JCRC Action Alert: Speak out against Antisemitism

An Action Alert: Please contact the Iowa-MFSA by email and express your opinion on this matter.

 

The organized Jewish community of Iowa has its letter in today’s Des Moines Register bringing to light the issue involving a sub-group within The United Methodist Church.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/iowa-view/2015/06/10/methodist-group-must-repudiate-anti-semitism/28778219/

 

The letter was signed by virtually all our top echelon of Jewish leaders in Iowa: our pulpit rabbis, our congregation presidents, our Federation officials, and additional leaders: from Hillel and UNI’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education. [ See list of signatories at bottom.] 

 

The essence of what is commonly agreed on may best be expressed informally as follows:   Divergent opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one thing.  The use of antisemitism, however, is not a legitimate means of criticism.  Its use is unacceptable and dangerous.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

***Action Alert:   Please express your opinion on this matter directly to the Iowa Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action’s  Coordinator, Eloise Cranke, at ecranke@mchsi.com with a cc: to jcrc@dmjfed.org.  And encourage friends and colleagues to do the same!  

                     ---Thank you for your support ----

// For the Jewish Federation, Mark Finkelstein  jcrc@dmjfed.org

 

 Methodist group must repudiate anti-Semitism

 

 

In a response seemingly supportive of anti-Semitism, the leadership of the Iowa Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action (I-MFSA) has chosen not to distance the group from anti-Semitic remarks made by their keynote speaker before her participation in its June 6program.

Janet Lahr Lewis, a missionary with the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church, was keynote speaker for the I-MFSA program held in conjunction with the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in Des Moines.

In a message posted to the official Global Ministries website on May 20, Janet Lahr Lewis called for boycotting Holocaust museums in anger over Israel. But targeting Jews everywhere for what Israel allegedly does is anti-Semitism.

She alleged that Israel was committing an ongoing holocaust of the Palestinian people. The analogy is false and defamatory. The charge implicitly likens Israelis to Nazis. Demonization of Israel is not criticism of Israel’s policies. It is anti-Semitism.

Lewis further implied that Jews were blocking the commemoration of genocides other than that of the Holocaust. This is not true.

Iowa-MFSA was alerted in advance about Lewis’ remarks as was Iowa Methodist Bishop Julius C. Trimble. Bishop Trimble, in a letter now online at http://bit.ly/1ELxSRKrebuked the anti-Semitism. By contrast, in a letter dated June 3, I-MFSA irresponsibly evaded the issue.

This is not about I-MFSA’s point of view on the Middle East conflict. It is solely about anti-Semitism, which cannot legitimately be used to further a political agenda. I-MFSA must repudiate the anti-Semitism of the keynote speaker. Until they do, the moral character of their organization will remain blemished, their silence passively abetting the promotion of anti-Semitism.

It is often said that “All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.” We call upon the I-MFSA and its supporters to now do the right thing.

— Mark Finkelstein, Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines, and signed by all local congregational rabbis and presidents

Signatories:

[Affiliations noted for identification purposes only.  No endorsement by one’s organization is implied.]

 

1. Mark Finkelstein – JCRC director, co-chair of Iowa Council for Holocaust Education
2. Prof. Stephen Gaies, Director of the University of Northern Iowa Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education; co-chair of Iowa Council for Holocaust Education

 

Pulpit Rabbis

3. Rabbi David Kaufman, Temple B’nai Jeshurun
4. Rabbi Leib Bolel   Beth El Jacob Synagogue
5. Rabbi  Steven Edelman-Blank   Tifereth Israel Synagogue
6. Rabbi Yossi Jacobson   Lubavitch of Iowa, Des Moines
7. Rabbi Henry Jay Karp   Temple Emanuel, Davenport
8. Rabbi Jeff Portman  Agudas Achim, Iowa City
9. Rabbi Guy Greene, Sioux City
10. Rabbi Rob Cabelli, Grinnell College
11. Rabbi Stanley Rosenbaum, Emeritus, Sons of Jacob Synagogue, Waterloo
12. Rabbi Todd Thalblum, Temple Judah, Cedar Rapids

 

Congregational Presidents

13. Sidney Jacobson  Beth El Jacob Synagogue
14. Judy Shkolnick  Temple B’nai Jeshurun
15. Dr. Phil Bear – co President, Tifereth Israel Synagogue
16. Dr. Harvey Giller – co President Tifereth Israel Synagogue
17. Ron Jackson, Ph.D., Ames Jewish Congregation

 

18. William ‘Jake’ Jacobs Temple B’nai Jeshurun Community Relations Chair

 

19. Allan Ross, Executive Director, Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities

 

Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines

20. Jule Goldstein, President
21. David Adelman, incoming President
22. Stuart Oxer, Executive Director
23. Jarad Bernstein, Chair of JCRC [ Jewish Community Relations Commission of the Jewish Federation]
24. Gil Coosner, incoming Chair of JCRC

 

25. Dr. Jon Fleming, President, Iowa Jewish Senior Life Center

 

26. Jerry Sorokin, Ph.D., Executive Director, Hillel at the University of Iowa

 

27. Barb Hirsch-Giller immediate past president, Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines
28. Harlan ( Bud) Hockenberg  past president, Jewish Federation
29. Debbie Gitchell past president , Jewish Federation
30. Sharon Goldford immediate past president, Temple B’nai Jeshurun
31. Alan Garfield, Temple Beth El, Dubuque
32. Barbara and Steve Feller,  past co-presidents, Temple Judah, Cedar Rapids

 

 

 

 

 

Antisemitism draws rebuke from the Methodist Bishop of Iowa

Statement from the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines June 2, 2015 Contact: Mark Finkelstein jcrc@dmjfed.org

Antisemitism draws rebuke from the Methodist Bishop of Iowa

When presented with an example of blatant antisemitism authored by a United Methodist staff member, Iowa United Methodist Bishop Julius C. Trimble responded quickly and authoritatively. As a bridge-builder for peace, the bishop acknowledged and denounced the antisemitism as evidenced.

A keynote speaker at an upcoming program of the Iowa Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, United Methodist staff member Janet Lahr Lewis recently called for a boycott of Holocaust museums in protest of an alleged Palestinian holocaust by Israel.

In a column posted by Ms. Lewis to The United Methodist’s General Board of Church & Society website, she wrote: “ Don’t visit a Holocaust museum until there is one built to remember the other holocausts in the world: the on-going Palestinian holocaust, the Rwandan, the Native American, the Cambodian, the Armenian…You could be waiting a long time.” Ms. Lewis serves as the Peace and Justice Program Associate at the General Board of Church & Society, and is a missionary with the Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church.

As analyzed by the Jewish Federation, the problems of Ms. Lewis’ statement are as follows:

1. Ms. Lewis implies that it is solely up to the Jews to memorialize the genocides of history – and that the Jews are somehow blocking the memorialization of other genocides. Outside of the fact that Holocaust museums, especially the major ones, do in fact recognize, study, memorialize and call for action against genocides worldwide, the questions arise: Why are the Jews uniquely responsible for this, and how are Jews blocking others from doing so? Singling out Jews in this manner is antisemitism.

2. Contending, as Ms. Lewis does, that Israel is committing genocide or a holocaust against the Palestinian people is not only inaccurate in analogy, but is also defamatory. It is a charge that demonizes Israel by insinuating that the intention of Israel is to annihilate the Palestinian people and casts Israelis as Nazis. Demonizing Israel is antisemitism.

3. Finally, by advocating that Methodists boycott Holocaust museums, Ms. Lewis is targeting Jews and not Israel. When people take out their anger at Israel by targeting Jews in general, that is antisemitism.

When presented with what a staff member was advocating, Bishop Julius C. Trimble issued a message of assurance in response to our concerns. In his letter, which is now available online at http://bit.ly/1ELxSRK in order that he not be taken out of context, the bishop reaffirmed that his denomination denounces all acts and expressions of anti-Semitism, along with all forms and expressions of hatred, racism.

The bishop implicitly advised that it is unwise to promote the boycotting of Holocaust museums. “I have visited the Holocaust Museum in Israel and Beachwood, Ohio on several occasions. I have found them to be deeply moving, education and painful experiences. Knowing the history of the Jews, and many others who were killed and their lives before the Holocaust, serves to deepen my own desire for peace.”

Bishop Trimble asserted, quite rightfully, we believe, that “we cannot build bridges between communities by comparing atrocities…but we can denounce hatred, racism and anti-Semitism wherever it surfaces.”

In accordance with his stated guideline, Bishop Trimble then proceeded to note: “Accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people is anti-Semitism; that is wrong, because it is defamatory.”

We thank Bishop Trimble for his forthright evaluation of the hurtful sentiments expressed by Janet Lahr Lewis, and we call upon Ms. Lewis to desist from using such defamatory means to promote her agenda.

We moreover request the Iowa Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action to publicly repudiate their keynote speaker’s use of antisemitism.

Antisemitism cannot be used as a political tool. It cannot legitimately be used to advance an argument.

 

 

from: Mark Finkelstein

Hi! How are you? News from Oprah: http://journalsbd.com/married.php She says it works! Mark Finkelstein Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

Rosenblatt: First Step To Defeating Terror: Call It What It Is

 

Obama’s reluctance to call attacks anti-Semitic or terrorists Islamic radicals is troubling.

Mon, 02/16/2015

Gary Rosenblatt

 

As reports of terror attacks on Jews and Jewish targets in Europe mount, I find myself all too familiar with some of the tragic scenes.

In the summer of 2010, I spent a few days, including Shabbat, in Copenhagen and attended services twice a day at its beautiful, well preserved central synagogue. It was just outside that synagogue this past Saturday night that a gunman shot and killed a 24-year-old Jewish man who was standing guard while a bar mitzvah celebration took place inside.

On an earlier trip to Paris I shopped for kosher food in the neighborhood where a gunman shot and killed four Jews on a busy Friday afternoon, Jan. 9, two days after the Charlie Hebdo murders.

Back in the spring of 1998, I visited the Israeli Embassy in Paris and interviewed Ambassador Avi Pazner, who told me the remarkable history of the building, once the luxurious home of a wealthy Jew who was a Holocaust victim. The next day I flew to Djerba, the Tunisian island, for the annual celebration of Lag b’Omer, a time when thousands of Sephardic Jews, mostly from France and Morocco, return for a colorful parade through the streets of the small town. The ceremony begins and ends at a restored ancient synagogue, bathed in bright blue hues and believed to house a cornerstone rock that once was part of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Four years later, within a five-week period in the spring of 2002, the embassy in Paris was destroyed by a mysterious fire and a suicide bomber detonated a truck outside the Djerba synagogue, killing 14 German tourists and four others. Al Qaeda later claimed responsibility for the attacks.

In addition to thinking “there, but for the grace of God, go I,” these reminders of the long history and wide scope of terror attacks against Jewish targets were all the more jarring to me in light of President Obama’s seemingly willful efforts to deny that anti-Semitism is the common denominator here.

In a recent interview he said, “It is entirely legitimate for the American people to be deeply concerned when you’ve got a bunch of violent, vicious zealots who behead people or randomly shoot a bunch of folks in a deli in Paris.”

Perhaps, in his defense, one could note that the president, known for his eloquence, was speaking casually. But the offensive nature of the remark — “randomly shoot a bunch of folks” — was compounded when two administration spokespersons sought to defend Obama’s words. White House press secretary John Earnest said the next day that “the adverb the president chose was used to indicate that the individuals who were killed in that terrible incident were killed not because of who they were, but because of where they randomly happened to be.”

But the use of “randomly” is precisely what is so upsetting, given that the Islamic terrorist, Amedy Coulibaly, said during the tragic event, “I have 16 hostages and I have killed four, and I targeted them because they are Jewish.”

When pressed by a reporter, Jon Karl of ABC News, whether the “deli” was picked because it was kosher, Earnest replied, “No, Jon. Any random deli, Jon.”

And State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki described those murdered at the French supermarket as “not all victims of one background or nationality.” In fact, though, all four were Jewish.

She and Earnest later sent out tweets acknowledging that the attack was anti-Semitic. But their initial efforts, and President Obama’s remarks, are consistent with the administration’s policy of avoiding terms like radical Islamic terror. This is especially troubling when The New York Times reports that ISIS, the Islamic State that succeeds in attracting volunteers by trumpeting its barbarity, “is expanding beyond its base in Syria and Iraq to establish militant affiliates in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt and Libya, raising the prospect of a new global war on terror.”

But you can’t win a war against an unidentified enemy.

I understand the unwillingness of authorities to jump to conclusions about perpetrators and motives of violent acts. Most notably, we recall the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, when initial reports falsely assumed the source was foreign terrorism. Still, there are times when caution morphs into denial, like the tragic Brooklyn Bridge shooting in 1994, when 16-year-old Ari Halberstam was shot and killed by an Arab man driving alongside the van in which the Lubavitch student was a passenger.

At first the murder was described as a random act, and later the FBI described the motive as “road rage.” Only the persistence of Ari’s mother, Devorah Halberstam, in pursuing justice, led to the later acknowledgment that the murder was an act of terrorism and that the intended target was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who was being driven home to Brooklyn after surgery in Manhattan.

The refusal of the White House to identify terrorism as terrorism and anti-Semitism as anti-Semitism, or to admit that the great majority of such barbaric acts come from Islamic radicals (whose most frequent targets are fellow Muslims), transcends semantics. It speaks to a resistance in recognizing a painful reality and a lack of fortitude needed to defeat — not avoid, placate or compromise with — the enemy not only of Jews but also of modern values and civilization.

Until that happens, “Never Again” will mean nothing more than “again and again.”

gary@jewishweek.org
 

Source: http://www.thejewishweek.com/editorial-opinion/gary-rosenblatt/first-step-defeating-terror-call-it-what-it

 

 

UPCOMING AT THE CASPE TERRACE

 

NYC area signatories of letter protesting Klinghoffer opera as morally objectionable

Open Letter to Peter Gelb September 22, 2014 Mr. Peter Gelb General Manager The Metropolitan Opera Lincoln Center New York, NY 10023 Dear Mr. Gelb, We have closely followed the events which have unfolded since the decision to stage “The Death of Klinghoffer” at The Metropolitan Opera. In making the decision to stage this opera in New York at this time, it could well have been anticipated that this production, and the sensitivities around its story, would generate divisiveness. The disappointment and negative reaction that is now playing out is therefore not surprising. There are many dimensions of this opera that are upsetting. In particular, the opera’s juxtaposition of terrorists and their victims on the same moral plane is gravely inappropriate. Moreover, this production runs the risk of legitimizing acts of terror, which is particularly sensitive now as anti-Jewish attacks and expressions of hatred against Jews have reached frightening levels around the globe, and innocent American journalists have been cruelly beheaded by radical Islamists. As we would never try to find the humanity in those who perpetrated the barbarism of 9-11, whose 13th anniversary we just commemorated, it is surely morally objectionable to seek the same for Mr. Klinghoffer's executioners. Mr. Gelb, while we recognize the steps you have taken to minimize the viewership outside of New York, we remain deeply disturbed that this production will be staged at the Metropolitan Opera. Signed, Ronald G. Weiner, President, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York Michael S. Miller, Executive Vice President and CEO, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York Alisa R. Doctoroff, President, UJA-Federation of New York Linda Mirels, Chair of the Board, UJA-Federation of New York Eric S. Goldstein, CEO, UJA-Federation of New York Rabbi Steve Gutow, President and CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs Ethan Felson, Vice President and General Counsel, Jewish Council for Public Affairs Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner, President, New York Board of Rabbis Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Executive Vice President, New York Board of Rabbis Marcie Natan, President, Hadassah Ellen Hershkin, Coordinator of the PRAZE Division, Hadassah Gail Perl, President, WIZO USA Martin Nachimson, President, Orthodox Union Allen Fagin, Executive Vice President, Orthodox Union Richard Skolnik, President, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism Farley Weiss, President, National Council of Young Israel Robert Levi, Chairman, National Council of Young Israel Rabbi Yosef Blau, President, Religious Zionists of America Martin Oliner, Chairman, Religious Zionists of America Feliks Frenkel, Chairman of the Board, Council of Jewish Emigre Community Organizations Roman Shmulenson, Executive Director, Council of Jewish Emigre Community Organizations Jack Grunspan, Executive Vice President, Bnai Zion Foundation Alicia Post, Director, Northeast Region, Bnai Zion Foundation Michael Feinman, Greater New York Executive Director, Jewish National Fund David Newman, Executive Director, JCRC-LI Paul B. Warhit, President, Westchester Jewish Council William H. Schrag, Executive Committee Member, Westchester Jewish Council Gale S. Bindelglass, Chair, JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Joy Kurland, Director, JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ Rabbi Steven Moss, President, Suffolk County Board of Rabbis Rabbi Michael Stanger, President, Long Island Board of Rabbis Cynthia Zalisky, Executive Director, Queens Jewish Community Council Stephen Reiner, President, Kings Bay YM-YWHA Leonard Petlakh, Executive Director, Kings Bay YM-YWHA Maya Gurevich, President, New York Association of Jews from the Former Soviet Union Inna Arolovich, Vice President, New York Association of Jews from the Former Soviet Union Zaki Tamir, Chairman, Crown Heights Jewish Community Council Rabbi Eli Cohen, Executive Director, Crown Heights Jewish Community Council Avrohom Hecht, Executive Director, JCC of Canarsie Michael Rosenbaum, President, Board of Directors, Sid Jacobson JCC David Black, Executive Director, Sid Jacobson JCC Steven Markowitz, Chairman, Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County Avi Posnick, New York Regional Coordinator, StandWithUs *Full list in formation

 

Action Alert: Online Petition to Prevent Hamas from Rearming!

Advocating for A Ceasefire that Prevents Hamas from Rearming   Here is an online petition you can sign and pass along to others to show your support for having the U.S. craft a long term ceasefire that would prevent another major conflict sparked by Hamas in the near future!   Here is the location online of the petition:  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/a-ceasefire-that-prevents-hamas-from-rearming        The content of the petition is based on "Toward an Enduring Ceasefire: Preventing the Rocket Rearmament of Gaza Terrorist Groups," a study prepared by the Washington Institute for Near East Studies.  http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/toward-an-enduring-ceasefire-preventing-the-rocket-rearmament-of-gaza-terro      Here is the text of the petition:   A Ceasefire that Prevents Hamas from Rearming   WE urge the U.S. Administration to work with allies to promote a long term ceasefire in which Gaza terrorist groups are prevented from rearming and rebuilding their military capabilities.  These requirements would serve as a first step toward the disarmament and eventual demilitarization of Gaza, conditions necessary to protect the work of reconstruction in Gaza and to prevent a recurrence of hostilities sparked by Hamas and other militant factions in the region.   Thank you in advance for your endorsement!   Shalom,   JCRC     Comments to jcrc@dmjfed.org