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Vol. 99, No.25 50 Cents Per Issue March 4, 2021 • 20 Adar, 5781 MEMPHIS, TENNESEE to spend $50M compensating families of children who disappeared in state’s early years By Asaf Shalev (JTA) — The Is- raeli government approved a plan Monday. February 22, to provide compensation of up to $60,000 to some of the families of children who went missing while in state care in the 1950s. But advocacy groups and sev- eral of the families have already rejected the plan, calling it a cyni- The sculpture “Le Deporté” by Françoise Salmon can be seen on cal move designed to silence their the site of the former concentration camp Neuengamme. larger demands for accountability. Credit: Markus Scholz/picture alliance via Getty Images) They are demanding an official apology, an expansion of the eligi- US deports 95-year-old former Nazi bility criteria, and further access to state records that might shed light A view of who were flown into Israel in 1950 under concentration camp guard back to Germany on the fate of their relatives. “Operation Magic Carpet.” Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images By Philissa Cramer Amendment that bars anyone who The compensation plan — NEW YORK (JTA) – A year participated in Nazi-sponsored amounting to roughly $50 million kidnap children from hospitals and The window to apply for money after an immigration judge ordered persecution from entering or living — represents a new phase for what clinics and deliver them to Ashke- runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, and him deported to Germany because in the United States. An appeals Prime Minister Benjamin Netan- nazi families. applicants must sign a waiver of his work as a Nazi guard, Fried- board upheld the decision in No- yahu last week said was “among Families were told their missing releasing the government of any rich Karl Berger is back in his vember 2020. the most painful affairs in the his- children died from illness but most further liability. native country. “This case shows that the pas- tory of the state of Israel.” were never shown a burial site. In cases where it is clear that a Berger, 95, served at a subcamp sage even of many decades will Over the years, hundreds and Suspicions were inflamed in the child died and the family was not of the Neuengamme concentra- not deter the [U.S. Department perhaps thousands of Jewish 1960s as many families received notified, families are eligible for tion camp system near Hamburg, of Justice] from pursuing justice families from Middle Eastern mailed military enlistment orders about $45,000. In other situations, where an immigration court in on behalf of the victims of Nazi countries, chiefly Yemen, reported ahead when the children would where the child’s fate is unknown, early 2020 found that Jews and crimes,” Acting Attorney General that their babies and small children have come of age for service. the payment is about $60,000. others had been held in “atrocious” Monty Wilkinson said in a state- disappeared in the decades follow- Three government-appointed The statement announcing conditions. He entered the United ment. ing Israel’s establishment. commissions that looked at the the decision said the government States from Canada in 1959 and Berger’s deportation comes as Many suspected that hospital claims said they found no evidence “regrets” what happened and “rec- lived for many years in Tennessee, the window closes to prosecute and social work officials abducted of collusion to disappear the chil- ognizes the suffering” of families. receiving a pension throughout individual perpetrators of the Ho- their children and gave them away dren. Journalists and independent “It is not in the power of a financial from Germany for his military locaust. He was 19 when he was to Ashkenazi families in Israel researchers have since repeatedly plan to provide a remedy to the service. assigned to guard prisoners shortly and the United States, who were surfaced evidence that pokes holes suffering caused to families,” the Last year, a judge ordered before the camp was liberated by thought to be better caretakers and, in the commissions’ findings. statement said. “However, the Berger removed under a 1978 Allied forces. Last month, Ger- in some cases, had lost their own To be qualified for the new pay- State of Israel hopes that it will law, known as the Holtzman (See Guard Page 2) children during the Holocaust. ments, a family must be among the be able to assist in the process of A full inquiry into the allega- 1,000 or so who have previously rehabilitation and healing of the tions has never been carried out, reported their case to authorities. (See Families Page 2) Israel delivers thousands of vaccines but several state commissions concluded that most of the missing to Palestinians after facing international pressure children must have simply died Biden’s first military action: By Ron Kampeas vaccine program to Palestinians in and were hastily buried. The com- JERUSALEM (JTA) — Is- areas controlled by the Palestinian missions dismissed claims of any strike on Iranian-backed targets in Syria rael has delivered thousands Authority. Israeli officials have conspiracy to abduct the children. By Ron Kampeas regime during Syria’s decade-long of coronavirus vaccines to the said that under prior agreements Still, Netanyahu said, “The WASHINGTON (JTA) — Pres- civil war and maintains a presence Palestinian Authority, the Czech and international law, it is under time has come for the families ident Joe Biden ordered last week in the country. Israel has said that Republic, Guatemala, and Hon- no obligation to do so whose infants were taken from an airstrike on Iranian-backed must leave Syria altogether duras, joining a number of other Axios reported U.S. Secretary them to receive recognition by the militias in Syria, his first military and sees Iran’s presence north of countries that are successfully of State Antony Blinken had asked state and government of Israel, and action. its border as an inherent threat. vaccinating their populations and Israel on Monday, February 22, to financial compensation as well.” The strike Thursday, February The decision to order the U.S. are now assisting others with their deliver vaccines to the Palestin- Roughly a million Jews from 25, at a point near Syria’s border airstrike, reportedly the smallest surpluses. ians. Middle Eastern countries arrived with Iraq was in retaliation for target among options the Pentagon Israel had come under criticism “In light of the successful in Israel after the country’s found- a February 15 rocket attack on a presented to Biden, signaled the for not extending its successful (See Vaccines Page 2) ing in 1948. Many of these Mizrahi U.S.-led military base near Erbil, precariousness of Biden’s mission immigrants were relegated to poor the capital of Iraq’s semi-autono- to contain Iranian adventurism in and crowded housing conditions or mous Kurdish region, that killed the region while working to bring to tent dwellings in the country’s a civilian contractor who was not Iran back into compliance with the periphery while Ashkenazi im- a U.S. citizen and wounded an 2015 Iran nuclear deal. migrants from Europe received American serviceperson. Iranian- In 2018, Biden’s predecessor, preferential treatment in employ- backed militias are believed re- Donald Trump, pulled out of the ment, education, and other areas. sponsible for that attack. international deal, which traded This painful period contributed Iran helped prop up the Assad (See Biden Page 2) to an ethnic divide that persists in Israel to this day, as seen in voting patterns, for example. Netanyahu’s party found a formula for electoral success by appealing to the historic wounds of . Among Yemenite Jews in Israel COVID-19 vaccine vials stored at -80 degrees Celsius in the today, it is common to hear stories pharmacy at Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago, Dec. 18, 2020. of relatives who died mysteriously Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images at a young age or went missing without explanation. Some in government and academia have suggested that whatever happened was not malicious but rather the tragic result of the chaos of Israel’s early years, when the country was A worker clears the shattered glass outside a damaged shop poor, war-torn and overwhelmed following a rocket attack the previous night in Erbil, the capital of by the influx of immigrants. the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region, on Feb. 16, 2021. - A Many believe, however, that volley of rockets targeting an airbase in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on some officials took advantage of February 15 killed a foreign civilian contractor and wounded five the chaos and the linguistic barri- others and a US soldier, according the US-led coalition. ers of those days to systematically Credit: Safin Hamed/AFP via Getty Images Page 2 THE HEBREW WATCHMAN Thursday, March 4, 2021 Bess Soffer, 68, Jewish community leader whose last words, by FaceTime, were ‘group hug’ By Shira Feder many people all over the country. Carolina who were also shedding of a heart. “It was all she could NEW YORK (JTA)—Over Everyone felt important when tears. He hadn’t even known that get out,” said Matt. “When I think 1000 people logged in for Bess they were around her,” said her his mother knew them. about how she would want to be Soffer’s Zoom funeral. Her chil- son, Matt Soffer, senior rabbi at The funeral came at the end of a remembered, it’s with that image.” dren knew she was beloved, but the Judea Reform Congregation in grueling ordeal. Bess had been bat- Bess Soffer died at 68 on Janu- even they were surprised by the Durham, North Carolina. tling COVID-19 in the hospital for ary 6 in Atlantic City, after a turnout. Many people joined from her 40 days, and her family couldn’t lifetime spent volunteering and “I knew she was a good friend, New Jersey community. But Matt visit. Matt left his own wife and working within the Jewish com- but I didn’t know that depth of said he spotted people who live 15 children to drive 400 miles to stay munity. She helped open Lions friendship that she had with so minutes away from him in North in a friend’s vacant beach house Gate, a senior living facility, and for a few weeks to work with his helped many Jewish seniors settle into a second phase of life there unused vaccines was accumulated; father, who was recovering from Vaccines... his own surgery, on managing before retiring in 2015. She was therefore, it has been decided to as- synagogue president at Temple (Continued From Page 1) sist Palestinian Authority medical his mother’s medical care, which vaccination campaign in Israel became a full-time job in an over- Emanuel in Cherry Hill, New Jer- teams and several of the countries sey, and served as a board member and its being the global leader in that contacted Israel with a sym- whelmed hospital system. vaccinating populations, Israel “I tried to sneak in to see her a of the Union for . bolic quantity of vaccines.” Passionate about the beach, has received many requests from Netanyahu did not name the few times,” said Matt. “But they countries for assistance in sup- weren’t allowing any visits in the Credit: Matt Soffer her family and feeding people, other countries in his reporting, but she is survived by Jim Soffer, her plying vaccines,” said a statement Reuters said they included Hondu- hospital in any way, even in the Tuesday, February 23, from the end-of-life moments. So she was He was a mile away from her, yet husband of 45 years; her sons, ras, Guatemala and the Czech Re- Matt and Geoffrey; and two grand- office of Prime Minister Benjamin public. Honduras and Guatemala robbed of that. And so were we.” he couldn’t see her. Netanyahu. He dropped off peanut but- The last phrase Bess said was children. One of them, 8-year-old said they had received 5,000 doses Caleb, spoke about her M&M “Israel is not producing vac- each, and the Czech Republic said ter and jelly sandwiches for his ‘group hug.’ The last word she cines itself and has informed mother and an iPad for her to com- could get out was ‘love.’ The last cookies at her funeral. For her it had received thousands of doses temple, her Margate community respondents that the quantities from Israel and other countries. municate with them. There several communication she had with her that were ordered by Israel are for days when they couldn’t FaceTime family over FaceTime had her and the Soffer family, “she was All three countries have moved the glue,” Matt said. the vaccination of its population; their embassies to Jerusalem, or and Bess was alone in the hospital. holding up her hands in the shape no ability to render significant To many people, Bess seemed have said they will expand their like an extrovert, but in the very assistance is anticipated at least diplomatic presence in Jerusalem. Biden... Families... until the vaccines campaign in talkative Soffer family, she often A number of countries, China fell silent. “She wasn’t the first to Israel will have ended,” the state- most notably, that have had suc- (Continued From Page 1) (Continued From Page 1) ment said. “Nevertheless, over the sanctions relief for a partial roll- social wound that this affair has jump into every conversation like cessful vaccine rollouts are deliv- the men in the family,” said Matt. past month, a limited quantity of ering surpluses to other countries back of Iran’s nuclear develop- created in Israeli society.” ment, and engaged Iranian forces Advocates who have been “But she had a way in her glance in the region multiple times. Last campaigning for years on this issue of saying everything. And I think ‘Pride exists to be part of something Jewish’: year he ordered the killing of a top said the plan falls short. that’s what right now I miss most. Iranian general believed respon- Amram, a group that has col- I miss seeing her seeing me.” Russian billionaire to head Moscow museum’s board sible for deadly attacks on U.S. lected accounts from some 800 Whenever Matt hears about and Israeli forces. families, said the compensation people getting vaccinated, he feels By Cnaan Liphshiz a surge of emotion. “I know she MOSCOW (JTA) — A Russian In retaliation, Iran has abrogat- plan was inadequate because it was ed some components of the nuclear drafted without direction from the was just a few weeks away from billionaire who has not served also having had that opportunity,” in Jewish community leadership deal, which Biden has said he sees families and without acceptance of returning to as the best means of responsibility or apology. he said. “With this number of roles has been appointed board 500,000 [Americans who died of chairman of Moscow’s Jewish keeping Iran from obtaining a “Without this component, a nuclear weapon. Biden also has process of correction and healing COVID-19], I think this did not Museum and Tolerance Center. have to happen. The majority of Alexander Klyachin, the owner said he wants to limit Iran’s influ- isn’t possible,” the group said. ence in the region. “Amram repeatedly demands that people who have died were killed of Russia’s largest international by a country that I feel betrayed by.” chain of hotels, began his non- “President Biden will act to the state of Israel take responsibil- ity for the severe injustice.” He hopes there will be a na- salaried stint last month at the protect American and Coalition tional monument where the many helm of what is widely considered personnel,” John Kirby, the Pen- Activist Rafi Shubeli, whose Forum Achai represents some of people who had to watch their to be Russian Jewry’s most visible tagon spokesman, said in a state- loved ones die can commemorate institution, the country’s chief ment about Thursday’s (February the families, also said the proposed resolution is a unilateral action by them. rabbi, Berel Lazar, told the Jewish Alexander Klyachin 25) strike. “At the same time, we “I do feel betrayed by my Telegraphic Agency. have acted in a deliberate manner the government and will not lead to reconciliation. country,” he said. “But I also feel Lazar, the senior emissary of used to be afraid, maybe ashamed, that aims to deescalate the overall like that which is broken can be re- the Chabad-Lubavitch movement to come out and say ‘I am Jewish.’” situation in both eastern Syria “Our struggle will continue,” he was quoted as saying by the paired. And that’s my great prayer in Russia, said he expected the This was the case “when times and Iraq.” at this point.” award-winning museum to benefit were hard,” when it came to anti- The New York Times quoted Associated Press. “This affair isn’t significantly from the “business, ad- Semitism under communism, “but Kirby as saying that the strike going away.” ministrative experience and vision” also after things improved, for “specifically destroyed multiple of the 53-year-old Klyachin, who business reasons,” Lazar said. facilities located at a border con- The owns the Azimut hotel chain and is “People like Klyachin, for whom trol point used by a number of Guard... said to be worth $1.6 billion. The Jewish identify is important, would Iranian-backed militia troops, (Continued From Page 1) Hebrew museum has 17 board members. give and help maybe more discrete- including Kataib Hezbollah and many announced that it would try Beyond the practical aspect, ly,” the rabbi added. But Klyachin’s Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada.” a 95-year-old woman who, also at Lazar said, “the story here is the decision to take the reins of the $20 The Washington Post quoted an 19, had served as the secretary to Watchman Established September, 1925 pride that exists today to be a part of million museum, which was built anonymous U.S. official as say- a concentration camp commander By Leo I. Goldberger (1902-1989) something Jewish. It wasn’t always in 2012, “is another demonstration ing that the U.S. airstrike killed a for her role in the murder of 10,000 MAILING ADDRESS so. Some prominent Russian Jews that a leaf has been turned.” “handful” of people. Jews. 1138 N. Germantown Pkwy. Ste.101 P.O. Box 353 Memphis, TN 38016-5872 901.763.2215 [email protected] Susan C. Nieman Editor and Publisher Herman I. Goldberger Editor and Publisher Emeritus Barbara B. Goldberger Associate Editor Emeritus

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THE HEBREW WATCHMAN (USPS #807-360) is published weekly every Thursday for $25 per year by JEWISH LIVING OF THE SOUTH, Inc. PO Box 770846, Memphis, TN 38177-0846. Periodical postage paid at Memphis, Tenn. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE HEBREW WATCH- MAN, PO Box 770846, Memphis, TN 38177-0846. Contents of THE HEBREW WATCMAN may not be reproduced without express permis- sion of THE HEBREW WATCHMAN. We are not responsible for the kashrut of any product or establishment advertised in THE HEBREW WATCHMAN. The opinions of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of THE HEBREW WATCHMAN. 3/4/2021 Thursday, March 4, 2021 THE HEBREW WATCHMAN Page 3 Masks of all kinds: Scenes from a pandemic Purim across the world By JTA staff they stuck to congregating from like others, had to ramp up their NEW YORK (JTA) — It might the safety of home. production skills. Here’s one, a have felt hard for many to summon Here’s what the holiday looked hamantaschen-themed takeoff of a festive mood this Purim, which like around the Jewish world. Cardi B’s “WAP,” from IKAR, was for some the first holiday to South Korea a nondenominational synagogue be unsettled by the pandemic and In South Korea, the Israeli in Los Angeles. But you can also for others the last to be observed ambassador teamed up with a U.S. check out a Dallas synagogue’s normally. Army chaplain to hold a celebra- “Grease”-spinoff, for example, or But in the end, Jewish com- tion for American troops stationed catch up on dozens if not hundreds munities the world over managed at Camp Humphreys. South Ko- of live-streamed megillah read- to don the costumes and do the rea was among the countries to ings, including this one featuring partying typical of the holiday, effectively contain COVID-19 readers in 10 cities from My Jew- which celebrates the triumph of throughout the year. ish Learning. the Jewish people over a plot to kill Purim parody videos have been Crown Heights, Brooklyn them. Often they did so outdoors; on the rise for a while, but they There was a packed crowd at sometimes they went indoors, with had their breakout moment in a 770 Eastern Parkway, the main and without distancing; and some year when Jewish communities, synagogue at the worldwide head- wearing costumers take part in a Purim parade Feb. 26, quarters of the Chabad movement. 2021 in . Celebrations took place during the day because the As with many events held there government imposed a curfew to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Dutch right-wing politician calls since it reopened three months Credit: JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images Nuremberg trials ‘illegitimate’ into the pandemic, few wore Lazar attended Purim festivities at over directly, for example. masks and distancing was not the Jewish Community Centre in Berlin By Cnaan Liphshiz the Nuremberg trials as illegiti- observed. The Orthodox world AMSTERDAM (JTA) — A mate. You shouldn’t retroactively northeastern Moscow. The center Chabad held an open-air ser- was hit hard in the weeks after was decorated with balloons and vice in Berlin, where indoor ser- prominent right-wing lawmaker judge people.” Purim last year, leading many to in the Netherlands has provoked Political rivals and CIDI, Dutch appeared from photos to have at- vices are prohibited because of the believe, and act as if, herd im- tendees spaced far apart. pandemic. This year, Germany is outrage by saying that the trials Jewry’s watchdog on anti-Sem- munity had been reached, even against Nazis in Nuremberg, Ger- itism, said Baudet’s remark was London marking 1,700 years of Jewish life as health officials said there was Children still gallivanted in many, were “illegitimate.” “shocking.” no justification for coming to that Thierry Baudet, leader of the The Nuremberg trials, led by an costume around Stamford Hill, a conclusion. Not all haredi Ortho- heavily Orthodox neighborhood right-wing Forum for Democracy international tribunal with judges dox Jews carried on with the usual Home party, which has two seats in Dutch from Allied countries including of London, on Purim, but most celebrations: A major yeshiva in other festivities were scaled back. parliament, made the statement on the Soviet Union, ended in 1946 Lakewood, New Jersey, canceled For Sale? Monday, February 22, during a rally with the execution of 10 senior British rabbis urged Jews to leave its party for the first time in 80 mishloach manot, traditional gifts ADVERTISE HERE in Gouda, near Amsterdam, ahead Nazis, including Hans Frank, the years. of next month’s general elections. highest-ranking Nazi officer in of food, on doorsteps rather than Tel Aviv getting close enough to hand them CALL 763-2215 “I’m no supporter of retroac- occupied Poland. In typical years, Purim celebra- tive punitive legal action,” Baudet The trials are widely seen as a tions draw tens of thousands of said in replying to a question on seminal milestone in the creation people in some of Israel’s larg- whether he supports prosecuting of modern international law. But est cities. Last year, those large the mayor of Amsterdam for per- some have also criticized them as gatherings were canceled as the ceived police brutality. “I consider flawed judicially and politically. pandemic first bore down; this year, no major gatherings were organized, but in a country just coming out of an extended third lockdown and with over half the adult population now vaccinated, people were eager to celebrate. Here, a family in Tel Aviv listens to the Purim story during the day Thursday, February 25, before an overnight curfew imposed to tamp down on parties. Mea Shearim, Jerusalem Ultra-Orthodox Jewish children dressed in costumes to celebrate Purim in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood. Dutch right-wing leader Thierry Baudet speaks to reporters at the Dutch Senate in the Hague, Feb. 5, 2020. 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Life Member, Multi-Million Dollar Club O- (901)682-1868 C- (901)483-0546 Memphis Area Association of Realtors [email protected] Page 4 THE HEBREW WATCHMAN Thursday, March 4, 2021 The inspiring story of the Dutch February Strike, Europe’s first organized civilian protest against the Nazis By Cnaan Liphshiz a single commemoration cer- Holland has for a long period of AMSTERDAM (JTA) — emony,” de Vries told Het Parool. time maintained a positive image,” Eighty years ago on Thursday, “It meant the world to her that Suzanne Rutland, a prominent February 25, this city was silent. others protested the persecution Jewish studies researcher from the The soft bell chimes of the ubiq- of Jews. She passed on to me this University of Sydney, once wrote uitous trams, the main mode of gratitude and the feeling of not in an essay titled “A Reassessment local transportation and a constant being alone. We always came here of the Dutch Record during the presence to this day, were con- together,” de Vries said, “and now Holocaust.” spicuously absent. that she’s gone I come here for her.” How it happened It was the start of a consequential The annual ceremony around Back in 1941, the strike was yet often-overlooked milestone of the statue — this year’s was preceded by other historic events. the Holocaust: the February Strike. limited by social distancing mea- A few days earlier, a large On Feb. 25, 1941, at least sures — once was Amsterdam’s group of Dutch Nazis crossed 100,000 Dutchmen stopped work- main Holocaust commemoration Amsterdam’s Blue Bridge over the ing to protest the Nazis’ persecu- event. In recent years, however, Amstel River and, with a confident tion of Jews, bringing the economy the rite has been diminished in stride, walked in the direction of to a halt for days. Although it favor of other commemorations, the city’s main synagogues. The Dock Worker, a statue that stands in front of the Portuguese was soon broken and German au- such as events remembering the It was part of a series of intimi- Synagogue, was inaugurated in 1952 to commemorate the participants thorities retaliated with even more Kristallnacht pogroms anniversary dating actions by the militia of the of the 1941 February Strike in Amsterdam. Credit: Cnaan Liphshiz violence, it galvanized the Dutch and the May 4 national Memo- local NSB Nazi party against Jews rial Day, which both focus on the following the German occupation and the first major atrocity com- a 2014 article because it did not resistance and became a lasting mitted in the Netherlands by the symbol of it. Today it is known as 107,000 victims of the Holocaust of the Netherlands the previous have “the effect hoped for” by its in the Netherlands rather than on year. The perpetrators were so Nazis, the February arrests indeed organizers. the first and largest act of civilian terrorized Amsterdam’s Jews. But insurrection over the treatment of the people who protested their complacent that they didn’t even But longer term, de Kort wrote, persecution. bother to come armed. in a city where Jews have been a the strike helped consolidate a Jews during the Holocaust. part of the fabric of society for The strike also cemented the The shift has been part of a The sortie did not go as planned sense of solidarity that galvanized broader growing awareness about for the militia members, however. centuries, the action would not go resistance to the Nazis. It also country’s positive image after World unanswered. War II, depicting the Dutch as Dutch complicity in the Holocaust. They were greeted by dozens of empowered Jews, according to It was a rampant phenomenon that Jewish men wielding iron bars On the morning of Feb. 25, the Presser, who in a 1965 book wrote martyr-like resisters of Nazi rule — silence was deafening. a narrative that has begun to falter. contributed to the Netherlands that had been prepared in advance that “for many Jews, it was one having the highest death rate following a previous raid. A brawl “Beginning the strike with the of the most powerful experiences On Thursday, February 25, public transportation was brilliant dozens of people, including Mayor (75%) of Jews in the Holocaust ensued, ending with the Nazis’ during the occupation” because of any Nazi-occupied country in retreat and the death of one of because this meant you didn’t need they felt the general society had Femke Halsema, gathered around to spread the word,” ten Cate said. a statue commemorating the strike Western Europe. Yet this reality their leaders, a hardware store their backs. had been eclipsed for decades by owner and father of eight named “Within 15 minutes of the strike, Legacy after the war for its 80th anniversary ceremony the whole city knew.” and laid wreaths at the statue. the country’s sterling reputation, Hendrik Koot. For decades, Dutch authorities thanks in part to the resistance’s It prompted a deadly German But the strike’s organizers, and society highlighted and cel- Among those present was Jessica primarily local union members de Vries, a Jewish woman whose efforts to save Anne Frank. response. Shortly after the bridge ebrated the strike, which bolstered “Despite having the worst scuffle, occupying authorities with communist affiliations, also the country’s relatively positive late mother was a Holocaust sur- circulated flyers with the headline vivor. Her mother “never missed record of any Western country, rounded up about 400 Jewish men image in the postwar years. Queen in Amsterdam, all of whom were “Strike! Strike! Strike!” — a slo- Juliana, whose own mother was deported and murdered except gan that remains a local icon of the accused of being indifferent to the NBC pulls episode of ‘Nurses’ show after for two survivors. New research war years today. Holocaust, in 1952 inaugurated a shows that a quarter of the men The flyers specifically men- statue for the heroes of the strike. backlash over its portrayal of Orthodox Jews were killed near the Mauthausen tioned Jews, an unusual action at The statue, which now stands in about Orthodox life as the founder concentration camp in an experi- a time when resistance movements front of the Portuguese Synagogue By Gabe Friedman across Europe sought to avoid such NEW YORK (JTA) — NBC and director of Jew In The City, mental gas chamber in preparation in the Jewish Cultural Quarter of of that invention’s deployment distinctions. Amsterdam — the area that used pulled an episode of the show also harshly criticize the episode “We demand the immediate “Nurses” that aired on the channel from 1942 onward as part of the to be the heart of Jewish life here and helped spur the backlash to it. release of the arrested Jews!” the — depicts a burly dock worker on February 9, responding to pres- “The idea that such a surgery Nazi “final solution” for Jews. Within days of those arrests, flyers read. “Show solidarity to the striking a defiant pose. sure from Jewish groups that said it would be problematic in general targeted Jewish part of the work- contained an anti-Semitic storyline death notices with falsified infor- But the narrative has changed or problematic because of where ing population! Extract Jewish over time, as research has uncov- about Orthodox Jews. the bone came from not only is mation, citing diseases and cardiac arrests, were delivered on Friday children from Nazi violence, take ered rampant Nazi collaboration An NBC source told Variety that categorically false according to them into your families!” it had consulted with “leading Jew- night to the victims’ families by by Dutchmen that led to the mur- Jewish law, it is a vicious lie that The effects der of at least 75% of their Jewish ish organizations” before making endangers men who walk around rabbis working for the Jewish Council, a body that the Nazis The strike spread to five other compatriots. the move on Thursday, February 25. with curled side locks and black municipalities in the Amsterdam In the episode of the medical forced local Jews to establish so One study from 2013 showed hats,” Josephs wrote. they could better control the Jews. vicinity — Hilversum, Utrecht, that thousands of Jews were drama titled “Achilles Heel,” a Weesp, Zaanstad and Velsen — young Hasidic patient is told he will NBC did not create the show; “This unusual move by the traced down by professional Jew the network acquired the series’ Germans was designed to instill and lasted for two days before the hunters known as the Henneicke need a bone graft to heal his broken Germans and their collaborators leg, leading his father to recoil at U.S. broadcast rights as part of a terror,” said Johannes Houwink Column, named after Wim Hen- broader international acquisition ten Cate, a historian and one of the ended it. The German occupation neicke, a taxi driver. They col- the possibility of a “dead goyim leg forces went on a manhunt for from anyone. An Arab, a woman.” strategy by American television Netherlands’ leading Holocaust lected a per capita bounty of at networks whose content mills have scholars. He added that the Nazis the organizers, killing nine. One least 7.5 guldens — the equivalent The Anti-Defamation League, was Leendert Schijveschuurder, Simon Wiesenthal Center and run dry due to COVID-19-related “as a rule did not inform Jewish of a week’s wages working as production difficulties. The epi- families of the deaths of their a Jewish communist with the unskilled laborers. other watchdogs expressed out- tragic distinction of being the first rage, arguing that it portrays haredi sode originally aired on Canada’s loved ones.” Another discovery from that As the first mass murder of Dutch civilian whom the Germans year underlined the callousness Jews in a false light. Global Television Network in executed by firing squad in the Allison Josephs, who blogs Jews anywhere in Western Europe with which survivors were met February 2020. Netherlands. upon their return. In Amsterdam The occupiers also stepped and a dozen other municipalities, up their persecution of Jews and the survivors were made to pay quickened their removal from the property taxes that they had failed KOSHER public sphere following the strike, to pay because they were hiding according to historians Jacques from the Nazis or in camps. WINES Presser and Ben Sijes. However, Following these discoveries following the strike, roundups and others, Dutch Prime Minis- FOR and deportations mostly hap- ter Mark Rutte for the first time pened at night in the Netherlands apologized last year for how the PASSOVER and throughout much of Western wartime government in exile and Europe, where the Nazis took far authorities “failed in the respon- Largest Selection in Memphis greater efforts to conceal their ac- sibility as provider of justice and tions than in the east. ee s for ew rands security” for Dutch Jews. Rutte S U N B After the show of solidarity at and his predecessors for years had and All Styles of Kosher Wines the February Strike, “the occupy- resisted calls to apologize long ing forces tried to avoid overt after the governments of countries We Have New, Dry Style Wines From Happy 86th violence,” the Anne Frank House, such as Luxembourg, Belgium, Argentina, France, Australia, Chile, Italy and Israel a private museum housed in the France, Germany and Austria had Birthday family’s old hiding place, wrote said they were sorry about their on its website. citizens’ wartime actions. CASE DISCOUNT AVAILABLE Pleun de Kort, a research as- In response, enthusiasm for Roman! sistant with the University of Am- commemorating the February From Your Friends at the sterdam’s Holocaust and Genocide Strike has diminished. But that’s Tennessee Holocaust Studies program, called the strike not a bad thing, according to ten Commission a mix of “bravery and fiasco” in Cate. Memphis & Germantown’s Wine and Liquor Superstore “In a way, the way things stand Home For Sale? is more honest,” he said. “And we 6150 POPLAR AVENUE at SHADY GROVE (in Regalia) ADVERTISE HERE now focus on Jewish suffering, not [email protected] (901) 682-1333 • CALL 763-2215 non-Jewish heroism.” Thursday, March 4, 2021 THE HEBREW WATCHMAN Page 5 Shlomo Hillel, who spearheaded mass of Iraqi Jews, dies at 97 By Ron Kampeas openly and in secret, and many “How many times has a person NEW YORK (JTA) — Shlomo owe them their immigration and been rewarded for his actions al- Hillel’s life spanned the length ensuing lives in this country.” ready in this world?” he said. and breadth of Israel’s immigrant In the first few decades of Is- Hillel is survived by his son story and he played a critical role rael’s existence, Hillel was one of and three granddaughters. His in many of its chapters. the few Mizrahi Jews who climbed wife died in 2011 and his daughter Hillel, who died February 8 at the ranks of Israel’s ruling party Hagar, a noted researcher into the 97, helped smuggle Iraqi Jewish and become a cabinet member. Arab Jewish press, died in 2005. immigrants into prestate Brit- In ’s government, he Even not taking into account ish Mandate Palestine and then served as minister of police, the his critical role in bringing Iraqi brought more in in the state’s one portfolio informally reserved Jews to Israel, Hillel’s career first years. His family fled Iraq’s for Mizrahi politicians in those placed him at every juncture of Is- horrors and he married a woman days. rael’s birth and growth. He was at fleeing Europe’s horrors. His Because the bulk of Israel’s various times spy for the Mossad, a son married an Ethiopian Israeli, Jewish citizens were Mizrahi at founder of a kibbutz, a member of whose aliyah Hillel, as a minister this point, Hillel appeared to critics the for the Labor Party, the in the government, greenlighted. as an ethnic token that belied the Knesset’s speaker, the chairman of A New York Times obituary on lack of proportionate representa- United Israel Appeal, a member Former Knesset Speaker Shlomo Hillel in his office in Jerusalem Sunday, February 21, detailed how of the pre-state militia, in an undated photo from the mid-1980s. tion in government. As the coun- Credit: David Rubinger/Corbis via Getty Images Hillel, who was born in Baghdad, try’s minister of police through and an ambassador to a number of executed at least four undercover the early 1970s, Hillel happened African countries. — parties traditionally reserve un- ahead of the next Knesset election, operations in the pre-and post-state to be serving when Israel’s Black His thirst for public service was realistic spots for elder statesmen. and tonight he is gone,” Michaeli years in various guises — includ- Panther movement emerged to never quenched. Merav Michaeli, Hillel accepted on February wrote on Twitter on Feb. 8. ing as a British businessman — to challenge the hegemony of Ashke- the recently elected head of the 4. “Last Thursday, Shlomo Hillel Asaf Shalev contributed to this spirit out Iraqi Jews. nazi Israelis. He presided over the Labor Party, asked him not long joined the party list to close it out report. In one instance, negotiating police’s repression of the move- ago to take an honorary slot on its with the then-Iraqi prime minister, ment. The repeat- list ahead of the March elections Tawfiq al-Suwaidi, a cousin of edly attacked Hillel in the press, SERVICES AVAILABLE Hillel’s joined the meeting. The including through an open letter cousin did not recognize Hillel. that called him the government’s • Driver—Courteous and reliable person to take Altogether, Hillel was respon- “black collaborator.” In-Home Caregiver you anywhere you need to go in Memphis and sur- sible for the aliyah of at least Hillel moved to prestate Pales- 120,000 Iraqi Jews, saving an tine in the 1930s after his father Looking for Work rounding areas: Dr’s appointments, Shopping, Er- ancient community from preda- witnessed troops celebrating the rands, Airport. Available weekdays and weekends. tions that would follow when massacre of hundreds of Assyrian Over 18 years Saddam Hussein became dictator Christians and wondered whether healthcare in the late 1960s and targeted the Jews would be next. They soon experience. • House Sitting and Dog Sitting— tiny remnant with persecution and were: A Nazi-inspired pogrom in executions. There are fewer than 1941 murdered hundreds of Jews. Full time or Responsible adult available to stay with your dogs 100 Jews left in Iraq. Hillel married Temima Ros- while you are away. I love dogs! “He came from a great genera- ner, a refugee from Vienna. Part Time tion, a generation that fought with His son, Ari, married an Ethio- its hands for Israel’s independence pian immigrant, Enatmar Salam, Call 901-299-6277 Contact Rick Danzig: 901-337-6009 and its existence as a safe haven whom he met in college. They for the Jewish people,” The Jeru- eventually realized that Ari’s salem Post quoted Israel’s presi- father had greenlighted Salam’s dent, , as saying. aliyah when he was interior min- “He worked to bring immigrants ister in 1977. to Israel from the Middle East Ari Hillel, delivering a eulogy in varying and many ways, both for his father, called that a miracle. Netanyahu calls Pelosi to discuss Israel’s COVID response as some Democrats offer criticism By Ron Kampeas secretary of state, Antony Blinken, WASHINGTON (JTA) — but the likelihood is that U.S. pres- Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. House of sure will not let up until Netanyahu Representatives speaker, spoke delivers a more comprehensive last week with Israeli Prime Min- vaccine rollout for the Palestin- ister about ians. Israel’s COVID-19 response at a Israel says that prior agree- time that Israel is under pressure ments and international law do to extend its vaccination program not oblige it to vaccinate Palestin- to Palestinians in the West Bank. ians living under the Palestinian “Today, I spoke with [the Israeli Authority. prime minister] to reaffirm the Also notable is Pelosi’s men- unbreakable bond between our tion of a “just, stable and endur- nations and Congress’s unwaver- ing two-state solution.” With ing support for a safe and secure Democrats now controlling the Israel,” Pelosi said Wednesday, White House and both chambers February 24, on Twitter. “We dis- of Congress, Israel will be under cussed COVID response and our pressure to abandon the Trump shared hope for regional peace, administration peace plan, which including a just, stable and endur- was vague about whether the Pal- ing two-state solution.” estinians would achieve statehood, JTA has learned that Netanyahu and included the prospect of Israel initiated the call, and that it was annexing parts of the West Bank. lengthy and friendly. It comes just Pelosi’s affirmation of the a month before Israel’s elections. “unbreakable bond between our Pelosi’s tweet is illustrated with a nations and Congress’s unwaver- photo of Pelosi in her office, taking ing support for a safe and secure notes at a desk that overlooks the Israel” comes as Israel and pro- National Mall. Israel groups are apprehensive It’s notable that Pelosi singled at the ascent within the Demo- out COVID response; Israel is cratic congressional caucus of garnering international criticism lawmakers who have been sharply for leaving out Palestinians in the critical of Israel. Last month, Rep. West Bank from its successful Betty McCollum, a Democrat vaccine rollout. Among the critics from Minnesota who has proposed have been leading Democrats in conditioning aid to Israel on its the House. treatment of Palestinian minors in Netanyahu last week ordered detention, was named chairwoman the delivery of thousands of vac- of the influential defense subcom- cines to the Palestinians, report- mittee of the House Appropria- edly after pressure from the U.S. tions Committee. WEEKLY DEADLINE For The Hebrew Watchman Is 12:00 Noon on Thursday Week Prior to Publication Page 6 THE HEBREW WATCHMAN Thursday, March 4, 2021 exercise equipment (groceries) ing to do? Bail out? Sometimes I Bar Mitzvah My Personal Trainer Wife have to be stowed in the car and develop a headache, that usual ally Jayden Elliott Chipman-Kalin, By Ted Roberts grocery store tours. eventually brought into the house of unresponsive wives, and must be son of Adam Kalin and Jeff Chip- My Personal Trainer Wife I know it has helped me, like (you can postpone it into tomor- taken home immediately. Of course man, will celebrate his Bar Mitz- She’s the love of my life we’re on aisle two and she sends row and stretch your workout to a my personal trainer, when she gets vah Saturday, March 6, at Temple She’s my personal trainer wife me to fetch garlic powder - 2-day muscle maker. That doesn’t home won’t excuse me from the car Israel. Don’t go to the gym today she thinks maybe on aisle 12. hurt a bit.) to kitchen segment of the workout. Rabbi Micah Greenstein will instead go grocery shopping with But she has no idea where it is. Once in a while she pressures But I do ask her: “Why do we offi ciate at the services. your wife. You’ll get more exer- So you have to prowl the aisles 2 me to accompany her to Marshalls need 50 pounds of taters?” Why To mark the occasion Jayden cise. through 12: the distance of 10 or or Target. But I, the wily workout not a couple bags of chips? I get a will conduct the worship services, Students of wife – directed so football fi elds. You’re lucky devotee know such a workout is stare in return and a speech on the read from the Torah, chant his grocery tours say you are sure to she didn’t need a 50 pound sack not near as healthy – as my grocery benefi ts of weight lifting. Haftorah, and deliver a Bar Mitz- burn at least a of potatoes only 500 yards away program. What kind of exercise is Once I jumped in the car around vah message. thousand cal- on 7. Or maybe you are not so it to lug a half-pound sweater from lunch time for a “juicy hamburger He is in the seventh grade at ories. Maybe lucky since 1000 yards with a the store to car and then to car to smothered in lettuce, tomato and Houston Middle School, where he more if the 50-pound sack of taters equals 2 house. Big Deal! mayo” and ended up wrestling a 100 plays the Tuba in the school band. wife is hunt- hours on a stationary bike or 20 My lovely wife never ignores pound coffee table into the trunk – He also enjoys playing basketball. ing the exotic reps with an 80-pound bar bell. me when its time for a grocery then dragging it into the living room. Jayden is the grandson of the ingredients of There are many forms of healthy marathon. But sometimes she Better than a destination-free ride on late Carol and Dr. Berkley Kalin of a festive meal. exercise. “forgets” to mention the purpose of a stationary bike says my personal Memphis and of Bruce Chipman My fat Why not a 5-pound sack of the trip: “Come on hon, take a ride trainer wife. She knows what is best of Jonesboro, Arkansas, and the friend, Rob sugar on the next aisle. Or an with me.” I jump in the passenger for me. That’s why she takes me late Gail Chipman. Ted Roberts lost ten pounds 8-ounce box of cereal from the seat and soon realize, by the route, shopping. I’m a lucky man. in a single aisle we are on. No she needs that that we’re headed to that gym The syndicated humor of Ted, month, with only 3 grocery tours. 50-pound sack of potatoes that’s a where they sell sacks of potatoes the Scribbler on the roof, appears They call him shinnybob now, half-mile away: she’s my personal as well as 2 ounce bottles of garlic in newspapers around the US, on in fact some health organization trainer wife you know. powder. Too late (and I went to a National Public Radio, and numer- have forsaken their facilities full of But that’s not the end of your real gym yesterday) what am I go- ous web sites. equipment and sponsored multiple workout. The potatoes or other

ASBEE Sisterhood’s new project for Purim Is highly successful A suggestion, given by Anshei to keep people safe during our bout Sphard-Beth El Emeth (ASBEE) with Covid-19. Sisterhood’s Vice President Adina As Ms. Weinstein stated about Samberg, catapulted Shalach the project: “…-It’s not Shalach Manot co-chairpeople Cindi Wein- Manot but maybe better.” stein and Audrey Siskind, into Individuals interested in partici- creating the “Matanot L’evyonim” pating were asked to donate $4 for Jayden Elliott Chipman-Kalin (Gifts to Those in Need) project. each name of a family or a friend Other Sisterhood’s executive they wished to send Purim greet- board members Myrna Cohen, ings to. Those on each person’s list Patti Elster, Linda Joffre, Jen- would receive a “Happy Purim” nifer Roberts, Cynthia Sacharin, letter and learn that a donation Shirley Simha and Sarah Beth had been made in their honor to Merrick Garland, the nominee for U.S. attorney general, during Cohen-Wilcox agreed this was the both the Wendy and Avron B. Fo- his Senate confi rmation hearing, Feb. 22, 2021. best way for our ASBEE group to gelman Jewish Family Service at Credit: Demetrius Freeman-Pool/Getty Images let others know we are thinking the Memphis Jewish Community of them and to fulfi ll one of the Center and the ASBEE Rabbi’s Merrick Garland in AG confi rmation hearing: four mitzvot associated with the Discretionary Fund. celebration of Purim while trying As the co-chairs explained in ‘Senator, I’m a pretty good judge of what an anti-Semite is’ their initial letter regarding the By Ron Kampeas which included far-right extrem- Ted has a new project, 100% of the donations WASHINGTON (JTA) — Mer- ists along with visible displays of would benefi t the two charities and rick Garland turned emotional racism and anti-Semitism. revised book the funds collected would “…al- 50% new stories when asked Monday. February He called the attack “heinous” low many needs of our community 22, during his Senate confi rmation and “sought to disrupt a cornerstone members to be met.” hearing why he wanted to be the of our democracy: the peaceful The scribbler At the project’s completion, U.S. attorney general. transfer of power to a newly elected approximately 800 “Happy Purim” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on The roof letters were sent out and thanks to government.” wanted Garland to explain why Garland would be the fifth by Ted roberts the large community participation, he chose his career path, using his a total of $12,323 was collected Jewish offi cial in President Joe The best of Ted’s family history leaving Russia’s Biden’s Cabinet. When Sen. Mike so that each charity will receive a Pale of Settlement, “in confronting work—a collection check for $6,16l.50. Lee, R-Utah, pressed him on hate and discrimination.” Booker whether he would work with anti- of stories designed In writing her praise to the noted that Garland had been asked Semites, alluding to conservative to make you laugh Sisterhood co-chairs, former AS- and answered the question when BEE Sisterhood President Cynthia media attacks on Kristen Clarke, and cry they met privately. whom Biden has nominated to Sacharin, stated, “…-Sisterhood “I come from a family where $10.95 certainly proved that it can step up head the Justice Department’s my grandparents fl ed anti-Semi- civil rights division, Garland de- available at lulu.com to the plate and do anything, even tism and persecution,” the erudite fended Clarke and said in a rare during trying times.” and soft-spoken judge said before pausing for several seconds to show of annoyance: “Senator, I’m gather himself. “The country took a pretty good judge of what an us in and protected us, and I feel anti-Semite is.” an obligation to the country to pay Garland has said a critical point back — this is the highest, best use of his career was in 1995, when of my own set of skills to pay back. he directed the prosecution of the I want very much to be the kind of white supremacists who bombed a an attorney general that you are federal building in Oklahoma City, saying I could become.” killing at least 168 people. Garland, 68, also said that com- In 2016, then-President Barack bating white supremacists would Obama had nominated Garland to be a priority should he lead the the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Justice Department, particularly Republican-led Senate at the time in the wake of the deadly Jan. 6 would not allow his nomination insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, to advance. She’s always been the independent type. We aim to keep her that way. In-Home Care Services • Personal Care Memphis 901.752.1515 • Companionship and housekeeping Northern Mississippi 662.393.1110 • Dementia and Covington 901.296.1200 Alzheimer’s care • Respite care memphis-169.comfortkeepers.com • Safety Solutions Thursday, March 4, 2021 THE HEBREW WATCHMAN Page 7 Nearly 200 US and UK scholars back British lecturer who called Jewish students ‘pawns’ of Israel By Cnaan Liphshiz tions have protested the remarks Americans. The names of Miller’s the acceptance of among Mosque unknowingly held this LONDON (JTA) — About by David Miller, a professor of po- defenders were removed from the Muslims. project of making chicken soup 200 academics from the United litical sociology at the University online petition without explana- “The Israelis have sent people with Jewish and Muslim commu- Kingdom and the United States of Bristol, made during an online tion. in,” Miller said, “particularly nities coming together. This is an have signed a petition defending a videoconference February 13. “Prof Miller is an eminent through interfaith work … pre- Israeli-backed project to normalize British university lecturer who had Some have called for his ouster. scholar. He is known internation- tending Jews and Muslims work- Zionism within the Muslim com- called Jewish students on his cam- The signatories of the letter ally for exposing the role that pow- ing together will be an apolitical munity and they were doing that pus “pawns” of Israel, “a violent, published Friday, February 26, erful actors and well-resourced, way of countering racism. No, it’s at the same time they were doing racist, foreign regime engaged in supporting Miller include lin- co-ordinated networks play in a Trojan horse for normalizing Zi- the attack on [Jeremy] Corbyn,” a ethnic cleansing.” guist Noam Chomsky and gender manipulating and stage-managing onism in the Muslim community. far-left and anti-Israel politician Jewish groups and organiza- theorist Judith Butler, both Jewish public debates, including on rac- We saw it in East London Mosque who was the previous leader of the ism,” the petition read. for example, where East London Labour Party. Miller had said in the videocon- B’nai B’rith raising funds ference, titled “Labour Campaign Baron Hirsch Congregation for Free Speech,” that he supported to assist those affected the “end of Zionism as a function- to host pre-Passover wine tasting by Texas winter storm crisis ing ideology” and that protests by Baron Hirsch Congregation “Corey and I truly enjoy the the Bristol University’s Jewish will host a pre-Passover wine tast- Baron Hirsch Wine Club. It is a WASHINGTON—B’nai B’rith relief efforts in Puerto Rico after Society, which is a union of Jewish ing next week in the synagogue’s great way to learn about new wines International has opened its Disas- Hurricane Maria. A B’nai B’rith students, over his previous fulmi- Zoom Room. we have yet to explore. The pre- ter and Emergency Relief Fund to Center for Senior Services team nations against Jews and Israel Scheduled for Saturday eve- senters have all been knowledge- assist those impacted by the Texas spent time in Puerto Rico helping show that “There is a real question ning, March 13, at 8:30 pm, the able and entertaining. It is also a winter storm crisis. with rebuilding efforts after that of abuse here — of Jewish students wine tasting will be conducted by great social opportunity to laugh B’nai B’rith said that it would hurricane. on British campuses being used as Hillel Manne, owner and founder and learn with friends online,” be accepting donations to help B’nai B’rith is exploring the political pawns by a violent, racist, of Bet El Winery, who will be..; stated congregation president with this unprecedented catastro- needs of several communities and foreign regime engaged in ethnic the featured speaker for the event. Mary Trotz. phe and will match donations up partners in Texas and will work cleansing.” He cited the Jewish So- Hillel and Nina Manne settled This will be the third virtual to $10,000 to assist those affected with partners on the ground to ciety’s open support for Zionism. into Bet El in the early 1990’s. Hil- wine tasting that Baron Hirsch has by this crisis. determine needs and solutions. Marie van der Zyl, the president lel could think of no better way to hosted during the pandemic. They Millions of people across the B’nai B’rith’s Disaster and of the Board of Deputies of British express his connection to the land have become popular events for state were left without access to Emergency Relief Fund is part Jews, wrote last to the president of of Israel than planting vineyards. both members and non-members electricity, clean water or gas for of our longstanding tradition of the university, Hugh Brady, seek- Hillel started out making a simple to attend. History of wineries are days in freezing conditions. The helping communities in distress, ing Miller’s dismissal. wine that he could provide to his discussed during these events and unprecedented storm has also left which began in 1865 in pre-state “By failing to end Professor neighbors for sacramental use. led by Israeli Wine experts coordi- already vulnerable low-income Israel when we raised funds to Miller’s tenure as a member of Although the endeavor did not nated by Baron Hirsch’s program populations reeling. aid victims of a cholera outbreak. faculty, the University is provid- pan out as planned, Hillel headed in director, Uri Pilichowski. Guest Efforts to restore power across Since then, B’nai B’rith has helped ing him with the appearance of a different direction and began his presenters like Amichai Lourie the state continue, but thousands are countless people across the globe seriousness,” van der Zyl’s letter quest of producing quality wines. discussed wines that are sought still experiencing outages and mil- who have faced adversity after said. The university is “shielding At the University of California Da- after by connoisseurs around the lions more are still uncertain about natural and man-made disasters. someone whose rants would not vis, he studied field crops in order world. Discussion topics vary and access to clean water. President Joe Recent donations to BBI’s Disaster look out of place on the pages of to prepare for his move to Israel. include topics such as how Israel Biden declared that a major disaster and Emergency Relief Fund have Der Sturmer,” she added, referenc- According to Mr. Manne, Bet went from five wineries to over exists in 77 Texas counties. helped vulnerable communities ing a virulently anti-Semitic pub- El Winery grows three different 400 today. B’nai B’rith also expressed around the world stay safe during lication affiliated with Germany’s varieties—Cabernet Sauvignon, Wine has always been part of thanks to its friends at World the coronavirus pandemic. Nazi Party. Merlot, and Carignan. The views Jewish tradition and this upcoming Central Kitchen for providing 110 Donors can call 800-573-9057 A university spokesperson told from Bet El Winery have been wine tasting ties into the upcoming meals to residents of our Mol- to make a credit card contribution of Lon- left unchanged since Jacob (from Passover holiday and the tradition lie & Max Barnett Apartments over the phone. Or, you can send a don last month that, “We do not Jacob’s ladder) was there. Bet of the four cups. and Tarrant County B’nai B’rith check payable to the B’nai B’rith endorse the comments made by El’s aim is to provide wine lovers For the wine tasting, there will Apartments in Fort Worth. B’nai Disaster and Emergency Relief Professor Miller about our Jewish with excellent wines that reflect be three wines featured—Beit B’rith and World Central Kitchen Fund to: B’nai B’rith International students.” the beauty and potential of their El Cabernet Sauvignon, Beit El have had a strong partnership Disaster and Emergency Relief In the petition defending Miller, terroir, that they feel stands with Amona Cabernet Sauvignon, and since 2017, when B’nai B’rith Fund, 1120 20th Street NW, Suite who has declined to apologize the great appellations of the world. Beit El Revelation Reserve Blend. supported World Central Kitchen’s 300N , Washington, D.C. 20036 for or retract his remarks, his advocates state that “the attacks Congressman David Kustoff on Professor Miller stem from a lecture on Islamophobia that he MOVING? re-introduces (CAST) Act gave to students at the University Please let us know before you go! It’s easy... WASHINGTON—Congress- it presents to our citizens and our of Bristol two years ago.” • E-mail: [email protected] • Call: (901) 763-2215 man David Kustoff (R-TN) and brave law enforcement officers At that event, he suggested that • Write: P.O. Box 770846, Memphis, TN 38177-0846 Congresswoman Abigail Span- across the nation. I am honored were using interfaith THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION berger (VA-07), have re-intro- to take the lead on this strongly events with Muslims, including a duced the bipartisan Criminalizing bipartisan bill in Congress, and I chicken soup cookout, to increase Abused Substance Templates look forward to working with Con- (CAST) Act. gresswoman Spanberger and my The CAST Act modifies the colleagues to pass this important COLUMBUS MARBLE WORKS Controlled Substances Act to legislation.” Designers and Builders define the criminal penalty for “Families, businesses, and making counterfeit drugs using a entire communities in Virginia HIGHEST QUALITY MONUMENTS AND MARKERS pill press. Current law prohibits continue to face immense chal- Associated and Identified with this practice but does not define lenges due to opioid abuse. As this the penalty. The CAST Act will public health crisis significantly JEWISH MEMORIALS make possession of a pill press worsens as a result of the CO- mold, with the intent to counterfeit VID-19 pandemic, we also face For Over 85 years Enduring schedule I or II substances, a crime the threat of extremely dangerous in Memphis and the Mid-South area and allow for sentencing on pos- substances — such as fentanyl Memorials session alone for up to 20 years. — being pressed into illicit pills “The opioid epidemic has and sold on our streets,” said For more information, call ravaged our communities in West Spanberger. “This bill would help Tennessee and across our nation. crack down on the production of Phone 1-800-647-1055 Unfortunately, as we continue counterfeit drugs via illicit pill David Miller to battle COVID-19, the opioid press molds. By deterring drug crisis has only grown worse. traffickers and those who produce We owe it to our loved ones to illicit drugs, we would take another take stronger action to fight back step in the fight against fentanyl- Located at 2481 Broad Avenue - Memphis against this public health emer- related deaths. I’m proud to stand . . gency. The CAST Act is the much alongside Congressman Kustoff to 901 767 0026 - Locally owned by Paul West needed, bold step forward in this reintroduce this legislation, and I’ll fight,” said Rep. Kustoff. “It will keep working with my colleagues increase penalties against pos- to prevent overdoses, increase ac- Beautifully Crafted Cemetery Monuments session of harmful drugs and pill cess to treatment, and build new press molds, helping to combat the pathways for Virginians to achieve SERVING THE JEWISH COMMUNITY illegal drug market and the dangers long-term recovery.” OF MEMPHIS FOR OVER 20 YEARS

Erev Shabbat, Fri Mar 5, 2021 / 21 Adar, 5781...... 5:41 pm Visit us at WESTMEMORIALS.COM Shabbat ends, Havdalah, Sat Mar 6, 2021 / 22 Adar, 5781...... 6:42 pm Weekly Torah Reading: KI TISA Page 8 THE HEBREW WATCHMAN Thursday, March 4, 2021 Why the anti-Putin protest movement divides Russian Jews By Cnaan Liphshiz challenge thus far to Putin’s 20- nities to thrive. They argue that MOSCOW (JTA) — Lucy year hold on power. After Navalny he has facilitated their growth Shteyn is only 24 years old, but was poisoned in Russia with nerve through government-gifted land she already has fi rsthand knowl- gas last year, he was treated in Ger- for synagogues and consistent edge of what awaits vocal critics many before returning last month enforcement of Russia’s anti- of President Vladimir Putin in her to Russia to face a trial he has discrimination laws against perpe- native Russia. said was rigged. He was arrested trators of anti-Semitic hate crimes. In 2018, a year after Shteyn, upon his return and sentenced to In 2015, a leader of FJCR, Al- a Jewish gay rights activist and a 2.5 years in prison for corruption exander Boroda, spoke candidly prominent opposition activist, was charges that he says are fake. about the reasons for his group’s elected to Moscow’s city council, In response, thousands of Rus- support for Putin. hackers got into her cell phone and sians have taken to the streets to “The Jews of Russia must computer. They released many of protest Putin’s government since realize the dangers inherent in her personal pictures and corre- late January in the largest such the possible collapse of the Putin spondence online. movement since 2019. Authori- government, understand the rules One of the pictures was of a ties have arrested hundreds of the of the game and be aware of the well-known film critic, who is protesters, and Shteyn’s relatively limitations,” he said at a confer- Opposition political leader Alexey Navalny’s supporters seen married, sleeping in her bed. Mos- high profi le may have marked her ence of the Limmud FSU Jewish marching in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Jan. 31, 2021. kovskaya Gazeta, a tabloid that for further legal action. learning group. Credit: Aleksey Fokin/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images ran the pictures, labeled Shteyn On Jan. 27, police broke into “In Russia, there is virtually un- Yabloko party, which was founded Russian media, the courts and “a hunter of married men” living her home and confiscated her limited freedom of religion and the by the Jewish economist Grigory what little remains of freedom of a life full of “drugs and techno.” computer, the news site 24SMI Jewish community must ensure this Yavlinsky, for attending a far-right expression online, tens of thou- On ultranationalist forums, anony- reported. Based on information situation continues,” Boroda added. event called the “Russian March.” sands of Russian Jews are leaving. mous users called her a “Jewish gathered from it, the Basmanny “The support for religious institu- It was one of many expressions In addition to Putin’s assault on whore” and posted pictures of Aus- District Court of Moscow on Mon- tions is wider than in the United of xenophobia sparked by the im- democracy, a recession is ravaging chwitz with her name as a hashtag. day, February 22, placed Shteyn States and defense of Jews against migration to Moscow of millions the Russian economy. Following a The hack against Shteyn, a for- under house arrest until March manifestations of anti-Semitism of Muslims from parts of Russian crash in its oil prices, the Russian mer journalist for Radio Liberty, 23, pending a trial for incitement is greater than in other European Central Asia. ruble is now worth half its 2014 was not the fi rst of its kind, or to violation of sanitary and epide- countries. We do not have the In a YouTube video from that value against the dollar. the most dangerous. In 2019, gay miological rules. She could spend privilege of losing what we have year meant to bolster Navalny’s Since 2015, about 60,000 Rus- rights activist Yelena Grigoriyeva years in jail if convicted. achieved and the support of the political career, Navalny portrays sian citizens have immigrated was murderedin St. Petersburg Shteyn is far from the only Jew government for the community.” a pest control specialist dispensing to Israel alone under its Law of shortly after her personal details in Navalny’s corner. The Putin government’s treat- tips on how to exterminate immi- Return for Jews and their rela- were leaked and she appeared on a Leonid Volkov and Maksim ment of the LGBTQ and Muslim grants from Central Asia, whom tives. In the entire decade prior to homophobic group’s hit list. Kats, two tech-savvy individuals communities has been decidedly he calls fl ies and cockroaches. The 2015, only 36,784 Russian Jews But this has done little to sub- from Jewish homes, had key roles different. skit ends with him shooting a man had come. due Shteyn. She has infuriated sup- in Navalny’s unsuccessful 2013 bid In 2013, Russia outlawed “gay wearing Muslim traditional garb, “Ninety percent of Russians porters of Putin’s anti-gay policies to be elected mayor of Moscow. propaganda among minors” amid including a black robe and keffi yeh. really love Putin. They admire by posting pictures of herself kiss- “Russians today are living in an a wave of homophobic rhetoric on While seeking to broaden his him, they think he’s doing the right ing another woman. In a tribute to Orwellian society, where an enor- state television that coincided with base, Navalny gradually moved thing, focusing on hating minori- the punk protest band Pussy Riot, mous propaganda machine teaches a rise in violent incidents, some of away from such jingoism, but his ties and gay people,” one of the Shteyn has also made plaster mold people that two plus two equals them deadly. Most of those crimes fl irtation with it has not helped newcomers, a marketing specialist castings of her breasts and affi xed fi ve, and you have to be very brave have remained unsolved, accord- him gain the trust of leaders of named Dima Eygenson, told JTA them to historic buildings. to contradict this,” Volkov, who ing to the SOVA human rights ethnic minorities in Russia, which in 2019. “The other 10 percent, to On Jan. 23, Shteyn was arrested left Russia in 2014, told Mishpa- watchdog. is home to about 200,000 Jews. which I belong, don’t feel free to in Moscow during a rally in sup- cha magazine last month. The Russian government has As Putin tightens his grip on say what we think about this. port of Alexey Navalny, the former But Russia’s two main Jewish also furthered its longtime crack- businessman turned politician who communal organizations — the down on what it calls radical has presented the most serious Chabad-affiliated Federation of , jailing clerics suspected Jewish Trump aide considering challenge Jewish Communities in Russia, of extremist incitement, denying or FJCR, and the non-Chabad them legal recourse and allegedly to Ohio Republican who voted for impeachment To subscribe to — have torturing some of them. By Ron Kampeas Trump for his role in spurring the THE HEBREW remained silent about the unrest. When it comes to tolerance of CLEVELAND, Ohio (JTA) deadly Jan. 6 raid on the U.S. Capi- WATCHMAN They see Putin as a friendly minorities, Navalny’s own record — Max Miller, a scion of a phil- tol to stop Congress from affi rming force for Russian Jews, a leader is not without blemish. In 2007 Call 763-2215 anthropic Jewish Cleveland-area Joe Biden’s election. who has allowed their commu- he was expelled from the liberal family and a former aide to Donald Miller held senior positions Trump, is considering challenging organizing “advance” for both one of the Republicans who voted Trump’s White House and his to impeach Trump. 2020 campaign. That meant he Miller, 32, confirmed to the helped direct Trump’s rallies — Cleveland on Mon- Trump’s most cherished means of day, February 22, that he was getting out his message. considering a run against Anthony Miller’s grandfather, Sam Mill- Gonzalez, who currently repre- er, was a major Jewish philanthro- sents Ohio’s 16th District, which pist in the Cleveland area. He died includes some of Cleveland’s in 2019. suburbs. Politico, which fi rst reported “I have yet to make a decision that Max Miller was considering a if I am really going to pursue it, run, says he has bought a house in so it is more like a consideration,” Gonzalez’s district. It says he has Miller told the newspaper. “I already solicited commitments in haven’t even fi led yet. But, the the hundreds of thousands of dol- moment I fi le for candidacy, if that lars for a primary challenge against time comes, I will make an an- Gonzalez, and has told people he nouncement. I plan on making that could self-fi nance a run. decision in the next few weeks.” Josh Mandel, a former state Gonzalez infuriated Trump for treasurer who has aligned himself being one of 10 Republicans in with the Trump wing of the GOP, the U.S. House of Representatives is running for the Senate in Ohio. who voted last month to impeach Like Miller, Mandel is a Marine.

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham and Max Miller arrive in the Booksellers area of the White House to attend a state dinner honoring Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in Washington, DC, on Sept. 20, 2019. Credit: Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images