The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism and Sports Global Symposium: Sept. 25 at Fordham University

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‘The Realities of Anti-Semitism’ in sports and in society at large, and all its challenges, will be addressed via the viewpoints anticipated by 15 esteemed speakers at a September 25th Global Symposium sponsored by Fordham University’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies in conjuction with Final Whistle on Hate. The summit aims to bring about understanding and change. For a full agenda, list of speakers, and to
purchase tickets: https://www.fordham.edu/info/29262/global_symposium_on_sports_and_society_anti-semitism_and_sports

 

 Click here to go directly to the event page.

TICKETS:
$95 (FULL DAY)
Reduced pricing available for high school
and college students,
Fordham staff, faculty, students: free of charge.

– Registration required 

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

 

Defunding of U.S. Monitoring of Anti Semitism: 100 Holocaust Educators & Scholars Speak Out Against

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With reports surfacing that the President plans to de-fund the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, more than 100 Holocaust institutions, scholars, and educators from around the world are calling on government officials not to cut, but to maintain and strengthen the office. These institutions and individuals cite the recent examples of hatred, xenophobia, and racism spreading across the nation and ask the public to call Congressional and Senate offices. 
 
The Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center is among the 100 who have have signed the statement which follows:
 
The undersigned Holocaust remembrance organizations, educators, and historians asking you to speak out and take action against hatred.
 
We are alarmed by reports that the President plans to defund the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, an office that tracks and counteracts anti-Semitism abroad.  Ira Forman, the most recent Special Envoy in charge of that office, was our voice to a world in the throes of xenophobia and racism.  He recently wrote, “Anti-Semitism is not only a Jewish problem; Jew-hatred — like other forms of religious and ethnic prejudice — is a threat to the very foundations of liberal democracies.”   
 
We urge the US government to maintain and strengthen the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism and to create a new office to address this urgent issue domestically.  The need becomes clearer by the day as hatred, like a tidal wave, sweeps across the nation.  Cemeteries, synagogues, churches and mosques are being desecrated.  Jewish Community Centers and schools are targets of bomb threats and shootings. Swastikas and white supremacist threats appear on walls and on social media.  Now is the time to increase vigilance, not roll it back.
 
ACT NOW.  Call Your Representatives in Congress and the Senate.
Ask them to preserve the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism and to create such an office to fight domestic anti-Semitism as well. 
Senate: goo.gl/u9SBbX     Congress:  goo.gl/paBNADownload the Statement in Word

Additional Actions You Can Take
Call your state representatives and ask them to fund educational programs designed to stop hatred and bullying — programs that build character and promote civics. Get involved with your school boards and interfaith groups.  Talk to your neighbors.  Rally in your town to promote tolerance and support victims of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, sexism and discrimination in all its forms.
 
This statement is co-authored by members of the Association of Holocaust Organizations, a network dedicated to the advancement of Holocaust education, remembrance and research, and is affirmed by the following institutions and individuals.

Interactive Discussion on The Rise of Anti-Semitism and Hate is TONIGHT

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With Anti-Defamation League Regional Director at Congregation B’nai Yisrael

ARMONK, NY –Congregation B’nai Yisrael (CBY) will be hosting an evening discussion “The Rise of Anti-Semitism and Hate Pre and Post-Election” featuring Evan Bernstein from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The event will take place on Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 7:30 pm at CBY in Armonk, New York. The event is free of charge, but registration is required. Participants can register at: www.cbyarmonk.org/the-rise-of-anti-semitism.

Evan Bernstein, who is the New York Regional Director at the Anti-Defamation League, will host an interactive discussion about the current rise of anti-Semitism and the spread of hate in all forms, both locally and globally. Bernstein will share details about the ADL’s many projects and initiatives to combat hate, educate students about the value diversity and respect for all, and address anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias on college campuses.

The number of violent anti-Semitic assaults taking place in the U.S. rose dramatically in 2015, contributing to a three percent rise in the total number of anti-Jewish incidents worldwide, according to ADL’s recently published report Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents.

“We are disturbed that violent anti-Semitic incidents are rising,” Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, stated in a press release. “And we know that for every incident reported, there’s likely another that goes unreported. So even as the total incidents have remained statistically steady from year to year, the trend toward anti-Semitic violence is very concerning.”

As the New York Regional Director at the Anti-Defamation League, Evan Bernstein is responsible for all initiatives across New York state. He is regularly quoted in prominent local and national news sources about issues related to civil rights and Boycott Divestment Sanction against Israel and anti-Semitism.

“I, like many in our community and across the country, am alarmed by and concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism in this country and abroad,” says Ross Honig, President of CBY. “By having open and interactive discussions with groups like the ADL, we can all learn how to combat hateful speech and actions, and to teach our children appropriate methods to combat anti-Semitism.”