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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Jan. 23: Holocaust survivor, scholar Irving Roth at Drake. Presented by Christians United for Israel

Christians United For Israel presents

 

Irving Roth,

a survivor of the Holocaust and

Director of the Holocaust Resource Center at Temple Judea of Manhasset, New York

 

Monday, January 23, 2012

 

7:30 p.m.

 

Bulldog Theater (Located in the Olmsted Center) at Drake University

 

Feel free to visit and RSVP on the Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/313083518734348/?ref=ts

 

About Irving Roth:

Irving Roth is the Director of the Holocaust Resource Center at Temple Judea of Manhasset, New York. A holocaust survivor, Mr. Roth endeavors to convey the lessons that can be learned from his experience in the death camps of Poland, working to ensure that an atrocity like the Holocaust never happens again. Mr. Roth has been the recipient of numerous awards for his work promoting a more accepting and diverse world. His life’s mission, to make the world a better place, has earned Mr. Roth the Spirit of Anne Frank Award. A dynamic and engaging speaker, Mr. Roth is a sought-after Holocaust educator throughout Europe, Israel and America.

This event is sponsored by Christians United for Israel.

The purpose of Christians United For Israel (CUFI) is to provide a national association through which every pro-Israel church, parachurch organization, ministry or individual in America can speak and act with one voice in support of Israel in matters related to Biblical issues. Visit http://cufi.org for more information.

 

Contact:  Emily Lofgren

President, Christians United for Israel

Drake University

563-260-4601        eelofgren@gmail.com

 

Information distributed by the JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines.   jcrc@dmjfed.org

 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Study: Young Jews are highly supportive of Israel

Jewish Students Strongly for Israel


December 20, 2011  From: the Israel Project

  • “Closeness” to Israel similar to national community, affected by Jewish engagement
  • Nearly half have traveled to Israel, high number compared to national
  • Many information sources, key to address media, community, and campus organizations   

Click here for PDF of Word Clouds from Survey
Click here for Interview Schedule from Survey

Washington, Dec. 20 - Young Jews on university campuses across the country are highly supportive of Israel, a new study shows. The data, representing 400 Jewish undergraduate students, clearly shows a high level of connection with Israel, belying the supposed generational erosion of support in the American Jewish community. The survey was sponsored jointly by The Israel Project and the American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies.

Mitchell Bard, Executive Director of the nonprofit American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and co-funder of the research, further explains, “Contrary to the claims of some outspoken critics, young Jews do not feel alienated from Israel. Our survey found that Jews have very positive feelings toward Israel, see it as the spiritual center of the Jewish people; believe that caring about Israel is an important part of being Jewish, think American and Israeli Jews share a common destiny and agree American Jews should support the policies of the government and express any criticism privately.”

The question of closeness to Israel in this student survey intentionally mirrored the AJC’s annual survey of the national Jewish community, and found that the numbers for the two groups were almost identical. Among Jewish students, 66 percent say they feel close to Israel, compared to 68 percent of national Jews.

In examining the elements that impact Jewish students’ connection to Israel, it is clear that Jewish lifestyle engagement has a huge affect on these measurements. Students are much more prone to feel close to Israel if they have attended day school (77 percent ‘close’), attended summer camp (78 percent), had a Bar/Bat Mitzvah (73 percent), or been involved with youth groups (78 percent).

Another factor in closeness to Israel is campus involvement. Among those involved in a Jewish campus organization (a little over half of Jewish students), 78 percent feel close to Israel. But, among those not involved, the number drops to only 52 percent. In looking at the various organizations on campus, it is clear that Hillel has a dominant position in connecting with these young Jews; 48 percent of Jewish students say that they are involved with Hillel. The next organization on the list is in the single digits.

Jewish students use overwhelmingly positive language when asked for one word to describe Israel. Click here to see a word cloud of all the open-ended answers given on the survey.

Among the Jewish students, fully 47 percent of have been to Israel; 16 percent of have attended Birthright, and 13 percent have been on a teen tour. Having this many young Jews visit Israel before finishing college is a significant amount, as the AJC found that only 44 percent of the national Jewish community has been to Israel. Of those Jewish students who have not been to Israel, three-fourths (73 percent) express a desire to visit. Having been to Israel is also a factor that shows a strong correlation to support for Israel, and an ability and willingness to speak to others on the issue.

Critically, the survey shows that 70 percent of Jewish students consider themselves well-enough informed on Israel to speak to non-Jews about the issue. But, only 44 percent say that they actually talk about Israel with non-Jews either a lot (7 percent) or some (37 percent). Said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project which co-funded the research, “It is critical to get young Jews comfortable enough speaking about Israel that they can do so with their non-Jewish peers.”

Looking at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the political context of whom the United States SHOULD support, Jewish students again reaffirm their position with 84 percent saying Israel. And, on a 0-to-100 scale, 89 percent of the Jewish students give Israel a ‘warm’ rating.

The top reasons Jewish students say the U.S. should support Israel are shared values (43 percent) and being the most important ally in the Middle East (37 percent). Also notable are the partnership in the fight against terrorism (27 percent) and efforts for peace (23 percent). Less important reasons include religious justifications, and technological or economic achievements.

Among the Jewish students, mainstream media continues to play a significant role in shaping views of the Middle East. But unlike non-Jewish populations we have surveyed, “family and friends” and “your own religious beliefs” are also significant shapers of opinion. This finding highlights the significance of the community in developing the next generations connection to, and information regarding, Israel.

Said Mizrahi, “It is clear that we must continue to act as an educational resource for the mainstream media to ensure accurate and fair coverage of Israel. However, there is also a clear role that the community as a whole must play in educating our youth, and TIP is looking forward to working with organizations active in this field to strengthen communications targeted at our future community leaders.”

The survey (Interview Schedule; Word Clouds) was conducted online by Public Opinion Strategies from October 28-November 20, 2011. Interviews of 400 self-identified Jewish were collected. The margin of error is +4.9%.

 

Source:

http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ewJXKcOUJlIaG&b=7712197&ct=11556455&notoc=1#.Tw3Ze4GwUZV

 

 

Monday, January 9, 2012

Tunisia's Islamist Party Slams Anti-Semitic Chants

“At a rally in a sports complex for Haniyeh on Sunday, supporters of the banned ultraconservative Hizb al-Tahrir party called for death to Israel, but did not repeat their anti-Jewish slogans.”     One step at a time, I guess. – Mark Finkelstein, jcrc@dmjfed.org

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and PAUL SCHEMM Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia January 9, 2012 (AP)

The head of Tunisia's moderate Islamic party condemned anti-Semitic slogans chanted Monday by a handful of ultraconservative Muslims during the arrival of a top Hamas official that have alarmed the local Jewish community.

It was the latest action by a small group of ultraconservative Muslims over the past few months to have embarrassed the government in what was once one of the more secular countries in the Arab world.

Rachid Ghannouchi reiterated the policy of his Ennahda party, which heads the country's new government, that Tunisia's Jews are "full citizens with equal rights and duties."

"Ennahda condemns these slogans which do not represent Islam's spirit or teachings, and considers those who raised them as a marginal group," Ghannouchi said in a statement.

Videos circulated online showed crowd members greeting Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Gaza government, at the airport in Tunis on Thursday chanting "Kill the Jews" and "Crush the Jews." The chants came from Salafists, ultraconservative Muslims who have been making their presence felt in Tunisia recently.

"It is worse then [sic] bad, it is catastrophic for Tunisia — particularly in regard to the repercussions that these attitudes provoke abroad," Roger Bismuth, president of Tunisia's Jewish community, told The Associated Press.

He said he was received late Monday by Ghannouchi and Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who promised to resolve the situation — possibly with an address to the nation.

Perez Trabelsi, the head of the Jewish community on the island of Djerba where most live, described the slogans as "unreasonable" and said the government "could not let it pass."

After decades of being oppressed by Tunisia's secular dictators, Ennahda won elections and has been at pains to demonstrate its moderate credentials and belief in universal rights and freedoms for all Tunisians.

They have been repeatedly embarrassed by ultraconservative Islamic groups that have emerged since hard-line President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted from power last year in an uprising in Tunisia that led to revolts around the Arab world.

The groups have attacked university campuses and staged sit-ins over female students not being allowed to attend classes in the conservative face veils and have demonstrated over a variety of moral issues in cities.

Ennahda was at first slow to condemn their actions, earning the criticism of leftist and liberal groups which already regard the Islamist party with suspicion.

"I think if Ennahda doesn't come up with some way of being unequivocal in its rejection of some of these ideas and tactics it really does risk damaging its credibility with some of its coalition partners, progressive voters and international donors," said Chris Alexander, an expert on Tunisia from North Carolina's Davidson College, noting the danger of the party's slow response up until now.

"I think a lot of people will see that hesitancy as a mark of their true intentions."

At a rally in a sports complex for Haniyeh on Sunday, supporters of the banned ultraconservative Hizb al-Tahrir party called for death to Israel, but did not repeat their anti-Jewish slogans.

 

 

 

source

http://eStory/tunisias-islamist-party-slams-anti-semitic-chants-15321494#.TwtBZ3oWe1c

 

 

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Example of Islamist genocidal intent

Ismail Haniya, Hamas "prime minister" from Gaza, visits Tunisia [to meet with ] the "moderate" Islamist Nahda party, and a crowd at the airport greets him (in Arabic) thus: Cheerleader: "Kick the Jews!" ;Crowd: "It's [our] duty!"; Cheerleader: "Drive out the Jews!";Crowd: "Duty!"; Cheerleader: "Kill the Jews!"; Crowd: "Duty!"



source:  http://youtu.be/x321iDqPySM

If this evidence means something to you, please forward it to others.

//Mark Finkelstein   jcrc@dmjfed.org

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

WH: New Year's American Jewish Community Update


From: The White House [mailto:info@messages.whitehouse.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 4:54 PM

The   White House

Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2011

 

Friends

Happy New Year! Below please find information on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as well as some end of year highlights. 

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

Saturday, President Obama signed into law H.R. 1540, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012." This bill includes provisions related to Iran, specifically sanctions on foreign financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), including for oil transactions.

The United States has already had sanctions on CBI and Iran’s oil industry for decades -- so to make this legislation effective, the Obama Administration worked closely with Congress to shape the Iran provisions so that this new tool would increase the likelihood that other countries would stop doing business with CBI and Iran’s oil sector. This is important because the most effective approach is one that involves multilateral participation and is timed and phased to avoid negative repercussions to international oil markets and instead focus pressure on Iran.

For three years, President Obama has led an unprecedented effort to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Through a two-track policy -- one track increasing the pressure on Iran to induce it live up to its responsibilities in the international community and the other track offering a very credible option for engagement, provided Iran accepts its responsibilities to the international community -- the United States has built a strong international coalition against Iran’s nuclear weapons aspirations. As a result, Iran now faces the toughest sanctions regime in the world and is more isolated diplomatically, both regionally and globally.

The measure signed into law Saturday can be a significant escalation in the pressure on Iran, and President Obama has made clear that the United States is committed to increasing the pressure on Iran until it changes course.

Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Photos from 2011 

The White House Photo Office compiled some of their favorite images from 2011, with commentary from Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza. You can view them on our Flickr feed, or on WhiteHouse.gov.

Go behind the scenes to get a glimpse of some incredible moments from the year.

Behind the scenes roundup

"This is a composite of several images of the President and his national security team during a series of meetings in the Situation Room of the White House discussing the mission against Osama bin Laden on Sunday, May 1. We put this together so in addition to the previous, now iconic image of this day, people might have a better sense of what it's like in presidential meetings of historic significance." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 

In Case You Missed It 

Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog:

Weekly Address: Working Together in the New Year
President Obama tells the American people that, by joining together, we can move past the tough debates and help to create jobs and grow the economy in the new year.

More Than 1.9 Million Records Released
A new release of White House visitor records brings the grand total of records that this White House has released to more than 1.9 million.

Intern Picks: Must-See White House Videos of 2011
After much debate, the interns in the White House Office of Digital Strategy decided on their 10 must-see White House videos of 2011.

Best Regards,

Jarrod Bernstein

Director of Jewish Outreach
Office of Public Engagement  | The White House
Jarrod_N_Bernstein@who.eop.gov
http://www.whitehouse.gov/americanjewishcommunity

 

 

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