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Jewish Journal

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April 15, 2019

Swastikas Found in San Francisco Park

Leave a Comment / California, Online /

Thirteen swastikas were found in Buena Vista Park in San Francisco on the morning of April 15.

Max Szabo, a spokesman for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, who had members of his family die during the Holocaust, discovered the swastikas while he was walking his dog with his wife.

Szabo told the San Francisco Chronicle that it was “chilling” to see the swastikas.

“It’s truly the ultimate symbol of evil,” Szabo told KTVU. “So, for somebody to destroy a park – a public park – with that symbol just has no place here.”

Park officials later painted over the swastikas:

Madison Sink, a spokesperson for San Francisco’s Parks and Recreation department, told NBC Bay Area, “Our parks are places of peace and respite, and vile symbols of anti-Semitism and hate have no place there – or anywhere in civilized society.”

Police are currently investigating the matter.

Swastikas Found in San Francisco Park Read More »

Jewish Groups Criticize Ocasio-Cortez for Suggesting That U.S. Aid to Israel Could Be Cut

Leave a Comment / Online, United States /

The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) and the American Jewish Congress are among those criticizing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) for suggesting that United States aid to Israel could be cut.

Ocasio-Cortez criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “Trump-like figure” and an example of the rise of “authoritarianism across the world” on “Yahoo! News’ “Skullduggery” podcast on April 15. When Ocasio-Cortez was asked if the United States should cut aid to Israel, she replied, “I think it’s on the table. I think it is certainly on the table. And I think it’s something that can be discussed.”

The freshman congresswoman added that she hopes “to play a facilitating role in this conversation and a supportive role in this conversation.”

JDCA said in a statement, “We are pleased Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recognizes she is NOT a leader on Israel in Congress. We recommend she engage with Dem leaders Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey, & Congressman Ted Deutch before contemplating the future of US military aid to Israel. US-Israel ties must supersede politics.”

Similarly, Jack Rosen, president of the American Jewish Congress, said in a statement, “The American Jewish Congress strongly opposes any cut to the U.S. security or financial assistance to Israel, as implied by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in an interview with Yahoo News “Skullduggery” podcast today.”

“American financial and security assistance to Israel is first and foremost a way to protect U.S. lives and interests in the Middle East,” Rosen later added. “Israel serves as a stabilizer in a turbulent region and is on the front-lines of countering some of the U.S.’s most dangerous enemies such as Iran and its malign proxies Hezbollah and Hamas.”

Ocasio-Cortez has previously accused Israel of conducting a “massacre” on the border of the Gaza Strip and has lamented the “occupation of Palestine.”

Jewish Groups Criticize Ocasio-Cortez for Suggesting That U.S. Aid to Israel Could Be Cut Read More »

Pittsburgh Newspaper Wins Pulitzer for Coverage of Synagogue Massacre

Leave a Comment / Online /

(JTA) — The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in breaking news reporting for its coverage of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre last October.

Eleven people were shot and killed by a gunman during the rampage, which came as congregants at the synagogue complex in Pittsburgh were gathering for Shabbat morning services. The prize, the most prestigious in journalism, was awarded to the daily’s entire reporting staff on Monday.

The prize committee cited the Post-Gazette for “immersive, compassionate coverage of the massacre at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue that captured the anguish and resilience of a community thrust into grief.”

Among the 10 stories cited was an investigative profile of the gunman and how he went “from conservative to white nationalist.”

The coverage also included a front-page headline containing the first four words of the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer in Hebrew letters.

David Shribner, the Post-Gazette’s executive editor, explained the excerpt “from a 10th century prayer might be the appropriate gesture — of respect, of condolence — for a 21st century audience mourning its dead, whether family, friend, congregant, neighbor or, simply, Pittsburgher.”

The Sun Sentinel of South Florida won the Pulitzer for public service, for its coverage of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Multiple Jewish students and staff were among the 17 killed in the shooting.

Pittsburgh Newspaper Wins Pulitzer for Coverage of Synagogue Massacre Read More »

US Holocaust Museum Gives Award to Syrian Volunteer Aid Group

Leave a Comment / Online, Worldwide /

(JTA) — The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is giving its highest honor to the Syria Civil Defence, a volunteer group that operates in rebel-controlled areas in Syria and Turkey.

The group, also known as the White Helmets, was founded in 2014 during the Syrian Civil War and provides aid and rescue to those affected by bombings in the country. Western countries view it as a humanitarian organization, but Russia, which supports Bashar al-Assad’s government, has described the group as a “threat.”

The group’s rescue efforts have demonstrated that Syria and its Russia-backed forces have targeted schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities. Both Moscow and Damascus have dismissed this, often feebly, as propaganda.

The Washington, D.C., museum, which is the country’s official Holocaust memorial,  announced on Monday that it was giving the 2019 Elie Wiesel Award to two recipients: the Syria Civil Defence and Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, a couple known for their investigation into Nazi war criminals.

“At enormous risk to themselves and their families and in the face of horrific attacks by the Syrian government, the Syria Civil Defence have courageously saved lives and delivered critical services to a desperate population,” the announcement said about the White Helmets.

The recipients will receive the awards at the museum’s National Tribute Dinner on April 29 in Washington, D.C.

US Holocaust Museum Gives Award to Syrian Volunteer Aid Group Read More »

U.S. Counterterrorism Coordinator Leading Delegation to Israel

Leave a Comment / Online, United States /

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The U.S. Coordinator for Counterrorism will lead a delegation to Jerusalem.

Nathan Sales will arrive in Israel on Tuesday for the annual meeting of the U.S.-Israel Joint Counterterrorism Group, the State Department announced on Monday.

It is the State Department’s longest-running strategic counterterrorism dialogue, the statement said.

“The United States and Israel will discuss the shared terrorist threats facing our two countries, including from Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, and develop strategies for bolstering collaboration and cooperation in these critical areas,” the statement said.

Meanwhile U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton met on Monday with the head of Israel’s National Security Council, Meir Ben-Shabbat, to discuss their “shared commitment to countering Iranian malign activity & other destabilizing actors in the Middle East and around the world,” Bolton said in a tweet on Sunday.

Bolton visited Israel in January, after President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, to reassure Israel of U.S. support for Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria.

U.S. Counterterrorism Coordinator Leading Delegation to Israel Read More »

Personal Effects of Yoni Netanyanu Turned Over to Family

Leave a Comment / Israel, Online /

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu and his brother Ido received personal items belonging to their brother Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed during the Entebbe, Uganda operation to free Israeli hostages in 1976.

Israel’s prime minister and his surviving brother, a physician, received the clothing and military gear at from Yosef Shemesh, who served with “Yoni” Netanyahu in the 71st Battalion of the Armored Corps in the Golan Heights, at a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Residence Monday.

Among the items that Shemesh has had since the early 1970s were Yoni Netanyahu’s Passover Haggadah, books that he had given to Shemesh, his coveralls, a t-shirt, gloves, a sleeping bag and a compass.

“We recognize some of these items. We recognize Yoni’s books. Here is the Haggadah, ahead of Passover, that he used at the seder he held for his soldiers. This is a very moving memento from the past. I am very grateful, thank you,” the prime minister said in a statement.

“It is very moving after so many years to see these things, especially the Haggadah that Yoni wrote about in his letters. He wrote about the special seder he held while in the battalion in a very special and very moving letter,” Ido Netanyahu said.

Of the 248 passengers on the hijacked Tel Aviv-Paris flight, 106 were kept hostage; of those, 102 were rescued. Yonatan Netanyahu was the only Israeli commando to die in the raid.

Personal Effects of Yoni Netanyanu Turned Over to Family Read More »

Tel Aviv University Scientists Create First 3D Heart Made From Human Tissue

Leave a Comment / Online /

Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers announced April 15 that a team of scientists were able to create the world’s first 3D printed heart by using a patient’s own cells and biological material.

According to the research paper published in Advanced Science, since it came from the patient’s own cells, it reduces the chance the transplant would fail.

“This is the first time anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart replete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers,” professor Tal Dvir of TAU’s School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology told the Jerusalem Post. Dvir was the lead researcher for the study.

He worked alongside professor Assaf Shapira of TAU’s Faculty of Life Sciences, and doctoral student Nadav Moor.

“This heart is made from human cells and patient-specific biological materials. In our process, these materials serve as the bio-inks, substances made of sugars and proteins that can be used for 3D printing of complex tissue models,” Dvir explained.

The team said that currently, the 3D heart produced at TAU is for a rabbit, but creating a human heart could be produced using the same technology.

According to Dvir, the use of “native” patient-specific materials is crucial to successfully engineering tissues and organs.

Tel Aviv University Scientists Create First 3D Heart Made From Human Tissue Read More »

NYC Councilmember Wants Yiddish Taught in a Public School

Leave a Comment / Online, United States /

(JTA) — A New York City Council member has proposed opening a dual-language Yiddish-English program in a city public school.

Councilman Mark Levine, who represents parts of upper Manhattan and is the chair of the City Council’s Jewish Caucus, is working to open the program in a kindergarten classroom in the fall of 2020, The Forward reported.

The secular Yiddish-language program would be the only program of its kind in the United States.

“I’ve been inspired by young activists who are looking to keep this language alive, and keep its literature and theater and culture alive by passing it on to the next generation,” Levine told the Forward.

As a public school program it would be devoid of religious content. Although Yiddish as a spoken language is growing among New York’s haredi Orthodox community, it is unlikely that Yiddish-speaking Hasidic families would send their children to such a school.

Children in the immersion program would spend half a day studying in English and half a day in Yiddish and would take classes with other children in the public school housing the program. The school would add a grade each year and would need a minimum of 20 children per grade, according to the report.

There are dual language programs in New York City public schools in more than 20 languages, including Urdu, Polish, Albanian, Russian, and Spanish.

NYC Councilmember Wants Yiddish Taught in a Public School Read More »

Sterling K. Brown is Joining ‘Mrs. Maisel’

Leave a Comment / Entertainment /

Hold onto your emotions “Maisel” fans because in Season 3 it looks like we are getting a Pearson-Masiel crossover.

Emmy award winner Sterling K. Brown known for playing the lovable, determined and hardworking Randall Pearson on the NBC hit show “This Is Us” announced this morning on Twitter that he is joining the cast of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” for its third season.

“I’m beyond excited to share some pretty marvelous news…” Brown teased on Twitter.

Brown and Rachel Brosnahan have shared in previous interviews during the Screen Actors Guild Awards and PaleyFest Los Angeles that they wanted to act together, so showrunners Amy Sherman Palladino and Dan Palladino made it happen.

“I’m going to do a little TV show, maybe you’ve heard of it: ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,’” Brown said during the video. “The Palladinos were kind enough to write a little something for your boy, and I said yes. So, stay tuned. I’m getting together with Midge and it’s going to be awesome.”

The award-winning cast has started production on Season 3, but in the meantime, you can stream the first two season on Amazon Prime Video.

Sterling K. Brown is Joining ‘Mrs. Maisel’ Read More »

Body of Executed Israeli Spy Eli Cohen Might Come Home From Syria

Leave a Comment / Online, Worldwide /

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel has neither confirmed nor denied reports that the remains of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, executed in Damascus in 1965, have been removed from Syria by a delegation from Russia.

The rumors, which began Sunday night, come less than two weeks after Russia helped with the return of the remains of Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel. Baumel went missing in Lebanon 37 years ago; his remains were discovered in a refugee camp outside Damascus, and removed from Syria with the assistance of Russian troops.

Last year, Israel’s Mossad intelligence service retrieved the wristwatch Cohen wore in Egypt and returned it to his family.

Posing as a Syrian nationalist and philanthropist who had returned to his country after years of exile in Argentina, Cohen befriended the top brass of Syria’s army, traveling with them across the country, including in classified locales.

Levi Eshkol, the late Israeli prime minister, credited the information provided by Cohen with saving countless Israeli lives and “having a great deal to do” with Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War. Among other information he supplied was that Syrian military installations were found, at his suggestion, in the shade of eucalyptus trees, allowing for a great improvement in target acquisition in Syria.

On Jan. 24, 1965, Syrian secret police arrested Cohen. He was tortured, quickly tried and publicly hanged several months later.

Cohen’s widow, Nadia, has appealed on many occasions to the Syrian government for the release of the spy’s remains. In 2008, a former intelligence bureau chief under the late Syrian leader Hafez Assad said no one knew where Cohen was buried, because the grave had been relocated after officials feared that Israel would find it, Israel Hayom reported.

Body of Executed Israeli Spy Eli Cohen Might Come Home From Syria Read More »