fbpx

GET HOME DELIVERY! CLICK HERE »

ADVERTISE
pick up locations
HOME DELIVERY
donate

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

July 20, 2020

Jewish Republicans Come to Praise Trump, but Also to Sell Him to Other Jews

Leave a Comment / News, United States /

WASHINGTON (JTA) — When Jewish Republicans met online this weekend to talk about the best way to defeat Joe Biden, the conversation kept sliding back to a question that has beset them since 2016: How do you explain Donald Trump?

A Republican Jewish Coalition online town hall broadcast Sunday night was entitled “The Critical Issues Facing the Jewish Community in 2020.” The issues on the agenda mostly had to do with the changes wrought by Trump that a President Biden would unravel, particularly related to Middle East policy.

But the subtext — sometimes the overt-text — was how do you pitch Trump to a community that overwhelmingly dislikes him? Jewish voters have consistently disapproved of Trump in greater proportion than the general population, where his approval ratings are tanking, and people who participated in the conversation said that has made it hard for them to drum up support for Republicans.

“I’ve been involved in pro-Israel and Jewish communal activities for over a decade, and one source of frustration for me is the open hostility that I find from many Jewish women towards our president and the Republican Party,” said Jodi Sanchez, who is active with the RJC in Houston.

“What’s your best advice for what we as a community should say to our friends who are inclined to support the president because of this pro-Israel policies, but probably won’t support him because of his personality. How can we convince them that they should vote for President Trump?” asked Ari Fleischer, the George W. Bush administration spokesman.

The speakers — Nikki Haley, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations; Mark Levin, the bomb-throwing talk radio host; and Norm Coleman, the former Minnesota senator and current RJC chairman — suggested a simple formula to manage anxiety about the president: Focus on Israel.

“I was not a big Trump supporter during the primaries — I was part of that never Trump movement,” said Coleman. (In 2016, Coleman penned an op-ed for the Minneapolis Star Tribune saying he would never “vote for Donald Trump because of who he is. A bigot. A misogynist. A fraud. A bully.”)

“And in the end, I have watched what the president has done,” Coleman said. “This has been the most pro-Israel president who ever sat in the White House.”

Trump has embraced a pile of right-wing pro-Israel orthodoxies: moving the embassy to Jerusalem, defunding the Palestinians, exiting the Iran deal, and advancing a peace plan that would see Israel annex parts of the West Bank.

While the Democratic Party’s official platform on Israel appears not to be changing this year, members of the party’s progressive wing, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, have called to reduce assistance to Israel if it annexes parts of the West Bank.

Trump’s fulfillment of Israel-related promises, combined with the shift in the Democratic Party, has fueled the RJC’s transformation over the last four years, from skepticism toward Trump during the 2016 campaign to a fulsome embrace during his presidency.

But the difficulties he presents as a sellable candidate to the Jewish community have persisted, and there were signs at the RJC event that the group is taking Trump’s vulnerabilities seriously. All four questions from the public were pre-screened — and two had to do with Trump’s negatives.

One was from Fleischer. Sanchez asked the second one, directed at Haley, about Trump’s difficulties in appealing to Jewish women. ”How do you think we can address this, specifically with college-educated suburban women, a key demographic in the upcoming election?” she asked.

Haley acknowledged Trump’s coarseness, but — like Coleman, who handled Fleischer’s question — said the best tactic was to note what Trump had done, not what he was prone to say.

“What I will tell you is, I do understand there are some women who have issues with the tone of the president, or the tweeting of the president, or the style of this president,” Haley said. “Joe Biden may have a nicer way of talking, but he won’t have the results President Trump has had.”

There was one questioner who was full of praise — for Coleman, Levin, Haley and Jared Kushner, the president’s son in law, if not for Trump. But then, this questioner has a reputation for giving pep talks.

“My name is Bruce Pearl. I’m the head men’s basketball coach at Auburn University,” said the coach, who is an RJC leader. “Senator Coleman, Ambassador Haley, The Great One,” a nickname for Levin, “thank you all for the service to our great country. And thank you all for your love of the State of Israel. I’m a big fan of Jared Kushner’s peace and prosperity in the West Bank of the River Jordan in Judea and Samaria. My question is, do you believe that peace and prosperity is possible?”

That question didn’t get a simple answer, even as Levin praised the plan for recognizing Israel’s claim to the territory.

Neither did another question that speaks to the heart of some Jews’ reservations about Trump. RJC’s executive director, Matt Brooks, repeatedly pressed Levin to refute claims by Democrats that Trump has enabled anti-Semites, particularly when Trump in 2017 described “very fine people on both sides” of a deadly neo-Nazi March in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“It’s one of the repetitive narratives of the Democrats in terms of trying to scare the Jewish community that President Trump is an anti-Semite or if he’s not an anti-Semite, he allows or encourages through dog whistles white nationalists and people who traffic in anti-Semitism,” Brooks said. He prompted Levin: “Talk about that, talk about Charlottesville.”

Levin mentioned Trump’s pro-Israel bonafides, his Jewish advisers, and his Jewish family members — but never got around to addressing why it was a calumny for Democrats to note Trump’s equivocation about the Charlottesville march, even after Brooks repeated the question.

Jewish Republicans Come to Praise Trump, but Also to Sell Him to Other Jews Read More »

Madonna Instagram Post of Louis Farrakhan Video Racks up 700,000 Views

Leave a Comment / Culture, News /

(JTA) — In the past few weeks, several celebrities have faced a backlash for sharing statements from Louis Farrakhan.

But one star seems to have escaped notice: Madonna.

On July 4, Madonna posted a video to her Instagram account that was a trailer for a speech by Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader who has spouted anti-Semitic rhetoric over the years, that same day. It has since racked up 710,000 views. Madonna has more than 15 million Instagram followers.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCPObbRhu1s/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Some of the comments on the video express surprise that Madonna, who has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community and been an enthusiastic proponent of the study of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, would boost a man with a long history of anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ statements.

“No no no no no no no this is not a voice you should be sharing,” one commenter wrote. “Much love but good god.”

Several other celebrities have defended or praised Farrakhan and echoed his anti-Semitic rhetoric over the past several weeks. They include NFL player DeSean Jackson, former NBA player turned talking head Stephen Jackson, TV star Nick Cannon, comedian Chelsea Handler and rapper and actor Ice Cube. All but Ice Cube apologized.

Madonna Instagram Post of Louis Farrakhan Video Racks up 700,000 Views Read More »

Jewish Groups Mourn the Passing of John Lewis

Leave a Comment / News, United States /

Several Jewish groups have released statements commemorating Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who died July 17 at the age of 80. Lewis, a civil rights icon, was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer during a routine medical checkup in December.

“[Lewis] was honored and respected as the conscience of the U.S. Congress and an icon of American history, but we knew him as a loving father and brother,” Lewis’ family wrote in a July 17 statement. “He was a stalwart champion in the ongoing struggle to demand respect for the dignity and worth of every human being. He dedicated his entire life to non-violent activism and was an outspoken advocate in the struggle for equal justice in America. He will be deeply missed.”

“Broken-hearted to learn of the passing of my hero, friend & civil rights icon @repjohnlewis,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted. “He devoted his life to the pursuit of justice & taught us all about the importance of #GoodTrouble. I vow to honor his memory by continuing to fight for justice & fair treatment to all.”

American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris hailed Lewis as “a prophetic voice calling on us to live up to our highest values and greatest aspirations, to strive to make this nation a more perfect union.

“We are immensely grateful for his dedication to, and connection with, the Jewish community,” Harris continued. “He was instrumental in encouraging Black-Jewish dialogue, consistently outspoken against anti-Semitism, one of Israel’s strongest advocates in Congress and an active supporter of the Soviet Jewry movement in the 1970s and 1980s.”

Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress said in a statement, “From the March on Washington to Black Lives Matter, Rep. John Lewis committed his life to the fight for justice and equality. He led by example, from his commitment to nonviolent protest to his unflinching belief in our nation’s capacity to become a more perfect union.”

“At a time when some nefarious forces are stoking division between the Black and Jewish communities, we should look to the model that John Lewis set for us and remember that Black-Jewish unity is the best way to achieve justice for both peoples.” — Ronald S. Lauder

Lauder also praised Lewis’ efforts to build bridges between the Black and Jewish communities, stating, “He was a lifelong ally of the Jewish people, a loyal supporter of the State of Israel and a vigilant voice against anti-Semitism. At a time when some nefarious forces are stoking division between the Black and Jewish communities, we should look to the model that John Lewis set for us and remember that Black-Jewish unity is the best way to achieve justice for both peoples.”

The Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) thanked Lewis for his leadership in the constant struggle for justice in the United States, noting, “Although we lost him at a time when we need him so much, he’ll continue to be an example to all of us.”

The organization went on to highlight how “Lewis walked with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1965 March on Selma. DMFI’s board and staff extend condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.”

The Jewish Democratic Council of America tweeted, “John Lewis inspired us to do better, as Jews and as Americans. He will forever inspire us to continue the fight for racial justice and to build a better future for the next generation. He will be deeply missed.”

Jewish Council of Public Affairs president and CEO David Bernstein said in a statement, “The best way to honor Congressman Lewis is to join people of color and redouble our effort to ending racial disparity in America. His work and legacy live on in our work.”

Jewish Groups Mourn the Passing of John Lewis Read More »

Comic Jena Friedman Serves up Food and Humor in ‘The Joy of Quarantine’

Leave a Comment / Entertainment, Food /

Comedian Jena Friedman was about to hit the road on a stand-up tour when the coronavirus pandemic put the kibosh on her plans. Confined to her Los Angeles studio apartment, she decided to explore unfamiliar territory: her kitchen. “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” she said. And when Reboot Media invited her to create some self-distanced content, “The Joy of Quarantine” was born.

The four-episode online series co-stars her musician boyfriend Josh Epstein of the band JR JR, whose face is never seen, and their Chihuahua, Potato. “I had to twist his arm to be in it,” Friedman said. Shot during the first month of lockdown, “The Joy of Quarantine” follows Friedman’s efforts to make Ashkenazi-Jewish favorites, with a hefty helping of humor on the side. 

“So many people are suffering and in pain. I think it’s important that people laugh when they can to take their mind off quarantine. I’m trying to marry both in this show, acknowledge the situation, but the funny things about it,” Friedman told the Journal. 

She zeroed in on the cuisine of her forebears, although she hadn’t made it before. “I was thinking about Jewish food and thought it would be interesting to take a stab at it,” she said. But without a lot of space, cooking equipment and a scarcity of ingredients, she had to improvise. 

In the first episode, Friedman makes an “everything” bagel from pizza dough; and subsequently throws together a kugel from potatoes, broccoli, green beans and onions; whips up cholent with chicken, carrots, onions, white beans and Slivovitz; and in the finale, makes her second attempt at pumpkin-applesauce babka (the first was a disaster). Epstein pronounces it “a little raw in the middle,” and deems the kugel lacking in salt, but he loves the bagel. “That was a small victory,” Friedman said. 

A former writer for “The Late Show With David Letterman” and field producer for “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” Friedman created “Soft Focus with Jena Friedman,” a series of specials for Adult Swim, while building her stand-up career. Although many of her comedy heroes are Jewish — Stewart, Larry David, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sarah Silverman, and the late Carl Reiner among them —  “I don’t have Jewish humor in my act,” she said. “I’ve always done political stuff.” She’s active on social media, posting her opinions to her 50,000-plus Twitter followers. “As a female comedian and a Jewish comedian, you do get trolled online quite a bit,” she said. “It’s scary.”

Originally from Haddonfield, N.J., a Philadelphia suburb, Friedman had a Conservative Jewish upbringing, attending Hebrew school until 10th grade, when her rabbi organized a trip to Israel. Her public school had few Jewish students, so her parents made sure she had a strong sense of Jewish identity. “I appreciate that right now in this really scary moment when we have a white supremacist leader running our country,” she said. 

“So many people are suffering and in pain. I think it’s important that people laugh when they can to take their mind off quarantine. I’m trying to marry both in this show, acknowledge the situation, but the funny things about it.” — Jena Friedman

Social justice and hunger issues are particularly important to her, and she ends each “Joy of Quarantine” episode with a message of support for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. “I very rarely make comedy that my mom enjoys, but this is something she liked,” Friedman said, unsure at this point if there will be additional installments. She made the initial four with her friend Bella Monticelli directing and serving as sound and lighting designer and Epstein tasting and providing encouragement and musical accompaniment.

“He’s been a really good sport. He’s a very cool and supportive partner,” Friedman said. “I think the funniest part about quarantine is people cohabitating and trying to figure it out, especially when you’re both touring artists and all of a sudden you’re stuck together. We’ve hit a groove now but there was a point where we were exhausted and stressed out, and that was captured in the show.”

She has tried performing via Zoom, “but it’s a different form of comedy. It’s not really my thing,” she said. “Part of what I really love about stand-up is that interaction, feeding off of the audience’s energy. I’ve always been writing and directing my own stuff and that’s still going on but I think it’s going to be really hard for the next two years.”

As for cooking, Friedman won’t be competing on “Top Chef” any time soon. “I fully stopped when the oven broke,” she said. “At first I was cooking all the time but now I’m taking a break. Josh is cooking less high-maintenance food [like] fruits and vegetables. And we’re ordering in a lot.”

Watch “The Joy of Quarantine” here.

Comic Jena Friedman Serves up Food and Humor in ‘The Joy of Quarantine’ Read More »

Home Shalom Monday Message #17

Leave a Comment / Blogs /

Home Shalom promotes healthy relationships and facilitates the creation of judgement free, safe spaces in the Jewish community. Home Shalom is a program of The Advot Project.

Please contact us if you are interested in a workshop and presentation about healthy relationships, self-worth or communication tools.

“All I can do is tell the story, and that must be sufficient.”

Rabbi Israel of Rizhin

When the great Israel Baal Shem Tov saw misfortune threatening the Jews it was his custom to go to a certain part of the forest to meditate. There he would light a fire, say a special prayer and the miracle would be accomplished and the misfortune averted. Later, when his disciple the Maggid of Mezerich had occasion to intercede with heaven, he would go to the same place in the forest and say, “Master of the Universe, I do not know how to light the fire but I am still able to say the prayer” and again the miracle would happen. Later, his disciple Moshe-Leib of Sassov, in order to save his people, would go into the forest and say, “I do not know the prayer, but I know the place and this must be sufficient,” and the miracle was accomplished. Finally, it fell to Rabbi Israel of Rizhin to overcome misfortune. Sitting in his armchair, his head in his hands, he spoke to God: “I cannot light the fire, and I do not know the prayer. I cannot even find the place in the forest. All I can do is tell the story, and that must be sufficient.” And it was sufficient.

The genius of the Hasidic masters was to remind us that there is power in telling our story. There is power and self-worth in remembering who we are, where we come from, what our spiritual inheritance has been from those who have handed down from one generation to the next our values, our culture, our celebrations, our prayers and our way of life. There is in particular a sacred power in using the stories of our past to help carry our dreams into the future. In many ways the very foundation of Jewish civilization itself is grounded in memory which is why the greatest Talmudic Scholar of our generation, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz once said, “The homeland of the Jew is history.” Our challenge is to let the gifts of history, culture and tradition from our past become the light that guides us into the future we can create together.

Home Shalom Monday Message #17 Read More »

Swastikas Found at Florida Park

Leave a Comment / News, United States /

A series of swastikas and other anti-Semitic graffiti were found on July 18 at Bloomingdale East Park in Valrico, Fla.

Fox 13 reported that the graffiti was found on the sidewalk, basketball court and on a bathroom wall.

Resident Steven Golden, who is Jewish, told Fox 13, “It kind of bothers me when I had to have my 8-year-old son see it. It’s 10 feet from where all the kids play.”

The Stop Anti-Semitism.org watchdog tweeted, “Imagine taking an 8 year old to your local park and finding a swastika and graffiti stating ‘F–k The Jews’! This is what’s happening on a near daily basis in 2020 America.”

 

The Bloomingdale East Park graffiti comes after two synagogues in Sarasota, Fla., were targeted with anti-Semitic graffiti on July 15. The two synagogues said in a joint statement at the time, “We will be ever vigilant in looking after the safety and security of our members and our children. But we will not allow hate to distract us from the holy work that defines our temple missions.”

Swastikas Found at Florida Park Read More »

david suissa podcast curious times

Pandemic Times Episode 71: Elevating the conversation on Israel

Leave a Comment / Podcasts, The David Suissa Podcast /

New David Suissa Podcast Every Monday and Friday.

Benjamin Anthony, co-founder of the Miryam Institute, discusses the complexities of Israel and moving the conversation forward.

How do we manage our lives during the coronavirus crisis? How do we keep our sanity? How do we use this quarantine to bring out the best in ourselves? Tune in every day and share your stories with podcast@jewishjournal.com.

Pandemic Times Episode 71: Elevating the conversation on Israel Read More »

Man Who Robbed 4 Teens at Baltimore Mall and Called Them ‘Dirty Jews’ Arrested

Leave a Comment / News, United States /

(JTA) — A 34-year-old man was arrested in the robbery of four Jewish teens outside a Baltimore mall. The teens said the knife-wielding attacker targeted them for their religious observance.

Baltimore County Police arrested Seneca Rice, an area man, on unrelated charges last week. He will be charged in county court for the July 9 incident outside the Towson Town Center,  the Baltimore Sun reported.

The teens said Rice told them they were “dirty Jews” and took one of their kippahs. They also said he took their shopping bags, cellphones and wallets.

Each teen told investigators separately that they felt targeted for their religious beliefs.

Surveillance cameras filmed the incident.

Rice is facing charges of robbery, second-degree assault and theft, according to the report, and is being held without bail.

Man Who Robbed 4 Teens at Baltimore Mall and Called Them ‘Dirty Jews’ Arrested Read More »

Josh Gad On Anti-Semitism: ‘We All Have to Do Better’

Leave a Comment / Culture, News /

Actor Josh Gad said he is disturbed by recent instances of online anti-Semitism and that everybody needs to speak out against it.

Gad, whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors, made his comments in a July 16 Instagram video, where he noted that anti-Semitism has been rising over the past couple of years, but the anti-Semitic comments from celebrities in the past week has been “startling.”

“I’ve seen it from people who should know better and have an ability to really send messages to a large swath of people who I would imagine would benefit from such greater messaging than intolerance at a time when there is so much intolerance,” Gad said in the video.

He continued, “I think we all have to do better. I think it is so disgusting that after all the lessons that have been learned from those that have messaged such hate in the post that we would continue to make these mistakes, yet here we are.”

Gad concluded the video by calling on people to better educate themselves and take action beyond uttering “old and tired clichés.”

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CCrBR-_pOw3/?utm_source=ig_embed

StandWithUs praised Gad’s video in a July 20 tweet.

“Jewish Hollywood [star] @joshgad has taken a stand against the virus of #antisemitism that is continuing to rear its ugly head,” the pro-Israel education organization tweeted. “Thank you for speaking out Josh!”

 

Former NBA stars Charles Barkley and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have similarly called out celebrities including Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson and actor Nick Cannon, among others, for recent anti-Semitic statements and social media posts.

“I’m so disappointed in these men, but I don’t understand how you beat hatred with more hatred,” Barkley said in a July 17 episode of “The Steam Room” podcast. “That stuff should never come up in your vocabulary, and that stuff should never come up in your heart.”

Abdul-Jabbar similarly wrote in a July 14 op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter: “It’s so disheartening to see people from groups that have been violently marginalized do the same thing to others without realizing that perpetuating this kind of bad logic is what perpetuates racism.”

Josh Gad On Anti-Semitism: ‘We All Have to Do Better’ Read More »

The Kingly Roots of Kitchri: Lentils With Love

Leave a Comment / Food /

When Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar’s forces destroyed Solomon’s Temple when Jerusalem was conquered in 586 B.C.E., he forever changed the diets of Jews. For millennia, Jews have commemorated the destruction of the First Temple and Second Temple (by the Romans in 70 C.E.) with three weeks of mourning. It starts with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz and then the nine (mostly meat-free) days leading up to the fast of Tisha b’Av.

When Nebuchadnezzar took the House of Judah into exile, my ancestors were among those who sat and wept by the Rivers of Babylon. The vicissitudes of Iraqi Jewish history included the rebuilding of the temple by Ezra the Scribe; the incredible Jewish learning and compilation of the Babylonian Talmud; and the rise of the Islamic caliphate and Islamic discrimination. The Jews flourished again under the Ottoman Empire and by the early 19th century, the Jews of Baghdad were responsible for all the trade between Iraq and India.

For generations, the family of my great grandfather Yosef were the keepers of the tomb of Ezra, a shrine sacred to Jews and Shiite Muslims. Located in the village of El Azair on the Tigris River, the tomb, with its beautiful turquoise dome and tiled Hebrew lettering, was the site of many pilgrimages, especially for the holidays of Shavuot and Rosh Hashanah. 

With the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish life in Iraq became increasingly difficult. The majority of Jews, including my family, left for Israel in 1951 and 1952 in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. Two of my great-grandparents, Yosef and Tova, bought a beautiful Arab house on Emek Refaim in the German Colony of Jerusalem. After their deaths, my grandmother Aziza, Uncle Reuben, Uncle Naji and Uncle Nuri (they were my great-uncles but I called them uncles) moved to Australia to join their oldest sister, my great-aunt Naima, who had immigrated there via Bombay and Shanghai in the 1920s. They were all different, but they all had an innate dignity. One of my clearest memories as a young child was of my Uncle Nuri eating kitchri. In Iraq, kitchri was served for dinner most Thursday nights and always served the week before Tisha b’Av, when it is customary to eschew meat. 

Inspired by the Indian rice-and-mung bean dish kitchari, Iraqi kitchri combines rice and lentils with cumin, sautéed onions and garlic. The addition of lentils, a traditional Jewish mourning food, made it a suitably humble meal to commemorate these days of mourning the loss of our beloved Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple).

The combination of rice and lentils gives a nutty depth and makes this dish a source of complete protein. The meal can be rounded out with a fried egg, plain leben or kefir and a fresh tomato-and-cucumber salad.

SHARON’S KITCHRI 

2 cups basmati rice
1 cup red lentils
4 tablespoons oil, separated
1 large onion, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons turmeric
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups water

Garnish:

1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon cumin
8 garlic cloves, cut into slivers
Wash and drain rice. 

Wash and drain lentils. 

In large heavy-based pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil and sauté onion over low heat for 10 minutes or until golden.

Add tomatoes and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add rice and lentils and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add salt, cumin and turmeric and stir for 1 minute.

Add tomato paste, stir well, then slowly add water.

Bring to boil, stir well lower heat to low and cover with tight-fitting lid.

Cook 20-25 minutes.

For garnish: In frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil, add onion and sauté until caramelized. Set aside. 

Heat remaining oil, add cumin and garlic and sauté until slightly browned. 

Garnish rice with onion and garlic mixture. 

Serves 6-8.

The Kingly Roots of Kitchri: Lentils With Love Read More »