Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida’s Post

Tolerance. The Holocaust museum in L.A. isn’t actually called the Holocaust Museum like in many other places. It’s called The Museum of Tolerance. For me the name implies a clever educational premise, which is to investigate how hatred toward a minority can be tolerated as it grows over time from tropes and stereotypes to an applied racial theory, to violence, and ultimately to extermination. It’s an educational experiment which can and should be done at classrooms for most ages and would seek to evaluate what you would have tolerated and what you would have done were you exposed to increasing levels of hate speech toward any minority. We’re living out that experiment today. Freedom of speech is certainly an inalienable right, but like many other rights, it has its limits. To paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes: “your freedom of speech ends where my nose begins.” As such, let's evaluate whether the speech exercised by pro Palestinians should be permitted and tolerated: 📣“Globalize the intifada:” this would inevitably encompass such intifada tactics as the stabbing of women, ramming with cares baby carriages in bus stops, and of course suicide bombings targeting only civilians (there were 140 that resulted in 1,000 Israeli dead just between 2000-2003. Oh, and it will be global. 📣“From the river to the sea…:” everyone’s favorite ditty originally states in Arabic (and chanted in many campuses), that “from water to water, Palestine will be Arab,” i.e. cleansed of the 7 million Jews living there today. A genocidal chant if every there was one. 📣“Ya Hamas we love you, we support your rockets too:” more than 40,000 of those weapons (each capable of killing many) were lobbed into Israel since it departed Gaza twenty years ago. 📣“Burn Tel Aviv to the ground:” not sure I need to explain this one, except to say that this would deprive the Middle East of its only truly liberal city, and the million Jews who live there. How is your level of tolerance doing? Now let's swap Israel, Zionists and Jews with Blacks, LGBTQ, or any other minority and tell me if your answer would change. If enforcement on campuses – its timing and severity – would have differed. If social media would have been outraged or as tolerant. Courtesy of those mobs on campuses, we received a microcosmic glimpse into the pro-Palestinian vision come to life: a terror supporting state cleansed of Jews and those deemed by their selectors as anathema to their cause. It is perhaps fitting that this vision manifested at institutes of so-called higher learning. We exercise zero tolerance for bullying in schools. Zero tolerance for harassment at the workplace. Zero tolerance for racism and discrimination. And yet when it comes to Jews, those tolerance levels are sky high or absent altogether. On the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day (observed this Sunday), using our eyes, ears, and moral compass, let’s draw a line in the sand and exercise zero tolerance for Jew hatred. #antisemitism

Please Repost “December 7, 2023 Dear President Magill, Words matter and leadership matters. As CEO Emeritus of Illinois Holocaust Museum and CEO of Holocaust Museum LA and as proud alumni of the University of Pennsylvania, we write with grave concern regarding your December 5, 2023 testimony to Congress about dangerous antisemitism on campus. Specifically, we are referencing your unwillingness to state clearly that calling for the genocide of the Jewish people would violate Penn’s code of conduct or rules regarding bullying or harassment. The Holocaust did not begin with gas chambers, it began with words that dehumanized a group of people, setting the stage for what came later. Your choice to not clearly condemn speech calling for the genocide, the murder of the Jewish people, particularly as a university president responsible for the education, safety and intellectual development of a generation of young adults, is devastating and dehumanizing. It’s also dangerous and disingenuous – sending a strong signal to the world that words of hate, words that call for murder, are ok, at least as they relate to Jewish people. The history of the Holocaust also has shown us that there are pivotal moments when a person can make a difference in the lives of others. Countless Survivors credit their survival to Upstanders, who risked their own lives by recognizing our common humanity and acting decisively. You, as a University President, with a global stage, including through your recent Congressional testimony, had a pivotal moment, one that cried out for moral leadership and strength. Instead of speaking to our common humanity, decency, and what is not only good but right, when asked a very simple, straightforward question, you waffled, invoked context, and let demons win this round. That is the opposite of meeting the moment and the opposite of the leadership we expect of a University of Pennsylvania president. We believe that when you look back, you will regret the actions that you have chosen to take. We regret them now and believe it would be in the best interest of the Penn community for you to resign and let another pick up these broken pieces. Sincerely, Susan (Warshawsky) Abrams, CEO Emeritus, Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center; BA/BSE ’86, PAR ‘17 Beth (Isaacson) Kean, CEO, Holocaust Museum LA; member of Trustees Council for Penn Women; ENG ’89, PAR ’21 &’23 CC: Julie Platt, Vice Chair, Board of Trustees Cheryl Peisach, Trustee John Shoemaker, Trustee Jill Weiss, Trustee Rabbi Gabe Greenberg, Executive Director, Penn Hillel Michael Citro, Chief of Staff to the Penn President”

During the weeks and months following the October 2023 holocaust in southern Israel, we learned that the world of nonprofit Jewish advocacy was sleeping at the wheel for at least a generation. Probably longer. Since that wretched day antisemitic incidents increased somewhere between 360% [ADL] and 1,500% [StopAntisemitism.Org]. Oddly enough, despite these abysmal numbers, no Jewish advocacy leader has been fired from their job. In fact, most of them have doubled down on what they’ve been doing for decades: raising record money to roll out failed playbooks. One notable example is the ADL. Before October 7th, the ADL was employing a strategy of fighting all forms of hate, not just antisemitism, it’s original raison d'etre. Their thesis was that supporting other marginalized groups would get Jews more allies. One such failure was their unequivocal support of the BLM movement (that I myself supported early on btw), which was one of the first movements to turn against the Jews and take an extreme antizionist stance. All of this being said, I was glad to see their leader, Jonathan Greenblatt, recommit to prioritizing the fight against antisemitism. AIPAC is another example. The political behemoth has always had a policy of not taking sides when it comes to Israeli politics so that it stays neutral. This failed policy has allowed Netanyahu to not only remain in power (for 21% of Israel's existence) but also become complacent, causing his government to get blindsided by Hamas and ignore key readiness issues like the conscription of orthodox Jews to the IDF. Their hard-headed apolitical policy has caused more harm than good because when you don’t articulate boundaries questionable behavior escalates unchecked. There are other major Jewish organizations that should be held accountable for the rampant antisemitism in schools and on campuses, for the large number of Jews disconnected from their faith and culture, for Israel’s current PR nightmare, and so on. These failures make it clear that there is an untouchable layer of Jewish philanthropic aristocrats that would rather maintain the status quo than decisively address this once-in-a-century wave of vicious antisemitism. I started the Idaho Israel Alliance to fight antisemitism and antizionism in a state that has a Jewish population of less than 3,000. I did it not only for this tiny minority but also for most Idahoans who believe in Western and Judeo-Christian values. What I didn’t realize is that my team and I would be creating a new paradigm for doing this kind of advocacy on a shoestring budget from what most people think of as a flyover state. As I reflect of over 180 days of this war, I'm realizing that a new generation of Jewish philanthropists needs to step up and begin to lead in novel ways.

Gabor Mate’ I’m personally a Holocaust survivor as an infant, I barely survived. My grandparents were killed in Auschwitz and most of my extended family were killed. I became a Zionist; this dream of the Jewish people resurrected in their historical homeland and the barbed wire of Auschwitz being replaced by the boundaries of a Jewish state with a powerful army…and then I found out that it wasn’t exactly like that, that in order to make this Jewish dream a reality we had to visit a nightmare on the local population. There’s no way you could have ever created a Jewish state without oppressing and expelling the local population. Jewish Israeli historians have shown without a doubt that the expulsion of Palestinians was persistent, pervasive, cruel, murderous and with deliberate intent - that’s what’s called the 'Nakb@' in Arabic; the 'disaster' or the 'catastrophe'. There’s a law that you cannot deny the Holocaust, but in Israel you’re not allowed to mention the Nakb@, even though it’s at the very basis of the foundation of Israel. I visited the Occupied Territories (West Bank) during the first !ntifada. I cried every day for two weeks at what I saw; the brutality of the occupation, the petty harassment, the murderousness of it, the cutting down of Palestinian olive groves, the denial of water rights, the humiliations...and this went on, and now it’s much worse than it was then. It’s the longest ethnic cleansing operation in the 20th and 21st century. I could land in Tel Aviv tomorrow and demand citizenship, but my Palestinian friend in Vancouver, who was born in Jerusalem, can’t even visit! So then you have these miserable people packed into this, horrible…people call it an 'outdoor prison', which is what it is. You don’t have to support Ham@s policies to stand up for Palestinian rights, that’s a complete falsity. You think the worst thing you can say about Ham@s, multiply it by a thousand times, and it still will not meet the Israeli repression and killing and dispossession of Palestinians. And 'anybody who criticizes Israel is an anti-Semite' is simply an egregious attempt to intimidate good non-Jews who are willing to stand up for what is true." - Gabor Maté

Noah Schoen of the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh delivered a compelling workshop on “Understanding Antisemitism and Its Impact on Jews” for the CMU community today. Thank you, Noah, for a brilliant job of encapsulating the history of antisemitism and its implications today in a succinct and easy-to-understand presentation. And thank you to Wanda Heading-Grant, CMU’s Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, for hosting the event. The most startling of the information shared was data from a recent Harvard CAPS Harris poll revealing that 67% of 18-24 year olds see Jews as “oppressors.” This is the age of college students. There is clearly a major opportunity to better inform our future generation. We were asked afterwards to reflect on what action steps we might consider in our personal or work lives to help address the issues of antisemitism. As part of our work to conduct educational activities that align with CMU and Pitt’s missions, the Collaboratory Against Hate partners with local community organizations to inform and engage in dialogue on a broad variety of group hate issues including antisemitism. Last month in partnership with Classroom Without Borders, we co-hosted the world premiere viewing of the film “Irena’s Vow” about a Polish Christian housekeeper who hid Jews inside the home of a Nazi army major during WWII. In March, we will host a talk with a world-reknowned Holocaust historian to be announced soon. What I appreciated as an ending note of Noah’s workshop was his suggestion that we check in with our Jewish friends and colleagues with any of the following questions: • When did your Jewish family come to this country? What do you know about why they moved here? Did they experience any mistreatment for being Jewish? • What is it like for you to be Jewish in the U.S. where being Christian is the norm? • Do you worry about antisemitism and your current and/or future safety as a Jewish person in the U.S.? He thoughtfully shared that these questions might be shared with others feeling similarly targeted. Connecting and checking in on a human level with one another is the easiest way to listen, learn and better understand.

From the Office of the New York Metropolitan Region FJMC President Dear Friends: Being an avid reader, I came across some interesting insights for this week’s column from the Jerusalem Post and the constant coverage of the situation on American College campuses. Having concluded Passover and as we approach Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), which begins at sundown on May 5 and concludes at nightfall on May 6, we pause to remember the six million Jews systematically murdered by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. The Shoah, defined in Hebrew as “utter destruction” and the standard Hebrew term for Holocaust, was a horrific event that shattered Jewish communities across Europe and forever altered the course of history. The establishment of Israel in 1948, a safe haven for the Jewish people, served as a powerful symbol of resilience in the face of barbarity. Yet, the dream of “Never Again” remains perpetually under threat and we are finding that “Never Again is Now.” Sadly, history warns us that the seeds of hate sown in the past can easily germinate in the present. This year, Yom HaShoah takes on more meaning than ever as Jews throughout the world are reeling and grieving after the October 7 massacre along the Gaza border in Israel. Here in the United States, antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed 360% since the attack, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Not only did these incidents include violent attacks, vandalism, harassment and the placement of swastikas, there was a dramatic increase in antisemitic propaganda and tropes reminiscent of those found in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, which helped create the climate for the Holocaust. Just like Europe over 75 years ago, we will find today that silence and apathy lead to complicity. How can we empower the next generation of Jewish citizens to stand up against hate, safely and effectively? The answer is up to us: 1. Education. 2. Advocacy Teaching. 3. Visit Israel in person. 4. Affiliate with organizations like FJMC whose mission is to involve Jewish “Men in Jewish Life". 5. Light the Yellow Candle of Remembrance provided by FJMC on Sunday evening, May 5 and make it a focal point of your home. YOM HASHOAH is a call to action. We must never forget the pain of the Holocaust, and we must use this knowledge to actively fight against hate in all its forms. By supporting our Annual Chaverim Kol Israel Man of the Year/Youth of the Year being held on May 19 and honoring strong leaders in our communities and the next generation of leadership, we stand in unison and exclaim Am Yisrael Chai; The People of Israel Live! Explore our website: www.newyorkmetrofjmc.org In Friendship, Shea Z. Lerner New York Metropolitan Region President #fjmcnymetro #fjmc2024 #fjmc_hq #fjmc #community #leadership #CurrentNews #MessageFromThePresident

Throughout history, speaking up has been a catalyst for change, shaping societies and influencing major events. From the Abolition of Slavery to the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Suffrage, Environmental Protection, the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the End of Apartheid in South Africa, and even the Revolutionary War which led to the creation of the United States, these movements highlight the critical role of vocal advocacy. If these voices had remained silent, many changes might never have occurred, prolonging injustices and denying rights and freedoms to countless individuals. No matter the context, our voice is a powerful tool—advocating for ourselves and others, promoting innovative ideas, negotiating deals, or upholding justice. Using our voice is essential for driving change. Speaking up allows us to express our thoughts and beliefs, sparking meaningful conversations and opening new opportunities. Each voice is unique, shaped by individual experiences and insights. As a woman, I am passionate about using my voice to advocate for justice and speak out against what is wrong. Although I typically avoid discussing politics or religion here, recent events have compelled me to do so. From the unexpected violence on October 7th to the large-scale attacks on April 13th—with over 170 air drones and numerous missiles, nearly all intercepted by Israeli, U.S., and EU defenses—I can no longer remain silent as my people face these attacks. I am being called to speak, and I am reminded of the resilience of my ancestors, the Jewish people, who have been victims of hate crimes for centuries. As I’ve been reconnecting with my heritage, I’ve discovered others in the tribe who refuse to remain silent. These events by Hamas, intended to frighten, have only awakened an entire generation of sleeping giants. Like many, I went from being Jew-ish to being Jewish overnight, strengthening my connection to my heritage, traditions, and community, and prompting me to reflect on my role in a world still grappling with anti-Semitism. The Holocaust was a horrific period in history, with six million Jews systematically exterminated. The establishment of Israel in 1948 offered hope and renewal, particularly for Holocaust survivors and those fighting anti-Semitism. Today, Israel is a vibrant, multicultural democracy, including Jews, Arabs, Druze, Bedouins, and Christians, all dedicated to cultural pluralism. Despite 75 years passing, threats remain. Holocaust memorials and museums are poignant reminders of past atrocities, reinforcing our commitment to the mantra “never again.” (continued below)

"I’m personally a Holocaust survivor as an infant, I barely survived. My grandparents were killed in Auschwitz and most of my extended family were killed. I became a Zionist; this dream of the Jewish people resurrected in their historical homeland and the barbed wire of Auschwitz being replaced by the boundaries of a Jewish state with a powerful army…and then I found out that it wasn’t exactly like that, that in order to make this Jewish dream a reality we had to visit a nightmare on the local population. There’s no way you could have ever created a Jewish state without oppressing and expelling the local population. Jewish Israeli historians have shown without a doubt that the expulsion of Palestinians was persistent, pervasive, cruel, murderous and with deliberate intent - that’s what’s called the 'Nakb@' in Arabic; the 'disaster' or the 'catastrophe'. There’s a law that you cannot deny the Holocaust, but in Israel you’re not allowed to mention the Nakb@, even though it’s at the very basis of the foundation of Israel. I visited the Occupied Territories (West Bank) during the first !ntifada. I cried every day for two weeks at what I saw; the brutality of the occupation, the petty harassment, the murderousness of it, the cutting down of Palestinian olive groves, the denial of water rights, the humiliations...and this went on, and now it’s much worse than it was then. It’s the longest ethnic cleansing operation in the 20th and 21st century. I could land in Tel Aviv tomorrow and demand citizenship, but my Palestinian friend in Vancouver, who was born in Jerusalem, can’t even visit! So then you have these miserable people packed into this, horrible…people call it an 'outdoor prison', which is what it is. You don’t have to support Ham@s policies to stand up for Palestinian rights, that’s a complete falsity. You think the worst thing you can say about Ham@s, multiply it by a thousand times, and it still will not meet the Israeli repression and killing and dispossession of Palestinians. And 'anybody who criticizes Israel is an anti-Semite' is simply an egregious attempt to intimidate good non-Jews who are willing to stand up for what is true." - Gabor Maté https://lnkd.in/g5Qprdcf

Given the rise in antisemitism, it occurred to me that on my travels through the DC Mall, I might stop off for a visit to the Smithsonian's Holocaust Museum. The good news is that it is packed with school age kids wishing to learn about the Holocaust. The bad news is that like all Smithsonian Museums, it has a strong liberal bias in its presentations. Given the rise in antisemitism and accusation from Hamas that Holocaust survivors who emigrated to Israel after the war are "colonizers," I wouldn't expect that the Holocaust Museum would be holding an exhibit on Islamophobia. But, there it was. The exhibit was on the genocide that took place in Burma against the Muslim Rohingya people by the military of Burma, also known as Myanmar. Myanmar being a predominantly Buddhist country. And presumably the driving force behind the genocide was religious persecution of the Muslim minority. Okay, yes I get that the Holocaust Museum is dedicated to preventing all genocide. And yes, it does appear that the U.S. government has reached the conclusion that genocide is taking place against the ethnic Muslims in Burma. But, would it surprise you to know that the atrocities committed against the Rohingya are being compared by the international community not to what happened to the Jews but what the Jews are doing to the Palestinians. Here is an excerpt from the SAIS Review of International Affairs from 2023. "The Rohingyas and the Palestinians share certain similarities. Like the Palestinians, the Rohingyas have been subjected to state-sponsored persecution, violence, pogroms and ethnic cleansing, and genocide in their homeland located in the northern part of the Rakhine State in Myanmar. Both have also been expelled from their homeland; the Rohingyas in numerous waves: 1978, 1991-1992, 2012, 2015 and 2016-2018. Unfortunately, just as the Western-led international community has failed the Palestinians, they are failing the Rohingyas. So, here we are visiting the Holocaust Museum seeing an exhibit about a genocide of Muslims in Burma whose fate at the hands of the Burmese government resembles the human rights violations being perpetrated by Israel. Do you think the Holocaust Museum will ever have a special exhibit about Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7th? Or will it be an exhibit about the International Criminal Court bringing genocide charges against Benjamin Netanyahu?