The Jewish Star

THE JEWISH February 6, 2015 • 17 Shevat 5775

STAR Vol 14, No. 6 • TheJewishStar.com

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5Towners urged: Attend AIPAC confab Rabbi Hershel Billet of the Young Israel of Woodmere is encouraging Five Towners to participate at AIPACâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Policy Conference in Washington on March 1â&#x20AC;&#x201C;3. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the events in the recent weeks â&#x20AC;Ś itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nev-

er been more important for our community to stand with Israel and show President Obama and the U.S. Congress how strong American support is for Israel,â&#x20AC;?

Rabbi Billet said in a e-mail to YIW members.

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Commentary by Rafael Medoff The supposedly unprecedented step taken by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his plan to speak directly before Congress about the Iranian nuclear threat, rather than working exclusively with the White House o, has an interesting precedentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;established in 1975 by none other than Yitzhak Rabin and Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Democratic Party.

That spring, Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger undertook a round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at reaching a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. The negotiations quickly ran into trouble, when Egypt refused to offer anything more than a brief a period of â&#x20AC;&#x153;non-belligerencyâ&#x20AC;? in exchange for an Israeli retreat from strategic mountain passes and oil ďŹ elds in the Sinai desert.

In an attempt to force Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hand, Kissinger arranged for President Gerald Ford to send Rabin a message expressing â&#x20AC;&#x153;profound disappointmentâ&#x20AC;? that Israel had not agreed to Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s terms, and threatening a â&#x20AC;&#x153;reassessmentâ&#x20AC;? of U.S.-Israel relations unless Jerusalem gave in.

Rabin confronted Kissinger directly.

Kissinger responded by storming out of the meeting, claiming that â&#x20AC;&#x153;never, never had he been spoken to in a diplomatic meeting in such insulting terms,â&#x20AC;? according to Matti Golan, chief diplomatic correspondent for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The claim to have been insultedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; featured prominently in recent Obama administration criticism of Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; became one of the themes in Kissingerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arsenal as the crisis gathered steam, according to Prof. Arlene Lazarowitz of California State University-Long Beach, who recently examined Fordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s papers on this topic and wrote about the subject in the scholarly journal American Jewish History. When Rabin and his cabinet declined to give in to Fordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s threat, Kissinger told the president, â&#x20AC;&#x153;To have received a letter from you and not to change one iota is an indignity to the United States.â&#x20AC;?

U.S. arms transfers to Israel were halted, negotiations over future weapons purchases were suspended, and visits to the U.S. by Israeli diplomats were canceled.

Rabin had recently spent ďŹ ve years in Washington as Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambassador. He knew the American political system well enough to understand that those who found themselves at odds with the White House sometimes turned to Congressâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;espe-

cially if the presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opponents enjoyed a majority there.

In 1975, the Democrats held 61 of the Senateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 100 seats. Rabin took his case to them. In just three weeks, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) persuaded 76 senators to sign a letter urging Ford to â&#x20AC;&#x153;stand ďŹ rmly with Israelâ&#x20AC;? and to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;responsive to Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urgent military and economic needs.â&#x20AC;? Taking direct aim at the administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;reassessment,â&#x20AC;? the senators emphasized that â&#x20AC;&#x153;withholding military equipment from Israel would be dangerous, discouraging accommodation

by Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s neighbors and encouraging a resort to force.â&#x20AC;? The letter also asserted that the U.S. should not seek any Israeli withdrawals without â&#x20AC;&#x153;meaningful steps toward peace by its Arab neighbors.â&#x20AC;?

Among the 76 signatories to the letter, 51 were Democrats and 25 were Republicans. It sent a strong message to the White House about the breadth of support for Israel on Capitol Hill. Naturally, Ford and Kissinger were furious. The president complained directly to Rabin that the letter was â&#x20AC;&#x153;very bad.â&#x20AC;? Ford assured Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leaders that â&#x20AC;&#x153;half of [the senators who signed] didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t read it and a quarter didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand the letter.â&#x20AC;?

The senatorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; letters would have strengthened Rabinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position, had he chosen to stand his ground. But Rabin, prime minister for barely nine months, was not well prepared for the crisis and by midsummer, â&#x20AC;&#x153;simply caved in,â&#x20AC;? as Matti Golan of Haaretz put it. Israel accepted the Egyptian demands that it previously resisted.

There are similarities between Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s situation today and what Rabin faced in 1975, most notably the depth of Congressional support for Israel. But there are also differences, the most important of which has to do with the two men themselves. Rabin, who was then a rookie in the prime ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ofďŹ ce; Netanyahu, now serving his third term, was raised in America and has a keen understanding of how American political culture and the media help shape U.S. foreign policy. The current crisis is not likely to end the way Rabinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s did.

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February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 17 Shevat 5775 THE JEWISH STAR

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Brandeis University

“Hating Jews is safe, for now it can be disguised as hating Zionists. Brandeis Professor Donald Hindley can safely say [on the listserv], ‘Zionist olive trees grow wondrously on Palestinian corpses. In that way, we combine great trees with our own holocaustic ethnic cleansing’,” wrote Abraham H. Miller, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati, in the New York Observer.

Lawrence himself was a target of the listserv—as was his predecessor, Jehuda Reinharz—through an email stating, “With Reinharz and his Israelization of (and selfenrichment from) the campus … and now Lawrence (NOT of Arabia) and his al-Quds, AIPAC, and the anti-Islam Somali … what do you expect?”

Lawrence does not reference any of

these controversies in his resignation letter.

Nor does he mention the most recent campus debacle. Following the execution-style murder of two New York City police officers, Brandeis student leader Khadijah Lynch posted on Twitter, “I have no sympathy for the nypd officers who were murdered today,” and “lmao, all i just really dont have sympathy for the cops who were shot. i hate this racist f--king country.”

Daniel Mael reported the tweets in an article for the Truth Revolt website. This led to public and personal attacks against Mael for exposing Lynch. A Change.org petition campaign claimed her First Amendment rights had been violated, charging that “deliberate targeting and misrepresentation of Khadijah’s thoughts as well as the misuse of her personal photos have catalyzed a series of hate speech that puts her life and safety in danger.”

Mael was accused of “cyber bullying,” even though he himself was the target of personal threats.

Professor Alan Dershowitz, the famed civil rights attorney and liberal icon, defended Mael in the court of public opinion. Shortly after, Dershowitz praised Lawrence’s handling of “a difficult job,” calling him “a constitutional scholar” who is “deeply committed to free expression, academic freedom and the open exchange of ideas.” “[Lawrence’s] unwillingness to censor rabidly anti-Zionist speech—speech with which he fundamentally disagrees—has sometimes been misunderstood as placing Brandeis’s imprimatur, or brand, on such expression,” Dershowitz wrote. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Paul Miller is executive director of the Salomon Center for Truth & Accountability.

By Roberta P. Seid, JNS.org While the global anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign has officially hit America’s scholarly associations over the last two years, even considering academic boycotts is a dramatic rupture with the past.

In 2005, the prestigious American Association of University Professors (AAUP) wrote that it “condemned any such boycotts as prima facie violations of academic freedom.” This bedrock principle was so valued that the AAUP opposed academic boycotts of apartheid South Africa. Three-hundred university presidents signed a letter in 2007 declaring that academic boycotts are “utterly antithetical to the fundamental values of the academy, where we will not hold intellectual exchange hostage to the political disagreements of the moment.”

That consensus, however, began to crack in 2013. Anti-Israel animus started becoming academically fashionable with the rise of post-colonial, critical studies theory, and Israel’s self-defense after the eruption of the second Palestinian intifada (uprising) in 2000 stoked these views.

In 2009, an American faculty arm of BDS was formed: the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USCACBI), which shares extremist agenda of the BDS movement—defaming Israel and advocating policies that would lead to the elimination of the Jewish state. USCACBI refurbishes old Arab arguments against Israel’s Continued on page 4

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By Paul Miller, JNS.org Brandeis University President Frederick Lawrence, the leader of a Jewish-sponsored institution that has been at the center of several recent controversies, sent an email on Friday afternoon that announced he would be stepping down at the end of the current school year.

“I am looking forward to returning to full-time scholarship and teaching as a senior research scholar at Yale Law School,” he said.

Lawrence, a highly regarded civil rights scholar, began his tenure in January 2011.

The school has been riddled with controversy since last April, beginning with the withdrawal of an honorary degree for Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a women’s rights advocate and a critic of Islam.

The Somalia-born Ali has spoken publicly about her life as a Muslim girl growing up in east Africa. She had undergone genital mutilation and has been an outspoken critic of the practice. The degree revocation raised concerns about free speech at Brandeis.

Last July, Brandeis student and blogger Daniel Mael exposed an official university faculty listserv with 92 subscribers, including professors from outside of the university, who had expressed their fear and disdain on issues ranging from U.S. foreign and domestic policy, the “American system,” the “Israelists,” “President Obomber,” and “Hillary ‘Obliterate Iran!’ Clinton.”

The university is named for Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Yet the listserv reveals a faculty whose opinions include great disdain for Israel and what some have alleged to be blatant anti-Semitism.

3 THE JEWISH STAR February 6, 2015 • 17 Shevat 5775

After rhubarb, Brandeis prez is out

BDS fashionable in academia, but not invincible

February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 17 Shevat 5775 THE JEWISH STAR

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establishment, but reframes them in contemporary paradigms of social justice. USCABI activists have worked patiently and methodi-cally to mobilize support. They even supply templates for anti-Israel resolutions, which is why so many of the recent divestment resolutions proposed in student governments resemble one another. BDS activists try to make the resolutions seem relevant to academia under the pretext that Israel impedes Palestinian higher education.

The ďŹ rst association to succumb to this pressure was the small Association of Asian-American Studies (AAAS), which voted unanimously for an academic boycott of Israel in April 2013.

That resolution was presented at the tail end of the AAAS conference, when many attendees had already leftâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a tactic frequently used by BDS activists. Only 10 percent of AAAS members voted, but USCACBI trumpeted the victory.

This breach was followed by a more signiďŹ cant one. In October 2013, the AAUPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual journal was devoted to academic boycotts of Israel, with all but one contribution advocating that step. Contributors included prominent USCACBI members and boycott advocates such as Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement. Scholars opposed to boycotts were able to publish rebuttals, but the formerly inviolable principle had been assailed.

This trend escalated in December 2013, when the American Studies Association (ASA) â&#x20AC;&#x201D;an established, moderately sized organization of 4,000 membersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;voted for an academic boycott of Israel. The backlash was immense, as more than 250 university presidents condemned the ASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vote, as did major academic organizations. That same month, the small Native American and Indigenous Studies Association followed with a pro-boycott declaration.

The strong reaction against BDS had a chilling effect. Only one association voted for an academic boycott in 2014: the new and marginal Critical Ethnic Studies Association. But the anti-Israel activists simply adopted more incremental tactics.

The well-established Modern Language Association (MLA) debated a resolution in 2014 condemning Israel for allegedly impeding Palestinian education in the West Bank, but did not call for a boycott. When the general MLA membership voted, the resolution failed.

In November 2014, National Women Studies Association issued a statement of support for BDS and condemnation of Israel, but not a boycott resolution. In December 2014, the Middle East Studies Association, long a bastion of anti-Israel views, tentatively opened the door for academic boycotts with a resolution afďŹ rming the right to advocate for themâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a dramatic break from its 2005 resolution, which stated that it is â&#x20AC;&#x153;thoroughly objectionableâ&#x20AC;Ś to refrain from any and all scholarly interaction with the entire professional staffâ&#x20AC;Ś because of the policies of the state in which they are situated.â&#x20AC;?

Anti-Israel activists in the American Anthropological Association (AAA) also took this slower approach. They didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t introduce a boycott resolution, but organized ďŹ ve panel discussions supporting BDS and only one panel opposing it. One

discussion included BDS leaders as well as the president of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace. A resolution that condemned some of Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policies, but opposed academic boycotts of Israel, was soundly defeated by a vote of 65328 at the AAA business meeting.

In January 2015, knowing a boycott resolution would not pass, BDS advocates at the well-established American Historical Association presented a diluted resolution condemning Israel for impeding Palestinian education, using the same false accusations as the MLA resolution. In the typical manipulative fashion of BDS, they presented the resolution at the last minute and moved for the rules of order to be suspended. The ploy failed in a 144-55 vote.

Even the ASA had to walk back its boycott measure. When it held its convention in 2014 in Los Angeles, the American Center for Law and Justice warned the hotel hosting the ASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gathering could be liable for violating California anti-discrimination laws.

Several conclusions can be drawn from these events. First, BDS is well-organized and well-orchestrated. BDS activists often belong to several different academic organizations, and they push their agenda in each one. They also put on onesided panels featuring major BDS activists who are not scholars in the associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ eld.

Second, these resolutions degrade academia. They do not meet elementary scholarly standards. They are cookie-cutters of one another, repeating the same false claims and suspect sources. It is extremely disappointing to see scholars supposedly trained to weigh evidence and examine context stoop to supporting what amounts to little more than propaganda.

In passing these resolutions, they sacriďŹ ce their scholarly and moral standing. But we have seen it happen before: academics provided justiďŹ cation for the anti-Semitism of the Nazi regime.

Third, BDS does have momentum. Being anti-Israel is fashionable in academia, and many scholars sincerely worry about the Israeli-Palestinian conďŹ&#x201A;ict. Young and even wellestablished scholars need courage to stand against the anti-Israel consensus, and can risk losing promotions, career opportunities, and respectability if they speak against this prevailing zeitgeist.

Fourth, the BDS movement can be halted.

Many academics worry about the politicization of their scholarly associations, which were founded to deal with matters of concern in their ďŹ elds and not to make pronouncements on international affairs. Furthermore, most attendees of annual conventions are simply not interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conďŹ&#x201A;ict.

They attend the conventions to present papers, to keep up in their ďŹ eld, and to network.

The debate on academic associations and Israel is not being held in a vacuum. It is part of a concerted effort by the BDS movement to erode American public support for Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;despite the fact that a majority of Palestinians oppose BDS. Scholars need to mobilize to resist the hijacking of their associations by ideologues, to preserve their intellectual integrity, and to ďŹ ght bigotry. Fortunately, many are beginning to do so. We need more to join the battle.

5 THE JEWISH STAR February 6, 2015 • 17 Shevat 5775

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February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 17 Shevat 5775 THE JEWISH STAR

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â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cover featured a special report by Lonnie Ostrow on the Jewish roots of Beatlemania. â&#x20AC;&#x153;50 years after mop tops landed, Yids whose marketing unleashed a revolution are remembered.â&#x20AC;? tsunami-relief check to Sri Lankaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambassador as Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambassador looked on. The effort countered reports that Sri Lanka had refused aid from Israel. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Woodmere Fire Department installs Lenny Cherson as its ďŹ rst Orthodox chief. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Political exit: Councilman Simcha Felder leaves on top.

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The Timesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bibi, Dermer hit piece JEFF DUNETZ POLITICS TO GO

P

resident Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest â&#x20AC;&#x153;punishmentâ&#x20AC;? of Benjamin Netanyahu for agreeing to speak to a joint session of Congress in March was a hit piece in the progressiveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite media tool, the New York Times. This time instead of targeting the Prime Minister, the administration used the Times to target his closest adviser, Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer.

Taking its-off-the record hints from a White House ofďŹ cial who â&#x20AC;&#x153;would not be namedâ&#x20AC;? [note to Harry Potter fans: it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Voldemort], the Times report takes cheapshots at both Dermer and Netanyahu while placing blame for the Bibi speech blind-siding of Obama squarely at the feet of Dermer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The outrage the episode has incited within President Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inner circle became clear in unusually sharp criticism by a senior administration ofďŹ cial who said that the Israeli ambassador, Ron Dermer, who helped orchestrate the invitation, had repeatedly placed Mr. Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political fortunes above the relationship between Israel and the United States.â&#x20AC;?

Echoing most liberal critics of the Netanyahu Congressional visit, this piece ignores the fact that a nuclear Iran is not a political issue in Israel, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an existential threat. In fact, Netanyahu has been warning about Iranian nukes since he ďŹ rst took over as Likud Party leader in 1992. And considering the fact that Russia just sold long-range missiles to Iran, the Obama Administration would be well advised to see a nuclear Iran as an existential threat to the United States.

In the past, Chief-of Staff Denis McDonough and deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes have accused Dermer of lobbying members of Congress against President Barack Obamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s positions, it is likely one of the two (or someone in their staffs) is the Voldemort-like ofďŹ cial who â&#x20AC;&#x153;would not be named.â&#x20AC;? Many suspect Rhodes was the White House source behind the Bibi is â&#x20AC;&#x153;chickenshitâ&#x20AC;? comment to Jeff Goldberg, and last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bibi â&#x20AC;&#x153;spit in the faceâ&#x20AC;? of the administration comment to Haâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;aretz.

The Times goes on to suggest that Dermerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role with Netanyahu is similar

to what progressives suggested Dick Cheneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role was with Bush #43, that Dermer is known as Bibiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brain.

They pointed out that Dermer is a former GOP operative, which is true. In 1994, just out of college, Dermer took a job with his former professor and GOP pollster, Frank Luntz, and helped design the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Contract with Americaâ&#x20AC;? that Republicans rode to a House majority in that yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s midterms. But understand, the Timesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; only purpose in raising Dermerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former job was to discredit Bibiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trip and the sanctions effort as being partisan â&#x20AC;&#x201D; another falsehood perpetuated by the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grey Ladyâ&#x20AC;? as well as most of the liberal media.

On Thursday, the Senate Banking Committee passed a bill imposing new sanctions on Iran by a vote of 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4. If nothing changes, when the bill is brought to the Senate ďŹ&#x201A;oor in late March it will have the 68 votes it needs for a veto-proof majority, with 16 of those votes from Democratic Senators. The Democratic 16 include the 10 who earlier this week sent a letter to Obama informing him of their support of additional sanctions (Menendez, Schumer, Blumenthal, Peters, Casey, Cardin, Coons, Manchin, Donnelly, Stabenow), the

three not on the letter who supported the bill in Thursdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s committee vote (Tester, Heitkamp Warner), and three who co-sponsored the same bill when it was proposed by the Senate in the previous Congress. ruth be told, ever since Dermer took over as ambassador, Democrats trying to protect their president have blamed him for the problems in U.S./Israeli relations. In December 2013, only two months after he took ofďŹ ce, POLITICO reported: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Among the White Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inner circleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Denis McDonough, Ben Rhodesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Dermer is a red ďŹ&#x201A;ag,â&#x20AC;? says Barak Ravid, Haaretzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s political correspondent, referring respectively to the White House chief of staff and deputy national security adviser. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They see him as the guy who incited Congress and Jewish organizations against Obama.â&#x20AC;?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a reputation that Dermerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defenders say is unfairâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it does not take into account missteps by Obama and his team, and understates Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s determinative role in shaping relations with Washington. But it is a reputation that continues to dog Dermer nonetheless. When I asked about him, a Democratic source on the Hill who is close to Jewish groups blamed Dermer for distributing talking points on Iran, critical of the White House, to Republican members of Congress. Asked for evidence, the source said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Who else?â&#x20AC;?

Dermer critics forget that during the tenure of the previous ambassador, Michael Oren, this Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with Israel was just as bad as it is today.

The Times ďŹ nishes its hit piece by quoting â&#x20AC;&#x153;neutralâ&#x20AC;? experts to slam Dermer. One expert was Daniel C. Kurtzer, who worked on Middle East policy under Secretary of State James Baker in the administration of Bush #41. Baker led what some believe was the most anti-Israel foreign policy in history (until this one). The other expert was J-Street, the faux pro-Israel group formed by George Soros.

Dermer has a tough job. Faced with the most aggressively anti-Israel Administration since Kurtzer worked for Baker, he has had to be just as scrappy in the service of his country to prevent the ineffectual Obama administration from naively negotiating an agreement that will fail at preventing Iranian nuclear weapons.

As for the New York Times, it has fulďŹ lled its usual role as â&#x20AC;&#x153;state-controlledâ&#x20AC;? newspaper of the progressive movement, and the Obama Administrationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite mouthpiece for leaks.

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ALAN JAY GERBER KOSHER BOOKWORM

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abbi Shlomo Lorincz, of blessed memory, was among the most unheralded founders of the State of Israel. Elected nine times to a seat in the Knesset, he saw met and spoke to just about every leading figure of his day. A close confidant of the Chazon Ish, Rav Shach and the Brisker Rav, Lorincz was also at ease with David Ben Gurion, Moshe Dayan, and Golda Meir. It was from him as well as from Yosef Berg and Rav Maimon that the secular leadership learned the religious basis for yishuv Eretz Yisrael.

In a recently published book, “Prophecies and Providence” by Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer (Devora Publishing), we learn the fascinating story that was a motivating factor for President Harry Truman’s speedy recognition of the State of Israel literally within minutes of its establishment.

“Indeed, President Harry S Truman, who hurried to issue an official statement recognizing the provisional Jewish government as de facto authority of the new Jewish state — and thereby angering U.S. delegates to the U.N. and top ranking State Department officials who were not notified of the decision — cited his childhood dream of repeating the benevolence of Cyrus [the Persian Emperor] as the background for his decision.”

Concerning this historical event, Rabbi Pfeffer, in his famed autobiography, “Bimchitzatam” (“In Their Shadows”), notes the following in a footnote: “This was stated in a private conversation with Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz in explaining why the U.S. rushed to recognize the State of Israel notwithstanding State [Department] interests contrary to the decision. Truman added that in the new age of nuclear confrontation, he expected the Jewish People to be a ‘beacon unto the nations,’ just as they had been three thousand years ago.”

Truman’s spiritually-based policy by Truman was indeed very special, and the comparison of Truman to the Persian Emperor Cyrus, the ruler who gave permission for the Jews to return to Israel and build the second Temple, is a very special observation.

To these current events, much can be said.

Sad indeed are the many observations being written in response to President Obama’s handling of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and toward Israel and the Jewish people in particular. Despite partisan gripes, the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Netanyahu to Capitol Hill should be a positive event that will serve to bond our two nations which together face continued murderous challenges worldwide.

In “The Dreamer Goes Down For The Count,” a May 2011 essay in “The American Interest,” distinguished American essayist Walter Russel, reflects on Netanyahu’s last appearance before Congress: “Israel matters in American politics like

almost no other country on earth. Well beyond the American Jewish and the Protestant fundamentalist communities, the people and the story of Israel stir some of the deepest and most mysterious reaches of the American soul. The idea of Jewish and Israeli exceptionalism is profoundly tied to the idea of American exceptionalism. The belief that G-d favors and protects Israel is connected to the idea that G-d favors and protects America.

“It means more. The existence of Israel means that the G-d of the Bible is still watching out for the well-being of the human race.

For many American Christians who are nothing like fundamentalists, the restoration of the Jews to the Holy Land and their creation of a successful, democratic state after 2,000 years of oppression and exile is a clear sign that the religion of the Bible can be trusted.

“Being pro-Israel matters in American mass politics because the public mind believes at a deep level that to be pro-Israel is to be pro-American and pro-faith. Substantial numbers of voters believe that politicians who don’t ‘get’ Israel don’t ‘get’ America and don’t ‘get’ G-d.”

This essay written by Mead almost four years ago reads like current events and should serve as words of chizuk to all of us who yearn for a day when our president’s behavior and attitude should reflect that of a Cyrus and not that of a Caligula. Looking at Jewish history and current events, we must come to realize that we are being tested as to whether we will successfully withstand the blandishments of those who wish us ill. This test will require that we cast aside previous precious political, ideological and religious alignments that have proven to be ineffective or downright harmful to our continued existence.

We live in very dangerous times that require a strong constitution and a determined fortitude so as to enable us to survive our adversaries both within and outside our community.

At the U.N., getting anti-Semitism wrong, again BEN COHEN VIEWPOINT

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ou have to hand it to the United Nations. It’s hard to think of another body that would organize a special meeting on the subject of rising anti-Semitism with anti-Semites not just in attendance, but making speeches as well.

The Jan. 22 meeting on the subject at the U.N. General Assembly, organized in the runup to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, started well enough. The keynote speaker was French philosopher and author Bernard-Henri Levy, who used the occasion to mount a forthright denunciation of what he called “the delirium of anti-Zionism.”

That he did so from the same podium where the infamous “Zionism is racism” resolution in 1975 was first moved was deliciously ironic, though I can’t say for sure whether anyone else in attendance made that connection, and Levy didn’t point it out.

Levy explained that there were three key aspects to the current upsurge of anti-Semitism: the demonization of Israel as an illegitimate state, the denial of the Holocaust, and what he described as “the modern scourge of competitive victimhood,” whereby Jewish efforts to commemorate the Holocaust are scorned as an attempt to belittle the sufferings of other nations.

For good measure, Levy also expertly dispensed with some of the myths that surround the current debate on anti-Semitism, notably the contention that Jew-hatred would go away if only the Palestinians had a state of their own.

“Even if the Palestinians had a state, as is their right—even then, alas, this enigmatic

and old hatred would not dissipate one iota,” Levy declared, as the assembled delegates scratched their heads in puzzlement and, one might add, a degree of nervousness.

But did Levy’s message—essentially, that anti-Zionism, the denial of the right of national self-determination to the Jewish people, is the principal pillar upon which today’s anti-Semitism rests—get through?

Sadly, it didn’t. After Levy left the podium, we were treated to a seemingly endless stream of anodyne statements from the various delegations, with a couple of noble exceptions—Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Ron Prosor, who had the guts to say that anti-Semitism “can even be found in the halls of U.N., disguised as humanitarian concern,” and American Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, who reminded those delegates sitting in the General Assembly that Holocaust denial remains a staple of official media across the Middle East and North Africa.

The lasting impression, however, was left by Arab and Muslim delegates, most of whom pushed the insidious—and deeply stupid—myth that because the Palestinians are “Semites,” they cannot be anti-Semitic. As far as I’m aware, no one countered these remarks by pointing out that first, there is no such nationality or ethnicity as a “Semite,” and second, that the term “anti-Semitism” was devised by anti-Semites to give their loathing of the Jews scientific respectability.

It got worse, though—much worse. Imagine a meeting about segregation in the Deep South, with one speaker paying tribute to Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and another pointing out that these uncivilized descendants of African slaves bore the lion’s share of the blame for the racism heaped upon them, and you’ll have some idea of what the delegate from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)—Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the U.N. Abdallah Al-Moualimi—had to say on the topic of anti-Semitism.

“Occupation itself is an anti-Semitic act, because it threatens humankind and human rights,” he said. “The persecution of the Palestinian people and the denial of their human rights—this is also an example of anti-Semitism.”

In other words, the man from the OIC was saying, why are we talking about hatred directed towards Jews when the real issue is the “anti-Semitic”— his word, definitely not mine—treatment of the Palestinians by Israel? In listening to the denial of the historical nature of anti-Semitism as a form of prejudice targeting Jews, I and everyone else in that room witnessed an act of, well, anti-Semitism.

Nobody walked out or protested (although when I muttered my own disgust, a few people turned around and gave me glaring looks). And this seemed to me to underline Prosor’s point: that not only does antiSemitism stalk the halls of the U.N., but that we expect nothing else.

Why, then, bother trying to engage the U.N. as a partner in the fight against antiSemitism? Why agree to meetings in which the imperative of protecting Jews is compromised by the presence of those determined to insult them? Why put up with obligatory men-

As long as we fail to control the substance of the debate, we will never properly explain what antiSemitism involves.

tions of “Islamophobia”—a term that doesn’t refer to bigotry against Muslims, but seeks to silence those who offer theological critiques of Islam as a faith—in order to balance out all these references to anti-Semitism? herefore, I want to suggest an alternative tack. While it would be churlish to demean the efforts of Jewish advocacy organizations and the Israeli U.N. delegation in helping to pull off the meeting, it’s important to recognize that our side of the debate doesn’t have full control of the proceedings, and never will. As long as we fail to control the substance of the debate, and as long as we are powerless to weed out anti-Semites like the OIC delegate from these deliberations, we will never properly explain to the world what anti-Semitism involves.

Ultimately, it’s not about trading in discredited stereotypes or being nasty to individual Jews—these are just expressions of a more complex underlying phenomenon. In the era of the Jewish state, anti-Semitism has transformed itself into a reactionary movement in the literal sense of that word.

It seeks the restoration of the status quo that prevailed before the Second World War, when there was no Jewish state, and when Jews were by definition a minority at the mercy of others.

That is what we have to oppose. And so, if there is a future meeting about anti-Semitism at the U.N., or at a national parliament, or any similar body, let’s state at the beginning that the movement to destroy Israel—which spans Middle Eastern governments, Middle Eastern terrorist groups, and assorted Western activists brandishing signs in favor of anti-Israel boycotts—is the greatest concern and the greatest threat.

If we can’t say any of those things, then it’s probably not worth holding the meeting to begin with.

Ben Cohen is Shillman Analyst for JNS.org.

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THE JEWISH STAR February 6, 2015 • 17 Shevat 5775

Learning and living from history: Hard lessons

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February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 17 Shevat 5775 THE JEWISH STAR

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At Sinai, Moshe goes â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;el HaElokimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to ďŹ nd G-d RABBI AVI BILLET PARSHA OF THE WEEK

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fter arriving at Mt. Sinai at the beginning of the third month, we are told in 19:3 that in going up the mountain, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moshe went up to the Elokim,â&#x20AC;? which is followed by â&#x20AC;&#x153;and Hashem called to him from the mountain.â&#x20AC;?

It happens every now and then that G-dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name switches back and forth from Elokim to the Tetrgrammaton, but each time requires an explanation.

Targum Yonatan translates the word Elokim here to mean â&#x20AC;&#x153;the top of the mountain.â&#x20AC;?

In other words, Targum Yonatan seems to ignore that two names of G-d are utilized in the verse, preferring to tell us what happened â&#x20AC;&#x201D; where Moshe went, and that G-d called to him after he arrived there.

Midrash Sechel Tov refers to the place Moshe went as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the place where the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence) is apparent on the mountain.â&#x20AC;?

I believe there is much more depth hidden

in the switchover of G-dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name, because the moment which precedes Sinaitic Revelation is so signiďŹ cant, that G-d knew we would try our best to truly understand the events leading up to the grand ďŹ nale.

Alshikh notes that even the phrase which tells us of Mosheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ascent to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Elokimâ&#x20AC;? uses a term that causes our eyebrows to rise.

The Torah could have easily said â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vayaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;al Moshe,â&#x20AC;? which describes the verb of ascending, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and he went up.â&#x20AC;? But the language used is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Uâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Moshe Alahâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which implies an ascent much greater than a mere physical one. Moshe was elevated â&#x20AC;&#x153;el HaElokim.â&#x20AC;?

I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think it means to suggest that Moshe became G-d-like. But Moshe is clearly attaining a different status that any he may have had before. Alshikh describes the purity which Moshe achieves here as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;yitron gadolâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a much higher level than anything he had achieved before that time.

Moshe, as Rav Pinchas Horowitz explained in his â&#x20AC;&#x153;Panim Yafosâ&#x20AC;? commentary,

was elevated through the holiness of Israel.

In 3:6, at the burning bush, he was afraid to look â&#x20AC;&#x153;towards the Elokim.â&#x20AC;?

But now he had no problem â&#x20AC;&#x201C; even going there before he was called. He achieved what the Kabbalists called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yirah Elyonahâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a heightened level of reverence for the Almighty, perhaps because he was getting increasingly closer to the Divine.

Or HaChaim notes another connection to the burning bush, which took place on Har HaElokim (3:1), namely the fulďŹ llment of the promise that â&#x20AC;&#x153;you will serve the Elokim on this mountain.â&#x20AC;? (3:12) And so the Or HaChaim goes out on a limb here (if I am understanding him correctly), suggesting Moshe actually received the Torah the last time he was here.

But he had to leave it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just take it with him. No one would have accepted it.

And now that Moshe has seen the process of what he had been told at the burning bush unfold in the manner that it has, it reinvigorates his spirit. This is, after all, the ultimate

We may not see a burning bush or meet G-d face-toface, but we do have mountains to climb.

sign that G-d gave him â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that when you bring the people out of Egypt you will serve Elokim on this mountain â&#x20AC;&#x201C; coming full circle.

Of course Moshe is excited. Of course he is getting closer to G-d. Of course he goes up early. Of course he is double checking that all is ready and perfect for this moment. Of course his ascent is not merely a physical climbing up a mountain.

What Targum Yonatan calls Moshe going up to â&#x20AC;&#x153;the top of the mountainâ&#x20AC;? as a translation of â&#x20AC;&#x153;el HaElokimâ&#x20AC;? is perhaps a metaphorical suggestion to us as to what we can achieve when we go to the top of the mountain.

It is not likely that anyone of us will see a burning bush or have a face-to-face encounter with G-d.

But we have mountains to climb. And our goal of reaching el HaElokim can be achieved if we can let go of ourselves and allow ourselves to recognize the truth of the Torah and G-dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in giving it to us. In our pursuit of not just a physical ascent, but a spiritual one, we can relive Mosheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Revelations at Sinai â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in a private setting and in a public setting â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as we demonstrate our binding and unquestioning devotion to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;G-d who took us out of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage.â&#x20AC;? (20:2)

Self-control: Fixing ourselves, making world better RABBI BINNY FREEDMAN THE HEART OF JERUSALEM

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t was her eyes that really captured me; there was an intense sadness there mixed with pain, and yet every now and then a ďŹ&#x201A;ash of ďŹ re that seemed to suggest â&#x20AC;Ś deďŹ ance?

As the woman was being interviewed on the television news, the screen was focused in close, showing only her face. She was speaking about her son who had just been killed in a terrorist bus bombing. A tear rolled down her cheek as she described the dreams and aspirations her son, Yosef, would never realize.

The camera panned around what must have been his room, and I noticed a soccer ball in the corner. The cameraman must have noticed it too, because he immediately panned in on the mud-speckled ball, conveying the tragedy of lost dreams, and reďŹ&#x201A;ecting the price of war.

Then the camera panned back to the mother, a close up of her face, just the eyes, brimming with tears as she broke down and sobbed.

There is nothing more powerful than the love of a mother for her child, nor as painful as the tragedy of that love torn apart by the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s untimely death, especially by violence.

Indeed, it is for this reason that we learn the sounds of the shofar blast from the sobs and cries of the mother of Sisera, one of the Jewish peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arch-enemies, whose mother, waiting for his return from battle, begins to cry upon realizing that he isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t coming home. Just as the love of a mother can never be broken, Hashem loves us no matter what we do.

And then this mother began repeating again and again, â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I only I could have taken

his place â&#x20AC;Ś I would be proud to have taken his place and I am proud of him for all that he has done.â&#x20AC;? It was at this point that I realized, as the camera ďŹ nally panned out showing the woman, and not just her eyes, that I was listening to the mother of a suicide bomber, who not only was proud of her son for the death and destruction he had rained upon so many innocent families the day before, but actually desired to do the same thing. utting aside many of the questions this news piece raises regarding the role of the media, the nature of the news it reports, and the responsibility it has towards the general public, one cannot help but wonder how much of the decision of this young suicide bomber was inďŹ&#x201A;uenced by this same motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pride in his path, and even by her desire to emulate it.

Should this woman (and anyone like her) be held accountable, not just for evil actions but for evil desires as well? Can we be held responsible for our desires, and not just our actions?

This is precisely the question one has to struggle with when confronting the tenth commandment in this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portion, Yitro â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Loâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tachmod beit reiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;echa,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; loâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tachmod eishet reiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;echa,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; veâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;avdo,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; vaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;amatoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; veâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;shoro,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; vaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;chamaro,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; veâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;chol asher leâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;reiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;echaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;? (â&#x20AC;&#x153;You shall not covet your friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s [fellowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s?[ house; you shall not covet your friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, and anything that belongs to your friend.â&#x20AC;? (Shemot 20:14) What is the nature of this mitzvah?

The Ibn Ezra, along with many other commentaries, poses an obvious question: How can we be expected not only to limit what we do, but also to control what we think? What is the problem with wanting something that we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have?

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The Torah is telling us that there are certain things we should not want at all.

In truth, there are many things we expect ourselves not to want, whether as parents, as Doctors, or even as a society. It is not enough sometimes for a person not to do the wrong thing, it is equally important for them not to want those things at all.

Rav Avigdor Nevensahlm in his Sichot Le Sefer Shemot, suggests that the Torah wants us to not desire anything that belongs to someone else. Desiring your friendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s laptop, or wife, should be like wanting to eat your sports coat.

How does one accomplish this?

Instead of approaching this from the perspective of the desires we struggle with, we might consider the initial relationships we have prior to coveting something.

The problem begins not with the covetous thought, but with the unhealthy relationship that allows for the process to even get started.

Pirkei Avot (4:1) teaches: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Who is truly wealthy? He who is happy with his lot.â&#x20AC;?

The fact that a person desires anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home or anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife must mean there is something missing with his own life and relationship. And that is what the Torah wants us to work on.

Indeed, there is even something wrong with the fact that a person only woke up to the challenges in his own relationship by seeing and desiring someone else. The true challenge of all relationships is the constant work and effort that goes into nurturing such relationships and seeing them grow, day-byday, and year-by-year.

And if this is true of our relationships with each other, it is certainly true of our relationship with Hashem.

The essence of our time on earth is all about the desire to simply fulďŹ ll the ratzon of G-d.

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he essence of our time here on earth is all about the desire to simply fulďŹ ll the ratzon (desire) of G-d. Ultimately, this is the great question we have the opportunity to ask ourselves every day: What is it, really, that G-d wants of me? And can I fulďŹ ll a little bit more of what that ratzon of G-dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really is.

This means focusing on the gifts and opportunities G-d gives me, and not what He has bestowed on the fellow next to me.

And that is the true challenge of Loâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Tachmod: The opportunity not to covet.

It is a mitzvah less about the things we want than about who we really are. Sometimes the things we want are just symptoms, reďŹ&#x201A;ections of the relationships we have in our lives. And perhaps it is less about getting there than about embracing the process. It begins with what I decide I want to want, and then it proceeds to a deep introspection into how I develop the relationships that allow me to truly want those things.

As to how we get there, it is worth noting that we are given these mitzvoth at Sinai where, in the midst of thunder and lightning and the still, small voice of G-d, we achieved an exalted state, deeply connected to G-d and our purpose on earth. And it may well be that in that briefest of moments we actually truly desired only to fulďŹ ll the will of G-d.

Every now and then we are blessed to experience such moments; perhaps it is the moment of standing with your beloved underneath the chuppah, or maybe it is when you intuit the pain of a friend and are ďŹ lled with a desire only to be there for him.

We need to catch those moments and tap into them andlearn from them, because they are the fuel which powers our lives.

We really do have the ability to change the nature of what we want in this world, and that is a crucial piece in our ability to make the world the better place we all dream it could be.

Maybe weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get a little bit closer this Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem.

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THE JEWISH STAR February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 17 Shevat 5775

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10 February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 17 Shevat 5775 THE JEWISH STAR

Israel honors Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;klyn beep; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prez-on-prez in Bronx The State of Israel solidiďŹ ed its relations with two New York borough leaders in January, saluting Brooklynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s borough president and participating in a presidential visit with the president of the Bronx.

In celebration of Black History month and to commemorate the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the State of Israel, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, and the Jewish National Fund, honored Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams with the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Award.

Consul General of Israel in New York Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Nassau Coli- 2Q WKH FRXUW DW %DUFOD\V &HQWHU OHIW WR ULJKW 1DVVDX seum developer Bruce Ratner, CEO of the &ROLVHXP GHYHORSHU %UXFH 5DWQHU %URRNO\Q %RURXJK Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center Brett 3UHVLGHQW (ULF $GDPV ,VUDHO &RQVXO *HQHUDO ,GR $KD Yormark, Executive Vice President of JNF URQL 5XVVHOO 5RELQVRQ RI -1) DQG &(2 RI WKH %URRNO\Q Russell Robinson, and Managing Direc- 1HWV DQG %DUFOD\V &HQWHU %UHWW <RUPDN Tal Atzmon tor of JCRC-NY Hindy Poupko, presented Adams with the award at at center court During a visit in the Bronx with Borough in the Barclays Center before a Brooklyn Nets President Ruben on Jan. 28, Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Presihome game against the Los Angeles Clippers. dent Reuven Rivlin stressed ties between the â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thank Ambassador Aharoni, along with borough and his home country. my friends at the JCRB-NY and JNF, for this Rivlinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visit â&#x20AC;&#x201D; reportedly the ďŹ rst time recognition that underscores my bond with an Israeli president has come to the Bronx â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Israel and with the Jewish people of Brook- followed a ďŹ ve-day trip to Israel by Diaz and lyn and beyond,â&#x20AC;? Adams said.

11 Latino business and civic leaders.

Israel has embraced the legacy of Dr. Rivlin said that he wanted to visit the King, for it mirrors the values of hope and Bronx since Latinos, the boroughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest peace to which we can all relate, organizers ethnic group, â&#x20AC;&#x153;are going to become the maof the Barclays ceremony said in a statement, jority, not as Latinos, bus as Americans.â&#x20AC;? adding that Dr. King was a great friend to â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a connection, this is a relationIsrael and the Jewish people and was active ship, that we are forging now for many, many in the battle against anti-Semitism. generations to come,â&#x20AC;? Diaz said.

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hat a difference a few days make! Last week, I was sitting on a beach in St. Kitts, the days before that in Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico.

Before you start groaning at me, listen: I go on one vacation a year; I stay home for Pesach and have lots of company while many of you are relaxing all around the globe.

While this was a 12-day cruise, it was a great deal; we were upgraded to a balcony for the cost of an inside cabin and tips were included.

As luck would have it, the morning we scheduled to leave, there was freezing rain and super slick roads. The car service that picked us up sent a regular car (obviously, they misunderstood when I said we had 4 adults, 5 suitcases and 3 carry-ons). The driver called a friend with a van who arrived 30 minutes later. With an hour and 45 minutes to get to the pier in New York City, we thought we were safe. But alas we traveling five miles an hour, when we were moving. Panic set in. At 2 pm doors would close and we’d miss the cruise; when they say last arrival is two hours before embarkation, they mean it.

With six minutes to spare we rushed inside and made it through customs and checkin within ten minutes. Our cabins were ready, but our luggage had not been delivered yet.

What shall we do? (That’s a trick question — remember, we’re on a cruise; the answer is, eat!) All of the ice cream choices — both

did, being able to daven, sing in a minyan, and feel connected. He said it reminded him of his dad and how he had the special quality to get along with everyone, include them and make them feel special.

I looked at him and said, “You don’t realize, do you? That quality was handed down from your dad, to you.” +HUH·V P\ YHUVLRQ RI D GHOLFLRXV FUXLVH OLNH GDLU\ GHVVHUW 1 cup butter.

3 cups white sugar.

6 eggs, room temperature.

3 cups cake flour.

1 cup heavy cream, room temperature.

2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees Grease an 8 x 10-inch pan.

Cream butter, then add sugar and continue beating the mixture till it’s noticeably lighter in color. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg is added.

Add flour alternately with heavy cream, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in vanilla.

Spread batter into pan.

Bake in preheated 360 degree oven until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 50–60 min Allow to cool in pan.

Ingredients for topping: 16 ounces of non-dairy whipped topping or 16 ounces heavy cream.

(I use non-dairy if I’m going to serve later in the day or the next day; the non-dairy tipping holds up better.)

Assembly: You will need ribbon of your choice and lady fingers.

When cake is totally cool, mark and cut out 3 inch circles.

Top each circle with whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate shavings or topping of your choice.

Place lady fingers around the finished product and tie with a ribbon.

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hard and soft — had kosher supervision. Not sure if that was good or bad.

By the time Friday night came around, a room was secured and more than ten men assembled for minyan. They elected Jerry to daven from the ahmed, which he never, ever, would normally do. But he did and he was hit.

As they started, other men and women wandered in when they heard the kabalat Shabbat. They were men who hadn’t davened since their childhood and were nostalgic; one Russian in particular, who spoke almost no English, came in and with tears in his eyes exclaimed, “Yiddishe davening!” He remembered part of Licha Didi and sang along.

Jerry led the davening part in Hebrew, part in English, so everyone was included. There was singing and smiling and so much happiness. People who had been off the derech for so long, if only for a night were back on. The rest of the trip, people would stop Jerry and thank him for the opportunity. One woman asked if he was the cruise rabbi.

It reminded me of a story Jerry told me about when at the Saxony hotel in the mid ’70s. way before inviting 20 of your kids’ friends to dinner came into vogue, his parents told him to invite as many friends as he’d liked for Friday night dinner. They were a lively crowd that included Mitch Merlis, a”h, Benji Krupka and Abie Hercman. As soon as the zmirot started people at other tables took notice. Before long many gathered at Jerry’s table, older men in wheelchairs and young kids alike. When the waiters said they had to shut down the dining room, the crowd protested and they stayed for another hour.

After Shabbat services, before bed, Jerry, again, said how happy he was that he was able to make those people feel the way they

THE JEWISH STAR February 6, 2015 • 17 Shevat 5775

All aboard! Yiddishe davening & creamy dessert

11

Jewish Star Schools

Off the Wall at Shalhevet Shalhevet As snow blanketed the ground, the warmth of Shalhevet still emanated through the doors at Off the Wall on Wednesday evening, Jan. 28.

Midreshet Shalhevet treated its eighth grade applicants to a night of frozen yogurt and a chance to meet and mingle with other applicants from over 10 different elementary schools in Queens, West Hempstead, Brooklyn and the Five Towns.

Meira Nussbaum, an 11th grader at Shalhevet, shared that she cannot wait until the applicants join the Shalhevet family.

HALB kids love their books HALB Early Childhood Co-Directors Felecie Akerman and Lisa Zakutinsky are so excited with the progress the HALB Lev Chana Early Childhood Center Kindergarten children have made with their decoding and comprehension skills.

To celebrate, an additional component was added to their reading program: independent readers (Just Right Books). These are books, usually a level or two below the kindergarten child’s small group guided reading level, that the children will be able to read without too much difficulty.

The children are encouraged to read to their parents nightly, and parents become active partners with the morot as they support and assist their

child with reading strategies they have been learning in school.

As their child reads, the parents are encouraged to help them connect the story to something with which they are already familiar, make and confirm predictions to understand the text, ask and answer questions, retell the story, and sequence the events.

The Just Right Books go home in special plastic book bags and are returned when the child finishes reading the books and is ready for others.

HALB’s kindergarten children are taking a monumental leap towards literary independence and “parents will shep nachas as they listen to them and share in their reading accomplishment.” the morot said.

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THE JEWISH STAR February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;¢ 17 Shevat 5775

13

February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 17 Shevat 5775 THE JEWISH STAR

14

Honors for Palestinian killer of senatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s niece STEPHEN M. FLATOW

D

id you know that the United States Senate has been underwriting a series of events publicly glorifying a Palestinian terrorist who murdered an American citizenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in fact, a senatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s niece? Well, it is, and this outrage must come to an end.

The terroristâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name is Dalal Mughrabi.

On March 9, 1978, she headed a squad of 13 Palestinian terrorists who set out from Lebanon towards Israel, in several small boats.

They were members of Fatah, the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). At the time, Yasser Arafat was chairman of the PLO and Fatah, and Mahmoud Abbas was his second in command. Today, Abbas is chairman of the PLO and Fatah, and president of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The terrorists landed on a northern Israeli beach, where Gail Rubin, an American Jewish nature photographer, was taking photos of rare birds. Her work had been exhibited at the Jewish Museum in New York City and other prominent venues. She also happened to be the niece of then Senator Abraham Ribicoff (D-Connecticut).

One of the terrorists, Hussain Fayadh, later explained to the Lebanese Television station Al-Manar what happened: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sister Dalal al-Mughrabi had a conversation with the American journalist. Before killing her, Dalal asked: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How did you enter Palestine?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; [Rubin] answered: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;They gave me a visa.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Dalal said: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Did you get your visa from me, or from Israel?

I have the right to this land. Why didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you come to me?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Then Dalal opened ďŹ re on her.â&#x20AC;?

Mughrabi, Fayadh, and the others walked to the nearby Coastal Road and hijacked an Israeli bus. They murdered 36 passengers, 12

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of them children. Mughrabi was killed by Israeli troops. Fayadh survived, was sentenced to life in jail, but was then released in a prisoner exchange.

On May 29, 2013, the Jerusalem Post revealed that Fayadh had been hired as an adviser to Abbas, which means that some portion of his salary comes from the $500 million that the U.S. governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with the Senateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approvalâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;sends to Abbasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PA each year.

Those U.S. funds are also used in part to ďŹ nance the PAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ongoing public gloriďŹ cation of Mughrabi. The PA has sports tournaments and summer camps named after her. In 2011, the PA established a Dalal Mughrabi Square in the center of its capital city, Ramallah. OfďŹ cial PA television frequently broadcasts programs depicting Mughrabi as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;heroâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;martyr.â&#x20AC;?

Earlier this month, Abbasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fatah organized a public celebration of Mughrabiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s birthday.

The event was broadcast on Fatahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Al-Awdah TV, which is headed by Fatah spokesman Ahmad Asaf. Students participating in the celebration were interviewed for the program.

One said this of the killer of Senator Ribicoffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s niece, â&#x20AC;&#x153;She is our role model, an example for

every Palestinian young woman. Dalal did everything we dream of doing.â&#x20AC;? A second student declared, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dalal Mughrabi is inspiring. She inspires us and gives us the strength to complete the journey after her.â&#x20AC;?

The Al-Awdah reporter cheerily added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Martyr Dalal Mughrabi raised the Palestinian ďŹ&#x201A;ag from the heart of occupied Palestine.

On her birthday we renew the promise to her and its fulďŹ llment.â&#x20AC;? Another student then described the work of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sisters of Dalal Committee,â&#x20AC;? a branch of the Fatah student movement. She was followed by the director of a PA government agency, the Palestinian Poets and Writers Association, who poetically hailed Gail Rubinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s murderer as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Purple Gazelle, the Flower of the Land.â&#x20AC;? (Translation courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch.)

Here are three steps that the Senate should take in response to this outrageous insult to the memory of one of its members: 1. No U.S. Senator should step foot in Ramallah until the PA changes the name of Mughrabi Park.

2. An amount equivalent to Hussein Fayadhâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s salary and Al-Awdah TVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual budget should be deducted from the next install-

ment of U.S. aid to the PA. Perhaps the money would be better spent if it were turned over to the families of Mughrabiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s victims.

3. The Senate should ask the U.S. Treasury Department to add the ofďŹ cers of Al-Awdah TV and the Sisters of Dalal Committee to the ofďŹ cial U.S. list of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Specially Designated Global Terrorists.â&#x20AC;? The list consists of â&#x20AC;&#x153;persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism.â&#x20AC;? Surely someone who publicly gloriďŹ es a terrorist qualiďŹ es as a supporter of terrorism. The designation would prevent those individuals from entering the U.S. and would freeze any assets they have in this country.

These are, of course, just a few initial steps. Much more can be done. But if nothing is doneâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;if the Senate continues to tolerate this outrageâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it will send a message to terrorists everywhere that they not only can get away with celebrating the murder of a senatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s niece, but can even get Senateauthorized funding at the same time.

New Jersey attorney Stephen Flatow is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in a Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. Bus photo

by MathKnight via Wikimedia Commons.

Hezbollah attack part of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iranian projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Syria

By Alex Traiman, JNS.org Who was behind the Jan. 28 attack on northern Israel that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded seven others? The easy answer would be the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah, which claimed responsibility for the attack. But the wider view suggests Hezbollahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s state sponsor: Iran.

Dr. Ely Karmon, a senior research scholar at Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Institute for CounterTerrorism, said that Hezbollahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions represent â&#x20AC;&#x153;an attempt to change the strategic rules of the game.â&#x20AC;? According to Karmon, Iran and Hezbollah have been working for months to take advantage of instability in Syria in order to create a forward military position against Israel in Syriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Quneitra region, close to the triple Syria-Lebanon-Israel border. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is actually an Iranian project,â&#x20AC;? Karmon told JNS.org. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They have around 1,500 people on the ground in Syria, most of whom are counseling or training Syrian militias, and they have Hezbollah providing military support.â&#x20AC;?

On Jan. 28, Hezbollah ďŹ red ďŹ ve Kornet guided anti-tank missiles at a Israeli military convoy approximately 2.5 miles inside Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s border with Lebanon. A day earlier, less sophisticated mortars were ďŹ red from southern Syria into Israeli territory, with no damage reported.

In response to the Jan. 28 attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that â&#x20AC;&#x153;whoever is behind todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attack will pay the full price.â&#x20AC;? Netanyahuâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;like Karmonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;stressed that the attack points back to Iran, adding that â&#x20AC;&#x153;with the assistance of He-

zbollah, Iran has been for some time trying to open another front against Israel on the Golan Heights. We are acting with force and determination against these attempts.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Because of the weakness of the Syrian regime, the Iranians are now permitted to have a foothold directly on Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s border, which until now they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have,â&#x20AC;? Karmon told JNS.org.

Israel is widely believed to be responsible for a Jan. 18 airstrike against that foothold in southern Syria, which killed six Hezbollah operatives and six Iranians, including notorious Hezbollah commander Jihad Mughniyeh and Iranian general Mohammad Ali Allahdadi.

Karmon believes the airstrike â&#x20AC;&#x153;was a message sent by Israelâ&#x20AC;? to forewarn Iran and Hezbollah not to continue their military efforts in Syrian territory.

The retaliatory attacks by Hezbollah following the deadly airstrike were widely expected.

That the more sophisticated Kornet anti-tank missiles were ďŹ red from Lebanon and not Syria provides a strong indication that the Syrian position is not as well-stocked with weaponry as southern Lebanonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a zone that was supposed remain completely demilitarized under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 which arranged for the cessation of hostilities following the Second Lebanon War of 2006. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Resolution 1701 calls for complete disarmament in Southern Lebanon, and yet Hezbollah, instead of disarming, they have amassed some 80,000-90,000 missiles,â&#x20AC;? Karmon said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now they want to achieve the same equation in southern Syria. If Israel does not

ed targets. Hezbollah is widely believed to be responsible for the July 2012 bombing at Burgas Airport in Bulgaria, which targeted a bus carrying 42 Israelis who had just arrived on a ďŹ&#x201A;ight from Tel Aviv. The bus driver and ďŹ ve Israelis were killed, and 32 Israelis were injured.

In October 2014, a suspected Hezbollah operative was arrested in Lima, Peru. Karmon noted that according to media reports, Peruvian law enforcement likely received intelligence from Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mossad, indicating that Hezbollah sought to target Israelis and Jews in Peruâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including the Israeli Embassy in Limaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and other Jewish community institutions.

Yet even with the threats to the Israeli home front and Israeli-related targets abroad, ,VUDHOL DUWLOOHU\ SUHSDUHV WR VWULNH EDFN LQWR VRXWKHUQ Karmon contends that Hezbollah is likely not /HEDQRQ IROORZLQJ D +H]EROODK DQWL WDQN ÂżUH DWWDFN LQ WKH QRUWKHUQ 0RXQW 'RY UHJLRQ WKDW NLOOHG WZR ,V trying to bait Israel into an all-out war. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iran and Hezbollah know that if Israel UDHOL VROGLHUV DQG ZRXQGHG VHYHQ RWKHUV IDF entered to into a major military attack on stop them, and there are two to three years the Syrian border, [Syrian President] Bashar with relative quiet, with only occasional pen- Assad will fall. Clearly, they need Assad to etrations of our border and sometimes mor- stay in power,â&#x20AC;? Karmon said. tar ďŹ re and so on, a kind of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;war of attrition,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;In Lebanon, Hezbollah knows that if Isthen all of a sudden we will ďŹ nd ourselves rael launches a full-scale operation, all the staring at 5,000-10,000 missiles,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Christians and Sunnis, and even most of the According to Karmon, Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enemies Shiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;a Muslims will ďŹ ght against [Hezbollah], were making progress in their strategic ad- so they have to play brinksmanshipâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;on the vances in Syria. He suggested that the Israeli one hand to advance their plan to take conairstrike was an â&#x20AC;&#x153;attack against the Iranian trol of this territory, and on the other hand and Hezbollah command delegation to this hoping that Israel will not dare to stop them,â&#x20AC;? area, which was preparing the implementa- he added. tion of this project.â&#x20AC;?

Whether or not there is an all-out war â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a high probability Hezbollah will between Israel and Hezbollah â&#x20AC;&#x153;depends very try an operation abroad,â&#x20AC;? Karmon said. much on the decision of the Israeli governOver the past three to four years, Hezbollah ment, not just today, but in the near future,â&#x20AC;? has made several attempts to attack Israel-relat- explained Karmon.

THE JEWISH STAR February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;¢ 17 Shevat 5775

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LEGAL NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE OF COUNTY TREASURER’S SALE OF TAX LIENS ON REAL ESTATE Notice is hereby given that I shall on the 17th day of February, 2015 through the 20th day of February, 2015, beginning at 10:00 o’clock in the morning each day, in the Legislative Chambers, First Floor, Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building, 1550 Franklin Avenue, Mineola, New York, sell at public auction the tax liens on certain real estate, unless the owner, mortgagee, occupant of or any other party in interest in such real estate shall have paid to the County Treasurer by February 13th, 2015 the total amount of such unpaid taxes or assessments with the interest, penalties and other expenses and charges against the property. Such tax liens will be sold at the lowest rate of interest, not exceeding 10 percent per six month period, for which any person or persons shall offer to take the total amount of such unpaid taxes as defined in Section 5-37.0 of the Nassau County Administrative Code.

As required by Section 5-44.0 of the Nassau County Administrative Code, the County Treasurer shall charge a registration fee of $100.00 per day to each person who shall seek to bid at the public auction as defined above.

A list of all real estate in Nassau County on which tax liens are to be sold is available at the website of the Nassau County Treasurer at http://www.nassaucountyny. gov/DocumentCenter/ View/10577

A list of local properties upon which tax liens are to be sold will be advertised in this publication on or before February 12th, 2015.

Nassau County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to or access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs, or activities. Upon request, accommodations such as those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to participate in all services, programs, activities and public hearings and events conducted by the Treasurer’s Office.

Upon request, information can be made available in Braille, large print, audio-tape or other alternative formats. For additional information, please call (516) 571-2090 Ext. 13715.

Dated: January 2015 THE NASSAU COUNTY TREASURER Mineola, New York TERMS OF SALE Such tax liens shall be sold subject to any and all superior tax liens of sovereignties and other municipalities and to all claims of record which the County may have thereon and subject to the provisions of the Federal and State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Acts.

However, such tax liens shall have priority over the County’s Differential Interest Lien, representing the excess, if any, of the interest and penalty borne at the maximum rate over the interest and penalty borne at the rate at which the lien is purchased.

The Purchaser acknowledges that the tax lien(s) sold pursu-

ant to these Terms of Sale may be subject to pending bankruptcy proceedings and/or may become subject to such proceedings which may be commenced during the period in which a tax lien is held by a successful bidder or the assignee of same, which may modify a Purchaser’s rights with respect to the lien(s) and the property securing same.

Such bankruptcy proceedings shall not affect the validity of the tax lien. In addition to being subject to pending bankruptcy proceedings and/ or the Federal and State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Acts, said purchaser’s right of foreclosure may be affected by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act(FIRREA),12 U.S.C. ss 1811 et.seq., with regard to real property under Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation(FDIC) receivership.

The County Treasurer reserves the right, without further notice and at any time, to withdraw from sale any of the parcels of land or premises herein listed. The Nassau County Treasurer reserves the right to intervene in any bankruptcy case/litigation where the property affected by the tax liens sold by the Treasurer is part of the bankruptcy estate. However, it is the sole responsibility of all tax lien purchasers to protect their legal interests in any bankruptcy case affecting their purchased tax lien, including but not limited to the filing of a proof of claim on their behalf, covering their investment in said tax lien. The Nassau County Treasurer and Nassau County and its agencies, assumes no responsibility for

any legal representation of any tax lien purchaser in any legal proceeding including but not limited to a bankruptcy case where the purchased tax lien is at risk.

The rate of interest and penalty at which any person purchases the tax lien shall be established by his bid. Each purchaser, immediately after the sale thereof, shall pay to the County Treasurer ten per cent of the amount for which the tax liens have been sold and the remaining ninety per cent within thirty days after such sale. If the purchaser at the tax sale shall fail to pay the remaining ninety per cent within ten days after he has been notified by the County Treasurer that the certificates of sale are ready for delivery, then all amounts deposited with the County Treasurer including but not limited to the ten per cent theretofore paid by him shall, without further notice or demand, be irrevocably forfeited by the purchaser and shall be retained by the County Treasurer as liquidated damages and the agreement to purchase shall be of no further effect.

Time is of the essence in this sale. This sale is held pursuant to the Nassau County Administrative Code and interested parties are referred to such Code for additional information as to terms of the sale, rights of purchasers, maximum rates of interest and other legal incidents of the sale.

Dated: January 2015 THE NASSAU COUNTY TREASURER Mineola, New York 751383

By Alina Dain Sharon, JNS.org Five-hundred years after thousands of Jews were burned at the stake or forcefully converted, and many others expelled due to the Inquisition, the Portuguese Cabinet has decided to grant citizenship to the descendants of those Jews as reparation for that persecution. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no possibility to amend what was done,â&#x20AC;? said Portuguese Justice Minister Paula Teixeira da Cruz, the Associated Press reported. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I would say it is the attribution of a right.â&#x20AC;?

On Thursday, Portugal approved a law that mirrors a similar measure passed in Spain last year. The law will allow people who can demonstrate â&#x20AC;&#x153;a traditional connectionâ&#x20AC;? to Portuguese Sephardic Jewsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;for example, ones with â&#x20AC;&#x153;family names, family language, and direct or collateral ancestryâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;to receive Portuguese citizenship.

Sephardic Jews can apply for the citizenship directly from where they currently reside, and will be vetted by Portuguese Jewish institutions and government agencies.

Despite the gesture of this lawâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passage, there remains cause for concern for Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jewish community. In a time of rising anti-Semitism across Europe, 21 percent of adult Portuguese citizens surveyed as part of last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;ADL Global 100: An Index of AntiSemitismâ&#x20AC;? survey answered â&#x20AC;&#x153;probably trueâ&#x20AC;? to six or more of 11 negative stereotypes about Jews, including questions about Jewish power, dual loyalty, money, and behavior.

Fifty-six percent of Portuguese respondents said they believe that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the countries they live in,â&#x20AC;? and 45 percent agreed that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jews have too much power in the business world.â&#x20AC;?

Actual incidents of anti-Semitic harassment or violence, however, do not appear to be very common in Portugal when compared to the current situation in other European countries.

A notable statistic from the Pew Research Center reveals that in 2010, there were only 65,000 Muslims living in Portugal, representing 0.6 percent of the total population, as compared to 4.7 million Muslims living in France and 2.9 million living in the U.K. Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Muslim population is also expected to remain steady by 2030, whereas in the U.K. that population is projected to nearly double.

In France and the U.K.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;judging by incidents such as the recent terror attack on a kosher supermarket in Parisâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;anti-Semitism tends to be attributed to Islamic extremism, but the same cannot necessarily be assumed for Portugal, where anti-Semitic views might be rooted more in ancient Christian anti-Semitic attitudes.

A February 2014 editorial by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on the similar Jewish citizenship law in Spain argued that such laws are remnants of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;classic antiSemitic perception that the Jews are strong and control the world, certainly the global economy, and so we should try to get some of them back to save Spain and Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collapsing economies.â&#x20AC;?

That argument can be traced to the history leading up to the Inquisition in Portugal. In the early 1400s, Portuguese monarchs were motivated to protect their Jewish subjects by the desire to maintain that source of tax revenue and labor. The monarchs also took in about 80,000 Jews

Shaping Jewish Identity Jerusalem Post Puzzle by Harvey Estes â&#x20AC;˘ EASY â&#x20AC;˘ Edited by David Benkof

The Bet Eliahu synagogue in Belmonte, Portugal.

Bricking via Wikimedia Commons

expelled from Spain in 1492, charging them a tax in exchange for shelter.

But later, Portugal changed its tune and gave Jews the option to either convert to Christianity or leave the country. Many Jews who tried to ďŹ&#x201A;ee the country were then apprehended and forcibly converted to Catholicism. In 1506, more than 2,000 Jews were massacred during Easter by their Christian neighbors. By 1536, the Inquisition was ďŹ rmly established in Portugal, leading to the torturing and killing of tens of thousands of Jews.

The Inquisition is now centuries old, and blame for that atrocity does not lie on the shoulders of modern-day Portugal. But it is worth noting that the decision to grant Jews citizenship was made in the aftermath of the Eurozone crisis. Portugal, in fact, was one of the European Union (EU) countries that required an economic bailout in the wake of that crisis.

Statistics from the International Monitory Fund show that at current prices, Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gross domestic product this year is estimated as $22,687.493 per capita, far lower than the ďŹ gures for countries such as Germany and France. Meanwhile, Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unemployment rate, expressed as a percent of the total labor force in Portugal, is estimated to be about 15 percent this year, higher than the rates in Germany and France.

Given these statistics, was Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Jewish citizenship law enacted out of economic concerns driven by money-related stereotypes about Jews? In fairness to the Portuguese government, the new law is not its ďŹ rst effort to atone for the past persecution of Jews. In 1988, former Portuguese president Mario Soares formally apologized for the Inquisition to members of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jewish community, and in 2000, the leader of Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Catholic church also apologized for the persecution of Jews.

It remains to be seen how many Jews, or descendants of Jews who were forcibly converted to Catholicism, will apply for either Portuguese or Spanish citizenship. In the wake of the law passed in Spain last year, the country has estimated that anywhere between 90,000 and 500,000 Jews could apply for Spanish citizenship over the next ďŹ ve years, Euro News reported.

In addition to a desire to formally acknowledge their Sephardic heritage, the idea of gaining an EU passport and the right that such a passport would grant for employment in different EU countries will appeal to at least some Jews who are not currently EU citizens.

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THE JEWISH STAR February 6, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ 17 Shevat 5775

How Portugalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new citizenship law will impact world Jewry

17

Prosecutor weighed call for presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arrest

By Peter Prengaman, AP BUENOS AIRES â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Investigators examining the death of a prosecutor who accused Argentine President Cristina Fernandez of agreeing to shield the alleged masterminds of a 1994 terror bombing said Tuesday they have found a draft document he wrote requesting her arrest.

Chief investigator Viviana Fein said the draft detention request was found in a trash bin of the apartment where Alberto Nismanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body was discovered on Jan. 18. It was not included in a complaint the prosecutor had ďŹ led in federal court days earlier. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To formally go after a sitting president like this, especially somebody like Cristina, is a huge deal,â&#x20AC;? said James Cooper, professor at California Western School of Law and an expert on legal reform in Latin America. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It makes you wonder if Fein is getting pressure not to press the case further?â&#x20AC;?

Nisman was found dead of a gunshot wound in his bathroom hours before he was to appear in Congress to detail his allegations that Fernandez agreed to protect those responsible for the 1994 bombing of Buenos Airesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; largest Jewish community center. The attack, which killed 85 people, remains unsolved. Fernandez has dismissed the allegations against her.

Fein at ďŹ rst denied the existence of the document requesting the presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arrest after Argentinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Clarin newspaper published an article about it on Sunday. Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich ripped up the article in front of reporters on Monday and said it was a lie produced by the â&#x20AC;&#x153;opposition media.â&#x20AC;?

But Clarin then published a copy of the draft, which was dated from June 2014. It said Nisman also had considered requesting arrest orders against Fernandezâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foreign minister, Hector Timerman, and other ofďŹ cials in the government.

Fernandezâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government and Clarin often clash, and the Nisman case has reignited the dispute. For years, Fernandez has been trying

Still no justice in Argentina

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to break up Grupo Clarin, one of the leading media conglomerates in Latin America, while her government works to build up a large media presence of its own.

On Tuesday, Fein clariďŹ ed her earlier statement, acknowledging the existence of the draft document and saying she made an error of â&#x20AC;&#x153;terminology and interpretation,â&#x20AC;? and there had been a miscommunication with her ofďŹ ce. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The words I should have used are: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I know that there was a draftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? of a document, she said. But she said its existence â&#x20AC;&#x153;is not important enough to change the course of the investigation.â&#x20AC;?

The ďŹ nal complaint Nisman submitted to judicial authorities called for Fernandez and Timerman to face questions in court instead.

Why Nisman may have changed tack is unclear, but it brings the focus back to Fernandez, who has tried to distance herself from the case, in part by suggesting rogue elements in intelligence services â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which

report to her â&#x20AC;&#x201D; were behind Nismanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death.

She is currently in China seeking investments, and before she left she submitted a proposal to Congress to reform the Secretary of Intelligence. A Senate committee took up the bill on Tuesday.

Conspiracy theories have swirled around Nismanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death since his body was found.

Authorities initially said he likely committed suicide, but his supporters insisted the prosecutor would not have killed himself and even Fernandez has said that, contrary to initial ďŹ ndings, his death could not have been a suicide.

Nisman had spent almost a decade building up a case that Iran was behind the 1994 attack on the Jewish center. Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government has repeatedly denied the allegation.

He alleged that Fernandez agreed to cover up Iran involvement in the bombing in exchange for trade beneďŹ ts, especially in oil.

Fernandez has argued Argentina had nothing to gain from such a deal.

Cover-up prober buried in Argentina

By Paul Byrne, AP BUENOS AIRES â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Family and friends paid ďŹ nal respects Thursday to the Argentine prosecutor who was found dead after alleging that President Cristina Fernandez agreed to protect those responsible for a 1994 bombing, the worst terrorist attack in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history.

Mourners and observers lined Buenos Aires streets to watch the funeral motorcade that carried the body of Alberto Nisman to a Jewish cemetery on the edge of the city.

Some chanted â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nisman is present!â&#x20AC;? while

David?

Goliath?

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others cried or sang the national anthem. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is burying part of our republic,â&#x20AC;? said Patricia Bullrich, an opposition member of Congress, before entering the cemetery. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a day of reďŹ&#x201A;ection and sadness for all of Argentina.â&#x20AC;?

Nisman, 51, was found shot dead in his bathroom on Jan. 18, hours before he was to appear before Congress to discuss his allegations that Fernandez helped protect former Iranian ofďŹ cials who allegedly masterminded the bombing of Argentinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest Jewish community center. The car-bomb attack

KUWAIT pop. 2.6M

ISRAEL pop. 7.9M LEBANON pop. 4.1M WEST BANK (Judea & Samaria)

pop. 2.1M TUNISIA pop. 10.7M

LIBYA pop. 5.6M

BAHRAIN pop. 1.2M

SYRIA pop. 22.5M

GAZA STRIP pop. 1.7M

IRAQ pop. 31.1M

MOROCCO pop. 32.3M ALGERIA pop: 37.4M

killed 85 people and injured more than 200.

A farewell letter written by Nismanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughters, Lara and Kala, to their father was published Thursday in Argentine papers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hope now you can rest in peace. We will guard in our hearts the beautiful moments we lived together,â&#x20AC;? they wrote.

In a separate funeral notice, Nismanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exwife, Sandra Arroyo Salgado, said she felt â&#x20AC;&#x153;profound sorrowâ&#x20AC;? for their daughters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I say goodbye to you, hoping you ďŹ nd the peace that your dedication to your job did not let you fully enjoy,â&#x20AC;? it said.

IRAN pop. 78.9M

EGYPT pop. 83.7M SAUDI ARABIA pop. 26.5M OMAN pop. 3.1M

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no lack of media coverage on Israel, the Middle Eastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sole democracy with civil rights and a free press. What is lacking is objective coverage. This tiny Jewish nation, the size of New Jersey, with less than eight million people, a quarter of them non-Jewish, generally receives inaccurate, harsh, even hostile coverage from the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s press.

The Jewish News Service (JNS.org) was created to correct that. Our weekly reporting, including exclusive distribution rights for Israel Hayom, Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most popular daily, now appears in 31 Jewish weeklies. We invite you to join us in getting the truth out about Israel. To receive our FREE weekly newsletter go to jns.org/ subscribe-to-our-newsletter today!

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JORDAN pop. 6.5M

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QATAR pop. 1.9M

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YEMEN pop. 24.8M

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES pop. 5.3M

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THE JEWISH STAR February 6, 2015 • 17 Shevat 5775

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