Jewish American Heritage Month observed at the White House

Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA) — In songs and in speeches, an event at the White House marking Jewish American Heritage Month celebrated the presence of Jews in America since colonial times — and fretted about threats to American Jewry today.

“For some reason it’s come roaring back in the last several years,” President Biden told a crowd of Jewish supporters in the White House’s East Room on Tuesday, May 16. “Reports have shown that antisemitic incidents are at a record high in our history — a record high in the United States.”

The emphasis on antisemitism was evident even in the entertainment — which featured a selection of songs from Parade, a Broadway musical about the 1915 lynching of a Jewish man. That theme was a departure from past White House Jewish American Heritage Month events, which focused on Jewish accomplishments and spotlighted legendary Jewish athletes, scientists, artists and performers.

Biden says he was shaped as a child by his father’s fury with the United States for not doing enough to stop the Holocaust. He spoke again of how he was spurred to run for president in 2020 after the deadly Neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia three years earlier — and former President Donald Trump’s equivocation when he was asked to condemn the marchers.

“That’s when I knew… our work was not done,” he said, turning to address a delegation of Jewish Democratic lawmakers who were attending the event, and who have pressed for a more aggressive response to antisemitism. “Hate never goes away.”

This was the first Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House since 2016. Trump’s administration paid less attention to the commemoration, which was enshrined in a law passed with bipartisan support in 2006. Biden’s hopes of staging an event were delayed in the past couple of years by the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden’s emphasis on a broader understanding of antisemitism, beyond the far right, came after a number of Jewish groups met in December with Doug Emhoff, the Jewish Second Gentleman, and asked him and other top officials to consider a more holistic approach to the problem.

Biden, in his remarks, said the strategy “includes over 100 meaningful actions that government agencies are going to take to counter antisemitism.” He did not detail any of those actions, except to say that the strategy would increase understanding of antisemitism and Jewish heritage, provide security for Jewish communities, reverse the normalization of antisemitism and build coalitions.

A backgrounder to the event sent to reporters focused entirely on antisemitism, listing five actions Biden had taken to combat the phenomenon, including signing a bill to combat hate crimes and increasing funding for security at vulnerable institutions.

There were lighter elements to the event, including recognition of the services Jews have provided to the United States over the centuries, and a rendition of Hava Nagila by the Marine Band. Israeli-American chef Michael Solomonov, whom Biden recognized, prepared Moroccan cigars, smoked sable on challah and something called “fairy tale eggplant,” a variety of the nightshade vegetable.

“Our special guest shall ensure that today is both delicious and glatt kosher,” Biden said, to surprised laughter, as Solomonov took a bow.

Still, even the entertainment referred to what Biden called the “stain” of antisemitism threading through American history. Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond performed songs from Parade, which they are starring in. Its subject matter is the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank, a Jew in Georgia falsely accused of murder.

Platt and Diamond had to rush back to New York in time for an 8 pm show, but beforehand, Platt praised the musical’s composer, Jason Robert Brown, who accompanied them on piano. Brown, Platt said, “is really telling you an important Jewish story.” jewishnewsva.org

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Briefs

Adidas says it will sell off Yeezy shoes and donate proceeds to those ‘hurt by Kanye’s statements’

The sportswear giant Adidas has decided to sell off its remaining inventory of sneakers from Kanye West’s Yeezy brand and donate the proceeds to charity.

The decision comes roughly seven months after Adidas cut ties with West in the face of mounting pressure due to his stream of antisemitic comments. Adidas’ sales of the rapper’s sneakers had accounted for 10% of the company’s annual revenue last year, or roughly $2 billion. That decision left Adidas with $1.3 billion of unsold Yeezy inventory in its possession.

During the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Germany, where Adidas is based, CEO Bjørn Gulden pledged that the money would go “to the organizations that are helping us and that were also hurt by Kanye’s statements.”

Gulden did not elaborate on which organizations the proceeds would be directed to, nor if any of them would go to Jewish or anti-hate groups.

Jews were the target of West’s comments last fall. West, who now goes by Ye, promised to “go death con 3 on Jewish people,” professed admiration for Hitler and bragged that he could say antisemitic comments and Adidas would not drop him. In November, the rapper dined with former President Donald Trump and Nick Fuentes, a prominent antisemite, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Following his comments, statements such as “Kanye Was Right” became a rallying cry for antisemites. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 59 antisemitic incidents that took place from October 11 through the end of 2022 directly referenced West.

Shortly after dropping West, Adidas — which was founded by Nazi Party members — announced a $1 million, four-year partnership with the ADL designed to educate athletes about antisemitism and other forms of bigotry.

The ADL praised Adidas’ plans but told JTA that the company hasn’t said if the ADL will receive a donation from the Yeezy sales. The organization added that it was not advising Adidas on where to direct the sale proceeds.

“This is a thoughtful and caring resolution for the unsold merchandise,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. “Ye’s antisemitic remarks and abhorrent behavior have resulted in real-world acts of antisemitic hate. Any attempt to turn the consequences of his actions into something that ultimately benefits

Adidas had agonized for months over how to deal with the Yeezy merchandise, at one point considering simply burning it.

But the company’s Yeezy woes aren’t over yet. Adidas still faces a lawsuit from investors who allege executives knew about West’s “extreme behavior” for years and didn’t end their partnership quickly enough. (JTA)

Former Jewish first lady of Peru flees to Israel after extradition request

Eliane Karp, Peru’s former Jewish first lady, has flown from the United States to Israel to avoid extradition to Peru in a money laundering case.

Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otárola announced the news Wednesday, May 10 in Lima.

“The United States Department of Justice has informed the Peruvian embassy in the U.S. that Mrs. Eliane Karp has taken a flight to Israel using her Israeli passport,” he said.

Peru does not have an extradition treaty with Israel.

Karp was first lady of Peru from 2001 to 2006. Born to Jewish parents in France, she is an anthropologist who met her husband, former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, while the two were students at Stanford University. Before getting her PhD from the California university, Karp got her bachelor’s degree at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

In April, Toledo was extradited from the United States to Lima, where he is now in prison. He is accused of accepting tens of millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for public works contracts. Toledo denies all wrongdoing.

Peruvian authorities also attempted to extradite Karp from the United States for a separate embezzlement case involving Karp, her mother, and her husband.

In 2013, a Peruvian prosecutor discovered that Ecoteva Consulting Group, an offshore company in Costa Rica founded by Toledo, was used to pay the mortgages of expensive real estate for Karp’s mother, Eva Fernenburg. Initially, Toledo claimed the money from this company came from reparations paid by Germany to Fernenburg, a Holocaust survivor. Later he said that the money came from Israeli businessman Yossi Maiman.

Prosecutors believe that money used to create Ecoteva came from bribes and are therefore seeking a sentence of 16 years and 8 months for both Toledo and Karp. On April 20, a California judge ordered the return of Karp’s passport.

While first lady, Karp was known for her ability to speak Quechua, one of the indigenous languages of Peru, and for her tendency to explosively call out those who disagreed with her. In 2004, at an event at the Israeli embassy in Lima, Karp began yelling at an Israeli-Peruvian media tycoon (in Hebrew and Spanish) whose TV channel had criticized her. She later apologized to the Israeli ambassador. (JTA)

US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides is resigning

Tom Nides, the gregarious U.S. ambassador to Israel, is resigning this summer, at a time of unresolved tensions in the U.S.-Israel relationship he strove to uphold.

The report first appeared in Axios on Tuesday, May 9. Axios quoted Secretary of State Antony Blinken as saying that Nides wanted to spend more time with his family.

“Tom has worked with characteristic energy and skill to further strengthen the special bond between the United States and Israel, and to advance U.S. diplomatic, economic, and security interests,” Blinken told the online political news site. “We will all miss having him represent us in Israel, but I know he is looking forward to some well-deserved time with his family.”

Nides, a former executive at Morgan Stanley who was a senior State Department official in the Obama administration and who had deep Democratic Party ties, brought an easygoing sensibility to the role, especially to ties between Israel and the U.S. Jewish community.

Nides’ efforts to advance an impression of a conflict-free relationship were undercut by tensions stoked after the election last year of the most far-right government in Israel’s history, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The ambassador was at the center of one expression of the tensions when he said in March that he expected President Joe Biden to invite Netanyahu to the White House sometime after Passover. Biden, who sees Netanyahu’s planned weakening of Israel’s judiciary as a threat to Israel’s democracy, immediately poured cold water on that prediction.

“No,” Biden said when asked about a potential invitation to Netanyahu, although Israeli prime ministers routinely visit Washington within months of their election. “Not in the near term.”

In addition to concerns about Netanyahu’s commitment to democracy, the Biden administration is also chafing at the makeup of Israel’s coalition, which includes ministers with a record of anti-Palestinian activism, and at proposals to advance settlement in the West Bank.

Nides endeavored to keep his public communications positive. A native of the tiny Jewish community in Duluth, Minnesota, he routinely posted short videos and photos on his feed of his meetings with U.S. Jewish delegations on his Twitter feed.

“No way I could pass up the chance yesterday to hang out with some fellow ‘frozen chosen’ from Minnesota,” read a typical tweet last month. “It was great to connect with the Minneapolis Jewish Federation on their visit to Israel, love you guys!”

He also strove to remain above the political fray, posting friendly encounters with his Trump administration predecessor, David Friedman, on social media. The two ambassadors joined last month to lead the annual March of the Living at Auschwitz, commemorating the Holocaust. (JTA)