Wishing Everyone a Wonderful New Year

JTA’s 2013 news quiz

So, you think you know what’s going on in the Jewish world? Test just how closely you followed the year’s news (and remember it) with our end-of year-news quiz.

1. Berlin’s Jewish Museum provoked controversy this year with …

a) an exhibit exploring the origins of the swastika as an ancient Hindu symbol
b) an exhibit featuring Jews sitting in a glass box answering questions from visitors
c) an exhibit featuring selfies taken at Holocaust memorials
d) a panel discussion on whether or not Anne Frank would have been a “belieber”

2. Which of the following was NOT among the findings of the Pew survey of U.S. Jews?

a) Four percent of Orthodox Jews said they had a Christmas tree in their home last year
b) Twice as many Jews said having a sense of humor was essential to being Jewish as those who cited observing Jewish law
c) Fourteen percent of American Jews said they ate gefilte fish at least once a month
d) Seven times as many Conservative Jews as Reform Jews said they can carry on a conversation in Hebrew

3. Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg’s Supreme Court case against Northwest Airlines concerned …

a) too many Sabbath-eve takeoffs near Ginsberg’s home
b) Northwest dropping Ginsburg from its frequent-flier program for complaining too much
c) Ginsburg’s removal from a flight after putting on his tallis and tefillin
d) the distribution of pretzels aboard a Northwest flight that were not strictly kosher

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Reform Judaism tries for a ‘reboot’ in face of daunting challenges

By Uriel Heilman for JTA

SAN DIEGO (JTA) – What do you get when you bring together 5,000 of the Reform movement’s faithful for a conference in sunny San Diego in mid-December?

Four days of singing, learning, schmoozing and worrying at a gathering that seemed equal parts pep rally and intervention session.

For pep, there were the spirited prayer services, the morning-till-night stream of musical performances and Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, or URJ, who compared the challenges facing the movement to giant waves, crying “Surf’s up!”

“Big waves require more skill and courage to ride, but if ridden artfully they enable us to go faster and further than ever before,” Jacobs said, a giant screen projecting a swell behind him.

For the intervention, there was session after session devoted to the challenges facing the movement, especially the question of how to engage young adult Jews who, by and large, are steering clear of Reform synagogues.

“I think the Reform movement needs to remember that no matter how much we double down on great programming, it might not increase the likelihood that those young people are going to walk in,” Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson, a Reform rabbi who is president of the Wexner Foundation, said in a conference session focused on the recent Pew Research Center survey of U.S. Jewry. “I think that’s really hard for this gathering to keep in mind because we are the people who love what we do, and we just think if we do more of it and do it better and do it more often and do it faster that they’re going to come.”

Though Reform is the largest denomination in American Jewish life, there was palpable concern at the conference that the movement is headed for a diminished future. The fastest-growing group in American Jewry is Jews of no religion, and the denomination doing best at holding its own is Orthodox, according to the Pew survey.

Reform membership is dwindling, synagogues are struggling to secure their bottom lines and, as Jacobs noted at the last biennial, 80 percent of Reform Jews are “out the door” by the end of high school. Many never return: Fewer than half of Reform parents have their children enrolled in some kind of Jewish youth, camp or educational program, the Pew survey showed.

Jacobs has promised to “reboot” the movement, and he is focusing his efforts on young people.

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Duncan McAlpine Sennett, Oregon Teen, Delivers Bar Mitzvah Speech In Support Of Gay Marriage

An Oregon teen is heating up the blogosphere after video footage of his incredible Bar Mitzvah speech in support of same-sex marriage surfaced.

In the clip, Duncan McAlpine Sennett, who reportedly became a Bar Mitzvah at Portland's Congregation Beth Israel, offers his d’var Torah analysis of the Bible chapter in Genesis covering Jacob’s marriage to Leah and Rachel, two sisters who also happened to be his first cousins, observing that "the definition of traditional marriage is nothing like what people think it is today."

He then adds, "I am a very, very strong supporter of equal rights and the freedom of men and women to marry whomever they love."

Noting that his family is "very close friends" with a number of same-sex couples, which he describes as "wonderful people, wonderful parents and wonderful couples," Sennett says he has attended Prop 8 rallies and a same-sex wedding in the past as he is "proud to be part of a congregation that is 100 percent in support of same-sex marriage." 

If you can't view the video, try this link.

Alan Dershowitz retiring from Harvard Law School

BOSTON (JTA) — Alan Dershowitz, one of the country’s most prominent lawyers and a passionate, sometimes controversial, advocate for Israel, is retiring from Harvard Law School.

The 75-year-old lawyer, who is known for taking on high profile and often unpopular causes and clients, has taught at Harvard Law for half a century. His retirement is official at the end of the week.

In 1967, he became the youngest full professor in the school’s history. An expert in criminal and constitutional law, Dershowitz has served on the defense team of celebrities including O.J. Simpson and Claus von Bulow and, more recently, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Dershowitz, speaking from a conference in Israel, said last week according to the Boston Globe: “Yeah, I’m really retiring. …My retirement consists of reducing my schedule down to only about 10 things at any given time.”

Dershowitz, a Brooklyn native who has written and spoken often on his Orthodox Jewish upbringing and education, has used his prominence to defend Israel over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Among his harshest critics is Noam Chomsky, the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology linguist with whom he has had a long-running public feud over Israel.

In 2006, Dershowitz publicly challenged former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, for the views he expressed in his book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” calling the book biased.

While “proud to be Jewish and engaged with Israel’s future,” Dershowitz also assisted Palestinian students when they sought inclusion of the Palestinian flag in a campus display, Harvard Law School dean Martha Minow told JTA.

Minow described Dershowitz as a devoted teacher of 50 years. “We look forward to his continuing vibrancy, wit, and wisdom,” she said in an email to JTA.

Major storm, promised to be 3 times worse than previous days, under way in J’lem

Municipality urging everyone to stay indoors as weather conditions worsen; electric corp. declares national state of emergency; tens of thousands left without power

By Times of Israel staff

Here are a couple of pictures.  Watch a great slideshow of more great pictures of snow in the Holy City.

Who's funding non-Orthodoxy in Israel? Not who you think...

Unlike in America, Israelis don't pay to pray. This has created a problem, that has found an unorthodox solution.

By Judy Maltz for Haaretz

It’s taken almost 35 years, but if all goes as planned, Torat Hayyim, one of Israel’s oldest Conservative congregations, will finally move into its permanent home this coming March.

The roof above the 500-square-meter facility is already in place, and the floor tiles are now being laid. But rather than wait until the final nail is hammered into place, dozens of members of the Herzliya congregation, impatient to get a glimpse of their new home, piled into the construction site a few weeks ago to hold their annual Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony.

It cost more than $1 million to fund the building, and as Ruth Ritterband, co-president of the congregation, knows firsthand, raising that kind of money in Israel for this kind of project is no small challenge, which is why most of the funding came from donors abroad.

“In the U.S., the concept of giving and fundraising is very different from here,” says American-born Ritterband, who held various senior positions in the Conservative movement-affiliated Solomon Schechter school network before moving to Israel. “There are expectations that you’ll give there to the synagogue, the federation, the JCC – and not only that you’ll give, but also how much you’ll give. There just isn’t a tradition in Israel of giving for buildings.”

Nor is there a deep-seated tradition of paying congregational membership dues here, as Gilad Kariv, executive director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, knows all too well. “There’s something in their DNA that makes it hard for Israelis to understand the idea of having these institutions voluntarily funded,” he notes. Especially, he adds, when they see the government allocating 2 billion shekels annually in taxpayer money to the officially sanctioned Orthodox establishment and its institutions.

So if neither the government nor the public is willing to cough up the money to finance alternative religious institutions that are not recognized by the state, how is it that the number of Conservative and Reform congregations has grown dramatically in the past 15-20 years? And where is the money coming from to pay for the buildings and services they provide?

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Kissin takes Israeli citizenship

By Tom Gross for Mideast Dispatches

While some other leading artists are calling for a boycott of Israel, I can now reveal that Evgeny Kissin, generally regarded as one of the world’s greatest living pianists, will on Saturday take Israeli citizenship.

Unlike some Israeli musicians, Evgeny Kissin, who was born in Russia and has in recent years resided in London and Paris, is fiercely proud of being Jewish and of the Jewish state.

On Saturday evening at the Mishkenot Sha’ananim arts center in Jerusalem, he will receive his Israeli passport from another prominent Soviet-born Jew, Natan Sharansky (who, of course, spent years in solitary confinement in the gulag for saying he wanted to live in freedom). Evgeny will give a recital next Monday at Binyanei Ha’Uma, Jerusalem’s largest indoor venue.

Evgeny is long-standing subscriber to this email list, as well as being a personal friend of mine. He has asked for his original statement, made when he started the process of applying for Israeli citizenship almost two years ago (in Jan. 2012), to now be made public, so journalists and others subscribing to this list can read it.

In it, he says:

“I am a Jew, Israel is a Jewish state – and since long ago I have felt that Israel, although I do not live there, is the only state in the world with which I can fully identify myself, whose case, problems, tragedies and very destiny I perceive to be mine.

“If I, as a human being and artist represent anything in the world, it is my Jewish people, and therefore Israel is the only state on our planet which I want to represent with my art and all my public activities, no matter where I live.

“When Israel’s enemies try to disrupt concerts of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra or the Jerusalem Quartet, I want them to come and make troubles at my concerts, too: because Israel’s case is my case, Israel’s enemies are my enemies, and I do not want to be spared of the troubles which Israeli musicians encounter when they represent the Jewish State beyond its borders.

“I have always deeply despised chauvinism and have never regarded my people to be superior to other peoples; I feel truly blessed that my profession is probably the most international one in the world, that I play music created by great composers of different countries, that I travel all over the world and share my beloved music with people of different countries and nationalities – but I want all the people who appreciate my art to know that I am a Jew, that I belong to the People of Israel. That’s why now I feel a natural desire to travel around the world with an Israeli passport.”

Now Is the Time for All Communities To Speak Out Against Knockout Attacks Targeting Jews

Innocent people shouldn’t fear walking down the street, whatever their faith—and everyone must push back against the madness

By Rev. Al Sharpton for Tablet Magazine
Because I am a preacher and an advocate for civil rights, my life’s work has centered on the notion of equality and justice for all. Whether it’s fighting on behalf of victims of police brutality, pushing for immigration reform, or simply highlighting inequity, I firmly believe that we only progress forward when we unite across racial, ethnic, and religious lines in our efforts to right serious wrongs.

Humanity calls upon all of us to put aside our own personal identities and speak up when we witness deplorable incidents. Such a moment is once again before us, and this time the victims appear to be members of the Jewish community. I stand with them in strongly condemning the outrageous behavior referred to as “knockout games”—in which an attacker or attackers attempt to knock out an unsuspecting person with a single sucker punch. It’s not a joke, it’s not a game, and nobody is laughing.

In recent weeks, authorities have reported a rise in “knockout” incidents in areas around the country. Innocent folks have been struck while simply walking down the street, including a 78-year-old Jewish woman in Brooklyn last month. There simply aren’t enough adjectives to describe how despicable and reprehensible this behavior is. Anyone who would punch an elderly woman deserves no mercy in a court of law. While these cases are all horrific and inexcusable, there appears to be another troubling element in many of the attacks, especially in my home city of New York: Like the elderly woman, many of the reported victims have been Jewish. Police maintain that they cannot definitively conclude a pattern of biased behavior yet, but we—those who work diligently against racism and discrimination—can and must speak out now.

Continue reading.

The UN's Palestinian refugee agency is a farce

By Adi Schwartz for Mosaic

With much international media coverage, a photo exhibition called “The Long Journey” opened at the end of November in the old city of Jerusalem. A few dozen black and white images from the archives of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) will be on display until the end of January, when they will move on to Europe and North America.

These images of Palestinian refugees are part of a digital archive compiled by UNRWA, a project that was hailed by the agency's commissioner general, Filippo Grandi, as "a contribution to building a national heritage for the Palestinians." On UNRWA's website, the exhibition is considered part of the Palestinian "collective memory" and "communal identity."

While a photo exhibition in itself is hardly a problem, it serves nonetheless as an excellent example of the negative and non-constructive role that UNRWA—supposedly a neutral organization—plays in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Even the date chosen to launch the exhibition, Nov. 28, one day before the day commemorating the 1947 UN Partition Plan, is symbolic for the pro-Palestinian stance this UN body adopted.

It was the Arab rejection of the 1947 proposal to divide Mandatory Palestine into two states, Jewish and Arab, that caused the Arab-Israeli war in 1948 and the displacement of some 750,000 Palestinians (the number of the refugees has since swollen to 5 million). UNRWA's mere existence, therefore, is a result of the Arab rejection of the 1947 proposal, but you won't find this piece of information in UNRWA's publications.

UNRWA's role was to distribute humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian refugees and to provide them with healthcare and education. Along the years, however, the UN agency has perpetuated the refugee problem, which is probably the most difficult sticking point in the conflict, since the Palestinian refugees insist on their right to return to Israel. Any sober observer understands that no Israeli leader would ever let in so many Palestinians, as it would mean the end of Israel as a Jewish state.

The Palestinian refugee population is the only one in the world that keeps growing after 65 years. Palestinian refugees are the only ones with a separate UN agency taking care of them; the world’s other downtrodden have to make do with only one agency (UNHCR). The Palestinians even have a separate definition for their refugee status, which has no cessation clauses (the international definition has six). Palestinians are the only ones in the world who can be at the same time citizens of a country and refugees.

How is it that not a single Palestinian refugee was resettled in 65 years? How is it possible that 1.5 million Palestinian "refugees" are at the same time Jordanian citizens? Why are there refugee camps today in the Gaza Strip, which is fully controlled by the Palestinians? How can they be considered refugees by UNRWA, if they live in their own land?

The answer to all these questions is that UNRWA has sided with the most intransigent Palestinian view that calls for the return of millions of Palestinians and for the destruction of Israel. Absurdly, Western donors are financing an organization which prevents any possibility of a peaceful resolution of the Middle East conflict: total contributions to UNRWA have risen from $330 million in 2000 to $1 billion in 2009. This UN agency, the representative of the family of nations, is sponsored not by Iran or Hezbollah, but by Western governments, even though the outcome runs contrary to their interest.

The new exhibition sheds light on another problematic aspect of UNRWA – its participation in constructing a Palestinian "national heritage," "collective memory" and "communal identity." Since when is a supposedly neutral UN body involved in constructing a collective memory of one side to a conflict? Why should the international community strengthen an identity built on the negation of Israel's right to exist, which is what the "Right of Return" means?

Israeli construction of settlements in the West Bank is rightly considered by the international community a unilateral step that could affect the final status agreement. But so is the absurd continuation of the refugee problem by UNRWA: each day there are more refugees, and each day their refugee status is being reinforced and perpetuated by UNRWA. Since the refugee problem is the single biggest obstacle to a peaceful territorial two-state solution, it is high time the international community changed UNRWA's mandate and pushed for more constructive solutions to the Palestinian refugee problem.

Adi Schwartz is an independent Israeli journalist and researcher.

Nelson Mandela Dies at 95

Legendary South African leader fought for racial equality and peaceful resistance

By Stephanie Butnick for Tablet Magazine

We’re saddened to report that Nelson Mandela has died at 95. The legendary leader, who was imprisoned for 27 years, was South Africa’s first black president and a tireless voice against racial oppression.

When Mandela was hospitalized this summer, Dana Evan Kaplan, a reform rabbi who used to live in Cape Town, described his experience meeting then-President Mandela at interfaith events. Earlier this month Richard Kreitner wrote about the Jews in South Africa who allied with and supported Mandela in his revolutionary struggles.

The New York Times has a moving video tribute to Mandela, who leaves behind a rich and enduring legacy.

The Muslim World’s Intellectual Refuseniks Offer Enlightened Views on Islam and Israel

Egyptian playwright Ali Salem and others are marginalized at home and in the Western media, but they are political pioneers

By David Mikics for Tablet Magazine

When it comes to the Muslim world, Western opinion-makers seem to have a taste for what Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci called “organic intellectuals”—figures whose intellectual and political virtue flows from their rootedness in their native cultures. The West is allowed to admire its own native pantheon of free-thinking men and women who turned their backs on racism, anti-Semitism, and sexism and relied on the fiercest invective to scorch false beliefs and repressive practices. But Muslim intellectuals who condemn even the worst aspects of their own societies must be rootless cosmopolitans rather than genuine voices of Islam: It’s assumed that true voices of Islam must, to some degree, be racists, anti-Semites, and sexists.

This twisted general logic was seen most recently in the New York Times’ hiring the Egyptian novelist Alaa Al-Aswany as a regular op-ed columnist despite, or because of, his authentic belief in “a massive Zionist organization” that “rules America.” But perhaps the most famous instance was Ian Buruma’s celebration of the bigoted Muslim cleric Tariq Ramadan. Of course, Buruma admitted, Ramadan’s nudges toward reform were necessarily subtle, given the hidebound prejudices of the people he was addressing: He called, for example, for a “moratorium” on stoning women for “honor” offenses (i.e., having sex), rather than condemning the brutal practice altogether. Still, the fact that Ramadan’s tapes sold well on the Muslim street made him a model of reform-minded Muslim thinking worth drooling over. By contrast, Buruma suggested in other articles, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an apostate from Islam, was alienated from her culture and therefore a fitting object of contempt—precisely because she was repulsed by misogyny and had been condemned to death by her accusers. Buruma’s strange defense of Ramadan and even stranger attack on Hirsi Ali were dissected by Paul Berman in his book The Flight of the Intellectuals: Berman argued that Hirsi Ali was just as representative of what happens in the Muslim world as Ramadan and just as entitled to speak about it; moreover, Buruma’s assumption that Hirsi Ali would be ignored by “real” Muslims was wildly condescending—those people, Buruma seemed to be saying, just aren’t ready for enlightenment.

 Continue reading.

The Muslim World’s Intellectual Refuseniks Offer Enlightened Views on Islam and Israel

Egyptian playwright Ali Salem and others are marginalized at home and in the Western media, but they are political pioneers

By David Mikics for Tablet Magazine

When it comes to the Muslim world, Western opinion-makers seem to have a taste for what Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci called “organic intellectuals”—figures whose intellectual and political virtue flows from their rootedness in their native cultures. The West is allowed to admire its own native pantheon of free-thinking men and women who turned their backs on racism, anti-Semitism, and sexism and relied on the fiercest invective to scorch false beliefs and repressive practices. But Muslim intellectuals who condemn even the worst aspects of their own societies must be rootless cosmopolitans rather than genuine voices of Islam: It’s assumed that true voices of Islam must, to some degree, be racists, anti-Semites, and sexists.

This twisted general logic was seen most recently in the New York Times’ hiring the Egyptian novelist Alaa Al-Aswany as a regular op-ed columnist despite, or because of, his authentic belief in “a massive Zionist organization” that “rules America.” But perhaps the most famous instance was Ian Buruma’s celebration of the bigoted Muslim cleric Tariq Ramadan. Of course, Buruma admitted, Ramadan’s nudges toward reform were necessarily subtle, given the hidebound prejudices of the people he was addressing: He called, for example, for a “moratorium” on stoning women for “honor” offenses (i.e., having sex), rather than condemning the brutal practice altogether. Still, the fact that Ramadan’s tapes sold well on the Muslim street made him a model of reform-minded Muslim thinking worth drooling over. By contrast, Buruma suggested in other articles, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an apostate from Islam, was alienated from her culture and therefore a fitting object of contempt—precisely because she was repulsed by misogyny and had been condemned to death by her accusers. Buruma’s strange defense of Ramadan and even stranger attack on Hirsi Ali were dissected by Paul Berman in his book The Flight of the Intellectuals: Berman argued that Hirsi Ali was just as representative of what happens in the Muslim world as Ramadan and just as entitled to speak about it; moreover, Buruma’s assumption that Hirsi Ali would be ignored by “real” Muslims was wildly condescending—those people, Buruma seemed to be saying, just aren’t ready for enlightenment.

 Continue reading.

8 Jerusalem Flavors

From The Jewish Daily Forwards

We had the pleasure to chat with the famous chef duo, Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, during their New York visit. The location couldn't be more perfect – immersed in the colorful smells of Kalustyans Spice Market in Manhattan, we could focus on one key question: What are the flavors that define your hometown? 

Watch and learn how to make your own Jerusalem Spice box.

Bibi’s gift to Pope Francis: A book on when the church persecuted the Jews

By Ben Sales for JTA

Sounds like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a lovely meeting with Pope Francis.

They talked for about a half-hour, focused on peace talks and touched on Iran. Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, encouraged Francis to visit Israel. And Netanyahu gave the pope a book with the inscription, “To his Holiness Pope Franciscus, a great shepherd of our common heritage.”

The one slightly uncomfortable part may have been that the book was about one of the worst things the Catholic Church has ever done to the Jews.

Awkward!

The book was “The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain,” the scholarly magnum opus written by the prime minister’s late father, Benzion. The in-depth tome on the Spanish Inquisition describes how the church persecuted, and often executed, masses of Jewish converts to Catholicism who were accused of secretly practicing Judaism.

Maybe the gift was yet another reminder from Netanyahu about the dangers of ignoring an existential threat to the Jewish people (read: Iran). Maybe the pope is an avid student of history.

Or maybe, in an age where a Jewish prime minister can meet cordially with the pope, it’s a sign of just how far we’ve come.

The Slippery History of Jews & Olive Oil

What's so holy about olive oil? On Hanukkah, olive oil is a part of the story. According to the Talmud the Maccabees only found one sealed vessel of consecrated olive oil with which to light the Menorah. To celebrate the eight days of overtime that oil worked, we break out the oil for our own menorahs, plus latkes, sufganiyot, and other delicious things.

But oil has a much bigger role to play in Jewish life—in Exodus God gives a recipe for shemen hamishchah, the oil of anointing. This oil is made up of olive oil combined with spices (myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, and either sweet calamus or cannabis, depending on who you ask) and is used to anoint holy things, including everything in the Tabernacle, all of the priests, some prophets, and kings.

We no longer pour oil on things we think are holy (think how greasy synagogues would be if we did!), but it's nice to have this one holiday where we connect with our slippery, wonderfully scented history.

- Tamar Fox for Jewniverse

Survivors recall Kindertransport flight from Nazis

By NAOMI KOPPEL for AP

LONDON (AP) — The operation was called Kindertransport — Children's Transport — and it was a passage from hell to freedom.

Kristallnacht had just rocked Nazi Germany. The pogroms killed dozens of Jews, burned hundreds of synagogues and imprisoned tens of thousands in concentration camps. Many historians see them as the start of Hitler's Final Solution.

Amid the horror, Britain agreed to take in children threatened by the Nazi murder machine.

Seventy-five years ago this week, the first group of kids arrived without their parents at the English port of Harwich, and took a train to London's Liverpool Street Station.

Some 10,000 children, most but not all Jewish, would escape the Nazis in the months to come — until the outbreak of war in September 1939, when the borders were closed.

From London the children went to homes and hostels across Britain. But their parents — the few that eventually made it over — were placed in camps as "enemy aliens."

Many of the children settled in Britain, having found their families wiped out by the Nazis.

Monday is World Kindertransport Day, with events to mark the anniversary in many countries. These are the stories of five Kinder in their own words. The AP has removed some sentences for purposes of condensing their accounts.

OSCAR FINDLING, 91

My father was not a German citizen. On the night before Kristallnacht, he was arrested by the Gestapo.

That was the last I saw of my father.

As soon as we found out (about the Kindertransport), my mother went to where the committee was and put my name down. She wouldn't put my brother down because, she said, "I don't want to lose both my sons on one day."

I'll never forget the last words my mother said: "Will I ever see you again?"

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