Submitted Stories by Lisa Hostein RSS Feed Stories Submitted by Lisa Hostein
Courting Pa. Jews
Hillary Rodham Clinton. Joseph Lieberman. Ed Koch. U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky. The campaign biggies are parading in and out of Pennsylvania in an effort not only to convince Jewish voters to support their guy but also to get them to the polls. While much of the media attention is focused on Florida and the Big Schlep, Pennsylvania has its significant share of Jewish voters - and a big contingent of senior citizens as well. Even as the polls show Obama with a growing lead in Pa., the Jewish outreach effort is intensifying, with the Obama camp especially active. The local media is also highlighting the issue, with the Philadelphia Weekly spotlighting the Jewish vote. (Read below the old stuff on the Big Schlep and get to the analysis of the Philadelphia Jewish community.) The Jewish Exponent, too, is tracking the local race. Read more »
Unsolicited advice to the next president
Both presidential candidates made the requisite references to Israel in their debate last night. As they ponder more thoughtful policies in the Middle East, here comes analyst Martin Kramer with some unsolicited advice: Focus on Iran and the Persian Gulf and don’t worry too much about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Read more »
Alarms over Durban II
Durban has become a dirty word in some international circles, a reminder of the 2001 U.N. anti-racism conference that devolved into an anti-Israel, anti-Jewish debacle. Now as preparations for a follow-up conference proceed, worries abound that efforts to once again villify Israel and the West are gaining the upper hand. One U.N. watcher analyzes the latest document to emerge from the pre-conference planners. Others, too, are sounding the alarm about the latest developments, but the World Jewish Congress is opting for a more optimistic note, hoping that the new High Commissioner for Human Rights will work to avert another failed conference. As JTA reported back in July, it’s too early to know which groups will prevail – or even show up – in pursuing their agendas, but at least people this time around are paying attention in advance rather than getting caught unprepared like last time. Read more »
Britain and Holocaust denial
British commentator Melanie Phillips raises questions about Britain getting entangled in a Holocaust denial case as London considers extraditing Fredrick Toben to Germany. If Toben, a German-born Australian, is extradited, Phillips writes, “this will mean that Britain will be treating as a criminal suspect someone who is accused of behaviour which is not regarded as a crime in this country.” Read more »
Oy, my aching feet
I wonder if the London Review of Books knew how timely its review of a new book, Jews and Shoes, would be - coming out during Rosh Hashanah, when we spend hours on our feet at shul, and before Yom Kippur, when we barely get to sit at all. The review of the book, a collection of essays edited by Edna Nahshon, provides a fascinating read on the various links between Jews and shoes - from Freud to flat-footedness to the Wandering Jew, with this introduction: I supposed that a book called Jews and Shoes was going to be either a bumper book of Jewish jokes about schlepping and cobbling, or a severe cultural studies analysis of the nature and symbolic value of footwear in Jewish society through the ages. Aside from a mention of how Ferragamo got his start by popularising the strappy shoe for Hollywood lovelies after being commissioned by Cecil B. DeMille to make 12,000 sandals for the original 1923 version of The Ten Commandments, there is nothing to be found on high-end modern footwear. Jews and Shoes turns out indeed to be largely about schlepping and cobbling, but is entirely devoid of jokes. The reviewer, however, displays a bit of ignorance when she starts out by saying she knows of no significant, modern-day Jewish shoe designer. Maybe Stuart Weitzman should send her a special High Holiday pair that will hold up well for Kol Nidre. Read more »
Where’s the outrage?
It’s easy to be incensed by Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s loathsome remarks at the United Nations and in media appearances, but several commentators are wondering why there hasn’t been more public outrage by the world community? I’m wondering why all the outcry over the lack of outcry is only coming from the right? Eve Epstein, who as a U.N. insider serves as an important Jewish voice at the world body, writes in National Review Online: To their shame, U.N. member states’ pledges of “Never Again” were betrayed by a singular lack of moral outcry. Have they learned nothing from the multitude of Holocaust education and genocide prevention programs they sponsored? She also sees through his use of the word “Zionist” instead of Jew when he seeks blame for the world’s ills. If he had used the word “Jew” instead of “Zionist,” such sentiments would likely be barred from the Internet in many countries, as a form of hateful invective. But Ahmadinejad is clever, and summons the spirit of European and Muslim antisemitism by casting this as an issue of the Jewish state. Elsewhere, a British commentator, in The New York Sun, takes the Europeans in particular to task for their silence. And, in The Spectator, Melanie Phillips notes the irony that on the same day that Ahmadinejad took the stage in New York, Paul McCartney was talking peace in Israel. Salon, on the other hand, buys Ahmadinejad’s distinction between Jews and Zionists, and criticizes Obama for conflating the two. Read more »
Sarkozy charms the world
Rabbi Arthur Schneier (right), presents the Appeal of Conscience World Statesman Award to French President Nicolas Sarkozy. French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and GE chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt look on along with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In his brief visit to New York this week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed continued pressure on Iran, reiterated his condemnation of anti-Semitism and extolled France’s close relationship with America. No wonder he is being feted by the Jews and Jewish-sponsored human rights groups. He was honored by both the Elie Wiesel Foundation and the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, and gave passionate speeches at both events extolling human rights and slamming anti-Semitism and racism. Lauded by Rabbi Arthur Schneier, president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, as a “man of courage,” Sarkozy quipped Tuesday night that it was a dubious honor to receive the group’s “World Statesman” award at a time “when everything is going wrong” in the world. Earlier in the day, the French leader made a forceful speech at the United Nations, vowing to pursue further sanctions against Iran and urging that those responsible for the world financial crisis be held accountable. Sarkozy, elected president of France just last year, has catapulted onto the world stage rapidly, playing a key role in resolving political tensions in Lebanon, working out a cease-fire agreement between Russia and Georgia and hosting an international gathering of Mediterranean country leaders, including Israel, Syria and other Arab nations. Not all pro-Israel advocates – or Jews in France – support his outreach to Syria and they wonder whether as the current president of the European Union, he will do much to ease tensions with Israel. The E.U. Parliament, for example, earlier this month passed a resolution conditioning improved relations with Israel on Israel improving its treatment of Palestinian prisoners. As incidents of anti-Semitism in France continue to dominate headlines, it’s not clear how much Sarkozy will be able to do to quell it, despite his forceful condemnation. Still, Sarkozy and his current stature is garnering a great deal of attention, even though he appears more popular abroad than at home. Sadly, much of the media are more enamored by his wife, Carla Bruni Sarkozy, than by him. At the press opportunity with Sarkozy at the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, there were as many paparazzi crowding around the couple as political reporters and photographers. You can bet “Inside Edition” wasn’t there to hear his views on the political and financial crises of the day. Read more »
What’s missing at the U.N.
Remarkably little has been written in the media leading up to today’s opening of the U.N. General Assembly, where leaders from nations around the globe gather in New York for official speeches and sideline meetings. For once, Israel is not expected to be a major target of vilification; but neither is Iran, which poses the biggest threat not only to Israel but the world, as Dennis Ross and other top former diplomatic and security officials write in the Wall Street Journal. Jewish groups appear to be leading the charge, starting with a rally today across from the United Nations protesting Iranian President Mahmoud Achmadinejad. The Jewish effort illustrates the tensions between not wanting to make it seem like the nuclear threat from Iran is a “Jewish/Israeli” issue and not wanting to idly stand by as the threat escalates. In a meeting of foreign ministers on Friday, Russia and China reiterated their position that the United Nations should take no further action on sanctions. Beyond Iran, it’s sadly ironic that the intended theme of this year’s General Assembly – global poverty – is being overshadowed by the financial crisis that is roiling the United States and the world. As for President Bush, his address on Tuesday will mark his farewell speech to the world body. By the way, if you want a primer on what the United Nations was originally intended to do, see this. Read more »
Anti-Semitism—still
The latest Pew Research Center survey of global attitudes on religion is out and the news is not good for Jews – or Muslims. Anti-Jewish attitudes are up in most major European countries, with the highest numbers in Spain, Poland and Russia. Only British attitudes have remained constant in recent years. But the same is true about attitudes toward Muslims. And according to Pew, “there is a clear relationship between anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attitudes: publics that view Jews unfavorably also tend to see Muslims in a negative light.” But none of this comes as a big surprise. Similar studies in recent years have come up with similar numbers, give or take a few percentage points. A major report last year by Human Rights First went beyond the numbers to chide European countries for not doing more to halt the trend. See JTA’s analysis of that report. But while anti-Jewish sentiments appear a constant (so what else is new in Jewish history?), some other troubling – though not necessarily surprising – findings have garnered less attention: The deepest anti-Jewish sentiments exist outside of Europe, especially in predominantly Muslim nations. The percentage of Turks, Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese and Pakistanis with favorable (my emphasis) opinions of Jews is in the single digits. A majority in people in Jordan express a positive view of Hamas. But views of Hamas tend to be negative in Lebanon, Turkey, and Egypt. Views of the militant Lebanese Shi’ite organization Hezbollah are overwhelmingly negative in Turkey, while slim majorities in Egypt and Jordan express positive views of Hezbollah. In Lebanon itself, Hezbollah is almost unanimously popular among the country’s Shia community, but is overwhelmingly unpopular among Sunnis and Christians. Most Muslims continue to worry about the rise of Islamic extremism, both at home and abroad. Majorities in Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria say they are concerned about extremism in their own country and in other countries around the world. Perhaps, in these troubled times, we should take comfort in this, though it’s hard to believe given the daily headlines: * Since 2002, the percentage saying that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians are justified to defend Islam from its enemies has declined in most predominantly Muslim countries surveyed. Read more »
Pope Pius XII revisited
The debate over what Pope Pius XII did or didn’t do to save the Jews during the Nazi era continues to roil. The latest effort to cleanse the record of the pope who is on the path to sainthood came at a symposium in Rome this week where an American Jew led the charge. As reported by NCR Cafe, an online Catholic publication: Organizers published a 200-page glossy book offering documentation of Pius’ efforts to save Jews, including transcripts of eyewitnesses and previously secret material culled from diplomatic archives in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. The case for the defense of Pius XII, as presented during the conference, is highly complex, but in essence it pivots on three claims: • Charges that Pius XII was “silent” are false, because he spoke on numerous occasions in defense of Jews, in ways that were abundantly clear to everyone at the time and for decades afterwards; • If he did not directly and dramatically condemn Hitler or National Socialism, it was because he had well-founded fears that doing so might unleash greater persecution upon both Catholics and Jews; • Behind the scenes, he mobilized church resources in multiple ways to save Jews. Jews, meanwhile, continue to challenge the Vatican to open up its archives before it moves to canonize Pius XII. For more on the debate, read this. Read more »
RSS Feed Breaking News
Updated 05/24/12 @ 04:11PM EST
- Jewish groups called on Israel to protect African migrants in Israel after riots in Tel Aviv.
- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel is returning campaign donations under investigation by federal authorities.
- A new survey suggests that Germans have lost some love for Israel over the past three years.
- An Arab-Israeli immigrant to the United States was found guilty of murder in Michigan.
- Israel's Arava Power Company has closed on financing for eight solar power projects worth $204 million.
- U.S. Jewish groups condemn anti-African violence in Tel Aviv
- Mandel returns funds under investigation
- Obama’s same-sex marriage nod echoes historic Catholic-Jewish debate
- Survey: Israel losing ground with Germans
- Israeli Arab guilty of murder in Michigan
- Israel’s Arava firm finances $204 million for solar projects
- Israel will solve African migrant problem, Netanyahu assures
- Senate distinguishes between Palestinian refugees and descendants
