fbpx

GET HOME DELIVERY! CLICK HERE »

ADVERTISE
pick up locations
HOME DELIVERY
donate

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

February 8, 2022

“Paths of the Righteous” Book Shines Light on Non-Jewish Allies

Leave a Comment / Books /

With the recent attacks on American Jewry in Colleyville, Poway and Pittsburgh, as well as antisemitism happening around the globe, it seems like hate towards the Jewish community is only increasing. Even though Jews may feel alienated right now, author Ari Mittleman wants to remind them: They are, in fact, not alone.

In his new book “Paths of the Righteous: Stories of Heroism, Humanity and Hope,” Mittleman highlights eight non-Jewish individuals who have gone above and beyond for Israel as well as the Jewish people. Included in the book are Olga Meshoe Washington, a South African Zionist, Holocaust restitution lawyer Markus H. Stötzel, Aston Bright, a firefighter with the Israeli Emergency Volunteers Project and Chloé Valdary, founder of Theory of Enchantment and a Zionist activist.

“My focus in the book is to point toward diverse, unheralded non-Jews who exude infectious decency and, in the process, not only help our community, but educate their peers,” said Mittleman, who lives with his wife and daughter in Pikesville, Maryland. “I hope to share these stories, as they inspired me during a difficult time as an American Jew.”

“My focus in the book is to point toward diverse, unheralded non-Jews who exude infectious decency and, in the process, not only help our community, but educate their peers.” – Ari Mittleman

The book’s opening story is about Bright, who helped the local fire department in Sderot, Israel fight fires near Gaza in 2018. When he got the call from the Emergency Volunteers Project that they needed him, he flew from his home in Plantation, Florida to Israel to assist with the efforts. While there, he learned how Hamas were starting the fires with kites and balloons. He also took in the culture, discovering how much he loved shakshuka and how dedicated Jews were to keeping Shabbat. When a synagogue caught on fire, the firefighters didn’t hear about it for 20 minutes because nobody wanted to pick up a phone and call for help. 

 “He might not have understood, but he admired the level of devotion,” Mittleman writes.

In the months after his trip to Sderot, Bright talked in front of audiences in Maryland, New York, Georgia and Florida, discussing how on the last day he was in Israel, there were 26 fires. The previous year in Plantation, there were only 36 total fires.

“Aston always had a soft spot for Israel and considered the nation and its citizens friends,” writes Mittleman. “But through two life-changing deployments in Israel and talking to diverse Jewish American audiences, he realized that he was wrong. They weren’t just his friends. Israel and the Jewish people were family.”

Mittleman, who is a political consultant and strategist in his day job, did not set out to write a book. But after his mother died and the attacks in Pittsburgh happened, he didn’t want to become pessimistic. 

“We have a home gym and at first, this was my outlet,” he said. 

After the mourning period, when there were more attacks in Monsey, Jersey City and Brooklyn, Mittleman felt he needed yet another outlet. He started searching for positive stories that weren’t in the depressing headlines. 

“There are probably thousands of stories out there like the eight I profile,” he said. “We need to look for the positive in these uncertain times. I think that is the antidote for what we have seen as a Jewish community in recent years. The process of writing this book has taught me to focus on optimism, and that is what I hope to teach our daughter.”

Mittleman connected to some of the individuals through his wife and her colleagues at AIPAC, and others he knew already or found online. 

“The individuals profiled in the book were and are a source of inspiration,” he said. “I will forever be grateful that they lent me their most valuable resource – their time.”

With “Paths of the Righteous,” Mittleman hopes his book will be a beacon of light in a dark time.

“The truth is, we’re not alone during these tough times,” he said. “[Mishlei 4:18 says] ‘The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn; it shines ever brighter until the day is perfect.’ I am not sure what perfect means for our Jewish community and I know we are going to hit more speed bumps and twists and turns along this path, but I know that these eight incredible men and women demonstrate the truest meaning of this verse.”

“Paths of the Righteous” Book Shines Light on Non-Jewish Allies Read More »

Former Trump Ambassador Ric Grenell Criticizes Big Tech “Hypocrisy” for Allowing Iran to Promulgate Antisemitism

Leave a Comment / News /

Ric Grenell, who served as the United States Ambassador to Germany and Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations in the Trump administration, criticized Big Tech platforms for allowing the Iranian regime to promulgate misinformation and hate on their platforms, Newsmax reported.

Grenell was speaking on a February 3 fireside chat with Iranian Americans for Liberty (IAL) Executive Director Bryan Leib. Leib told Grenell that the Iranian regime released a video in December showing them firing missiles into Israel and a month later released another video showing former President Donald Trump being killed. “Shouldn’t these actions, Ric, by the Iranian regime be a disqualifier for us to sit across the table from them?” Leib asked.

Grenell replied: “What’s really troubling is that the social media companies, Big Tech, have these policies that if you give COVID misinformation, you’re kicked off or you get a warning. But the regime continues to have a variety of social media accounts spewing not only misinformation but violence and antisemitism and homophobia. This is unbelievable that Big Tech allows this to happen and I think we’ve got to constantly raise our voices that this hypocrisy of allowing the hate and the terror to be spewed on social media is unacceptable.”

He added that “the Iranian regime does not allow their own people to use Google but they have Google themselves in their elite ranks. They know exactly that Joe Biden is extremely weak and wanting to have some sort of deal. I can tell you that the deals that the Biden team is cutting will include cash, there is no question about it.” Grenell argued that the U.S. needs to “bring down the government firewalls on the Internet, social media and all information.” “If we’re going to have this big debate in America about perfect information and allowing accurate information to flow, why aren’t we using our technology––which does exist in America and Silicon Valley––to be able to bring down the government firewalls?” Grenell said. “This would allow individuals in Cuba, in China, in North Korea and in Iran, to actually have access to all of this information, to perfect information, and then they would be able to make decisions on their own.

“Nothing will threaten the Iranian regime or the Communist Party of China like giving the people better information,” Grenell added, “and I think that the State Department has done a terrible job of using this as a tool. We have the funds, we have the technology, it should just be done.”

Leib then told Grenell that IAL has met with members of Congress who plan on bringing forth resolutions that would bar Iranian officials––including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei––from using U.S.-based social media platforms. Grenell interjected, “It’s totally sad that we need an act of Congress to get Big Tech to do it when they jump at the chance to kick off conservative or anybody else who say they say is spreading COVID misinformation.” “It’s really the height of hypocrisy,” Leib agreed.

IAL released a statement after the fireside chat echoing Grenell’s comments, noting that Iran was the only country in the United Nations to vote against a recent resolution condemning Holocaust denial and that Iran is the only country that actively promulgates “Holocaust conspiracy theories” on social media platforms.

“We are doubling down our call to action,” the IAL said. “Congress must introduce and pass legislation to restrict the access of Iranian Regime officials who traffic in lies, spread misinformation, and deny the Holocaust. The time is now for action from U.S. lawmakers.”

In July 2020, a clip went viral of an Israeli Knesset hearing in which human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky, who heads the International Legal Forum, asked Head of Twitter Policy for the Nordics and Israel Ylwa Pettersson why Twitter was flagging tweets from then-President Donald Trump but weren’t doing the same thing to Khamenei, “who has literally called for the genocide of Israel and the Jewish people.” Pettersson replied: “We have an approach to our leaders that presently say that direct actions with fellow public leaders, comments on political issues of the day or foreign policy saber-rattling on military, economic issues are generally not in violation of our rules.” Michal Cotler-Wunsh, then a Knesset member, followed up by asking Pettersson, “Calling for genocide on Twitter is OK but commenting on political situations in certain countries is not OK?” Pettersson replied that Trump’s tweet stating “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” was flagged for “glorification of violence.”

 

Former Trump Ambassador Ric Grenell Criticizes Big Tech “Hypocrisy” for Allowing Iran to Promulgate Antisemitism Read More »

Everyone Loves Meshel

Leave a Comment / Columnists /

Meshel just turned 41 but looks quite a bit younger. In the last five or so years, if Meshel and I talked more than half a dozen times, that would be a lot. I only see Meshel on Saturday mornings at shul during Shabbat services. I do try to always remember to tell him to have a good Shabbos and I always get a “good Shabbos” and a smile back from him. 

Occasionally, he might say a few other things to me, but that is rare. Meshel has a beautiful round face and is always in a handsome suit and a kippah. He occasionally wears a tallit. He always has his prayer book and his copy of the Torah. Meshel always sits right up in the front row, as close to the ark as you can get. Because he is a holy person, he is also permitted to sit in the special seat that is reserved for our assistant rabbi, or for visiting rabbis or dignitaries from out of town.  

During the service, Meshel continuously seems to be reading or praying with great focus. It’s a type of focus I have never come close to achieving—and probably never will. I don’t have his gift.

Meshel doesn’t know it, but he is one of my teachers. He teaches not with his words, but with what I think is an even higher form, perhaps the ultimate form. He teaches by example. 

Meshel doesn’t know it, but he is one of my teachers. He teaches not with his words, but with what I think is an even higher form, perhaps the ultimate form. He teaches by example. At almost any given moment that I look his way, I am moved by what I see. His level of commitment to his prayer is extraordinary. If there was ever a person who might have a direct link to God, Meshel is that person.

I remember pointing out to Rabbi Zev Wiener how high Meshel lifts his head and arms in the air toward heaven to communicate with God. He seems to beseech God. Few people challenge God’s ear quite the way Meshel does. Rabbi Wiener and I agree that Meshel is on a whole other level. 

When the Torah is being carried through the crowd, Meshel is one of the first people there to kiss it. 

There are certain times during the Shabbat service that we are asked to bow our heads before our Creator. Nobody bows quite like Meshel. To watch him with his Pavarotti-style bow, you might almost believe he just saw God walk into the room. Most people would feel self-conscious about making the grand gestures Meshel makes. 

It truly is a remarkable sight. 

When Rabbi Muskin, the head of our shul, Young Israel of Century City, speaks on Shabbat, Meshel is right there in the front row listening to every word.  

Then comes the big finish. This is where Meshel seems to pray for all of us. At the end of the service is the Aleinu prayer. Aleinu conveys fundamental values of Judaism. You give praise for being a unique person with a unique mission and hope for the time when God’s presence will be fully realized.

The last word of the prayer is “echad.” The Torah says the following about “echad”: “God will reign forever and ever” and “God will be Ruler over the whole Earth and on that day, God will be One, and God’s name will be One.”  

There is a point at which the congregation speaks the word “echad” out loud together. That’s when Meshel takes over the entire service. Everyone in the shul stops to hear Meshel as he cries out from deep within his soul the word, “echad.” He does so as loud as he can while holding the note for as long as he can and punctuating the “d” at the end of the word. 

While Meshel is holding that note, he hopefully is gathering all our prayers and taking them straight to heaven, which is where we all know his crying out of “echad” is going.

Rebekah Jalali is the administrator of the shul. When I asked her about Meshel she said, “Everyone loves him. He’s amazing. We admire his commitment to his faith. He inspires us all when he davens out loud.” 

His mother Diana said, “He is everything and more than I could ever ask for.”

Meshel our teacher has Down syndrome.

Mark Schiff is a comedian, actor and writer.

Everyone Loves Meshel Read More »

Spielberg, Gyllenhaal, Garfield Among 2022 Jewish Oscar Nominees

Leave a Comment / Featured, Hollywood /

(JTA) — Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” drew seven Oscar nominations Tuesday, including best picture and best director.

Spielberg’s best-director nomination makes the Jewish Hollywood legend one of only four filmmakers in history to ever be nominated at least eight times for best director. (Two of the others are also Jewish; the third is Martin Scorsese.) He has won the award twice before, for “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan.” With this nomination, Spielberg also makes history as the only director to have ever been nominated for the award across six different decades, beginning with his nod in 1978 for “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.”

Spielberg, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Andrew Garfield were the most prominent Jews to nab Oscar nods this year. The year’s nominations also included a high-profile Jewish snub: “West Side Story” screenwriter Tony Kushner failed to score a best adapted screenplay nomination.

Gyllenhaal got a best adapted screenplay nomination for her take on “The Lost Daughter,” based on the Elena Ferrante novel, which she also directed. (“The Lost Daughter” also received nominations for lead and supporting actress.) Gyllenhaal has received one other Oscar nomination: for best supporting actress for 2009’s “Crazy Heart.”

Elsewhere in the acting categories, Jewish star Andrew Garfield was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Jewish playwright Jonathan Larson in the musical “tick, tick… BOOM!” The movie was based on Larson’s own stage show and also received a nomination for best editing. It’s Garfield’s second acting nomination; his first was for starring in Mel Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge.” And Kristen Stewart, whose started her performing career by singing the Dreidel song at a school Hanukkah concert, received a best actress nomination for playing Princess Diana in “Spencer,” her first nomination.

Jewish actress and rock musician Alana Haim, who was expected to be a contender for her debut lead performance in “Licorice Pizza,” did not receive a best actress nomination, though the film — about a young Jewish woman’s coming-of-age in 1970s Los Angeles — received three, including best picture.

Veteran Jewish screenwriter Eric Roth, already an Oscar winner for “Forrest Gump,” was nominated again in the adapted screenplay category for co-writing the script to the sci-fi epic “Dune” with Jon Spaihts and the film’s director, Denis Villeneuve. “Dune” nabbed 10 nominations in total, including best picture.

And David Sirota, a progressive journalist and former Bernie Sanders staffer who has tweeted about his Judaism as well as his criticism of Israel, was nominated in the original screenplay category for collaborating with Adam McKay on the climate-change satire “Don’t Look Up,” which received four total nominations, including best picture.

In the music category, longtime recording artist Diane Warren received her 13th Oscar nomination for penning the original song “Somehow You Do” from the film “Four Good Days” (performed in the film by country star Reba McEntire). Warren, whose other hit songwriting credits include “Rhythm of the Night” and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” grew up in a Jewish family in Los Angeles and has said her father changed their last name from Wolfberg to sound less Jewish. Despite her large stack of nominations, she has never won.

Three of the five nominated composers in the original score category have Jewish backgrounds: Nicholas Britell, nominated for “Don’t Look Up”; Hans Zimmer, nominated for “Dune”; and Jonny Greenwood, nominated for his work on the moody Western “The Power Of The Dog” by director Jane Campion (Greenwood, also a member of the band Radiohead, is married to Israeli artist Sharona Katan, who has told Israeli media that the couple raises their kids Jewish). “The Power Of The Dog” received 12 nominations in total, including best picture, and is considered a favorite to win.

One under-the-radar Jewish snub came in the best documentary short category, where the animated documentary “Camp Confidential: America’s Secret Nazis,” about Jewish soldiers in World War II assigned to look after a secret Nazi POW camp on American soil, failed to make the cut.

However, another short documentary with Jewish connections did score a nomination: “When We Were Bullies,” directed by Jay Rosenblatt, a longtime independent filmmaker who also currently works as program director at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. In Rosenblatt’s film, he explores his own complicity in a school bullying incident decades prior.

Meanwhile, “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” the Shakespeare adaptation from writer-director Joel Coen, did not score any nominations for Coen but did earn three other nominations, including best actor for star Denzel Washington.

Announced in a virtual ceremony co-hosted by “Black-ish” star Tracee Ellis Ross, whose dad is Jewish, the nominations made room for some guest appearances. One visitor who dropped in was TikTok star and movie enthusiast Reece Feldman, who also worked as a production assistant on the set of the upcoming fourth season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and has made videos poking fun at his Judaism.

Spielberg, Gyllenhaal, Garfield Among 2022 Jewish Oscar Nominees Read More »