fbpx

GET HOME DELIVERY! CLICK HERE »

ADVERTISE
pick up locations
HOME DELIVERY
donate

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

September 4, 2024

Tolkien’s Timely Testimony

Commentary, Opinion /

A simmering antisemitism is plaguing today’s literary scene. As James Kirchick noted in a New York Times op-ed titled “A Chill has Fallen Over Jews in Publishing,” following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s response, “over the past several months, a litmus test has emerged across wide swaths of the literary world effectively excluding Jews from full participation unless they denounce Israel.” No longer is being subject to negative reviews the worst fate that can befall a Jewish writer exploring Jewish themes, he wrote – “even getting such a book published is becoming increasingly difficult.” As a prominent literary agent told him, “When you are seen as genocidal, a moral insult to humanity because you believe in Israel’s right to exist, you are now seen as deserving of being canceled.” All this before a Jewish author (himself a non-Zionist) had a book launch in Brooklyn canceled this summer for the sin of planning to have a Zionist rabbi interview him at the event.

The recent release of the newest season of Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” then, is an occasion to revisit one beloved legendary writer’s defense of the Jews amidst the attacks of those seeking our destruction. 

J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of “The Lord of the Rings” books, was horrified by the Nazi policy towards Germany’s Jews. In 1938, when publication of a German edition of his “The Hobbit” was delayed because of the publisher’s doubt that “Tolkien” was an Aryan name, Tolkien drafted a letter to the publisher. In it he wrote, “if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people … I cannot, however, forbear to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries of this sort are to become the rule in matters of literature, then the time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride.” 

Decades later, in 1971, after the German genocide of the Jews had been stopped, he noted in another letter, “My name is Tolkien, anglicized from To(l)kiehn = tollkühn, and came from Saxony in the 18th century. It is not Jewish in origin, though I should consider it an honour if it were.”

“My name is Tolkien, anglicized from To(l)kiehn = tollkühn, and came from Saxony in the 18th century. It is not Jewish in origin, though I should consider it an honour if it were.”

As the contemporary Israeli writer Rabbi Jeffrey Saks has noted, Tolkien’s affinity for the Jewish people was personal. During World War II, he and other Oxford professors served as air raid wardens. In January 1944 he related the following in a note to his son: “I was [on air raid duty] in the small C33 room: very cold and damp. But an incident occurred which moved me and made the occasion memorable. My companion in misfortune was Cecil Roth (the learned Jew historian). I found him charming, full of gentleness (in every sense); and we sat up till after 12 talking. He lent me his watch as there were no going clocks in the place: – and nonetheless himself came and called me at 10 to 7: so that I could go to Communion! It seemed like a fleeting glimpse of an unfallen world. Actually I was awake, and just (as one does) discovering a number of reasons (other than tiredness and having no chance to shave or even wash), such as the desirability of getting home in good time to open up and un-black and all that, why I should not go. But the incursion of this gentle Jew, and his sombre glance at my rosary by my bed, settled it. I was down at St Aloysius at 7.15 just in time to go to Confession before Mass; and I came home just before the end of Mass.”

Some have suggested that Tolkien’s affinity for the Jews, inspired by such interactions, manifested in the pages of his classic works. As Rabbi Meir Soloveichik has put it, in the dwarves in Tolkien’s tales, “we have …  a bunch of short, bearded beings exiled from their homeland, who have dreamed forever of returning. They are linked to a place they lost long ago, dwell in other realms throughout the earth, and yet are so profoundly connected to their own kingdom that it remains vivid to them while for others it is a fading memory. There is one tribe that offers a perfect real-world parallel to Tolkien’s dwarves; there is only one nation that has remained existentially linked to the kingdom its people lost long ago even as it mingled among kings and queens and common folk of other lands throughout history: The Jews.”

As Israel and Jews across the globe seek to stem the specter of Jew-hatred in the literary scene and beyond, Tolkien’s testimony serves as a mountain of moral clarity in the mist of our current moment.

Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern is Senior Adviser to the Provost of Yeshiva University and Deputy Director of Y.U.’s Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought. His books include “The Promise of Liberty: A Passover Haggada,” which examines the Exodus story’s impact on the United States, “Esther in America,” “Gleanings: Reflections on Ruth” and “Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land: The Hebrew Bible in the United States.”

Tolkien’s Timely Testimony Read More »

A Dream Is Knocking

Poetry /

Knocking at my door comes a Dream today.
Shall I choose to let in
will I send it away.
It had come before and long waited there
while I, like you, for it searched
in some other somewhere
for I was told the dream to ignore
even better yet, to believe it no more.
But here it is once more
Knocking at my door
Like a hopeful note of a sweet refrain
In the early light of November morn’.

It had traveled long and is standing near –
and all that stands ‘tween us –
‘tween the dream and I,
is a wooden pane,
an old plain white birch
maybe oak – closed door
the kind that keeps those ‘them’ there
and those ‘us’ –
safely here.

now the Dream stands too
on the other side
if I wait too long
he may just be gone
and never again
will I dare ask – where?

It’s a Dream of things
not yet –
but of soon to be.
It’s a song we sing when our hearts are free
of a War ended, of a son’s return
of a worker’s pride in his hand’s reward
of a torch once bright
that has gone so dark,
but again will shine
when tomorrow comes,
of myriads hopes tarnished
once again restored,
of a mother’s wish
for a daughter’s right
to be free to choose,
from the yokes of laws
and clutches of men
her body stolen –
to regain!

Of an earth we heal
as the threat we heed
when oceans and forests
to us talk and plead,
of a people’s prayer
when the times are hard
of a nation’s wounds –
when it’s halved apart
by the voice of fear
and the sounds of hate
where lies in legions are forged
and truths rejected and scorned!
wounds we’ll try and mend
when tomorrow comes
when us and them
again are but one.

through the door still shut –
and my eyes still closed
Now able to think
Not afraid to wish
I can dare to want
so the Dream I ask –

Are you weary friend?
Now you’ve come so far
Are you not afraid?
For arduous and long
lies ahead the road –
as the future dons now upon its face
the opaque robes of uncertainty,
as ever cunning lurks our enemy
And ever relentless the foe
And, though clear to you
the task at hand,
each journey’s glorious end
must still its thousands woes
face.

will you still remain
once you’ve boarded that kingly train,
vigilant and strong
when the meek and coward label you wrong
when the people’s voice
in dissent cry out
will you still us guide
with a steady hand
and not choose to hide
as so well has done
the dark king we knew
who did not know us
And to whom with glee
we hope at last to say:
king, dark knights, court jesters and all,
here to you we bid
this our glad farewell!”

And the Dream reply
as the door I pry –
is concise and clear
and the voice is strong
and the heart is brave –
and it speaks to me words
I’ve longed to hear
find our long lost way
to a brave and brand new day –
when sweet freedom song
to us all belongs,
where allegiance is
what it always was –
to a grand old flag,
and a country mine
not just yours and theirs
but forever ours.

So that hand in hand
we can safely walk
in a world where doors
be they birch or oak
will no longer shut
but choose to remain
for the longest while
open wide to both you and I
to them and to us.

at my door came a Dream today
I chose.

Annette H. Sabbah is a Los-Angeles based multi-media artist, designer and writer.

A Dream Is Knocking Read More »

When Sweet Meets Sour—Delicious Tamarind Chicken

Food /

When my children were little, the only way they would eat chicken was when I cooked it with a barbecue sauce. And they loved it when I would spoon the sweet mesquite flavored juices over the rice.

Nowadays, on Friday nights, no matter what else is on the menu, chicken is a must for my family. The kids love my lemon chicken or my olive chicken. And all three of them still relish taking the juice and spooning it over the rice.

Although my family doesn’t tire of my standard chicken recipes, I get bored. So, recently on a Friday morning, I was a bit desperate for a new recipe. I looked in my pantry for inspiration and sitting there was a jar of tamarind paste.

Since my son Sam married Estrella, we have become accustomed to using tamarind more regularly. Estrella has Syrian heritage by way of Mexico City and brings with her their culinary traditions. Syrian Jews love to use tamarind in most of their recipes.

Tamarind is an indispensable ingredient in the kitchen, lending dishes a sweet and sour complexity. I absolutely love the dark caramel and molasses notes and the way it perfectly transforms chicken, meat, and vegetables.

In crafting this recipe, I thought back to my mother’s Friday night chicken, which often included white wine and potatoes or tomato sauce and red peppers.

Luckily, this tamarind chicken was a hit, a delectable homage to the old generation and the new.

The chicken was succulent and juicy, the onions soft and melted and the potatoes, creamy and flavorful. The sauce was a wonderful play of lemony sweetness and herby, garlicky umami. Just perfect for spooning over your rice.

—Rachel 

Tamarind Chicken

Spice Rub
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

8-10 pieces of chicken, thighs and drumsticks, patted dry
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 onions, peeled and quartered
6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves

2 Tbsp consommé
1 cup water 

2 Tbsp tomato purée
2 Tbsp tamarind
2 Tbsp pomegranate syrup or honey
1/2 cup water
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp oregano
1 lemon, sliced into rings 

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken pieces evenly with the spice mix. 

Pour the olive oil in a large roasting tray or casserole dish. Arrange the chicken (skin side up), onions, potatoes, garlic and bay leaf in layers. 

 In a measuring cup, mix the consommé and water. Then pour around the sides of the roasting dish. 

In the same measuring cup, combine the tomato purée, tamarind, honey and water. Pour sauce over the chicken pieces.

Pour the chopped tomatoes over the sauce, then sprinkle with the oregano.

Arrange lemon slices between the chicken pieces. Cover tightly.

Place on bottom shelf of the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and turn the chicken pieces over.

Bake covered for another 45 minutes.

Turn chicken over, so that skin side is up. Bake uncovered for another 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Serve chicken with the thick basting juices from the pan.

Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Emquies Sheff have been friends since high school. The Sephardic Spice Girls project has grown from their collaboration on events for the Sephardic Educational Center in Jerusalem. Follow them
on Instagram @sephardicspicegirls and on Facebook at Sephardic Spice SEC Food. Website sephardicspicegirls.com/full-recipes.

When Sweet Meets Sour—Delicious Tamarind Chicken Read More »

Back-to-School Treats

Food /

Make back-to-school prep fun: Bond with your kids by baking. They will have a yummy treat for their lunchbox and/or a special after-school snack.

Jessie-Sierra Ross’ loaded oatmeal raisin cookies are a family favorite. Packed with oats, raisins, chocolate and dried cranberries, it’s the perfect lunchbox treat. 

“We love this recipe in my house because it’s so adaptable,” Ross, creator of the Straight to the Hips, Baby blog and author of “Seasons Around the Table,” told the Journal.  “And it makes a great weekend baking project with the kids.”

The Ultimate Loaded Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe

2 sticks salted butter slightly softened but still cool to the touch
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar packed
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Reserve.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or, in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), cream together the butter and light brown sugar until combined.

Next, add the vanilla extract to the bowl along with the 2 eggs.

Beat on medium speed until well combined.

In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and ground cinnamon. Fork stir.

Add the dry ingredients slowly to the creamed butter and sugar, on low to medium speed, until blended.

Next, stir in the oatmeal, dried fruit and chocolate chips, until incorporated.

Scrape down the bowl and the beaters, and cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap. Pop into the refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes. This will stop the cookies from spreading too far while baking.

After chilling, pull out your prepared cookie sheets and measure out 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. Roll slightly in your hands and place on the cookie sheet.

Next, either using your palm, the bottom of a drinking glass, or a cookie stamp, gently press down on the cookie dough evenly. We want the cookie dough to flatten and spread slightly.

Continue scooping / rolling / pressing until you have 6-8 cookies per sheet.

Bake the two pans on the center racks of your oven for 13-15 minutes, or until set with slightly browned edges.

After baking, let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, before transferring to a larger cooling rack.

Repeat the process.

Once cool, store cookies in an airtight container.

Judy Elbaum’s chocolate chip bars is a fun, simple, kid-friendly recipe, perfect for getting everyone in the back-to-school spirit. “Older children can help to measure and mix up the ingredients in the mixer, while the little ones can add the ingredients and help to fold in the nuts and chocolate chips,” Elbaum, founder of the Leave it to Bubbe blog, told the Journal. “They can get creative as they drizzle on designs with the caramel and chocolate glazes.” These bars tend to disappear quickly, so you might want to make more than one batch!

“You can have some fun with this recipe by substituting the bittersweet chocolate chips with milk or white chocolate chips, peanut butter or butterscotch chips — or a combination of some or all of them,” Elbaum said. “You can also substitute your favorite nut for the walnuts: Pecans, almonds, peanuts and macadamia nuts would work well.”

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Chocolate Chip Bars

Cookie Bars
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening (I use Crisco)
1 1/4 cups pack brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Caramel Glaze
4 ounces caramel candies
2 Tbsp water

Chocolate Glaze
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate
2 ounces butter or margarine
1/2 Tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  

Grease and flour a 9×9″ square baking pan.  Cut out a 9×9″ piece of parchment or wax paper to place on the bottom of the baking pan for easy removal of the bars after they are baked.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt and combine well with a whisk.  Set aside.

Place the shortening in a mixing bowl and with an electric mixer beat for 1 to 2 minutes until fluffy. Add the brown sugar and beat for about two minutes until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla, beating until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in 2 to 3 additions, and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Fold in the chocolate chips and the walnuts until well mixed. 

Place the dough into the prepared 9-inch square baking pan, spread evenly and bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

Cut the bars into 16 squares (make sure to remove the parchment paper from the bottom of the bars) and serve as is or with a sprinkling of confectioner’s sugar.

If desired, drizzle chocolate and/or caramel glaze over the bars.

For the caramel glaze: Place caramel candies and water in a small heavy saucepan and stir until melted and smooth. Dip a teaspoon into the warm glaze and with a backward/forward motion drizzle the caramel over the bars. For the chocolate glaze

For the chocolate glaze: Place chocolate, butter, and honey on the top part of a double boiler over (not touching) simmering water and whisk until fully melted and smooth.  While the glaze is still warm to the touch, use a teaspoon to drizzle the chocolate glaze over the bars with a backward/forward motion.

Back-to-School Treats Read More »

A Prayer When One Experiences an Antisemitic Incident

Columnists /

I am frightened, God, angry, in disbelief. I never imagined this would happen to me, that anyone would target me for being a Jew. I am deeply shaken by the rise of antisemitism in this country and throughout this world. 

I don’t want to ignore this incident, nor do I want to overreact, so that I am suspicious of every new encounter. 

Show me, God, how to not live in fear, remind me that I am not alone. Give me the courage to speak up and speak out, to seek help from those who stand with me and from organizations that will defend my people and all people. Fill me with the determination to join hands with Jews and non-Jews across the globe to put an end to antisemitism and all prejudice wherever it lies. 

I pray for the day when people will learn to see one another through Your eyes, God. In Your eyes all people are equally loved, equally precious. 

I will not hide who I am, I refuse to cower in fear. I will not lose my faith in human goodness. Fill me with the strength, God, to turn my despair into hope and my rage into calm, thoughtful action. Grant me the wisdom to transform this act of hate into a deeper commitment to my people and my faith.

God, my Shelter, Guardian of Israel, teach me to see that the sacred flame of my ancestors burns brightly within me. I am grateful to be part of a holy and blessed people who have withstood and survived centuries of hate – and still we spread Your light and still we thrive! 

Am Yisrael Chai! 

Bless Israel, God, bless our people, bless this world with peace. 

Amen.

Rabbi Naomi Levy is the founder of Nashuva and author of “Einstein and the Rabbi.”

A Prayer When One Experiences an Antisemitic Incident Read More »

You Gotta Have Chaverim

Columnists /

With Jew-haters emboldened and our ancient homeland under siege, we need friends more than ever. Too bad, then, that friendships seem to be in increasingly short supply.  

While it is said that friends are the family we choose, they are also those it is easiest to leave behind. Life events, both joyous and tragic, bring family members together. But meaningful friendships require a special and sustained effort.  

When I was a college president, I met with alumni at reunions who proudly introduced me to their roommates from decades earlier. I heard how they provided emotional support after graduation, and participated in each other’s weddings. But all too frequently that would be followed with a sigh, as they recounted how they had fallen out of touch over the years, only now to be reacquainted during reunion. There were lots of reasons why they went their separate ways – busy careers, geographical distances, and the like.

How unfortunate. When times are good, you want to celebrate with those who knew you before you experienced such success.  And when times are challenging, as they certainly are today, old friends can prove indispensable.  

Alas, data shows that human connections are under threat.  A 2018 national survey found that almost half of American adults say they sometimes or always feel alone.  Then, with the pandemic, things got even worse.  The situation is dire enough to have led the U.S. Surgeon General to issue a 2023 advisory titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.”  

The Surgeon General’s report reviews the extensive literature on the impact of loneliness on mental and physical well-being and finds that “loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling – it harms both individual and societal health.  It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.” Most shockingly: “The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.” Who would have thought that loneliness might be as fatal as smoking?

A report from the Mayo Clinic provides another comprehensive summary of the literature.  Aptly titled “Friendships:  Enrich your life and improve your health,” it argues not only that being surrounded by good friends increases your sense of belonging and purpose, lessens your stress, and raises your self-confidence, but also that friendships improve a variety of medical outcomes. The article goes on to suggest a number of ways to make friends.  My preferred option from their list:  Join a faith-based community.

And do I have a faith for you! Judaism develops and supports friendships, which is no small reason why our religion has been able to endure and even thrive through millennia of challenges.

Judaism develops and supports friendships, which is no small reason why our religion has been able to endure and even thrive through millennia of challenges.  

Whether it is with synagogue chaverim groups, campus Hillels, Jewish summer camps, Birthright trips, Shabbat dinner groups, or religious schools, friendships can be nurtured through socializing, learning, and prayer.  One of my favorite moments at synagogue services is when the rabbi pauses to allow congregants to introduce themselves to someone they don’t know, or to reconnect with somebody they do. That’s how I met one of my dearest friends, who 15 years ago was sitting a row behind me in temple.  And just last year I made a new friend the same way.  

I go to synagogue for inspiration and enlightenment, but making friends there is an important bonus. The social aspects of religious observance should not be understated. As the old joke goes, “Goldberg attends services to speak to G-d; I go to services to speak to Goldberg.”  

I suspect that after Oct. 7 many of us discovered that we have fewer real friends than we had believed prior to that fateful day.

But we must not despair. Don’t wait for a college reunion. Now is a perfect time to reach out to someone from your past, rekindling a lapsed friendship or strengthening an existing one. Or put yourself in a position to meet new friends, at temple or elsewhere. Friendships are much too precious to waste or take for granted. 

As Bette Midler sang so beautifully, “You gotta have friends … I don’t care if I’m hungry or freezin’ cold, I’m gonna get me some of them.”

Morton Schapiro is the former president of Williams College and Northwestern University.  His most recent book (with Gary Saul Morson) is “Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us.”

You Gotta Have Chaverim Read More »

Campus Watch September 5, 2024

Campus Watch, Community /

Temple University President Condemns Anti-Israel Activists Who Targeted Hillel

Temple University President Richard Englert issued a statement on Aug. 29 condemning anti-Israel protesters who targeted the university’s Hillel earlier in the day.

“While the protest began at the Charles Library, some of the demonstrators migrated to The Rosen Center, the home of the Temple chapter of Hillel… While there, the demonstrators used megaphones to chant directly at the occupants within the building,” Englert said. “We are deeply saddened and concerned by these events. Targeting a group of individuals because of their Jewish identity is not acceptable and intimidation and harassment tactics like those seen today will not be tolerated.” He also said in the statement that both students and non-students were involved in the protest and that the university is investigating the matter.

According to Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the university’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, who organized the rally, issued a statement denying that they engaged in intimidation, harassment and antisemitism.

Ritchie Torres Urges NY Colleges to Adopt NYU’s Policy That Targeting Zionists Is Discrimination

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) issued a letter to various New York colleges and universities on Aug. 26 urging them to adopt New York University’s (NYU) policy that targeting Zionists is a form of discrimination and thus violates university policy. 

The letter, obtained by Jewish Insider, was addressed to Columbia University, the State University of New York (SUNY) system, Cornell University, the City University of New York (CUNY) and Fordham University. Torres directly cited NYU’s policy stating that Zionist can be a “code word” because “for many people, Zionism is a part of their Jewish identity.” “Anti-Zionism and antisemitism are indeed intersectional and cannot be so easily compartmentalized in the real world as they can be in academic papers,” Torres wrote. “The lived experience of many Jewish students tells us that this is so.”

He added: “The substitution of the word ‘Zionist’ for ‘Jew’ is the modus operandi of the new antisemitism. Colleges must make it clear that word games will fool no one.” Torres concluded his letter by “calling on every college and university to follow NYU’s example and modernize their non-discrimination and non-harassment policies. Jewish students are entitled by law to institutions that are dedicated to their safety as an essential element of their education.”

Four Arrested During Anti-Israel “Die-In” at UMich’s Student Fair

Four people arrested were arrested on Aug. 28 after anti-Israel activists held a “die-in” during Festifall, University of Michigan’s student organization fair.

Colleen Mastony, the university’s assistant vice president for public affairs, announced the arrests in an Aug. 29 statement. “For more than an hour, a group of approximately 50 individuals lay on the [Central Campus] Diag in an attempt to disrupt the event,” Mastony said. “They were given multiple warnings that they were blocking pedestrian traffic and violating university policy. They had come to the Diag to pressure the university to divest from companies linked to Israel. Most eventually dispersed, although some refused to leave and, as a result, four people were arrested and taken into custody. All individuals arrested have been released, and charges are under review.” Mastony also said that only one of the arrested individuals was affiliated with the university, a temporary employee. None of those arrested are students.

The Michigan Daily described the anti-Israel protest as  “die-in.”

UVA Bans Encampments, Requires Mask-Wearers to Identify Themselves

The University of Virginia (UVA) announced on Aug. 26 that they have issued new policies banning encampments and requiring those wearing face masks to identify themselves. 

The policies state that “camping, with or without a tent, is prohibited in outdoor University facilities and on outdoor University property, and sleeping outdoors is prohibited between midnight and 6 a.m.” and that using outdoor tents at all requires permission from the university beforehand; even then, the tent can’t remain up for longer than 18 hours or between the hours 12 am to 6 am. “Any individual wearing a mask or other face covering on University property must present an identification document or otherwise establish their identity if requested by an authorized University official,” the policies also state. “Virginia law prohibits anyone over 16 from wearing a face covering with the intent of concealing their identity.”

Harvard Law Brings on Former UPenn President Liz Magill

The Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession has appointed Liz Magill, who resigned from her position as president of the University of Pennsylvania following her much-criticized testimony on campus antisemitism, as a visiting senior fellow.

The Harvard Crimson reported that Magill’s curriculum vitae has been updated to mention that she will be a visiting fellow at the school in the fall and the position will be temporary and unpaid. “A spokesperson for the Law School did not comment for this article,” the Crimson reported. “A representative for Magill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”

Magill resigned in Dec. 2023 after saying in congressional testimony that it would depend on the context on if calls for genocide against Jews violate university policy.

Campus Watch September 5, 2024 Read More »

Nimrod Arnin and Nova Survivors Share Harrowing Memories at Los Angeles Nova Exhibit

Community /

Nimrod Arnin relives Oct. 7 every day at the Nova Festival Exhibition, “Oct. 7, 06:29 AM – The Moment Music Stood Still.” He is not the only one. Dozens of survivors are participating in this unique exhibit, which includes thousands of items collected at the festival site. 

Some of these items were collected by Arnin, one of the festival’s producers and a group of friends who created “Hamal” (a technological war-room). During the first day they were able to locate 30 missing people, 15 of whom were found alive. Arnin lost many good friends that day, including his 22-year-old sister, Ayelet.

Ayelet, who was a news editor at the Israeli television channel Kan TV, recorded what happened in that shelter on her cell phone. For three hours, her phone captured the terrorists throwing grenades into the small bomb shelter and how Aner Shapira, a member of the Nahal Brigade, an elite unit of the IDF, kept throwing them back out. The recording continued even after she died, capturing the moment when Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who arrived at the festival with Shapira, screamed, “I don’t have an arm. I lost my arm,” before he and three others were taken by Hamas to Gaza. (On Aug. 31, the IDF announced that one of the bodies found in Rafah was Goldberg-Polin’s.)

There are dozens of videos and recordings playing at the exhibit, some capturing the chilling moments when young people were running for their lives, others showing survivors who narrowly escaped and testimonials from parents who lost a child or two.

Arnin points to his sister’s picture hanging on a wall along with 404 other people murdered at the festival. In the photo, she is raising a cup and smiling. Next to her is a photo of another 22-year-old, Shani Louk. A clip of Louk’s lifeless body on the back of a pickup truck circulated soon after the attack and became one of the first viral videos of the Israel-Hamas war.

At first, Arnin admits it was difficult to be there, surrounded by the voices and images. However, the importance of letting the world know and remember overshadows the pain. He wants people to know and acknowledge what happened there. That’s why he and other survivors arrived in Los Angeles, so there would always be someone there to talk to visitors.

At first, Arnin admits it was difficult to be there, surrounded by the voices and images. However, the importance of letting the world know and remember overshadows the pain.

It’s one thing to hear about what happened on Oct. 7 in the news and a completely different experience to visit the exhibit, listening to the testimonials while standing next to the burned cars and abandoned tents. All the items were collected and brought to the exhibit from ground zero. The only replica, perhaps, is that of the bomb shelter — a small room of about 45 square feet. 

Visiting the exhibit is very much like visiting Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. There is a display of shoes and clothes left behind by the victims. There is a bar with the actual bottles left on the counter, the portable toilets riddled with bullets and the purple canopy under which the partygoers danced.

There is a memorial wall with the photos of all those who lost their lives — some were raped, others tortured and killed, and some were fortunate enough to die instantly from a gunshot or grenade. Those who survived still carry the scars the physical ones but more so the emotional ones.

Guy Ben Shimon, one of the Nova survivors, told the Knesset this year that he and his friends are unable to function. “There are close to 50 people from Nova who committed suicide. This was true a couple of months ago, this number might have gone up.” He said that many survivors are hospitalized in mental institutions and he himself can hardly function. However, this number is disputed by different organizations working with the Nova survivors and by the Mental Health Division at the Ministry of Health, which claims there are only a few cases.

Soon after the tragedy, Arnin and other professionals established NovaHelp, an emergency mental health project for Nova survivors. 

Linda Sason, the spokesperson of the Nova healing project, said that the organization supports about 8,000 people, which includes Nova survivors and bereaved families. “Talking about suicide is tricky, it triggers people to do things. We are providing the emotional support. Once a week, we have community events for the survivors and families who lost a loved one. It gives them strength and helps rehabilitate them.” 

Arnin said that during the first week after Oct. 7, he was busy locating missing people, injured and dead. “We wanted to locate all the bodies so we could bring them to burial as soon as possible.” 

Those days were the most difficult ones. Sometimes, as he pulled bodies out of burned cars, he recognized the dead as friends. Then, three days after the terror attack on Israel, he found out that his sister Ayelet had been murdered. “Her friend who was with her in the bomb shelter survived. He went through a series of operations and told us what they had been through.”

The exhibition was conceived by Omri Sassi, Yoni Feingold, Ofir Amir and Yagil Rimoni of the Nova festival and directed by Reut Feingold. Bringing it to Los Angeles cost the organizers over $5 million. Some of it was covered by donations, but they are still working to raise money. All proceeds will go to help Nova survivors.

That’s why they are here—to tell the world their story, so no one will ever forget.” – Linda Sason

“If you visit the exhibition and happen to see one of the survivors or family members of those murdered at the festival, don’t hesitate and go talk with them,” Sason. said “That’s why they are here — to tell the world their story, so no one will ever forget.”

All proceeds from ticket sales will fund the activities of the Nova community, including commemorating the murdered, supporting bereaved families, and aiding survivors on their healing journey.

Tickets for $8 can be purchased at the website: https://www.novaexhibition.com

The Nova Exhibition is located at 8631 Hayden Place in Culver City. It is open through October 8.

Nimrod Arnin and Nova Survivors Share Harrowing Memories at Los Angeles Nova Exhibit Read More »

Chosen Links by Boaz – Ep 6: Palestinians For Peace With Israel

Chosen Links by Boaz /

Out of respect to this weekend’s 6 hostage families in mourning, I delayed the release of this fantastic episode. Out of respect to these 5 brave Palestinians who chose to speak to me publicly, it’s time to release it. This is the messaging we can all use right now. If more people thought and spoke like them, this world would be a far safer place.

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Yasmine Mohammed, John Aziz, Hamza Howidy and Mo Ghaoui spent time talking to me, and answering the deepest of questions. We discussed Hamas, sexual abuse, Islamic extremism, online hatred from both sides, Israel (both the good and bad), the harmful pro-Palestinian protests, and ways to move forward.

Ahmed was in the middle of meeting with hostage families and the ADL in DC. Hamza was literally on a train with unfortunate audio; and due to a family emergency Mo Husseini couldn’t make it, so both will appear in a follow-up episode.

Please watch this. Or HEAR it in any podcast store, as the latest episode of Chosen Links by Boaz. And if you aren’t already, follow on Instagram where the amazing reels from it will be released every other day.

And thank you to Brandon Meyer, David Mendelsohn and Chad Rubel for helping edit this in post!

The incredible Yasmine Mohammed invites you to visit her at:

Free Hearts Free Minds:
https://www.freeheartsfreeminds.com/

Her PHENOMENAL podcast:
https://youtube.com/@yasminemohammedxx

Her brilliant book Unveiled:
https://a.co/d/gKoj4M2

Clarity Coalition:
https://claritycoalition.org/

And on Instagram, X and Facebook!

(EDITOR NOTE – This episode was filmed on 7/25/24, which should be taken into account when viewing the conversation, given the ever-changing nature of the world.)

Chosen Links by Boaz – Ep 6: Palestinians For Peace With Israel Read More »

Mourning for Israel and the Hostages

Blogs /

I came home from a long, challenging day as a nurse, and Adi asked me if I was going to post about the tragedy in Israel. I said, “what can I offer that hasn’t been said by thousands of others today?”

Is my sadness any deeper than the countless who have personally lost friends and family on or since October 7th? No.

Does my outrage at the bloodthirsty terrorist organization Hamas, a mere finger in the fist of the terrorist regime of Iran, burn any hotter than the countless men and women who have had to bury loved ones on and since October 7th? No.

Can I possibly even IMAGINE what it must feel like to be the parents, siblings or loved ones of Hersch Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat or Eden Yerushalmi? To know that it was not enough that these 6 were violently kept hostage for close to a year, but that they were brutally murdered just to prevent their reunion with their families? No, nor do I ever want to.

But you don’t avoid visiting a Shiva house, just because it is well attended. You just go. And just because countless others have bled their emotions rawly today, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be said by me.

I mourn for Israel. I worry for my family and friends who hear air raid sirens, and run to bomb shelters on a daily basis. I fear the fires of division being stoked, by the Democratic and multi-ethnic population of Israel, which hate this war that they didn’t start, and are torn over what must happen next.

Nobody in Israel wants Hamas to exist, but can a fanatical ideology really be destroyed? Nobody in Israel can bear to see harm done to the hostages, but Sinwar himself was released as part of the Gilad Shalit deal with Hamas, and look what devastation he wrought. We want the war to end, but how? We want the hostages to be freed, but at what cost?

Tomorrow is the day we can start to come up with solutions, but for today, we pay a shiva visit to our beloved Israel, and tell the families of Hersch, Carmel, Eden, Alexander, Almog and Ori, that we love them, we mourn with them, and we pray to find a way forward.

Boaz Hepner works as a Registered Nurse in Saint John’s Health Center. He moonlights as a columnist, where his focuses are on health and Israel, including his Chosen Links section of the Journal.

Mourning for Israel and the Hostages Read More »