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Jewish Journal

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June 19, 2020

StandWithUs Tells Florida State to Take Action Against Student Senate President

Leave a Comment / News, United States /

StandWithUs sent a letter to Florida State University (FSU) President John Thrasher and the University Board of Trustees urging them to take action against Student Senate President Ahmad Daraldik.

StandWithUs co-founder and CEO Roz Rothstein, Saidoff Legal Department Director Yael Lerman and Center for Combating Anti-Semitism Director Carly Gammill noted that FSU’s previous student senate president, Jack Denton, was removed on June 5 over his private GroupMe chats saying that Black Lives Matter’s belief in transgenderism and the American Civil Liberties Union’s support for abortions were anti-Catholic. However, Daraldik was not removed on June 17 over his past social media posts that said “f— Israel” and “stupid Jews.” Daraldik also has a website where he compares the Israeli government to Nazi Germany.

“Denton and Daraldik both have records of engaging in hateful rhetoric, yet one was removed while the other was promoted,” they wrote. “Daraldik apparently enjoys immunity from being held accountable for a similar kind of hateful speech that led to Denton’s removal from office. This apparent double standard begs the question of why there appears to be a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry directed at some kinds of students at FSU, but not at Jewish or Israeli students.”

Rothstein, Lerman and Gammill argued that Daraldik’s comments fall under the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which states that the demonization and delegitimization of Israel is anti-Semitic, including comparing Israel to the Nazis.

“FSU’s decision to punish Denton while giving a pass to Daraldik is an example of exactly the kind of double standard that the IHRA defines as anti-Semitism,” they wrote.

Rothstein, Lerman and Gammill praised Thrasher’s June 18 statement condemning anti-Semitism, but argued that it should have mentioned Daraldik’s comments and provided a solution to the issue. They also pointed out that there is precedent for universities intervening to undo student government’s actions regarding anti-Semitism, pointing to Williams College acting in 2019 to ensure that a pro-Israel group was recognized as a student club on campus.

“Applying the same standard to Daraldik as was applied to Denton, it is obvious that the student senate should have removed Daraldik,” Rothstein, Lerman and Gammill wrote. “Instead, he remains in the senate presidency despite a long track record of anti-Semitism — sending a stark message to Jewish and Israeli students that hatred and bigotry directed against them is acceptable at Florida State University.”

They argued that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination against minority groups, requires the university to act on this matter.

“Instead of issuing a vague statement against anti-Semitism, as you have done, you should address the specific instances of anti-Semitism committed by Daraldik, and explain to students — especially members of student government — why these are examples of anti-Semitism and why it is important that someone expressing such views should not be in a position of campus leadership,” Rothstein, Lerman and Gammill wrote. “You should work to educate the student senate on anti-Semitism, and ask this body to vote again on whether Daraldik should remain president.”

They concluded: “Right now we believe you are not ensuring that all forms of discrimination are met with the same repercussions, raising clear Title VI questions. The pivotal role you play supporting students of all races, religions, colors, and nationalities includes denouncing incidents such as these and enforcing equal treatment when others refuse.”

On June 17, a vote of no confidence in Daraldik failed; 19 voted in favor, 16 voted against and six abstained. A vote of no confidence in the FSU student senate requires a two-thirds majority vote.

StandWithUs Tells Florida State to Take Action Against Student Senate President Read More »

Jewish Men in UK Are Twice as Likely to Die From Coronavirus Than Overall Population, Study Shows

Leave a Comment / News, Worldwide /

(JTA) — In a statistical analysis of deaths from the coronavirus in England, Jewish males were shown to have double the risk of dying from COVID-19 than the general population.

The report published Friday by the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics looks at the breakdown of deaths according to religion in England and Wales. Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs also were more at risk than Christians or those with no stated religion, according to the report.

A “substantial part of the difference in mortality” between religious groups, the report says, owes to “the different circumstances in which members of these groups are known to live; for example living in areas with higher levels of socioeconomic deprivation and differences in ethnic makeup.”

The report means that “Jewish males are at twice the risk of Christian males, and Jewish women are also at higher risk,” The Jewish Chronicle of London quoted Nick Stripe, head of a department at the kingdom’s Office for National Statistics, as saying.

Jewish males had a mortality rate of 187.9 deaths per 100,000 compared to 92.6 deaths overall per 100,000 in the general population, which is primarily Christian. For Jewish females, the rate was 94.3 deaths per 100,000 compared with 54.6 overall.

The report looked at deaths from the virus between March 2 and May 15. At the time there had been 453 deaths of people identifying as Jewish in the census.

Jewish Men in UK Are Twice as Likely to Die From Coronavirus Than Overall Population, Study Shows Read More »

Longing for Lemonade and Friendship

Leave a Comment / Blogs /

I come from a family that is serious about lemonade.

And I don’t mean that metaphorically.

I mean, literally, we were serious about the drink. And selling it.

See, my parents were from a generation that believed in nourishing a certain entrepreneurial spirit in children.

And my mother had this beautiful lemon tree in our garden.

I’m pretty sure our oldest sister Julie had been the first to do the lemonade thing; Jackie followed Julie and finally the torch was passed to me.

Basically, the summertime lemonade-protocol, as taught to me by my sisters, was as follows:

1.) Make a sign on stiff white poster board that says LEMONADE FOR SALE, 50 CENTS A CUP.
Decorate with scratch n’ sniff magic-markers, glitter and stickers.

2.) Haul a little red wagon and a large cooler out of storage.

3.) The lemons must be picked, squeezed, then poured into the cooler with water and white sugar.

4.) 1 can of Minute-Maid Lemonade from concentrate is to be dumped in the mix, along with two large containers of ice cubes.

Next, my hair would need to be braided into two pigtails.

“ Because people will buy more lemonade if you look cute.” said Jackie, knower of all things.

I’d load the heavy cooler, a pack of Dixie cups and the sign into the red wagon, along with a small, dusty card-table and paint-chipped stool.

And then, very carefully, so as not to let anything tip over, I’d pull that red wagon with one hand and hold Warner, our German Shephard’s leash, with the other.

Warner was a reject from the Seeing Eye Dog school in San Rafael.

He didn’t make the cut for blind people, but he was the gentlest, most soulful creature you ever met and he always participated on lemonade days. Ostensibly to guard the business, but also because, as Jackie pointed out,“ People buy more lemonade when there’s a cute dog,”

The best days for business on the Venice Boardwalk were the 4th of July when al the roller-bladers, bikers and joggers were out getting sweaty.

Sometimes couples would stroll by.

“AWWWWW!” the lady would squeal, usually wearing a bikini the size of a postage stamp.

“Babe, look at that cute little girl selling lemonade! We have to buy some.”

I’d look up from under my lashes.

“I really appreciate your business.” I’d say. “How is your day going?”

And they’d squeal again, as if a child speaking in a complete sentence was the most cunning trick.

“You are SO adorable.” they’d say. “We’ll take two cups. And here’s a tip.”

At a certain, point, business was going so well, I thought, why stick to just lemonade?

So I brought my friend Genevieve on board and together we discussed expanding the business model.

After much deliberation, the executive decision was made to sell lemonade and art together.

We had a whole pricing system—75 cents for the really good drawings, 50 cents if they were only medium good, and 25 cents if they were only kind of OK.

The offerings were crayon, pastel, or colored-pencil drawings on my father’s white computer paper.

Most were drawings of the beach or horses, ponies, pegasuses, unicorns, or fairy, but sometimes also greeting cards that said “Happy Birthday”, “Merry Christmas!” or “Happy Hannukah”.

Between the art and the lemonade, we would rake in about 50-60 bucks in a couple hours; a veritable fortune when you are in the second grade.

Gen and I would tuck our bounty safely away in our fanny-packs and blow a small portion of it on vanilla frozen yoghurt. Or a supply of Jolly Ranchers or Red Vines from Davy Jones Liquor Locker.

Eventually we tired of art and lemonade and decided once again to expand into a new business model.

Gen and I happened to be taking gymnastics at that time, so somehow the idea came about to create a live, door-to-door gymnastics show offered to the neighbors.

This model involved putting on our leotards, arranging our hair in big, poofy side ponytails, making our heads resemble the lopsided top of a pineapple.

And then go about knocking on the neighbors doors.

If they answered the door, we’d press play on our boombox.

And then subject our audience to an elaborate choreography of synchronized cartwheels, round-offs, hand-stands, high kicks, sommersaults and leapfrogging passionately off each others backs, all performed to the tune of Phil Collins “Susudio.”

The routine would end with an earnest attempt at the splits.

“Well GEE” they’d say. “You girls are just super!”

The poor neighbors were astonishingly indulgent, considering we were essentially forcing them to watch, hostage-style

Virtually everyone smiled and put a dollar in our hat, even if it was mostly given in hopes we would go away.

But I think maybe, just maybe, they actually liked it and wished, even though they were grown-ups, that they could be part of a live gymnastics show too.

Longing for Lemonade and Friendship Read More »

Tracee Ellis Ross to Voice Lead Role in ‘Daria’ Spinoff

Leave a Comment / Entertainment /

“Black-ish” star Tracee Ellis Ross has signed on to star in the Comedy Central animated series “Jodie,” a spinoff of the MTV series “Daria,” which ran from 1997-2002. Ross will supply the voice of Daria’s best friend Jodie Landon, a new college graduate who is entering the job market for the first time. The MTV Studios series will include workplace, gender, race, privilege, and empowerment themes and issues faced by young Black women in the modern social media-ruled world. 

Ross, who has amassed five NAACP Awards and a Golden Globe for playing Rainbow Johnson on “Black-ish,” will return in the series’ seventh season this fall. ABC had originally planned to hold its premiere till midseason, but reversed that decision in light of current events, after a discussion with creator Kenya Barris.

“Following recent monumental events, it’s imperative that the dialogue continues and empowers viewers to raise their voices, and there is no other show that does that like ‘Black-ish,’’ ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke said. “It’s important to tell these meaningful stories during this moment in time.”

“While the last few months have felt overwhelming at times, they have also underscored just how important it is that Black voices are not only heard but empowered and amplified as well,” Barris said. “Our entire ‘Black-ish’ team is humbled to be a small part of telling our stories and are excited to get back to these conversations.”

Tracee Ellis Ross to Voice Lead Role in ‘Daria’ Spinoff Read More »

Amid a National Reckoning Over Race, Jews are Embracing Juneteenth

Leave a Comment / United States /

After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic this spring delayed the launch of the website for TribeHerald, a new media company for Jews of color, founders Yitz Jordan and Rabbi Shais Rishon settled on a perfect alternative: the evening of June 18.

After all, it would be “erev Juneteenth,” Jordan said — a mashup of the Hebrew word denoting the eve of Jewish observances and the name of the holiday commemorating the day Black people enslaved in Texas learned they had been freed.

First observed in 1866, Juneteenth has experienced a surge of interest this year amid nationwide protests against racial injustice. That surge extends to the Jewish world, where a range of events are planned for this Juneteenth, which this year coincides with the beginning of Shabbat.

“The key word for this Juneteenth would be visibility,” Jordan told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Starting from the most obvious example, we got to see so much police brutality and so much inequality and so much visual evidence of disparate treatment, so the struggle became more visible. And now more people are visibly out in the streets, of all ethnicities, screaming Black Lives Matter. Now is the perfect Juneteenth to bring Jews of color into visibility and to show that our lives matter, too.”

One major event capitalizing on this year’s Juneteenth timing is an online Juneteenth Kabbalat Shabbat service. Organized by Be’Chol Lashon, an organization advocating for Jews of color, and Keshet, which focuses on LGBTQ Jewish issues, the event features two Black rabbis, Sandra Lawson and Isaama Goldstein-Stoll.

“We are celebrating what it means to live freely in the United States, and we also must remember that for many of us freedom is a journey,” Lawson wrote in the Forward last year. “The fight for freedom for all is not over. There is still work to be done. Juneteenth is an important reminder to all of us of why we fight: The struggle for freedom for all must continue because until we are all free, none of us is free.”

Here’s a list of Jewish Juneteenth events that anyone can join curated by our partners at Alma.

In Jersey City, New Jersey, where an anti-Semitic attack last year has fueled a renewed relationship between Black and Jewish leaders, a Shabbat Juneteenth event will feature Dennis Sebo, a local Black activist. And as it has for the past two years, the Jews of Color Caucus of Chicago’s Jewish social justice organization, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, is holding a Juneteenth Havdalah service to mark the end of Shabbat on Saturday evening. Other communities plan to incorporate a new prayer, Kaddish for Black Lives, into their Shabbat services this week.

“Creator of life, source of compassion. Your breath remains the source of our spirit, even as too many of us cry out that we cannot breathe,” reads the prayer, which was distributed this week by the Jewish Multiracial Network. “Lovingly created in your image, the color of our bodies has imperiled our lives.”

Robin Washington, a black and Jewish journalist, suggested the creation of such a prayer a few years ago on a phone call for Jews of color activists. The time was right this year, said Eric Greene, a board member of the Jewish Multiracial Network who has black, Native American and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. Greene followed through on the idea last week in consultation with other advocates in the Jews of color community.

“We use Passover as a time to reflect on the meaning of slavery and liberation, and what did it mean to us historically, and what does it mean to us today, and what’s our obligation currently on these types of issues of challenging oppression,” he said. “And I think Juneteenth is an opportunity for us all to do something very similar in the American racial context. So the idea of the Kaddish for Black Lives was to use Jewish ritual and tradition to reflect on the world in which Jews live today.”

Greene says Jews across the country have told him that they will be reciting his text this Shabbat. He hopes they will continue to do so for future significant events, such as Passover, Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Some white Jews are asking themselves whether and how to participate in Juneteenth observances for the first time — while wading through thorny issues.

“Sincere question, from a place of learning: Is there a way for a (white) Jewish family to celebrate Juneteenth this Shabbat — as an American and Jewish imperative — without being appropriative or exploitative?” Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, wrote on Facebook this week.

“It feels especially vexing because we can’t have guests or be guests right now” amid the pandemic, he added, “but we would like to be part of what feels like an urgent and overdue shift in the American liturgical calendar.”

Many of those who responded to Kurtzer’s post pointed him to the online Juneteenth Kabbalat Shabbat service, which takes place before the start of Shabbat so that people of all levels of observance can participate, and to the Kaddish for Black Lives. Others said they planned to include dishes in their Shabbat meals to honor African-American food traditions, some using recipes popularized by Black and Jewish chef Michael Twitty. And others said that they, too, were wrestling with questions about how to participate respectfully in a tradition that has not been their community’s.

One of those was Rabbi Yael Ridberg, who knew little about Juneteenth until recently but wanted to commemorate it at Congregation Dor Hadash, the Reconstructionist synagogue she leads in San Diego. Initially she wanted to do a Juneteenth-themed Shabbat, but after discussing the idea with Jordan Daniels, a friend who is a Jew of color, Ridberg, who is white, started having qualms.

“It became clear that what I needed to do in this moment was not to conduct a service as if I were a celebrant that understood this in my bones the way I understand any Jewish holiday on the calendar,” she said, “but rather begin a process of education, of awareness, in the hopes that in a year from now, either because members of my own community who are Black or people of color will see this as an opportunity to celebrate within a Jewish context, or because I will be able to invite a speaker, or because I will be able to do something different.”

Though Ridberg won’t advertise her Shabbat services as being Juneteenth-themed, she is still finding ways of incorporating the holiday, including a speech about its history, playing a recording of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” considered the Black national anthem, and saying the Kaddish for Black Lives.

Chris Harrison, a Black Jew who works for the Union for Reform Judaism, wrote in an essay that he will be celebrating Juneteenth for the first time this year. He said the holiday inspires him to take action to make the country more just for Black people.

“As a Black Jew, I see Juneteenth as a beautiful reminder to not be complacent,” Harrison wrote. “While this holiday is a joyous one that affirms the Jewish notion that we are all created b’tzelem Elohim (in God’s image) and deserve to be free from bondage, it’s equally important to remember that the fight for true equality is ongoing.”

This JTA story was written by Josefin Dolsten and Philissa Cramer. 

Amid a National Reckoning Over Race, Jews are Embracing Juneteenth Read More »

Trump Un-Retweets Left-Wing Anti-Zionist Max Blumenthal

Leave a Comment / News, United States /

(JTA) — By late Thursday afternoon, President Donald Trump had un-retweeted a message by prominent anti-Zionist Max Blumenthal about John Bolton.

On Thursday morning, Trump retweeted Blumenthal’s critique of Bolton, even though Blumenthal is a strident critic of Israel and of American foreign policy. His 2013 book “Goliath” criticizes Israel with terms used about the Holocaust.

Read more about the tweet here.

Trump Un-Retweets Left-Wing Anti-Zionist Max Blumenthal Read More »

Table for Five: Sh’lach

Leave a Comment / Judaism /

One verse five voices. Edited by Salvador Litvak, the Accidental Talmudist

The Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Send out for yourself men who will scout the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. You shall send one man each for his father’s tribe; each one shall be a chieftain in their midst.” –Numbers 13:1

Rabbi Jonathan Leener
Rabbi, Base BKLYN and Prospect Heights Shul, New York 

Why does the Torah specifically refer to the spies as “leaders of the Children of Israel” and not as “leaders of the Nation of Israel,” as it does in other places? Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (1534-72) explained that they were literally the “Children of Israel,” the sons of Jacob. The spies were in fact reincarnations of Jacob’s sons! Remember, it was Joseph who strangely calls his brothers spies in Genesis when they come before him asking for food. “And Joseph said to them, ‘You are spies…’ ” This gives new meaning to the notion that Torah has no beginning or end, as its narratives and characters float through time and space with ease.

Entering the mystical worlds of reincarnation can be dizzying but also profoundly beautiful and inspiring. Each soul is on a long journey toward self-discovery and fulfillment. As the Zohar states, “As long as a person is unsuccessful in his purpose in this world, the Holy One, blessed be He, uproots him and replants him over and over again.” It reinforces one of Judaism’s greatest claims that each human has a distinct purpose in this broken world. Perhaps the Torah chronicles the multiple failures of Jacob’s sons as a way to inspire us to recognize that we, too, get numerous opportunities over a lifespan that may measure far longer than we could ever imagine. 

Yehudit Garmaise
Teacher of parsha, chizuk and chassidus

Rav Chaim of Volozhin (1749-1821) said that our prayers ascend only on the days on which Jews say the word “tov” (good) five times. However, on the days on which Jews say the word “ra” (evil) even three times, our prayers will not ascend. 

So serious was the negativity of the spies’ report on the land, that they lost our nation’s reward of entering Israel right after receiving the Torah. 

According to the Pri Tzaddik commentary, the final Hebrew letters of the words “Send men for you” spell the word chacham (wise). Although tragically mistaken in their bad attitude about the land of Israel, the brilliant spies turned out to be too logical for their own good. Their mission was to report on the practical conditions of the Eretz Yisrael. Instead of reporting “just the facts,” the spies gave in to negativity. 

If the spies had said, “This land is strong, and it has many blessings. With HaShem’s help, we will conquer it,” they could have conveyed positivity and encouragement to a tentative am Yisrael. Instead, the spies saw only difficulties. Similarly, every day, we are presented with many choices as to what to see. HaShem teaches Jews that we can change reality by seeing the world through lenses of emunah and simcha. 

Like the spies, we see challenges. But unlike the spies, we have to remember that HaShem always wants to help us. Unlike the spies, to see the good, we have to know where to look. 

Rabbi Gershon Schusterman
Rabbi, mashpia, writer, businessman

The momentous transition of entering the land of Israel, which God had promised to each of the patriarchs, was about to begin. Now God was suggesting that Moses send a reconnaissance mission to ascertain the best approach. 

God instructed Moses, “Send out for yourself men who will scout the [Promised] Land.” The words “for yourself” mean that “the decision is yours; I’m not commanding you” (Rashi). And why not? God, being God, generally issues commands, not suggestions. Mah Nishtanah? Why was this situation different? 

Although God is the commander-in-chief, He wants us to do His bidding with understanding and with passion. He wants us to partner with Him in making the world a Godly place. Partnership and passion come from making it our own choice to fulfill God’s commandments. 

That the land of Israel is more than a homeland is central to Judaism. It is our holy, Godly land. That’s why going to Israel is called aliyah, an ascent. God wanted all of the Jews to appreciate the gift of the land as something they desired, not only as an acquiescence to God’s command. 

That is why God suggested to Moses that he could choose to send representatives to explore Israel from their human perspective, to assess the challenge and to realize the opportunity it affords. 

The same is true of Judaism today. God wants us to serve Him because of the opportunity it offers. He wants us to partner with Him enthusiastically, to make the world a Godly place.

Rabbi Rebecca Schatz
Assistant rabbi, Temple Beth Am

If we are unable to complete a task appropriately on our own, we are to appoint a shaliach — a messenger. For example, a shaliach tzibbur to lead community in prayer, a shaliach to recite Kaddish if there is no one to do so for the deceased, and a shaliach for a get if the couple is unable to divorce amicably. 

God tells Moses to send for himself, “shelach lekha,” people into the Land. Not for God’s sake, but for Moses’. When appointing a shaliach, the messenger is in replacement of the sender, a reflection of the person and eyes, ears and heart on their behalf.

Although the sender must appoint this messenger, the recipient need not know their connection or why they were chosen. “Ish echad, ish echad” the text continues — “one person, one person” from their father’s tribe. Knowing the Torah’s economy of language, this redundancy is powerful and clever. Two people, each sent as a reflection of another. 

During these past weeks, we have joined or witnessed protests against injustice. People of all genders, races, religions and cultures stepping out of their homes not known by their names but reciting the names of those who sent them, for whom they give voice, value  and seething substance to too many tragedies of violence, hatred and unfairness. “Ish echad, ish echad” — we march in the streets of our cities as shlichei tzibbur, messengers for those who have long been unheard, unseen and unnamed.

David Brandes
Writer-producer of “The Quarrel”

In Deuteronomy 1:22, Moses reveals the prequel to this week’s story. The Israelites, feeling confident of victory, ask Moses to organize a reconnaissance party to prepare for the invasion of Canaan. Moses senses that the moment is propitious and communicates his enthusiasm to God. As a result, God instructs Moses to tell the people in language echoing the famous “go for yourself” speech given to Abraham many years earlier to select representatives.

There are many ingenious interpretations of what it means to go for yourself. Generally accepted is Rashi’s understanding that the people must do this for themselves. Implying that they must feel ready for this mission. 

As we will learn, the people were eager, but not ready. They didn’t have moral imagination. Their faith in God and in themselves was inconsistent. The operation turned into utter humiliation, disaster and 40 years of wandering. 

In some poignant ways, this story shines light on the current dilemma in America. The cold-blooded, almost banal death of George Floyd and the ensuing demonstrations, vandalism and plundering seem to have provoked a change in American consciousness. That race relations must change. That most blacks live in a painful state of vulnerability, which is unacceptable. 

And now the leaders and the people of goodwill are saying we are ready to change, we must change. This is impressive. America is impressive. But as we learned in this week’s parsha, intent without moral imagination and self-confidence without faith will not be enough.

Table for Five: Sh’lach Read More »