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Abby Kutler, President; Eric Dunning, Ex-Officio; Danni Christensen, David Finkelstein, Candice Friedman, Bracha Goldsweig, Margie Gutnik, Natasha Kraft, Chuck Lucoff, Eric Shapiro, Andy Shefsky, Shoshy Susman and Amy Tipp. The mission of the Jewish Federation of Omaha is to build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish Community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world. Agencies of the Federation are: Community Relations Committee, Jewish Community Center, Center for Jewish Life, Jewish Social Services, and the Jewish Press. Guidelines and highlights of the Jewish Press, including front page stories and announcements, can be found online at: wwwjewishomaha.org; click on ‘Jewish Press.’ Editorials express the view of the writer and are not necessarily representative of the views of the Jewish Press Board of Directors, the Jewish Federation of Omaha Board of Directors, or the Omaha Jewish community as a whole. The Jewish Press reserves the right to edit signed letters and articles for space and content. The Jewish Press is not responsible for the Kashrut of any product or establishment.

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Legalizing hate

ANNETTE VAN DE KAMP-WRIGHT

Jewish Press Editor “A top Quebec court mostly upheld a provincial law banning Jews and other religious minorities who work in public from wearing religious symbols such as yarmulkes, crucifixes and hijabs in their places of employ,” David Lazarus recently wrote for the JTA. “Bill 21 was passed by the province’s Coalition Avenir Québec government in June 2019, ostensibly to promote state neutrality, and the law remains popular among Québec citizens. But critics say the real aim of the law is to discourage Muslim women who are state employees from wearing hijabs to work.” I know nothing about Canada, except that my cousin moved up there, gets five feet of snow every winter and once shot a moose. Plus, it’s a big country, so I really can’t say what this one law would mean. However, I have to ask: what would we do, were something like this to happen here in Nebraska? There are many places where anti-Muslim sentiment has led lawmakers to suggest sweeping changes that affect the Jewish population as well. Especially in Europe, where kashrut and circumcision are regularly under attack, it’s hard not to think of Jews as collateral damage. So many Muslim customs have a corresponding Jewish one. As in many of those places, Jews are a small community in Nebraska. I don’t know how we would approach it if these types of laws were suggested here. There is something strange about the ban on head coverings in particular. Covering one’s head, in and of itself, can’t be problematic. People of all cultures have covered their heads for millennia, in most cases it’s a sign of respect. Respect for one’s lims are like the unpopular kids on the playground, religion, for one’s community decency laws, respect they should and will be teased and mocked. And for each other. There is nothing particularly threat- just like those kids, we often take it out on each ening about someone wearing a hat, wig or wrap, other. regardless the reason. That is, unless that head covering signifies membership in a hateful organization, for instance when it holds certain insignia, or when it’s made out of a white bedsheet to match someone’s robe. Some people might argue a hijab or a kippah fall within that category. Even if that line of thinking were justified (it isn’t), the hijab in and of itself is still just a piece of fabric, sitting there, doing nothing. The yarmulka does not believe, or act, or harm others. The outward signs of who we are are just that: signs. Removing them or telling us we can no longer wear them does exactly nothing to change who we are. The proponents of these types of laws know this, just as they know outlawing kosher or halal slaughter will not change our fundamental beliefs. And maybe that’s not the objective. Perhaps the ob- Credit: Carsten Koall/Getty Images jective is not to change us, but to simply make life There is no fundamental difference between more difficult. A reminder that we are not in telling Muslims they can’t wear a hijab and telling charge, that the things we hold dear can be taken merchants they can’t sell Israeli products unless away at any given moment. A sign of things to they jump through impossible hoops. come: today, we take your kippah, tomorrow we’ll I don’t know if the atmosphere in Québec is like take your kosher brisket; who knows what we’ll that. I do know that when I see proposed bills bartake next week. Maybe your synagogues, your ring religious symbols it makes my skin crawl. It is mosques, maybe your freedom. a short route from barring hijabs and kippot to in Anti-semitism and Islamophobia in Europe have troducing other, more dangerous measures. always had an element of bullying. Jews and Mus-

Our Orthodox communities got COVID-19 early. We led a study to turn tragedy into science.

AVI ROSENBERG, JONATHAN SILVERBERG, JASON ZIMMERMAN AND ISRAEL ZYSKIND

JTA In May, as America reeled from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of Orthodox Jews donated blood in a remarkable effort to speed scientific understanding of the deadly new coronavirus. The pandemic had hit the Orthodox Jewish community particularly hard, especially in the early days when much was unknown, and the pain and suffering experienced was enormous. Living in Orthodox communities, we saw this firsthand. We still remember the frantic phone calls in the early days of the pandemic from worried patients with fever and breathing difficulties. We remember the nonstop Hatzolah calls for respiratory distress and the incessant sounds of sirens in the background. We realized that the high rate of early infections left our communities with an invisible power: information in our bodies about this new and mysterious disease. So we set out to make a meaningful contribution to the world of science to study this new virus, working with Jewish organizations and others to create a plan to collect thousands of blood and saliva samples from members of the Orthodox Jewish community to be used for COVIDbased virology research. Blood samples from recovering COVID-19 patients could shed light on vexing questions with sweeping public health implications: Who got sick and who remained asymptomatic? Why did some people quickly fight off the virus off while others struggled for weeks? What differentiated those who lived and the many who died? Working with other doctors from this community, we reached out to the top virology labs in the world and formed a collaboration with 10 in the United States and Canada that would receive serum samples for scientific study. Over 10 days in May, 6,665 people donated blood that was sent to these labs. More than 2,000 of them gave saliva samples as well, enabling a different kind of analysis. And they all quantified their COVID experience on a detailed questionnaire that contained questions about symptomology, severity of illness, oxygen requirement and hospitalization.

A man walks in Midwood, home to a large Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, Sept. 27, 2020.

Credit: Daniel Moritz-Rabson This was moving for us to behold. Hundreds of Jewish community members facilitated these blood drives, including doctors, nurses, phlebotomists, medical assistants and support staff spanning five states. At one point so many vials of blood were collected that Rabbi Yehuda Kasirer of Lakewood Bikur Cholim decided to fly to Rochester, Minnesota, to deliver thousands of blood specimens directly to the Mayo Clinic so these precious samples would remain fresh for analysis.

The Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open has just published the first of many scientific conclusions resulting from this remarkable academic-community partnership. The manuscript describes the “Multi-Institutional study analyzing anti-CoV-2 Antibodies” — or MITZVA cohort. Mitzvah means good deed in Hebrew, and the study represents efforts by American Jews to return the favor of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness given to us over the centuries by our country. Our paper describes how coronavirus spread in parallel through multiple culturally bound communities across the United States because of Purim, which began on March 9, and the noted lack of federal and local health guidance during this early part of the pandemic. The JAMA paper calls for local, statewide and national health agencies to tailor and customize health guidance for each specific ethnic and cultural group within the U.S. One-size-fits-all recommendations may be inadequate, as each ethnic group has different social and religious practices. The pandemic took many turns in American Orthodox communities over the course of the past year. But what is clear is that the Orthodox Jewish population saw an opportunity during the darkest of hours to provide some solace and light to our American family, our national brothers and sisters. Built into our DNA is the strong desire to give, help and contribute to American society, and to attempt to ameliorate the great pain we collectively experienced during this terrible pandemic year. Just as one good deed begets another, so, too, will the MITZVA cohort generate many additional significant research discoveries that are soon to be published. We are very glad to be able to help.

Dr. Avi Z. Rosenberg is a physician-scientist and practicing renal pathologist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Jonathan Silverberg is an associate professor of dermatology at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Dr Jason Zimmerman is an emergency medicine physician in Brooklyn. Dr. Israel Zyskind is a pediatrician in Brooklyn.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

YEHUDA KURTZER

JTA In the partisan changeover that resulted from the 2020 U.S. elections, there were bound to be some tests and challenges for those of us who identify within the broad spectrum of “proIsrael.” The first is now upon us: a proposed bill emerging in the House of Representatives that places a set of limitations on how U.S. aid to Israel is used. The bill, introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., and endorsed by a growing number of progressives, would prohibit American dollars from being used for actions by Israel that involve the detaining of Palestinian children, the appropriation or destruction of Palestinian property, the forcible removal of Palestinians or toward unilateral annexation. The measure would put in place a new level of oversight. There is reason for the pro-Israel world to be concerned about this legislation. The bill’s principal authors and its first sponsors are lawmakers with a track record of outspoken criticism of the State of Israel that at times has trafficked in antiSemitism. Some of us who identify as progressive Zionists would support a good-faith attempt to criticize Israeli policy while genuinely supporting its security. This bill does not strike that balance. Moreover, the bill takes some of the most extreme and egregious moral failures of the occupation – the detention of minors, for instance – and makes them emblematic of Israeli policy rather than exceptional. In this context, some Israel advocates fear that even a bill with limited scope and no chance of passing represents a slippery slope — namely toward conditioning U.S. aid to Israel, as some lawmakers are proposing, or even eventually cutting the aid entirely. Israeli government policy has been shifting rightward, and American political attitudes are changing. The consensus bipartisan support that Israel enjoyed for two generations is eroding. If Congress is willing to question the historically sacrosanct commitment to Israeli military aid based on the question of home demolitions, will this pave the way toward more grievous sanctioning? Meantime, on the other side of the aisle, some progressives view these legislative efforts as the only available lever. Frustrated with Israeli policy, and believing that the status quo entrenches unsustainable injustices, they are grasping at an obvious tool – even if this change in policy challenges a deeply held orthodoxy. Now some of this divide – AIPAC opposes, J Street supports – is just reflective of partisan instincts. Some of it is just good old politics, using legislation that is not likely to pass in order to plant a flag. Besides, the Jewish community likes a good public fight, especially as it relates to Israel. Our controversies are witnesses to our values. But beyond the political theater, two separate issues about the future of support for Israel are being conflated. The first is the importance of this particular legislation and the “red line” it appears to cross, and the second is whether or not we can brook legitimate dissent on Israeli policy within the framework of our community. Unfortunately we give all our attention to the first, even as the second is more important for the future of our relationship with Israel. Effective Jewish support for Israel depends on some notion of Jewish community. Without it, we are vulnerable on both sides of the political spectrum: The narrower your subcommunity, the less effective it will be in the long run at mobilizing wider support for its position, and the more dependent it becomes on building unwieldy coalitions. If the American Jewish community is going to remain broadly supportive of Israel, it must maintain within its big tent a wider range of policy positions than are currently tolerated under the banner of “pro-Israel.” This means, in turn, that the organized Jewish community has to open a wider lane than what now exists for political progressives to stay engaged with Israeli policy and for them to express their values. Many of us who identify as Zionist or pro-Israel believe in the fundamental legitimacy of Palestinian self-determination and advocating for Palestinian human rights as part and parcel of our commitment to the State of Israel. These dual commitments should find their home in our political discourse. To argue that any gesture toward Palestinian human rights and dignity constitutes a prima facie security risk to Israel — as many in the organized Jewish community do — is horrifying, inaccurate and self-defeating to the objective of building as big and broad a coalition as possible that supports the State of Israel. When it shuts out progressive values – including, most importantly, a concern for Palestinian human rights – the proIsrael camp may win the political fights in this generation and lose the entire next generation. More important, we also will be complicit in turning human rights for Palestinians into the inverse of political rights for Jews. Every time you close down one pathway for dissent on a communal orthodoxy, you need to open another. Dissent over Israeli policy is a legitimate expression of Jewish participation and engagement with Israel. Pro-Israel voices sometimes acknowledge this with platitudes, but more often than not dismiss political strategies associated with dissent as disloyalty. This is untenable. Not every issue that puts AIPAC on one side

Credit: Flickr Commons/JTA Montage and J Street on the other demands a knockdown fight. Outspoken criticism of Israeli policy will remain a feature of the Jewish and American political conversation. Much of this criticism is becoming more shrill, and the days of bipartisan support are behind us. We are going to be tested with new “slippery slopes.” But when you are on a slippery slope, sometimes the best thing is not to try to reach the top of the mountain but simply to gain secure footing. I doubt this legislation will pass, and it should not. American military aid to Israel is vital for the long-term security interests of both countries. But not every disagreement calls for internal war. We need to notice how much we lose when we follow the belligerent instinct indiscriminately. All the wins, over time, may bring about a bigger loss.

Yehuda Kurtzer is the President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, editor of the recently-published The New Jewish Canon and host of the Identity/Crisis podcast.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

The Japanese Americans who helped liberate Dachau knew the shared history of anti-Jewish and anti-Asian hate

HANA RUDOLPH he had thought. When the gates swung open, we got our first had turned against his family,” Daniel Lubetzky, founder and JTA good look at the prisoners. Many of them were Jews. They were CEO of Kind Snacks, wrote last year about Ito’s role in saving his April 29 marks the 76th anniversary of the liberation of wearing black and white striped prison suits and round caps. A father, uncle and grandfather. In 2015, Ito recounted his experiDachau, the longest-operating Nazi concentration camp. A few had blanket rags draped over their shoulders. It was cold ence in the liberation of Dachau in an American Jewish Comlesser-known part of that day is that Japanese-American and the snow was two feet deep in some places. There were no mittee program jointly organized with the U.S.-Japan Council. troops played a key role in the liberation of Dachau and its German guards. They had taken off before we reached the camp. “You fought not only the enemy, but you fought prejudice satellite camps. Japanese-American soldiers also rescued The prisoners struggled to their feet after the gates were — and you won,” President Harry Truman told members of thousands of survivors of a Nazi death march nearby, the 442nd after the war. caring for them until medical personnel could arrive. In reality, however, Japanese-American troops and those re These troops were from the 522nd Field Artillery Bat- turning from internment camps continued to face prejudice talion, a detachment of the 442nd Regimental Combat in the form of exclusion laws, housing discrimination and even Team, which consisted of second-generation Japanese violence. Americans. Many of these soldiers enlisted directly from Indiscriminate fear and senseless hatred toward Asian U.S. internment camps, where Japanese Americans were Americans have never fully waned and have spiked in the past shamefully incarcerated. Ironically, the Japanese-Amer- year. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the monitorican troops rescued and cared for Jewish victims of the ing group Stop AAPI Hate has reported approximately 3,800 Nazi death camps, even as their own families were still hate incidents against Asian Americans, including physical detained in U.S. internment camps. assault and verbal harassment. The creation of the 442nd followed Japan’s attack on At this time it is important to acknowledge the shared hisPearl Harbor, when more than 110,000 Japanese Ameri- tory of the Jewish-American and Asian-American communicans, two-thirds of them born in the United States, were Color guards and color bearers of the Japanese-American 442d Com- ties. Our communities have been inextricably linked detained and relocated in the continental U.S. Over the bat Team stand at attention while their citations are read at a cere- throughout U.S. history. For example, following the deadly course of the war, an estimated 18,000 Japanese Ameri- mony in the Bruyeres area of France, where many of their comrades shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, the cans were enlisted and deployed to Europe. fell, Nov. 12, 1944. Credit: U.S. Army Signal Corps United Chinese Americans delivered a letter of support from Despite these circumstances, the Japanese-American sol- opened. They shuffled weakly out of the compound. They were more than 100 Asian-American organizations voicing solidardiers were valorous. The 442nd became the most decorated like skeletons — all skin and bones. ity with the Jewish community. regiment in U.S. military history, earning 21 Medals of Honor, In addition to its role in the liberation of Dachau, the 442nd The month of May is both Jewish American Heritage Month over 9,000 Purple Hearts, eight Presidential Unit Citations and is famous for its heroic rescue of the “Lost Battalion,” a group and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This more – totaling more than 18,000 awards – for its actions dur- of more than 200 American soldiers encircled by Nazi forces. concurrent recognition of both peoples is an opportunity to ing World War II. The 100th Battalion, a component of the The unit’s motto “Go for Broke” — gambler’s slang meaning to celebrate not only the rich history and contributions of these 442nd, had such a high casualty rate that it was nicknamed put it all on the line — reflected the intense patriotism and two communities to the American experience, but also to the “Purple Heart Battalion.” bravery of its soldiers. note the deep history and friendship they share. On April 29, 1945, several scouts from the 522nd came upon Members of the 442nd included Daniel Inouye, who lost an As we commemorate the liberation of Dachau on April 29, some barracks encircled by barbed wire. Technician Fourth arm in combat and went on to serve in Congress, first as 1945, we should also remember the kindness and heroism of Grade Ichiro Imamura described what was likely the Dachau Hawaii’s sole representative and then as U.S. senator from Japanese Americans in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. subcamp of Kaufering IV in his diary: 1963 until his death in 2012, as well as president pro tempore Hana Rudolph is Assistant Director of the American I watched as one of the scouts used his carbine to shoot off of the U.S. Senate (third in the presidential line of succession). Jewish Committee’s Asia Pacific Institute. the chain that held the prison gates shut. He said he just had to Another member of the 442nd was Sus Ito, who later be- The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of open the gates when he saw a couple of the 50 or so prisoners, came a renowned biologist at Harvard Medical School. the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its sprawled on the ground, moving weakly. They weren’t dead, as “He risked his life in defense of freedom and the country that parent company, 70 Faces Media.