News – Diaspora
After cancelling, and reinstating Jewish LGBTQ organization A Wider Bridge’s event at the Creating Change conference in Chicago, organizers were likely anticipating protesters to arrive for the Shabbat service it was holding. But it’s doubtful they were expecting what transpired: hundreds drowning out panelists who came to enlighten attendees by shouting “Hey hey, ho ho, pinkwashing has got to go,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
We’ve seen these kind of intimidation tactics before, where “human rights” activists refuse for a Jewish or pro-Israel narrative to be shared, regardless of the narrator’s stance on the two-state solution or the Israeli government’s policies. There’s a word to describe the singling out of a person or group based solely on their religion and/or country of origin: bigotry.
#CreatingChangeNotHateCreating Change, Not Hate: We Will Be Heard #CreatingChangeNotHate It was a trying week for A Wider Bridge and the movement of LGBTQ people and allies, Jews and non-Jews, who care for Israel and the advancement of the Israeli LGBTQ community. A Wider Bridge came to Creating Change Conference to tell the story of our work and give the conference participants an opportunity to talk with the leaders of Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance. Instead, at a conference with close to 4000 participants, a group of 200 protesters, many from outside the conference, were allowed to disrupt our program, prevent our guests from speaking and create an atmosphere inside the hotel that felt very threatening to our participants. When people inside the LGBTQ movement disagree about an issue, there should be opportunity for us to listen and learn from each other, without resorting to silencing and intimidation. The protesters abandoned this value, and we and our allies need to work to restore it. We will be heard. Join us at www.awiderbridge.org
Posted by A Wider Bridge on Sunday, January 24, 2016
The state of New York has become the largest state to pass legislation against the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, passing a bill that prohibits the state from doing business with companies involved with BDS, which many argue is a front to delegitimize the State of Israel and its people. God bless New York!
A Welsh agency is under fire after it enforced migrants to wear red wristbands in order to receive food and other such services, with some comparing the condition to Nazis forcing Jews to wear yellow Stars of David leading up to the Holocaust.
Businessman Paul Bronfman, who provides considerable financial support to York University’s cinema and media arts department, has written an open letter asking the university’s president Mamdouh Shoukri to remove a pro-Palestinian mural from Vari Hall.
Israeli envoys visited Fredericton, New Brunswick recently to discuss cyber security and trade with Canada. Given the city’s snowy climate, it was likely a trip Ambassador Rafael Barak will not soon forget.
So Donald Trump retweeted this the other day.
“@WhiteGenocideTM: @realDonaldTrump Poor Jeb. I could’ve sworn I saw him outside Trump Tower the other day! pic.twitter.com/e5uLRubqla“
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2016
Why does this matter? Because the creator of the image has posted other photoshopped images, including one where Trump sends Jewish presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to the gas chambers. All this begs the question: who’s running the Donald’s Twitter account?
News – Israel
Two Israeli women were wounded, one seriously, after a stabbing attack in the Binyamin region of the West Bank Monday. According to police, two assailants entered a general store and began stabbing a woman, before fleeing and then stabbing another woman. A security guard shot dead both assailants shortly after.
Former Israeli president Shimon Peres, 92, was rushed to hospital for the second time in a week yesterday after he was experiencing chest pains. Peres’ personal physician told Israel’s Army Radio today that he would remain in hospital for now “to allow him to continue to be monitored.”
Israel’s national airline, El Al, subtly celebrated history Thursday, after a flight from Israel to Larnaca, Cyprus, featured its first-ever all-female cockpit. You go, girls.
Palestinian twin sisters, 18, have been arrested after they attempted to prepare explosives and plot terrorist attacks against Israel. During a search of their home, several weapons were seized by police, “including pipe bombs, fertilizers for bomb assembly, a knife, Hamas headbands, and equipment for rioting.”
Three Israelis have developed a video called Not So Super Mario, which ponders what life would be like for Mario if he were disabled. Needless to say, it would be not so super, if it wasn’t for his brother Luigi who sets up wheelchair ramps and other aids to help Mario get around.
National Public Radio (NPR) is under fire after publishing a map of the Middle East that omits Israel, but includes “Palestine” (see photo above). After harsh criticism, NPR removed the illustrated map and issued an apology, saying, “The map had a number of errors. The countries of Cyprus, Israel and Turkey were either not shown or not labeled; the label for “Palestine” should have read “Palestinian territories”; and Afghanistan and Pakistan were mistakenly included. NPR apologizes for these errors.”
Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers abruptly fired Israeli celebrity and head coach David Blatt, after what you could only assume was a successful debut season and a half, leading his team to the NBA championships last year. He’s leaving the team with a .675 winning percentage, the best of any coach in franchise history.
Julian Edelman has been named the 4th-best Jewish football player of all time. Unfortunately, the news is unlikely to provide the wide receiver with much comfort after his New England Patriots – arguably the NFL’s most Jewish team – lost to the Denver Broncos yesterday.
Technology
The Globe and Mail spoke to the 73-year-old “grandfather of Israeli tech” Yossi Vardi to find out why a small country like Israel is leading the industry of high-tech like no other. Vardi actually funded his son’s startup in the early 1990s, responsible for messaging app ICQ, which they later sold to AOL for $400 million (US).
Japanese car maker Honda is currently searching for Israeli technology to make Honda vehicles completely “collision free” at today’s OurCrowd annual summit. Other major companies attending include Coca Cola, Samsung, Philips, Intuit and GE.
Health
TechCrunch recently took a look at Israel’s blossoming cannabis industry, warning that the government needs to catch up to meet the needs of the “country’s dynamic cannabis research and startup ecosystems.” Read it here.
Israeli scientists, like Google before them, are seeking a cure for “aging.” New clinical trial testing at Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine seeks to discover if medication can indeed delay age-related illnesses.
Culture
The Naughty Jewish Boys are back for a 2016 calendar. Do you think you have what it takes to teach Judaica whilst maintaining your sex appeal? If so, click here for more info. You may have to travel to New York though…
So this photo is going viral on Israeli social media, an alleged screenshot of a conversation with actor Ryan Reynolds. If it’s real, then it looks like he’ll be swinging by the Holy Land in a week!
אומייגאד אומייגאד אומייגאד!!!!!#deadpool#movie#premiere
Posted by Tom Yakobi on Sunday, January 24, 2016
A 90-year-old Hungarian Holocaust survivor, Eva Fahidi, is starring in a sold-out dance duet with a much younger dancer for a show called “Sea Lavender or The Euphoria of Being.” The performance is a bid to demonstrate how a woman with such a traumatic past can communicate with someone of an entirely different generation.
Saturday Night Live has made the smartest decision ever in its rich history: tapping Larry David to host an upcoming show in February. Expect more viewership than ever on an evening I can guarantee will be pretty, pretty, pretty good. You can also expect David to do another Bernie Sanders impression.
Based on Jewish author Lev Grossman’s best-selling fantasy trilogy, the two-hour series premiere of The Magicians airs tonight!
Throwback
If you haven’t seen this yet, you’re welcome.
Ideas for throwbacks or news items to include in the spiel? Please send them to [email protected].