Briefs

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS CALL ON CABLE AND SATELLITE TV PROVIDERS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO JEWISH PROGRAMMING

Five members of Congress are calling on cable and satellite television providers to increase access to Jewish-themed programming as a way of fighting against antisemitism.

“As Members of Congress who represent Jewish communities across the country, we have seen the impact of making programming specifically tailored to these communities widely available. Culturally specific programming fosters community and, for those outside of the community, exposure to Jewish programming can be an important and effective antidote to the scourge of hate and bigotry against Jewish people,” wrote the members of Congress, who all are Democrats.

The letter was spearheaded by Rep. Kathleen Rice, whose district on New York’s Long Island includes a number of large Jewish communities. She was joined by four other members of Congress who represent parts of the country with large Jewish communities, including Reps. Ted Deutch of Florida, Grace Meng of New York, and Brad Sherman and Ted Lieu of California.

The letters, addressed to seven cable and satellite providers, ask the companies for information about the obstacles they face in providing Jewish programming and about their plans to increase access to that programming.

According to a press release from Jewish Life Television, a Jewish-themed channel that praised the letters, state legislators in 17 states have made similar requests of cable and satellite providers in their areas in recent months. (JTA)

DATING SITE FOR THE JEWISH GULF COMMUNITIES LAUNCHES

Last month, Bahrain’s Jewish community celebrated the first Jewish wedding in the country in 52 years. The community, along with the Jewish communities in other Gulf countries, is hoping its next project will lead to more weddings.

The Association of Gulf Jewish Communities launched a new dating website for Jewish singles in the Gulf, called Jewish Singles in the Gulf. The site will allow single Jews in the area to fill out a questionnaire, which a group of matchmakers will then use to match up participants.

The aim of the site is to encourage Jews in the Gulf countries to put down roots there. While countries in the area like Bahrain have long been home to Jewish communities, those countries have historically remained small. But with the increased visibility that has come with normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the Jewish communities in those countries are hoping their numbers will increase.

Leaders of the community hope that dating and marrying other Jews from the Gulf will increase the number of children from those communities who choose to stay there as adults.

“By helping these singles find their spouses in the GCC, they are more likely to get married here and establish their families here, which in turn grows Jewish communal life and the need for more Jewish institutions like schools, kosher food, etc,” Ebrahim Dawood Nonoo, president of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities said in a statement.

CELEBRITIES SIGN LETTER DENOUNCING CULTURAL BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL

More than 200 celebrities, including actors Mila Kunis, Billy Porter, Neil Patrick Harris, and Helen Mirren, signed an open letter opposing efforts to boycott an LGBTQ film festival in Tel Aviv.

The letter published last month is a response to calls from activists with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to boycott the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, also called TLVFest, an annual film festival showcasing LGBTQ films that was founded in 2006.

It was organized by Creative Community for Peace, an organization of entertainment industry professionals that works to counter cultural boycotts against Israel.

“In Israel, movies have the unique power to bring together Jews, Arabs, and people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in collaboration under a shared love of the arts, working together towards the common goal of telling their stories, and building bridges of compassion and understanding,” the letter reads.

In May of this year, Aswat, an organization focusing on Palestinian feminist issues, called on activists around the world to boycott “Israel’s pinkwashing events,” including Pride activities and the film festival. “Pinkwashing” is a term used by pro-Palestinian activists, who use it to argue that Israel uses its openness to the LGBTQ community to deflect criticism of what they deem is unfair treatment of Palestinians.

The film festival has been the target of numerous boycott efforts in recent years. Several slated participants boycotted the festival in 2017 after John Trengrove, a South African director whose film was set to open the festival, pulled out in protest. In 2020, more than 100 queer filmmakers pledged not to submit films or participate in the festival in response to a call by BDS activists.

Other signees of the letter include former NSYNC singer Lance Bass, actor Jeremy Piven, KISS frontman Gene Simmons, and actress Emmanuelle Chriqui. (JTA)

BIDEN NAMES ATLANTA JEWISH LEADER AS ENVOY TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

President Joe Biden named a leader of the Atlanta Jewish community to the United Nations Human Rights Council, a body that has been widely criticized as overly hostile to Israel.

The Atlanta Jewish Times reported that Biden’s choice is Michèle Taylor, who is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, a founder of the Or Hadash congregation outside of Atlanta, a past member of the U.S. Holocaust Museum Memorial Council, and someone who has been involved in the Atlanta Jewish community in other capacities.

She has also been involved in senior fundraising positions for the Democratic Party and is currently a member of the board of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

The Trump administration quit the Human Rights Council in 2018 because of its consistent focus on what the body alleged were Israeli human rights abuses, while allowing other countries with controversial human rights records, including China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Saudi Arabia, to be members and help set the agenda. Israel has never been on the council and has refused to cooperate in the Council’s investigations.

Biden and past Democratic administrations acknowledge the council’s bias against Israel, but say the United States is better served as a member of the group working to advance its human rights agenda—and to tamp down anti-Israel rhetoric. Biden rejoined the Council last month.

The White House’s nomination statement noted that Taylor is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and said Taylor “has served in a number of roles advocating for protection of fundamental human and political rights.” (JTA)

FLORIDA HALTS NEW INVESTMENTS IN BEN & JERRY’S PARENT COMPANY Florida state entities will cease new investments in Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, as of Tuesday, October 26, because the ice cream maker plans to stop selling its product in the West Bank.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, in July triggered a 90-day review mandated by Florida law which mandates divestment from companies boycotting Israel. Ben & Jerry’s says it is ending its sales only in the West Bank and is seeking the means to continue sales in Israel, but Florida law does not make the distinction between Israel and the West Bank.

As of today, the 90-day review, during which companies may notify Florida of any plans to reverse course, ends. Unilever, which has disavowed the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, has previously said it has no control over Ben & Jerry’s business decisions, due to an internal agreement between the conglomerate and the ice cream manufacturer’s independent board.

The ruling over new investments does not affect the $39 million Florida already has invested in Unilever, the Florida Politics website reported.

At least eight states have initiated reviews of investments in Unilever in the wake of Ben & Jerry’s West Bank pullout. (JTA)