The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Inside Press

ICD Holiday Fundraiser for Making Headway Foundation

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Dec. 14, 2018, Chappaqua, NY–Both supporting a great cause–Chappaqua’s Making Headway Foundation–and embarking on some early shopping was in full swing at  ICD Contemporary Jewelry’s holiday fundraiser!

For more information about the Making Headway Foundation, visit: https://www.theinsidepress.com/making-headway-foundation-approves-over-350000-in-grants-to-help-children-with-brain-tumors

For additional donations, please go to: www.MakingHeadway.org

New Castle Tow Councilwoman Ivy Pool and her spouse, Christian Edstrom

 

ICD owner Varda Singer (left) and ICD manager Virginia Shasha (right) with the Hanleys, founders of the Making Headway Foundation.

 

 

 

Building Connections with the New ‘Chappaqua Reads-Chappaqua Includes’

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Photo by Regina Walsh McKie

In the 1970s a little girl contracted meningitis.  After a long recovery she began to feel better, but something was clearly wrong. While much of her health returned, she was profoundly deaf.  Advances in science brought this girl a hearing device called the Phonic Ear which helped her hear!  But the Phonic Ear was far from the small, discreet cochlear implant many people today are familiar with.  It was a heavy, bulky box strapped to her body, with wires that ended in earpieces inserted into the ear.  And it was far from seamless in its operation.  Consistency, volume and the ability to separate out background noise were still being refined.  Thus armed, this little girl was sent into the wilds of public education.

Photo by Lori Morton

This is El Deafo, a graphic memoir written by Cece Bell and it’s the springboard from which Chappaqua Reads -Chappaqua Includes was launched.

Chappaqua Reads – Chappaqua Includes is a joint partnership between the Chappaqua PTA and the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival.  Its goal is a year-long conversation about empathy and inclusion which celebrates a love of reading and a desire to build connections through a community read.  To date, Chappaqua Reads – Chappaqua Includes has given 2,000 copies of El Deafo to teachers, administrators, community members and families within the Chappaqua Central School District.

While it’s fun and exciting to get a free book, the question remains — what’s the point?

It is hard to read the news today and not feel sad.  Division is everywhere.  Community values feel like something out of Our Town, quaint and distant, like hand-churned butter.  Solipsism and selfishness are on the rise.  In the face of all this, the creators of Chappaqua Reads – Chappaqua Includes asked, what if you could turn the conversation.  Use the platform of the Chappaqua PTA (with well over 80 percent of Chappaqua Central School District families in membership) and the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival  (in its seventh year welcoming over 7,000 visitors and growing), to talk about community, empathy, inclusion and to foster a love reading at every age.

Empathy.  Inclusion.  Community.

Three simple words.  Easy to look up in the dictionary.  Easy to believe that they are part of a shared and agreed upon lexicon.  Chappaqua Reads – Chappaqua Includes seeks to challenge that easy assumption.  Like most things worthwhile, putting the concepts of empathy and  inclusion in action and building community around them is hard work, full of second guesses and disagreements.  It is only together, talking about these values, how they work in our home, our schools and in our community and, yes,about how they sometimes fail, that we can find a way forward to a greater community, that values empathy and is always expanding inclusion.

Photo of Maggie Mae by Ronni Diamondstein

Stepping beyond the pages of El Deafo, Chappaqua Reads-Chappaqua Includes has teamed up with the Chappaqua Library, the Chappaqua Central School District, Scattered Books Bookstore and the Town of New Castle Recreation Department to create programming throughout the community to enhance and deepen that conversation.  After a kick-off at the Chappaqua Rotary Club’s Community Day, programs have included: the Chappaqua Library and Town Rec Department’s StoryWalk® in Gedney Park; the Chappaqua PTA’s guest lecturer Michele Borba author of UnSelfie,  who discussed the importance of raising empathetic children in a self-obsessed world, the PTA’s follow-up book discussion group, and a community- wide “Find Cece” scavenger hunt for middle and elementary school students hosted by Scattered Books Bookstore.

In December, the Chappaqua PTA will welcome Addy and Uno, a family musical about disability, The TSA Youth Ambassador program, where kids talk to kids about tics and tourette’s syndrome, a screening of Intelligent Lives hosted by Horace Greeley High School’s Ambassador’s Club, and classes to introduce kids to American Sign Language.   The Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival will host a skype conversation with author Cece Bell.  Across classrooms throughout the Chappaqua School District teachers at every level will discuss themes in El Deafo and highlight values of inclusion and empathy.  In late winter or early spring the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival will host a create your own graphic novel program.   The Chappaqua Library will lead third and fourth grade students in book club discussion featuring El Deafo and lead younger kids in a “What’s your Superpower” arts and crafts activity where kids are asked to dig deep and find the superhero within themselves. Finally, in the spring, any books families would like to donate back to Chappaqua Reads – Chappaqua Includes will be shared with neighboring schools to inspire their own reading programs.

In the end, after all the celebrating, reading and fun, we hope that everyone comes away knowing that empathy is a superpower that can combat loneliness.  It’s the strength to see beyond the surface and make a connection.   While it is so easy to ruin someone’s day with a snide remark or a mean word, with empathy and sincerity, we each have the power to truly see other people, recognize their humanity and extend empathy, kindness and inclusion.

The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Storywalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ms. Ferguson.

Cece figures are hidden throughout town as part of a scavenger hunt. Photo courtesy of Whispering Pines.

 

News about Chappaqua Reads-Chappaqua Includes was provided as a courtesy to The Inside Press by the program’s founders and collaborators: The Chappaqua PTA and The Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival.

The ‘Jewhater’ Next Door

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Ethiopian Beta Israel arrive at the Ben Gurion airport, outside Tel Aviv on August 28, 2013. Some 450 new immigrants from Ethiopia were brought to Israel as part of the ‘Operation Wings of Dove ’ operation launched three years agoby the Jewish Agency to bring the remaining Falash Mura – Ethiopian Jews whose ancestors were forced to convert to Christianity – to Israel. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90.

By Debbie Hall

There are only 14.4 million Jews in the world. We were 17 million in 1939 and that fell to 11 million as of 1945 due to the genocide that was committed against us called the Holocaust. Because our numbers are small, and because we were genocided, we are a very small family, but make no mistake, we’re a family. We are all connected.

We are also highly aware of the hate that has been levied at us for millennia. The hate against us is the oldest hate on the planet. In every corner of the world, you can find Jewhaters. They can be found in Christian countries, Muslim countries, African countries, secular countries. Jewhaters can be found in Republican or Democratic homes. Jewhaters live among us in every country on this planet.

The only country in the entire world where Jewhatred is not tolerated is Israel. Israel is the only country whose government has a very primary goal of protecting the lives of Jews. When the beating of the antisemitic drum gets too loud, we have a place we can escape to-finally. This is why Israel is essential to the survival of the Jewish people. This is a good part of why Jews support Israel.

Another reason Jews support Israel is because it’s inherently part of the Jewish faith. Israel and Jerusalem are mentioned numerous throughout the liturgy of every Jewish service. Returning to Israel is part of Judaism. Jews who have already returned to Israel have a different set of rules to follow in Judaism because they’ve returned. Jews in the diaspora have two nights of Passover, whereas Jews in Israel only have one night. Every Passover, Jews recite “Next Year in Jerusalem.” It’s within us.

Most Jews have known that the antisemitism in the U.S. is a serious threat to Jews. As I watch Wolf Blitzer speak and say that his parents would’ve been shocked that this could happen here if they were alive, it’s sad to me that I knew this would happen here.

It’s happened here for centuries but in microdoses. This is the first macro, but I’m not surprised.

Israel isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s probably more perfect than the U.S. It didn’t invade a sovereign country to displace anyone (despite what you’ve been told), and it provides for its citizens, be they Arab or Jewish. When you demonize the only Jewish country on this planet, you’re engaging in antisemitism. Speak very carefully.

Debbie Hall is a writer and activist living in Florida.

How the New ‘WoMen for All’ is Fighting Anti Semitism and So Much More

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 *Issuing a Petition Urging Democrats accept the IHRA definition for anti-semitism

https://www.change.org/p/democratic-national-committee-democrats-say-no-to-antisemitism

* Offering authentic inclusiveness at future progressive and Democrat Marches

https://women4all.org/sistermarches/

Editor’s Note:  In the wake of the horrible massacre-leaving 11 dead and six others injured-during a bris service at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, we are calling attention to the new but impactful ‘WoMen4All,’ who have been courageously and consistently ringing the alarm that anti-semitism is a politically blind scourge affecting both party extremes, and that as Democrats and progressives, we ignore the fringe left wing variety at our peril. That is true too of any courting by politicians of virulent anti Israel, pro BDS activists and activities, which are intended to dismantle the Jewish state and whether by design or not, stir anti-semitic sentiment along the way. Meanwhile, in the current political climate, we have a president who is doing precious little to fight anti-semitism, a GOP body that remains silent while he continues to activate a base of loyal alt right supporters who in Charlottesville by the hundreds yelled, “Jews will not replace us.” The toxicity of the climate toward Jews should not be underestimated. It is also WoMen4All’s core belief that the hatred of the alt right escalated soon after Trump was elected, and that we desperately need leaders who will unify and not drive a wedge further.  Here, the story of WoMen for All….  – Grace Bennett, Publisher and Editor and WMFA Member

By Deborah Raider

October 28, 2018 New York, NY– Nisi Jacobs, a New York City-based 3D video editor and founder of WoMen For All, is no stranger to bigotry. Growing up in Binghamton, New York, in the late 1960s and early 70s, Nisi recalls being unwelcome into her neighbors’ homes because she was Jewish. When her group of friends would go have lunch together at one of their houses, she would wait outside on the steps. When Nisi was four-years-old, the neighbor across the street from her family’s home threatened to shoot her when he found her walking on his lawn boundary, “if I catch you dirty Jew walking on my lawn again, I will get my gun and shoot you.” At nursery school, she made a good friend and began to enjoy after-school playdates. One day, when she was being picked up by her parents, they were told the family had become ‘born again’ and Jews were no longer welcome in their home. Nisi’s family moved to New York City before she entered kindergarten.

With her memories of being discriminated against as a Jew and her long time liberal progressive Democrat history, with high hopes Nisi joined the tens of thousands of women who participated in the 2017 Women’s March challenging the Trump regime on a wide variety of issues—not the least of which was that Trump had attracted a deeply racist and anti-Semitic, alt-right following. 

So it was profoundly disappointing when the Women’s March began showing its own strain of anti-Semitism cloaked in its continuous anti Zionism proclamations and actual bullying of Israel-supporting, liberal Democrats.

Early on, at a lesbian march in Chicago, three women carrying Jewish pride flags–rainbow flags embossed with a Star of David — were thrown out of the event after their flags were called a “trigger.” Gradually, it became clear to Jacobs that the Women’s March—which purported to be a movement supporting equality, human rights for all, and transformative social change—was being severely compromised by what felt like anti-Semitism at the very top.

Jacobs decided that she “could no longer sit quietly on the steps.” She didn’t want to just quit and she didn’t want to stop marching for women’s equality and for full ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. “I wanted to be part of a movement that truly represented all women’s right to resist.”

Jacobs’ group was first named ‘Women’s March For All’ but was repeatedly mistaken for the Women’s March, which led to accusations that Jacobs’ group was anti-Semitic. The group has since dropped ‘march’ from its name to become WoMen For All. Their updated mission page explains (https://women4all.org/mission/): “Everyone is welcome in the WMFA Including male allies. We are inclusive, not divisive. We welcome men who bravely champion women’s rights and value the contributions they have, and will continue to make, to our community. We recently dropped ‘march’ from our name as we had been accused too many times of #antisemitism which is one of the very reasons WMFA was formed.♀”

WoMen For All is the grassroots movement that advocates for equal rights and against all forms of bigotry and hatred. Jacobs’s board comprises a diverse, core group of decision-makers, all of whom felt marginalized by the Women’s March. “Our board includes people from all backgrounds, ethnicities, races, religions and gender identities,” notes Jacobs.

WoMen For All is primarily concerned with promoting equal rights for all. They advocate for gun reform, paid family leave, reproductive rights, an equal, gender-blind pay scale, and civil rights protections for all immigrants, amongst other things. Moreover, they vocally oppose racism, homophobia, religious prejudice, and police brutality.

And close to Jacobs’ personal experience, WoMen For All pursues the objective of making people more aware of the current wave of anti-Semitism in America and across the globe. “Anti-Semitism doesn’t seem to register to most people as an urgent issue,” states Jacobs, who is trying to make her audience aware of the danger of pro-BDS (Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Israel) candidates in the United States. The group is calling out the fringe “Democratic Socialists” who have adopted the BDS movement as part of their platform.

WoMen For All is also promoting the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism and has launched a petition in support of this cause. “With the surge of anti-Semitism from both sides of the political aisle, I’m hopeful and staying optimistic that the the petition will persuade the Democrat National Committee does the right thing and adopt the IHRA definition, an internationally accepted definition,” notes Bennett. To sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/democratic-national-committee-democrats-say-no-to-antisemitism

Ultimately, Jacobs hopes that WoMen For All becomes the “ideal Women’s March,” a positive movement promoting and protecting the rights of all. This is the movement that could have been the Women’s March. As Jacobs puts it, “if what happened with the Women’s March could have been a positive movement rather than a movement that encompassed prejudice and hatred.”

Please consider a donation today as well to the Tree of Life Synagogue. https://bit.ly/2Q2k97i