Genetic Syndrome.

Hereditary cancer syndromes occur when an individual inherits a genetic mutation(s) that predispose them to develop cancer. Hereditary cancer syndromes are caused by pathogenic germline or hereditary mutations.

Germline/hereditary mutations are mutations in genes that are passed on from parents to offspring.

Somatic mutations are mutations acquired by any cell in the body after birth and are not inherited or passed to offspring. These mutations are often detected in tumors and are of interest to developing new therapeutics to treat cancer.

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What's the Difference Between BRCA1 and BRCA2? | Dana-Farber - Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2020

Brandon Trost embarks on his solo directorial debut with An American Pickle, the comedy-drama movie based on Simon Richs short story, Sell Out. Seth Rogen brings his unique brand of comedy to the film, portraying an Ashkenazi Jew in the 1920s. He gets preserved in a jar of pickles, accidentally, and wakes up in modern-day New York. Visibly disoriented by his surroundings, the man tries to settle down with the help of his last remaining descendant, also essayed by Rogen. Curious to know where you can watch this film? Were here to tell you that right after walking you through the story.

Herschel Greenbaum is a struggling Ashkenazi laborer, who has immigrated to America in 1920. Like everyone, he harbors the American dream of a better life for himself and his family. While working at a factory, Greenbaum falls into a vat of pickles, and the brine preserves him perfectly for 100 years. Herschel emerges in present-day Brooklyn and finds he hasnt aged at all. However, all he has left of his family is his mild-mannered grandson, Ben. Herschel tries to connect with his last living relative but finds it hard to understand the computer programmer who inhabits the strange present-day world.

Netflix has a spectacular collection of films and shows, which makes it one of the best platforms. While An American Pickle is not on Netflix, you can check out The Old Guard. It is quite different in tone, insofar as it is an action movie. However, it also deals with assassins who are out of time. They are near-immortal beings who have seen the world through ages. Thus, their sense of timelessness and non-belonging is similar to An American Pickle.

Hulu keeps making smart additions to the platform, which keeps it ahead of competitors. An American Pickle is not available for streaming. However, you can check out The Mask. In the spectacular comedy, the person belongs to the present, but the mask he puts on is a timeless testament to mischief and mayhem.

Amazon Prime sources content globally to satiate all viewers. While An American Pickle is not available to Prime subscribers now, you can always check out The Man From Earth. In a gripping narrative, we see how an impromptu farewell turns into an evening of amazement as an individual regales his colleagues with tales of his timelessness.

Even if you are not subscribed to Netflix, Prime or Hulu, you need not worry since An American Pickle is an HBO Max exclusive. Thus, you can stream it on the platform with a valid subscription. See it here.

If you are looking to watch the movie for free, you are in luck. You can use the trial period offered by HBO Max to watch the film. However, wed like to urge our readers to pay for all art you consume.

Read More: Movies Like The Old Guard

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Is An American Pickle on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime? Where to Watch Online? - The Cinemaholic

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2020

In an open letter to Facebooks leadership posted earlier today, the attorneys general from 20 states called on the company to do more to fight intimidation, discrimination, disinformation, harassment and hate speech on the platform.

Although Facebook has made some progress in counteracting the use of its platform to dehumanize and demean, that is just the beginning of what is necessary, the attorneys general wrote. Private parties, organized groups, and public officials continue to use Facebook to spread misinformation and project messages of hate against different groups of Americans. In many cases, these messages lead to intimidation and harassment of particular individuals online.

Roughly 40% of Americans have experienced online harassment, according to a study by the Anti-Defamation League, and around 70% of those reporting harassment said it came on Facebook or its associated platforms, according to the report.

So the attorneys general asked Facebook to take more steps to protect users and provide redress for those platform participants who are victims of intimidation and harassment.

Their letter joins a chorus of consternation that has arisen to chastise the platform and its chief executive for doing too little, too late to stem the hate speech and misinformation that has come to define the platforms experience for many users.

Over the summer, some of the biggest brands in the U.S. pulled advertising from social media platforms in response to a campaign from civil rights organizations.

That boycott includes huge mainstream brands, including Coca-Cola, Best Buy, Ford and Verizon. Other brands on board include Adidas, Ben & Jerrys, Reebok, REI, Patagonia and Vans.

While some of the companies may have ulterior motives for pulling advertising, pressure has been growing on the company to take more action against the provocateurs on its platform.

In the face of all this criticism, Zuckerberg has been steadfast in his refusal to budge (even as his logic becomes increasingly tortured).

The attorneys general agree with these other assessments. [The] steps you have taken thus far have fallen short, the attorneys wrote. With the vast resources at your disposal, we believe there is much more that you can do to prevent the use of Facebook as a vehicle for misinformation and discrimination, and to prevent your users from being victimized by harassment and intimidation on your platforms.

The leaders of the legal arms of state governments from California to the District of Columbia took the company to task and called on its leadership to follow the steps highlighted in its Civil Rights Audit to strengthen its commitment to civil rights and fighting disinformation.

Facebook also may be beginning to listen to its critics. Earlier this evening the company took down a post from President Donald Trump that included misinformation about the COVID-19 epidemic.

Its a decision that could signal a new direction for Facebook, which has taken incremental steps todistance itselffrom the perception that the company deliberately turns a blind eye to the presidents potentially harmful behavior.

This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation, Facebooks Liz Bourgeois said in a statement provided to TechCrunch.

Facebook also had a response for the attorneys general. In a statement issued to NBC News, Facebook spokesperson Daniel Roberts said that Facebook was working to ensure people feel safe on the internet.

Hate speech is an issue across the internet and we are working to make Facebook as safe as possible by investing billions to keep hate off our platform and fight misinformation, Roberts told the network in a statement.

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Attorneys general from twenty states call on Facebook to do more to fight discrimination, disinformation and harassment - TechCrunch

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2020

An FBI Most Wanted Terrorist poster for Palestinian terrorist Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi, one of the perpetrators of the August 2001 bombing of the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem. Photo: FBI.

The head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Friday urged Jordans King Abdullah to personally intervene in the ongoing battle to extradite to the United States the terrorist responsible for the devastating bombing of a downtown Jerusalem restaurant in 2001.

In a personal letter to the king, the ADLs CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, described the effort to bring Ahlam al-Tamimi the Hamas terrorist behind the August 9, 2001 attack at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem that took the lives of 15 people, including two American citizens, and wounded more than 100 for trial in the US as a matter of humanity and justice.

Noting the upcoming nineteenth anniversary of the attack on Sunday, Greenblatt reminded King Abdullah that the US had issued a March 2017 warrant for the arrest of Tamimi, who openly acknowledges her complicity in arranging this attack and has been enjoying legal immunity in Jordan.

Tamimi was released along with more than 1,000 other convicted Palestinian terrorists in the 2011 deal between Israel and Hamas that secured the freedom of Gilad Shalit, an IDF soldier held captive in the Gaza Strip.

August 9, 2020 7:28 pm

After the prisoner exchange, Tamimi set herself up in the Jordanian capital of Amman as a media personality, hosting her own show on satellite television and frequently celebrating her participation in the Sbarro bombing.

Jordans response to the 2017 US arrest warrant for Tamimi was to block her deportation. The countrys highest court ruled that Jordans parliament had not ratified a 1995 extradition treaty with the US; however, the American government position is that the treaty is valid.

Greenblatt called on King Abdullah to back Tamimis extradition and repudiate her celebrity status in Jordan.

I believe it could help resolve some growing uncertainty if you were to publicly state that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan views Ahlam al-Tamimi as a violent extremist, not as the role model that regrettably many public figures in Jordan have celebrated her as being, the ADL leader wrote.

Greenblatt similarly urged the king to request the speedy ratification of the extradition treaty by Jordans national assembly. He added that it could be even more impactful if you were to publicly urge Jordans government to find a solution so that Tamimi is extradited to the US without further delay, either under Jordans extradition treaty or another appropriate legal framework in case Jordans parliament still declines to follow through.

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ADL Head Urges Jordan's King to Enable Extradition of Fugitive Hamas Terrorist Ahlam al-Tamimi to US 'Without Delay' - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2020

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. In June, Americas mass media propaganda machine endangered the public by spreading insidious disinformation while purporting to debunk disinformation.

The New York Times, NBC News, CNN and the Associated Press converged nine weeks ago to persuade readers and viewers that neither antifa rioters nor Black Lives Matter militants were fanning out from major urban areas into flyover country. Law enforcement bulletins and citizen alerts about the metastasis of violent demonstrations all amount to misinformation, bad information, false information, unfounded rumors and conspiratorial content, the Gray Lady scoffed.

NBC News and CNN exploited a single fake antifa Twitter account to dismiss nationwide concerns of domestic terrorism as viral misinformation.

The AP blasted baseless theories about encroaching violence and castigated conservative news outlets and pro-Trump social media accounts for reporting on them.

In short: Dont worry. Be happy. Blame Righty.

The progressive Anti-Defamation League headed by Jonathan Greenblatt, a Clinton/Obama official and former George Soros-funded operative amplified the fraudulent media campaign. There has been no evidence of antifa or Black Lives Matter organizing or carrying out attacks on suburban or white communities, the ADL declared, and the large-scale protests following the murder of George Floyd were overwhelmingly peaceful.

Fact check: ADL = All Damned Lies. AP = Anarchist Propaganda. CNN = Chaos-Nurturing Network.

Since this agitprop campaign two months ago, armed extremists allied with antifa and BLM have indeed staged escalating incursions into the heartland. Yes, the mob is on the move. Yes, the mob is targeting suburban neighborhoods and white communities. Yes, the mob could turn up at your home at any time.

And no, in the age of American anarchotyranny, you cannot rely on the police, nor elected officials (Democratic or Republican), nor even mainstream Second Amendment organizations in Washington, D.C., like the National Rifle Association to stand with you in your time of need.

Just two weeks after the Denver police purposely stood down and watched my friends and I come under attack by BLM and antifa at a Back the Blue rally, Colorado Springs police sat by and did nothing on Monday night as a residential neighborhood was shut down by cop-hating provocateurs. Toting AR-15s, carrying walkie-talkies and openly defying state laws prohibiting targeted picketing, the mob marched unobstructed into the streets of Pulpit Rock to the private home of a Colorado Springs Police Department officer. He had been cleared by a grand jury a year ago in a police-involved fatal shooting of an armed robbery suspect.

Local news outlets filmed black-clad BLM menaces in camo and combat boots ignoring cops orders to stop blocking motorists. Militants cursed, threatened and waved their weapons at law-abiding citizens, one of whom called 911 for help once the mob let him through. No officer came to assist. Instead, CSPD officials posted on Twitter that they were reminding the mob to not block the streets and were issuing two shelter in place orders advising residents to stay indoors; please lock and stay away from windows and doors.

Protect and serve has been replaced with Tweet and retreat. Run and hide. Kneel and grovel. If its coming to my once-solidly conservative community, its coming to your town, too.

Former City Councilman Sean Paige condemned the fecklessness: We have a law and order Mayor In Colorado Springs, right? So why is John Suthers letting thugs get away with this kind of dangerous/threatening nonsense in residential areas?

Twitter user Sandi K. responded to the CSPD police posts: Announcements? Reminders? How about arrests? Pathetic response by law enforcement. Unbelievable!

Another enraged citizen asked CSPD: (H)ow are the masked protestors who are in full tactical gear and standing down vehicles with their hands on the stocks of their rifles not menacing?

I asked Lt. James Sokolik, CSPD public information officer, why no one was arrested. We monitored the protest extensively, he told me, and made an ultimate decision not to intervene because it took care of itself. That passive language echoes the Denver Police Chief Paul Pazens diffident downplaying of the riot at the Back the Blue rally as having devolved on its own, with no one and no entity actually accountable. But I dont want to give the impression that this was some sort of blase thing, Sokolik warbled.

Oh, no. Who would ever get that impression? After all, the situation was being monitored.

Colorado Springs native and Benghazi Marine hero John Tig Tiegen, who works with the nonprofit Faith Education Commerce United, rejects such abject passivity in the face of extreme aggression. You shouldnt have to hide in your own house and be held against your will for fear of bodily harm or death, he told me. He issued a call to action when he heard of the mob hijacking of Pulpit Rock. A large group of his friends joined him to defend and protect the homeowners from direct assault: We were definitely a force and the neighbors were glad we were there.

Its time to stop living in utopia instead of reality, Tiegen counsels. Amen. Reject the lies. Ignore the smears. Lock, load and lean on each other. Domestic tranquility, like anarchotyranny, doesnt just happen on its own.

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Fact check: Yes, the Mob is coming for you - Minot Daily News

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Posted By admin on August 10, 2020

A little over four weeks ago, my wife and I started calling business leaders, heads of major corporations, and chief marketing officers at brands and organisations we all use in our daily lives.

Our message was clear: The digital landscape is unwell and companies like yours have the chance to reconsider your role in funding and supporting online platforms that have contributed to, stoked, and created the conditions for a crisis of hate, a crisis of health, and a crisis of truth.

We did this at the same time as the launch of a civil rights and racial justice campaign called Stop Hate For Profit, which sought to change online policies around hate speechin this case, policies at Facebookby urging companies that regularly purchase digital ads on the platform to withhold their advertising spending for the month of July. As of the end of last month, the campaign (led by respected organisations such as the Anti-Defamation League, Color of Change, and the NAACP) sent a $7 billion message through withheld ad dollars.

Some may ask why a change campaign would take aim at online advertising. Well, many of us love and enjoy social media. Its a seemingly free resource for connecting, sharing, and organising. But its not actually free; the cost is high. Every time you click, they learn more about you. Our information, private data, and unknown habits are traded on for advertising space and dollars. The price were all paying is much higher than it appears. Whereas normally were the consumer buying a product, in this ever-changing digital world, we are the product.

While companies made their own decisions about what to do in July, we felt it necessary to say our part about the rise of an unchecked and divisive attention economy. Weve always believed that individuals and communities thrive when the frameworks around them are built from compassion, trust, and well-being. Sadly, this belief is at odds with much of what is being experienced by people on social media.

From conversations with experts in this space, we believe we have to remodel the architecture of our online community in a way defined more by compassion than hate; by truth instead of misinformation; by equity and inclusiveness instead of injustice and fearmongering; by free, rather than weaponised, speech. This remodeling must include industry leaders from all areas drawing a line in the sand against unacceptable online practices as well as being active participants in the process of establishing new standards for our online world. Companies that purchase online ads must also recognise that our digital world has an impact on the physical worldon our collective health, on our democracies, on the ways we think and interact with each other, on how we process and trust information. Because, if we are susceptible to the coercive forces in digital spaces, then we have to ask ourselveswhat does this mean for our children? As a father, this is especially concerning to me.

In the 1970s, there was a groundbreaking study on the societal effects of lead exposure and kids. The research found a clear connection between lead accumulation in children and their mental development. Theres no debate over the dangers of lead today, but at the time, the development was met with strong resistance from industry leaders (lead was used widespread in products such as gas, house paint, and water pipes). Eventually, sweeping health and environmental reforms were put in place to change this. We knew something was harmful to the health of our children, so we made the necessary changes to keep them safe, healthy, and well.

Researchers Ive spoken with are studying how social media affects peopleparticularly young peopleand I believe the book of data that we will look back on one day will be incredibly troubling.

When we do the right thing, when we create safe spaces both online and offeveryone wins.

Around the world, for many reasons, we are at turning pointone that has the potential to be transformative. In all areas of life, a rebuilding of compassionate, trustworthy communities needs to be at the heart of where we go. And this approach must extend to the digital community, which billions of us participate in every day. But it shouldnt be punitive. When we do the right thing, when we create safe spaces both online and offeveryone wins. Even the platforms themselves.

Meghan and I heard similar arguments made by humane tech leaders with whom we convened at Stanford University earlier this year, by internet law experts, by neuroscientists, and most importantly by young people who have grown up in a fully connected world.

We have an opportunity to do better and remake the digital world, to look at the past and use it to inform the future. We must take a critical eye to the last two decades, where advancements in technology and media have outgrown many of the antiquated guardrails that once ensured they were being designed and used appropriately. It shouldnt be seen as a coincidence that the rise of social media has been matched by a rise in division amongst us globally. Social medias own algorithms and recommendation tools can drive people down paths toward radicalism and extremism that they might not have taken otherwise.

There are billions of people right nowin the midst of a global pandemic that has taken hundreds of thousands of liveswho rely on algorithmically driven information feeds to make judgments about fact vs. fiction, about truth vs. lies. One could argue that access to accurate information is more important now than any other time in modern history. And yet, the very places that allow disinformation to spread seem to throw their arms up when asked to take responsibility and find solutions.

We all need a better online experience. Weve spoken with leaders across the racial justice movement, experts in humane tech, and advocates of mental health. And the collective opinion is abundantly clear: We do not have the luxury of time.

We need meaningful digital reform, and while the role of policymakers and regulators is important, we cant just wait for them to take the next steps. This is a moment for companies around the worldcompanies with business and advertising models directly tied to digital platformsto consider how they can bring about reform to ensure the betterment of all.

We have an opportunity to do better and remake the digital world, to look at the past and use it to inform the future.

It was reported recently that, for the first time, spending on digital advertising is set to eclipse ad spending in traditional media. Think about what this means. The standards and practices advertisers rely upon when placing their commercials on television, for example, do not apply when it comes to the online spacearguably, the largest broadcaster in the world. And for the first time in history, the ad spend in this relatively lawless space is beginning to overshadow the more traditional spaces. No manufacturer is likely placing their television soap ad next to this type of toxicity, yet due to the nature of the digital world, that advertisement could be sandwiched between inciting propaganda.

So there is huge value in advertisers sitting at the table with advocacy leaders, with policy leaders, with civil society leaders, in search of solutions that strengthen the digital community while protecting its free and open nature.

For companies that purchase online ads, it is one thing to unequivocally disavow hate and racism, white nationalism and anti-Semitism, dangerous misinformation, and a well-established online culture that promotes violence and bigotry. It is another thing for them to use their leverage, including through their advertising dollars, to demand change from the very places that give a safe haven and vehicle of propagation to hate and division. Were hopeful to see this approach amongst industry leaders become reality. For one, the industry group GARMthe Global Alliance for Responsible Mediahas committed to evaluating standards and definitions around online hate speech.

But this is just the beginning. And our hope is that its the beginning of a movement where we, as people, place community and connection, tolerance and empathy, and joy and kindness above all. The internet has enabled us to be joined together. We are now plugged into a vast nervous system that, yes, reflects our good, but too often also magnifies and fuels our bad. We canand mustencourage these platforms to redesign themselves in a more responsible and compassionate way. The world will feel it, and we will all benefit from it.

Prince Harry is the Duke of Sussex.

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Prince Harry: Social media is dividing us. Together, we can redesign it - Fast Company

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