Quentin Tarantino & Israeli Model Wife Have Baby Boy; First Child for Couple

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02/26/2020

Special Features - Quentin Tarantino article — Director Quentin Tarantino and with his wife, Israeli model Daniella Pick, are now the proud parents of a baby boy. Their son was born on Saturday in Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. Photo Credit: Instagram

By Ellen Cans

Director Quentin Tarantino and with his wife, Israeli model Daniella Pick, are now the proud parents of a baby boy. Their son was born on Saturday in Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. The 56-year-old Oscar-winning filmmaker became a father for the first time, as reported by People. “Daniella and Quentin Tarantino are happy to announce the birth of their first child,” his rep announced in a statement.

As per The Jerusalem Post, Tarantino had previously referred to the baby as “she” in an interview. Seemingly, he either was unaware of the fetus’s gender or he was pranking his fans. The baby, who is officially an Israeli citizen, has yet to be named, as it awaits its brit-mila, or ritual circumcision on the eighth day. The couple, who is not orthodox, will be performing this tradition as well as waiting to name the baby at the religious ceremony.

The couple had announced back in August 2019 that they were expecting a child. Tarantino and Daniella, 36, the daughter of Israeli pop singer and songwriter Tzvika Pick, were married in 2018. They had met in 2009, when Tarantino had visited Israel to promote his movie, Inglourious Basterds.

There are rumors that the couple might be permanently moving to Israel from their current home in Beverly Hills. Since November, they have been renting an apartment in a posh neighborhood in northern Tel Aviv. “I have some short trips (back to the US) planned for the (Oscar) awards ceremony. And of course we’ll be here for the birth and after” he told Yediot Aharonot last month. “I love the country and the people are really nice, very nice to me, and they seem excited that I’m here.”

As per People, the baby’s arrival coincides with a time when Tarantino may be looking to slow down his career. The Hollywood veteran hinted that he may just have plans to do one last movie. “I think when it comes to theatrical movies, I’ve come to the end of the road,” he said in a July GQ Australia interview. “I just think I’ve given all I have to give to movies.”

His most recent film, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, had him nominated for Best Director as well as Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards. The film won the prizes for best motion picture – musical or comedy and best screenplay at the 2020 Golden Globes. “Overjoyed and so proud of my husband ️ (also for his Hebrew!) @onceinhollywood,” Daniella, had shared on social media, with a photo of Tarantino accepting one of his awards in January.

Barneys NY Finally Shutters its Doors After Prolonged Liquidation

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Administrator

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02/26/2020

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By Ilana Siyance

The once iconic high-end fashion retailer has shuttered its doors for the final time.

Barneys New York, established in 1923, has officially closed operations on Sunday, February 23rd at its flagship store on Madison Avenue, its Chelsea location and its outlet at Woodbury Common in Central Valley. As reported by NBC NY, throughout the three locations , over 700 employees were slated to lose their jobs. Barney’s other remaining locations outside of NY were also closed simultaneously, including the stores in San Francisco and Beverly Hills, California. Barneys has undergone a slow and agonizing months-long going-out-of-business sale, but it is finally over.

Last November, amid bankruptcy woes, the 97-year-old luxury brand was purchased by fashion licensing company Authentic Brands Group and financial firm B. Riley for $271.4 million. Last year, Authentic Brands had announced that it planned to convert the Madison Avenue store into a centralized spot for pop-up businesses, fusing together a collection of boutiques as well as art and cultural exhibits and entertainment. Authentic Brands, which holds a massive portfolio of more than 50 brands, said it will license the Barney’s New York name to Saks Fifth Avenue with plans for “preserving the legacy of Barneys New York while positioning it for long term growth through key partnerships that will expand its global presence as a lifestyle brand and luxury retail experience”, as per a company press release.

ABG will recreate the Barneys New York brand on Saks Fifth Avenue’s fifth floor in Saks’ newly renovated flagship store. Saks will in the future also unveil Barneys New York shops in several other stores in well-preforming markets across the United States and Canada, as per the Associated Press. Saks, which has been owned since 2013 by the oldest commercial corporation in North America, the Hudson’s Bay Company, will also have exclusive rights to the Barneys NY name as an ecommerce partner on both Barneys.com and BarneysWarehouse.com. Already, the Barney’s websites are redirecting to Saks webpages entitled Barneys-at-Saks, offering high-end brand names for sale.

ABG had said it is excited to partner with the Saks Fifth Avenue management team to learn what clients of the legendary trend-setting store had loved about Barneys, and to give new life to that evolving it into something truly relevant to today’s luxury shoppers.

The acquisition of Barneys still maintains the licensing agreement between Barneys New York and Seven & i Holdings, which will continue to operate 12 Barneys New York retail stores in Japan without interruption or change of ownership.

Harvey Weinstein Found Guilty in Landmark #MeToo Moment

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Administrator

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02/26/2020

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New York - Harvey Weinstein Found article — Harvey Weinstein

By: AP

Harvey Weinstein was convicted Monday at his sexual assault trial, sealing his dizzying fall from powerful Hollywood studio boss to archvillain of the #MeToo movement.

He was found guilty of criminal sex act for assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006 and third-degree rape of a woman in 2013. The jury found him not guilty on the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault, that could have resulted in a life sentence.

The verdict followed weeks of often harrowing and excruciatingly graphic testimony from a string of accusers who told of rapes, forced oral sex, groping, masturbation, lewd propositions and that’s-Hollywood excuses from Weinstein about how the casting couch works.

The conviction was seen as a long-overdue reckoning for Weinstein after years of whispers about his behavior turned into a torrent of accusations in 2017 that destroyed his career and gave rise to #MeToo, the global movement to encourage women to come forward and hold powerful men accountable for their sexual misconduct.

The jury of seven men and five women took five days to find him guilty.

The case against the once-feared producer was essentially built on three allegations: that he raped an aspiring actress in a New York City hotel room in 2013, that he forcibly performed oral sex on Haleyi and that he raped and forcibly performed oral sex on “Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra in her apartment in the mid-1990s.

Three additional women who said they, too, were attacked by Weinstein also testified as part of an effort by prosecutors to show a pattern of brutish behavior on his part.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes unless they grant permission, as Haleyi and Sciorra did.

Jurors signaled their struggles with the Sciorra charges four days into deliberations. On Friday, after reviewing sections of her testimony and related evidence, they sent a note to the judge indicating they were deadlocked on the counts but had reached a unanimous verdict on the others. After some debate in the courtroom, the judge ordered jurors to keep deliberating.

While Weinstein did not testify, his lawyers contended that any sexual contact was consensual and that his accusers went to bed with him to advance their careers.

The defense seized on the fact that two of the women central to the case stayed in contact with Weinstein through warm and even flirty emails — and had sex with him — well after he supposedly attacked them.

The hard-charging and phenomenally successful movie executive helped bring to the screen such Oscar winners as “Good Will Hunting,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The King’s Speech” and “Shakespeare in Love” and nurtured the careers of celebrated filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith.

Weinstein now faces charges in Los Angeles. In that case, announced just as the New York trial was getting under way on Jan. 6, authorities allege Weinstein raped one woman and sexually assaulted another on back-to-back nights during Oscars week in 2013. One of those women testified as a supporting witness at the New York trial.

The trial was the first criminal case to arise from a barrage of allegations against Weinstein from more than 90 women, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman. Most of those cases were too old to prosecute.

During the trial, Weinstein regularly trudged into the courthouse stooped and unshaven, using a walker after recently undergoing back surgery — a far cry from the way he was depicted in court as a burly, intimidating figure whose eyes seemed to turn black with menace when his anger flared.

Many of Weinstein’s accusers described him as a “Jekyll and Hyde” character who could be incredibly charming at first, making jokes and showing interest in using his immense power to help their careers.

But that was an act, they said, meant to gain their trust and get them to a place — often a hotel room or an apartment — where he could violate them.

“If he heard the word ‘no,’ it was like a trigger for him,” his rape accuser testified.

Several women testified that Weinstein excused his behavior as the price for getting ahead in Hollywood. One said that when she laughed off his advances, he sneered, “You’ll never make it in this business. This is how this industry works.”

The jury heard lurid testimony that Weinstein injected himself with a needle to get an erection, that his genitals appeared disfigured, that he sent Sciorra a box of chocolate penises and that he once showed up uninvited at her hotel room door in his underwear with a bottle of baby oil in one hand and a video in the other.

The prosecution’s task was made more complicated because two of the women at the very center of the case didn’t just abandon Weinstein after the alleged encounters: Haleyi testified that she had sex with him two weeks later, while the rape accuser whose name was withheld said she had a sexual encounter with him more than three years afterward.

Like Haleyi, she sent Weinstein friendly and sometimes flirtatious emails, such as “Miss you big guy” and “I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call.”

During a cross-examination from Weinstein’s lawyers so exhaustive that she broke down in tears on the stand, the woman said she sent him flattering emails and kept seeing him because she was afraid of his unpredictable anger and “I wanted him to believe I wasn’t a threat.”

To blunt that line of questioning, prosecutors called to the witness stand a forensic psychiatrist who said that most sexual assault victims continue to have contact with their attackers and that they hope what happened to them “is just an aberration.”

Rumors about Weinstein’s behavior swirled in Hollywood circles for a long time, but he managed to silence many accusers with payoffs, nondisclosure agreements and the constant fear that he could crush their careers if they spoke out.

Weinstein was finally arrested and led away in handcuffs in May 2018, seven months after The New York Times and The New Yorker exposed his alleged misconduct in stories that would win the Pulitzer Prize. (AP)

NYC’s Frick Museum Renovation Sparks Tension Btwn Namesake’s Descendants

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Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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New York - NYC's Frick article — Renovations are taking place in the famed music room at the Frick Museum in Manhattan. Photo Credit: Frick.org

By Hellen Zaboulani

The fate of the famed music room at the Frick Museum in Manhattan rests on a decision to be made by the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals at a meeting on Tuesday. Even the descendants of Henry Clay Frick, are at odds with each other over an expansion plan that would tear the room down to build a large auditorium and a cafe. The coke and steel magnate had donated his Fifth Avenue mansion to the city as a museum, after his death in 1931. The collection was opened to the public in 1935 after renovations and additions were made. It has been esteemed for its Western paintings, sculptures, and decorative art, as well as its serene and intimate setting.

As reported by the NY Post, now the board of the Frick is pursuing a major expansion and renovation of the 1914 Gilded Age mansion. The intimate oval-shaped music room, which was designed by John Russell Pope and opened in 1938, would be destroyed to build a large modern auditorium, cafeteria, bookshop and administrative offices. The music room has held performances by the world’s finest musicians, and has been praised by a leading music critic as “the closest thing to a 19th-century music salon this city has to offer.”

Sitting on the board today and approving of the plans are four descendants of Frick, most notable is the president, Helen Clay Chace, one of his great-granddaughters. However, on the opposition’s side sits another of Clay’s great-granddaughters. Martha Frick Symington Sanger, also the Frick family historian, is fighting to save the music room. She said, “The opposition and I are not against improving the infrastructure at the Frick, it is the way they are going about it. It is a travesty.” “By removing the music room, a one-of-a-kind marvelous room and putting in a very large special exhibition gallery, they will increase the crowds and the noise and chatter, this will also disrupt the serenity that everybody loves at the Frick. It will disrupt the garden court where people come to meditate,” she continued.

“This is a real violation of Henry Clay’s Frick’s gift to the public. It is just ruinous, they could easily put this new development underground. The new development will dwarf the original building,” added Symington Sanger. “The board is failing in its duty to protect a landmark resource. The music room in the Frick is 80 years old, and clearly a cultural and historic resource. It is like taking a wrecking ball to the Taj Mahal.”

She is blaming members of the management, including Blackstone billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, who himself has donated millions to the institution, for pushing the development for their own acclaim. “There are very ambitious people involved,” she said. “They could develop underground and save the music room but people like this like monuments to themselves.”

A spokesperson for Schwarzman and Blackstone commented to say, “This is false. The claim that Steve is the driver or ‘chief proponent’ of the renovation is a fabrication meant to manufacture a false controversy. While the full board has approved this long-standing plan, it was designed, implemented, and executed by the museum’s professional management team…The building will also not be named for him.”

A representative for the Frick also commented to say, “This measured plan was conceived by the professional museum and library staff in concert with the Board of Trustees to address the Frick’s long-standing programmatic needs.” “The project will not aesthetically alter the ground floor galleries and will open to the public, for the first time, a suite of rooms on the second floor of the former Frick residence. Critically, this plan preserves for visitors the intimacy that so earmarks ‘The Frick Experience.’” The Frick rep continued to say, “Over the past two years, the public has had ample opportunity to comment on the project before the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Board of Standards and Appeals. The process has been public, rigorous, and transparent throughout.”

Jennifer Usdan McBride, a preservationist working with the opposition, differed to say that there is sufficient public disapproval. “There are over 7,000 signatures on two online petitions,” she said.

Mike Bloomberg Now Lauds Labor Strikes as ‘Highly Effective’

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Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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New York - Mike Bloomberg article — Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg seems to have flipped the switch when it comes to supporting workers’ right to strike. The former NYC mayor now says he wholeheartedly endorses unions engaging in walkouts against their private-sector companies. Photo Credit: Getty Images

By Hellen Zaboulani

Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg seems to have flipped the switch when it comes to supporting workers’ right to strike. The former NYC mayor now says he wholeheartedly endorses unions engaging in walkouts against their private-sector companies. Skeptics are pointing out, however, that as mayor he was singing a different tune. He had strongly criticized transit workers and school bus drivers who had called for a strike.

As reported by the NY Post, the presidential candidate drew ridicule from critics who say it’s all just a bid to win votes. Bloomberg’s “Protect the American Worker” plan includes a provision supporting union strikes against private employers. “Protect workers’ ability to strike. Employees’ ability to withhold their work is a core source of their bargaining power, highly effective at resolving labor disputes and generally protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),” says the Bloomberg plan.

“But courts have narrowed the reach of the NLRA in this area, with damaging consequences. Mike supports provisions of the PRO [Protecting the Right to Organize Act] that will unequivocally protect ‘intermittent strikes,’ enabling workers to go on strike briefly or repeatedly — which is far less of a financial burden for employees than an extended strike,” the proposal says.

The plan, released Feb. 15, also says that employers should not be allowed to hire permanent replacement workers, which “threatens the livelihood of employees by effectively firing them.” Other provisions in the plan include raising the federal minimum wage to $15, and requiring employers to provide 12 weeks of paid family leave.

Several New York labor leaders, who had experience dealing with Bloomberg as mayor, spoke out calling Bloomberg out for his abrupt change of heart and new emphasis on backing strikes against employers.

“This is lip service on Bloomberg’s part,” said Arthur Cheliotes, who headed Local 1180 of the Communication Workers of America, which represents administrative workers in city government. “He’s in the business of buying people.”

“Bloomberg is a proven anti-worker plutocrat. He’s the quintessential example of a political candidate putting up a faux-metamorphosis façade,” said national Transport Workers Union president John Samuelsen, who is supporting Bernie Sanders. “He attacked NYC transit workers viciously when we struck in 2005, he never supported any striking workers in his life and a leopard can’t change its spots. Especially billionaire leopards,” Samuelsen added.

In 2005, when the TWU initiated a transit strike, which was illegal under NYS law, Bloomberg had rallied against the effort. “This illegal and selfish strike needs to end now. Roger Toussaint and the TWU have shamefully decided they don’t care about the people they work for and that they have no respect for the law. The leadership of the TWU has thuggishly turned their backs on New York City, and disgraced the noble concept of public service,” Bloomberg had said as the mayor.

In 2013, Bloomberg similarly slammed school bus drivers for going on strike, and he refused to take sides between the union and the bus companies that employed the drivers in a dispute over job protections. “We have told the unions in unequivocal terms, ‘Do not walk out on our students,’” he said, vowing that “the city would not be held hostage.”

The Bloomberg campaign did not respond to media requests for comment.

NYPD Accused of Focusing on Plugging Media Leaks Instead of Corruption

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Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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By Benyamin Davidsons

Members of the NYPD’s top-brass Internal Affairs Bureau have been focusing their energy merely on plugging leaks in the media more so than on corruption, as per police sources.

As per a recent article in the NY Post, The IAB has spent much of its time in the past few months, questioning cops over photos and videos leaked to the press. In particular, there were three, high-profile investigations that were played out by the press, and two of those cases led the IAB to discipline police officers, sources told The Post.

Two weeks ago, two officers were stripped of their guns and badges for sharing unnerving videos, which were then leaked to the press, of a cop-hating madman who opened fire in a police station. The Bronx’s 41st precinct shooting had left a lieutenant wounded, and the source comments the focus there should not have been to censure the lawmen for negative publicity. In December, a photo was circulated of a civilian who broke into Brooklyn’s 71st Precinct station house, wore a police officer’s unattended uniform and pretended to be a cop. The IAB reportedly grilled one detective who was in the photo’s background and temporarily placed him on modified duty. He told investigators that he didn’t know who had taken the picture. “Instead of worrying about who put a video out, they should worry about precinct-house security,” one source said of the incident. “But they won’t talk about that.”

The source complained that the IAB’s effort to shush and censure the officers comes at the expense of more serious probes which it should be focused on. As per the NYPD website: “The Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) is dedicated to preserving integrity, which is critical to the function of the Police Department, and fighting corruption within the NYPD. The department cannot successfully serve the public without maintaining the public’s trust.”

In another example of media plugging, in October, after photos surfaced depicting the gory quadruple homicide at a Brooklyn gambling den, the IAB tried to identify the source of those leaked pictures. It went so far as to subpoena the Twitter account for the Post’s Police Bureau Chief Tina Moore, only withdrawing the request after being contacted by the Post’s lawyers.

Meanwhile, earlier in the month, the NYPD issued a strong new social-media policy for its officers, underlining that cops should not post any case details or images from crime scenes, that have not officially been made public.

An NYPD spokesman defended the policy saying “Inappropriate postings can damage a case, alert a suspect [or] further wound a victim”.

Parshas Terumah–The Mishkan Gifts Are Listed In Descending Order

By

Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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By: Rabbi Yissocher Frand

The verse lists the various materials that were donated to the Mishkan. The Torah mentions “gold, silver, and copper; turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool; linen and goat hair; red-dyed ram skins, tachash skins, acacia wood; oil for illumination, spices for the anointment oil and the aromatic incense; shoham stones and stones for the settings, for the Ephod and the Breastplate.” [Shmos 25:3-7].

The Or HaChaim notes that this list appears to be presented in descending order of value — until the end, when the shoham and other precious stones are mentioned. If so, he asks, why is it that the shoham stones and the setting stones are placed at the end of the list? These precious stones were perhaps the costliest items required for the construction of the Mishkan and the associated vessels.

The Or HaChaim suggests three answers to this question.

His first answer relates to the “story behind” the Shoham stones and the setting stones. Rashi cites the fact that the Nesi’im [princes], when solicited to donate to the Mishkan, told the solicitors to collect from everyone else first. They would volunteer, they said, to fill in the gaps of whatever was lacking at the end of the building campaign. The general populace, however, contributed everything necessary for the building–even to the point of having a surplus. The Nesi’im therefore gave the precious stones that were not part of the main building fund. However, the Torah was critical of their “laziness” in contributing, and dropped a letter from the name Nesi’im [Shmos 35:27].

We would look at their offer as very admirable. If we were conducting a building fund campaign and we received an offer from a donor “to make up any deficit remaining at the end of the campaign” we would consider that a tremendous offer. The Torah, however, is critical of their actions. What was wrong with their approach?

The problem with that approach is that they should have realized that in building the Mishkan, there could be no such thing as a deficit. A deficit means a lack, something missing. But G-d did not need our money in the first place. He merely gave us the opportunity to have the merit of participating in the mitzvah. There was going to be enough in this case no matter what. The question was only who will have the mitzvah of building the Mishkan. The princes were criticized for losing the opportunity to participate in the mitzvah.

In a similar vein, someone once came to the Chofetz Chaim and offered to underwrite the entire budget of the Radin Yeshiva. The holy sage refused the offer. The Chofetz Chaim told the donor that he could not allow one person to take away the merit of all the other donors and potential donors to his Yeshiva.

Rabbi Zev Leff explains the significance of the punishment given to the Princes for their ‘laziness’ in contributing to the Mishkan. The punishment was that a letter was taken away from the word Princes (Nesi’im — Nun Sin Aleph Yud Mem), leaving it to read Nisaim (Nun Sin Aleph Mem). The difference between the two words is dramatic. Nesi’im means those who carry. Nisaim means those who are carried. The Princes were taught that they forgot a basic and fundamental lesson: The Ark of the Torah carries those that carry it, not the other way around. A person who donates to a Torah institution or to a Torah scholar should not think “I am supporting Torah.” Rather, he should realize that “Torah is supporting me.” Therefore, to impress this lesson upon the Princes, their title of “Carriers” was removed and they were called “Those Who Needed To Be Carried.”

According to the Or HaChaim’s first answer, this is why the Shoham stones are mentioned last in the sequence of donations. Even though they were precious, since this was a gift that came about with a lack of excitement and enthusiasm, it was relegated to last place, so to speak, in the enumeration of the Mishkan’s donations.

The second answer that the Or HaChaim gives to this question is that everything else in the list was sanctified (Kodesh) and could not be used for any secular purpose. However the Shoham stones and the setting stones were on the Priestly garments. The Priestly garments may be used for non-sacred purposes [Yoma 68b]; the Kohanim may wear these clothes (at least for a short time) even while “off duty.” As such, these gifts did not wind up in as sanctified a state as the other materials, and hence are mentioned at the end of the list.

Finally, the Or HaChaim mentions a third answer: that according to at least one Midrash, the Shoham stones were not donated by human effort. They were brought to the Camp of Israel on heavenly clouds. Therefore, they were in a different category than the other donations and were mentioned last.

We might ask how the answers of the Or HaChaim address his original question. The original question was that since the items were listed in descending value, why were the valuable shoham stones listed last. How do any of the answers address that reality?

We must say — according to all the answers of the Or HaChaim — that in fact the listing IS in descending value. But value is not determined by monetary value. Value is determined by other measures–by self sacrifice, by how much work went into it, by the way in which it was presented and how it was given. That is value.

The list IS based on value. As to the premise of the question–aren’t precious stones more valuable than spices? The answer is–it all depends. These particular stones were not worth more than spices, for any of the reasons provided.

A Jew that scrapes together his money and donates spices with much love and much self-sacrifice may be donating a gift that at face value is worth a fraction of the value of the Shoham stones, but in the Heavenly measure, the spices may very well be more valuable. Value is not determined by what the “street value” will bring for the commodity. Value is determined by a totally different standard. G-d has a standard regarding how an item is given, which is why the gift of the poor Jew given with enthusiasm surpasses the gifts of the Princes given lazily. G-d has a sanctity standard, which is why the spices are worth more than the Stones worn as part of the priestly garments. G-d has a standard regarding that which is given of what is given through self-sacrifice and toil, rather than as a G-d sent gift that arrives on the clouds.

The Or HaChaim is answering that his original observation was correct. The gifts are enumerated in descending order. We just need to understand the standard or scale by which the hierarchy of value is measured according to each of the Or HaChaim’s answers.

(Torah.org)

Parshas Terumah – Building G-d’s Sanctuary

By

Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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Parsha - Parshas Terumah article — In this week’s parsha, we find the commandments to build the mishkan and all the vessels that were contained therein, including the ark, the menorah and the altar. But interestingly enough, as the parsha enjoins us to offer our contributions, it interrupts the sequence by teaching us the ultimate purpose of the mishkan - “so that I may dwell in your midst.”

By: Rabbi Osher Jungreis

In this week’s parsha, we find the commandments to build the mishkan and all the vessels that were contained therein, including the ark, the menorah and the altar. But interestingly enough, as the parsha enjoins us to offer our contributions, it interrupts the sequence by teaching us the ultimate purpose of the mishkan – “so that I may dwell in your midst.” Thus, by connecting the purpose of the sanctuary with the command to build it, the Torah is imparting to us a profound teaching which is at the root of all our mitzvot. Even as the mishkan, the sanctuary, had to be constructed with reverence, devotion and commitment so that it might be worthy of G-d’s presence, similarly, we must perform all our mitzvot with devotion and sanctity so that through the performance of those mitzvoth, the spirit of G-d may permeate our homes, our very lives.

Every aspect of the construction of the sanctuary is laden with meaning and timeless teaching. Our parsha opens with the puzzling command “Vayikchu L’terumah”–“and take for Me an offering.” This command is puzzling, because it would have been more appropriate for the Torah to say: “Give Me an offering”–“Bring Me an offering”. But HaShem wanted us to understand that when we give, we are, in essence, taking – receiving. Surely, G-d does not require our offering–but in His infinite boundless kindness, He allows us to give, so that through that act, we may become elevated–godlike. The very name of the parsha–Terumah, – offering, testifies to this, for literally translated, it means “elevation”–giving us an opportunity for growth, for becoming better, kinder individuals and lending purpose and meaning to our lives.

The Talmud relates that the Roman tyrant, Turnus Rufus once mocked Rabbi Akiva. “If your G-d loves the poor so much,” he taunted, “why doesn’t He provide for them?”

To which Rabbi Akiva responded that, of course, G-d could easily have eliminated poverty, but in His infinite mercy, He granted man that merit – to give is a privilege. Thus, our sages teach that the poor man does more for the rich, than the rich do for the poor. Again, the very word tzedukah – charity, impresses this upon us, for literally translated, it means “righteousness”, “justice”. Through the process of giving, we become more righteous and more just.

There is an amazing story about the Chofetz Chaim (the great Torah sage of modern times who died in 1933). The Chofetz Chaim had a yeshiva in Radin, Poland, which was struggling for survival. A noted philanthropist volunteered to underwrite the entire budget, but the Chofetz Chaim declined his generous gift, stating that every Jew must be given the opportunity to give, and therefore he could not allow the philanthropist to deprive his fellow Jews of this great merit. So let us appreciate the opportunities to give that come our way. Instead of being annoyed at those who seek our help, let us seek them out and let us say “Thank you for the privilege”.

(Hineni.org)

When God is Hidden: The Meaning of Purim

By

Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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Jewish Features - When God is Hidden article — The Book of Esther teaches us that even in the darkness of exile, even in the looming shadows, we must never fear. God is watching over us. Photo Credit: OU

By: Slovie Jungreis-Wolff

“These days will be remembered and kept in each generation, in every family, land and city. These days of Purim will never be abandoned by the Jews, nor shall their memory die out among their children.”

Every year the Scroll of Esther must be read aloud in public, usually in the community synagogue. All adult Jewish men and women are given an obligation to hear every single word to fulfill the mitzvah.

Why? Don’t the other Jewish holidays have miracles far greater and wondrous? And why is Purim uniquely celebrated specifically through reading the Megillah?

Here is the message that sears into the heart and soul of every Jew throughout the centuries. The message that whispers to us in the silence of the night: “Do not be afraid. Even if it feels as if I am so far away, hidden and concealed. I will never abandon you, My dear children.”

The miracles of Chanukah and Passover, the shelter of Sukkot all speak openly about the hand of God in our lives. Divine intervention swooped down and saved the nation of Israel. We sing about the revealed miracles. There is no denying the obvious. How could one not believe? A scroll is not necessary.

But what happens when there is miracle after miracle yet no one seems to see the explosion of God’s mighty hand in this world? When God’s voice is masked by nature seeming to take its natural course?

Purim’s miracles were intentionally hidden. Esther happened to be chosen. She happened to be Jewish. Achashverosh happened to be taken by her. We had one of our own in the palace and wow, were we lucky! Mordechai happened to hear the plot to kill the king. Haman happened to erect the gallows upon which he was eventually hanged.

There is no luck or coincidence here. It’s all meant to be, directed behind the scenes by God’s guiding hand.

The name of God is nowhere to be found explicitly in the Book of Esther. It is only alluded to, hidden, waiting to be found. God purposefully concealed His name to teach us that there are times that great miracles are camouflaged, waiting to be discovered.

We all go through times that we believe that we are alone, on our own. Sometimes they are moments of great success. We think it’s all about being at the right place in the right time, karma, or our very own abilities.

We are ignorant or indifferent to God’s mighty hand in our lives. Propelling us forward, showering us with blessing. It is up to us to truly see and recognize the Source of life in our days.

Then there are those moments of darkness. We are bewildered. What happened to me? How am I ever going to get out of this? Where is God? I feel so abandoned. Why is God hiding?

Our people thought the same when the holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. We were sent into exile. Dispersed as the smoke and fire rose over our once glorious Temple. Fear spread from one to another. Can it be that God has abandoned us forever?

The Book of Esther teaches us that even in the darkness of exile, even in the looming shadows, we must never fear. God is watching over us. Perhaps His hand seems hidden. Perhaps the healing seems to be taking forever. We wonder, does God even care?

Beneath the heavy clouds is the hand of God, tenderly watching over us.

I was born upon the ashes of the Holocaust. My birth and the birth of my siblings were all hidden miracles. And each day we must only look to see God peering at us through the curtains of the heavens. Guiding us. Protecting us. Calling out to us. Granting us life.

We each have our own personal scroll to write. Purim gives us the message of courage and strength to seek the hidden hand of God through the dark clouds. This is the true definition of faith.

(Aish.com)

Slovie Jungreis Wolff is a noted teacher, author, relationships and parenting lecturer. She is the leader of Hineni Couples and daughter of Rebbetzen Esther Jungreis. Slovie is the author of the parenting handbook, Raising A Child With Soul. She gives weekly classes and has lectured throughout the U.S.,Canada, Mexico, Panama, and South Africa. You can reach slovie at [email protected]

“Megilat Esther”–Background & Summary – Part 1

By

Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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By: OU Staff

The Story of Purim

Introduction

Purim is known as the Holiday of the “nes nistar,” the “hidden miracle.” This is because HaShem saved the Jewish People without splitting any seas, or making mountains dance and catch fire, as he had done with Mt. Sinai, when he gave His Torah to the Jewish People there some thirty three hundred years ago. In the miracle of Purim, nothing that strange happened.

Megillah

It was rather the way that events were tied together – overheard conversations, the pride of a tyrant that “went before his fall,” the sleeplessness of a King, the watchfulness of the King of Kings, that allowed the People to be saved, once they had done “Teshuvah,” Repentance, for a sin only alluded to in Megilat Esther.

Megilat Esther is the story of men and women, some very righteous, some terribly wicked, and how they interacted – with the Holy One, the Producer and Director of the Play, Who miraculously allows freedom of choice, watching from behind the scenes.

The End of the Babylonian Empire

In the Book of Daniel, Chapter 5, we find the scene of the last Babylonian ruler, Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, at the center of a party. The purpose of the great feast is to celebrate the abandonment of the Jewish People by their G-d. For the Prophet Yirmiyahu had prophesied that the Jewish People would be in Exile in Babylonia for seventy years, following which they would be redeemed. Belshazzar had calculated the seventy years, he thought, and no redemption had come for the Jews. Hence he thought it safe to take out the vessels that were taken from the Temple by his father, and they could be used and abused by the party-goers.

Then a hand had appeared and had written upon a wall the enigmatic phrase “Mene Mene, Tekel Upharsin.” Not one of his magicians or advisors had been able to read, let alone decipher those words. But Belshazzar’s wife had reminded him of the presence in the palace of a Jew from the Captivity of Judea, Daniel, who was able to interpret things that were above the comprehension of other men. Daniel was summoned and told him that the words were a message from the L-rd that the time of the Kingdom of Babylonia had ended. And indeed, that night, there was an invasion by the Persians and Medes, and Belshazzar was slain. Persia and Media were the new ruling nations of the World, and Darius the Mede was the first King of the new Empire.

The Beginning of the Megilah – Another Feast!

The Megilah begins by informing us that its historical context is the Persia-Media of King Achashverosh, who then ruled over the Empire. That MegillahEmpire encompassed one hundred twenty seven states and provinces (definitely not to be confused with the one hundred twenty seven righteous years of our Mother, Sarah); in effect, the entire (more-or-less) civilized world at that time.

Achashverosh is making a feast for all of his Kingdom, and for the same reason that the unfortunate Belshazzar made one! Again, Achashverosh has done his homework, and is convinced that Yirmiyahu’s seventy years are by now certainly over (wrong again!).

Actually, there are two reasons for Achashverosh’s feast. The most important one is to celebrate the supposed abandonment of the Jewish People by their G-d.

The second reason for the feast has to do with the fact that he wants to keep his population, especially the most powerful members of it, including the army, its officers and all the princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses, etc., happy. For, the Midrash tells us, Achashverosh is not of “royal blood.” Rather, he has come to power through a revolution. Therefore, he is never totally sure of himself in his role as King. His wife, Vashti, the Queen, is however a genuine “blue-blood,” being from the House of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, and World Conqueror, as she does not hesitate to remind her husband, as we shall see.

Also on the guest list are the Jewish People. Achashverosh goes all out to make them comfortable; he has “glatt kosher” meat, under impeccable “hashgacha,” perhaps under the “OU” of the time. The Jews, on the other hand, have weighed their options. A beautiful catering hall, great food, terrific smorgasbord, and the King’s probably correct in his calculations. They feel a little queasy about celebrating with vessels from the Temple not only on display, but in use. But the majority of them have come.

And it is their presence at a feast celebrating their abandonment and mocking their Temple that, according to the Midrash, has made them guilty of treason against G-d, and therefore candidates for destruction!

“Also Queen Vashti Made a Feast for the Women”

The Tale (Tail(?)) Continues

Not to be outdone, Queen Vashti made a feast for the women of the Kingdom. Her purpose was to show off her great beauty, since she had been one of the most beautiful women in the world. But HaShem spoiled her party. She developed a full-blown case of leprosy. Others say she actually grew a tail!

These blemishes were appropriate punishments for Vashti, for her abuse of her captive Jewish girls. She had made them work for her on Shabbat completely naked, thus greatly offending them from the point of view that they would have to violate the Shabbat, and also by preventing them from practicing the characteristic of “tzniut,” modesty, which was a major part of their life-style. So HaShem punished her “Midah K’neged Midah,” “Measure for Measure,” by not allowing her to make a display of her “pritzut,” her total immodesty.

“Bring Vashti the Queen,…, with (only) the Royal Crown”

Her predicament became worse. On the “seventh day,” the Shabbat, Achashverosh, now totally drunk, demanded that Vashti appear before him and his guests. Of course, in her present state, Vashti refused, not out of a sense of modesty, but out of a sense of embarrassment over her appearance. Not only did Vashti not come – she also sent the King an insult – “Who was he, just a commoner, to tell her royal self what to do?”

This had never happened before! No one, certainly not the queen, had ever been summoned to come before the King, and refused. What a humiliation! One of the King’s advisors, named “Memuchan” in the Megilah, but identified in the Midrash as none other than Haman, suggests that Vashti should be severely punished. Not only has she made a fool of the King before all his royal guests, but soon the story will spread across the Kingdom, that wives don’t have to obey their husbands any longer!

(OU.org)

(To be Continued Next Week)

Extension of High-Speed Rail to Old City Jerusalem Expected to Alleviate Traffic, Boost Tourism

By

Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

1

Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former Transportation minister and Foreign Affairs Minister at the first ride of the the new high-speed train between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, at Yitzhak Navon train station in Jerusalem on December 18, 2019. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

“Jews from around the world will be able to land at Ben-Gurion and in a short amount of time be at the Western Wall to be spiritually uplifted. It’s the perfect blend of modern technology and ancient spirituality,” said Rabbi Steve Burg, CEO of Aish HaTorah.

By: Josh Hasten

In what is being dubbed as a historical development, Israel’s Transportation Ministry announced this week that is it moving forward with plans to extend the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem high-speed rail line in order to connect Ben-Gurion International Airport directly to the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

A view of heavy traffic in Jerusalem on a main route to the city exit and entrance on Nov. 25, 2019. Photo by Hadas Parush/Flash90.

The new route for the railway extension was approved by the National Planning and Construction Commission. It will feature a 1.8-mile underground tunnel with two new stations, including one adjacent to the Khan Theatre Complex in downtown Jerusalem and the other inside the Old City.

Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich hailed the announcement, saying the new line would help ease Israel’s transportation crisis. In fact, recent studies show that Israel suffers the worst traffic congestion out of all OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations.

At the same time, the minister said that new line “allows us to advance a Zionist and Jewish ideology.”

Tourists arriving in Israel will be able to hop on a train straight to the Western Wall as their first destination while visiting the country.

In response to the new rail line, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahoum told JNS “we are thrilled that the Transport Ministry has decided to build the train line from Tel Aviv directly to the center of our capital city and the beating heart of our people. This is the modern expression of King David’s vision of Jerusalem and the Old City as the place where people ascend to from Israel and indeed across the world.”

Rabbi Steve Burg, CEO of Aish HaTorah, with headquarters based in the Old City of Jerusalem, told JNS that “the extension of the high-speed rail to the Old City of Jerusalem is a major achievement for Israel. Jews from around the world will be able to land at Ben-Gurion and in a short amount of time be at the Western Wall to be spiritually uplifted. It’s the perfect blend of modern technology and ancient spirituality.”

‘Might Improve Hotel Prices in Jerusalem’

Interior of the Yitzhak Navon high-speed train station in Jerusalem, Dec. 18, 2019. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

But not everyone is praising the approval. As JNS reported earlier this week, Jordan officials called the move a “flagrant violation of international law.”

Its foreign ministry spokesman, Daifallah al-Fayez, insisted that the international community “assume its responsibilities to resist the illegitimate and illegal Israeli steps.”

Jerusalem resident Yomi Groner, a licensed tour guide with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism for the past 11 years, hailed the project, telling JNS that “Israel has a massive problem, especially in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem vis-à-vis public transportation. With the planned development of a business center at the entrance to Jerusalem, you are going to have major problems getting from one part of the city to the other. But if you can ride a train across the city, it will be more beneficial to the majority of people.”

He added that “unless you are going to tell people not to drive cars inside the city of Jerusalem, this is the only solution which is realistic and effective.”

Groner said colleagues in the tourism and travel industry, including bus drivers and mini-bus drivers, as well as tourists themselves have been complaining about the situation for years. He noted that some of the problems include not only the traffic itself, but a lack of parking available near tourist sites around the Old City.

View of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem high-speed train seen over the HaArazim Valley (“Valley of Cedars”) just outside of Jerusalem, Dec. 22, 2019. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90.

He did acknowledged that while under construction the train project will most likely be a headache for Jerusalem residents, but in the end, it is a must to alleviate the congestion.

At the same time, he mentioned, it “might improve hotel prices in Jerusalem.”

Groner said “if people know they can stay outside of Jerusalem, and hop onto a train and get to the Old City, maybe it will start pushing hotels in Jerusalem to bring down their prices.”

Smotrich concluded his comments on the announced approval, saying “the Temple Mount and the last standing remnant of the Holy Temple, the Western Wall, represent our [the Jewish] right to exist here. Millions of visitors come on pilgrimages and are forced to hike to the Western Wall due to a lack of proper transportation. The Jewish state cannot allow such a reality, and today, we have taken an important step towards a solution.

A schematic of the new high-speed line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Blue are tunnels; red are bridges. Image courtesy of Israel Railways

“A rail line to the Western Wall is a huge development for Israeli citizens and millions of tourists who enter the gates of Jerusalem,” he continued. “This is an exciting moment for the State of Israel and for future generations. This is a true expression of Zionism.”

(JNS.org)

Tourism/Hospitality Leaders Appointed to Guide Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau

By

Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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Travel - Tourism Hospitality Leaders article copy — Bill Colavito, General Manager of Great Wolf Lodge’s Pocono location, was elected Board Chair. He has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality field, successfully leading Great Wolf Lodge the last 11 years and recently overseeing a full $15 million property renovation. Former Board Chair Genevieve Reese, President and General Manager of The French Manor Inn & Spa, was appointed Vice Chair. Reese has owned her business for 25 years and has served on the PMVB Board of Directors for 14 years. Barbara Green, President of Blue Mountain Resort, serves as Board Treasurer. She brings more than 30 years of business management experience and has doubled Blue Mountain’s revenue since joining the resort in 2007.

Edited By: JV Staff

The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau (PMVB) is pleased to welcome its new 2020 Board of Directors, which includes many well-respected members of the tourism and hospitality industry. The Board of Directors oversees the PMVB, helping the organization fulfill its mission and objectives while guiding strategic direction. The following three individuals make up PMVB’s Executive Committee.

Bill Colavito, General Manager of Great Wolf Lodge’s Pocono location, was elected Board Chair. He has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality field, successfully leading Great Wolf Lodge the last 11 years and recently overseeing a full $15 million property renovation. Colavito presents a significant background that will help shape the work of the board over the next year.

Former Board Chair Genevieve Reese, President and General Manager of The French Manor Inn & Spa, was appointed Vice Chair. Reese has owned her business for 25 years and has served on the PMVB Board of Directors for 14 years. Her longtime guidance and leadership, especially on the former Executive Committee, was visionary in ensuring a strong future for the PMVB.

Barbara Green, President of Blue Mountain Resort, serves as Board Treasurer. She brings more than 30 years of business management experience and has doubled Blue Mountain’s revenue since joining the resort in 2007. Green will be a fantastic asset to the PMVB.

“The Pocono Mountains welcomes nearly 30-million guests annually and is the fastest-growing tourism region in Pennsylvania” said Chris Barrett, President/CEO of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau. “Our Board of Directors combined brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will continue propelling the Poconos forward as a top destination with sound leadership that the region has come to depend on.”

In 2019, the previous Executive Committee created a special committee to review the overall governance structure and bylaws of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. This 8-month process lead the committee to recommend that the board be fundamentally reorganized and governed by a new set of bylaws. The new Board of Directors held its first meeting on January 31, 2020. At this meeting, new board members were appointed and the new bylaws were approved.

About the Pocono Mountains

With 2,400 square miles encompassing Pennsylvania’s Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and Carbon counties, the Pocono Mountains region is home to rolling mountain terrain, breathtakingly beautiful waterfalls, thriving woodlands and 170 miles of winding rivers. Winters offer guests the opportunity to ski, snowboard, snow tube and even snowshoe their way through snowy wonderlands encompassing more than 163 ski trails, while summers also cater to the active traveler allowing exploration of 261 miles of hiking and biking trails, more than 30 golf courses, whitewater rafting, boating, fishing and open access to nine state and two national parks.

Pocono Mountains visitor information is available online at PoconoMountains.com or by phone at (570) 421-5791. Follow @PoconoTourismPR on Twitter to stay current with up-to-date information. Established in 1934, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit membership organization. The PMVB is the official destination marketing organization for the four counties of Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and Carbon in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Education Reform Must Take a Seat at the Front of the Class

By

Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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Education - Education Reform article — We must increase school choice through expanded 529 savings accounts, direct educational savings accounts (ESAs), charter schools, and expanded federal & state scholarships. Photo Credit: Wikipedia.org

By: Ken Abramowitz & Jon Sutz

President Trump called for education reform in his recent State of the Union address. He specifically emphasized the need for school choice, which he proposed to aid with one million federally-financed scholarships. He also called for more technical classes in high schools, to build job skills, helping to enable non-college-bound graduates to gain well-paid jobs, or go on to trade schools to get advanced training and certifications, leading to even higher pay. Read and watch President Trump’s 2020 State of the Union speech here.

However, our schools — both secular and religious — are failing to educate and protect our distinctly American culture.

A recent research report, “Meet Today’s Typical Millennial,” by SaveTheWest consulting editor & videographer Jon Sutz, lays waste to the notion that our schools are preparing new generations of Americans to understand even basic U.S. history, the virtue of freedom, and the stark difference between the free market and a government-dictated economy.

So what can we do to fix this growing mess?

There are 9 changes that should be made now:

(1) We must increase school choice through expanded 529 savings accounts, direct educational savings accounts (ESAs), charter schools, and expanded federal & state scholarships.

(2) We must ensure that America’s children are fluent in basic literacy and analytical thinking skills before they can graduate from high school. As it is, not only is this standard not being met, quite the opposite: According to a 2016 report by the American College of Trustees & Alumni, most of our college graduates struggle with tasks they should have mastered in the high school, if not earlier:

“A survey of employers showed that over 70% found college graduates were not well-prepared in skills such as ‘written communication,’ ‘working with numbers/statistics,’ ‘critical/analytical thinking,’ and second-language proficiency.”

(3) We must prohibit all foreign funding of American schools, for the same reason that we do not allow foreign entities to contribute to U.S. political campaigns. Most urgently:

(a) We must stop all monetary and in-kind donations from Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia (whether by their governments or individuals). One of the many examples of the insidious nature of such external influence is Georgetown University’s “Bridge Initiative,” which has engaged in chronic whitewashing of jihad and Islamist extremism, which is having a profoundly disturbing impact on students.

(b) We must also stop the communist Chinese government from creating cultural subversion centers on our college, high school and elementary school campuses, known benevolently as “Confucius Institutes” — and stop taxpayer-funded schools from paying China to set up such subversion centers. While Americans are told that these centers are “providing Chinese language and cultural teaching resources and services worldwide… and contributing to the development of multiculturalism and the building of a harmonious world,” a recent report by the U.S. Senate revealed that they are created and utilized to spread pro-communist propaganda among American children. We must also stop Chinese grants to U.S. scientists, especially given China’s long history of stealing/pilfering the most advanced, cutting-edge American defense technologies.

(4) We must fix school textbooks in public schools, and any private schools that get any government financing, and prohibit schoolbooks from companies that have any ownership by any foreign shareholders.

(5) We must ensure that, as President Trump recent policy announcement formalized, no U.S. taxpayer money can be used to enable any educational institution to fund/allow the incitement of hate against Jews, or boycotts against Israel (or any other nation).

For example, we must make sure that the anti-Israel indoctrination of third-graders in an Ithaca, NY elementary school, recently exposed by Prof. William Jacobson at the Legal Insurrection blog, can never be allowed to be repeated. Here is one of the videos that Jacobson was finally able to obtain, after nearly a year of legal wrangling with the school district, of what was allowed to go on in that classroom — enabled by U.S. taxpayer money.

(6) We must hire Christian and Jewish history experts to root out anti-Christian and anti-Semitic bias in schoolbooks and other educational materials shown to our children, including documentaries and films.

(7) We must hire Constitutional experts to review all high school books for anti-Constitutional and anti-American incitement & historical bias — especially in an age in which, as even CNN pointed out, “Americans know literally nothing about the Constitution.”

For more detailed information on the anti-Constitution, anti-America, anti-freedom perceptions and values that are being inculcated in our children, see another report by STW editor Jon Sutz, “America At The Precipice” – A special report by Jon Sutz.

(8) We must enforce affirmative action against universities that do not allow professors with differing opinions to be represented.

One recent study showed that leftist professors outnumber conservatives by an almost 12-1 ratio; in history departments, the ratio is more than 33-1.

Here is one notable recent example of this homogenization and intolerance: Prof. Jason Hill (notably, a multi-racial, gay legal immigrant from Jamaica), describing the escalating harassment and threat campaign from students at DePaul University. Why? Because he wrote an essay for a conservative website, in which he articulated a moral defense of Israel’s right to control the territories lost by the nations that attacked it, until they agree to stop attacking it.

Learn more about Prof. Hill’s plight, and his prescription for how to stop it from happening to other educators who dare to stray from, let alone challenge the anti-American, anti-Israel orthodoxy that prevails at America’s schools, here.

(9) We must close down the U.S. Department of Education’s highly biased propaganda program called “Access Islam.”

In net, we must firmly resolve to fix the anti-American false narratives that are infecting our youth now, before it’s too late.

Ken Abramowitz is the President and Founder of SaveTheWest. Jon Sutz is SaveTheWest’s consulting editor and videographer.

UCLA Under Investigation for Anti-Semitism

By

Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

0

Education - UCLA Under Investigation article — The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced last month that it will investigate a Jewish student’s complaint of anti-Semitism at UCLA in connection with the University’s decision to host the 2018 Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) National Conference.

A watershed moment in the battle against campus Jew-hatred

By: Sara Dogan

The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced last month that it will investigate a Jewish student’s complaint of anti-Semitism at UCLA in connection with the University’s decision to host the 2018 Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) National Conference. That student, Justin Feldman, filed the complaint with the help of the Zachor Legal Institute alleging that invited speakers at the SJP conference promoted and glorified terrorism and violence.

The OCR investigation represents a crucial step forward for opponents of Jew hatred on campus. The charges that Feldman and the Zachor Legal Institute have brought against SJP are the same ones that the David Horowitz Freedom Center has exposed and publicized for over a decade. It is the cumulative work done by the Freedom Center and other organizations in publicizing these outrages combined with President Donald Trump’s firm stance against Jew hatred, that has led to this critical juncture.

As the Freedom Center has voiced in numerous articles and reports, and in direct action taken on college campuses, Students for Justice in Palestine is funded by the anti-Israel terrorist organization Hamas, whose goal, as stated in its charter, is the genocide of the Jews and the destruction of the Jewish state. Hamas uses SJP and its collegiate network to promote the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel on campuses across the United States.

Hamas, for its part, employs a network of Islamic “charities” and front groups, most notably the organization American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), to funnel large sums of cash and provide external support to assist SJP chapters in promoting the genocidal and anti-Semitic BDS movement at American colleges.

The funding Hamas provides to SJP is a matter of federal record. In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Jonathan Schanzer, an expert who previously worked as a terrorism finance analyst for the United States Department of the Treasury, revealed, “At its 2014 annual conference, AMP invited participants to ‘come and navigate the fine line between legal activism and material support for terrorism.’”

Schanzer described AMP as “arguably the most important sponsor and organizer for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which is the most visible arm of the BDS campaign on campuses in the United States” and revealed that AMP “provides speakers, training, printed materials, a so-called ‘Apartheid Wall,’ and grants to SJP activists” and “even has a campus coordinator on staff whose job is to work directly with SJP and other pro-BDS campus groups across the country.” He added, “according to an email it sent to subscribers, AMP spent $100,000 on campus activities in 2014 alone.”

AMP is headed by the notorious anti-Semite and jihad supporter, UC Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian, the co-founder of SJP. AMP’s board, as Jonathan Schanzer has shown, is dominated by former leaders of the Holy Land Foundation which was successfully prosecuted by the US government for funding Hamas. SJP is the chief campus sponsor of BDS—a Hamas orchestrated campaign to isolate and financially strangle the Jewish state.

Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy Gilad Erdan has backed up Schanzer’s findings, declaring that, “The relationship between terrorist organizations and the BDS movement has never been closer, ideologically or operationally.”

Despite this ample evidence that Students for Justice in Palestine is an anti-Semitic hate group allied with known terrorists, universities across the nation continue to provide funding, support and institutional privileges to SJP.

Even among the 200 or so campuses in the United States that officially sanction chapters of SJP, UCLA stands out for its cooperation with SJP’s genocidal agendas and its failure to protect Jewish students and their right to pro-Israel speech on campus. The UCLA SJP chapter has repeatedly and violently disrupted pro-Israel events in violation of UCLA’s community standards. Not only did the UCLA administration choose to ignore this despicable conduct, they still aided SJP in bringing their national conference to campus.

For more than a decade UCLA chancellors have funded and defended this terrorist support organization and attacked the Freedom Center’s efforts to expose their sinister agendas. When the Freedom Center distributed anti-BDS posters on campus exposing SJP’s affiliations with Hamas, UCLA Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Jerry Kang sent an email to the 50,000 members of the UCLA community attacking Horowitz and calling the posters “repulsive” and “hateful.” Kang has been an open supporter of SJP and its campaign of hate.

“This case … [is] about incitement to violence being exported to campuses all around the country,” UCLA student Feldman told the Jewish Journal.

“If you want to have rightful advocacy for Palestinian self-determination on campus, you can,” Feldman added. “Just make sure it’s not affiliated with funding terror groups, and this is what we’re fighting against with this civil rights case.”

A spokesman for UCLA contested Feldman’s claims, stating that “That conference was exclusively sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine, one of our 1,200 registered student groups — not the university,” and adding that “No public funds or student fees were used” to hold the event. But this attempt at deflection is clearly a lie.

Marc Greendorfer, founder of the Zachor Legal Institute and one of the attorneys handling Feldman’s complaint, points to documents acquired through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request which prove that UCLA funded the event through both the UCLA Office of Equity Diversity and Inclusion’s Bruin Excellence and Transformation (BEST) program. The University also paid for security and barricades at the event and there is email evidence that administrators discussed how best to “minimize and or counter the impacts of backlash.” From all available evidence it appears that UCLA was far from a disinterested party to the SJP conference.

“UCLA clearly had their hands all over this,” attorney Greendorfer stated. “They say that they had nothing to do with it. That’s an absolute lie.”

While Feldman and the Zachor Legal Institute deserve much of the credit for filing the specific complaint leading to the OCR investigation, it is important to recognize the larger cultural shift that has enabled such complaints to be taken seriously. Groups like the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the Canary Mission have spent years exposing SJP’s links to terrorism and that continual stream of truth-telling has finally begun to take root in the public consciousness.

(FrontPageMag.com)

Coronavirus Pushes Beyond Asia, Taking Aim at Europe, Mideast

By

Sholom Schreirber

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02/26/2020

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3401 — A man wearing a sanitary mask walks past the Duomo gothic cathedral in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020. Italy has been scrambling to check the spread of Europe's first major outbreak of the new viral disease amid rapidly rising numbers of infections and calling off the popular Venice Carnival, scrapping major league soccer matches in the stricken area and shuttering theaters, including Milan's legendary La Scala. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

By: Kim Tong-Hyung & Matt Sedensky

The new virus took aim at a broadening swath of the globe Monday, with officials in Europe and the Middle East scrambling to limit the spread of an outbreak that showed signs of stabilizing at its Chinese epicenter but posed new threats far beyond.

In Italy, authorities set up roadblocks, called off soccer matches and shuttered sites including the famed La Scala opera house. In Iran, the government said 12 people had died nationwide, while five neighboring countries — Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Afghanistan — reported their first cases of the virus, with all those infected having links to Iran.

Across the world, stock markets and futures dipped on fears of a global slowdown due to the virus spread, with the Dow down more than 900 points during midday trading.

The number of people sickened by the coronavirus topped 79,000 globally, and wherever it sprung up, officials rushed to try to contain it.

“The past few weeks has demonstrated just how quickly a new virus can spread around the world and cause widespread fear and disruption,” said the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely, yes,” Tedros said, but “for the moment we’re not witnessing the uncontained global spread of this virus.”

“I have spoken consistently about the need for facts not fear. Using the word pandemic now does not fit the facts but it may certainly cause fear,” Tedros said, speaking in Geneva.

He said a WHO expert team currently in China believes the virus plateaued there between Jan. 23 and Feb. 2 and has declined since. The team also said the fatality rate in China was between 2% and 4% in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and 0.7% outside of Wuhan.

Clusters of the virus continued to emerge outside China, including in Qom, an Iranian city where the country’s semiofficial ILNA news agency cited a lawmaker as reporting a staggering 50 people had died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The country’s Health Ministry rejected that, insisting the death toll remained at 12, with total infections numbering 61.

The conflicting reports raised questions about the Iranian government’s transparency concerning the scale of the outbreak. But even with the lower toll of 12, the number of deaths compared to the number of confirmed infections from the virus is higher in Iran than in any other country, including China and South Korea, where the outbreak is far more widespread.

Asked about the spike in cases in Iran, WHO’s emergencies program director, Michael Ryan, cautioned that in the first wave of infections reported from a country, only the deaths may be being picked up and therefore be over-represented. “The virus may have been there for longer than we had previously suspected,” he said.

Ryan said a WHO team would be arriving in Iran on Tuesday and in Italy on Monday.

“What we don’t understand yet in COVID-19 are the absolute transmission dynamics,” Ryan said, noting that in China there’s been a significant drop in cases. “That goes against the logic of pandemic.”

Authorities in Iran closed schools across much of the country for a second day Monday. Movie theaters and other venues were shuttered through at least Friday, and daily sanitizing of public buses and the Tehran metro, which is used by some 3 million people, was begun.

Recognition grew that the virus was no longer stemming only from contact with infected people in China.

“Many different countries around the world may be sources of COVID-19 infections,” said Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh. “This makes it much harder for any one country to detect and contain.”

China still has the vast majority of cases, but as it records lower levels of new infections, attention has shifted to new fronts in the outbreak. Chief among them is South Korea, where President Moon Jae-in placed the country under a red alert, the highest level, allowing for “unprecedented, powerful steps” to stem the crisis.

Beyond expanding a delay to the start of the school year from the hardest-hit area of Daegu nationwide, though, it remains to be seen how far the government will go. A Chinese-style lockdown of Daegu — a city of 2.5 million people that is the country’s fourth largest — appeared unlikely, even as signs of the response to a broadening problem could be seen nearly everywhere in the nation.

More than 600 police officers in Daegu fanned out in search of hundreds of members of a church that has been identified as a source for hundreds of infections. The country’s National Assembly was temporarily closed Monday as workers sterilized its halls. At shops and food stalls in the capital of Seoul, a misty fog surrounded crews in protective suits who sprayed disinfectants.

“The changes have been dramatic,” said Daegu resident Nah Young-jo, who described an increasingly empty city of few passersby and closed restaurants.

South Korean officials recommended that courts consider postponing trials of cases not deemed urgent, while Mayor Park Won-soon of Seoul threatened tough penalties for those who defy a ban on rallies in major downtown areas. Work schedules for city employees in Seoul were staggered to reduce crowding on subways, where packed cars could become petri dishes if an infected passenger were aboard.

“If we fail to effectively prevent the spread of the virus into the local communities, there would be a large possibility (that the illness) spreads nationwide,” warned Kim Gang-lip, South Korea’s vice health minister.

Health workers said they planned to test every citizen in Daegu who showed cold-like symptoms, estimating around 28,000 people would be targeted.

In Italy, where 219 people have tested positive for the virus and five have died, police manned checkpoints around a dozen quarantined northern towns as worries grew across the continent.

Austria temporarily halted rail traffic across its border with Italy. Slovenia and Croatia, popular getaways for Italians, were holding crisis meetings. Schools were closed, theater performances were canceled and even Carnival celebrations in Venice were called off.

It was a sign of how quickly circumstances could change in the widening COVID-19 scare. Italy had imposed more stringent measures than other European countries after the outbreak began, barring flights beginning Jan. 31 to and from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Until last week, Italy had reported just three cases of infection.

(AP)

New Expresscare Clinic Opens at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem

By

Sholom Schreirber

-

02/26/2020

0

Health - New Expresscare Clinic Opens article — NYC Health + Hospitals recently announced the opening of an ExpressCare Clinic at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem. The clinic will be the public health system’s second location in Manhattan, building on the system’s vision to transform care for New Yorkers in all five boroughs

NYC Health + Hospitals/ Harlem becomes the public health system’s sixth ExpressCare clinic; second location in Manhattan

Edited by: TJVNews.com

NYC Health + Hospitals recently announced the opening of an ExpressCare Clinic at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem. The clinic will be the public health system’s second location in Manhattan, building on the system’s vision to transform care for New Yorkers in all five boroughs. Providing faster access to medical care for patients with non-life-threatening conditions, the new clinic will be open seven days a week, operating from 3:30pm to midnight. The clinic will offer walk-in services for conditions — such as colds, flu, sprains, skin rashes, minor cuts and lacerations, and certain types of infections. Patients who typically use the emergency department for these conditions will find shorter wait times and faster service at the ExpressCare clinic.

The ExpressCare clinic will temporarily share space within the hospital’s pediatric clinic inside of the Ronald H. Brown Pavilion until the new, permanent space is constructed. In the coming months, NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem’s will reconfigure its old emergency department to create a permanent space for the ExpressCare clinic using Medicaid’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) funds. The location is expected to be completed in December 2020.

“As a level one Trauma Center, the number of patients who utilize our emergency department in lieu of primary care services is striking. The ExpressCare clinic will provide an alternate care setting for patients in need of a lower level of care,” said Eboné M. Carrington, CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem. “Unlike other community-based urgent care settings, our treating providers will know our patients’ medical histories. I am excited that the greater Harlem community will now have continuity of care in a more expedient setting.”

Shifting patients with non-life-threatening conditions to the ExpressCare clinic will shorten their wait times. The clinic will also differ from stand-alone urgent care centers by offering a closer connection to primary care providers. The emergency-trained physicians at the ExpressCare clinic will help ensure patients receive the appropriate follow-up care by connecting them with primary care doctors in the NYC Health + Hospitals system.

Patients visiting the ExpressCare at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem who are assessed as having serious medical conditions that cannot be treated in an urgent care setting or who may require hospital admission will be fast-tracked to the Emergency Department for further treatment.

NYC Health + Hospitals worked with OneCity Health, the State’s largest Performing Provider System, part of the Medicaid Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program, to create the clinical model for the ExpressCare clinics, which are designed to support the DSRIP goal to reduce avoidable hospital use by 25 percent by 2020.

“Far too many New Yorkers rely on emergency rooms for non-life threatening, preventative care because they do not have access to walk-in clinics. As a result, people put off seeking care or they’ll wait in an emergency room, straining its resources. But this will no longer be the case as NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) continues its expansion of ExpressCare clinics here at Harlem. Congratulations to H+H for continuing to provide New Yorkers with efficient and comprehensive care 7 days a week,” said Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Hospitals.

ExpressCare clinics will accept most insurance plans; walk-ins are welcome and no appointments are necessary. Patients should bring photo identification and an insurance card to the clinic. Patients without insurance will be directed to the health system’s reduced fee-scale payment program or receive assistance with insurance enrollment if eligible.

NYC Health + Hospitals plans to expand the ExpressCare model to other public health system facilities in the coming months. Thus far, ExpressCare locations include NYC Health + Hospitals/ Lincoln, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan and NYC Health + Hospitals/ Harlem.

To get more information on ExpressCare or or to make an appointment with a primary care physician or other specialists at NYC Health + Hospitals, please call 1-844-NYC-4NYC (1-844-692-4692).

About NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem

NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem provides a wide range of medical, surgical, diagnostic, therapeutic, and family support services to the residents of Central Harlem, West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood. The Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem provides outstanding emergency care for ill and injured infants, children and adolescents, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The dedicated pediatric emergency space, separate from the adult emergency department, cares for over 16,500 pediatric patients annually. Established in 1887, the Hospital has been providing health care services to the community for 131 years.

About NYC Health + Hospitals

NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation, serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 42,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthandHospitals or Twitter at @NYCHealthSystem.

About One City Health

OneCity Health is the NYC Health + Hospitals-sponsored Performing Provider System (PPS), formed under the auspices of the New York State Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program. Comprising hundreds of healthcare providers, community-based organizations, and health systems, OneCity Health is the largest PPS in New York State.

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