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Nitzavim • September 7, 2018 • 27 Elul 5778 • Torah columns pages 26–27 • Luach page 27 • Vol 17, No 35
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From left: President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jared Kushner speaking at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, and Palestinians riot at the Gaza border with Israel.
By Ben Harris, JTA September 2017 Rabbi Ari Berman becomes the fifth president of Yeshiva University. A graduate of the university and its rabbinical seminary, Berman succeeds Richard Joel, who led the institution through a turbulent economic period. A French Jewish leader and his family are assaulted in their home near Paris amid a spate of violent break-ins targeting Jews. october 2017 The United States announces its intention to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization over anti-Israel bias, reflecting concerns about a need for reform, the State Department says. S.I. Newhouse Jr., who ran dozens of magazines and newspapers, dies at 89 in
New York. The media mogul, whose initials stand for Samuel Irving, ran Condé Nast since 1975, publishing Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Monty Hall, host of the game show “Let’s Make a Deal,” dies at 96 in Los Angeles. Born Monte Halperin in Winnipeg, Canada, Hall hosted thousands of episodes over more than two decades. november 2017 The Houston Astros win their first World Series, with Jewish infielder Alex Bregman hitting two home runs and a walk-off hit in Game 5. Outfielder Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers breaks the record for most homers in a Series by a Jewish player set by Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg in 1934. Bregman is named the All-Star Game MVP for his tie-breaking homer.
North American Jewish federations demand Israel reverse its “divisive” steps on egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall, warning that ignoring non-Orthodox Jews could undermine the Zionist vision. Israeli actress Gal Gadot is named GQ magazine’s 2017 Woman of the Year. Gadot soared to international celebrity as the star of the blockbuster film “Wonder Woman.” Stephen Bannon, former chief strategist for Donald Trump, calls himself a “Christian Zionist” in an appearance at the Zionist Organization of America’s annual dinner. Eight years after the Jewish investment adviser pleaded guilty to one of the largest fraud schemes in U.S. history, the U.S. Department of Justice begins distributing $772.5 million in recovered funds to some victims of Bernie Madoff.
Actress Natalie Portman is named winner of the 2018 Genesis Prize. The award honors individual Jews of outstanding professional achievement and commitment to Jewish values. It comes with a $1 million prize. A Canadian government report shows a decline in the country’s Jewish population, from 329,500 in 2011to 143,665 in 2016. Critics say the falloff is due to a change in the survey’s wording. Far-right marchers in Warsaw shout “Jews out” and other racist slogans at an Independence Day march by 60,000 people, one of the largest nationalist gatherings in Europe. December 2017 President Trump commutes the sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, the former CEO of kosher meatpacker Agriprocessors, See Jewish year on page 18
Trump wants 5779 to be a new year of peace JaSon DoV GreenblaTT Shalom. Salaam. Peace. In Judaism, the word “peace” is found in the common greeting Shalom Aleichem. In the Muslim world, As-Salaam-Alaikum, or
“peace be with you,” is similarly used. The Jewish High Holy Days are upon us and in the machzor, the word shalom appears throughout the liturgy, which emphasizes the importance of peace. As the Jewish community prepares to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Muslim community just completed Eid alAdha (the Festival of the Sacrifice), one of the holiest holidays on the Muslim calendar. These holidays, and the common greetings
shared throughout the world each day, inspire us to keep striving to improve each other’s lives and to never yield in our hope for a time of peace. ver the past 19 months, in pursuit of seemingly distant and elusive peace between Israelis and Palestinians, I have been fortunate to have had many powerful experiences with people in the region. Israelis and Palestinians, young and old, secular and religious, Muslim, Christian and Jewish, are uncertain about the prospects for peace, and
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their skepticism is certainly warranted. Despite well-known challenges, the people of the region and their dedication to the pursuit of peace have inspired me. People frequently approach to ask me to thank President Donald J. Trump for returning the hope of peace to the region and for bringing its pursuit back into everyday conversation. The people understand that this is an extraordinary challenge, full of evolving complexities, but they support this See To a peaceful on page 2 noble goal.