New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy gave first responders a much needed show of support earlier this month when he signed A4882 and S716 into law, which will enhance protections for first responders, including those who volunteered for 9/11 rescue, recovery, and clean-up efforts at World Trade Center sites. Photo Credit: New Jersey Office of Emergency Management
By: Deanna Melkowsky
Do New Jersey cops and firemen deserve pay raises? And if so, how much.
Welcome to the controversy.
The union that represents West Windsor’s police officers told an arbitrator that their members want a 4% annual raise for sergeants and patrolmen who merit top tier pay, and 2% annual hikes for all other officers. They also wanted the traditional pay hikes that officers get in return for their long years of service.
The arbitrator ultimately awarded two years of 2% as well as a couple more years of 2.25% hikes.
Those in the government are afraid that cops and firemen may ask for higher raises in the future after New Jersey decided not to renew a law that was holding property taxes down, and established a 2% cap on wage increases public-sector unions could win in interest arbitration.
“The West Windsor arbitration award is one of just three to emerge since the cap expired in December 2017, opening the door for police and firefighters to get bigger raises when contract talks stall between their unions and municipalities,” reported nj.com. “The state’s League of Municipalities and Association of Counties continue to urge lawmakers to extend the cap, which they say helped slow the growth of the nation’s highest property taxes. Last year, the average residential property tax bill in New Jersey was $8,767.”
Interestingly, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy gave first responders a much needed show of support earlier this month when he signed A4882 and S716 into law, which will enhance protections for first responders, including those who volunteered for 9/11 rescue, recovery, and clean-up efforts at World Trade Center sites.
“Thousands of courageous volunteers put their lives on the line in order to save those affected by the devastation of 9/11,” said Murphy. “We will never forget their selfless acts of heroism, just as we will always be grateful for the first responders who put their lives on the line for us every day. Today we send a clear message to all of our heroes: We have your back. I am proud to sign legislation that will ensure the health benefits and compensation that these incredible men and women deserve.”
4882, also known as “the Bill Ricci World Trade Center Rescue, Recovery, and Cleanup Operations Act,” is named after Lieutenant Bill Ricci, a professional firefighter in Clifton, Passaic County, who volunteered to serve at Ground Zero after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Lieutenant Ricci was ineligible for an accidental disability retirement under previously existing law. However, through this act, members and retirees who volunteered for 9/11 rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations, like Lieutenant Ricci, will be eligible to receive accidental disability retirement. This act will also create an exception to the normal five-year filing requirement for 9/11-related operations.
“How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your Sanctuaries, O Israel” [Num. 24:5]. Bil’am was amazed as to how the Israelite encampment (ohel) was constructed to respect everyone’s privacy, so that no one could see into his neighbor’s home. He was moved by the sensitivity toward interpersonal relationships, the love and respect displayed toward one another by family members and the harmony with which neighbors lived together.
By: Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
“My nation, remember what Balak the king of Moab advised and what Bil’am the son of Be’or…answered him in order that you may know the compassionate righteousness of the Lord” [Micah6:5]
Who, or what, defines Israel, and why does it matter? If deeply concerning trends continue in the United States, research and ample anecdotal evidence indicate that those succeeding in affecting views toward Israel are the very people who attack it as a racist, discriminatory occupier lacking any moral or political legitimacy. Noble attempts to brand Israel as a high-tech haven (“start-up nation”) notwithstanding, Israel is increasingly being effectively defined by foes, not friends. What, if anything, can be done to reverse these deeply troubling developments?
In our weekly Biblical portion, Balak, we read that efforts by enemies to define the Jewish People have ancient antecedents. King Balak of Moab, frightened by the “Biblical Israelis,” vastly overestimates their global designs as well as their military might: “This multitude will lick up all that is round about us as the ox licks up the grass of the field” (Num. 22:4). He therefore turns to Bil’am, a magician and a soothsayer, an accomplished poet and master of the spoken word, to curse the Israelis in order to vanquish them (ibid., v.6).
Bil’am represents the giant media corporations and social media platforms that play a dominant role in shaping public opinion. Is it not true that these manipulators of minds have the power to destroy a world with a word? And indeed, Bil’am sets out to curse the Israelites.
Nevertheless, the Torah goes on to say that the prophet ultimately blesses the Israelites. At first he is struck by his donkey’s refusal to take him where he wanted to go. Apparently even a donkey can be amazed by the miraculous events that contributed to the preservation and preeminence of Israel from abject slaves to recipients of God’s Presence at Sinai, despite their smallness in number and scarcity of power.
And then Bil’am sees for himself—to the extent that at least he attempted to record the truth as he composes his tweets and Facebook posts. He may have come to curse, but he stays to praise. He evokes Jewish destiny in glowing terms, extolling the uniqueness of Israel (ibid., 23:9) and evoking our ultimate Messianic victory (ibid., 24:17–19). He affirms unmistakably that “no black magic can be effective against Jacob and no occult powers against Israel” (ibid., 23:23) – evil words spoken by evil people are impotent before the modesty and integrity expressed by the Israelites in their daily lives.
Ultimately, however, it is not the speaking donkey that will succeed in changing the minds of the many Bil’ams around us; rather, it is the deeds of the Jewish People itself that will evoke change: “Your deeds will bring you close, your deeds will distance you” [Mishna, Eduyot 5:7].
First of all, Bil’am takes note of the military success of this fledgling nation against every one of her enemies—Israel had just emerged from a great military victory against the terrorizing Amorites. And, more importantly, the chaste and sanctified lifestyle of the Israelites and their commitment to their traditions and ideals made an even greater impact on Bil’am.
“How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your Sanctuaries, O Israel” [Num. 24:5]. Bil’am was amazed as to how the Israelite encampment (ohel) was constructed to respect everyone’s privacy, so that no one could see into his neighbor’s home. He was moved by the sensitivity toward interpersonal relationships, the love and respect displayed toward one another by family members and the harmony with which neighbors lived together.
And when Bil’am saw the commitment the Israelites had to their study halls and synagogues (mishkan)—their fealty to traditional values and teachings and their faith in Divine providence—he understood, and proclaimed the invincibility of this Divinely-elected people.
Alas, what a person might—and words could not—do to the Israelites, the Israelites managed to do to themselves. Bil’am and Balak returned to their homes to leave Israel in peace—but the Israelites themselves self-destructed. They chased after the hedonistic blandishments of the pagan societies of Bil’am and Balak. The very next chapter opened with “And the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moab…and Israel joined himself to the [idolatry of] Ba’al Peor [Bil’am ben Beor]” (ibid., 25:1–3).
We failed in the desert not because of what our enemies did or said, but rather because of our own moral weakness and rejection of the birthright that had initially formed our nation’s definition and mission. Indeed, we are “a people who dwells alone, not subject to the machinations of other nations” (ibid., 23:9).
In this generation, in which detractors and haters attacking the Jewish People and Israel are on the ascent in capturing public opinion, we must remember to ignore the noise, and to focus on our national mission. To rephrase Ben Gurion, indeed it is not what the nations say that matters, but rather it is what we do or what we do not do, especially in the spheres of ethics and morality, which is of supreme significance.
In an indictment, Geoffrey Berman, a federal prosecutor in New York, accused Epstein of allegedly paying the girls hundreds of dollars for nude or partially nude massages that "increasingly were sexual in nature" at his mansion on New York's Upper East Side and at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Screen Shot
The irony of the Jeffrey Epstein case breaking wide open this past week, as the week’s Torah reading was Balak, screams out for more scrutiny.
By: Ariel Natan Pasko
At the end of the parsha, we find that Balaam having unsuccessfully cursed the Israelites (blessing them instead, as God wanted) advises Balak the king of Moab, to send in his Moabite dancing girls to start an orgy with the Jewish men in the camp.
Knowing that the God of Israel detests sexual immorality, Balaam suggests to Balak that the debauchery and idolatry will bring the wrath of God down on the Jews. Midianite women (including upper class girls), were sent in to tempt the Jewish leaders.
Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein seen leaving a Manhattan courthouse before the beginning of his sex crimes trial. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
The story ends with the prince of the tribe of Shimon fornicating with a Midianite woman. So enraged is Pinchas (Aaron’s grandson), that he kills both of them, ending the plague that had broken out in the camp and had already killed 24,000 (Numbers 25:1-7, see also Sanhedrin 106a).
Epstein had been convicted of prostitution in 2008. That’s bad enough. But the present allegations against him of sex-trafficking, rape, and pedophilia, and the release of the names of some of his “friends,” (Or is that clients?) are atrocious, if true.
I want to say clearly, it is a terrible Chillul HaShem, and needs to be condemned by all Jews. Just as those who cavorted with the Moabite and Midianite women in the Torah, needed to be punished.
A Chillul HaShem by the way, occurs whenever a Jew acts immorally (against the laws of the Torah), while in the presence of others, whether fellow Jews or Gentiles. Judaism believes that the Jewish people are representatives of God and His moral code, the Torah, and when a Jew acts in such a shameful manner like that, s/he has brought disrepute on the Jewish people and God, thus desecrating His name.
That said, for all those following the unfolding Epstein saga, be alerted to the fact that Jew haters of all political stripes and colors in America, are using it to foment more Judeopathy than usual.
Jeffrey Epstein has been a major financial backer of Ehud Barak for years. Epstein invested millions of dollars in Carbyne, an Israeli start-up company in which Barak is the controlling shareholder. Maybe to clean up his image before elections, Barak recently announced on his Facebook page, that he will consider breaking off his business relations with Epstein. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
On the Far Right, the National Vanguard website blasts, “How Jews Got Serial Child Rapist Jeffrey Epstein Off.”
RenegadeTribune.com screams, “Jews Running Cover For Trump In The Jeffrey Epstein Sex Trafficking Scandal.”
The same sentiments are expressed at StormFront.org, indexing DavidDuke.com articles, and messages posted like, “Jews are sexual degenerates and they always protect their own. That’s how the ADL got started. To protect the child rapist and murderer Leo Frank.”
Frank if you recall, was kidnapped from prison and lynched by the Ku Klux Klan in 1915, after Georgia Governor John M. Slaton, based on new evidence, chose to commute Frank’s death penalty verdict to life in prison.
Then the Nation of Islam website blares, “Dershowitz-Epstein Sex Deal Has Deep Jewish Roots,” they even misquote and misrepresent the Talmud to prove their points.
And of course, the Left and pro-Palestinians have jumped on the bandwagon. Headlines shriek like, “Israel defender Alan Dershowitz has long history of attacking sex abuse victims.” The Electronic Intifada has used the tragedy to attack Israel, not just Israel supporters like Dershowitz, whose name has come up in this scandal, not just as Epstein’s lawyer, but also as an active participant.
The Far Right, Black Muslims, and the Extreme Left, have all followed the story with glee in their eyes, telling their audiences, “See, we told you so, the Jews…”
But even on a more moderate, liberal website, like Slate, for example, they named names of who’s been part of Epstein’s “party” world. In a recent article entitled, “A Running List of Jeffrey Epstein’s Rich, Powerful, and Presidential Friends: From A(costa) to Z(uckerman), everyone’s bad,” while mentioning such big machers as Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew, seven of the twelve names they chose to expose were Jews.
Also, in the magazine New York, an article entitled, “Jeffrey Epstein’s Rolodex: A Guide to His Famous Friends and Acquaintances,” named names, almost half of those they listed were Jews, or have a Jewish father and Jewish sounding last name (15 out of 35 names).
As if growing anti-Semitism in America and worldwide, needed some charcoal lighter fluid, to help the flames grow, to grill the Jewish people again.
Recently, when Ehud Barak was attacked by Netanyahu, for his involvement with Epstein, Barak responded to by answering, “Donald Trump and Bill Clinton also knew Epstein.”
Barak added, that the late former Israeli president Shimon Peres had introduced him to Epstein.
As if that made it OK!
Epstein has been a major financial backer of Barak for years. Epstein invested millions of dollars in Carbyne, an Israeli start-up company in which Barak is the controlling shareholder. Maybe to clean up his image before elections, Barak recently announced on his Facebook page, that he will consider breaking off his business relations with Epstein.
Barak has also had involvement with another Epstein “friend,” Harvey Weinstein, also known for “rape fame.”
About two years ago Barak recommended to Weinstein, that he hire Israeli private intelligence company Black Cube (loaded with ex-Mossad and security officials), to do some “dirty tricks” for him at the height of Weinstein’s scandal.
What good company Ehud Barak keeps!
So don’t worry, if you thought Jews and Israel would be left out of the Epstein story, the Jew haters and Israel bashers are shining a spotlight on the “Jewish” involvement in this scandal.
Yes, Epstein, Weinstein, and the others are Jewish.
No, they don’t represent the Jewish people.
No, this isn’t some systemic problem of Judaism.
No, it is not part of some Zionist Cabal.
But then, Jew haters today, whether loony tunes of the Far Right, Extreme Left, or your average garden variety, run-of-the-mill Farrakhanist Black Muslim, are running to blame Jews and Judaism anyway.
And, even genteel moderates who normally would call out the extremists on overt anti-Semitism, are having a field day blaming Israel, and could care less about reality.
Just like Balaam, Balak, the Moabites and Midianites, in this past Torah reading.
True Jewish leaders have to confront them, and the Jews who have brought disrepute to the good name of the Jewish people and the God of Israel, just as Pinchas did in his time!
Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Master’s Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.
The Health Department recently launched a campaign in bars and nightclubs in Brooklyn to inform New Yorkers that fentanyl – an opioid 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin – has been detected in the cocaine supply. People who use cocaine, even occasionally, may be at risk of an opioid overdose. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
The City’s fentanyl outreach campaign will appear on coasters and posters in North Brooklyn nightlife venues, and the Health Department will offer naloxone training for staff
Edited by: JV Staff
The Health Department last week launched a campaign in bars and nightclubs in Brooklyn to inform New Yorkers that fentanyl – an opioid 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin – has been detected in the cocaine supply. People who use cocaine, even occasionally, may be at risk of an opioid overdose. Health Department staff will visit bars and nightclubs in Williamsburg and Bushwick to offer coasters and posters that inform patrons that cocaine may contain fentanyl. All venues will be offered naloxone – the medication to reverse an opioid overdose – to keep on premises with first aid supplies, as well as training and kits for all interested staff.
In 2016 and 2017, fentanyl was found in 37 and 39 percent of overdose deaths involving cocaine without heroin, up from 11 percent in 2015. This suggests that some people who died from overdoses involving cocaine and fentanyl may not have intended to consume opioids. North Brooklyn was selected for the campaign because of its high density of bars and nightclubs and status as a nightlife destination for New Yorkers citywide. The Health Department is working with Brooklyn Allied Bars & Restaurants (BABAR) to reach bar and nightclub owners as well as staff. This campaign is an expansion of a pilot on the Lower East Side in May and June 2018.
“We want people who use cocaine occasionally to know that fentanyl may be mixed into cocaine and may increase their risk of an overdose,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. “Bars and nightclubs are an important avenue to reach people who use drugs with potentially lifesaving information. We need people who use cocaine to know that they should use with other people, so someone can call 911 in case of an overdose, and always carry naloxone. We are grateful to the Mayor’s Office of Nightlife, Brooklyn Allied Bars & Restaurants, and House of Yes for their enthusiastic support of this initiative.”
“Safety is always of the utmost importance when New Yorkers are enjoying a night out. This awareness campaign recognizes that nightlife spaces can actually provide an opportunity for people to look out for each other,” said Ariel Palitz, Senior Executive Director of the Office of Nightlife. “The Office of Nightlife is proud to stand with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in taking a harm reduction approach to the public health challenges posed by fentanyl, and we are pleased to see such strong commitment and partnership from the nightlife community in Brooklyn and all boroughs in this effort.”
“We are thankful for this opportunity to partner with the Department of Health on this important campaign,” said David Rosen, Co-Founder of Brooklyn Allied Bars and Restaurants (BABAR). “The Department of Health should be commended for their proactive research, campaign development, and outreach efforts. Over the past several years, BABAR has worked on various patron safety initiatives, so we understand and value the role our nightlife community can play in keeping our city safe.”
“We know that fentanyl is 30 to 50 times stronger than heroin and the likelihood of overdose is even greater when fentanyl is present. That’s why I’m pleased to hear that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will be visiting local bars and nightclubs in Williamsburg and Bushwick to raise awareness about fentanyl and ensure that venues are equipped with naloxone – the medication used to reverse an overdose – and first aid supplies in the event of an overdose,” said Council Member Stephen Levin. “We need to ensure that people who use are well informed of the risk of potentially having fentanyl in their supply. We know there are ways to prevent people from overdosing and this is a positive step forward in addressing this serious epidemic.”
In New York City, someone dies of a drug overdose every six hours. In 2017, there were 1,487 confirmed overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in 82% of New York City overdose deaths last year, and the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl was the most common drug, involved in 57% of deaths. From January to September 2018, there were 1,055 confirmed overdose deaths. Drug overdose death remains at epidemic levels in New York City as illicitly manufactured fentanyl continued to be present in the drug supply. Fentanyl has been found in heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and ketamine, as well as in benzodiazepines and opioid painkillers acquired from non-pharmaceutical sources.
Opioid overdose deaths are preventable, and naloxone is available to all New Yorkers who need it:
All major chain pharmacies (Walgreens, Duane Reade, Rite Aid and CVS) and nearly 500 independent pharmacies in New York City now offer naloxone without a patient-specific prescription. New York State will cover co-payments of up to $40.
Naloxone is available for free from registered Opioid Overdose Prevention programs, including syringe service programs.
The Health Department also offers regular naloxone trainings at its main office in Queens and Tremont Neighborhood Action Center in the Bronx; trainings teach New Yorkers to recognize the signs of an overdose and respond by calling 911 and administering naloxone. The trainings are free, and all participants are offered a free naloxone kit.
New Yorkers can download the Health Department’s free mobile app, “Stop OD NYC,” to learn how to recognize and reverse an overdose with naloxone. The app also links individuals to nearby community-based programs and pharmacies where naloxone is available without a prescription.
Treatment with methadone or buprenorphine is highly effective for opioid addiction and can reduce the risk of overdose. Individuals seeking support or treatment for substance use issues for themselves or their loved ones can contact NYC Well by calling 1-888-NYC-WELL, texting “WELL” to 65173 or going to nyc.gov/nycwell. Free, confidential support is available at any hour of the day in over 200 languages.
The tenth annual Israeli Jewish Film Festival opens Sunday, July 28, 2019 at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal Park, NJ and will run through August 7 featuring ten award-winning films from Israel and the United States, covering topics as diverse as espionage, bravery, sacrifice, love, family, hidden secrets, the founding of Israel’s Sephardi Haredi Shas Party, and the Holocaust
Ten Films Play in Five Locations July 28 through August 7
Edited by: JV Staff
Tovah Feldshuh recreates her award-winning performance as Golda Meir (and, stunningly, 43 other characters) in Golda’s Balcony, The Film as this final masterpiece by the author of “The Miracle Worker,” William Gibson, makes its motion picture debut in 2019. Photo Credit: Wikipedia
The tenth annual Israeli Jewish Film Festival opens Sunday, July 28, 2019 at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal Park, NJ and will run through August 7 featuring ten award-winning films from Israel and the United States, covering topics as diverse as espionage, bravery, sacrifice, love, family, hidden secrets, the founding of Israel’s Sephardi Haredi Shas Party, and the Holocaust.
The festival’s mission is to showcase Israel’s emergence as a powerhouse in the foreign film industry by spotlighting outstanding new films created by Israeli and/or Jewish filmmakers. These films celebrate the cultural experience of being Jewish as well as universal topics that appeal to the broader community.
In “You Only Die Twice,” Yair Lev, an Israeli documentary filmmaker becomes a detective and sets out on a personal and historical journey to uncover the true identity behind the man who stole his grandfather’s identity and later on became the president of a Jewish community in Austria. Photo Credit: IMDB.com
“We are proud to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the prestigious Axelrod Performing Arts Center’s annual Israel Jewish Film Festival. All the films are award winning, internationally acclaimed, insightful, informative and above all entertaining!” said Toby Shylit Mack, film festival chair.
Opening the festival is The Unorthodox, a lively crowd-pleasing drama. A disenfranchised Sephardic father, Yaakov Cohen, tired of being pushed around, launches an improvised campaign to establish influence in 1980s Israeli society. Based on actual events, Eliran Malka’s accomplished feature debut is animated with suspense and humor, relating a tale of underdog activism and dirty politics, which reshaped Israel and continues to reverberate today. Opening night is Sunday, July 28 at 7 PM with a post-film dessert reception to follow.
The Other Story, set in Jerusalem, explores an intricate web of desperate parents, rebellious children, and spouses locked in conflict. Photo Credit: Strand Releasing
Stockholm based on the book written by Noa Yedlin, follows the story of a leading contender for the Nobel Prize of Economics who is found dead in his bed after an apparent heart attack just five days before the winners are announced. His four closest friends, who have known him for the past 50 years, decide to keep him “alive” until the announcement to give him the opportunity to achieve the one thing he wanted more than anything else and, maybe, a purpose to his life and death endearing portrait of friendship in the twilight years. This film has an intermission during which an Israeli dinner will be served.
Shoelaces tells the story of a complicated relationship between an aging father and his special-needs son, whom he abandoned while he was still a young boy . Through the film’s portrayal of a relationship full of love, rejection and co-dependency, it sheds light on the importance of human life, human connection and questions if life has meaning without either one of them. Photo Credit: Israel film Festival
The Other Story, set in Jerusalem, explores an intricate web of desperate parents, rebellious children, and spouses locked in conflict. Infamously libertine persona for that of a devoted Hasid. Shlomo isn’t buying Shacar’s reformation and neither is Yonatan’s ex-wife, with whom Yonatan grudgingly joins forces in an increasingly ruthless campaign to defame Anati’s fiancé. Nesher masterfully weaves The Other Story’s many threads so that we never lose track of the narrative, even as his complex characters alter their tactics, change alliances, and search their souls for the strength to protect their children — and the wisdom to know when to let go!
The Light of Hope is based on the true story of Elisabeth Eidenbenz, the young Red Cross nurse who became director of the Elne Maternity Home in the south of France through the 1930s and ’40s, during the Spanish Civil War and afterwards. Photo Credit: www.spainculture.us
In You Only Die Twice, Yair Lev, an Israeli documentary filmmaker becomes a detective and sets out on a personal and historical journey to uncover the true identity behind the man who stole his grandfather’s identity and later on became the president of a Jewish community in Austria. Who was this man who took another man’s identity? Why and how did he do it? What dark past did he want to conceal? Was he a Nazi? A Kapo? This documentary detective thriller is a journey into the 20th century heart of darkness, which eventually reveals a drama of survival, collaboration with the enemy and finally, at the end of the night, an extraordinary love story.
Redemption revolves around Menachem, a former front-man for a rock band, is now religious, and a father to a six-year-old. When his daughter is diagnosed with cancer, he must find a creative solution to fund the expensive treatments. He reunites his band for one last tour. The journey to save his daughter exposes old wounds and allows him to reconnect with his secular past. Menachem understands that only a new connection to his past and to his music can pave the road to his own redemption.
Working Woman tells the story of how life at work becomes unbearable for Orna. Her boss appreciates and promotes her while making inappropriate advances, her husband struggles to keep his new restaurant afloat, and Orna becomes the main breadwinner for her family and their three children. Photo Credit: YouTube
Tovah Feldshuh recreates her award-winning performance as Golda Meir (and, stunningly, 43 other characters) in Golda’s Balcony, The Film as this final masterpiece by the author of “The Miracle Worker,” William Gibson, makes its motion picture debut in 2019. A rare, multi-camera shoot from the play’s original run was recently unearthed (literally, from a safe) and assembled into a new but absolutely riveting motion picture.
Shoelaces tells the story of a complicated relationship between an aging father and his special-needs son, whom he abandoned while he was still a young boy . Through the film’s portrayal of a relationship full of love, rejection and co-dependency, it sheds light on the importance of human life, human connection and questions if life has meaning without either one of them.
Who Will Write Our History tells the story of Emanuel Ringelblum and the Oyneg Shabes Archive, the secret archive he created and led in the Warsaw Ghetto. With 30,000 pages of writing, photographs, posters, and more, the Oyneg Shabes Archive is the most important cache of in-the-moment, eyewitness accounts from the Holocaust. Photo Credit: YouTube
The Light of Hope is based on the true story of Elisabeth Eidenbenz, the young Red Cross nurse who became director of the Elne Maternity Home in the south of France through the 1930s and ’40s, during the Spanish Civil War and afterwards. As hundreds of people flee Vichy camps and Franco’s regime in Spain, Eidenbenz and her female co-workers save the lives of 600 infants by providing humane conditions for pregnant women fleeing these deadly and oppressive regimes.
Working Woman tells the story of how life at work becomes unbearable for Orna. Her boss appreciates and promotes her while making inappropriate advances, her husband struggles to keep his new restaurant afloat, and Orna becomes the main breadwinner for her family and their three children. When finally, her world is shattered, she must pull herself together to fight, in her own way, for work and a sense of self-worth.
Who Will Write Our History tells the story of Emanuel Ringelblum and the Oyneg Shabes Archive, the secret archive he created and led in the Warsaw Ghetto. With 30,000 pages of writing, photographs, posters, and more, the Oyneg Shabes Archive is the most important cache of in-the-moment, eyewitness accounts from the Holocaust. It documents not only how the Jews of the ghetto died, but how they lived. The film is based on the book of the same name by historian Samuel Kassow and is executive produced by Nancy Spielberg.
Made possible by a grant from the Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, the Axelrod Israel Film Festival runs Sunday, July 28 through Wednesday, August 7 (excluding Friday and Saturday). Individual movie tickets for films are $12 excluding Stockholm which is $18 and includes an Israeli dinner during intermission. The series pass is $90 and includes access to all ten films an Israeli dinner plus special events (dates to be announced). For the complete schedule, and to purchase individual tickets or series passes, visit www.axelrodartscenter.com or call 732-531-9106, ext. 14.
Films are also being shown at the Jewish Heritage Museum (310 Mounts Corner Drive, Freehold, NJ), Monroe Senior Center (12 Halsey Reed Road, Monroe, NJ), Marquis Theatre (1311 NJ 37 Toms River, NJ), L.B.I. Manahawkin 10 (733 Route 72 East, Manahawkin, NJ) and B’Nai Tikvah (100 Finnegans Lane, North Brunswick Township, NJ). Details are on the APAC website at www.axelrodartscenter.com/film
About the Axelrod Performing Arts Center
The Axelrod Performing Arts Center is New Jersey’s newest professional theater, offering main-stage musicals with casts and production teams from New York City and beyond as well as original concerts throughout the year. The Axelrod fosters artistic excellence by showcasing varied and distinct cultural programs that enrich the imaginative, intellectual, and creative soul, while cultivating an appreciation of diverse communities through the pursuit of the arts. For more information, please visit www.axelrodartscenter.com.
Netanyahu with OU Rabbis photo credit: Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)
PM Netanyahu Meets with Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America Leadership
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, met with the leadership of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America OU.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of the link between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. Participants at the meeting discussed ways to cooperate on projects to strengthen Jewish identity. Prime Minister Netanyahu also thanked them for their support of Israel and in advancing relations between Israel and the US.
Lagnado, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, brought “a writer’s curiosity and a patient’s empathy to storytelling, illuminating the plight of the uninsured, the sick and the elderly for readers around the world,” the financial newspaper rhapsodized.
By Howard M. Riell
Over several years, Lagnado reported on immigration, Jewish life and the state of patients in healthcare facilities. She reportedly battled with cancer beginning in her teenage years, later graduating from Vassar College.
“Lucette brought a unique and powerful voice to the Journal, combining a relentless curiosity with a big heart and deep empathy,” said Journal Editor in Chief Matt Murray. “Readers knew she would bring a wealth of knowledge and humanity to everything she wrote.”
“She was a courageous and brilliant reporter and writer,” said Paul Steiger, who was managing editor of the Journal in 1996 when Ms. Lagnado was hired to report on hospitals.
After leaving Egypt with her family as a child, Lagnado lived in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. She recounted her father’s perilous trip out of Egypt upon the rise of Gamal Abdel Nasser in “The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family’s Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World.” The book, published by Ecco, was awarded the 2008 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. The prize, which is administered by the New York-based Jewish Book Council, comes with a $100,000 stipend and is the richest cash award in the Jewish literary world. The presentation of the Rohr Prize took place in Jerusalem in April, 2008. “The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit” was optioned by producer Anthony Bregman (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”), according to a December, 2008 announcement in Publishers Marketplace.
A second memoir, published in 2011, was titled “The Arrogant Years: One Girl’s Search for Her Lost Youth, from Cairo to Brooklyn.” She was also a co-writer of the book “Children of the Flames: Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz.”
Among Lagnado’s other awards are the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism’s 2002 Mike Berger Award for a story about the aging residents of an Upper West Side apartment building and three Newswomen’s Club of New York Front Page Awards for her reporting on hospital billing and collection.
Lagnado graduated from Vassar College and started her reporting career at a community paper in Brooklyn, noted the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “She served an internship with the investigative reporter Jack Anderson, as a columnist for the Village Voice and as executive editor at the English-language Forward newspaper.”
She also wrote “The Arrogant Years,” which forward.com reports “details her adolescence in Brooklyn and her teenage battle with cancer, in the midst of demonstrations at Tahrir Square. Lagnado watched the Arab Spring with guarded concern, dubious that the protests would lead to lasting democracy and wondering if the Cairo of her book, set in part during the reign of King Faoud, when Jews held posts as ministers in a more open society, provided a better template for the country’s future.”
“My trips to Bensonhurst always have a ritual quality to them, like a religious pilgrimage. I must go to this block, I tell myself, I must pay my respects to that building,” Lagnado blogged in 2011. “There are no people left there that I knew, not a single familiar face — my community long moved out — yet I keep returning.”
She is survived by her husband, journalist Douglas Feiden.
On Thursday evening July 11th, Israelis got a treat at the Menorah Mivtahim Arena in Tel Aviv. Legendary singer and songwriter PAUL ANKA, had a lively concert entitled “Anka Sings Sinatra – His Songs, My Songs, My Way”. The 60’s sensation surprised by proving himself as one of the hottest selling concert performers in Israel over the past few years. (PaulAnka.com)
On Thursday evening July 11th, Israelis got a treat at the Menorah Mivtahim Arena in Tel Aviv. Legendary singer and songwriter PAUL ANKA, had a lively concert entitled “Anka Sings Sinatra – His Songs, My Songs, My Way”. The 60’s sensation surprised by proving himself as one of the hottest selling concert performers in Israel over the past few years. This was not Anka’s first time in Israel, he had two concerts in 2009 and two more in 2011 at the Nokia Arena, which were all sold out, attesting to Israel’s love for Paul Anka.
By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
As reported by the Jerusalem Post, the crowd enthusiastically received the performer, and in turn Anka showed that he reciprocates warm feelings towards Israel. Now close to 78 years old, Anka seemed to defy time with his energetic performance and enduring zest and motion, coupled with his extraordinary vocal capabilities which seemed to be as strong as when he began his career as a teen sensation in 1955. His performance displayed boundless energy and movement and even on the close up television screen, he looked like a youthful man, nowhere near his age. There was no warm up show needed at the two-hour show. The audience was electrified from the minute the 12-piece orchestra took the stage and the central screen behind them came to life with a video highlighting Anka’s incredible seven-decade career, starting with his earliest performances and throughout the years with a virtual “Who’s Who” of other music celebrities that he collaborated with.
Anka became unforgettably famous singing his hit songs “Diana”, “Lonely Boy”, “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”, and ” Having My Baby”. He is also a renowned song writer, writing the theme for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and one of Tom Jones’s biggest hits, “She’s a Lady”. He also wrote the English lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s classic song, “My Way”. In all he can proudly boast a career with over 600 songs, 126 albums and almost 100 million record sales across the globe. He also led a successful career in acting.
The Menorah Mivtahim arena is owned by the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is home to the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club. The hall has capacity for 10,383 with permanent seating for tennis matches, 11,060 for basketball games, and 8,000 for concerts. Other international musical performers to grace the stage have been Rod Stewart, Alicia Keys, Charles Aznavour, Westlife, Five, Sean Paul, and Julio and Enrique Iglesias.
And speaking of heros, Corey Johnson, the speaker of the City Council, donned the robes of de facto mayor and took over where the real mayor was chatting up some auto workers in the Hawkeye state in order to elevate his now dismal, 0.2% rating in the polls. Johnson kept the city aware of what was going on and how to stay safe, doing the Mayor's job very competently and making a name for himself while under the gun. Photo Credit: coreyjohnson.nyc
You couldn’t make this story up. During last Saturday’s massive blackout on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where tens of thousands were left in the dark, Mayor deBlasio was in …..Waterloo, Iowa, on his campaign for the Democrat Presidential nomination. Waterloo is a name associated with losers and that’s a more proper place for Hizzoner to dig his roots into rather than the Big Apple. DeBlasio’s response, at hearing the news, long distance, of this catastrophe, that he would stay the night munching on ears of campaign corn and return home the next day, nailed it for all New Yorkers.
He’s a goner for the nomination and he’s lost it as being respected as a devoted mayor of the city. At the time of his notification of the matter, neither he nor the Con Ed people had any idea of what the problem was nor just when they would get it fixed. It might have gone on for days. Yet Bubba Bill was content enough to wait hours to get home, leaving the mess to his underlings to handle. There are pictures of ordinary citizen, risking their lives, standing at major intersections, in pitch darkness, controlling traffic. They are the heroes of the night, not our mayor.
And speaking of heros, Corey Johnson, the speaker of the City Council, donned the robes of de facto mayor and took over where the real mayor was chatting up some auto workers in the Hawkeye state in order to elevate his now dismal, 0.2% rating in the polls. Johnson kept the city aware of what was going on and how to stay safe, doing the Mayor’s job very competently and making a name for himself while under the gun. A common NYC citizen, Nicole Gelinas of Hell’s Kitchen tweeted: “Mayor Corey Johnson has done a bang-up job during the last five hours. We have no idea what that random guy in Iowa is doing but good luck to him.” And throw in the left to the jaw of deBlasio by none other than Governor Cuomo who stated: “I’ve been governor of New York for eight years. In that time I can count the number of times I left the state on my fingers.”
However, de Blasio is dead in the water as a candidate. To prove it, while in Miami, courting Cuban exiles, he stupidly quoted the mass murderer of Cubans, Che Guevara, with words of revolution, “Hasta la victoria, siempre!” which translates to, “Until victory, always!” Of course, he apologized later when told of what those words meant and who was famous for using them. Perhaps he could spout a few quotations for Mein Kampf when he tries to woo Jews to vote for him. But they know better…..or do they?
Mayor deBlasio was in …..Waterloo, Iowa, on his campaign for the Democrat Presidential nomination. Waterloo is a name associated with losers and that’s a more proper place for Hizzoner to dig his roots into rather than the Big Apple. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Department of Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia has unexpectedly resigned. Elia drew criticism after she re-released regs that would have given New York State control over the number of hours of secular studies taught at private schools statewide. The regs also mandated curriculum requirements. Photo Credit: NYS Education Department
Department of Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia has unexpectedly resigned.
By: Benjamin Kaplanowitz
Elia drew criticism after she re-released regs that would have given New York State control over the number of hours of secular studies taught at private schools statewide. The regs also mandated curriculum requirements.
“Elia’s latest effort to exercise state control over private schools statewide sparked a flurry of activity. By state law, the guidelines mandated by Elia are subject to a public comment period,” reported Vos Iz Neias. “A campaign launched by PEARLS giving yeshiva parents a chance to voice their opposition to the plan resulted in 4,862 letters of protest, representing 14,100 yeshiva students, in just over one week.”
Torah Vodaath Rosh Hayeshiva Rabbi Yisroel Reisman has reportedly called for a letter-writing campaign targeting his school’s parents, grandparents, friends and alumni.
Reisman and Mir Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Elya Brudny “met with Commissioner Elia last year hoping to demonstrate that the vast majority of yeshivas were providing students with a substantially equivalent education to that offered in the public schools, as required by state law,” said the Jewish news site. “The two penned a letter to the editor that appeared in the Wall Street Journal… last December warning that New York’s yeshivas would not allow the state to make any curriculum changes that would in any way interfere with their emphasis on offering a Torah-true education.”
Published reports claimed that Elia resigned in order to take a position with a national company specializing in helping school districts draft and execute turnaround strategies. She had apparently failed to tell the board of her plan to resign before the news became public knowledge.
According to chalkbeat.org, Chancellor Betty Rosa “said the announcement “obviously caught us all off guard” but declined to comment further before walking into back-to-back board trainings, which are closed to the public and are a typical July agenda item for the Regents. Regent James E. Cottrell said the news came as a “total shock” and upset him. He said he thought the board had made positive strides under Elia’s four-year leadership.”
In an official statement, the board members “said they have made “much progress” with Elia to improve education and described Elia as “steadfast in her commitment to placing the interests of students first,” chalkbeat.org reported.
The letter drafted by Elia said in part that “our goal to close the opportunity gap in all districts across the state… Going forward, I hope to translate the experiences I’ve gained from one of the largest, most complex education systems in the country into lessons to help improve classrooms, schools and districts for students in every state.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Matthew Karelefsky, 41, of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Martin Murphy on a 17-count indictment in which he is charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree arson, second-degree attempted murder, and related charges. Photo Credit: Yeshiva World News
Fire Destroyed Victim’s Midwood Home and Severely Damaged Two Adjacent Properties; Video Surveillance Allegedly Captured Defendant Setting the Fire
Edited by: JV Staff
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez on Monday announced that a 41-year-old Pennsylvania man has been arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree arson and related charges for intentionally setting fire to the home of a Brooklyn rabbi. The fire quickly spread to two adjacent houses, injuring 11 people, including a six-week-old infant, four first responders and two police officers. District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly traveled to Brooklyn with the sole intent to kill and had no concern for the dozens of people he deliberately put in harm’s way. Thanks to our firefighters and first responders, no one was seriously injured in this fire. I intend to prosecute this case vigorously and hold this defendant accountable for his alleged crimes.” The District Attorney identified the defendant as Matthew Karelefsky, 41, of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Martin Murphy on a 17-count indictment in which he is charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree arson, second-degree attempted murder, and related charges. He was ordered held without bail and to return to court on September 10, 2019. The defendant faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count. The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on June 13, 2019 at approximately 3:50 a.m., a rabbi at a local yeshiva and his wife awoke to a fire in their three-story multi-family home at 1492 East 17th Street in Midwood. The fire spread to homes on either side of the property, causing 13 residents, including a six-week-old infant, to evacuate. Numerous individuals were treated for smoke inhalation. Fire marshals determined the fire at 1492 East 17th Street was intentionally set and that it spread to the adjacent properties. Investigators also determined the fire began underneath the rabbi’s front porch, where K9 dogs identified the smell of an accelerant and fire marshals discovered remnants of a Kingsford charcoal bag, charcoal, a plastic milk carton, empty lighter fluid containers, lighter boxes and several rags believed to have been drenched in accelerant. Video surveillance taken from across the street from the victims’ homes allegedly shows the defendant setting the fire. Additionally, video surveillance from a Midwood grocery store captured the day before the incident allegedly shows the defendant purchasing Kingsford charcoal and matches. Police arrested the defendant in Manhattan on June 15. At the time of his arrest he was wearing a pink shirt with a white collar—a shirt he was allegedly seen wearing walking near the victims’ homes before and after the incident. It is alleged that the defendant has a tattoo on his forearm that reads, “Never let go of the HATRED – KILL Rabbi Max”. He also allegedly wrote numerous social media posts expressing his animosity for and intention to harm the victim. The case was investigated by New York City Fire Department Marshal Stewart Hines. Intelligence Analyst Alexandra Aber, of the District Attorney’s Crime Strategies Unit and Paralegal Supervisor Aneudy Mata, of the District Attorney’s Green Zone Trial Bureau, assisted in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Sara Kurtzberg, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Green Zone Trial Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Aaron Fishkin, also of the Green Zone, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney James Lin, Bureau Chief.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) created controversy in pro-Israel circles in February with an attack against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) claiming the pro-Israel lobbying group paid off politicians to support the Jewish State, an accusation that borrowed heavily on anti-Semitic tropes. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Trump hit back after criticism about his Sunday tweets, calling liberal Democrats haters of Israel.
By: David Isaac
President Donald Trump defended himself from a torrent of criticism after telling a group of Democratic congresswomen to “go back” where they came from in a series of tweets on Sunday.
Trump tweeted later that day that it was “sad to see the Democrats sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel with a true and unbridled passion.”
The president was referring to four Democrats in his earlier tweets: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
There is some truth to the president’s remarks concerning their stance on Israel.
Omar created controversy in pro-Israel circles in February with an attack against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) claiming the pro-Israel lobbying group paid off politicians to support the Jewish State, an accusation that borrowed heavily on anti-Semitic tropes.
Omar’s attack followed the revelation of an earlier tweet in 2012 in which she said that the Jewish State had “hypnotized the world” into supporting its positions. She has in addition voiced support for the anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement.
Omar also has ties to the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), speaking at an event for the group in March.
CAIR has defended terror groups. In May, Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelist Association, urged Trump to designate it as a terror organization, calling it a “mouthpiece in Washington for radical Islam.”
Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, has also been outspoken against Israel. Most recently, in an interview published on Saturday by the journal Jacobin, she blasted the “dehumanization and racist policies by the State of Israel.”
On her first day in office, Tlaib displayed a map with a note posted over Israel that read “Palestine.”
Ocasio-Cortez, while not condoning Omar’s comments about AIPAC, came to her defense when she was attacked. A fundraising drive on behalf of the New York congresswoman also claimed falsely that AIPAC was coming after her, Ha’aretz reported in March.
In April, the freshman Democrat said that cutting military and economic aid to Israel “is certainly on the table.”
Most recently, Ocasio-Cortez caused a stir by comparing detention centers on America’s southern border with concentration camps.
Pressley from Massachusetts is not considered anti-Israel. However, she did support, along with more than two dozen House members, a bill to prohibit American funds being used by Israel for the “military detention, interrogation, or ill-treatment of Palestinian children.”
The bill was proposed by Rep. Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat, who has called Israel an “apartheid” state. (World Israel News)
Hassan Nasrallah, interviewed by Al Manar and motioning with his hands, voicing the hope to pray in Jerusalem. (Al Manar/Twitter)
Israeli PM responds to Hassan Nasrallah’s vow to bring the Jewish State to the “verge of vanishing.”
By: WIN Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday that the Jewish State “will hit him and Lebanon with a crushing military blow… if Hezbollah dares to do some nonsense and attacks Israel.”
The prime minister spoke at the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting. He was responding to “Nasrallah’s remarks on his attack plans” which he made in an interview with Al-Manar, a Lebanese satellite television station affiliated with Hezbollah.
In addition to Hezbollah, Al-Manar itself has also been designated by the United States as a global terrorist entity.
In the interview, Nasrallah said that “Hezbollah at minimum is capable of inflicting huge destruction upon the Zionist entity,” the term he uses to refer to Israel.
Al-Manar reported that the Hezbollah leader was speaking on the 13th anniversary of the Second Lebanon War, which took place between Israel and the Iranian-backed terror organization. The war broke out on July 12, 2006 and lasted until August 14, 2006, following the approval of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for a full cessation of hostilities.
“Nasrallah stressed that the resistance today is more powerful than before, presenting its developed capabilities which he said will bring the Zionist entity to the ‘verge of vanishing,’” the Hezbollah station reported, adding that the terror chief voiced a “big hope that he will be among those who will pray in Al-Quds,” the Muslim term for Jerusalem.
“Nasrallah presented a map of occupied Palestine. The map showed dozens of Israeli targets to be hit by Hezbollah in any future war,” Al Manar reported.
The leader said his fighters are “well-prepared for the invasion of Galilee,” it added.
“In contrast to Nasrallah, I do not intend to detail our plans,” Netanyahu countered on Sunday.
“It is enough to recall that Nasrallah had – for years – dug terrorist tunnels, which we destroyed within days,” the prime minister told his cabinet.
Nasrallah “ruled out confrontation between Iran and the U.S., noting that Washington knows very well that the war with the Islamic Republic will bear a high cost,” said Al-Manar. (World Israel News)
The latest dispatch from the war zone sees Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He has called her a less than powerful leader, and moderate Democrats in general – of which Pelosi is purportedly one -- of racism. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
The knives are out as Democrats view for the ideological control of their party.
The latest dispatch from the war zone sees Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He has called her a less than powerful leader, and moderate Democrats in general – of which Pelosi is purportedly one — of racism.
By: Theodore Mikalis
One Democratic party member told the New York Post that Chakrabarti has proven “incredibly polarizing” and is “pushing this conflict between Pelosi and AOC. He and AOC are looking for enemies, they are looking for fight, they are looking to create controversy. And it’s working. It’s raising money, getting more media, raising stature, increasing email lists, increasing profile.”
During the first week of July, Chakrabarti took to social media to insists that Pelosi “claims we can’t focus on impeachment because it’s a distraction from kitchen table issues. But I’d challenge you to find voters that can name a single thing House Democrats have done for their kitchen table this year. What is this legislative mastermind doing?”
Just a couple of weeks before, Chakrabarti let it slip that he thought the “New Southern Democrats” were “hell-bent to do to black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did in the 40s.”
NBC News’ Jonathan Allen has been following the action, and recently noted, “As they feud publicly, freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is slowly learning a painful lesson about American politics at the hands of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Power is about numbers. Pelosi has them and Ocasio-Cortez does not. The more Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., lashes out over the limits of her own influence, the more obvious those limits become and the more the imbalance tilts in the direction of Pelosi, D-Calif. After all, their fellow politicians are nothing if not hypersensitive to even the slightest shifts in the winds of power.”
He continued, “Now, they’re freely dunking on Ocasio-Cortez and her allies in the wake of her not-so-veiled allegation that Pelosi is discriminating against her clique, known as “The Squad,” because of their lack of seniority, their gender and their skin color.”
Ocasio-Cortez had previously remarked that the House Speaker had been intentionally “singling out” freshman congresswomen of color. Oddly, President Trump came to Pelosi’s defense, saying that in his estimation she was not a racist.
Others are enjoying the infighting less. House Democrats and their aides “are quickly losing patience with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her office’s nonstop sparring with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other long-serving members, suggesting the speaker’s dismissive comments toward her may represent the view of a growing section of the caucus,” noted Fox News. “She is a complete fraud,” one senior Democratic source told Fox News on Friday, succinctly summing up members’ frustration.”
Hunter College psychology professor and sex and drug researcher Jeffrey Parsons has been accused of using cocaine at college events and organizing annual parties that included major amounts of alcohol and sex. Photo Credit: hunter.cuny.edu
Sex and drugs may bring down a high profile professor.
Hunter College psychology professor and sex and drug researcher Jeffrey Parsons has been accused of using cocaine at college events and organizing annual parties that included major amounts of alcohol and sex.
By Pat Savage
Parsons, described by the New York Post as “the youngest-ever “distinguished” professor at the public college and one of the CUNY system’s highest paid professors” left his job on July 3rd in the wake of a school investigation that reportedly supported staff complaints dating back to the spring of 2018.
Parsons served as the director of the Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), tasked with doing research on – what else – drug use and at-risk sex. The program was funded to the tune of a reported $37 million in grants between 1997 and 2016.
“Every year he’d host a party he claimed he paid for out of his expense account known as the CHEST fest, a former employee said. Last year’s bash is when his alleged bad behavior came to a head,” the Post reported. “The May 4, 2018, soirée was held at the iconic Stonewall Inn in the West Village, where Parsons rented out the bar’s second floor. The theme: rebellion. As he did at past events, Parsons encouraged attendees to imbibe.”
Parsons is known as a psychologist, researcher, and educator whose career includes stints as Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He was trained as a developmental psychologist and has applied this training to understand health, according to Wikipedia, with a particular emphasis on HIV prevention and treatment. “He is well-known for his research on HIV risk behaviors of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), HIV-related syndemics, and sexual compulsivity.”
Parsons is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in HIV prevention and treatment, having been particularly influential on understanding health risk behaviors associated with HIV transmission and HIV-related health outcomes for GBMSM, Wikipedia noted. He was a pioneer in understanding the etiology and consequences of sexual compulsivity (now often referred to as hypersexuality) for GBMSM as well as having produced influential work on topics ranging from understanding intentional condomless sex (i.e., barebacking) and methamphetamine use to developing efficacious interventions to reduce substance use and HIV-related health risk behaviors.
When a scandal like the one engulfing Jeffrey Epstein breaks, it is always interesting to see where things lead. According to published reports, one of those Epstein connections may lead to Victoria’s Secret. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
When a scandal like the one engulfing Jeffrey Epstein breaks, it is always interesting to see where things lead. According to published reports, one of those Epstein connections may lead to Victoria’s Secret.
By Howard M. Riell
Italian model Elisabetta Tai says she was directed to Epstein — arrested last week for sexually abusing minor girls from 2002 to 2005 – back in 2004 was a contact who might help her get into modeling for Victoria’s Secret.
“He told me this is one of the most important people in modeling,” Tai told The New York Post. “He said that this man is in charge of Victoria’s Secret and he’s going to change your life.”
The meeting reportedly didn’t go as anticipated. “I rang the doorbell of this incredible mansion, and a butler answered the door,” said Tai in the Post interview. “It was astonishing. It was a very beautiful house, and I saw about five models walking around as soon as I walked in. I was so excited.”
The encounter went as one might guess, and when Tai tried to leave, as she recounts to the Post, a woman who worked for Epstein “told me that I couldn’t just leave. She said that this man is important, that he is a friend of President Clinton.”
Indeed, CNBC has reported that Clinton visited Epstein in prison while he was serving a 13-month criminal sentence in 2008 and 2009. There was, in fact, “a revolving cast of characters take turns visiting him… Those visitors included Epstein’s appeals attorney Alan Dershowitz, who showed up on New Year’s Day 2009, as well as Arnold Paul Prosperi, a college friend of former President Bill Clinton, documents show.”
Still other alleged connections have also emerged. ABC News has reported that Epstein “has been a prolific donor to various Democratic campaigns and party committees over the past couple decades… One of the biggest beneficiaries of Epstein’s contributions was then-Senate hopeful Hillary Clinton, who received $20,000 from him in 1999 through her joint fundraising committee with the Democratic Party, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign also received $1,000 from Epstein in 1992.”
Last week, the New York Times reported that Epstein had “asked a federal judge to release him on substantial bond. He offered both his New York mansion, which city tax documents valued at close to $56 million, and his private jet as collateral. Prosecutors said on Monday they sought to have Mr. Epstein held in jail until his trial, pointing to his wealth as they said he had “an extraordinary risk of flight and danger.” Mr. Epstein’s bail proposal is expected to be taken up in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday.”
